The Supponids were a

Frankish Frankish may refer to: * Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture ** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages, a group of Low Germanic languages also commonly referred to as "Frankish" varieties * Francia, a post-Roman ...

noble A noble is a member of the nobility. Noble may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Noble Glacier, King George Island * Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Noble Peak, Wiencke Island * Noble Rocks, Graham Land Australia * Noble Island, Gr ...

family of prominence in the

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 ...

regnum Italicum The Kingdom of Italy ( or ; ; ), also called Imperial Italy (; ), was one of the constituent kingdoms of the Holy Roman Empire, along with the kingdoms of Germany, Bohemia, and Burgundy. It originally comprised large parts of northern and centr ...

'' in the ninth century. They were descended from

Suppo I Suppo I (or Suppone) (died 5 March 824) was a Frankish nobleman who held lands in the Kingdom of Italy in the early ninth century. In 817, he was made Count of Brescia, Parma, Piacenza, Modena, and Bergamo. He was also made a ''missus dominicus'' ...

, who appeared for the first time in 817 as a strong ally of the

Emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

Louis the Pious Louis the Pious (; ; ; 16 April 778 – 20 June 840), also called the Fair and the Debonaire, was King of the Franks and Holy Roman Emperor, co-emperor with his father, Charlemagne, from 813. He was also King of Aquitaine from 781. As the only ...

. He and his descendants were on and off

dukes of Spoleto The Duke of Spoleto was the ruler of Spoleto and most of central Italy outside the Papal States during the Early and High Middle Ages (c. 500 – 1300). The first dukes were appointed by the Lombard king, but they were independent in practice. Th ...

, commonly in opposition to the

Guideschi The Widonids, also called Guidonids, or Lambertiner, after their leading names, were an Italian family of Frankish origin prominent in the ninth century. They were descended from Guy of Nantes, whose origins were Austrasian. They were an aggressi ...

clan, another Frankish family powerful in

central Italy Central Italy ( or ) is one of the five official statistical regions of Italy used by the National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT), a first-level NUTS region with code ITI, and a European Parliament constituency. It has 11,704,312 inhabita ...

History

The family consolidated its holdings in

northern Italy Northern Italy (, , ) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. The Italian National Institute of Statistics defines the region as encompassing the four Northwest Italy, northwestern Regions of Italy, regions of Piedmo ...

through the 820s, 830s, and 840s, often controlling the counties of

Brescia Brescia (, ; ; or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the region of Lombardy, in Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Lake Garda, Garda and Lake Iseo, Iseo. With a population of 199,949, it is the se ...

(hereditarily),

Parma Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmesan, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,986 inhabitants as of 2025, ...

Cremona Cremona ( , , ; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po (river), Po river in the middle of the Po Valley. It is the capital of the province of Cremona and the seat of the local city a ...

, and

Piacenza Piacenza (; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Piacenza, eponymous province. As of 2022, Piacenza is the ninth largest city in the region by population, with more ...

among others. Their power was extended and not highly centralised. They shared power with the bishops in the cities and were stoutly loyal to the emperors in order to ensure the peace and stability necessary to rule their vast and separated domains in the

Po valley The Po Valley, Po Plain, Plain of the Po, or Padan Plain (, , or ) is a major geographical feature of northern Italy. It extends approximately in an east-west direction, with an area of including its Venetian Plain, Venetic extension not actu ...

. This loyalty bought them great power, especially in their heartland of Emilia. A Supponid daughter,

Engelberga Engelberga (or Angilberga, died between 896 and 901) was the wife of Emperor Louis II and thus Carolingian empress to his death on 12 August 875.Bougard, François (1993)"ENGELBERGA (Enghelberga, Angelberga), imperatrice"‘’Treccani’’. As ...

, married the

Emperor Louis II Louis II (825 – 12 August 875), sometimes called the Younger, was the king of Italy and emperor of the Carolingian Empire from 844, co-ruling with his father Lothair I until 855, after which he ruled alone. Louis's usual title was ''impera ...

. With her influence, the Supponids became the most powerful noble family in Italy during the two decades of Louis's reign and one of the few to hold high offices. Following Louis's death, the Supponids supported their relatives, the

dukes of Friuli The dukes and margraves of Friuli were the rulers of the Duchy and March of Friuli in the Middle Ages. The dates given below, when contentious, are discussed in the articles of the respective dukes. Lombard dukes * 568–c.584 Gisulf I, nep ...

, and the German claimants for the Italian crown against the Guideschi dukes of Spoleto and the West Franks. Their influence declined rapidly after they fell out with

Berengar I Berengar I (; ; 845 – 7 April 924) was the king of Italy from 887 and emperor between 915 and his death in 924. He is usually known as Berengar of Friuli, since he ruled the March of Friuli from 874 until at least 890, but he had lost contro ...

in 913 and joined the faction of

Rudolph II of Burgundy Rudolph II (/885 – 12 or 13 July 937) was King of Upper Burgundy from 912 until 933, and then King of the united Kingdom of Burgundy (the polity later known as the Kingdom of Arles) from 933 until his death in 937. He was also King of Italy f ...

in 922. During the tenth century another Supponid daughter, Hildegard, married Adalbert-Atto of Canossa and they were the paternal great-grandparents of

Matilda of Tuscany Matilda of Tuscany (; or ; – 24 July 1115), or Matilda of Canossa ( ), also referred to as ("the Great Countess"), was a member of the House of Canossa (also known as the Attonids) in the second half of the eleventh century. Matilda was on ...

, who became one of the most important governing figures of the

Italian Middle Ages The history of Italy in the Middle Ages can be roughly defined as the time between the collapse of the Western Roman Empire and the Italian Renaissance. Late antiquity in Italy lingered on into the 7th century under the Ostrogothic Kingdom and ...

. The Supponid family is not documented often after the middle of the tenth century.

Prominent members

(d. 824) * Adelchis I (d. c. 834), second son of Suppo I *

Suppo II {{for, the second Suppo who was Duke of Spoleto, Suppo II of Spoleto Suppo II (835-885) was a member of the Supponid family. Engelberga, the wife of Louis II may have been his sister. He was Count of Parma, Asti, and Turin. Along with his cousin, ...

, son of Adelchis I ** Boso, Count of Parma **

Wifred I, Count of Piacenza Wilfried is a masculine German given name derived from Germanic roots meaning "will" and "peace" (''Wille'' and ''Frieden'' in German). The English spelling is Wilfrid. Wilfred and Wifred (also Wifredo) are closely related to Wilfried with the sa ...

Suppo III Suppo II (also Suppo III in the familial genealogy) (Italian: ''Suppone'') (died circa 879) was the Duke of Spoleto from 871 until his death. He was the ''archiminister'' (archminister) and ''consiliarius'' (counsellor) of the Emperor Louis II. I ...

(d. 877/879), cousin of Suppo II * Suppo IV *

Mauring Mauring (or Moringus) (died 824) was a Frankish nobleman, the son of Suppo I of the Supponids. He succeeded his father in Brescia as count (''Brixiae comes'') in 822 and, following the brief reign of Adelard, in Spoleto as duke in August 824. Accor ...

(d. 896/901), wife of

Louis II, Holy Roman Emperor Louis II (825 – 12 August 875), sometimes called the Younger, was the king of Italy and emperor of the Carolingian Empire from 844, co-ruling with his father Lothair I until 855, after which he ruled alone. Louis's usual title was ''impera ...

Sources

*Wickham, Chris. ''Early Medieval Italy: Central Power and Local Society 400-1000''. MacMillan Press: 1981. {{Authority control Supponid dynasty