Arnulf, Duke of Bavaria

Arnulf (died 14 July 937), called the Bad (German: der Schlimme) or the Evil (der Böse), was the duke of Bavaria from 907 until his death. He was a member of the Luitpolding dynasty.

Arnulf was the son of Margrave Luitpold of Bavaria and Cunigunda, daughter of Berthold I, the count palatine of Swabia. After the death of his father at the Battle of Brezalauspurc in 907, he followed him as ruler of the Bavarian estates around Regensburg.

Besieged by frequent raids by the Hungarians and desperate to raise funds to finance a defence, Arnulf strengthened his power through confiscation of church lands and property, which earned him the nickname "the Bad". He re-established the stem duchy of Bavaria and eventually negotiated a truce with the Hungarians who thereafter largely passed through Bavaria on their raids into other German territories.

Arnulf vigorously resisted King Conrad I, whom he had supported in the course of his election and who in 913 had married his mother Cunigunda. In Conrad's conflict with Erchanger and Burchard II of Swabia he backed his Swabian cousins and later challenged Conrad's successor, Henry the Fowler of Saxony. According to the Annales Iuvavenses, in 920, Baiuarii sponte se reddiderunt Arnolfo duci et regnare ei fecerunt in regno teutonicorum: the Bavarians, with some other East Franks, elected Arnulf king in opposition to Henry (actually in 919). Arnulf's "reign" was short-lived. Henry defeated him in two campaigns in 921, confirmed his sovereignty over Bavaria in return for Arnulf's renunciation of his royal claim.

Arnulf died in Regensburg in 937 and is buried at St. Emmeram's Abbey. Many believe Arnulf was married to Judith of Friuli, daughter of Count Eberhard of Friuli and Gisela of Verona. The dates, however, do not match up. Judith of Friuli died ca. 881. This would have made a marriage between a boy (or at least young) Arnulf and an elder Judith, who was supposed to have produced several children 23 years or so after her death. More likely, therefore, is that he was married to Judith of Sulichgau (born ca. 888), daughter of Eberhard of Sulichgau. Arnulf's daughter Judith married Henry I of Bavaria, brother of Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor.

References

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. Robert Appleton Company.