Ranulf II (also spelled ''Rannoux'', ''Rannulf'', ''Ramnulf'', and ''Ranulph'') (850 – 5 August 890) was

Count of Poitou Among the people who have borne the title of Count of Poitiers (, ; or ''Poitou'', in what is now France but in the Middle Ages became part of Aquitaine) are: *Bodilon * Warinus (638–677), son of Bodilon *Hatton (735-778) Carolingian Count ...

from 866 and

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 887. On the death of

Charles the Fat Charles the Fat (839 – 13 January 888) was the emperor of the Carolingian Empire from 881 to 887. A member of the Carolingian dynasty, Charles was the youngest son of Louis the German and Hemma, and a great-grandson of Charlemagne. He was t ...

in 888, he styled himself King of Aquitaine and did so until 889 or his death, after which the title fell into abeyance. Ranulf was a son of Ranulf I and Adeltrude of Maine. He married an Ermengard (died 935) and by her had a son, Ranulf III of Poitiers, who succeeded him in Poitiers. His illegitimate son Ebalus succeeded him in Aquitaine and upon the death of Ranulf III, in Poitiers too. Ranulf may have been selected as a king by the Aquitanian nobles, for they accepted King

Odo of France Odo (; c. 857 – 1 January 898) was King of West Francia from 888 to 898. He was the first king from the Robertian dynasty, the parent house of the House of Capet. Before assuming the kingship, Odo was the Count of Paris, since 882. His reign m ...

in 892 only after Ranulf's death. Only the ''

Annales Fuldenses The ''Annales Fuldenses'' or ''Annals of Fulda'' are East Francia, East Frankish chronicles that cover independently the period from the last years of Louis the Pious (died 840) to shortly after the end of effective Carolingian rule in East Fran ...

'' definitively give him this title, saying "Ranulf then set himself up as king" (''Deinceps Rannolfus se regem haberi statuit''). He is recorded to have taken custody of

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...

, the young son of

Louis the Stammerer Louis the Stammerer (; 1 November 846 – 10 April 879) was the king of Aquitaine and later the king of West Francia. He was the eldest son of Emperor Charles the Bald and Ermentrud ...

and he certainly did not recognise Odo as king. The ''

Annales Vedastes {{italic title The ''Annales Vedastini'' or ''Annals of St-Vaast'' are a series of annals written in the early tenth century at the Abbey of St. Vaast in Arras. They are an important source for the ninth century. The years from 874 to 900 are cover ...

'' record that in 889

''Post nativitatem vero Domini cum paucis Francis Aquitaniam perrexit, ut eos sibi sociaret. Quo audito, Ramnulfus, dux maximae partis Aquitaniae, cum sibi faventibus venit ad eum, adducens secum Karolum puerum, filium Hludowici regis; et iuravit illi quae digna fuerunt, simul et de ipso puerulo. . . Aquitanos itaque rex ex parte receptos, festinavit propter Nortmannos redire in Franciam.''
After Christmas 88 dowent to Aquitaine with a few Franks, in order to be accepted
s king S, or s, is the nineteenth letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and other latin alphabets worldwide. Its name in English is ''ess'' (pronounced ), plural ''esses''. ...
Upon hearing this, Ranulf, duke of the greater part of Aquitaine, with his supporters came to him, bringing with him the child, Charles, the son of King Louis; and he swore to him who was worthy of it .e., Odo as did the boy... So the king returned from Aquitaine to France
n June N, or n, is the fourteenth letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages, and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''. History ...
because of the Norsemen.

Ranulf founded the

viscountcy of Thouars The first viscounts of Thouars appeared at the end of the 9th century, somewhat earlier than those of Châtellerault, Lusignan, etc. They represented the count of Poitou (also the duke of Aquitaine) in the territory he had enfeoffed to them. Th ...

at about this time, as part of a larger movement to create viscounts with powers over regional fortresses to man them against the

Vikings Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

References

Sources

* * Lewis, Archibald Ross.
The Development of Southern French and Catalan Society, 718–1050
'. University of Texas Press: Austin, 1965. *MacLean, Simon. ''Kingship and Politics in the Late Ninth Century: Charles the Fat and the end of the Carolingian Empire''. Cambridge University Press: 2003. * , - , - , - House of Poitiers Dukes of Aquitaine Counts of Poitiers 850 births 890 deaths Kings in Europe {{france-noble-stub

See also

References

Sources