Tassilo II (died c. 719) was a ruler in
southern Germany
Southern Germany () is a region of Germany which has no exact boundary, but is generally taken to include the areas in which Upper German dialects are spoken, historically the stem duchies of Bavaria and Swabia or, in a modern context, Bavaria ...
.
He was the son, probably third, of
Theodo of Bavaria
Theodo (about 625 – 11 December c. 716), also known as Theodo V and Theodo II, was the Duke of Bavaria from 670 or, more probably, 680 to his death. It is with Theodo that the well-sourced history of Bavaria begins. He strengthened his duchy ...
and Folchaid. Sometime before 715, Theodo divided his duchy and associated with its rule the eldest two of his four sons. The eldest,
Theodbert, was co-ruling as early as 702 and the second,
Theobald Theobald is a Germanic name, Germanic dithematic name, composed from the elements ''theodiscus, theod-'' "people" and ''bald'' "bold". The name arrived in England with the Norman Conquest, Normans.
The name occurs in many spelling variations, incl ...
, from 711. On Theodo's death (probably in 716), the division took full effect. It is not known if the division was territorial (as with the
Merovingian
The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from the middle of the 5th century until 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the Franks and northern Gauli ...
s) or purely a co-regency (as with the later
princes of Benevento and Capua). If the former, it seems to have followed the fourfold ecclesiastic division into dioceses which Theodo had effected. If that is the case, it is most probable that Tassilo ruled the
diocese of Passau
The Diocese of Passau is a Roman Catholic diocese in Germany that is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising.[Verbrüderungsbuch
A confraternity book (german: Verbrüderungsbuch, la, liber confraternitatum or ''confraternitatis''), also called a ''liber memorialis'' (memorial book) or ''liber vitae'' (book of life), is a medieval register of the names of people who had ente ...]
'') where he is listed as unmarried, though some surmise that a certain Waldrada, mentioned as a wife of
Theobald Theobald is a Germanic name, Germanic dithematic name, composed from the elements ''theodiscus, theod-'' "people" and ''bald'' "bold". The name arrived in England with the Norman Conquest, Normans.
The name occurs in many spelling variations, incl ...
, was in fact Tassilo's. On the other hand, he is identified as the husband of Imma (d. c. 750), by whom he had Grimoald and
Swanachild
Swanachild (also ''Swanahild'' or ''Serenahilt'') was the second wife of Charles Martel.
Reign
Swanachild belonged to the clan of the Agilolfing, though her parentage is not quite clear. Her parents could be Tassilo II, duke of Bavaria, and his ...
. Through Swanachild, Tassilo would be the father-in-law of
Charles Martel
Charles Martel ( – 22 October 741) was a Frankish political and military leader who, as Duke and Prince of the Franks and Mayor of the Palace, was the de facto ruler of Francia from 718 until his death. He was a son of the Frankish state ...
. Because Swanachild is with certainty the niece of duke
Odilo, one would be forced to assume that Odilo was brother or brother-in-law to Tassilo. Tassilo was dead by 719, as were all his brothers save
Grimoald.
Sources
''Lexikon des Mittelalters''
710s deaths
8th-century dukes of Bavaria
Agilolfings
Year of birth unknown
Baiuvarii
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