Ranulf I of Aquitaine

Ranulf I (also Ramnulf, Rannulf, and Ranulph) (820–866) was a Count of Poitiers (from 835) and Duke of Aquitaine (from 852). He is the son of Gerard, Count of Auvergne.^[1] Few details are known about Ranulf I, except that he died in 866 in Aquitaine from wounds received in the Battle of Brissarthe against the Vikings (in which Robert the Strong also died).^[2]

Marriage and issue

Ranulf married Adaltrude of Maine,^[3] a daughter of Rorgon I,^[a] and they had the following children:

Ranulf II, who inherited Poitou and later acquired Aquitaine.^[4] He was also abbot of Saint-Hilary (888).^[5]

Ebalus (857–2 October 892). During the Norman siege of Paris, Ebles of Saint-Germain-des-Prés governed the city in Odo’s absence while the latter sought aid from Charles the Fat. While defending the city, he demonstrated notable skill with the bow, but was also struck by a lance.^[6] He was abbot of Saint-Germain-des-Prés (881), Saint-Denis (886), Saint-Wandrille (886–892), and Saint-Hilary of Poitiers (889).^[1]^[7] He died while besieging Loudun Castle during the war in which Aymar I of Angoulême conquered Poitou.^[8]

^ Rosamond McKitterick states that Ranulf married a daughter of Rorgo, though she does not give a name.^[1]

^ ^a ^b ^c McKitterick 1999, p. 363.
^ Nelson 1991, p. 135.
^ Le Jan 2003, pp. 157–158.
^ ^a ^b McKitterick 1999, p. 362.
^ Palgrave, Francis (1854). The History of Normandy and of England. Vol. 7. London: John Murray. p. 636.
^ Félibien, Michel (1706). Histoire de l’abbaye royale de Saint-Denys en France (in French). Vol. I. Paris: Jean-Baptiste Coignard. p. 99.
^ "Eudes, Charter 16a (30 December 889, Chartres)". CARO – Corpus des Actes Royaux (in Latin). Huma-Num. Retrieved 24 December 2024.
^ Richer, Pierre (1631). Histoire des comtes de Poitou (in French). Vol. I. Paris: Chez la Veuve de Jean Camusat. p. 48. supposent, sans plus de raison que Besly, que le château devant lequel périt l'abbé Ebles est Loudun, Loudunense castrum [They suppose, without any stronger grounds than Besly, that the castle before which Abbot Ebles perished was Loudun (Loudunense castrum).]

Le Jan, Régine (2003). Anatomie de la famille: Famille et pouvoir dans le monde franc (VIIe-Xe siècle). Éditions de la Sorbonne. Retrieved 2022-06-14.
McKitterick, Rosamond (1999). The Frankish Kingdoms under the Carolingians, 751-987. Longman.
Nelson, Janet L., ed. (1991). The Annals of St-Bertin: Ninth-century Histories. Vol. I. Manchester University Press.