Willehari or Willihari (, ''Wilharius'', ''Willeharius'', or ''Willicharius'') was an

Alemanni The Alemanni or Alamanni were a confederation of Germanic peoples, Germanic tribes * * * on the Upper Rhine River during the first millennium. First mentioned by Cassius Dio in the context of the campaign of Roman emperor Caracalla of 213 CE ...

c duke (''dux'') in the Ortenau in the early eighth century. According to the ''Vita Sancti Desiderii'', Pepin of Heristal of the

Franks file:Frankish arms.JPG, Aristocratic Frankish burial items from the Merovingian dynasty The Franks ( or ; ; ) were originally a group of Germanic peoples who lived near the Rhine river, Rhine-river military border of Germania Inferior, which wa ...

, led two expeditions against Willehari in 709 and 712. It is unknown why Pepin intervened in Alemannia at this time, but it is likely that he was trying to affirm Frankish suzerainty by upholding the rights of succession of Lantfrid and

Theudebald Theudebald (in modern English, ''Theobald''; in French, ''Thibaut'' or ''Théodebald''; in German, ''Theudowald'') (534 – 555), son of Theudebert I and Deuteria, was the king of Metz, Rheims, or Austrasia—as it is variously called ...

, the sons of the late duke Gotfrid, whom Willehari may have been elected to replace. It is possible that Alemannia was not united at this time and that several different regions were ruled separately by different families.

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 ...

, for one, was definitely ruled by another family, the

Etichonids The Etichonids were an important noble family, probably of Franks, Frankish-Burgundians, Burgundian origin, who ruled the Duchy of Alsace in the Early Middle Ages (7th–10th centuries). The dynasty is named for Adalrich, Duke of Alsace, Eticho ( ...

, and elsewhere it is likely that the Ahalolfings were in power.

Sources

*Geuenich, Dieter. ''Geschichte der Alemannen''.

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 ...

: Stuttgart, 2004. {{ISBN, 3-17-018227-7 Alemannic monarchs 8th-century dukes in Europe 8th-century Germanic people