Editing Ottonian dynasty

{{short description|Saxon dynasty of German monarchs (919–1024)}}
{{distinguish|Ottoman dynasty}}
{{Royal house
| surname = House of Eastphalia
| coat of arms = Arms of the house of Savoy (Ancient).svg
| coat_of_arms_size = 190px
| country = [[Duchy of Saxony]], [[Kingdom of Germany]], [[Holy Roman Empire]]
| titles = * [[Eastphalia|Count of Eastphalia]]
* [[Holy Roman Emperor]]
* [[King of Germany]] ([[King of the Romans]])
* [[King of Italy]]
* [[Duke of Saxony]]
* [[Count of Savoy]]
* [[Duke of Savoy]]
* [[King of Cyprus]]
* [[King of Jerusalem]]
* [[King of Armenia]]
* [[King of Sicily]]
* [[King of Sardinia]]
* ''King of England, Scotland, France, and Ireland''<br />([[Jacobite succession|Jacobite claim]])
* [[King of Spain]]
* [[Emperor of Ethiopia]]
* [[King of Albania]]
* [[King of Croatia]]
| founding year = 844
| founder = [[Liudolf, Duke of Saxony]]
| current_head = Disputed:
* [[Emanuele Filiberto of Savoy, Prince of Venice]]
* [[Aimone di Savoia Aosta (born 1967)|Prince Aimone, Duke of Aosta]]
| final ruler = [[Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor|Henry II]] (Germany)<br>[[Umberto II of Italy|Humbert II]] (Italy)
| cadet branches = * [[Brunonids]] (possibly)
* [[House of Savoy|Humbertids]] (possibly)
** Savoy-Morsini-Del demonico
** [[Savoy-Carignano]]
** [[Duke of Aosta|Savoy-Aosta]]
** [[Counts of Villafranca|Savoy-Villafranca-Soissons]]
** [[Duke of Genoa|Savoy-Genoa]] (extinct 1996
** [[Counts of Villafranca|Savoy-Villafranca]] (extinct 1888)
** Savoy-Soissons (extinct 1734)
** Savoy-Nemours (extinct 1659)
** Savoy-Racconigi (extinct 1605)
** [[Honorat II of Savoy|Savoy-Tende]] (extinct 1580)
** Savoy-Acaia/Achaea (extinct 1418)
** Savoy-Vaud (extinct 1359)
}}
The '''Ottonian dynasty''' ({{langx|de|Ottonen}}) was a [[Saxons|Saxon]] dynasty of [[German monarchs]] (919–1024), named after three of its kings and [[Holy Roman emperor]]s, especially [[Otto the Great]].  It is also known as the '''Saxon dynasty''' after the family's origin in the German [[stem duchy]] of [[Duchy of Saxony|Saxony]]. The family itself is also sometimes known as the '''Liudolfings''' ({{lang|de|Liudolfinger}}), after its earliest known member Count [[Liudolf, Duke of Saxony|Liudolf]] (d. 866) and one of its most common given names. The Ottonian rulers were successors of [[Conrad I of Germany|Conrad I]], who was the only German king to rule in [[East Francia]] after the [[Carolingian dynasty]].{{sfn|Middleton|2015|p={{pn|date=May 2023}}}}

The Ottonians are associated with the notable military success that transformed the political situation in contemporary Western Europe: "It was the success of the Ottonians in molding the raw materials bequeathed to them into a formidable military machine that made possible the establishment of Germany as the preeminent kingdom in Europe from the tenth through the mid-thirteenth century." They are also associated with a notable cultural movement (especially new literary traditions) known as the [[Ottonian Renaissance]].{{sfn|Bachrach|2014|pp=3, 5}}{{sfn|Ranft|2003|p=36}}

After the end of Ottonian rule in 1024, the [[Salian dynasty]] went on to occupy the Imperial throne for just over a century, until 1125.

==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]].

==Reign==
The Ottonian kings Holy Roman emperors were:{{sfn|Middleton|2015|p={{pn|date=May 2023}}}}
* [[Henry the Fowler]], duke of Saxony from 912, king of East Francia from 919 until 936
* [[Otto the Great]], duke of Saxony and king of East Francia from 936, king of Italy from 951, emperor from 962 until 973
* [[Otto II]], co-ruler from 961, emperor from 967, sole ruler from 973 until 983
* [[Otto III]], king of Germany from 983, emperor from 996 until 1002
* [[Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor|Henry II]], the Saint, duke of Bavaria from 995, king of Germany from 1002, king of Italy from 1004, emperor from 1002 until 1024

===Henry I===
Although never emperor, Henry the Fowler was arguably the founder of the imperial dynasty. While East Francia under the rule of the last Carolingian kings was ravaged by [[Hungarian invasions of Europe|Hungarian invasions]], he was chosen to be {{lang|la|[[primus inter pares]]}} among the German dukes. Elected ''Rex Francorum'' in May 919, Henry abandoned the claim to dominate the whole disintegrating Carolingian Empire and, unlike his predecessor Conrad I, succeeded in gaining the support of the [[Duchy of Franconia|Franconian]], [[Duchy of Bavaria|Bavarian]], [[Duchy of Swabia|Swabian]] and [[Lotharingia]]n dukes. In 933 he led a German army to victory over the Hungarian forces at the [[Battle of Riade]] and campaigned both the land of the [[Polabian Slavs]] and the [[Duchy of Bohemia]]. Because he had assimilated so much power through his conquest, he was able to transfer power to his son [[Otto I]].{{sfn|Middleton|2015|p={{pn|date=May 2023}}}}

===Otto I===
[[File:Quedlinburg - Stiftskirche ReiKi.JPG|thumb|Former collegiate church of St. Servatius in [[Quedlinburg]], founded in 936 by King Otto I, at the request of his mother Queen Matilda, in honor of her late husband, Otto's father, King Henry the Fowler, and as his memorial]]
Otto I, duke of Saxony upon the death of his father in 936, was elected king within a few weeks. He continued the work of unifying all of the German tribes into a single kingdom, greatly expanding the powers of the king at the expense of the aristocracy.{{sfn|Middleton|2015|p={{pn|date=May 2023}}}} Through strategic marriages and personal appointments, he installed members of his own family in the kingdom's most important duchies. This, however, did not prevent his relatives from entering into civil war: both Otto's brother Duke [[Henry I of Bavaria]] and his son Duke [[Liudolf of Swabia]] revolted against his rule. Otto was able to suppress their uprisings, in consequence, the various dukes, who had previously been co-equals with the king, were reduced to royal subjects under the king's authority. Otto's decisive victory over the Magyars at the [[Battle of Lechfeld (955)|Battle of Lechfeld]] in 955 ended the threat of Hungarian invasions and secured his hold over his kingdom.{{sfn|Middleton|2015|p={{pn|date=May 2023}}}}{{sfn|Bachrach|2011}}

The defeat of the [[Paganism|pagan]] Magyars earned King Otto the reputation as the savior of [[Christendom]] and the [[epithet]] "the Great". He transformed the [[Catholic Church in Germany|Church in Germany]] into a kind of [[proprietary church]] and major royal power base to which he donated charity and for the creation of which his family was responsible. By 961, Otto had conquered the [[Kingdom of Italy (Holy Roman Empire)|Kingdom of Italy]], which was a troublesome inheritance that none wanted, and extended his kingdom's borders to the north, east, and south. In control of much of central and southern Europe, the patronage of Otto and his immediate successors caused a [[Ottonian Renaissance|limited cultural renaissance]] of the arts and architecture. He confirmed the 754 [[Donation of Pepin]] and, with recourse to the concept of ''[[translatio imperii]]'' in the succession of [[Charlemagne]], proceeded to [[Rome]] to have himself crowned Holy Roman emperor by [[Pope John XII]] in 962. He even reached a settlement with the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] emperor [[John I Tzimiskes]] by marrying his son and heir [[Otto II]] to John's niece [[Theophanu]]. In 968 he established the [[Archbishopric of Magdeburg]] at his long-time residence.{{sfn|Middleton|2015|p={{pn|date=May 2023}}}}

===Otto II===
Co-ruler with his father since 961 and crowned emperor in 967, Otto II ascended the throne at the age of 18. By excluding the Bavarian line of Ottonians from the line of succession, he strengthened Imperial authority and secured his own son's succession to the Imperial throne. During his reign, Otto II attempted to annex the whole of Italy into the Empire, bringing him into conflict with the Byzantine emperor and with the [[Saracens]] of the [[Fatimid Caliphate]]. His campaign against the Saracens ended in 982 with a disastrous defeat at the [[Battle of Stilo]]. Moreover, in 983 Otto II experienced a [[Great Slav Rising]] against his rule.{{sfn|Middleton|2015|p={{pn|date=May 2023}}}}

Otto II died in 983 at the age of 28 after a ten-year reign. Succeeded by his three-year-old son [[Otto III]] as king, his sudden death plunged the Ottonian dynasty into crisis. During her regency for Otto III, Empress Theophanu abandoned her late husband's imperialistic policy and devoted herself entirely to furthering her own agenda in Italy.{{sfn|Middleton|2015|p={{pn|date=May 2023}}}}

===Otto III===
When Otto III came of age, he concentrated on securing the rule in the Italian domains, installing his confidants [[Bruno of Carinthia]] and [[Gerbert of Aurillac]] as popes. In 1000 he made a pilgrimage to the [[Congress of Gniezno]] in [[History of Poland during the Piast dynasty|Poland]], establishing the [[Archdiocese of Gniezno]] and confirming the royal status of the [[Piast]] ruler [[Bolesław I the Brave]]. Expelled from Rome in 1001, Otto III died at age 21 the next year, without an opportunity to reconquer the city.{{sfn|Middleton|2015|p={{pn|date=May 2023}}}}

===Henry II===
[[File:Heinrichsgrab Ausschnitt.JPG|thumb|Detail from the monument to Emperor Henry II, built over his tomb in [[Bamberg Cathedral]] more than 350 years after his death]]
The childless Otto III was succeeded by Henry II, a son of Duke [[Henry II of Bavaria]] and thereby a member of the Bavarian line of the Ottonians. Duke of Bavaria since 995, he was crowned king on 7 June 1002. Henry II spent the first years of his rule consolidating his political power on the borders of the German kingdom. He waged several campaigns against Bolesław I of Poland and then moved successfully to Italy where he was crowned emperor by [[Pope Benedict VIII]] on 14 February 1014. He reinforced his rule by endowing and founding numerous dioceses, such as the [[Prince-Bishopric of Bamberg|Bishopric of Bamberg]] in 1007, intertwining the secular and ecclesiastical authority over the Empire. Henry II was [[canonized]] by [[Pope Eugene III]] in 1146.{{sfn|Middleton|2015|p={{pn|date=May 2023}}}}

As his marriage with [[Cunigunde of Luxembourg]] remained childless, the Ottonian dynasty became extinct with the death of Henry II in 1024. The crown passed to [[Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor|Conrad II]] of the [[Salian dynasty]], great-grandson of [[Liutgard of Saxony (died 953)|Liutgarde]], a daughter of Otto I. When King [[Rudolph III of Burgundy]] died without heirs on 2 February 1032, Conrad II successfully claimed also this kingship on the basis of an inheritance Emperor Henry II had extorted from the former in 1006, having invaded [[Kingdom of Burgundy-Arles|Burgundy]] to enforce his claim after Rudolph attempted to renounce it in 1016.{{sfn|Middleton|2015|p={{pn|date=May 2023}}}}

== Ottonian rulership ==
Historians have written extensively about how the Ottonian kings and emperors ruled their lands.{{sfn|Wangerin|2017}} For some historians, following in the wake of Karl Leyser, Ottonian government was primarily conducted through oral and ritual means, in which the written word took a back seat.{{sfn|Leyser|1981}} Other historians, such as David Bachrach, have argued strongly for the continuing use of writing in administering the Ottonians' far-flung lands.{{sfn|Bachrach|2010}} Attention has recently focused on how the rulers took advantage of their royal estates, known as the fisc.{{sfn|West|2019}}

==Genealogy==
{{chart top|Ottonians and their relatives, with the names of kings and emperors bolded<ref name="Riché-1993c">{{Cite book|last=Riché|first=Pierre|title=The Carolingians: A Family Who Forged Europe|publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press|year=1993|editor-last=Peters|editor-first=Edward|series=Middle Ages Series|location=Philadelphia|page=370|translator-last=Allen|translator-first=Michael Idomir}}</ref>}}
{{Tree chart/start}}

{{Tree chart|border=0| | | | | | |Liudolf|v|Oda
 | Liudolf=[[Liudolf, Duke of Saxony|Liudolf]]<br>count of Saxony
 | Oda = [[Oda of Gandersheim|Oda]]
}}
{{Tree chart|border=0| |,|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|+|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|.|
}}
{{Tree chart|border=0|Hathumoda| |Bruno| |Otto| |Liudgard| |Gerberga| |Christina|
 | Hathumoda=[[Hathumoda]]<br>abbess of Gandersheim
 | Bruno = [[Bruno, Duke of Saxony|Bruno]]<br>count of Saxony
 | Otto = [[Otto the Illustrious]]<br>duke of Saxony
 |Liudgard = [[Liutgard of Saxony (queen)|Liutgard]]<br>queen of Germany
 | Gerberga = [[Gerberga I, Abbess of Gandersheim|Gerberga]]<br>abbess of Gandersheim
 | Christina = [[Christina, Abbess of Gandersheim|Christina]]<br>abbess of Gandersheim
}}
{{Tree chart|border=0| | | | | | | |,|-|^|-|.| | |
}}
{{Tree chart|border=0| | | | | | |Henry| |Oda|
 | Henry='''[[Henry the Fowler]]'''<br>king of Germany
 | Oda = [[Oda of Saxony|Oda]]<br>queen of Lotharingia
}}
{{Tree chart|border=0| |,|-|-|-|v|-|^|-|v|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|.|
}}
{{Tree chart|border=0|Thankmar| |Otto| |Gerberga| |Hedwig| | | | | | | | | | | | | |Henry| |Bruno|
 | Thankmar=[[Thankmar]]
 | Otto = '''[[Otto the Great]]'''<br>emperor
 | Gerberga = [[Gerberga of Saxony|Gerberga]]<br>queen of France
 | Hedwig = [[Hedwig of Saxony|Hedwig]]
 | Henry = [[Henry I, Duke of Bavaria|Henry]]<br>duke of Bavaria
 | Bruno = [[Bruno the Great]]<br>archbishop of Cologne
}}
{{Tree chart|border=0| |,|-|-|-|+|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|.| | | | | | | | | | | |)|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|.|
}}
{{Tree chart|border=0|William| |Liudolf| |Liutgard| |Otto| |Matilda| | | | |  | | | | |Henry| |Gerberga| |Hedwig|
 | William=[[William (archbishop of Mainz)|William]]<br>archbishop of Mainz
 | Liudolf= [[Liudolf, Duke of Swabia|Liudolf]]<br>duke of Swabia
 | Liutgard = [[Liutgard of Saxony (died 953)|Liutgard]]
 | Otto = '''[[Otto II]]'''<br>emperor
 | Matilda = [[Matilda, Abbess of Quedlinburg|Matilda]]<br>abbess of Quedlinburg
 |Gerberga = [[Gerberga II, Abbess of Gandersheim|Gerberga]]<br>abbess of Gandersheim
 | Hedwig = [[Hedwig of Swabia|Hedwig]]
 | Henry = [[Henry the Wrangler]]<br>duke of Bavaria
}}
{{Tree chart|border=0| |,|-|-|-|(| | | |!| | | |)|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|.| | | |)|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|.|
}}
{{Tree chart|border=0|Matilda| |Otto| |OttoR| |Adelaide| |Sophie| |Otto3| |Mathilda| |Henry| |Bruno| |Gisela|
 | Otto3 = '''[[Otto III]]'''<br>emperor
 | OttoR = [[Otto I, Duke of Carinthia|Otto]]<br>duke of Carinthia
 | Matilda = [[Matilda, Abbess of Essen|Matilda]]<br>abbess of Essen
 | Otto= [[Otto I, Duke of Swabia and Bavaria|Otto]]<br>duke of Bavaria
 | Adelaide = [[Adelaide I, Abbess of Quedlinburg|Adelaide]]<br>abbess of Quedlinburg
| Mathilda=[[Matilda of Germany, Countess Palatine of Lotharingia|Matilda]]
| Sophie = [[Sophie I, Abbess of Gandersheim|Sophie]]<br>abbess of Gandersheim
| Henry = '''[[Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor|Henry II]]'''<br>emperor
| Bruno =[[Bruno of Augsburg|Bruno]]<br>bishop of Augsburg
| Gisela = [[Gisela of Bavaria|Gisela]]<br>queen of Hungary
}}
{{Tree chart|border=0| | | |,|-|-|-|v|-|^|-|v|-|-|-|.| |
}}
{{Tree chart|border=0| | |Henry| |Bruno| |Conrad| |William
 | Henry = [[Henry of Speyer]]
 | Bruno = [[Pope Gregory V|Gregory V]]<br>pope
 | Conrad = [[Conrad I, Duke of Carinthia|Conrad]]<br>duke of Carinthia
 | William = [[William I (bishop of Strasbourg)|William]]<br>bishop of Strasbourg
}}
{{Tree chart/end}}
{{Chart bottom}}

==See also==
*[[Ottonian Renaissance]]
*[[Ottonian art]]
*[[Ottonian architecture]]
*[[Concordat of Worms]]

{{Commons category|Ottonian Dynasty}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* {{cite journal |last1=Bachrach |first1=D. S. |title=The Written Word in Carolingian-Style Fiscal Administration under King Henry I, 919-936 |journal=German History |date=December 2010 |volume=28 |issue=4 |pages=399–423 |doi=10.1093/gerhis/ghq108 }}
* {{cite book |last1=Bachrach |first1=David S. |title=Warfare in Tenth-Century Germany |date=2014 |publisher=Boydell & Brewer |isbn=978-1-84383-927-9 }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Bachrach |first1=David S |title=Early Ottonian Warfare: The Perspective from Corvey |journal=Journal of Military History |volume=75 |issue=2 |date=April 2011 |pages=393–409 }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Leyser |first1=Karl |title=Ottonian government |journal=The English Historical Review |date=1981 |volume=96 |issue=381 |pages=721–753 |doi=10.1093/ehr/XCVI.CCCLXXXI.721 |jstor=569838 }}
* {{cite book |doi=10.4324/9781315698014 |title=World Monarchies and Dynasties |year=2015 |last1=Middleton |first1=John |isbn=978-1-317-45158-7 }}
* {{cite book |last1=Leyser |first1=Karl |title=Rule and conflict in an early medieval society: Ottonian Saxony |date=1979 |publisher=Edward Arnold |isbn=978-0-7131-6218-9 |hdl=2027/heb01063.0001.001 }}
* {{cite book |last1=Ranft |first1=P. |title=Women in Western Intellectual Culture, 600–1500 |date=2003 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-0-230-10825-7 }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Wangerin |first1=Laura |title=The governance of Ottonian Germany in historiographical perspective: Governance of Ottonian Germany |journal=History Compass |date=January 2017 |volume=15 |issue=1 |pages=e12367 |doi=10.1111/hic3.12367 }}
* {{cite book |doi=10.1484/M.SCISAM-EB.5.118742 |chapter=Royal estates, confiscation and the politics of land in the kingdom of Otto I |title=Biens publics, biens du roi |series=Seminari del Centro interuniversitario per la storia e l'archeologia dell'alto medioevo |year=2019 |last1=West |first1=Charles |volume=9 |pages=157–177 |isbn=978-2-503-58645-8 |s2cid=214096327 }}

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[[Category:Ottonian dynasty| ]]
[[Category:Medieval royal families|Ottonian]]
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