Hermanfried, king of the Thüringians

• Son of Basinus II, king of the Thüringians and Ménia, a Lombard

Project MedLands, THURINGIA

2. HERMANFRED (-Zülpich 534). Gregory of Tours names Baderic, Hermanfrid and Berthar as three brothers ruling over the Thuringians[14]. King of the Thuringians. The Liber Historiæ Francorum records that "Theudericus et Theudobertus filius eius et Chlotharius rex" invaded Thuringia and attacked "Ermenfredum regem Toringorum", a marginal addition recording that "Teodericus filius Clodovei ex concubina" threw "Ermenfridum regem" from a wall and killed his two sons[15]. Gregory of Tours records that Theoderic King of the Franks and his half-brother King Clotaire I invaded Thuringia in 531, deposed King Hermanfred and annexed the kingdom, specifying in a later passage that Hermanfred was later accidentally pushed from the top of the city walls of Zülpich while talking to Theoderic[16].

married 510 AMALABERGA, daughter of [HUGA rex Francorum] & his wife Amalafrida the Ostrogoth. Iordanes names "Amalabergam" as the daughter of "Amalfridam germanam suam [Theoderici]" and records her marriage to "Thuringorum regi…Herminefredo"[17]. Procopius records that “Hermenefrido Thoringorum regi” married "Theoderici…Amelobergam, Amalafridæ sororis suæ filiam"[18]. “Theodericus rex” wrote to “Herminafrido Regi Thuringorum” granting him “neptis” in marriage[19]. The Widukindi Res Gestæ Saxonicæ names "Huga rex Francorum…unicam filiam Amalbergam" who married "Irminfredo regi Thuringorum"[20]. Gregory of Tours calls Amalaberg, wife of Hermanfrid, a "wicked and cruel woman" who sowed the seeds of civil war between her husband and his brother Baderic[21]. She escaped to Ravenna with her children after the Franks attacked Thuringia and killed her husband[22].

King Hermanfred & his wife Amalabergam had four children:

Herminafrid regierte bis 516 gemeinschaftlich mit seinen Brüdern Balderich und Berthachar, tötete aber auf Anstiften seiner herrschsüchtigen Gemahlin Berthachar und verband sich gegen Balderich mit dem Franken-König Theuderich I. Als Balderich 516 besiegt und gefallen war und Herminafrid sich weigerte, seinem Versprechen gemäß dem Franken-König die Hälfte des Landes abzutreten, zog dieser im Verein mit seinem Bruder Chlothar I. und den Sachsen gegen ihn und schlug ihn 531 in der Nähe von Burgscheidungen an der Unstrut. Herminafrid zog sich in den südlichen Teil seines Reiches zurück und wurde 534 in Zülpich bei Verhandlungen ermordet. Aus vornehmen Geschlecht stammte Audoin bestimmt, wenngleich nichts Näheres darüber bekannt ist. Es war jedoch mit dem alten langobardischen Königshaus und dem der Thüringer über Audoins Mutter versippt. Diese mit dem Namen Menia, war in erster Ehe mit dem Thüringer-König Bisin verheiratet, so daß Wachos erste Gemahlin Radegunde, die aus dieser Ehe stammte, Audoins Halbschwester war. Audoins Vater, den Menia in zweiter Ehe heiratete, ist namentlich nicht bekannt. Hinzugefügt werden kann, daß Audoin selbst Rodelinde zur Frau hatte, die vielleicht bayerischer Herkunft war. Aus dieser Ehe stammte Audoins Sohn und Nachfolger Alboin.

History

Hermanfrid (also Hermanifrid or Hermanafrid; ) was the last independent king of the Thuringii. He was one of three sons of King Bessinus (or Bisinus) and the Lombard Menia (or Basina). His siblings were Baderic; Radegund (the elder), married to the Lombard king Wacho; and Bertachar.

Hermanfrid married Amalaberga, daughter of Amalafrida who was the daughter of Theodemir, between 507 and 511. Amalberga was also the niece of Theodoric the Great. It is unclear when Hermanfrid became king, but he is called king (rex thoringorum) in a letter by Theodoric dated to 507. He first shared the rule with his brothers Baderic and Bertachar, but later killed Bertachar in a battle in 529, leaving the young Radegund an orphan.

According to Gregory of Tours, Amalaberga now stirred up Hermanfrid against his remaining brother. Once she laid out only half the table for a meal, and when questioned about the reason, she told him "A king who owns only of half of his kingdom deserved to have half of his table bare." Thus roused, Hermanfrid made a pact with the king of Metz, Theuderic I, to march against Baderic. Baderic was overcome by the Franks and beheaded, but Hermanfrid refused to fulfill his obligations to Theuderic, which led to enmity between the two kings.

In 531 or 532, Theuderic, his son Theudebert I, and his brother King Clotaire I of Soissons attacked the Thuringii. The Franks won a battle near the river Unstrut and took the royal seat at Scithingi (modern Burgscheidungen). Hermanfrid managed to flee, but the Franks captured his niece Radegund (see Venantius Fortunatus, De excidio Thoringae) and his nephews.

Theuderic gave Hermanfrid safe conduct, ordered him to come to Zülpich, and gave him many gifts. While Hermanfrid talked with Theuderic, somebody pushed him from the town walls of Zülpich and he died. Gregory mentions that certain people had ventured to suggest that Theuderic might have had something to do with it.

Radegund was then forced to marry King Clotaire, while Hermanfrid's wife Amalaberga fled to the Ostrogoths with her children Amalafrid and Rodelinda. She was later captured by the Byzantine general Belisarius and sent to Constantinople, where Amalafrid later became an imperial general and Rodelinda was married to the Lombard king Auduin.

The Thuringian kingdom ended with Hermanfrid. The area east of the Saale river was taken over by Slavic tribes, north Thuringia by the Saxons.

The fall of the Thuringian dynasty became the subject of numerous epic treatments, the best known of which is in the Rerum gestarum saxonicarum libri tres by Widukind of Corvey, a Saxon foundation myth written in 967. Rudolph of Fulda tells a related story.

Hermanafrid, by Wikipedia

Hermanfrid (also Hermanifrid or Hermanafrid; Latin: Hermenfredus) was the last independent king of the Thuringii in present-day Germany. He was one of three sons of King Bessinus (or Bisinus) and the Lombard Menia (or Basina). His siblings were Baderic; Radegund (the elder), married to the Lombard king Wacho; and Bertachar.

Hermanfrid married Amalaberga, daughter of Amalafrida who was the daughter of Theodemir, between 507 and 511. Amalberga was also the niece of Theodoric the Great. It is unclear when Hermanfrid became king, but he is called king (rex thoringorum) in a letter by Theodoric dated to 507. He first shared the rule with his brothers Baderic and Bertachar, but later killed Bertachar in a battle in 529, leaving the young Radegund an orphan.

Kong Hermanfrid av Thuringen 507-531

Hermanfrid (Hermenfredus) var den siste uavhengige kongen av Thuringen. Han var sønn av kong Bessinus (eller Bisinus) og Lombard Menia (eller Basina). Hans søsken var Baderic; Radegund (eldste), gift med Lombard Kong Wacho; og Bertachar.

Hermanfrid giftet seg med Amalaberga, datter av Amalafrida datter av Theodemir, mellom 507 og 511. Amalberga var også niesen til Teoderik den store Han kalles konge (rex thoringorum) i brev av Theodoric datert til 507.

Han regjerte sammen med sine brødre Baderik og Bertakar. I 529 drepte han broren Bertakar i et slag, og etterlot den unge datteren Radegund foreldreløs.

Hermanfrid aktet deretter å gå imot sin gjenværende bror Baderik, og gikk inn i en allianse med Teoderik av Metz og lovte han en andel riket hvis han hjalp han. Teoderik marsjerte med en hær mot Baderik, beseiret ham og halshogde ham. Av en eller annen grunn ville ikke Hermanafrid oppfylle de forpliktelser de var blitt enige om. Det førte til fiendskap mellom kongen av Metz og kongen av Thüringen.

I 531 eller 532 angrep Teoderik og hans sønn Teodobert, sammen med sin bror Klotar Thüringen. Frankerne vant et slag i nærheten av elven Unstrut og erobret det kongelige setet ved Scithingi, dagens Burgscheidungen. Hermanfrid greide å flykte, men frankerne til fange hans unge niese Radegund, og hans nevøer. Teoderik lovte Hermanfrid trygg behandling, sendte mange gaver og beordret ham om komme til Zülpich. Hermanfrid tok ham på ordet, hadde samtaler med Teoderik, og under disse ble han dyttet over burmuren i Zülpich og døde. Gregorius nevner at mange mente at Teoderik var lettet over at det skjedde.

Hermanfrids niese Radegund ble deretter tvunget til å gifte seg med kongen Klotar, mens hans kone Amalaberga flyktet til østgoterne med hennes barn Amalafrid og Rodelinda. Hun ble senere tatt av den bysantinske generalen Belisarius og sendt til Konstantinopel, hvor Amalafrid ble en av Imperiets generaler. Rodelinda ble gift med Lombardia kongen Auduin.

Thüringer riket endte med Hermanfrid. Området øst for elven Saale ble overtatt av slaviske stammene, Nord Thüringen av sakserne

.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermanafrid

http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/THURINGIA.htm#Herminafreddied534

https://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teoderik_I