no image
Privacy Level: Open (White)

Theodo (Agilolfinger) von Bayern (bef. 500 - 514)

Theodo von Bayern formerly Agilolfinger
Born before [location unknown]
Son of [father unknown] and [mother unknown]
[sibling(s) unknown]
Husband of — married [date unknown] [location unknown]
[children unknown]
Died after age 14 [location unknown]
Profile last modified | Created 14 Feb 2012
This page has been accessed 398 times.
European Aristocracy
Theodo (Agilolfinger) von Bayern was a member of aristocracy in ancient Europe.
Join: Medieval Project
Discuss: medieval

Contents

Biography

Theodo (Agilolfinger) von Bayern has German Roots.

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]

  • Theodo dux primus.
  • Theodo II.
  • Garibaldus rex.
  • Tassilo dux.
  • Theodo III, quem sanctus Ruodbertus baptizavit.
  • Theodebertus.
  • Theodo IV, qui cum filiis sanctum Corbiniacum locavit Frisinge.
  • Theodaldus dux.
  • Grimoaldus dux.
  • Hugpertus dux.
  • Udilo dux cum Theodone frater.
  • Thassilo dux II.[2]

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.

Research Notes

I've retained some of the biography from a merged profile until someone has time to edit or delete this extra information

Birth and Parents

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]

Reign from Ratisbon/Regensburg

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]

Issue

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.

Lex Baiowariorum

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]

Sources

  1. Cawley, Charles, 'Bavaria, Dukes - Chapter 1 Agilolfing families' in Medieval Lands: A prosopography of medieval European noble and royal families, published online, Foundation for Medieval Genealogy (fmg) (http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/index.htm : accessed 23 May 2023).
  2. Series Ducum Bavariae, MGH SS 24, p. 73
  3. Excerpta Altahensia, MGH SS 4, p. 36
  4. Lex Baiuwariorum, Lex Primus, III. De genelogiis et eorum conpositione, MGH LL 3, p. 289
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 Leeper, Alexander W. (1941). History of Medieval Austria. London: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0404153472, pages 71-75
  6. List of Rulers of Allemannia. See Wikipedia Alamannen for German language version. Accessed 23 August 2015
  7. 7.0 7.1 Wikipedia: Agilolfings Accessed 3/15/2019 jhd
  8. Lex Baiowariorum, tituli IV, V, and VI, summarized in Leeper 73-74).

See also:

  • Manfred Hiebl, Genealogie Mittelalter, Agilolfinger
  • Stolberg-Wernigerode, Otto zu: Neue deutsche Biographie, Bd.: 1, Aachen - Behaim, Berlin, 1953, Agilolfinger, p. 94
  • Erika Bosl: Agilolfinger, (Agilulfinger). In: Karl Bosl (Hrsg.): Bosls bayerische Biographie. Ergänzungsband. 1000 Persönlichkeiten aus 15 Jahrhunderten. Pustet, Regensburg 1988, Agilolfinger, p. 1




Is Theodo your ancestor? Please don't go away!
 star icon Login to collaborate or comment, or
 star icon contact private message private message private message a profile manager, or
 star icon ask our community of genealogists a question.
Sponsored Search by Ancestry.com

DNA
No known carriers of Theodo's ancestors' DNA have taken a DNA test.

Have you taken a DNA test? If so, login to add it. If not, see our friends at Ancestry DNA.



Comments: 7

Leave a message for others who see this profile.
There are no comments yet.
Login to post a comment.
Of the Bavarians-5 and Agilolfinger-1 appear to represent the same person because: The sources for this time period are extremely scarce, Agilolfinger-1 uses available sources even though they are from a considerably later time (nothing earlier exists) while Of_the_Bavarians-5 relies mostly on a book (Leeper, Alexander W. (1941). History of Medieval Austria) not available online and not easily accessible. Never-the-less, this book should have argument, or even better, sources for its conclusions to which we do not have access. Under these circumstances the older source material from Agilolfinger-1 should have precedence in my opinion.
posted by Helmut Jungschaffer
Of the Bavarians-4 and Agilolfinger-1 appear to represent the same person because: Given the close death date he should be merged rather with Agilolfinger-1 than with Agilolfinger-2, but given the paucity of records any merge would be fine.
posted by Helmut Jungschaffer
Agilolfinger-1 and Of the Bavarians-5 are not ready to be merged because: While these profiles do appear to represent the same or related person(s) there are significant inconsistencies in available information and lineage to warrant further research and refining of the data available in the profiles before merging.
posted on Of the Bavarians-5 (merged) by DeAndra (Stevens) Altimus
Of the Bavarians-5 and Agilolfinger-1 do not represent the same person because: They are the same and should be merged.
posted on Of the Bavarians-5 (merged) by Helmut Jungschaffer
Of the Bavarians-4 and Agilolfinger-2 appear to represent the same person because: Theodo I had only one son Theodo.
posted on Agilolfinger-2 (merged) by Helmut Jungschaffer
Of the Bavarians-5 and Agilolfinger-1 appear to represent the same person because: Theodo I appears in the Excerpta Altahensia as having died in 514 and having a son Theodo.
posted by Helmut Jungschaffer
Please add [email address removed] as comanager of this profile. Thank You Jacky
posted on Agilofing-7 (merged) by Jacqueline Clark

A  >  Agilolfinger  |  V  >  von Bayern  >  Theodo (Agilolfinger) von Bayern

Categories: Agilolfing Nobility | Ancient Royals and Aristocrats Project | German Roots