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Otto Of Holy Roman Empire

Male 912 - 973  (60 years)


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  • Name Otto Of Holy Roman Empire 
    Nickname the Great 
    Born 23 Nov 912 
    Gender Male 
    Died 7 May 973 
    Person ID I5409  MyTree
    Last Modified 15 Aug 2009 

    Father the Fowler Henry I Of Saxony 
    Mother of Ringelheim Matilda Of Saxony 
    Married Saxony Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Family ID F2250  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  • Notes 
    • Otto succeeded his father as king of the Germans in 936. He arranged
      for his coronation to be held in Charlemagne's former capital, Aachen.
      According to the Saxon historian Widukind of Corvey, at his coronation
      banquet, he compelled his four most powerful dukes to act as his
      personal servants, Arnulf of Bavaria as a stablehand, Herman of Swabia
      as his cupbearer, Eberhard III of Franconia as a steward, and Gilbert
      of Lorraine as chamberlain.

      In 938, a rich vein of silver was discovered at the Rammelsberg in
      Saxony. This ore body would provide much of Europe's silver, copper,
      and lead for the next two hundred years, and this mineral wealth
      helped fund Otto's exploits throughout his reign.

      Otto's early reign was marked by a series of ducal revolts. In 938,
      Eberhard , the new duke of Bavaria, refused to pay Otto homage. When
      Otto deposed him in favor of his uncle Berthold , Eberhard of
      Franconia revolted, together with several of the Saxon nobility, who
      tried to depose Otto in favor of his illegitimate half-brother
      Thankmar. While Otto was able to defeat and kill Thankmar, the revolt
      continued the next year when Gilbert duke of Lorraine swore fealty to
      King Louis IV of France. Meanwhile, Otto's younger brother Henry
      conspired with the Archbishop of Mainz to assassinate him. The
      rebellion ended in 939 with Otto's victory at the Battle of Andernach
      , where the dukes of Franconia and Lorraine both perished. Henry fled
      to France, and Otto responded by supporting Hugh the Great in his
      campaign against the French crown, but in 941 Otto and Henry were
      reconciled through the efforts of their mother, and the next year,
      Otto withdrew from France after Louis recognized his authority over
      Lorraine.

      To prevent further revolts, Otto arranged for all the important
      duchies in the German kingdom to be held by close family members. He
      kept the now-vacant duchy of Franconia as a personal possession, while
      in 944 he bestowed the duchy of Lorraine upon Conrad the Red , who
      later married his daughter Liutgard. Meanwhile, he arranged for his
      son Liutdolf to marry Ida, the daughter of Duke Herman of Swabia, and
      to inherit that duchy when Herman died in 947. A similar arrangement
      led to Henry becoming duke of Bavaria in 949.