Editing Billung

{{Short description|Dynasty of Saxon noblemen}}
{{Infobox family
|name                 = Billung
|native_name          = 
|native_name_lang     =
|other_names          = 
|type                 = [[Dynasty]]
|coat_of_arms         = <!-- Coat of arms, crest, badge, emblem, banner, etc. See "Images" below for formatting. -->
|coat_of_arms_size    = 
|alt                  = 
|coat_of_arms_caption = <!-- Motto/battle cry, and/or to whom and when granted, by which granting authority, etc. -->
|image                = Hermann Billung.jpg
|image_size           = 
|alt2                 = 
|image_caption        = Hermann Billung
|parent_family        = <!-- Family (or house, clan) from which the family in subject is descended -->
|country              = <!-- I.e. primary identificated state of sovereign rule; applicable primarily to sovereign aristocratic dynasties -->
|region               = [[Saxony]]
|early_forms          = 
|etymology            = <!-- Etymology; name origin and/or meaning -->
|origin               = <!-- Country, region, town, location etc. of origin -->
|founded              = 9th century
|founder              = [[Wichmann the Elder|Count Wichmann the Elder]]
|current_head         = 
|dissolution          = 12th century
|deposition           = <!-- {{End date|YYYY}}, removal of authority applicable primarily to royal houses -->
|cadet branches       = <!-- Branches families - if multiple ones, please consider using {{tlx|Template:Collapsible list}} -->
|final_ruler          = <!-- I.e. last sovereign; applicable primarily to sovereign aristocratic dynasties -->
|final_head           = <!-- I.e. last person with family name or else subject to end of continuous consistency -->
|titles               = <!-- If multiple ones, please consider using {{tlx|Template:Collapsible list}} -->
|styles               = <!-- Styles (manners of address) -->
|members              = 
|connected_members    = <!-- Notable members in selection, only if relevant in infobox and readability-wise applicable -->
|other_families       = Welf and Ascania dynasties
|distinctions         = <!-- Primarily associated distinctions such as orders, prizes, awards, etc. -->
|traditions           = <!-- Religion, philosophy, movement, adherence, allegiance, etc. -->
|motto                = <!-- For non-English motto, use: ''Motto in italics'' -->
|motto_lang           = 
|motto_trans          = 
|heirlooms            = <!-- Inheritances; antiques, mementoes, jewelry, etc. -->
|estate               = [[Billung March]]
|website              = <!-- {{URL|example.com}}, website of the family association/foundation/memorial, etc. -->
|footnotes            = 
}}
{{More citations needed|date=February 2024}}
{{Expand German|Billunger|date=March 2016}}
The '''House of Billung''' was a [[dynasty]] of [[Duchy of Saxony|Saxon]] noblemen in the 9th through 12th centuries.<ref name="oxford"/>

The first known member of the house was [[Wichmann the Elder|Count Wichmann]], mentioned as a Billung in 811. '''Oda''', the wife of Count [[Liudolf, Duke of Saxony|Liudolf]], oldest known member of the [[Liudolfing]] House, was also a Billung as was [[Matilda of Ringelheim]]. 

In the 10th century, the property of the family was centered in the [[Bardengau]] around [[Lüneburg]] and they controlled the [[Billung March|march named after them]].{{cn|date=February 2024}} In the middle of the 10th century, when the Saxon dukes of the House of [[Liudolfing]] had also become German kings, King [[Otto the Great]] entrusted more and more of his  ducal authority to [[Hermann, Duke of Saxony|Hermann Billung]]. For five generations, the House of Billung ruled the [[Duchy of Saxony]].<ref name="arnold"/>

The house submerged into the Welf and Ascania dynasties when [[Magnus, Duke of Saxony|Duke Magnus]] died in 1106 without sons; the family's property was divided between his two daughters. His daughter [[Wulfhilde of Saxony|Wulfhilde]] married [[Henry IX, Duke of Bavaria]], a member of the [[House of Welf]]; his daughter [[Eilika of Saxony|Eilika]] married [[Otto, Count of Ballenstedt]], a member of the [[House of Ascania]]. As a consequence, for the following decades control of Saxony was contested between the Welfs and Ascanians.

The Billung dukes of Saxony were:

* [[Hermann, Duke of Saxony|Hermann]], died 973<ref name="arnold"/>
* [[Bernard I, Duke of Saxony|Bernard I]], died 1011
* [[Bernard II, Duke of Saxony|Bernard II]], died 1059
* [[Ordulf, Duke of Saxony|Ordulf]], died 1072
* [[Magnus, Duke of Saxony|Magnus]], died 1106

==References==
{{reflist|refs=
<ref name="oxford">{{cite encyclopedia |title= Billung dynasty | encyclopedia= The Oxford Dictionary of the Middle Ages |year= 2010|publisher=[[Oxford Reference]]|isbn=9780199574834|editor-first= Robert E.|editor-last=Bjork}}</ref>
<ref name="arnold">{{cite book |last1=Arnold |first1=Benjamin |title=Medieval Germany, 500–1300: A Political Interpretation |date=9 June 1997 |publisher=[[Bloomsbury Publishing]] |isbn=978-1-349-25677-8 |language=en}}</ref>
}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:9th-century establishments in Europe]]
[[Category:12th-century disestablishments in Europe]]
[[Category:House of Billung| ]]
[[Category:Westphalian nobility]]