Hunald II, also spelled Hunold, Hunoald, Hunuald or Chunoald (French: ''Hunaud''), was the

Duke of Aquitaine The duke of Aquitaine (, , ) was the ruler of the medieval region of Aquitaine (not to be confused with modern-day Aquitaine) under the supremacy of Frankish, English, and later French kings. As successor states of the Visigothic Kingdom ( ...

from 768 until 769. He was probably the son of Duke

Waiofar Waiofar, also spelled Waifar, Waifer or Waiffre (died 2 June 768), was the last independent Duke of Aquitaine from 745 to 768. He peacefully succeeded his father, Hunald I, after the latter entered a monastery. He also inherited the conflict with ...

, who was assassinated on the orders of King Pippin the Short in 768. He laid claim to the duchy following Pippin's death later that year, but his revolt was crushed by Pippin's eldest son,

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...

. Hunald fled to the

Duchy of Gascony The Duchy of Gascony or Duchy of Vasconia was a duchy located in present-day southwestern France and northeastern Spain, an area encompassing the modern region of Gascony. The Duchy of Gascony, then known as ''Wasconia'', was originally a Franki ...

, but he was handed over to Charlemagne and put into captivity. Nothing more is heard of him. Following the naming patterns of the time, Hunald was probably named after his grandfather,

Hunald I Hunald I, also spelled Hunold, Hunoald, Hunuald or Chunoald (died 756), was the Duke of Aquitaine from 735 until 745. Although nominally he was an officer of the Merovingian kings of Francia, in practice Aquitaine was completely autonomous when he ...

. All the members of his family, including himself, bore names of Germanic origin. Certain historians have advanced the hypothesis that Hunald I, who retired to a monastery in 745, came out of retirement to lead it again in 768. This is unlikely on chronological grounds, and there is a tradition that Hunald I died at Rome in 756. Most historians treat the two as different people. When Waiofar was killed in 768, Hunald II initially fled to Gascony. Following the death of Pippin, however, he returned to raise the standard of revolt in Aquitaine. The provinces of the

Frankish realm The Kingdom of the Franks (), also known as the Frankish Kingdom, or just Francia, was the largest post-Roman barbarian kingdom in Western Europe. It was ruled by the Frankish Merovingian and Carolingian dynasties during the Early Middle A ...

had been divided on Pippin's death between his sons Charlemagne and Carloman. The province of Aquitaine was itself divided between them. In any case, it was under complete Frankish control at Pippin's death. Word of Hunald's revolt probably reached Charlemagne at

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine, in northwestern France. It is in the prefecture of Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one ...

in March or April 769. According to his biographer,

Einhard Einhard (also Eginhard or Einhart; ; 775 – 14 March 840) was a Franks, Frankish scholar and courtier. Einhard was a dedicated servant of Charlemagne and his son Louis the Pious; his main work is a biography of Charlemagne, the ''Vita Karoli M ...

, so concerned was he that he "went so far as to ask his brother for help". He informed Carloman and arranging a meeting at Moncontour, where Carloman refused to participate in or provide troops for an attack on Aquitaine. Charlemagne then marched his small retinue to Mornac, where he arrived by late May, and from there to

Angoulême Angoulême (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Engoulaeme''; ) is a small city in the southwestern French Departments of France, department of Charente, of which it is the Prefectures of France, prefecture. Located on a plateau overlooking a meander of ...

. According to Einhard, Charlemagne was pursuing Hunald but could not bring him to battle because the latter knew the region better. At Angoulême, Charlemagne began raising a larger army. It marched out in July towards the confluence of the

Dordogne Dordogne ( , or ; ; ) is a large rural departments of France, department in south west France, with its Prefectures in France, prefecture in Périgueux. Located in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region roughly half-way between the Loire Valley and ...

and

Garonne The Garonne ( , ; Catalan language, Catalan, Basque language, Basque and , ; or ) is a river that flows in southwest France and northern Spain. It flows from the central Spanish Pyrenees to the Gironde estuary at the French port of Bordeaux � ...

rivers, the latter forming the border between Aquitaine and Gascony. Near the confluence of the rivers, Charlemagne constructed a fortress that became known as "that of the Franks", ''Franciacum'' (today Fronsac). Since Hunald had again fled to Gascony, Charlemagne sent envoys to Duke Lupus II of Gascony ordering him to find and arrest Hunald and his family and turn them over to him. In terror, according to Einhard, Lupus captured Hunald and his wife and turned them over to Charles's representatives. Charles then crossed the Garonne to accept Lupus's formal submission in person. In the campaign of 769, Charlemagne seems to have followed a policy of "overwhelming force" and avoided a major pitched battle.

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