For others with the same name, see Otto I (disambiguation). There are a number of historical figures named Otto I: Otto I, Duke of Saxony (d. ...

Otto the Great

Otto I the Great (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), son of Henry I the Fowler and Matilda of Ringelheim, was Duke of Saxony, King of Germany, King of Italy, and arguably the first Holy Roman Emperor.^[1] Image File history File links Please see the file description page for further information. ... Image File history File links Please see the file description page for further information. ... November 23 is the 327th day of the year (328th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 38 days remaining. ... Events Orso II Participazio becomes Doge of Venice Patriarch Nicholas I Mysticus becomes patriarch of Constantinople Births November 23 - Otto I the Great Holy Roman Emperor (+ 973) Abd-ar-rahman III - prince of the Umayyad dynasty Deaths Oleg of Kiev Categories: 912 ... May 7 is the 127th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (128th in leap years). ... Events Edgar of England is crowned king by Saint Dunstan Births September 15 - Al_Biruni, mathematician († 1048) Abu al-Ala al-Maarri, poet Deaths May 7 - Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor Categories: 973 ... Henry I, the Fowler (German, Heinrich der Vogler) (876 - July 2, 936), was duke of Saxony from 912 and king of the Germans from 919 until his death in 936. ... Matilda of Ringelheim (born in 892-March 14, 968) was the wife of Henry I the Fowler, emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, whom she married in 909. ... List of Dukes, Electors, and Kings of Saxony, 880-1918 The original Duchy of Saxony was in Northern Germany, roughly corresponding to the modern German state of Lower Saxony and Westphalia. ... The following list of German Kings and Emperors is one of several Wikipedia lists of incumbents. ... King of Italy is a title adopted by many rulers after the fall of the Roman Empire. ... The Holy Roman Emperor was, with some variation, the ruler of the Holy Roman Empire, the predecessor of modern Germany, during its existence from the 10th century until its collapse in 1806. ...

Early reign

The Holy Roman Empire at Otto's death.

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, where he was anointed by the archbishop of Mainz, primate of the German church. According to the Saxon historian Widukind of Corvey, at his coronation banquet he had the four other dukes of the empire, those of Franconia, Swabia, Bavaria and Lorraine, act as his personal attendants: Arnulf I of Bavaria as marshal (or stablemaster), Herman I, Duke of Swabia as cupbearer (lat. pincerna or buticularius), Eberhard III of Franconia as steward (or seneschal), and Gilbert of Lorraine as chamberlain. Thus from the outset of his reign he signalled that he was the successor to Charlemagne, whose last heirs had died out in 911 (though, there are still living decendants to this day), and that he had the German church, with its powerful bishops and abbots, behind him. Otto intended to dominate the church and use that sole unifying institution in the German lands in order to establish an institution of theocratic imperial power. The Church offered wealth, military manpower and its monopoly on literacy. For his part the Emperor offered protection against the nobles, the promise of endowments, and a developing chancelry as an avenue to power as his ministeriales. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1500x1785, 901 KB) Summary La bildo estas kopiita de wikipedia:de. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1500x1785, 901 KB) Summary La bildo estas kopiita de wikipedia:de. ... Events King Taejo of Goryeo (Wanggeon) defeats Hubaekje. ... Oche redirects here; in darts the oche is the line from which players must throw. ... Between 780/82 AD and 1802 AD the Archbishop of Mainz, was an influential ecclesiastic and secular prince of the middle ages. ... Widukind of Corvey was a Saxon historical chronicler, named after the famous Saxon national hero Widukind. ... Arnulf (died July 14, 937), called the Bad or the Evil (German: der Böse), was the duke of Bavaria from 907 until his death. ... Marshal (also sometimes spelled marshall in American English, but not in British English) is a word used in several official titles of various branches of society. ... Herman I (died 10 December 949) was the first Conradine duke of Swabia (from 926), the son of Gebhard, Duke of Lorraine, and a cousin of King Conrad I of Germany. ... A cup-bearer was an officer of high rank in royal courts, whose duty it was to serve the wine at the kings table. ... Eberhard (* about 885; † 939), a member of the Conradine dynasty, became duke of Franconia as Eberhard III following the death of his older brother, King Conrad I (or Konrad) in December 918. ... The terms steward or stewardess can refer to a number of different professional roles. ... A seneschal was an officer in the houses of important nobles in the Middle Ages. ... Gilbert or Giselbert (c. ... Chamberlain can have several meanings: A chamberlain is an officer in charge of managing the household of a sovereign. ... Ministerialis (plural ministeriales; a Latin word, used in English, meaning originally an official in the imperial service; in German, Ministeriale(n)) was the name used for a member of the class of service nobility in the Middle Ages in Germany. ...

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 activities throughout his reign. Events Lioa Dynasty took over Peking naming it as their South Palace [Nanjing] Births Hugh Capet, King of France (d. ... General Name, Symbol, Number silver, Ag, 47 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 11, 5, d Appearance lustrous white metal Atomic mass 107. ... General Name, Symbol, Number copper, Cu, 29 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 11, 4, d Appearance metallic pinkish red Standard atomic weight 63. ... For Pb as an abbreviation, see Pb. ...

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 elder half-brother Thankmar (son of Henry's first wife Hatheburg). While Otto was able to defeat and kill Thankmar in 936, the revolt continued the next year when Gilbert, the Duke of Lorraine, swore fealty to King Louis IV of France. Meanwhile, Otto's younger brother Henry conspired with Frederick, 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 suzerainty over Lorraine. Eberhard was the eldest son and successor of Arnulf the Bad, duke of Bavaria (907-937). ... The following is a list of rulers of Bavaria: Dukes of Bavaria, 889-1623 Liutpolding Dynasty Liutpold 889-907 Arnulf the Bad 907-937 Eberhard 937 Berthold 938-947 Liudolfing (Ottonian) Dynasty Henry I 947-955 Henry II the Quarrelsome 955-976 Otto I 976-982 Liutpolding Dynasty Henry III... Berthold (c. ... Eberhard (* about 885; † 939), a member of the Conradine dynasty, became duke of Franconia as Eberhard III following the death of his older brother, King Conrad I (or Konrad) in December 918. ... Louis IV dOutremer: King of France 936 to 954, member of the Carolingian dynasty. ... Henry I (b. ... Frederick (died October 954) was the Archbishop of Mainz from 937, following the late Hildebert, until his death. ... Jack Ruby murdered the assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, in a very public manner. ... Events Vietnam became a tributary kingdom to China. ... Hugh the Great (d. ... Events Oda the Severe becomes Archbishop of Canterbury Births Charles dOutremer son of Louis IV of France Deaths Categories: 941 ...

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 fiefdom, 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. Events City of Algiers (re)founded by the Zirid king Buluggin ibn Ziri Abu Yazid launches a rebellion against the Fatimids in the Aures mountains. ... Conrad the Red (German: Konrad der Rote) (died 10 August 955) was Duke of Lotharingia and Franconia. ... Events Births Deaths Topiltzin Ce Acatl Quetzalcoatl, Toltec ruler Categories: 947 ... Events Belgian astronomer Jean Meeus asserts that the orbits of all nine planets were within the same 90% arc of the solar system on 1 February 949. ...

Campaigns in Italy and eastern Europe

Otto I accepting the surrender of Berengar of Ivrea.

Meanwhile, Italy had fallen into political chaos. On the death (950), possibly by poisoning, of Lothair of Arles, the Italian throne was inherited by a woman, Adelaide of Italy, the respective daughter, daughter-in-law, and widow of the last three kings of Italy. A local noble, Berengar of Ivrea, declared himself king of Italy, abducted Adelaide, and tried to legitimize his reign by forcing Adelaide to marry his son Adalbert. However, Adelaide escaped to Canossa and requested German intervention. Luitdolf and Henry independently invaded northern Italy to take advantage of the situation, but in 951 Otto frustrated his son's and his brother's ambitions by invading Italy himself, forcing Berengar to swear fealty, and then, having been widowed since 946, marrying Adelaide. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Events World Population: 250 Million. ... Lothar II of Arles was King of Italy from 947 to 950. ... Saint Adelaide (931 – 16 December 999) was perhaps the most prominent European woman of the 10th century. ... Berengar of Ivrea (?-966), sometimes also referred to as Berengar II of Italy was marquess of Ivrea, and later King of Italy. ... Canossa is a former castle of Matilda, Countess of Tuscany, situated in the foothills of the Apennines, in the province of Reggio Emilia and about eighteen miles from Parma. ... Events Allat the Maharana of Mewar come to powers. ...

This marriage triggered another revolt. When Adelaide bore a son, Liutdolf feared for his position as Otto's heir, and in 953 he rebelled in league with Conrad the Red and the Archbishop of Mainz. While Otto was initially successful in reasserting his authority in Lorraine, he was captured while attacking Mainz, and by the next year, the rebellion had spread throughout the kingdom. However, Conrad and Luitdolf erred by allying themselves with the Magyars. Extensive Magyar raids in southern Germany in 954 compelled the German nobles to reunite, and at the Diet of Auerstadt, Conrad and Luitdolf were stripped of their titles and Otto's authority reestablished. In 955, Otto cemented his authority by routing Magyar forces at the Battle of Lechfeld. Events First time that Póvoa de Varzim, Portugal appeared in a Roman map. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Events King Malcolm I of Scotland is killed in battle against Highlanders. ... Events August 10 - Otto I the Great defeats Magyars in the Battle of Lechfeld Edwy becomes King of England. ... Combatants East Francia Magyars Commanders Otto the Great harka Bulcsú; chieftains Lél and Súr Strength 10,000 heavy cavalry 50,000 light cavalry Casualties about 3,500 about 30,000 fell in the battle about 5,000 killed by local farmers maybe 5,000 fleeing Magyars killed by...

The Ottonian system

A key part of Otto's domestic policy lay in strengthening ecclesiastical authorities, chiefly bishops and abbots, at the expense of the secular nobility who threatened his own power. To control the forces that the Church represented, Otto had recourse to three institutions of which he made consistent use. One was the royal investiture of bishops and abbots with the symbols of their offices, both spiritual, for Otto was the anointed King of the Germans, and temporal, in which Otto secured his bishops and abbots as his vassals through a commendation ceremony. "Under these conditions clerical election became a mere formality in the Ottonian empire, and the king filled up the ranks of the episcopate with his own relatives and with his loyal chancery clerks, who were also appointed to head the great monasteries" (Cantor, 1994 p213). The second institution was more securely established in Ottonian territories, that of the proprietary churches (Eigenkirchen; in English law the right of "advowson"). In German law, any structure built on land owned by a lord belonged to that lord, unless a charter had very specifically conveyed away those rights. Otto and his chancery aggressively reclaimed proprietary rights over many landed churches and abbeys. The third instrument of Ottonian power was the system of the advocatus (German Vogt). The advocatus was a secular manager of ecclesiastical estates, who was entitled to a certain shares of the agricultural produce and other revenues and was responsible for safety and good order. Unlike countships, which quickly became hereditary, the Vogt performed the duties of a West Frankish bailli and held his position solely at the continued will of the emperor whom he served. This article is about a title or office in religious bodies. ... Abbots coat of arms The word abbot, meaning father, has been used as a Christian clerical title in various, mainly monastic, meanings. ... Look up vassal in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Charlemagne receiving the oath of fidelity and homage from one of his great vassals:facsimile of a monochrome miniature in a 14th century Ms of the Chronicles of St. ... The extent of the Holy Roman Empire in c. ... During the Middle Ages, the proprietary church (Latin ecclesia propria, German Eigenkirche) was a church, abbey or cloister built on private ground by a feudal lord, over which he retained proprietary interests, especially the right of what in English law is advowson, that of nominating the ecclesiastic personnel. ... Advowson is the right in English law of presenting a nominee to a vacant ecclesiastical benefice. ... An advocatus was an advocate in the Middle Ages. ... Bailiff (from Late Latin bajulivus, adjectival form of bajulus) is a governor or custodian (cf. ...

Otto endowed the bishoprics and abbeys with large tracts of land, over which secular authorities had neither the power of taxation nor legal jurisdiction. In an extreme example, when Conrad the Red was stripped of his ducal title in Lorraine, Otto appointed his brother Bruno, already the Archbishop of Cologne as the new duke of Lorraine. In the lands Otto conquered from the Wends and other Slavic peoples on his eastern borders, he founded several new bishoprics. Brun or Bruno I (925-965) was Archbishop of Cologne from 953 until his death, and Duke of Lotharingia from 954. ... For other uses, see Cologne (disambiguation). ... Wends (German: Wenden, Latin: Venedi) is the English name for some Slavic people from north-central Europe. ... Distribution of Slavic people by language The Slavic peoples (Greek: , Latin: , Arabic: ‎ Saqaliba, Old Church Slavonic: , Russian: , Polish: , Serbian: ), Croatian: , Bulgarian: ) are a linguistic and ethnic branch of Indo-European peoples, living mainly in Europe, where they constitute roughly a third of the population. ...

Because Otto personally appointed the bishops and abbots, these reforms strengthened his central authority, and the upper ranks of the German church functioned in some respect as an arm of the imperial bureaucracy. Conflict over these powerful bishoprics between Otto's successors and the growing power of the Papacy during the Gregorian Reforms would eventually lead in the 11th century to the Investiture Conflict and the undoing of central authority in Germany. The Pope is the Catholic Bishop and patriarch of Rome, and head of the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Catholic Churches. ... The Gregorian Reform was a series of reforms initiated by Pope Gregory VII and the circle he formed in the papal curia, circa 1050–1080, which dealt with the moral integrity and independence of the clergy. ... The Investiture Controversy was the most significant conflict between secular and religious powers in medieval Europe. ...

The Ottonian Renaissance

Main article: Ottonian Renaissance.

A limited renaissance of the arts and architecture depended on court patronage of Otto and his immediate successors. The "Ottonian Renaissance" was manifest in some revived cathedral schools, such as that of Bruno I, Archbishop of Cologne, and in the production of illuminated manuscripts, the major art form of the age, from a handful of elite scriptoria, such as Quedlinburg, founded by Otto in 936. The Imperial abbeys and the Imperial court became the centers of religious and spiritual life, led by the example of women of the royal family. Otto was scandalized by the state of the liturgy in Rome, so he commissioned the first ever Pontifical Book, a liturgical book containing both prayers and ritual instruction. The compilation of the Romano-Germanic Pontifical, as it is now called, was overseen by Archbishop Wilhelm of Mainz. Church of St Michael, Hildesheim. ... Raphael was famous for depicting illustrious figures of the Classical past with the features of his Renaissance contemporaries. ... The Arts is a broad subdivision of culture, comprised of many expressive disciplines. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Brun or Bruno I (925-965) was Archbishop of Cologne from 953 until his death, and Duke of Lotharingia from 954. ... In the strictest definition of illuminated manuscript, only manuscripts decorated with gold or silver, like this miniature of Christ in Majesty from the Aberdeen Bestiary (folio 4v), would be considered illuminated. ... A Scriptorium was a room or building, usually within a Christian monastery where, during medieval times, manuscripts were written. ... Quedlinburg is a town located near the Harz mountains, in the west of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. ...

Imperial title

In the early 960s, Italy was again in political turmoil, and when Berengar occupied the northern Papal States, Pope John XII asked Otto for assistance. Otto returned to Italy and on February 2, 962, the pope crowned him emperor- see Translatio imperii. Ten days later, the pope and emperor ratified the Diploma Ottonianum, in which the emperor became the guarantor of the independence of the papal states. This was the first effective power to guarantee such protection since the Carolingian Empire. After Otto left Rome and reconquered the Papal States from Berengar, however, John became fearful of the emperor's power and sent envoys to the Magyars and the Byzantine Empire to form a league against Otto. In November of 963, Otto returned to Rome and convened a synod of bishops that deposed John and crowned Leo VIII, at that time a layman, as pope. When the emperor left Rome, however, civil war broke out in the city between those who supported the emperor and those who supported John. John returned to power amidst great bloodshed and excommunicated those who had deposed him, forcing Otto to return to Rome a third time in July of 964 to depose Pope Benedict V (John having died two months earlier). On this occasion, Otto extracted from the citizens of Rome a promise not to elect a pope without imperial approval. Coat of arms Map of the Papal States; the reddish area was annexed to the Kingdom of Italy in 1860, the rest (grey) in 1870. ... John XII (born in Rome circa 937, died May 14, 964), was Pope from 955 to 963, was the son of Alberic II, whom he succeeded as patrician of Rome in 954, being then only eighteen years of age. ... February 2 is the 33rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Events February 2 - Pope John XII crowns Otto I the Great Holy Roman Emperor. ... The term translatio imperii, Latin for transfer of rule, typically refers to the passing of the crown of the Roman emperor. ... The Diploma Ottonianum was a document confirming the Donation of Pippin, co-signed during the darkest days of the Papacy by Pope John XII and Otto I, King of the Germans. ... Byzantine Empire at its greatest extent c. ... Events Holy Roman Emperor Otto I defeats Mieszko I of Poland, compels him to pay tribute Luxembourg is founded, and the Belgium area becomes part of the United Provinces of the Netherlands. ... Leo VIII (died 965), Pope from 963 to 964, a Roman by birth, held the lay office of protoserinus when he was elected to the papal chair at the instance of Otto the Great, by the Roman synod which deposed John XII in December 963. ... Events Nicephorus II begins campaign to recapture Cilicia. ... Benedict V (born in Rome; died July 4, 965), Pope (22 May 964 - 23 June 964), was elected by the Romans on the death of John XII. However the Roman emperor Otto I did not approve of the choice and had him deposed after only a month, and the ex...

Grave of Otto I in Magdeburg

Otto unsuccessfully campaigned in southern Italy on several occasions from 966–972. In 967, he gave the duchy of Spoleto to Pandulf Ironhead, prince of Benevento and Capua, a powerful ally in the Mezzogiorno. In the next year (968) Otto left the siege of Bari in the charge of Pandulf, but the allied duke was captured in the battle of Bovino by the Byzantines. In 972, the Byzantine emperor John I Tzimisces recognized Otto's imperial title and agreed to a marriage between Otto's son and heir Otto II and his niece Theophano. Pandulf was released from captivity. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1024x890, 154 KB) Please see the file description page for further information. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1024x890, 154 KB) Please see the file description page for further information. ... This article is about the German city. ... Events Emperor Reizei ascends to the throne of Japan The Khazar capital of Atil falls to the Kievan Rus around this year Births Deaths Emperor Murakami of Japan Abu al-Faraj Ali of Isfahan, scholar. ... The independent Duchy of Spoleto was a Lombard territory founded about 570 in southern Italy by the Lombard dux Faroald. ... Pandulf I (also Pandolf I or Pandulph I), called Ironhead or Pandolfo Testa di Ferro in Italian, was the duke (or prince) of Benevento and Capua from 943 to 981. ... Benevento is a town and comune of Campania, Italy, capital of the province of Benevento, 50 km northeast of Naples. ... Capua is a city in the province of Caserta, (Campania, Italy) situated 25 km (16 mi) north of Napoli, on the northeastern edge of the Campanian plain. ... Regions usually associated with the Mezzogiorno, with darker areas more closely tied to it. ... Events Births Emperor Kazan of Japan Ethelred II of England Romanus Argyrus, later Romanus III of the Eastern Roman Empire. ... A siege is a military blockade of a city or fortress with the intent of conquering by force or attrition, often accompanied by an assault. ... Location within Italy Bari is the capital of the province of Bari and of the Apulia (or Puglia) region, on the Adriatic sea, in Italy. ... Generally, a battle is an instance of combat in warfare between two or more parties wherein each group will seek to defeat the others. ... 80. ... Byzantine Empire at its greatest extent c. ... Events Otto II marries Theophanu, Byzantine princess. ... Ioannes, protected by God and the Virgin Mary. ... Otto II ( 955 – December 7, 983, Rome), was the third German ruler of the Saxon or Ottonian dynasty. ... Theophanu (956 - 991) (also known as Theophano) was born in Constantinople, the daughter of the Byzantine Emperor Romanus II and Theophanu. ...

After his death in 973 he was buried next to his first wife Edith of Wessex in the Cathedral of Magdeburg. Events Edgar of England is crowned king by Saint Dunstan Births September 15 - Al_Biruni, mathematician († 1048) Abu al-Ala al-Maarri, poet Deaths May 7 - Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor Categories: 973 ... Eadgyth or Edith (910 - 26 January 946)was the daughter of Edward the Elder, King of England and Elfleda. ... View of Magdeburg with the cathedral on the right. ...

Notes

Arnulf of Milan, or Arnulfus Mediolanensis (flourished c. ... A portrait of Charlemagne by Albrecht Dürer that was painted several centuries after Charlemagnes death. ... Events December 25, Rome, coronation of Charles the Great (Charlemagne) as emperor by Pope Leo III. Celtic monks begin work on the Book of Kells on the Island of Iona. ... Berengar of Friuli (? - 16 April 924) was a Margrave of Friuli, King of Italy (from 888 on) and Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire from 915 on. ... Events King Athelstan of England succeeds to the throne. ...

References

• Norman E. Cantor, 1994. The Civilization of the Middle Ages

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