Individual Details
Otto, Count of Northeim
(1020 - 11 Jan 1083)
According to Wikipedia:
Otto of Nordheim (c. 1020 - 11 January 1083) was Duke of Bavaria from 1061 until 1070. He was one of the leaders of the Saxon Rebellion in 1073-75 and the Great Saxon Revolt of 1077-88 against King Henry IV of Germany.
Life
Family
Otto was born about 1020, the son of Count Bernard of Nordheim (d. about 1040) and his wife Eilika.[1] The rich and influential Saxon comital dynasty of Nordheim was first mentioned about 950, its descendance has not been conclusively established: there is possibly a relationship with the Immedinger family of legendary Duke Widukind, while according to the Magdeburg archbishop Eric of Brandenburg, Otto's grandfather Siegfried I of Nordheim was a son of Count Siegfried of Luxembourg.
The Nordheim counts held large Saxon estates on the upper Leine and Werra rivers as well as on the Weser and its Diemel and Nethe tributaries and on the lower Elbe river. They also acted as Vogts (reeves) of the Corvey, Gandersheim, Helmarshausen, Bursfelde, and Amelungsborn. Otto succeeded his father as count of Northeim about 1049, then one of the most influential Saxon nobles along with the Billung duke Bernard II and the Udonid counts of Stade.
Role during the regency of Henry IV
After the death of the Salian emperor Henry III in 1056, his widow, Dowager Empress Agnes, appointed Otto duke of Bavaria in 1061[2] in order to gain his support as the mother of, and regent for, the young king Henry IV. The following year (1062), however, when Agnes handed power to her confidant Bishop Henry II of Augsburg, Duke Otto was among those princes who assisted Archbishop Anno II of Cologne in seizing control of Henry IV and the regency, in the so-called Coup of Kaiserswerth.[3]
Otto took a prominent part in the government of the kingdom during Henry's minority. He led a successful expedition into Hungary in 1063 to reinstall King Solomon (betrothed to Henry's sister, Judith of Swabia), who had been driven out by his uncle Béla I. The next year Otto went to Italy to settle a papal schism caused by the appointment of Antipope Honorius II. Otto was also instrumental in securing the banishment from court of the overly powerful Archbishop Adalbert of Hamburg-Bremen. He crossed the Alps in the royal interests on two other occasions and in 1069 shared in two expeditions into the lands of the Polabian Slavs (Wends) east of Germany.[3]
Conflict with Henry IV
Duchy of Saxony 919-1125
So far, Otto was on good terms with the young king. However, he neglected his Bavarian duchy and instead added to his Saxon allodial possessions in the southern Harz range, which ultimately led into conflict with Henry IV, who aimed at the consolidation of his royal domains in this region.[3] In 1070 dubious accusations were brought against him by one Egeno I of Konradsburg of being privy to a plot to murder the king, and it was decided Otto should submit to trial by combat with his accuser at Goslar.
Fearing for his safety, Otto asked for a safe-conduct to and from the place of meeting. When this was refused he declined to appear and was consequently placed under the imperial ban and deprived of Bavaria, while his Saxon estates were plundered.[4] He obtained no support in Bavaria, but raised an army among the Saxons and carried out a campaign of plunder against Henry until at Pentecost 1071, when he submitted. In the following year he was released from custody and received back his private estates,[3] though not the Bavarian ducal title, which had been granted to his former son-in-law Welf I, the divorced husband of Otto's daughter Ethelinde.[5]
Rebellion
According to Bruno, author of De bello Saxonico (On the Saxon War), when the Saxon Rebellion broke out in summer 1073, Otto delivered an inspiring speech to the assembled nobles at Wormsleben, after which he took command of the insurgents. By the Peace of Gerstungen on 2 February 1074, the Duchy of Bavaria was formally restored to him,[3] which however met strong opposition by the local nobility, with the result that Otto's former son-in-law Welf I remained de facto Duke of Bavaria.[citation needed] He also participated in the second rising of 1075[3] following the demolition of Harzburg Castle.[citation needed] Defeated in the Battle of Langensalza on June 9, he surrendered and was again pardoned by King Henry who made him administrator of the Saxon duchy.[3]
When the Investiture Controversy between Henry IV and Pope Gregory VII culminated in the excommunication of the king in 1076, Otto attempted to mediate between Henry and the Saxon nobles convened at Trebur,[3] but when these efforts failed he again joined the insurgents. Otto was not the leader of the Great Saxon Revolt, however. Once he was assured that the duchy of Bavaria would be returned to him, Otto accepted the election of Rudolf of Rheinfelden as antiking of Germany. Through his skill and bravery, Otto still inflicted defeats on Henry's forces at the battles of Mellrichstadt, Flarchheim and Hohenmölsen.[3]
Death
Otto remained in arms against the king until his death on 11 January 1083.[3] He is buried in the Nicolai Chapel in Northeim.[6] His personal estates in Saxony later passed to Lothair of Supplinburg, who about 1100 married Otto's granddaughter Richenza of Northeim. After Richenza, German queen from 1125 and Holy Roman Empress from 1133, died in 1141, the allodial lands were inherited by her daughter Gertrude and her husband, the Welf duke Henry the Proud.
Character
Otto is described as a noble, prudent and warlike man, and he possessed great abilities. His repeated pardons showed that Henry could not afford to neglect such a powerful personality, and his military talents were repeatedly displayed.
Marriage and children
About 1055 Otto married Richenza, formerly reckoned as a daughter of Duke Otto II of Swabia, but probably a descendant of the Billung dynasty. The couple had four sons and three daughters.[3]
Henry the Fat (1055-1101), Margrave of Frisia (1055-1101)[citation needed]
Otto II, Count of Nordheim[citation needed]
Siegfried III (1050-1107), Count of Boyneburg[citation needed]
Kuno (1050/60-1103), Count of Beichlingen[citation needed]
Ida, married Count Thimo of Wettin, mother of Margrave Conrad of Meissen[citation needed]
Ethelinde (born 1050/60, date of death unknown), married Duke Welf I of Bavaria in 1062, divorced 1070; secondly married Herman I, Count of Calvelage in 1070[7]
Matilda, married Count Konrad II of Werl-Arnsberg[citation needed]
Notes
von Hindte, 'Otto,' col. 1578.
Black-Veldtrupp, Kaiserin Agnes, p. 239.
Chisholm 1911, p. 376.
Annales altahenses maiores, a.1070, pp. 77f.
Lampert of Hersfeld, Annales, a.1071, p. 132; Creber, Alison (2019-04-22). "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do: Dissolving Royal and Noble Marriages in Eleventh-Century Germany". German History. 37 (2): 149-171. doi:10.1093/gerhis/ghy108. ISSN 0266-3554..
von Hindte, 'Otto,' col. 1578.
K-H. Lange, Die Grafen von Northeim (950-1144). Politische Stellung, Genealogie und Herrschaftsbereich. Beiträge zur Geschichte des sächsischen Adels im Hochmittelalter (Dissertation, Kiel, 1958), pp. 142-145, accessible online at: Genealogie Mittelater
References
H. von Hindte, 'Otto von Northeim,' Lexikon des Mittelalters, vol. 6 (1993), col. 1578.
M. Black-Veldtrupp, Kaiserin Agnes (1043-1077) Quellenkritische Studien.
Lampert of Hersfeld, Annales, in O. Holder-Egger, ed., Lamperti monachi Hersfeldensis Opera, MGH SS rer Germ 38 (Hanover, 1894), pp. 1-304, accessible online at: Monumenta Germaniae Historica (in Latin)
Annales Altahenses maiores (written c.1075), ed. W. Giesebrecht and E. L. B. von Oefele, MGH SS rer Germ 4 (Hannover, 1890, 2nd edition), accessible online at: Monumenta Germaniae Historica (in Latin).
Giesebrecht, Wilhelm von (1881-1890), Geschichte der deutschen Kaiserzeit, III, Leipzig
Mehmel, H. (1870), Otto von Nordheim, Herzog von Bayern, Göttingen
Neumann, E. (1871), Duc Ottone de Nordheim, Breslau
Riezler, S. (1878), Geschichte Bayerns, Gotha
Vogeler, A. (1880), Otto von Nordheim, Göttingen
-- MERGED NOTE ------------
According to Wikipedia:
Otto of Nordheim (c. 1020 - 11 January 1083) was Duke of Bavaria from 1061 until 1070. He was one of the leaders of the Saxon Rebellion in 1073-75 and the Great Saxon Revolt of 1077-88 against King Henry IV of Germany.
Life
Family
Otto was born about 1020, the son of Count Bernard of Nordheim (d. about 1040) and his wife Eilika.[1] The rich and influential Saxon comital dynasty of Nordheim was first mentioned about 950, its descendance has not been conclusively established: there is possibly a relationship with the Immedinger family of legendary Duke Widukind, while according to the Magdeburg archbishop Eric of Brandenburg, Otto's grandfather Siegfried I of Nordheim was a son of Count Siegfried of Luxembourg.
The Nordheim counts held large Saxon estates on the upper Leine and Werra rivers as well as on the Weser and its Diemel and Nethe tributaries and on the lower Elbe river. They also acted as Vogts (reeves) of the Corvey, Gandersheim, Helmarshausen, Bursfelde, and Amelungsborn. Otto succeeded his father as count of Northeim about 1049, then one of the most influential Saxon nobles along with the Billung duke Bernard II and the Udonid counts of Stade.
Role during the regency of Henry IV
After the death of the Salian emperor Henry III in 1056, his widow, Dowager Empress Agnes, appointed Otto duke of Bavaria in 1061[2] in order to gain his support as the mother of, and regent for, the young king Henry IV. The following year (1062), however, when Agnes handed power to her confidant Bishop Henry II of Augsburg, Duke Otto was among those princes who assisted Archbishop Anno II of Cologne in seizing control of Henry IV and the regency, in the so-called Coup of Kaiserswerth.[3]
Otto took a prominent part in the government of the kingdom during Henry's minority. He led a successful expedition into Hungary in 1063 to reinstall King Solomon (betrothed to Henry's sister, Judith of Swabia), who had been driven out by his uncle Béla I. The next year Otto went to Italy to settle a papal schism caused by the appointment of Antipope Honorius II. Otto was also instrumental in securing the banishment from court of the overly powerful Archbishop Adalbert of Hamburg-Bremen. He crossed the Alps in the royal interests on two other occasions and in 1069 shared in two expeditions into the lands of the Polabian Slavs (Wends) east of Germany.[3]
Conflict with Henry IV
Duchy of Saxony 919-1125
So far, Otto was on good terms with the young king. However, he neglected his Bavarian duchy and instead added to his Saxon allodial possessions in the southern Harz range, which ultimately led into conflict with Henry IV, who aimed at the consolidation of his royal domains in this region.[3] In 1070 dubious accusations were brought against him by one Egeno I of Konradsburg of being privy to a plot to murder the king, and it was decided Otto should submit to trial by combat with his accuser at Goslar.
Fearing for his safety, Otto asked for a safe-conduct to and from the place of meeting. When this was refused he declined to appear and was consequently placed under the imperial ban and deprived of Bavaria, while his Saxon estates were plundered.[4] He obtained no support in Bavaria, but raised an army among the Saxons and carried out a campaign of plunder against Henry until at Pentecost 1071, when he submitted. In the following year he was released from custody and received back his private estates,[3] though not the Bavarian ducal title, which had been granted to his former son-in-law Welf I, the divorced husband of Otto's daughter Ethelinde.[5]
Rebellion
According to Bruno, author of De bello Saxonico (On the Saxon War), when the Saxon Rebellion broke out in summer 1073, Otto delivered an inspiring speech to the assembled nobles at Wormsleben, after which he took command of the insurgents. By the Peace of Gerstungen on 2 February 1074, the Duchy of Bavaria was formally restored to him,[3] which however met strong opposition by the local nobility, with the result that Otto's former son-in-law Welf I remained de facto Duke of Bavaria.[citation needed] He also participated in the second rising of 1075[3] following the demolition of Harzburg Castle.[citation needed] Defeated in the Battle of Langensalza on June 9, he surrendered and was again pardoned by King Henry who made him administrator of the Saxon duchy.[3]
When the Investiture Controversy between Henry IV and Pope Gregory VII culminated in the excommunication of the king in 1076, Otto attempted to mediate between Henry and the Saxon nobles convened at Trebur,[3] but when these efforts failed he again joined the insurgents. Otto was not the leader of the Great Saxon Revolt, however. Once he was assured that the duchy of Bavaria would be returned to him, Otto accepted the election of Rudolf of Rheinfelden as antiking of Germany. Through his skill and bravery, Otto still inflicted defeats on Henry's forces at the battles of Mellrichstadt, Flarchheim and Hohenmölsen.[3]
Death
Otto remained in arms against the king until his death on 11 January 1083.[3] He is buried in the Nicolai Chapel in Northeim.[6] His personal estates in Saxony later passed to Lothair of Supplinburg, who about 1100 married Otto's granddaughter Richenza of Northeim. After Richenza, German queen from 1125 and Holy Roman Empress from 1133, died in 1141, the allodial lands were inherited by her daughter Gertrude and her husband, the Welf duke Henry the Proud.
Character
Otto is described as a noble, prudent and warlike man, and he possessed great abilities. His repeated pardons showed that Henry could not afford to neglect such a powerful personality, and his military talents were repeatedly displayed.
Marriage and children
About 1055 Otto married Richenza, formerly reckoned as a daughter of Duke Otto II of Swabia, but probably a descendant of the Billung dynasty. The couple had four sons and three daughters.[3]
Henry the Fat (1055-1101), Margrave of Frisia (1055-1101)[citation needed]
Otto II, Count of Nordheim[citation needed]
Siegfried III (1050-1107), Count of Boyneburg[citation needed]
Kuno (1050/60-1103), Count of Beichlingen[citation needed]
Ida, married Count Thimo of Wettin, mother of Margrave Conrad of Meissen[citation needed]
Ethelinde (born 1050/60, date of death unknown), married Duke Welf I of Bavaria in 1062, divorced 1070; secondly married Herman I, Count of Calvelage in 1070[7]
Matilda, married Count Konrad II of Werl-Arnsberg[citation needed]
Notes
von Hindte, 'Otto,' col. 1578.
Black-Veldtrupp, Kaiserin Agnes, p. 239.
Chisholm 1911, p. 376.
Annales altahenses maiores, a.1070, pp. 77f.
Lampert of Hersfeld, Annales, a.1071, p. 132; Creber, Alison (2019-04-22). "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do: Dissolving Royal and Noble Marriages in Eleventh-Century Germany". German History. 37 (2): 149-171. doi:10.1093/gerhis/ghy108. ISSN 0266-3554..
von Hindte, 'Otto,' col. 1578.
K-H. Lange, Die Grafen von Northeim (950-1144). Politische Stellung, Genealogie und Herrschaftsbereich. Beiträge zur Geschichte des sächsischen Adels im Hochmittelalter (Dissertation, Kiel, 1958), pp. 142-145, accessible online at: Genealogie Mittelater
References
H. von Hindte, 'Otto von Northeim,' Lexikon des Mittelalters, vol. 6 (1993), col. 1578.
M. Black-Veldtrupp, Kaiserin Agnes (1043-1077) Quellenkritische Studien.
Lampert of Hersfeld, Annales, in O. Holder-Egger, ed., Lamperti monachi Hersfeldensis Opera, MGH SS rer Germ 38 (Hanover, 1894), pp. 1-304, accessible online at: Monumenta Germaniae Historica (in Latin)
Annales Altahenses maiores (written c.1075), ed. W. Giesebrecht and E. L. B. von Oefele, MGH SS rer Germ 4 (Hannover, 1890, 2nd edition), accessible online at: Monumenta Germaniae Historica (in Latin).
Giesebrecht, Wilhelm von (1881-1890), Geschichte der deutschen Kaiserzeit, III, Leipzig
Mehmel, H. (1870), Otto von Nordheim, Herzog von Bayern, Göttingen
Neumann, E. (1871), Duc Ottone de Nordheim, Breslau
Riezler, S. (1878), Geschichte Bayerns, Gotha
Vogeler, A. (1880), Otto von Nordheim, Göttingen
According to Wikipedia:
Otto von Northeim (* around 1020 ; † January 11, 1083 ) from the family of the Counts of Northeim was from 1061 to 1070 as Otto II Duke of Bavaria . He was the leader of the rebellious Saxons in the Saxon War against Heinrich IV.
Life [ edit | Edit source ]
Origin and rise [ Edit | Edit source ]
Otto was born around 1020 as the only son of the Saxon Count Bernhard von Northeim and the Countess Eilika. As Otto I, he followed his father as Count von Northeim around 1049 and was one of the most influential personalities in eastern Saxony, along with the Billungers and the Counts of Stade ( Udonen ).
In 1061 he was appointed Duke of Bavaria as Otto II by Empress Agnes , but in the following year he stood in opposition to her as one of the leading figures in the " Kaiserswerth coup ". In the same year he undertook a campaign in Hungary on behalf of the imperial government in order to reinstate the chased King Solomon . He also took part in embassies to Italy in 1064/1068 and in the winter of 1068/1069 in Henry IV's campaign against the Abodrites under their new velvet ruler Kruto .
Conflict with Henry IV. [ Edit | Edit source ]
Up to this point, despite the events in Kaiserswerth, he had a good relationship with King Heinrich IV. However, this changed when he began to expand his extensive property on the southern edge of the Harz Mountains . As a result, he got into a conflict of interest with Heinrich, who wanted to secure his crown property on the Harz. In 1070, for example, the dubious accusation of planning an assassination attempt on the king was made. The instigators of the plot, probably with knowledge or even at the suggestion of the king, were the Hessian Counts Giso II and Adalbert von Schauenburg(Both were killed in revenge by Otto's followers in 1073). When Otto refused to appear in the court duel against the accusing noble Egeno von Konradsburg in Goslar because of a lack of security guarantees , he was deposed as Bavarian duke, robbed of his Saxon household goods and ostracized in absentia on August 2, 1070 . Otto fled and stayed with the Abodritic branch prince Budivoj until May 1071 . [1] At Pentecost 1071 he submitted to the king, who kept him in custody until July 1072. Then Otto received all of his property back, but not the extensive fiefs.
Uprising [ Edit | Edit source ]
In the summer of 1073 Otto took the lead in the Saxon uprising and was the strongest advocate of Saxon tribal and aristocratic interests against the Salian kingship and its kingdom policy. In the Peace of Gerstungen in 1074 he was able to formally regain his title as Duke of Bavaria, but practically not exercising it. In the conflict that broke out again after the Harzburg was sacked, Otto again took on the leading role, but was defeated by Heinrich's Imperial Army on June 9, 1075 in the Battle of Homburg an der Unstrut and a little later finally capitulated. Surprisingly, Heinrich pardoned him again and even made him imperial administratorordered by Saxony, which increasingly alienated him from his former Saxon comrades in arms. He also got his imperial fiefs back, with the exception of Bavaria.
On the Princely Day of Tribur in October 1076, Otto once again sided with the opposition. Although a potential candidate himself at any time, the princes did not elect him, but in 1077 in Forchheim Rudolf von Rheinfelden and later Hermann von Salm as the opposing kings. This was primarily due to the lack of support from the Saxon princes and Otto's continued pursuit of the Duchy of Bavaria. Nevertheless, Otto's influence on opposition politics remained great. He also continued to excel militarily, in the battles near Mellrichstadt , Flarchheim and on the Elster , he fought in the front line.
Death [ edit | Edit source ]
Otto died on January 11, 1083. He was buried in the Nikolai chapel in Northeim . His grave was not rediscovered until 1977. His extensive ownership later passed to Lothar von Süpplingenburg , who was married to Otto's granddaughter Richenza . The St. Blasien Northeim monastery was founded before his death . [2]
Marriage and descendants [ Edit | Edit source ]
Otto was married to Richenza from around 1050 , who was her first marriage to Count Hermann III. von Werl had been married. Richenza was presumed to be the daughter of Duke Otto of Swabia and thus an Ezzonin , but was more likely to have been an heir to the Billung Wichmann line. The marriage had seven children:
Henry the Fat , Margrave of Friesland
Kuno , Count of Beichlingen
Siegfried III. , Count of Boyneburg
Otto II, Count of Northeim
Ida ∞ Thiemo , Count of Brehna ( Wettiner )
Ethelinde ∞ I Welf I Duke of Bavaria , divorced 1070 , ∞ II Hermann, attested 1105–1144, 1115 Count of Calvelage
Mathilde ∞ Count Konrad II of Werl-ArnsbergLiterature [ Edit | Edit source ]
Matthias Becher : Otto v. Northeim. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 19, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1999, ISBN 3-428-00200-8 , p. 671 ( digitized version ).
Sabine Borchert: Duke Otto von Northeim (around 1025-1083). Reich policy and personal environment (= publications of the historical commission for Lower Saxony and Bremen. Vol. 227). Hahn, Hannover 2005, ISBN 3-7752-6027-7 ( review ).
Hartmut von Hindte: Otto von Northeim . In: Lexicon of the Middle Ages (LexMA) . tape 6 . Artemis & Winkler, Munich / Zurich 1993, ISBN 3-7608-8906-9 , Sp. 1578 .
Karl-Heinz Lange: The Counts of Northeim (950–1144). Political position, genealogy and domain. Contributions to the history of the Saxon nobility in the High Middle Ages . Kiel: Diss. Mach. 1958.
Olaf B. Rader : Otto von Northeim, Duke of Bavaria (1061-1070). In: Eberhard Holtz, Wolfgang Huschner (Hrsg.): German princes of the Middle Ages. Twenty-five images of life. Edition Leipzig, Leipzig 1995, ISBN 3-361-00437-3 , pp. 152-162.
Siegmund Ritter von Riezler : Otto von Northeim . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 24, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1887, pp. 640-642.Notes [ edit | Edit source ]
^ Sabine Borchert: Duke Otto von Northeim (around 1025-1083). Reich politics and personal environment. Hanover 2005, p. 99.
↑ Helmut Naumann: The donation of the Schluchsee estate to St. Blasien. In: German Archive for Research into the Middle Ages, Vol. 23 (1967), pp. 358–404, here: p. 388 ( digitized version ).
Otto of Nordheim (c. 1020 - 11 January 1083) was Duke of Bavaria from 1061 until 1070. He was one of the leaders of the Saxon Rebellion in 1073-75 and the Great Saxon Revolt of 1077-88 against King Henry IV of Germany.
Life
Family
Otto was born about 1020, the son of Count Bernard of Nordheim (d. about 1040) and his wife Eilika.[1] The rich and influential Saxon comital dynasty of Nordheim was first mentioned about 950, its descendance has not been conclusively established: there is possibly a relationship with the Immedinger family of legendary Duke Widukind, while according to the Magdeburg archbishop Eric of Brandenburg, Otto's grandfather Siegfried I of Nordheim was a son of Count Siegfried of Luxembourg.
The Nordheim counts held large Saxon estates on the upper Leine and Werra rivers as well as on the Weser and its Diemel and Nethe tributaries and on the lower Elbe river. They also acted as Vogts (reeves) of the Corvey, Gandersheim, Helmarshausen, Bursfelde, and Amelungsborn. Otto succeeded his father as count of Northeim about 1049, then one of the most influential Saxon nobles along with the Billung duke Bernard II and the Udonid counts of Stade.
Role during the regency of Henry IV
After the death of the Salian emperor Henry III in 1056, his widow, Dowager Empress Agnes, appointed Otto duke of Bavaria in 1061[2] in order to gain his support as the mother of, and regent for, the young king Henry IV. The following year (1062), however, when Agnes handed power to her confidant Bishop Henry II of Augsburg, Duke Otto was among those princes who assisted Archbishop Anno II of Cologne in seizing control of Henry IV and the regency, in the so-called Coup of Kaiserswerth.[3]
Otto took a prominent part in the government of the kingdom during Henry's minority. He led a successful expedition into Hungary in 1063 to reinstall King Solomon (betrothed to Henry's sister, Judith of Swabia), who had been driven out by his uncle Béla I. The next year Otto went to Italy to settle a papal schism caused by the appointment of Antipope Honorius II. Otto was also instrumental in securing the banishment from court of the overly powerful Archbishop Adalbert of Hamburg-Bremen. He crossed the Alps in the royal interests on two other occasions and in 1069 shared in two expeditions into the lands of the Polabian Slavs (Wends) east of Germany.[3]
Conflict with Henry IV
Duchy of Saxony 919-1125
So far, Otto was on good terms with the young king. However, he neglected his Bavarian duchy and instead added to his Saxon allodial possessions in the southern Harz range, which ultimately led into conflict with Henry IV, who aimed at the consolidation of his royal domains in this region.[3] In 1070 dubious accusations were brought against him by one Egeno I of Konradsburg of being privy to a plot to murder the king, and it was decided Otto should submit to trial by combat with his accuser at Goslar.
Fearing for his safety, Otto asked for a safe-conduct to and from the place of meeting. When this was refused he declined to appear and was consequently placed under the imperial ban and deprived of Bavaria, while his Saxon estates were plundered.[4] He obtained no support in Bavaria, but raised an army among the Saxons and carried out a campaign of plunder against Henry until at Pentecost 1071, when he submitted. In the following year he was released from custody and received back his private estates,[3] though not the Bavarian ducal title, which had been granted to his former son-in-law Welf I, the divorced husband of Otto's daughter Ethelinde.[5]
Rebellion
According to Bruno, author of De bello Saxonico (On the Saxon War), when the Saxon Rebellion broke out in summer 1073, Otto delivered an inspiring speech to the assembled nobles at Wormsleben, after which he took command of the insurgents. By the Peace of Gerstungen on 2 February 1074, the Duchy of Bavaria was formally restored to him,[3] which however met strong opposition by the local nobility, with the result that Otto's former son-in-law Welf I remained de facto Duke of Bavaria.[citation needed] He also participated in the second rising of 1075[3] following the demolition of Harzburg Castle.[citation needed] Defeated in the Battle of Langensalza on June 9, he surrendered and was again pardoned by King Henry who made him administrator of the Saxon duchy.[3]
When the Investiture Controversy between Henry IV and Pope Gregory VII culminated in the excommunication of the king in 1076, Otto attempted to mediate between Henry and the Saxon nobles convened at Trebur,[3] but when these efforts failed he again joined the insurgents. Otto was not the leader of the Great Saxon Revolt, however. Once he was assured that the duchy of Bavaria would be returned to him, Otto accepted the election of Rudolf of Rheinfelden as antiking of Germany. Through his skill and bravery, Otto still inflicted defeats on Henry's forces at the battles of Mellrichstadt, Flarchheim and Hohenmölsen.[3]
Death
Otto remained in arms against the king until his death on 11 January 1083.[3] He is buried in the Nicolai Chapel in Northeim.[6] His personal estates in Saxony later passed to Lothair of Supplinburg, who about 1100 married Otto's granddaughter Richenza of Northeim. After Richenza, German queen from 1125 and Holy Roman Empress from 1133, died in 1141, the allodial lands were inherited by her daughter Gertrude and her husband, the Welf duke Henry the Proud.
Character
Otto is described as a noble, prudent and warlike man, and he possessed great abilities. His repeated pardons showed that Henry could not afford to neglect such a powerful personality, and his military talents were repeatedly displayed.
Marriage and children
About 1055 Otto married Richenza, formerly reckoned as a daughter of Duke Otto II of Swabia, but probably a descendant of the Billung dynasty. The couple had four sons and three daughters.[3]
Henry the Fat (1055-1101), Margrave of Frisia (1055-1101)[citation needed]
Otto II, Count of Nordheim[citation needed]
Siegfried III (1050-1107), Count of Boyneburg[citation needed]
Kuno (1050/60-1103), Count of Beichlingen[citation needed]
Ida, married Count Thimo of Wettin, mother of Margrave Conrad of Meissen[citation needed]
Ethelinde (born 1050/60, date of death unknown), married Duke Welf I of Bavaria in 1062, divorced 1070; secondly married Herman I, Count of Calvelage in 1070[7]
Matilda, married Count Konrad II of Werl-Arnsberg[citation needed]
Notes
von Hindte, 'Otto,' col. 1578.
Black-Veldtrupp, Kaiserin Agnes, p. 239.
Chisholm 1911, p. 376.
Annales altahenses maiores, a.1070, pp. 77f.
Lampert of Hersfeld, Annales, a.1071, p. 132; Creber, Alison (2019-04-22). "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do: Dissolving Royal and Noble Marriages in Eleventh-Century Germany". German History. 37 (2): 149-171. doi:10.1093/gerhis/ghy108. ISSN 0266-3554..
von Hindte, 'Otto,' col. 1578.
K-H. Lange, Die Grafen von Northeim (950-1144). Politische Stellung, Genealogie und Herrschaftsbereich. Beiträge zur Geschichte des sächsischen Adels im Hochmittelalter (Dissertation, Kiel, 1958), pp. 142-145, accessible online at: Genealogie Mittelater
References
H. von Hindte, 'Otto von Northeim,' Lexikon des Mittelalters, vol. 6 (1993), col. 1578.
M. Black-Veldtrupp, Kaiserin Agnes (1043-1077) Quellenkritische Studien.
Lampert of Hersfeld, Annales, in O. Holder-Egger, ed., Lamperti monachi Hersfeldensis Opera, MGH SS rer Germ 38 (Hanover, 1894), pp. 1-304, accessible online at: Monumenta Germaniae Historica (in Latin)
Annales Altahenses maiores (written c.1075), ed. W. Giesebrecht and E. L. B. von Oefele, MGH SS rer Germ 4 (Hannover, 1890, 2nd edition), accessible online at: Monumenta Germaniae Historica (in Latin).
Giesebrecht, Wilhelm von (1881-1890), Geschichte der deutschen Kaiserzeit, III, Leipzig
Mehmel, H. (1870), Otto von Nordheim, Herzog von Bayern, Göttingen
Neumann, E. (1871), Duc Ottone de Nordheim, Breslau
Riezler, S. (1878), Geschichte Bayerns, Gotha
Vogeler, A. (1880), Otto von Nordheim, Göttingen
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According to Wikipedia:
Otto of Nordheim (c. 1020 - 11 January 1083) was Duke of Bavaria from 1061 until 1070. He was one of the leaders of the Saxon Rebellion in 1073-75 and the Great Saxon Revolt of 1077-88 against King Henry IV of Germany.
Life
Family
Otto was born about 1020, the son of Count Bernard of Nordheim (d. about 1040) and his wife Eilika.[1] The rich and influential Saxon comital dynasty of Nordheim was first mentioned about 950, its descendance has not been conclusively established: there is possibly a relationship with the Immedinger family of legendary Duke Widukind, while according to the Magdeburg archbishop Eric of Brandenburg, Otto's grandfather Siegfried I of Nordheim was a son of Count Siegfried of Luxembourg.
The Nordheim counts held large Saxon estates on the upper Leine and Werra rivers as well as on the Weser and its Diemel and Nethe tributaries and on the lower Elbe river. They also acted as Vogts (reeves) of the Corvey, Gandersheim, Helmarshausen, Bursfelde, and Amelungsborn. Otto succeeded his father as count of Northeim about 1049, then one of the most influential Saxon nobles along with the Billung duke Bernard II and the Udonid counts of Stade.
Role during the regency of Henry IV
After the death of the Salian emperor Henry III in 1056, his widow, Dowager Empress Agnes, appointed Otto duke of Bavaria in 1061[2] in order to gain his support as the mother of, and regent for, the young king Henry IV. The following year (1062), however, when Agnes handed power to her confidant Bishop Henry II of Augsburg, Duke Otto was among those princes who assisted Archbishop Anno II of Cologne in seizing control of Henry IV and the regency, in the so-called Coup of Kaiserswerth.[3]
Otto took a prominent part in the government of the kingdom during Henry's minority. He led a successful expedition into Hungary in 1063 to reinstall King Solomon (betrothed to Henry's sister, Judith of Swabia), who had been driven out by his uncle Béla I. The next year Otto went to Italy to settle a papal schism caused by the appointment of Antipope Honorius II. Otto was also instrumental in securing the banishment from court of the overly powerful Archbishop Adalbert of Hamburg-Bremen. He crossed the Alps in the royal interests on two other occasions and in 1069 shared in two expeditions into the lands of the Polabian Slavs (Wends) east of Germany.[3]
Conflict with Henry IV
Duchy of Saxony 919-1125
So far, Otto was on good terms with the young king. However, he neglected his Bavarian duchy and instead added to his Saxon allodial possessions in the southern Harz range, which ultimately led into conflict with Henry IV, who aimed at the consolidation of his royal domains in this region.[3] In 1070 dubious accusations were brought against him by one Egeno I of Konradsburg of being privy to a plot to murder the king, and it was decided Otto should submit to trial by combat with his accuser at Goslar.
Fearing for his safety, Otto asked for a safe-conduct to and from the place of meeting. When this was refused he declined to appear and was consequently placed under the imperial ban and deprived of Bavaria, while his Saxon estates were plundered.[4] He obtained no support in Bavaria, but raised an army among the Saxons and carried out a campaign of plunder against Henry until at Pentecost 1071, when he submitted. In the following year he was released from custody and received back his private estates,[3] though not the Bavarian ducal title, which had been granted to his former son-in-law Welf I, the divorced husband of Otto's daughter Ethelinde.[5]
Rebellion
According to Bruno, author of De bello Saxonico (On the Saxon War), when the Saxon Rebellion broke out in summer 1073, Otto delivered an inspiring speech to the assembled nobles at Wormsleben, after which he took command of the insurgents. By the Peace of Gerstungen on 2 February 1074, the Duchy of Bavaria was formally restored to him,[3] which however met strong opposition by the local nobility, with the result that Otto's former son-in-law Welf I remained de facto Duke of Bavaria.[citation needed] He also participated in the second rising of 1075[3] following the demolition of Harzburg Castle.[citation needed] Defeated in the Battle of Langensalza on June 9, he surrendered and was again pardoned by King Henry who made him administrator of the Saxon duchy.[3]
When the Investiture Controversy between Henry IV and Pope Gregory VII culminated in the excommunication of the king in 1076, Otto attempted to mediate between Henry and the Saxon nobles convened at Trebur,[3] but when these efforts failed he again joined the insurgents. Otto was not the leader of the Great Saxon Revolt, however. Once he was assured that the duchy of Bavaria would be returned to him, Otto accepted the election of Rudolf of Rheinfelden as antiking of Germany. Through his skill and bravery, Otto still inflicted defeats on Henry's forces at the battles of Mellrichstadt, Flarchheim and Hohenmölsen.[3]
Death
Otto remained in arms against the king until his death on 11 January 1083.[3] He is buried in the Nicolai Chapel in Northeim.[6] His personal estates in Saxony later passed to Lothair of Supplinburg, who about 1100 married Otto's granddaughter Richenza of Northeim. After Richenza, German queen from 1125 and Holy Roman Empress from 1133, died in 1141, the allodial lands were inherited by her daughter Gertrude and her husband, the Welf duke Henry the Proud.
Character
Otto is described as a noble, prudent and warlike man, and he possessed great abilities. His repeated pardons showed that Henry could not afford to neglect such a powerful personality, and his military talents were repeatedly displayed.
Marriage and children
About 1055 Otto married Richenza, formerly reckoned as a daughter of Duke Otto II of Swabia, but probably a descendant of the Billung dynasty. The couple had four sons and three daughters.[3]
Henry the Fat (1055-1101), Margrave of Frisia (1055-1101)[citation needed]
Otto II, Count of Nordheim[citation needed]
Siegfried III (1050-1107), Count of Boyneburg[citation needed]
Kuno (1050/60-1103), Count of Beichlingen[citation needed]
Ida, married Count Thimo of Wettin, mother of Margrave Conrad of Meissen[citation needed]
Ethelinde (born 1050/60, date of death unknown), married Duke Welf I of Bavaria in 1062, divorced 1070; secondly married Herman I, Count of Calvelage in 1070[7]
Matilda, married Count Konrad II of Werl-Arnsberg[citation needed]
Notes
von Hindte, 'Otto,' col. 1578.
Black-Veldtrupp, Kaiserin Agnes, p. 239.
Chisholm 1911, p. 376.
Annales altahenses maiores, a.1070, pp. 77f.
Lampert of Hersfeld, Annales, a.1071, p. 132; Creber, Alison (2019-04-22). "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do: Dissolving Royal and Noble Marriages in Eleventh-Century Germany". German History. 37 (2): 149-171. doi:10.1093/gerhis/ghy108. ISSN 0266-3554..
von Hindte, 'Otto,' col. 1578.
K-H. Lange, Die Grafen von Northeim (950-1144). Politische Stellung, Genealogie und Herrschaftsbereich. Beiträge zur Geschichte des sächsischen Adels im Hochmittelalter (Dissertation, Kiel, 1958), pp. 142-145, accessible online at: Genealogie Mittelater
References
H. von Hindte, 'Otto von Northeim,' Lexikon des Mittelalters, vol. 6 (1993), col. 1578.
M. Black-Veldtrupp, Kaiserin Agnes (1043-1077) Quellenkritische Studien.
Lampert of Hersfeld, Annales, in O. Holder-Egger, ed., Lamperti monachi Hersfeldensis Opera, MGH SS rer Germ 38 (Hanover, 1894), pp. 1-304, accessible online at: Monumenta Germaniae Historica (in Latin)
Annales Altahenses maiores (written c.1075), ed. W. Giesebrecht and E. L. B. von Oefele, MGH SS rer Germ 4 (Hannover, 1890, 2nd edition), accessible online at: Monumenta Germaniae Historica (in Latin).
Giesebrecht, Wilhelm von (1881-1890), Geschichte der deutschen Kaiserzeit, III, Leipzig
Mehmel, H. (1870), Otto von Nordheim, Herzog von Bayern, Göttingen
Neumann, E. (1871), Duc Ottone de Nordheim, Breslau
Riezler, S. (1878), Geschichte Bayerns, Gotha
Vogeler, A. (1880), Otto von Nordheim, Göttingen
According to Wikipedia:
Otto von Northeim (* around 1020 ; † January 11, 1083 ) from the family of the Counts of Northeim was from 1061 to 1070 as Otto II Duke of Bavaria . He was the leader of the rebellious Saxons in the Saxon War against Heinrich IV.
Life [ edit | Edit source ]
Origin and rise [ Edit | Edit source ]
Otto was born around 1020 as the only son of the Saxon Count Bernhard von Northeim and the Countess Eilika. As Otto I, he followed his father as Count von Northeim around 1049 and was one of the most influential personalities in eastern Saxony, along with the Billungers and the Counts of Stade ( Udonen ).
In 1061 he was appointed Duke of Bavaria as Otto II by Empress Agnes , but in the following year he stood in opposition to her as one of the leading figures in the " Kaiserswerth coup ". In the same year he undertook a campaign in Hungary on behalf of the imperial government in order to reinstate the chased King Solomon . He also took part in embassies to Italy in 1064/1068 and in the winter of 1068/1069 in Henry IV's campaign against the Abodrites under their new velvet ruler Kruto .
Conflict with Henry IV. [ Edit | Edit source ]
Up to this point, despite the events in Kaiserswerth, he had a good relationship with King Heinrich IV. However, this changed when he began to expand his extensive property on the southern edge of the Harz Mountains . As a result, he got into a conflict of interest with Heinrich, who wanted to secure his crown property on the Harz. In 1070, for example, the dubious accusation of planning an assassination attempt on the king was made. The instigators of the plot, probably with knowledge or even at the suggestion of the king, were the Hessian Counts Giso II and Adalbert von Schauenburg(Both were killed in revenge by Otto's followers in 1073). When Otto refused to appear in the court duel against the accusing noble Egeno von Konradsburg in Goslar because of a lack of security guarantees , he was deposed as Bavarian duke, robbed of his Saxon household goods and ostracized in absentia on August 2, 1070 . Otto fled and stayed with the Abodritic branch prince Budivoj until May 1071 . [1] At Pentecost 1071 he submitted to the king, who kept him in custody until July 1072. Then Otto received all of his property back, but not the extensive fiefs.
Uprising [ Edit | Edit source ]
In the summer of 1073 Otto took the lead in the Saxon uprising and was the strongest advocate of Saxon tribal and aristocratic interests against the Salian kingship and its kingdom policy. In the Peace of Gerstungen in 1074 he was able to formally regain his title as Duke of Bavaria, but practically not exercising it. In the conflict that broke out again after the Harzburg was sacked, Otto again took on the leading role, but was defeated by Heinrich's Imperial Army on June 9, 1075 in the Battle of Homburg an der Unstrut and a little later finally capitulated. Surprisingly, Heinrich pardoned him again and even made him imperial administratorordered by Saxony, which increasingly alienated him from his former Saxon comrades in arms. He also got his imperial fiefs back, with the exception of Bavaria.
On the Princely Day of Tribur in October 1076, Otto once again sided with the opposition. Although a potential candidate himself at any time, the princes did not elect him, but in 1077 in Forchheim Rudolf von Rheinfelden and later Hermann von Salm as the opposing kings. This was primarily due to the lack of support from the Saxon princes and Otto's continued pursuit of the Duchy of Bavaria. Nevertheless, Otto's influence on opposition politics remained great. He also continued to excel militarily, in the battles near Mellrichstadt , Flarchheim and on the Elster , he fought in the front line.
Death [ edit | Edit source ]
Otto died on January 11, 1083. He was buried in the Nikolai chapel in Northeim . His grave was not rediscovered until 1977. His extensive ownership later passed to Lothar von Süpplingenburg , who was married to Otto's granddaughter Richenza . The St. Blasien Northeim monastery was founded before his death . [2]
Marriage and descendants [ Edit | Edit source ]
Otto was married to Richenza from around 1050 , who was her first marriage to Count Hermann III. von Werl had been married. Richenza was presumed to be the daughter of Duke Otto of Swabia and thus an Ezzonin , but was more likely to have been an heir to the Billung Wichmann line. The marriage had seven children:
Henry the Fat , Margrave of Friesland
Kuno , Count of Beichlingen
Siegfried III. , Count of Boyneburg
Otto II, Count of Northeim
Ida ∞ Thiemo , Count of Brehna ( Wettiner )
Ethelinde ∞ I Welf I Duke of Bavaria , divorced 1070 , ∞ II Hermann, attested 1105–1144, 1115 Count of Calvelage
Mathilde ∞ Count Konrad II of Werl-ArnsbergLiterature [ Edit | Edit source ]
Matthias Becher : Otto v. Northeim. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 19, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1999, ISBN 3-428-00200-8 , p. 671 ( digitized version ).
Sabine Borchert: Duke Otto von Northeim (around 1025-1083). Reich policy and personal environment (= publications of the historical commission for Lower Saxony and Bremen. Vol. 227). Hahn, Hannover 2005, ISBN 3-7752-6027-7 ( review ).
Hartmut von Hindte: Otto von Northeim . In: Lexicon of the Middle Ages (LexMA) . tape 6 . Artemis & Winkler, Munich / Zurich 1993, ISBN 3-7608-8906-9 , Sp. 1578 .
Karl-Heinz Lange: The Counts of Northeim (950–1144). Political position, genealogy and domain. Contributions to the history of the Saxon nobility in the High Middle Ages . Kiel: Diss. Mach. 1958.
Olaf B. Rader : Otto von Northeim, Duke of Bavaria (1061-1070). In: Eberhard Holtz, Wolfgang Huschner (Hrsg.): German princes of the Middle Ages. Twenty-five images of life. Edition Leipzig, Leipzig 1995, ISBN 3-361-00437-3 , pp. 152-162.
Siegmund Ritter von Riezler : Otto von Northeim . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 24, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1887, pp. 640-642.Notes [ edit | Edit source ]
^ Sabine Borchert: Duke Otto von Northeim (around 1025-1083). Reich politics and personal environment. Hanover 2005, p. 99.
↑ Helmut Naumann: The donation of the Schluchsee estate to St. Blasien. In: German Archive for Research into the Middle Ages, Vol. 23 (1967), pp. 358–404, here: p. 388 ( digitized version ).
Events
| Birth | 1020 | ||||
| Death | 11 Jan 1083 |
Families
| Spouse | Richenza of Swabia ( - ) |
| Child | Ethelinde of Northeim (1050 - 1075) |
| Child | Henry, Margrave of Frisia (1055 - 1101) |
| Child | Ida of Nordheim ( - ) |
| Spouse | Richenza of Swabia (1025 - 1083) |
| Child | Henry, Margrave of Frisia (1055 - 1101) |
| Father | Bernard of Nordheim ( - 1040) |
| Mother | Living |
| Father | Bernard of Nordheim ( - 1040) |
| Mother | Living |