Etichonids

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The Etichonids were an important noble family, probably of Frankish or Burgundian origin, who rose to dominate the region of Alsace in the Early Middle Ages from the seventh to the tenth centuries.

The earliest accounts record the family's beginnings in the pagus Attoariensis around Dijon in northern Burgundy. In the mid-seventh century a duke of the region named Amalgar and his wife Aquilina are noticed as major founders and patrons of monasteries. They founded a convent at Brégille and an abbey for men at Bèze, installing children in both abbacies. They were succeeded by their third child, Adalrich,^[1] who was the father of Adalrich, Duke of Alsace. This second Adalrich was the true founder of the family's greatness in Alsace, where he secured the ducal title. His cognomen, Eticho, became the name of the family.

Under the Etichonids, Alsace was generally divided into a Nordgau and a Sundgau. These counties, as well as the monasteries of the duchy, were brought under tighter control of the dukes with the rise of the Etichonids. There exists scholarly debate concerning whether or not the Etichonids were in conflict or alliance with the Carolingians, but it is possible that they were both: opponents of the extension of Charles Martel's authority in the 720s when he first made war on Alemannia, but allies when the Alemanni, under Duke Theudebald invaded Alsace (which had a large Alemannic element in its population) in the early 740s. The last Etichonid duke, Liutfrid, may have died fighting Theudebald on behalf of Pepin the Short.

Among the descendants of the Etichonids, in the female line were Hugh of Tours and his family, including his daughter Ermengard, who was wife to Lothair I and thus mother to three Carolingian kings. In the tenth century the Etichonids remained powerful in Alsace as counts, but their power was circumscribed significantly by the Ottonians and by the eleventh century, Pope Leo IX seems unaware that his ancestors, the lords (or counts) of Dabo and Eguisheim for the previous half century were in fact the direct descendants of the last Etichonids.

[edit] Sources

Hummer, Hans J. Politics and Power in Early Medieval Europe: Alsace and the Frankish Realm 600 – 1000. Cambridge University Press: 2005. See mainly pp 46–55.