CONRAD I, king of the EAST FRANKS. — Lived in the 9th–10th centuries. With the death of Louis the Child (911), the eastern line of the Carolingians came to an end. The German magnates refused to offer the crown to Charles III, king of the West Franks, to whom Lorraine had already passed, in order to preserve their autonomy, which they had gained amid the collapse of the Carolingian Empire. The crown became elective; at the assembly of Forchheim, Bavarians, Swabians, Franconians, and Saxons elected C., duke of Franconia, who was closely related to the extinct dynasty. He reigned from 911 to 918, but his friendly relations with the higher clergy alienated the lay magnates, who made his reign turbulent. The execution of the palatine counts Erchanger and Berthold precipitated matters: on his deathbed (23 Dec. 918), C. designated as his successor Henry I, duke of Saxony, his opponent.
CORRADO I, RE DEI FRANCHI ORIENTALI
BIBL.: W. Giesebrecht, Gesch. der deutsche Kaiserzeit, I, Leipzig 1873; E. Dömmler, Gesch. des ostfrankischen Reiches, 1877–88; E. Mühlbacher, Deutsche Gesch. unter den Karolingern, Stuttgart 1896.