Uncelen, Uncelin, or Uncilin (from

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

''Uncelenus''; died c. 613) was the Duke of Alemannia from 587 to 607. He was appointed to replace Leutfred by the

Austrasia Austrasia was the northeastern kingdom within the core of the Francia, Frankish Empire during the Early Middle Ages, centring on the Meuse, Middle Rhine and the Moselle rivers. It included the original Frankish-ruled territories within what had ...

n king

Childebert II Childebert II ( – 596) was the Merovingian king of Austrasia (which included Provence at the time) from 575 until his death in March 596, and the king of Burgundy from 592 to his death, as the adopted son of his uncle Guntram. Childh ...

. On Childebert's death in 595, the

Thurgau Thurgau (; ; ; ), anglicized as Thurgovia, and formally as the Canton of Thurgau, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of five districts. Its capital is Frauenfeld. Thurgau is part of Eastern Switzerland. I ...

, Kembsgau, and

Alsace Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...

passed to the

Kingdom of Burgundy Kingdom of Burgundy was a name given to various successive Monarchy, kingdoms centered in the historical region of Burgundy during the Middle Ages. The heartland of historical Burgundy correlates with the border area between France and Switze ...

, then under the rule of

Theuderic II Theuderic II (also spelled Theuderich, Theoderic or Theodoric; in French, ''Thierry'') ( 587–613), king of Burgundy (595–613) and Austrasia (612–613), was the second son of Childebert II. At his father's death in 595, he received Guntram's ...

. In 605 Theuderic went to war with his brother

Theudebert II Theudebert II () (c.585–612), King of Austrasia (595–612 AD), was the son and heir of Childebert II. He received the kingdom of Austrasia plus the cities (''civitates'') of Poitiers, Tours, Le Puy-en-Velay, Bordeaux, and Châteaudun, as ...

, who ruled Austrasia. His army, which did not wish to go to war, he placed under the command of his majordomo

Protadius Protadius (died 606) was the mayor of the palace of Kingdom of Burgundy, Burgundy from 604, when he displaced his rival Berthoald, until his death two years later. He was originally the noble lover of Brunhilda of Austrasia, Brunhilda, the grandmo ...

with instructions to induce the soldiers to fight. The next year (606) at Quierzy-sur-Oise, Theuderic re-assembled the army, but the men once again refused to fight their countrymen and the king ordered Uncelen to coerce them. Uncelen, however, declared that the king had ordered the Protadius' death. The despised majordomo was killed by the warriors and the king was forced to sign a treaty. Queen Brunhilda, who had induced Theuderic to war, had Uncelen's foot cut off. According to the ''

Lex Alamannorum The Lex Alamannorum and Pactus Alamannorum were two early medieval law codes of the Alamanni. They were first edited in parts in 1530 by Johannes Sichard in Basel. Pactus Alamannorum The ''Pactus Alamannorum'' or ''Pactus legis Alamannorum'' is t ...

'', a duke was only eligible for office if he could mount a horse. Being unable to continue exercising his office, Uncelen was removed.

Sources

*Fuchs, Karlheinz; Kempa, Martin; Redies, Rainer. ''Die Alamannen (Ausstellungskatalog)''. Stuttgart: Verlag Theiß, 2001. . *Geuenich, Dieter. ''Geschichte der Alemannen''. Stuttgart:

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 ...

, 2004. . Alemannic monarchs 610s deaths 7th-century dukes in Europe 7th-century Frankish nobility Year of birth unknown {{Germany-noble-stub