- Eberhard of Franconia
Eberhard III (c.885-939) was a member of the Conradine dynasty, who became duke of
Franconia following the death of his older brother, King Conrad I (or Konrad), in December 918. From 913 he was count of Hessengau and Persgau, 918 count of Oberlahngau, 914-918 margrave, and finally until his death duke of Franconia. From 926 to 928 he was simultaneously duke of Lorraine.On his deathbed, in December 918, King Conrad persuaded Eberhard to forego any ambition for the German crown and to urge the Electors of the Empire to choose
Henry the Fowler , duke of Saxony, as his successor at the Reichstag, which was held in May 919 inFritzlar . Conrad considered this the only way to end the long-standing feud between Saxons and Franks and to prevent the dissolution of the Empire into smaller states based on the German tribal duchies.Eberhard remained loyal to King Henry I, and in 926 Henry also conferred to him the troubled and restless duchy of Lorraine (926 to 928) which Eberhard quickly stabilized.
After Henry's death, Eberhard soon came into conflict with Henry's son and successor, Emperor
Otto I . In 937 Eberhard invested Helmern castle near Peckelsheim, located within the Franconian duchy near the Saxon border, but garrisoned by a Saxon who refused to swear fielty to any non-Saxon. The emperor called the feuding parties to a king's court atMagdeburg where Eberhard was ordered to pay a fine and his lieutenants were sentenced to carry dead dogs in public, a particularly dishonoring punishment. Enfuriated, Eberhard joined Otto's opponents, raising a rebellion in 938 with Otto's halfbrotherThankmar and the new duke ofBavaria , Eberhard (son ofArnulf of Bavaria ). Thankmar was soon killed in battle, and Eberhard of Bavaria was replaced by his uncle Berthold as duke of Bavaria (938-945). Following a brief reconciliation with Otto, Eberhard then allied himself withGiselbert of Lorraine , ArchbishopFrederick of Mainz , and Henry, Otto's younger brother, in a new uprising. On 23 October 939 the rebels were defeated atAndernach . Eberhard of Franconia was killed in the battle, and his duchy became a direct Imperial possession from 939 to 1024.s-aft|after=vacant
Title next held by
Conrad VI
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