RUDOLF III

died Sept. 6, 1032 byname Rudolf The Sluggard, or The Pious, French Rodolphe Le Faineant, or Le Pieux last of the independent kings of Burgundy (9931032). Son and successor of Conrad the Peaceful, Rudolf was unable to control the rising power of the nobility and the increasing encroachments of Otto-William, count of Besanon, and Emperor Henry II of Germany. In 1016 he was forced to name Henry as his successor, and after Henry's death (1024) the new German king, Conrad II, demanded the same agreement. When Rudolf died without legitimate heirs, Conrad claimed the kingdom and united it with Germany.