Editing Ottonian dynasty (section)

==Origins==
[[File:StammtafelOttonen0002.jpg|thumb|Depiction of the Ottonian family tree in a 13th-century manuscript of the {{lang|la|[[Chronica Sancti Pantaleonis]]}}. Liudolf, the founder of the dynasty, is at the top center.]]
In the 9th century, the Saxon count [[Liudolf of Saxony|Liudolf]] held large estates on the [[Leine]] river west of the [[Harz]] mountain range and in the adjacent [[Eichsfeld]] territory of [[Duchy of Thuringia|Thuringia]]. His ancestors probably acted as ''[[ministerialis|ministeriales]]'' in the Saxon stem duchy, which had been incorporated into the [[Carolingian Empire]] after the [[Saxon Wars]] of [[Charlemagne]]. The family's substantial holdings in Thuringia suggest that they originated from that region, and their Saxon lands may have been granted as a reward for their service to the Carolingians.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Jeep |first1=John M. |title=Routledge Revivals: Medieval Germany (2001) An Encyclopedia |date=2017 |publisher=Taylor and Francis |isbn=9781351665407 |page=463}}</ref>  Liudolf married [[Oda of Gandersheim|Oda]], a member of the Frankish House of [[Billung]]. About 852 the couple together with Bishop [[Altfrid|Altfrid of Hildesheim]] founded Brunshausen Abbey, which, once relocated to [[Gandersheim Abbey|Gandersheim]], rose to a family monastery and burial ground.

Liudolf already held the high social position of a Saxon ''[[dux]]'', documented by the marriage of his daughter [[Liutgard of Saxony (died 885)|Liutgard]] with [[Louis the Younger]], son of the Carolingian king [[Louis the German]] in 869. Liudolf's sons [[Bruno, Duke of Saxony|Bruno]] and [[Otto I, Duke of Saxony|Otto the Illustrious]] ruled over large parts of Saxon [[Eastphalia]], moreover, Otto acted as lay abbot of the [[Hersfeld Abbey|Imperial abbey of Hersfeld]] with large estates in Thuringia. He married [[Hedwiga]], a daughter of the [[Popponids|Popponid]] ([[Babenberg|Elder Babenberg]]) duke [[Henry of Franconia]]. Otto possibly accompanied King [[Arnulf of Carinthia|Arnulf]] on his 894 campaign to [[Kingdom of Italy (Holy Roman Empire)|Italy]]; the marriage of his daughter Oda with [[Zwentibold]], Arnulf's illegitimate son, documents the efforts of the Carolingian ruler to win the mighty Saxon dynasty over as an ally. According to the Saxon chronicler [[Widukind of Corvey]], upon the death of the last Carolingian king [[Louis the Child]] in 911 Otto was already a candidate for the East Frankish crown, which however passed to the [[Duchy of Franconia|Franconian]] duke [[Conrad I of Germany|Conrad I]].

Upon Otto's death in 912, his son [[Henry the Fowler]] succeeded him as [[List of rulers of Saxony|Duke of Saxony]]. Henry had married [[Matilda of Ringelheim]], a descendant of the legendary Saxon ruler [[Widukind]] and heiress to extended estates in [[Westphalia]].