Gero I ( 900 – 20 May 965), sometimes called the Great (),Thompson, 486. Also se

was a nobleman from

East Francia East Francia (Latin: ) or the Kingdom of the East Franks () was a successor state of Charlemagne's empire created in 843 and ruled by the Carolingian dynasty until 911. It was established through the Treaty of Verdun (843) which divided the for ...

who ruled an initially modest

march March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March. The March equinox on the 20 or 2 ...

centred on

Merseburg Merseburg () is a town in central Germany in southern Saxony-Anhalt, situated on the river Saale, and approximately 14 km south of Halle (Saale) and 30 km west of Leipzig. It is the capital of the Saalekreis district. It had a diocese ...

in the south of the present

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

state of

Saxony-Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt ( ; ) is a States of Germany, state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.17 million inhabitants, making it the List of German states ...

, which he expanded into a vast territory named after him: the ''

marca Geronis The ''Marca Geronis'' or March of Gero was a vast marches, super-march in the middle of the tenth century. It was probably created for Thietmar, Margrave of Merseburg, Thietmar in the 920s and passed consecutively to his two sons, Siegfried, Margra ...

''.Thompson, 639–640. During the mid-10th century, he was the leader of the

Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

Ostsiedlung (, ) is the term for the Early Middle Ages, early medieval and High Middle Ages, high medieval migration of Germanic peoples and Germanisation of the areas populated by Slavs, Slavic, Balts, Baltic and Uralic languages, Uralic peoples; the ...

''.

Succession and early conflicts

Gero was the son of Count Thietmar, tutor of

Henry the Fowler Henry the Fowler ( or '; ; – 2 July 936) was the duke of Saxony from 912 and the king of East Francia from 919 until his death in 936. As the first non- Frankish king of East Francia, he established the Ottonian dynasty of kings and emper ...

. He was appointed by King Otto of Saxony to succeed his brother,

Siegfried Siegfried is a German-language male given name, composed from the Germanic elements ''sig'' "victory" and ''frithu'' "protection, peace". The German name has the Old Norse cognate ''Sigfriðr, Sigfrøðr'', which gives rise to Swedish ''Sigfrid' ...

, as count and

margrave Margrave was originally the Middle Ages, medieval title for the military commander assigned to maintain the defence of one of the border provinces of the Holy Roman Empire or a monarchy, kingdom. That position became hereditary in certain Feudal ...

in the district fronting the

Wends Wends is a historical name for Slavs who inhabited present-day northeast Germany. It refers not to a homogeneous people, but to various people, tribes or groups depending on where and when it was used. In the modern day, communities identifying ...

on the lower

Saale The Saale (), also known as the Saxon Saale ( ) and Thuringian Saale (), is a river in Germany and a left-bank tributary of the Elbe. It is not to be confused with the smaller Fränkische Saale, Franconian Saale, a right-bank tributary of the M ...

in 937. His appointment frustrated

Thankmar Thankmar (or Tankmaro, or Tammo) (c. 908 – 28 July 938) was the eldest (and only) son of Henry I of Germany (Henry the Fowler) by his first wife, Hatheburg of Merseburg. His mother had been previously married and widowed, after which she enter ...

, the king's half-brother and Siegfried's cousin, and together with

Eberhard of Franconia Eberhard (c. 885 – 2 October 939), a member of the Conradines, Conradine dynasty, was Duchy of Franconia, Duke of Franconia, succeeding his elder brother, King Conrad I of Germany, Conrad I, in December 918. From 926 to 928, he also acted as ru ...

and

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 ...

, he revolted against the king (938). Thankmar was dead within a year and his accomplices came to terms with Otto. Gero kept his march. During the insurrection of his opponents, Gero had been prosecuting a losing war against the Slavs in 937–938. The losses his troops sustained could not be made up for by the produce of the land nor by tribute, since the Slavs refused to pay. As an important

marcher lord A marcher lord () was a noble appointed by the king of England to guard the border (known as the Welsh Marches) between England and Wales. A marcher lord was the English equivalent of a margrave (in the Holy Roman Empire) or a marquis (in Fra ...

, Gero's command included ', that is, a "military following," "warband of vassals or companions," or "specially chosen group of fighters" differentiated from the rest of the army (''exercitus''). These men formed the elite of Gero's troops.

Slav campaigns

In 939, an

Obodrite The Obotrites (, ''Abodritorum'', ''Abodritos'') or Obodrites, also spelled Abodrites (), were a confederation of medieval West Slavic tribes within the territory of modern Mecklenburg and Holstein in northern Germany (see Polabian Slavs). For ...

attack left a Saxon army routed and its margravial leader dead. Gero in revenge invited thirty Slav chieftains to a banquet whereat he killed all but one, who managed to escape by accident.Howorth, 218. In response, the

Stodorani The Hevelli or Hevellians/ Navellasîni (sometimes ''Havolane''; or ''Stodoranen''; or ''Stodoranie''; or ''Stodorané'') were a tribe of the Polabian Slavs, who settled around the middle Havel river in the present-day Havelland region of Brand ...

revolted against German overlordship and chased the Germans across the Elbe, but Gero was able to reverse this before Otto's arrival in

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; ) is the Capital city, capital of the Germany, German States of Germany, state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is on the Elbe river. Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archbishopric of Mag ...

later in the year. He subsequently bribed Tugumir, a baptised Slav prince, to betray his countrymen and make his people subject to Germany. Soon after, the Obodrites and the

Wilzes The Veleti, also known as Veletians, Wilzi, Wielzians, and Wiltzes, were a group of medieval Lechitic tribes within the territory of Western Pomerania, related to Polabian Slavs. They had formed together the Confederation of the Veleti, also kno ...

made submission. In 954, while Gero was away, the

Ukrani image:Lake de Oberuckersee Burgwallinsel.JPG, 250px, ''Burgwallinsel'', a former Ukrian burgh on an isle in Lake Oberuckersee The Ukrani or Ukrians

(or Ucri) revolted, but Gero returned with

Conrad the Red Conrad ( – 10 August 955), called the Red (), was Duke of Lorraine from 944 until 953. He became the progenitor of the Imperial Salian dynasty. Life He was the son of Werner V (died about 935), a Franconian count in the Nahegau, Speyergau, an ...

and pacified them. In 955, some Saxon counts rebelled and were banished by Duke Herman. They found refuge in Swetlastrana, a Slav town, location unknown (maybe current Berlin-Lichtenberg), where the Obodrite chiefs

Nakon Nako, Nakon, Nakko, or Nacco (flourished 954 – c. 966) was an Obotrite leader who, along with his brother Stoigniew, led the forces of a Slavic confederacy in a revolt against the Germans, especially Herman Billung, Duke of Saxony. Małecki ...

and Stoinegin (or Stojgnev) resided. There Herman besieged them until an agreement was reached, but an ensuing skirmish spoiled the peace. The Obodrites, Wilzes, Chrepienyani,

Redarii The Veleti, also known as Veletians, Wilzi, Wielzians, and Wiltzes, were a group of medieval Lechitic tribes within the territory of Western Pomerania, related to Polabian Slavs. They had formed together the Confederation of the Veleti, also kno ...

and Dolenzi then banded together to oppose the coming army of Gero, the king, and

Liudolf, Duke of Swabia Liudolf ( – 6 September 957), a member of the Ottonian dynasty, was duke of Swabia from 950 until 954. His rebellion in 953/54 led to a major crisis in East Francia. Rise Liudolf was the only son of the Saxon duke Otto the Great, son and hei ...

. After negotiations failed because of the Germans' harsh terms, the Slavs were defeated in battle on the

Drosa Drosa is a village and a former municipality in the district of Anhalt-Bitterfeld, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 January 2010, it is part of the municipality Osternienburger Land Osternienburger Land is a municipality in the district of An ...

. Gero participated in general Saxon campaigns against the Slavs in 957, 959, and 960, as well as campaigning against the Wends and forcing

Mieszko I Mieszko I (; – 25 May 992) was Duchy of Poland (966–1025), Duke of Poland from 960 until his death in 992 and the founder of the first unified History of Poland, Polish state, the Civitas Schinesghe. A member of the Piast dynasty, he was t ...

of the Polans to pay tribute, grant land

lien A lien ( or ) is a form of security interest granted over an item of property to secure the payment of a debt or performance of some other obligation. The owner of the property, who grants the lien, is referred to as the ''lienee'' and the pers ...

, and recognise German sovereignty during Otto's absence in Italy (962–963).

Lusatia Lusatia (; ; ; ; ; ), otherwise known as Sorbia, is a region in Central Europe, formerly entirely in Germany and today territorially split between Germany and modern-day Poland. Lusatia stretches from the Bóbr and Kwisa rivers in the eas ...

, according to

Widukind Widukind, also known as Wittekind and Wittikund, was a leader of the Saxons and the chief opponent of the Frankish king Charlemagne during the Saxon Wars from 777 to 785. Charlemagne ultimately prevailed, organized Saxony as a Frankish provinc ...

, was subjected "to the last degree of servitude". Gero was responsible for subjecting the

Liutizi The Lutici or Liutizi (known by various spelling variants) were a federation of West Slavic Polabian tribes, who between the 10th and 12th centuries lived in what is now northeastern Germany. Four tribes made up the core of the federation: t ...

and Milzini (or Milciani) and extending German suzerainty over the whole territory between the

Elbe The Elbe ( ; ; or ''Elv''; Upper Sorbian, Upper and , ) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Republic), then Ge ...

and the Bober. In these lands, the native Slavic populace was reduced to serfdom and "tribute-paying peoples" were converted into "census-paying peasants". Eingang Gernrode

Relationship with Church and family

Gero had a close relationship to Otto I. Otto was godfather to Gero's eldest son, Siegfried, and he granted Siegfried the ''villae'' of

Egeln Egeln () is a small town in the Salzlandkreis district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' ("collective municipality") Egelner Mulde. Geography Egeln is situated on the river Bode (river), Bode, ...

and

Westeregeln Westeregeln is a village and a former municipality in the district Salzlandkreis, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 January 2010, it is part of the municipality Börde-Hakel Börde-Hakel is a municipality in the district of Salzlandkreis, in S ...

in the

Schwabengau The Schwabengau (modernized name; originally: Suavia, Suevon, Nordosquavi) was an early medieval shire ('' Gau'') in the Eastphalia region of the medieval Duchy of Saxony. Ruled by the House of Ascania, it became the nucleus of the later Princi ...

in 941. As an act of devotion, Gero made a pilgrimage to

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

in 959 after Siegfried's death. In Siegfried's name, in 960, he also founded a Romanesque

collegiate church In Christianity, a collegiate church is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons, a non-monastic or "secular" community of clergy, organised as a self-governing corporate body, headed by a dignitary bearing ...

, St Cyriakus, and the abbey of Gernrode, in a forest named after him, ''Geronisrode'' (

Gernrode Gernrode () is a historic town and former municipality in the Harz (district), Harz District, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 January 2014, it has been part of Quedlinburg.St. Cyriacus, and the abbey was a convent, housing nuns and canonesses. Gero's second son, Gero II, had already died at that point. The name of Gero's wife has to be hypothesised from '' libri memoriales'': it was either Judith (Iudita) or Thietsuuind (Thietswind).

Death and division of territory

At his death, Gero's march extended as far as the

Neisse The Lusatian Neisse (; ; ; Upper Sorbian: ''Łužiska Nysa''; Lower Sorbian: ''Łužyska Nysa''), or Western Neisse, is a river in northern Central Europe.

river. He was not popular with the Saxon nobility of his day, because he had a strong sense of moral rectitude and was of low birth. Nonetheless, he became celebrated in the ''

Nibelungenlied The (, or ; or ), translated as ''The Song of the Nibelungs'', is an epic poetry, epic poem written around 1200 in Middle High German. Its anonymous poet was likely from the region of Passau. The is based on an oral tradition of Germanic hero ...

'' as the ''marcgrâve Gêre'', though it has been disputed whether he was ever officially accorded that title. Gero's tomb can still be seen in Gernrode today. A decorative painting was added to it c. 1350. It depicts Gero standing over a vanquished Wend. After his death, the huge territory he had conquered was divided by Emperor

Otto II Otto II (955 – 7 December 983), called the Red (), was Holy Roman Emperor from 973 until his death in 983. A member of the Ottonian dynasty, Otto II was the youngest and sole surviving son of Otto the Great and Adelaide of Italy. Otto II was ...

into several different marches: the

Northern March The Northern March or North March (, ) was created out of the division of the vast ''Marca Geronis'' in 965. It initially comprised the northern third of the ''Marca'' (roughly corresponding to the modern state of Brandenburg) and was part of the ...

(under

Dietrich of Haldensleben , father = Wichmann the Elder , mother = Frederuna of Ringelheim Dietrich (Theoderich, Theodoric) of Haldensleben (died 25 August 985) was a count in the Schwabengau, later also in the Nordthüringgau and the Derlingau, who was the first Ma ...

), the Eastern March (under Odo I), the

March of Meissen The Margravate or Margraviate of Meissen () was a medieval principality in the area of the modern German state of Saxony. It originally was a March (territory), frontier march of the Holy Roman Empire, created out of the vast ''Marca Geronis'' (Sa ...

(under

Wigbert Wihtberht or Wigbert (May 7, 675 – August 13, 747) born in Wessex around 675, was an Anglo-Saxon Benedictine monk and a missionary and disciple of Boniface who travelled with the latter in Frisia and northern and central Germany to convert the ...

), the

March of Merseburg March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March. The March equinox on the 20 or 21 m ...

(under Günther) and the

March of Zeitz The March of Zeitz () was a march of the Holy Roman Empire. It was created by Emperor Otto I in the division of the ''marca Geronis'' in 965, following the death of Gero the Great. Its capital was Zeitz. Its first and only margrave was Wigger. In ...

(under

Wigger I Wigger I von Zeitz (925 – 981) was the father of a line of counts ruling from , west of (today part of Eschwege) to the Werra. The counts of Bilstein played a prominent role in Thuringia from 967 to 1301 and were third after the and in terms ...

). Later the Northern March was subdivided into the marches of Landsberg,

and

Brandenburg Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a States of Germany, state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the List of Ger ...

. The division of Gero's "super-march" probably had something to do with its immense size and the political consideration of trying to please many without making enemies. Reuter, 160. The subdivisions into which it was divided, however, were natural. As early as 963, Lusatia—and even upper and lower Lusatia—and the Ostmark were distinguishable as governable provinces within Gero's march.

Sources

The primary chronicle sources for Gero's life are those of

Widukind of Corvey Widukind of Corvey (c. 925after 973; , in italian ''Vitichindo Sacco di Corvey'', in Latin VVITICHINDI SAXO) was a medieval Saxon chronicler. His three-volume '' Res gestae Saxonicae sive annalium libri tres'' is an important chronicle of 10th-cen ...

and

Thietmar of Merseburg Thietmar (also Dietmar or Dithmar; 25 July 9751 December 1018), Prince-Bishop of Merseburg from 1009 until his death in 1018, was an important chronicler recording the reigns of German kings and Holy Roman Emperors of the Ottonian (Saxon) dynas ...

, on which most of the work in the secondary sources is based. *

Reuter, Timothy Timothy Alan Reuter (25 January 1947 – 14 October 2002), grandson of the former mayor of Berlin Ernst Reuter, was a German-British historian who specialized in the study of medieval Germany, particularly the social, military and ecclesiastical ...

. ''Germany in the Early Middle Ages 800–1056''. New York: Longman, 1991. * Thompson, James Westfall. ''Feudal Germany, Volume II''. New York: Frederick Ungar Publishing Co., 1928. * Bernhardt, John W. ''Itinerant Kingship and Royal Monasteries in Early Medieval Germany, c. 936–1075''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993. * Leyser, Karl
"Ottonian Government."
''The English Historical Review'', Vol. 96, No. 381. (Oct. 1981), pp 721–753. * Leyser, Karl
"Henry I and the Beginnings of the Saxon Empire."
''The English Historical Review'', Vol. 83, No. 326. (Jan. 1968), pp 1–32. * Lang, Henry Joseph
"The Fall of the Monarchy of Mieszko II, Lambert."
''Speculum'', Vol. 49, No. 4. (Oct. 1974), pp 623–639. * Dvornik, F
"The First Wave of the Drang Nach Osten."
''Cambridge Historical Journal'', Vol. 7, No. 3. (1943), pp 129–145. * Jakubowska, Bogna
"Salve Me Ex Ore Leonis."
''Artibus et Historiae,'' Vol. 12, No. 23. (1991), pp. 53–65. * Howorth, H. H
"The Spread of the Slaves. Part III. The Northern Serbs or Sorabians and the Obodriti."
''The Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland'', Vol. 9. (1880), pp 181–232. *
Gero (Markgraf)
" ''Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie'', by the ''Historischen Kommission of the Bayrischen Akademie der Wissenschaften'', Band 9, Seite 38. (retrieved 29 May 2007, 15:09 UTC)

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gero 900s births 965 deaths Year of birth uncertain Counts of the Holy Roman Empire Saxon nobility Gernrode

Succession and early conflicts

Slav campaigns

Relationship with Church and family

Death and division of territory

See also

Sources

Notes