The Unruochings ( ; ; ) 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 family who established themselves in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. The family is named for the first member to come to prominence,

Unruoch II of Friuli Unruoch II (also known as Unroch II) (died 853) was a Frankish nobleman and friend of Charlemagne. In particular, he was witness to the emperor's will in 811. He was the Frankish Duke (Margrave) of Friuli before 846. He may have been the son of ...

(

floruit ''Floruit'' ( ; usually abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for 'flourished') denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indic ...

early 9th century). The family members held various titles in northern Italy, including Margrave and

Duke of Friuli The dukes and margraves of Friuli were the rulers of the Duchy of Friuli, 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.5 ...

, one of the lordships established on the eastern

Marches In medieval Europe, a march or mark was, in broad terms, any kind of borderland, as opposed to a state's "heartland". More specifically, a march was a border between realms or a neutral buffer zone under joint control of two states in which diffe ...

of the

Frankish Empire The Carolingian Empire (800–887) was a Frankish-dominated empire in Western and Central Europe during the Early Middle Ages. It was ruled by the Carolingian dynasty, which had ruled as kings of the Franks since 751 and as kings of the Lomba ...

. The

March of Friuli The March of Friuli was a Carolingian frontier march, centered in the historical region of Friuli (corresponding mainly to the modern province of Friuli-Venezia Giulia in north-eastern Italy). Since the Frankish conquest and pacification of the ...

was considerably larger than modern

Friuli Friuli (; ; or ; ; ) is a historical region of northeast Italy. The region is marked by its separate regional and ethnic identity predominantly tied to the Friulians, who speak the Friulian language. It comprises the major part of the autono ...

, covering much of the modern

Veneto Veneto, officially the Region of Veneto, is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the Northeast Italy, north-east of the country. It is the fourth most populous region in Italy, with a population of 4,851,851 as of 2025. Venice is t ...

and as far west as the

Province of Brescia The province of Brescia (; Brescian: ) is a Provinces of Italy, province in the Lombardy region of Italy. It has a population of some 1,265,964 (as of January 2019) and its capital is the city of Brescia.With an area of 4,785 km2, it is the ...

Lombardy The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is ...

. The family's main landholdings, however, were in modern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, north of the

River Seine The Seine ( , ) is a river in northern France. Its drainage basin is in the Paris Basin (a geological relative lowland) covering most of northern France. It rises at Source-Seine, northwest of Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres p ...

, and southern

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. The

family monastery A house monastery, family monastery or dynastic monastery () is a Christian monastery that has a particular relationship with a noble family. Often, but not always, what subsequently became the house monastery was founded by the noble family in q ...

, the centre of their power, was at Cysoing, near

Tournai Tournai ( , ; ; ; , sometimes Anglicisation (linguistics), anglicised in older sources as "Tournay") is a city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia located in the Hainaut Province, Province of Hainaut, Belgium. It lies by ...

. King

Berengar I of Italy Berengar I (; ; 845 – 7 April 924) was the king of Italy from 887 and Holy Roman Emperor, 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, bu ...

belonged to this family. Berengar left no male heirs, but the descendants of his daughter Gisela and

Adalbert I of Ivrea Adalbert I (died after 28 February 929) was the margrave of Ivrea, the second of the Anscarid dynasty, from the late 890s until his death. In the intermittent civil war which affected Italy from 888 into the 930s, Adalbert initially strove to re ...

including their son

Berengar II of Italy Berengar II ( 900 – 4 August 966) was the king of Italy from 950 until his deposition in 961. He was a scion of the Anscarid and Unruoching dynasties, and was named after his maternal grandfather, Berengar I. He succeeded his father as ma ...

, Berengar II's son

Adalbert Adalbert is a German given name which means "noble bright" or "noble shining", derived from the words ''adal'' (meaning noble) and ''berht'' (shining or bright). Alternative spellings include Adelbart, Adelbert and Adalberto. Derivative names incl ...

, and Adalbert's son Otto-William, Duke of Burgundy, are counted among the Unruochings. Noted members of the family in the direct line included: *

(''

'' early 9th century) *

Berengar the Wise Berengar, called the Wise (, ), was the duke or count of Toulouse (814–835) and duke (or margrave) of Septimania (832–835). He held the County of Barcelona concomitantly with Septimania. Berengar was a member of the family of the Unrochids. ...

(died 835) *

Eberhard of Friuli Eberhard (c. 815 – 16 December 867) was the Frankish Duke of Friuli from 846. His name is alternatively spelled Everard, Evrard, Erhard, or Eberard; in Latinized fashion, ''Everardus'', ''Eberardus'', or ''Eberhardus''. He wrote his own name "E ...

(died 866) *

Unruoch III of Friuli Unruoch III, Unroch III or (H)unroch III (c. 840 – 874, after 1 July) was the margrave of Friuli from 863 to 874. He was the oldest son of Eberhard of Friuli and Gisela, daughter of Louis the Pious, son Carolingian dynasty, of Charlemagne. He ma ...

(died c. 874) *

(died 924)

References

* Riché, Pierre, ''Les Carolingiens. Une famille qui fit l'Europe.'' Paris: Hachette/Pluriel, 1997. {{ISBN, 2-01-278851-3