Duchy of Franconia

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Duchy of Franconia
Herzogtum Franken (German)
906–1168
Status
Roman Catholic (official)
Germanic paganism
GovernmentFeudal Duchy
History 
• Established
906
• Disestablished
1168
 Succeeded by
Electoral Palatinate
Prince-Bishopric of Würzburg
County of Nassau
County of Rieneck
Today part ofGermany
Western and Eastern Franconia, about 1000

The Duchy of Franconia (

Latin charter of 1053, was applied like the words Francia, France, and Franken, to a portion of the land occupied by the Franks.[1]

Geography

It stretched along the valley of the River

Gaue on the left bank of the Rhine around the cities of Mainz, Speyer and Worms comprising present-day Rhenish Hesse and the Palatinate
region.

Located in the centre of what was to become the German kingdom about 919, it bordered the stem

Lower Lorraine) in the west, the Duchy of Swabia in the southwest and the Duchy of Bavaria
in the southeast. It was located in Germany.

History

Main article: History of Franconia
The territory of the Duchy of Franconia was the part of the core Frankish realm of Austrasia which did not pass to Middle Francia/Lotharingia following the Treaty of Verdun

The duchy evolved during the decline of the Carolingian Empire, when it was a part of the core Frankish realm of Austrasia (i.e. "Eastern Francia"), and got its form when the northwestern parts of Austrasia became a new realm called Lotharingia.

Unlike the other stem duchies, Franconia did not evolve into a stable political entity, though the local

Otto I seized the Franconian stem duchy after an unsuccessful revolt of Duke Eberhard was shattered at the 939 Battle of Andernach
. King Otto did not appoint a new duke of Franconia, and the duchy was fragmented into several counties and bishoprics, which reported to the German kings directly.

The Salian counts in Rhenish Franconia were sometimes mentioned as Franconian dukes and they became Germany's royal and imperial dynasty in 1024. In 1093 their Franconian territories were granted as a fief to the

Conrad the Red, Rhenish Franconia became the heartland of the Salian dynasty, which provided four emperors in the 11th and 12th centuries: Conrad II, Henry III, Henry IV, and Henry V. It contained the cities of Mainz, Speyer
and Worms, the latter two being the administrative centres of countships within the hands of the Salian descendants of Conrad the Red. These counts were sometimes referred to as the Dukes of Franconia.

Emperor Conrad II was last to bear the ducal title. When he died in 1039, Rhenish Franconia was governed as a constellation of small states, including the cities of

Worms; and the Landgraviate of Hesse (then part of Thuringia
). Alongside these powerful entities were many smaller, petty states. In 1093, Emperor Henry IV gave the Salian territories in Rhenish Franconia as a
prince-bishops of Würzburg in Eastern Franconia, Rhenish Franconia was divided and extinguished. Its territories became part of the Imperial Upper Rhenish Circle
in 1500.

As of the 13th century, the following states, among others, had formed in the territory of the former Duchy:

Dukes

Coat of arms of Franconia
...
  • Frederick (died 1105), called himself "Duke of Franconia" towards his death[citation needed
    ]
  • Conrad II (1116–25), titled "duke of the East Franks" (dux Francorum orientalium)[3]

In 1168 the duchy of Franconia was bestowed by the

Franz, Duke of Bavaria
(born 1933) is still traditionally styled as His Royal Highness the Duke of Bavaria, Duke in Swabia and Franconia, Count Palatine of the Rhine.

References

  1. ^ a b Chisholm 1911, p. 15.
  2. ^ a b Jackman 1990, p. 96.
  3. ^ Lyon 2012, p. 37.

Sources

  •  One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Franconia". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 11 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 15.
  • Franken. In: Meyers Konversations-Lexikon. 4th edition. Volume 6, Verlag des Bibliographischen Instituts, Leipzig/Vienna 1885–1892, p. 491.
  • Jackman, Donald C. (1990). The Konradiner: A Study in Genealogical Methodology. Frankfurt: Vittorio Klostermann.
  • Lyon, Jonathan R. (2012). Princely Brothers and Sisters: The Sibling Bond in German Politics, 1100–1250. Cornell University Press.
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