Lanfredus ( Latinised from ''Lantfrid'' or ''Lanfred'') (died 730) was duke of

Alamannia Alamannia, or Alemania, was the kingdom established and inhabited by the Alemanni, a Germanic tribal confederation that had broken through the Roman '' limes'' in 213. The Alemanni expanded from the Main River basin during the 3rd century and ...

under Frankish sovereignty from 709 until his death. He was the son of duke Cotefredus. Lanfredus's brother was

Theudebald Theudebald (in modern English, ''Theobald''; in French, ''Thibaut'' or ''Théodebald''; in German, ''Theudowald'') (534 – 555), son of Theudebert I and Deuteria, was the king of Metz, Rheims, or Austrasia—as it is variously called ...

. Following Cotefredus's death in 709 and the accession of Lanfredus and his brother Theudebald, the Frankish '' maior domus''

Pepin of Herstal Pepin II (c. 635 – 16 December 714), commonly known as Pepin of Herstal, was a Franks, Frankish statesman and military leader who was the de facto ruler of Francia as the Mayor of the Palace from 680 until his death. He took the title Duke ...

invaded Alamannia and fought against yet another duke,

Willehari Willehari or Willihari (, ''Wilharius'', ''Willeharius'', or ''Willicharius'') was an Alemannic duke (''dux'') in the Ortenau in the early eighth century. According to the ''Vita Sancti Desiderii'', Pepin of Heristal of the Franks, led two exped ...

, whose territory was restricted to the Ortenau in western Alamannia. This campaign can be seen as an attempt by Pepin to impose royal authority on the duchy following the death of Cotefredus and also to assert his right to influence or even control the succession within the duchy. Pepin’s campaign against Willehari might therefore have taken place to assist Lanfredus and Theudebald in their claim to the duchy. However, both Lanfredus and Theudebald were hostile to Pepin’s successor. After Pipin’s death in 714, Lanfredus dissolved all links with the royal court and its new ''maior domus'' Charles Martell. Alamannic resistance against Frankish supremacy was tenacious. In 722

Charles Martel Charles Martel (; – 22 October 741), ''Martel'' being a sobriquet in Old French for "The Hammer", was a Franks, Frankish political and military leader who, as Duke and Prince of the Franks and Mayor of the Palace, was the de facto ruler of ...

forcefully subdued the duchies of Alamannia and

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

but in the following year both duchies again rose against

Carolingian The Carolingian dynasty ( ; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charles Martel and his grandson Charlemagne, descendants of the Arnulfing and Pippinid c ...

supremacy.R. Schieffer, ''Die Karolinger,'' p. 42 In 724 Pirmin founded the Reichenau Abbey under the protection of Charles Martel, Lanfredus and Theudebald considered this a provocation and in 727 Theudebald ''ob odium Karoli'' ("out of hatred against Charles") evicted first Pirmin and, in 732, his successor Heddo from Reichenau. The Abbey of St. Gall, however, founded 719 by the Alamannic monk Otmar, was favoured by the dukes of Alamannia and the regional aristocracy. Between 724 and 730 Lanfredus usurped the right to issue a law-code whereas up until then law-giving had been one of the major activities of the Merovingian kings. He instigated a revision of the Laws of the Alamans ('' Lex Alamannorum Lantfridus''), a sign and an expression of his claim to be an independent ruler. Even though in the law-code the king is mentioned as ''dominus'', there is no reference to the role of the ''maior domus'', which is an indication of Lanfredus's loyalty towards the Merovingian dynasty.J. M. Wallace-Hadrill, ''The Long-Haired Kings,'' p. 239 In 730 Charles Martell invaded the duchy with an army once again. Lanfredus's death is recorded for the same year. Whether this occurred as a result of the fighting is not clear. His brother Theudebald succeeded to the duchy as sole ruler.

References

Bibliography

*E. Ewig (2001). ''Die Merowinger und das Frankenreich''. 4th ed.,

Kohlhammer Verlag W. Kohlhammer Verlag GmbH, or Kohlhammer Verlag, is a German publishing house headquartered in Stuttgart. History Kohlhammer Verlag was founded in Stuttgart on 30 April 1866 by . Kohlhammer had taken over the businesses of his late father-in-la ...

: Köln. . *D. Geuenich (1997). ''Geschichte der Alemannen''. Kohlhammer Verlag: Köln. . *R. Kaiser (1993). ''Das römische Erbe und das Merowingerreich''. Oldenbourg: München. . *R. Schieffer (2000). ''Die Karolinger''. 3rd ed., Kohlhammer Verlag: Köln. . * J. M. Wallace-Hadrill (1993). ''The Long-Haired Kings''. Orig. publ. 1962, University of Toronto Press: Toronto. . *I. Wood (1994). ''The Merovingian Kingdoms 450-751''. Longman: Harlow. . {{Authority control Alemannic monarchs Alemannic warriors 8th-century Frankish nobility 730 deaths 8th-century dukes in Europe Year of birth unknown