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Billung
The House of Billung was a dynasty of Saxon noblemen in the 9th through 12th centuries. The first known member of the house was Count Wichmann, mentioned as a Billung in 811. Oda, the wife of Count Liudolf, oldest known member of the Liudolfing House, was also a Billung as was Matilda of Ringelheim. In the 10th century, the property of the family was centered in the Bardengau around Lüneburg and they controlled the march named after them. In the middle of the 10th century, when the Saxon dukes of the House of Liudolfing had also become German kings, King Otto the Great entrusted more and more of his ducal authority to Hermann Billung. For five generations, the House of Billung ruled the Duchy of Saxony. The house submerged into the Welf and Ascania dynasties when Duke Magnus died in 1106 without sons; the family's property was divided between his two daughters. His daughter Wulfhilde married Henry IX, Duke of Bavaria, a member of the House of Welf; his daughter ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hermann, Duke Of Saxony
Hermann Billung (900 or 912 – 27 March 973) was the margrave of the Billung March from 936 until his death. The first of the Saxon House of Billung, Hermann was a trusted lieutenant of Emperor Otto I. Though never Duke of Saxony himself, while Otto (who was the enthroned duke of Saxony) was in Italy from 961 until 972, Hermann served as Otto's personal representative in governing Saxony. Towards the end of his life, Hermann was the effective duke in all but name. Hermann died in 973, just two months before Otto's own death. Hermann's son Bernard I was named as the new duke of Saxony by Otto I's son Otto II. Life Hermann was probably the son of Billung. He was the younger brother of the Saxon count Wichmann the Elder. Hermann is generally counted as the first Billung duke (''Herzog'') of Saxony, but his exact position is unclear. The ducal Ottonian dynasty had risen to German royalty with the accession of Henry the Fowler in 919 and had to concentrate on countrywide affa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Duchy Of Saxony
The Duchy of Saxony ( nds, Hartogdom Sassen, german: Herzogtum Sachsen) was originally the area settled by the Saxons in the late Early Middle Ages, when they were subdued by Charlemagne during the Saxon Wars from 772 and incorporated into the Carolingian Empire (Francia) by 804. Upon the 843 Treaty of Verdun, Saxony was one of the five German stem duchies of East Francia; Duke Henry the Fowler was elected German king in 919. Upon the deposition of the Welf duke Henry the Lion in 1180, the ducal title fell to the House of Ascania, while numerous territories split from Saxony, such as the Principality of Anhalt in 1218 and the Welf Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg in 1235. In 1296 the remaining lands were divided between the Ascanian dukes of Saxe-Lauenburg and Saxe-Wittenberg, the latter obtaining the title of Electors of Saxony by the Golden Bull of 1356. Geography The Saxon stem duchy covered the greater part of present-day Northern Germany, including the modern Ger ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
House Of Billung
The House of Billung was a dynasty of Saxon noblemen in the 9th through 12th centuries. The first known member of the house was Count Wichmann, mentioned as a Billung in 811. Oda, the wife of Count Liudolf, oldest known member of the Liudolfing House, was also a Billung as was Matilda of Ringelheim. In the 10th century, the property of the family was centered in the Bardengau around Lüneburg and they controlled the march named after them. In the middle of the 10th century, when the Saxon dukes of the House of Liudolfing had also become German kings, King Otto the Great entrusted more and more of his ducal authority to Hermann Billung. For five generations, the House of Billung ruled the Duchy of Saxony. The house submerged into the Welf and Ascania dynasties when Duke Magnus died in 1106 without sons; the family's property was divided between his two daughters. His daughter Wulfhilde married Henry IX, Duke of Bavaria, a member of the House of Welf; his daughter ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bernard I, Duke Of Saxony
Bernard I (c. 950 – 9 February 1011) was the Duke of Saxony between 973 and 1011, the second of the Billung dynasty, a son of Duke Herman and Oda. He extended his father's power considerably. He fought the Danes in 974, 983, and 994 during their invasions. He supported the succession of Otto III over Henry the Wrangler. In 986, he was made marshal and in 991 and 995 he joined the young Otto on campaign against the Slavs. He increased his power ''vis-à-vis'' the crown, where his father had been the representative of the king to the tribe, Bernard was the representative of the tribe to the king. Bernard died in 1011 and was buried in the Church of Saint Michael in Lüneburg. Family In 990, Bernard married Hildegard (died 1011), daughter of Henry I the Bald, Count of Stade (died 976). They had the following issue: *Herman, died young * Bernard II, his successor *Thietmar, a count, died in a duel on 1 April 1048 in Pöhlde *Gedesdiu (or Gedesti) (died 30 June c. 1040), abb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Otto The Great
Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), traditionally known as Otto the Great (german: Otto der Große, it, Ottone il Grande), was East Frankish king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the oldest son of Henry the Fowler and Matilda of Ringelheim. 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 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 defeate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bernard II, Duke Of Saxony
Bernard II (c. 995 – 29 June 1059) was the Duke of Saxony between 1011 and 1059, the third of the Billung dynasty as a son of Bernard I and Hildegard. Besides his position in Saxony, he had the rights of a count in Frisia. Bernard expanded the powers of the duke in Saxony and is regarded as the greatest of the Billungers. He was originally a supporter of Holy Roman Emperor Henry II, and he accompanied him into Poland to negotiate the Peace of Bautzen of 1018. In 1019–1020, however, he revolted against Henry and gained the recognition of the tribal laws of Saxony, something his father had failed to do. He then returned to war with the Obodrites and Lutici (two Slavic tribes) and drew them into his sphere of influence through their leader Gottschalk. He supported Holy Roman Emperor Conrad II in 1024 and Conrad's son Henry III, though he began to fear the latter for his closeness to the Archbishop Adalbert of Bremen, whom he considered a spy and inveterate enemy of the du ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Magnus, Duke Of Saxony
Magnus ( – 23 August 1106) was the duke of Saxony from 1072 to 1106. Eldest son and successor of Ordulf and Wulfhild of Norway, he was the last member of the House of Billung. Rebellion In 1070, before he was duke, he joined Otto of Nordheim, duke of Bavaria, in rebellion against the Salian Emperor Henry IV. Otto was accused of being privy to a plot to murder the king, and it was decided he should submit to the ordeal of battle with his accuser. The duke asked for safe-conduct to and from the place of meeting. When this was refused he declined to appear, and was consequently deprived of Bavaria, while his Saxon estates were plundered. The rebellion was put down in 1071, and Magnus was captured. Magnus was imprisoned in the castle of Harzburg, the imposing imperial fortress which so inflamed the Saxon freemen. He was not released upon his accession to the Saxon duchy until seventy Swabians captured in Lüneburg were released. First battle of Langensalza In 1073, Harzburg ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ordulf, Duke Of Saxony
Ordulf (sometimes ''Otto'') ( – 28 March 1072) was the duke of Saxony from 1059, when he succeeded his father Bernard II, until his death. He was a member of the Billung family. Reign Ordulf's entire reign was occupied by wars with the Wends. He was allied with Denmark in this endeavor, and he strengthened the alliance by marrying Wulfhild of Norway, the daughter of King Olaf II of Norway, in 1042. Their son Magnus succeeded Ordulf as Duke of Saxony. Ordulf's second wife, Gertrude of Haldensleben, daughter of a Count Conrad, was imprisoned in Mainz Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-west, with Ma ... in 1076 and died 21 February 1116. Their son Bernard died after a fall from a horse in Lüneburg on 15 July of an unknown year. Ordulf is buried in the Church of St. Michael i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saxony
Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and its largest city is Leipzig. Saxony is the tenth largest of Germany's sixteen states, with an area of , and the sixth most populous, with more than 4 million inhabitants. The term Saxony has been in use for more than a millennium. It was used for the medieval Duchy of Saxony, the Electorate of Saxony of the Holy Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Saxony, and twice for a republic. The first Free State of Saxony was established in 1918 as a constituent state of the Weimar Republic. After World War II, it was under Soviet occupation before it became part of the communist East Germ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wulfhilde Of Saxony
Wulfhilde Billung of Saxony (1072 – 29 December 1126 in Weingarten Abbey) was the eldest daughter of Magnus, Duke of Saxony and his wife, Sophia of Hungary. She married Duke Henry IX of Bavaria. As a result of this marriage, part of the Billung possessions came into the hands of the House of Guelph. They had the following children: * Henry X * Conrad (died: 17 March 1126 in Bari, buried in Molfetta), a Cistercian The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint B ... monk and saint * Sophia * Judith * Matilda (d. 1138), married Margrave Diephold IV of Vohburg (d. 1130) and Count Gebhard III of Sulzbach (d. 1188) * Welf VI * Wulfhilde, married Rudolf I, Count of Bregenz (d. 1160) Wulfhilde died in 1126 and was buried at Weingarten Abbey. References Sources * 107 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eilika Of Saxony
Eilika of Saxony ( – 16 January 1142) was a daughter of Magnus, Duke of Saxony and a member of the Billung dynasty. Through marriage to Otto of Ballenstedt, she was countess of Ballenstedt. Life Eilika was the younger daughter of Magnus, Duke of Saxony and Sophia, daughter of King Béla I of Hungary. Since Eilika had no brothers, after her father's death in 1106, Eilika and her sister, Wulfhilde of Saxony, inherited his property. Eilika received property in Bernburg, Weißenfels, Werben and perhaps also in Burgwerden and Kreichau, as well as the Palatinate of Saxony. In 1130 Eilika was in conflict with the citizens of the city of Halle, probably because of her support for Archbishop Norbert of Magdeburg. Fighting broke out, during which Conrad of Eichstadt was killed, and from which Eilika only escaped with difficulty. Around 1131 Eilika wrested the advocacy of the monastery of Goseck (monastery) from Louis of Thuringia, and took it for herself. In 1133 Eilika expel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wichmann The Elder
Wichmann I the Elder (also spelled ''Wigmann'' or ''Wichman'') (died 23 April 944) was a member of the Saxon House of Billung. He was a brother of Amelung, Bishop of Verden, and Herman, Duke of Saxony. Biography In 938, Wichmann rebelled because his younger brother Herman had been given military command of the northern reaches of the Duchy of Saxony. He believed that he had a better claim to the office by virtue of his seniority and his ''Königsnähe'' (closeness to the king), because he was related by marriage to the queen dowager Matilda. He was joined by Eberhard of Franconia, and Thankmar, the half-brother of King Otto I. The revolt was soon suppressed. Thankmar died the same year he and Eberhard came to terms. Wichmann allied with some Slavs and made war against his former compatriots.Thompson, 599–600, records that Widukind of Corvey Widukind of Corvey (c. 925after 973) was a medieval Saxon chronicler. His three-volume '' Res gestae Saxonicae sive annalium li ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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