Reginar, Duke of Lorraine

Reignar I Longneck
Duke of Lorraine
Count of Hainaut
Spouse(s) Hersinda

Issue

Titles and styles

The Duke of Lorraine
Noble family House of Reginar
Father Gilbert, Count of the Maasgau
Born 850
Died 915 (aged 65)

Reginar I Longneck[1] (c. 850 – 915)[2] was the Duke of Lorraine from 910 until his death. He stands at the head of the clan of Reginarids, an important Lotharingian noble family and was the grandson of the emperor Lothair I.

He was the son of Gilbert, Count of the Maasgau, and a daughter of Lothair I of whom the name is not known (Hiltrude, Bertha, Irmgard, and Gisela are good candidates).

He succeeded his father in the Maasgau and was the lay abbot of Echternach between 897 and 915, of Maastricht from before May 898, and of Stablo and Malmedy between 900 and 902.

He was the Count of Mons and Count of Liège when in 870 he and Franco, Bishop of Liège, led an army against the Vikings in Walacria. He, as Duke of Hesbaye and Hainault, and Radbold led a Frisian army against the forces of Rollo a little later, but were forced back to his fortresses.

In the 877 Capitulary of Quierzy, he appears alongside his father as one of the regents of the kingdom during Charles 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 invite Charles the Simple to become king in Lotharingia. His lands were confiscated, but he refused to give them up and entrenched himself at Durfost, downstream from Maastricht. Representatives of Charles, Zwentibold, and the Emperor Arnulf met at Sankt Goar and determined that the succession should go to Louis the Child. Zwentibold was killed by Reginar 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 opposing Conrad 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 the Liudolfings or Liutpoldings did in the duchies of Saxony and Bavaria.

Family

By his wife Hersinda (or Alberada), who predeceased him, Reginar left the following children:

Balderic of Utrecht, Bishop of Utrecht, listed as child of Reginar and Hersinda above, is attached to the biography which claims that he was a cousin of Gilbert, Duke of Lorraine, and the son of different parents.

Sources

References

  1. ↑ 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.
  2. ↑ He died at Meerssen between 25 August 915 and 19 January 916. Some sources push the latest possible death date back to 15 November 915.
Preceded by
title created		 Counts of Hainaut
?–898 		Succeeded by
Sigard
Preceded by
Hagano		 Count of Hainaut
908–915 		Succeeded by
Reginar II
Preceded by
Gebhard		 Duke of Lorraine
910–915 		Succeeded by
Gilbert
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