The Early Dukes of Bavaria (420-690)

The early dukes of Bavaria, who emerged under the suzerainty of the Frankish kings in the 6th Century, belonged to the family of the Agilolfings who chose Ratisbon (Regensburg, Bavaria, at the confluence of the Danube and Regan River) early on as their capital (Leeper 71).  The earliest Bavarian duke in the historical record is Theodon I, who lived between 420-511 AD.  He was followed by his son, Theodon II, who died in 537.  The dukes of Lower Bavaria - Theodon III (died 565), Theobaldo I (died 567), and Theodebert (died 584) - preceeded Garibald I, who held the title Duke of Bavaria.  Duke Garibald I, who reigned between 560-590, seems to have had the power of a sovereign.  His daughter, Theodelinda, became Queen of the Lombards.  Two other genealogical origins have been associated with this duke of Bavaria: the Heruli Prince Fara (died 535) and Agilulf the Bavarian (born 470).  Agilulf, who married Cloderic's sister, Princess de Bourgogne, in 490 in France, was succeeded by his son Agivald Agilolfing (born 500), who, according to one genealogy, was the father of Garibald I (Tompsett "The Duchy of Bavaria").

In 592, Garibald's son, Tassilo I, who reigned between 590-610, successfully stemmed the Slavic invasion of the region at a battle that occured in the Pustertal.  Tassilo's son, Garibald II, after suffering a defeat at Lienz, once again drove back the Slavs to beyond the present-day Austrian-Italian border (Leeper 71-72).  In 630, Garibaldi II, who reigned between 610-640, was able to throw Frankish influence off for a time - but this independence was short-lived.  The Franks under Charles Martel again subdued the Bavarians (Wittmann "Bavaria").

It was probably during the reign of Garibaldi II - during the Frankish reign of King Dagobert - that the oldest existing sections of the Bavarian Lawbook, the Lex Baiowariorum, were composed.  Although written in Latin, the spirit of the document is purely Teutonic, with many Bavarian and Frankish words used to express non-Roman concepts.  The oldest sections of the code focus mainly on weregelds - i.e., monetary compensations for killing or bodily injury.  The meticulous precision with which these weregeld laws were calculated, and the apparent lack of moral disapproval for the violent acts themselves, reflect a pre-Christian sensibility common to most early Germanic peoples.  For example, six shillings was the proper compensation for cutting off a freedman's thumb, three shillings for his first or little finger, and two shillings for the middle fingers.  Compensations for slaves were proportionately lower.  Interestingly, the double weregeld allowed for women reflected the Bavarian view of a woman's defenselessness.  This double weregeld also applied to visiting pilgrims and travellers for the same reason (Lex Baiowariorum, tituli IV, V, and VI, summarized in Leeper 73-74).

The dukedom in the House of Agilolfing was primarily heriditary.  The duke was elected, by the people or the chief men of the nation, from among the near relatives of his predecessor - although the Frankish kings reserved the right to invest the dukes.  According to the Lex Baiowariorum, the duke, as absolute ruler, excercised supreme power over his people.  He was, however, guided in his leadership by custom, tradition, the wisdom of the chief men of the nation, and the popular feelings of the people.  The duke's life was protected by a more than fivefold weregeld, and under later laws, violence against the duke was punishable by death and confiscation of the killer's property.  The only offences that carried a penalty of death for a free Bavarian were conspiracy against the duke's life, and inviting enemies into the province.  After the highest level of protection granted to the Agilolfing dukes, the next highest was the double weregeld granted to the five noble families of Huosi, Drozza, Fagana, Hahilinga, and Anniona - probably the descendants of kings of seperate lesser tribes incorporated within the Bavarian nation, along with the Marcomanni.  Below these nobles was the general body of the Bavarian freemen, who possessed the rights to hold land, speak in the assemblies, wear their hair long and carry weapons, and fight alongside their countrymen in battle.  Below the freemen were the freedmen, and below them, the bondmen - most of whom were personally free, but still bound to their lord's land and service.  The only slaves within the Bavarian nation were war-captives and criminals condemned to slavery by their actions (Lex Baiowariorum, tituli III, summarized in Leeper 74-75)

The Later Dukes of Bavaria (690-788)

With the death of King Dagobert in 638, Frankish rule over the Bavarians came to an end.  From 640 to 690, there is a gap in the historical record of the Bavarians.  What occured during these fifty years can only be surmised.  Duke Theodo, who reigned between 690-717, appears to have been an independant sovereign.  Like many of his Agilolfing predecessors before him, he chose Ratisbon (Regensburg, Bavaria) as his capital.  It was probably through Theodo's invitation that Bishop Hroudperht of Worms - Saint  Rupert - first came to Bavaria around 696.  It was Saint Rupert who gave Theodo religious instruction and ultimately baptized him.  Seeking out a quiet spot to build his church, Rupert found his home at Seekirchen, on the shore of the little Wallersee, nine miles northeast of Salzburg.  After being granted all the lands surrounding Salzburg, Rupert proceeded to build a monastery and church in honor od Saint Peter, the patron of Worms.  Before he died, Theodo divided the Bavarian duchy between his four sons, Theodobert, the eldest, Theodobald, Grimoald, and Tassilo II.  Theodobald and Tassilo II died before their father, whose inheritance passed on to Grimoald in Freising, and Theodobert in Salzberg (Leeper 86-87).

After Theodo's death in 717, conflict and hostility between the two brothers eventually lead to Grimoald's defeat at the hands of Charles Martel in 728.  After Grimoald lost his throne, he was murdered - leaving his sons to perish in obscurity.  Theodobert's son, Hugbert, who reigned from 728-735, had played a significant role in Grimoald's downfall.  It was during Hugbert's short reign that  Boniface arrived in Bavaria.  Hugbert was succeeded by Odilo, who reigned from 735-748.  Odilo's rule was marked by constant hostilities between the Bavarians and the Carolingians.  His first priority, however, was ecclesiastical in nature.  He established several monasteries - including those at Mondsee in 739, and Niederaltaich in 741 (Leeper 90-93).

When Oldio died in the latter half of 748, young Duke Tassilo III, only seven at the time, came under the tutelage of Pipin, who was annointed King in November 751 at the Pope's behest by Boniface.  The following period of Frankish tutelage had a great influence on Bavaria, especially on Bavarian Law (Leeper 94).  It was during this time that many of the sections of the Lex Baiowariorum that deal with Church matters was composed.  The special favor granted to churchmen was clearly evident in the particularly heavy weregelds protecting them - a bishop by his weight in gold, a priest by 300 shillings, and a deacon by 200 shillings.  Church tithes and dues were safeguarded by law, and all freemen were allowed to leave their freehold property to the Church if they so desired.  Clerical celibacy was enforced, and severe penalties were handed out to those who worked or travelled on a Sunday - the offender being sentenced to slavery since he was "unwilling to be free on the holy day" (Lex Baiowariorum tituli I.i, VI.iv, I.xii).  The Frankish influence on the Bavarians could also be seen in the growing practice of the commending and granting of fiefs - gradually changing Bavaria from an alodial to a feudal state.  The introduction of Grafen, or Counts, also came about as a result of Frankish influence.  The Count would serve as the commander of his military district or county, while also serving as the political and judicial head of the Gau.  He collected dues, fines, and taxes for the duke from his vassals (Leeper 95).

Tassilo III, who reigned from 748-794, was perhaps the greatest of the later Bavarian dukes, and would be remembered as the last of the Agilolfing dukes.  Born in 741, the year his father founded the monastary at Niederaltaich, Tassilo III was as much a patron of learning and religion as he was a dynamic, autocratic ruler who forged a sense of Bavarian independence and patriotism, through his opposition to Charlemagne, that has lasted through to the present day.  During his younger years, he remained loyal to Pipin - leading a Bavarian contingent force, assisting the Frankish king in his Lombard campaignes in 756.  In that year, he swore an oath of fidelity to Pipin before that Frankish Diet at Compiegne.  He went on to fight with Pipin against Saxony in 758, and against Aquitaine in 760 and 762.  In an effort to assert his independence, Tassilo, while accompanying Pipin on another Aquitaine campaign in 763, abruptly withdrew his troops - committing harisliz, or desertion.  Because of Pipin's numerous preoccupations during this time, Tassilo's bold move was cleverly calculated.  Indeed, for eighteen years (763-781), Bavaria enjoyed a de facto independence (Leeper 95-96).