Individual

Go to List of Family Names Go to List of People    < Previous Next >

Birth:          23 Nov  912 of Saxony, Germany
Death:          7 May  973 Membleben, Saxony, Germany

Notes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otto_I,_Holy_Roman_Emperor
Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), traditionally known as Otto I the Great 
(German: Otto I. der Groίe), was German king from 936 and emperor of the Holy 
Roman Empire from 962 until his death in 973.[b] He was the oldest son of Henry I the 
Fowler and Matilda.

Otto inherited the Duchy of Saxony and the kingship of the Germans upon his father's 
death in 936. He continued his father's work of unifying all German tribes into a single 
kingdom and greatly expanded the king's powers at the expense of the aristocracy. 
Through strategic marriages and personal appointments, Otto installed members of his 
family in the kingdom's most important duchies. This reduced the various dukes, who 
had previously been co-equals with the king, to royal subjects under his authority. 
Otto transformed the Roman Catholic Church in Germany to strengthen royal authority 
and subjected its clergy to his personal control.

After putting down a brief civil war among the rebellious duchies, Otto defeated the 
Magyars at the Battle of Lechfeld in 955, thus ending the Hungarian invasions of 
Western Europe.[3] The victory against the pagan Magyars earned Otto a reputation 
as a savior of Christendom and secured his hold over the kingdom. By 961, Otto had 
conquered the Kingdom of Italy and extended his realm's borders to the north, east, 
and south. The patronage of Otto and his immediate successors facilitated a so-called 
"Ottonian Renaissance" of arts and architecture. Following the example of 
Charlemagne's coronation as "Emperor of the Romans" in 800, Otto was crowned Holy 
Roman Emperor in 962 by Pope John XII in Rome.

Otto's later years were marked by conflicts with the papacy and struggles to stabilize 
his rule over Italy. Reigning from Rome, Otto sought to improve relations with the 
Byzantine Empire, which opposed his claim to emperorship and his realm's further 
expansion to the south. To resolve this conflict, the Byzantine princess Theophanu 
married his son Otto II in April 972. Otto finally returned to Germany in August 972 and 
died at Memleben in May 973. Otto II succeeded him as Holy Roman Emperor.
Early life and family[edit]
Otto was born on 23 November 912, the oldest son of the Duke of Saxony, Henry the 
Fowler and his second wife Matilda, the daughter of Dietrich of Ringelheim, a Saxon 
count in Westphalia.[4] Henry had previously married Hatheburg, also a daughter of a 
Saxon count, in 906, but this marriage was annulled, probably in 909 after she had 
given birth to Henry's first son and Otto's half-brother Thankmar.[5] Otto had four full 
siblings: Hedwig, Gerberga, Henry and Bruno.[4]

Background[edit]
On 23 December 918, Conrad I, King of East Francia and Duke of Franconia, died.[6] 
According to the Res gestae saxonicae by the Saxon chronicler Widukind of Corvey, 
Conrad persuaded his younger brother Eberhard of Franconia, the presumptive heir, to 
offer the crown of East Francia to Otto's father Henry.[7] Although Conrad and Henry 
had been at odds with one another since 912, Henry had not openly opposed the king 
since 915. Furthermore, Conrad's repeated battles with German dukes, most recently 
with Arnulf, Duke of Bavaria, and Burchard II, Duke of Swabia, had weakened the 
position and resources of the Conradines.[8] After several months of hesitation, 
Eberhard and the other Frankish and Saxon nobles elected Henry as king at the 
Imperial Diet of Fritzlar in May 919. For the first time, a Saxon instead of a Frank 
reigned over the kingdom.[9]

Burchard II of Swabia soon swore fealty to the new king,[10] but Arnulf of Bavaria did 
not recognize Henry's position. According to the Annales Iuvavenses, Arnulf was 
elected king by the Bavarians in opposition to Henry, but his "reign" was short-lived; 
Henry defeated him in two campaigns. In 921, Henry besieged Arnulf's residence at 
Ratisbon (Regensburg) and forced him into submission. Arnulf had to accept Henry's 
sovereignty; Bavaria retained some autonomy and the right to invest bishops in the 
Bavarian church.[11]

Heir apparent[edit]
Otto first gained experience as a military commander when the German kingdom fought 
against Slavic tribes on its eastern border. While campaigning against the Slavs in 
929, Otto's illegitimate son William, the future Archbishop of Mainz, was born to a 
captive Slavic noblewoman.[12] With Henry's dominion over the entire kingdom 
secured by 929, the king probably began to prepare his succession over the kingdom. 
No written evidence for his arrangements is extant, but during this time Otto is first 
called king (Latin: rex) in a document of the Abbey of Reichenau.[13]

While Henry consolidated power within Germany, he also prepared for an alliance with 
Anglo-Saxon England by finding a bride for Otto. Association with another royal house 
would give Henry additional legitimacy and strengthen the bonds between the two 
Saxon kingdoms. To seal the alliance, King Ζthelstan of England sent Henry two of 
his half-sisters, so he could choose the one which best pleased him.[14] Henry 
selected Eadgyth as Otto's bride and the two were married in 930.[6]

Several years later, shortly before Henry's death, an Imperial Diet at Erfurt formally 
ratified the king's succession arrangements. Some of his estates and treasures were to 
be distributed among Thankmar, Henry, and Bruno.[15] But departing from customary 
Carolingian inheritance, the king designated Otto as the sole heir apparent without a 
prior formal election by the various dukes.[16]
Final years and death[edit]
With his son's wedding completed and peace with the Byzantine Empire concluded, 
Otto led the imperial family back to Germany in August 972.[93] In the spring of 973, 
the Emperor visited Saxony and celebrated Palm Sunday in Magdeburg. At the same 
ceremony the previous year, Margrave Hermann Billung, Otto's trusted lieutenant and 
personal administrator over Saxony during his years in Italy, had been received like a 
king by Archbishop Adalbert of Magdeburg – a gesture of protest against the Emperor's 
prolonged absence from Germany.[109]

Celebrating Easter with a great assembly in Quedlinburg, Emperor Otto was the most 
powerful man in Europe.[110] According to Thietmar of Merseburg, Otto received "the 
dukes Miesco [of Poland] and Boleslav [of Bohemia], and legates from the Greeks 
[Byzantium], the Beneventans [Rome], Magyars, Bulgars, Danes and Slavs".[111] 
Ambassadors from England and Muslim Spain arrived later the same year.[111] To 
mark the Rogation Days, Otto travelled to his palace at Memleben, the place where 
his father had died 37 years earlier. While there, Otto became seriously ill with fever 
and, after receiving his last sacraments, died on 7 May 973 at the age of 60.[112]

The transition of power to his seventeen-year-old son Otto II was seamless. On 8 May 
973, the lords of the Empire confirmed Otto II as their new ruler. Otto II arranged for a 
magnificent thirty-day funeral, finally laying his father to rest beside his first wife 
Eadgyth in Magdeburg Cathedral.[113]

Family and children[edit]
Although never Emperor, Otto's father Henry I the Fowler is considered the founder of 
the Ottonian dynasty. In relation to the other members of his dynasty, Otto I was the 
son of Henry I, father of Otto II, grandfather of Otto III, and great-uncle to Henry II. 
The Ottonians would rule Germany (later the Holy Roman Empire) for over a century 
from 919 until 1024.

Otto had two wives and at least seven children, one of which was illegitimate.[114]

With an unidentified Slavic woman:
William (929 – 2 March 968) – Archbishop of Mainz from 17 December 954 until death
[115]
With Eadgyth of England, daughter of King Edward the Elder:[116]
Liudolf (930 – 6 September 957) – Duke of Swabia from 950 to 954, Otto's expected 
successor from 947 until death[117]
Liutgarde (932[118]–953) – married Conrad, Duke of Lorraine, in 947[119]
With Adelaide of Italy, daughter of King Rudolf II of Burgundy:[120]
Henry (952–954)[67]
Bruno (probably 954–957)[86]
Matilda (954–999) – Abbess of Quedlinburg from 966 until death[121]
Otto II (955 – 7 December 983) – Holy Roman Emperor from 973 until death[87]
Legacy[edit]
Ottonian Renaissance[edit]

A limited renaissance of the arts and architecture in the second half of the 10th 
century depended on the court patronage of Otto and his immediate successors. The 
"Ottonian Renaissance" was manifest in some revived cathedral schools, such as that 
of Bruno I, Archbishop of Cologne, and in the production of illuminated manuscripts, 
the major art form of the age, from a handful of elite scriptoria, such as that at 
Quedlinburg Abbey, founded by Otto in 936. Extant manuscripts of this era are the 
Diploma Ottonianum, the Marriage Charter of Empress Theophanu, and the Gero 
Codex, an evangeliary drawn up around 969 for Archbishop Gero.[122] The Imperial 
abbeys and the Imperial courts became centers of religious and spiritual life; 
prestigious convents like Gandersheim and Quedlinburg were led by women of the 
royal family.[123]

Modern World[edit]

Otto I was selected as the main motif for a high value commemorative coin, the €100 
Imperial Crown of the Holy Roman Empire commemorative coin, issued in 2008 by the 
Austrian Mint. The obverse shows the Imperial Crown of the Holy Roman Empire. The 
reverse shows Emperor Otto I with Old St. Peter's Basilica in Rome in the background, 
where his coronation took place.[124] Among others, three exhibitions in Magdeburg, 
opening in 2001, 2006 and 2012, have documented Otto's life and his influence on 
medieval European history.[125]

Parents
____ Henry (Heinrich) I "the Fowler" ( 876 - 2 Jul  936)
VON RINGLEHEIM Mathilda (Mechtilde) (ABT  894 - 14 May  968)

Siblings
____ Otto I "the Great" (23 Nov  912 - 7 May  973)
OF SAXONY Gerberge ( 913 - 5 May  984)
OF SAXONY Hedwig (ABT  915 - 14 Mar  965)

Marriage To ----- ----- (concubine) (ABT  910 - )
    m.  

Notes


Children by ----- ----- (concubine) ABT  910 - 
____ Richilde (ABT  950 - )

Marriage To ____ Eadgyth (Editha) (ABT  914 - 21 Jan  947)
    m.  

Notes

Parents
____ Edward I "the Elder" ( 875 - Jul  924)
____ Aelflaed (Elfleda) (Ethelfleda) (ABT  878 - ABT  919)

Children by ____ Eadgyth (Editha) ABT  914 - 21 Jan  947
____ Luidolf (ABT  930 - 6 Sep  957)
____ Luitgarde (ABT  931 - 18 Nov  953)

Marriage To OF BURGUNDY Adelaide (Adelheid) "Saint" (ABT  931 - 17 Dec  999)
    m.  

Notes

Parents
____ Rudolph II (ABT  880 - 11 Jul  937)
OF SWABIA Bertha (ABT  915 - 11 Aug  967)

Children by OF BURGUNDY Adelaide (Adelheid) "Saint" ABT  931 - 17 Dec  999
____ Otto II ( 955 - 7 Dec  983)

Produced by Fzip 1.7 6/20/2017