- Reginar, Duke of Lorraine
Reginar I Longneck [His nickname is variously given in other languages as "Langhals", "au Long Cou", "au Longue Col", "Collo-Longus", or "Longi-colli". Nevertheless, this nickname does not appear in primary sources and in fact refers to his eponymous grandson and great-grandson.] (c. 850 – 915) [He died at
Meerssen between25 August 915 and19 January 916 . Some sources push the latest possible death date back to15 November 915 .] was theDuke of Lorraine from 910 until his death. He stands at the head of the clan ofReginarids , an important Lotharingian noble family.History
He was a descendant of Gilbert, Count of the
Maas gau , and Ermengard, daughter ofLothair I .He succeeded his father in the Maasgau and was the
lay abbot ofEchternach between 897 and 915, ofMaastricht from before May 898, and ofStablo andMalmedy between 900 and 902.He was the
Count of Mons when in 870 he and Franco,Bishop of Liège , led an army against theVikings in Walacria. He, as Duke ofHesbaye and Hainault, andRadbold led aFrisian army with against the forces of Rollo a little later, but were forced back to his fortresses.In an 877
capitulary fromQuierzy , he appears alongside his father as one of the regents of the kingdom duringCharles the Bald 's absence on campaign in Italy. A Reginar appears at the Siege of Paris in 886, but this may be an uncle or nephew. The name "Reginar" or "Reginhar" (French: "Régnier" or "Rainier") was commonplace in his family.Reginar was originally a supporter of
Zwentibold in 895, but he broke with the king in 898. He and some other magnates who had been key to Zwentibold's election three years earlier then took the opportunity provided by the death of Odo of West Francia to inviteCharles the Simple to become king in Lotharingia. His lands were confiscated, but he refused to give them up and entrenched himself atDurfost , downstream from Maastricht. Representatives of Charles, Zwentibold, and theEmperor Arnulf met atSaint Goar and determined that the succession should go toLouis the Child . Zwentibold was killed by the rebels in battle in August 900.At first, Louis appeared to be opposed to Reginar when he appointed Gebhard as his deputy in Lotharingia, but the two were never at war. In 908, Reginar recuperated the Hainault after the death of Sigard. Then, after the death of Gebhard in 910, in battle with the
Magyars , Reginar appears as his successor. He led the magnates in opposingConrad I of Germany and electing Charles the Simple their king. He was given the title "marchio" by Charles in 915. He never appears as the Duke of Lorraine, but he was definitely the military commander of the region under Charles. He himself was succeeded by his son Gilbert; however, the Reginarids did not succeed in establishing their supremacy in Lotharingia like theLiudolfings orLiutpoldings did in the duchies of Saxony and Bavaria.Family
By his wife Hersinda (or Alberada), who predeceased him, Reginar left the following children:
*Gilbert, Duke of Lorraine
*Reginar II, Count of Hainaut
*Balderic, Bishop of Utrecht
*Frederick, Archbishop of Mainz
*a daughter, possibly named Symphoria, who married Berengar,Count of Namur ources
*Reuter, Timothy. "Germany in the Early Middle Ages 800–1056". New York: Longman, 1991.
*Reuter, Timothy (trans.) " [http://www.medievalsources.co.uk/fulda.htm The Annals of Fulda] ". (Manchester Medieval series, Ninth-Century Histories, Volume II.) Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1992.References
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.