Adalbero of Eppenstein | |
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Duke of Carinthia | |
Duke | 1011/12–1035 |
Predecessor | Conrad I |
Successor | Conrad the Younger |
Spouse(s) | Beatrix of Swabia |
Noble family | House of Eppenstein |
Father | Markward of Eppenstein |
Mother | Hadmud of Ebersberg |
Born | c. 980 |
Died | 29 November 1039 Ebersberg, Bavaria |
Buried | Geisenfeld Abbey |
Religion | Roman Catholic |
Adalbero of Eppenstein (980 – 29 November 1039) was Duke of Carinthia and Margrave of Verona from 1011 or 1012 until 1035.
Adalbero was the son of Count Markward of Eppenstein, who around 970 had married Hadmud from the Bavarian noble house of Ebersberg and ruled as Margrave of Styria. About 1000 Adalbero succeeded his father as margrave. He was married to Beatrix, probably a daughter of Duke Herman II of Swabia from the Conradine dynasty and sister-in-law of the later Salian emperor Conrad II.
In 1011/12 he succeeded Duke Conrad I from the Salian dynasty when the German king Henry II enfeoffed Adalbero with the Carinthian duchy. Adalbero's Carinthian dominions then included Carniola, the Windic March and the rule over the vast March of Verona stretching from the Trentino up to the Isonzo River. Duke Conrad's son and heir, Conrad the Younger was a minor when his father died and therefore was not taken into account, becoming a bitter rival.
The tide began to turn when the Ottonian dynasty became extinct with the death of Emperor Henry II in 1024 and the Salian scion Conrad II was elected his successor. Initially Adalbero sought a good relationship, he even acted as the emperor's swordsman at a 1027 synod in Frankfurt and during the coronation of Conrad's son Henry III as King of the Romans in Aachen at Easter 1028. However, after political altercations and an unsuccessful rebellion against Conrad II, Duke Adalbero in 1035 was forced to renounce all his offices and fiefdoms.