Siegfried, Count of Merseburg

Siegfried (died 3 December 937) was a prominent German noble from the Duchy of Saxony in the East Francia, who was the Count of Merseburg in Eastphalia, from an unknown date before 934 until his death.[1]

Since Merseburg was at that time a frontier city towards the Polabian Slavs, in traditional historiography Siegfried is sometimes also mentioned as the margrave of Merseburg, but that title is not attributed to him in primary sources, such as contemporary royal charters and diplomas, and thus is used in literature conditionally, in order to emphasize the frontier character of Siegfried's post.

Siegfried was probably the son of Thietmar, the tutor of Henry I of Germany. He was made procurator of the Duchy of Saxony in 936. Otto I put his younger brother Henry under the "protective custory" of Siegfried (or perhaps in Bavaria) during his coronation festivities.[2] At that time, Siegfried was "second after the king," according to Widukind of Corvey.[3]

When Siegfried died, his march was disputed between Thankmar, his cousin (through their mothers) and the king's brother, and Gero, his own brother and the king's appointee.[4]

Siegfried's first wife was Ermenburg (Irminburg), daughter of Otto I, Duke of Saxony, and Hathui. His second wife (936) was Guthia (Guhtiu), who as a widow became the foundress and first abbess of Gröningen.

References

  1. ^ Stieldorf 2026, p. 231, 236-239, 431-437.
  2. ^ Bernhardt (1993), p. 6
  3. ^ Reuter 2013, p. 153.
  4. ^ Bernhardt (1993), p. 18

Sources

  • Bernhardt, John W. (1993). Itinerant Kingship and Royal Monasteries in Early Medieval Germany, c. 936–1075. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Reuter, Timothy (2013) [1991]. Germany in the Early Middle Ages c. 800–1056 (2nd ed.). London and New York: Routledge.
  • Stieldorf, Andrea (2026) [2012]. Marken und Markgrafen: Studien zur Grenzsicherung durch die fränkisch-deutschen Herrscher (2nd ed.). Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.