Rudolph I of Burgundy

Rudolph I (c. 859 – 25 October 912) was King of Upper Burgundy from his election in 888 until his death.

A member of the elder Welf family, Rudolph was the son of Conrad, Count of Auxerre and Waldrada of Worms. From his father he inherited the lay abbacy of Saint-Maurice d'Agaune, making him the most powerful magnate in Upper Burgundy - present-day Western Switzerland and Franche-Comté.

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After the deposition and death of Charles the Fat in 888, the nobles and leading clergy of Upper Burgundy met at Saint-Maurice and elected Rudolph as king. Apparently on the basis of this election, Rudolph claimed the whole of Lotharingia, taking much of modern Lorraine and Alsace - but his claim was contested by Arnulf of Carinthia, the new king of East Francia, who rapidly forced Rudolph to abandon Lotharingia in return for recognition as king of Upper Burgundy. However, hostilities between Rudolph and Arnulf seem to have continued intermittently until 894.

Rudolph's relationships with his other neighbours were friendlier. His sister/niece Adelaide married Richard the Justiciar, duke of Burgundy (the present day Burgundy, part of west Francia). He had at least four children:

1. Rudolph II, King of Burgundy
2. Adelaide, married Louis the Blind of Provence (Lower Burgundy),
3. Willa married Boso of Tuscany,
4. Waldrada married Boniface I, of Spoleto.

In 912, Rudolph was succeeded as king of Burgundy by his son, Rudolph II. Rudolph I's widow, queen Guilla, remarried to Hugh of Arles, later King of Italy.

This Rudolph is frequently confused with his nephew Rudolph of France, who was the second duke of Burgundy and ninth king of France.