What is "alamannia"

Alamannia or Alemannia was the territory inhabited by the Germanic Alemanni after they broke through the Roman limes in 213. The Alemanni expanded from the Main basin during the 3rd century, raiding the Roman provinces and settling on the left bank of the Rhine from the 4th century.

Ruled by independent tribal kings during the 4th to 5th centuries, Alamannia lost its independence and became a duchy of the Frankish Empire in the 6th century, and with the beginning formation of the Holy Roman Empire under Conrad I in 911 became the Duchy of Swabia. The term Swabia was often used interchangeably with Alamannia in the 10th to 13th centuries.

The territory of Alamannia as it existed from the 7th to 9th centuries was centered on Lake Constance and included the High Rhine, the Black Forest and the Alsace on either side of the Upper Rhine, the upper Danube basin as far as the confluence with the Lech, with an unclear boundary towards Burgundy to the south-west in the Aare basin (the Aargau). Raetia Curiensis, although not part of Alemannia, was ruled by Alemannic counts, and became part of the Duchy of Swabia as it was established by Burchard I.

The territory corresponds to what was still the areal of Alemannic German in the modern period, i.e. French Alsace, German Baden and Swabia, German-speaking Switzerland and Austrian Vorarlberg.