The House of Billung was a
dynasty
A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A ...
of
Saxon
The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic
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peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...
noblemen in the 9th through 12th centuries.
The first known member of the house was
Count Wichmann, mentioned as a Billung in 811. Oda, the wife of Count
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
The Bardengau was a medieval county ('' Gau'') in the Duchy of Saxony. Its main town was Bardowick; other important towns were Lüneburg and Oldenstadt (today Uelzen).
Since the 10th century, members of the House of Billung have been recorded as c ...
around
Lüneburg
Lüneburg (officially the ''Hanseatic City of Lüneburg'', German: ''Hansestadt Lüneburg'', , Low German ''Lümborg'', Latin ''Luneburgum'' or ''Lunaburgum'', Old High German ''Luneburc'', Old Saxon ''Hliuni'', Polabian ''Glain''), also calle ...
and they controlled the
march named after them. 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 Billung
Hermann Billung (900 or 912 – 27 March 973) was the margrave of the Billung March from 936 until his death. The first of the Saxon House of Billung, Hermann was a trusted lieutenant of Emperor Otto I.
Though never Duke of Saxony himself, w ...
. For five generations, the House of Billung ruled the
Duchy of Saxony
The Duchy of Saxony ( nds, Hartogdom Sassen, german: Herzogtum Sachsen) was originally the area settled by the Saxons in the late Early Middle Ages, when they were subdued by Charlemagne during the Saxon Wars from 772 and incorporated into the C ...
.
The house submerged into the Welf and Ascania dynasties when
Duke Magnus died in 1106 without sons; the family's property was divided between his two daughters. His daughter
Wulfhilde married
Henry IX, Duke of Bavaria
Henry IX (107513 December 1126), called the Black, a member of the House of Welf, was Duke of Bavaria from 1120 to 1126.
Life and reign
Henry was the second son of Duke Welf I of Bavaria (died 1101) from his marriage with Judith, daughter of C ...
, a member of the
House of Welf
The House of Welf (also Guelf or Guelph) is a European dynasty that has included many German and British monarchs from the 11th to 20th century and Emperor Ivan VI of Russia in the 18th century. The originally Franconia, Franconian family from ...
; his daughter
Eilika married
Otto, Count of Ballenstedt
Otto, Count of Ballenstedt, called Otto the Rich ( – 9 February 1123), was the first Ascanian prince to call himself count of Anhalt, and was also briefly named duke of Saxony. He was the father of Albert the Bear, who later conquered Brand ...
, a member of the
House of Ascania
The House of Ascania (german: Askanier) was a dynasty of German rulers. It is also known as the House of Anhalt, which refers to its longest-held possession, Anhalt.
The Ascanians are named after Ascania (or Ascaria) Castle, known as ''Schloss ...
. As a consequence, for the following decades control of Saxony was contested between the Welfs and Ascanians.
The Billung dukes of Saxony were:
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Hermann, died 973
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Bernard I, died 1011
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Bernard II, died 1059
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Ordulf, died 1072
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Magnus
Magnus, meaning "Great" in Latin, was used as cognomen of Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus in the first century BC. The best-known use of the name during the Roman Empire is for the fourth-century Western Roman Emperor Magnus Maximus. The name gained wid ...
, died 1106
{{Authority control
9th-century establishments in Europe
12th-century disestablishments in Europe
Westphalian nobility