Hatto I

Hatto I (born c. 850, Swabia—died May 15, 913) was the archbishop of Mainz and counsellor to the German king Arnulf of Bavaria, the last East Frankish Carolingian emperor; as regent for Arnulf’s son Louis the Child (900–911), he governed the German kingdom for the last member of the East Frankish Carolingian dynasty.

Hatto was elected abbot of Reichenau (888) and Ellwangen (889) and archbishop of Mainz (891). A trusted adviser of King Arnulf, he presided at the Synod of Frankfurt (892) and the imperial Synod of Tribur (895) and accompanied Arnulf on the Frankish invasions of Italy (894 and 895–96).

Serving as tutor and, after Arnulf’s death (899), as co-guardian (with Adelbero, bishop of Augsburg) for Louis, Hatto assumed the responsibilities of regent. Louis and Hatto aligned themselves with the Franconian family of Conradines in their feud with the Babenberg house. After the death of Louis (911), Hatto was influential in securing the election of Conrad, duke of Franconia, as the East Frankish king.

Hostile Saxon chroniclers variously reported either that Hatto died by being struck by lightning or that the devil threw him into the Mt. Etna volcano.