Rudolph of France

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Rudolph
Adelaide of Auxerre

Rudolph (

Viking raids
.

Name

In contemporary Latin documents, his name is usually Rodulfus, from the Germanic roots hruod, "fame, glory", and wulf, "wolf". Rodulf and Rudolf are variants of this name; the French form is Rodolphe. By contrast, the king is normally known as Raoul in modern French, a name which derives from Radulfus, from Germanic rad, "counsel", and wulf (whence Ralph). Although this name is of different origin, it was sometimes used interchangeably by contemporaries with Rodulfus. The king himself, however, always used Rodulfus, as on his personal seal.[1] Nonetheless, he is sometimes called Ralph (from Raoul) or Radulf in English.

Background

Rudolph was born around 890, the son of

archbishop of Sens, at Saint-Médard de Soissons on 13 July 923.[3] On assuming the crown he passed the Duchy of Burgundy to his younger brother, Hugh the Black
.

Reign

Denier of Rudolph

Rudolph's first act was to lead an army against the king of East Francia Henry the Fowler, who had made a pact with King Robert I at Jülich earlier in the year. After trying to annex Lotharingia Henry met Rudolph with a considerably-sized army and made peace again. However, in 925 Henry attacked Gilbert, Duke of Lorraine, and took over Lotharingia permanently, Rudolph being in no position to resist.

In 924

Arnulf I of Flanders joined Rudolph and together they took Eu, but were ambushed near Fauquembergues where the king was wounded, the count of Ponthieu
killed, and many Normans left dead on the field.

Also in that year, Rudolph conversed with

Magyars
, the newest barbarian migrants to Europe, then menacing Louis. In 930 Magyars invaded the region around Rheims, but left before the king could engage them. In 935 Magyars invaded Burgundy and Rudolph brought a large army against them, causing their retreat without a battle. West Francia was temporarily safe from both Vikings and Magyars at Rudolph's death.

In order to increase his own power, Herbert II of Vermandois used his royal prisoner as a bargaining tool to secure the

Rheims to press Charles' claim on Pope John X. In 928 Herbert II finally got possession of Laon, but the next year Charles died at Péronne
and Herbert II lost his leverage against Rudolph.

After defeating Vikings of the Limousin, Rudolph received the allegiance of the Aquitainians and homage from William Longsword, to whom he granted in 933 the islands off the coast of Normandy, now referred to as the Channel Islands.[5]

In 929 Rudolph attempted to reduce the power of Duke

Artald in 931. Then, joined by Hugh the Great, Rudolph burned Herbert's fortresses and cornered him in Château-Thierry, where he had first imprisoned Charles, from 933 to 934. The two made peace in 935 and Rudolph fell ill, dying a few months later on 14[6] or 15 January 936, leaving no sons.[6]

Notes

  1. ^ Dufour 1978, p. lxvii.
  2. ^ a b McKitterick 1999, p. table 4.
  3. ^ a b McKitterick 1999, p. 310.
  4. ^ Tanner 2004, p. 30.
  5. ^ Stapleton, Thomas (1840). Magni rotuli scaccarii Normanniæ sub regibus Angliæ. p. lii.
  6. ^ a b Chisholm 1911, p. 817.

Sources

  • Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Rudolph, king of the Franks" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 23 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
  • Dufour, Jean (1978). Recueil des actes de Robert Ier et de Raoul, rois de France: 922–936 (in French). Imprimerie nationale.
  • McKitterick, Rosamond (1999). The Frankish Kingdoms under the Carolingians. Longman.
  • Tanner, Heather (2004). Families, Friends and Allies: Boulogne and Politics in Northern France and. Brill.
  • Whitney, J. P., et al. Cambridge Medieval History: Volume III – Germany and the Western Empire. Cambridge University Press
    : London, 1930.
Preceded by Duke of Burgundy
921–923 		Succeeded by
Hugh
Preceded by King of West Francia
923–936 		Succeeded by
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