Who was Duke Eric?

Vijesti iz franačkih ljetopisa i one iz Einhardovog "Života Karla Velikog", koje govore o pogibiji furlanskog makrgrofa Erika pokraj Tarsatike, povijesna je literatura rabila tako da ih je ugrađivala u teze koje je unaprijed zamislila. Tako su "stanovnici Tarsatike", za koje franački izvori kažu da su Erikovi ubojice, ovisno o autoru i njegovom pogledu na taj period, "postajali" hrvatski, franački ili bizantski podanici. Ovaj rad argumentira neodrživost navedenih teza i priklanja se onome što franački izvori doista i govore: Erikova smrt povezana je sa smrću bavarskog prefekta Gerolda i oba su stradala od avarske ruke zbog odlaska u rat koji su Avari na taj način htjeli spriječiti.Historical research has treated the passages from Frankish chronicles and from Einhard\u27s "The Life of Charlemange" which speak of the death of the Friulian great duke Eric near Tarsatika in such a manner that it subordinates these facts to theses which it had arrived at well in advance. In such a manner and depending on the author and his assumptions about this period, "the inhabitants of Tarsatika", who according to Frankish sources were Eric\u27s murderers, "became" Croatian, Frankish or Byzantine subjects. The article shows the unfoundedness of these theses and its agreement with what the Frankish sources actually state: Eric\u27s death is to be connected with the death of the Bavaraian prefect Gerold and both of them were victims of Avarian hands because they had entered a war which the Avars wanted to prevent