The House of Billung was a

dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a monarchy, monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A dynasty may also be referred to as a "house", "family" or "clan", among others. H ...

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 Lüneburg, officially the Hanseatic City of Lüneburg and also known in English as Lunenburg, is a town in the German Bundesland (Germany), state of Lower Saxony. It is located about southeast of another Hanseatic League, Hanseatic city, Hambur ...

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 Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), known as Otto the Great ( ) or Otto of Saxony ( ), was East Frankish ( German) king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the eldest son of Henry the Fowler and Matilda ...

entrusted more and more of his ducal authority to Hermann Billung. For five generations, the House of Billung ruled the

Duchy of Saxony The Duchy of Saxony () 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 CE and incorporated into the Carolingian Empire (Francia) by 804. Upon the 84 ...

. 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 Eilika married Otto, Count of Ballenstedt, a member of the

House of Ascania The House of Ascania () was a dynasty of German rulers. It is also known as the House of Anhalt, which refers to its longest-held possession, Principality of Anhalt, Anhalt. The Ascanians are named after Ascania (or Ascaria) Castle, known as ' ...

. As a consequence, for the following decades control of Saxony was contested between the Welfs and Ascanians. The Billung dukes of Saxony were: * Hermann, died 973 * Bernard I, died 1011 * Bernard II, died 1059 * Ordulf, died 1072 * Magnus, died 1106

References

{{Authority control 9th-century establishments in Europe 12th-century disestablishments in Europe Westphalian nobility