Conrad I, called the Peaceful (; ; ; – 19 October 993), was King of Burgundy (ruling a political unit also called the Kingdom of Arles) from 937 until his death in 993. Denier of Conrad the Peaceful

Life

A member of the

Elder House of Welf The Elder House of Welf (known as Rudolphins in Burgundy) was a Frankish noble dynasty of European rulers documented since the 9th century. Closely related to the Carolingian dynasty, it consisted of a Burgundian and a Swabian group. It has n ...

, Conrad was the son of King Rudolph II, the first ruler over the

united kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

of Upper and Lower Burgundy since 933, and his consort Bertha, a daughter of Duke Burchard II of Swabia. Some sources call him Conrad III, since he was the third Conrad in his family: his great-grandfather was Duke Conrad II, whose father was Count Conrad I. Conrad succeeded his father as King of Burgundy in 937, with his future brother-in-law, the German king Otto I (later

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...

), exercising the regency during Conrad's minority reign. Under Otto's regency, Conrad began a close collaboration with the Germanic kings. Burgundy also gained a central role in Otto I's Italian policy due to the Great Saint Bernard Pass. Conrad extended Burgundy's control over important monasteries, including Lure Abbey, Payerne Priory, Romainmôtier Priory and Moutier-Grandval Abbey. According to the chronicler Ekkehard IV, in a story that is probably apocryphal, when Conrad learned that both the

Magyars Hungarians, also known as Magyars, are an ethnic group native to Hungary (), who share a common culture, language and history. They also have a notable presence in former parts of the Kingdom of Hungary. The Hungarian language belongs to the ...

and the

Saracens file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century History of Germany, German woodcut depicting Saracens ''Saracen'' ( ) was a term used both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings between the 5th and 15th centuries to ...

Fraxinetum Fraxinetum or Fraxinet ( or , from Latin ''fraxinus'': " ash tree", ''fraxinetum'': "ash forest") was the site of a Muslim stronghold at the centre of a frontier state in Provence between about 887 and 972. It is identified with modern La Garde- ...

were marching against him, he sent envoys to both armies warning them of the other. The envoys offered Burgundian aid to each invader against the other and then informed them of the other's whereabouts. When the Magyars and Saracens met, the Burgundians held back and only attacked when the opposing forces were spent. In this way, both invading armies were destroyed and the captives sold into slavery. Conrad died on 19 October 993 and was buried at the Abbey of Saint-André-le-Bas, Vienne.

Marriage and children

Conrad married firstly, Adelaide of Bellay. They were parents to at least one daughter: * Gisela (d. 21 July 1006), married Henry II, Duke of Bavaria He married Matilda by 966, daughter of Louis IV of France and Gerberga of Saxony. They had at least four children: * Bertha (964 – 16 January 1016), married Odo I, Count of Blois, and then

Robert II of France Robert II ( 972 – 20 July 1031), called the Pious () or the Wise (), was List of French monarchs, King of the Franks from 996 to 1031, the second from the Capetian dynasty. Crowned Junior King in 987, he assisted his father on military matters ...

*Matilda (born 969), possibly married Robert, Count of Geneva * Rudolph III, King of Burgundy (971 – 6 September 1032) * Gerberga (born 965), married Herman II, Duke of Swabia By his concubine, Aldiud, he had a son: * Burchard, Archbishop of Lyons

Citations

Sources

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Conrad 01 of Burgundy 920s births 993 deaths People from the Kingdom of Arles Kings of Burgundy 10th-century monarchs in Europe Elder House of Welf