In 827, Hugh, along with Matfrid of Orléans, was commissioned by Louis to recruit an army with his son Pepin I of Aquitaine and repel the invasion of the Marca Hispanica by the Moslem general Abu Marwan. Hugh and Matfrid delayed until the threat had passed. For this he was given the nickname Timidusorthe Timid. Barcelona being the greatest military accomplishment of Louis' career, the Spanish March meant much to him and Hugh and Matfrid found themselves greatly disfavoured at court. They were deposed in February of the next year.
He remained very influential as the father-in-law of Lothair. He joined Matfrid in inciting Lothair to rebellion and had all his lands confiscated in Gaul. He remained highly influential in Italy, where Lothair created him "duke of Locate" (dux de Locate). He became a benefactor of the cathedral of Monza. According to the Annales Bertiniani, he and Lambert of Nantes died during an epidemic in Italy in 837. News of their deaths—and that of Wala of Corbie in an earlier Italian epidemic in the fall of the previous year—greatly distressed Louis the Pious, but the opponents of Lothair interpreted it as divine judgement.[3][4]
Bouchard, Constance Brittain (1999). "Burgundy and Provence, 879-1032". In Reuter, Timothy (ed.). The New Cambridge Medieval History: Volume 3, C.900-c.1024. Vol. III. Cambridge University Press.
Duckett, Eleanor Shipley (1962). Carolingian Portraits: A Study in the Ninth Century. The University of Michigan Press.
Hummer, Hans J. (2005). Politics and Power in Early Medieval Europe: Alsace and the Frankish Realm, 600–1000. Cambridge University Press.
Nelson, Janet L. (1991). The Annals of St-Bertin. Manchester: Manchester University Press.
