OTTO von SAXONY | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
(1) 951 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
ADELAIDE de BURGUNDY | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
(2) 929 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
EADGYTH OF WESSEX |
(1) Hij is getrouwd met ADELAIDE de BURGUNDY.
Zij zijn getrouwd in het jaar 951 te Saxony, Germany, hij was toen 38 jaar oud.
Kind(eren):
(2) Hij is getrouwd met EADGYTH OF WESSEX.
Zij zijn getrouwd in het jaar 929, hij was toen 16 jaar oud.
Kind(eren):
Otto I (23 November 912 - 7 May 973), also known as Otto the Great, was German king from 936 and emperor of the Holy Roman Empire from 962 until his death in 973. The oldest son of Henry I the Fowler and Matilda, Otto was "the first of the Germans to be called the emperor of Italy".
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 the royal office 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. 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 limited cultural renaissance of the arts and architecture. Following the example of Charlemagne's coronation as "Emperor of the Romans" in 800, Otto was crowned 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 973. Otto II succeeded him as Emperor.
Early life and family
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 the Saxon Dietrich, a count in Westphalia. 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. Otto had four full siblings: Hedwig, Gerberga, Henry and Bruno.
On 23 December 918 Conrad I, King of East Francia and Duke of Franconia, died. According to the Res gestae saxonicae by the Saxon chronicler Widukind of Corvey, Conrad persuaded his younger brother Duke Eberhard of Franconia, the presumptive heir, to offer the crown to Otto's father Henry. 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 Conradines' position and ressources. 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.
Burchard II of Swabia soon swore fealty to the new king, 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.
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.
With an unidentified Slavic woman:
William (929 - 2 March 968) - Archbishop of Mainz from 17 December 954 until death
With Eadgyth of England, daughter of King Edward the Elder:
Liudolf (930 - 6 September 957) - Duke of Swabia from 950 to 954, Otto's expected successor from 947 until death
Liutgarde (932-953) - married Conrad, Duke of Lorraine, in 947
With Adelaide of Italy, daughter of King Rudolf II of Burgundy:
Henry (952-954)
Bruno (probably 954-957)
Matilda (954-999) - Abbess of Quedlinburg from 966 until death
Otto II (955 - 7 December 983) - Holy Roman Emperor from 973 until death.
SOURCE: Wikipedia