Zwentibold of Lotharingia (870-13 August 900) was King of Lotharingia from 895 to 900, succeeding Arnulf of Carinthia and preceding Louis the Child.
Biography[]
Zwentibold was born in 870, the son of Arnulf of Carinthia and Vinburga. He was one of Arnulf's illegitimate sons, and he sought to become king of West Francia after the death of Charles the Fat; Charles the Simple and Odo of France defeated his attempts. However, he was given Lotharingia in 895, and his father sent him to campaign in Italy against Guy IV of Spoleto, who had declared himself emperor. Zwentibold marched a Lotharingian army down the Brenner Pass and met up with Berengar of Friuli's allied forces, and they launched an unsuccessful siege of Pavia. Guy IV paid a personal tribute to Arnulf of Carinthia to convince Zwentibold and his army to retreat, and the campaign was regarded as a failure; Arnulf himself would have to lead an army to Italy to defeat his rival. Zwentibold's love for commoners led to unruly nobles rising against him, and his father's death in 899 led to an infant, Louis the Child, becoming the new king of East Francia. Zwentibold sought to make Lotharingia a completely independent kingdom while his brother was still young, but the nobility asked Louis to intervene. Reginar of Lower Lorraine met Zwentibold in battle at Susteren in the Netherlands on 13 August 900, and Zwentibold was slain. Louis the Child took over Lotharingia after his death, and he proceeded to divide the kingdom into several duchies, including Upper Lorraine and Lower Lorraine.