Poppo, Duke of Thuringia

Who is Poppo, Duke of Thuringia?

Poppo II or Boppo II was the Duke of Thuringia from 880 until his deposition in 892. His title was dux Sorabici or dux Thuringorum, sometimes marchio. Before that his title was comes.

Poppo, a Babenberg, was the younger brother of Henry of Franconia. They also had a younger brother named Egino. All three may have been the sons or grandsons of Poppo of Grapfeld.

Poppo replaced Radulf II in the Sorbian March no later than 880. In that year, the Daleminzi, Bohemians, and Sorbs threatened to invade Thuringia and burn the German-allied Slav districts. Poppo's subsequent expedition against them is recorded in three different variations in the three different manuscript traditions of the Annales Fuldenses. He may or may not have led the Thuringii in this campaign, but he was certainly victorious.

The reasons behind Poppo's battles in 882, 883, and 884 are unknown. In the former year, he and the Thuringii had instigated a war with Saxons under Egino and had been defeated. In 883, he again fought his brother Egino, who was recorded as a co-duke of the Thuringii, and was defeated savagely and forced to retreat with only a few men.