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Ottonian dynasty

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected fromOttonian)
Saxon dynasty of German monarchs (919–1024)
Not to be confused withOttoman dynasty.
House of Eastphalia
CountryDuchy of Saxony,Kingdom of Germany,Holy Roman Empire
Founded844
FounderLiudolf, Duke of Saxony
Current headDisputed:
Final rulerHenry II (Germany)
Humbert II (Italy)
Titles
Cadet branches

TheOttonian dynasty (German:Ottonen) was aSaxon dynasty ofGerman monarchs (919–1024), named after three of its kings andHoly Roman emperors, especiallyOtto the Great. It is also known as theSaxon dynasty after the family's origin in the Germanstem duchy ofSaxony. The family itself is also sometimes known as theLiudolfings (Liudolfinger), after its earliest known member CountLiudolf (d. 866) and one of its most common given names. The Ottonian rulers were successors ofConrad I, who was the only German king to rule inEast Francia after theCarolingian dynasty.[1]

The Ottonians are associated with the notable military success that transformed the political situation in contemporary Western Europe: "It was the success of the Ottonians in molding the raw materials bequeathed to them into a formidable military machine that made possible the establishment of Germany as the preeminent kingdom in Europe from the tenth through the mid-thirteenth century." They are also associated with a notable cultural movement (especially new literary traditions) known as theOttonian Renaissance.[2][3]

After the end of Ottonian rule in 1024, theSalian dynasty went on to occupy the Imperial throne for just over a century, until 1125.

Origins

[edit]
Depiction of the Ottonian family tree in a 13th-century manuscript of theChronica Sancti Pantaleonis. Liudolf, the founder of the dynasty, is at the top center.

In the 9th century, the Saxon countLiudolf held large estates on theLeine river west of theHarz mountain range and in the adjacentEichsfeld territory ofThuringia. His ancestors probably acted asministeriales in the Saxon stem duchy, which had been incorporated into theCarolingian Empire after theSaxon Wars ofCharlemagne. The family's substantial holdings in Thuringia suggest that they originated from that region, and their Saxon lands may have been granted as a reward for their service to the Carolingians.[4] Liudolf marriedOda, a member of the Frankish House ofBillung. About 852 the couple together with BishopAltfrid of Hildesheim founded Brunshausen Abbey, which, once relocated toGandersheim, rose to a family monastery and burial ground.

Liudolf already held the high social position of a Saxondux, documented by the marriage of his daughterLiutgard withLouis the Younger, son of the Carolingian kingLouis the German in 869. Liudolf's sonsBruno andOtto the Illustrious ruled over large parts of SaxonEastphalia, moreover, Otto acted as lay abbot of theImperial abbey of Hersfeld with large estates in Thuringia. He marriedHedwiga, a daughter of thePopponid (Elder Babenberg) dukeHenry of Franconia. Otto possibly accompanied KingArnulf on his 894 campaign toItaly; the marriage of his daughter Oda withZwentibold, Arnulf's illegitimate son, documents the efforts of the Carolingian ruler to win the mighty Saxon dynasty over as an ally. According to the Saxon chroniclerWidukind of Corvey, Otto upon the death of the last Carolingian kingLouis the Child in 911 was already a candidate for the East Frankish crown, which however passed to theFranconian dukeConrad I.

Upon Otto's death in 912, his sonHenry the Fowler succeeded him asDuke of Saxony. Henry had marriedMatilda of Ringelheim, a descendant of the legendary Saxon rulerWidukind and heiress to extended estates inWestphalia.

Reign

[edit]

The Ottonian kings Holy Roman emperors were:[1]

  • Henry the Fowler, duke of Saxony from 912, king of East Francia from 919 until 936
  • Otto the Great, duke of Saxony and king of East Francia from 936, king of Italy from 951, emperor from 962 until 973
  • Otto II, co-ruler from 961, emperor from 967, sole ruler from 973 until 983
  • Otto III, king of Germany from 983, emperor from 996 until 1002
  • Henry II, the Saint, duke of Bavaria from 995, king of Germany from 1002, king of Italy from 1004, emperor from 1002 until 1024

Henry I

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Although never emperor, Henry the Fowler was arguably the founder of the imperial dynasty. While East Francia under the rule of the last Carolingian kings was ravaged byHungarian invasions, he was chosen to beprimus inter pares among the German dukes. ElectedRex Francorum in May 919, Henry abandoned the claim to dominate the whole disintegrating Carolingian Empire and, unlike his predecessor Conrad I, succeeded in gaining the support of theFranconian,Bavarian,Swabian andLotharingian dukes. In 933 he led a German army to victory over the Hungarian forces at theBattle of Riade and campaigned both the land of thePolabian Slavs and theDuchy of Bohemia. Because he had assimilated so much power through his conquest, he was able to transfer power to his sonOtto I.[1]

Otto I

[edit]
Former collegiate church of St. Servatius inQuedlinburg, founded in 936 by King Otto I, at the request of his mother Queen Matilda, in honor of her late husband, Otto's father, King Henry the Fowler, and as his memorial

Otto I, duke of Saxony upon the death of his father in 936, was elected king within a few weeks. He continued the work of unifying all of the German tribes into a single kingdom, greatly expanding the powers of the king at the expense of the aristocracy.[1] Through strategic marriages and personal appointments, he installed members of his own family in the kingdom's most important duchies. This, however, did not prevent his relatives from entering into civil war: both Otto's brother DukeHenry I of Bavaria and his son DukeLiudolf of Swabia revolted against his rule. Otto was able to suppress their uprisings, in consequence, the various dukes, who had previously been co-equals with the king, were reduced to royal subjects under the king's authority. Otto's decisive victory over the Magyars at theBattle of Lechfeld in 955 ended the threat of Hungarian invasions and secured his hold over his kingdom.[1][5]

The defeat of thepagan Magyars earned King Otto the reputation as the savior ofChristendom and theepithet "the Great". He transformed theChurch in Germany into a kind ofproprietary church and major royal power base to which he donated charity and for the creation of which his family was responsible. By 961, Otto had conquered theKingdom of Italy, which was a troublesome inheritance that none wanted, and extended his kingdom's borders to the north, east, and south. In control of much of central and southern Europe, the patronage of Otto and his immediate successors caused alimited cultural renaissance of the arts and architecture. He confirmed the 754Donation of Pepin and, with recourse to the concept oftranslatio imperii in the succession ofCharlemagne, proceeded toRome to have himself crowned Holy Roman emperor byPope John XII in 962. He even reached a settlement with theByzantine emperorJohn I Tzimiskes by marrying his son and heirOtto II to John's nieceTheophanu. In 968 he established theArchbishopric of Magdeburg at his long-time residence.[1]

Otto II

[edit]

Co-ruler with his father since 961 and crowned emperor in 967, Otto II ascended the throne at the age of 18. By excluding the Bavarian line of Ottonians from the line of succession, he strengthened Imperial authority and secured his own son's succession to the Imperial throne. During his reign, Otto II attempted to annex the whole of Italy into the Empire, bringing him into conflict with the Byzantine emperor and with theSaracens of theFatimid Caliphate. His campaign against the Saracens ended in 982 with a disastrous defeat at theBattle of Stilo. Moreover, in 983 Otto II experienced aGreat Slav Rising against his rule.[1]

Otto II died in 983 at the age of 28 after a ten-year reign. Succeeded by his three-year-old sonOtto III as king, his sudden death plunged the Ottonian dynasty into crisis. During her regency for Otto III, Empress Theophanu abandoned her late husband's imperialistic policy and devoted herself entirely to furthering her own agenda in Italy.[1]

Otto III

[edit]

When Otto III came of age, he concentrated on securing the rule in the Italian domains, installing his confidantsBruno of Carinthia andGerbert of Aurillac as popes. In 1000 he made a pilgrimage to theCongress of Gniezno inPoland, establishing theArchdiocese of Gniezno and confirming the royal status of thePiast rulerBolesław I the Brave. Expelled from Rome in 1001, Otto III died at age 21 the next year, without an opportunity to reconquer the city.[1]

Henry II

[edit]
Detail from the monument to Emperor Henry II, built over his tomb inBamberg Cathedral more than 350 years after his death

The childless Otto III was succeeded by Henry II, a son of DukeHenry II of Bavaria and thereby a member of the Bavarian line of the Ottonians. Duke of Bavaria since 995, he was crowned king on 7 June 1002. Henry II spent the first years of his rule consolidating his political power on the borders of the German kingdom. He waged several campaigns against Bolesław I of Poland and then moved successfully to Italy where he was crowned emperor byPope Benedict VIII on 14 February 1014. He reinforced his rule by endowing and founding numerous dioceses, such as theBishopric of Bamberg in 1007, intertwining the secular and ecclesiastical authority over the Empire. Henry II wascanonized byPope Eugene III in 1146.[1]

As his marriage withCunigunde of Luxembourg remained childless, the Ottonian dynasty became extinct with the death of Henry II in 1024. The crown passed toConrad II of theSalian dynasty, great-grandson ofLiutgarde, a daughter of Otto I. When KingRudolph III of Burgundy died without heirs on 2 February 1032, Conrad II successfully claimed also this kingship on the basis of an inheritance Emperor Henry II had extorted from the former in 1006, having invadedBurgundy to enforce his claim after Rudolph attempted to renounce it in 1016.[1]

Ottonian rulership

[edit]

Historians have written extensively about how the Ottonian kings and emperors ruled their lands.[6] For some historians, following in the wake of Karl Leyser, Ottonian government was primarily conducted through oral and ritual means, in which the written word took a back seat.[7] Other historians, such as David Bachrach, have argued strongly for the continuing use of writing in administering the Ottonians' far-flung lands.[8] Attention has recently focused on how the rulers took advantage of their royal estates, known as the fisc.[9]

Genealogy

[edit]
Ottonians and their relatives, with the names of kings and emperors bolded[10]
Liudolf
count of Saxony		Oda
Hathumoda
abbess of Gandersheim		Bruno
count of Saxony		Otto the Illustrious
duke of Saxony		Liutgard
queen of Germany		Gerberga
abbess of Gandersheim		Christina
abbess of Gandersheim
Henry the Fowler
king of Germany		Oda
queen of Lotharingia
ThankmarOtto the Great
emperor		Gerberga
queen of France		HedwigHenry
duke of Bavaria		Bruno the Great
archbishop of Cologne
William
archbishop of Mainz		Liudolf
duke of Swabia		LiutgardOtto II
emperor		Matilda
abbess of Quedlinburg		Henry the Wrangler
duke of Bavaria		Gerberga
abbess of Gandersheim		Hedwig
Matilda
abbess of Essen		Otto
duke of Bavaria		Otto
duke of Carinthia		Adelaide
abbess of Quedlinburg		Sophie
abbess of Gandersheim		Otto III
emperor		MatildaHenry II
emperor		Bruno
bishop of Augsburg		Gisela
queen of Hungary
Henry of SpeyerGregory V
pope		Conrad
duke of Carinthia		William
bishop of Strasbourg

See also

[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related toOttonian Dynasty.

References

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  1. ^abcdefghijkMiddleton 2015, p. [page needed].
  2. ^Bachrach 2014, pp. 3, 5.
  3. ^Ranft 2003, p. 36.
  4. ^Jeep, John M. (2017).Routledge Revivals: Medieval Germany (2001) An Encyclopedia. Taylor and Francis. p. 463.ISBN 9781351665407.
  5. ^Bachrach 2011.
  6. ^Wangerin 2017.
  7. ^Leyser 1981.
  8. ^Bachrach 2010.
  9. ^West 2019.
  10. ^Riché, Pierre (1993). Peters, Edward (ed.).The Carolingians: A Family Who Forged Europe. Middle Ages Series. Translated by Allen, Michael Idomir. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 370.

Bibliography

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