| Theodo (Agilolfinger) von Bayern was a member of aristocracy in ancient Europe. Join: Medieval Project Discuss: medieval |
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Due to the paucity of early Bavarian documents "there is considerable uncertainty about the early dukes of Bavaria, not only their relationship to each other but even their names and order of succession. The mid-13th century Series Ducum Bavariae lists, in order, the dukes from 514 as"[1]
Nothing much besides this listing of Bavarian dukes is known about Theodo's reign. Only his death in 514 and the succession of his son Theodo is recorded in the Excerpta Altahensia.[3]
This puts Theodo's life and reign in the time before the establishment of Frankish rule over Bavaria. During this time Bavaria was under Ostrogoth vassalage. Thus the origin of the Agilolfinger family remains elusive. While their close family ties with the Merovingians suggest a Frankish origin, the Lex Baiuwariorum stipulating that all dukes had to be of the Agilolfinger family[4] puts either the time frame or the existence of Theodo in question.
I've retained some of the biography from a merged profile until someone has time to edit or delete this extra information
Alexander Leeper [5] states that the earliest Bavarian duke in the historical record is Theodon I, who lived between 420-511 AD. [5]
Theodon's birth has been estimated as 435 to accomodate his supposed father Adalger's displayed birth in 415. This date is totally speculative and useful only to place Theodon in an appropriate time period.
Theodon's dates are too early for his inclusion among the known list of Allemanic [6] or Agolfing rulers. [7]
Wikipedia has lists of recorded Agilolfing rulers in both Bavaria and Lombardy, however, these begin with Garibald in 555. [7]
Alexander Leeper states that 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. [5]
Theodon I was followed by his son, Theodon II, who died in 537. [5]
Caution: The Wikipedia article on the Wikipedia: Agilofings states that the Agilofing rule began around 550. Other accounts give similar later dates, suggesting that persons and events before then have a legendary quality.
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 [8][5]
The dukedom in the House of Agilolfing was primarily hereditary. 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)[5]
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