Eckard II (german: Ekkehard; – 24 January 1046) was Margrave of Lusatia (as Eckard I) from 1034 and

Margrave of Meissen This article lists the margraves of Meissen, a march and territorial state on the eastern border of the Holy Roman Empire. History King Henry the Fowler, on his 928-29 campaign against the Slavic Glomacze tribes, had a fortress erected on a ...

from 1038 until his death. He was the last of his dynasty, with his death the line of Ekkeharding margraves descending from Eckard I of Meissen (d. 1002) became extinct.

Life

He was a younger son of Margrave Eckard I of Meissen and his wife Swanehilde. Eckard was a count in the ''

Gau Gau or GAU may refer to: People * Gaugericus (–626), Bishop of Cambrai * Gau Ming-Ho (born 1949), Chinese mountaineer * Franz Christian Gau (1790–1854), German architect and archaeologist * James Gau (born 1957), Papua New Guinean politi ...

'' Chutizi east of

Merseburg Merseburg () is a town in central Germany in southern Saxony-Anhalt, situated on the river Saale, and approximately 14 km south of Halle (Saale) and 30 km west of Leipzig. It is the capital of the Saalekreis district. It had a diocese ...

as well as in the burgward of Teuchern. Upon the assassination of his father in 1002, Eckard II and his elder brother Herman I ruled over the Ekkeharding allodial lands, while the Meissen margravial title first passed to their uncle Gunzelin feuding with his nephews until his deposition in 1009. During the German–Polish War around the Lusatian and Milceni lands, the brothers were able to maintain the rule over the Meissen lands until fighting ended with the 1018 Peace of Bautzen. About 1026, Eckard married Uta von Ballenstedt, sister of the

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country ( Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the No ...

count Esico of Ballenstedt, progenitor of the noble

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 ''Schlos ...

. The marriage remained childless. With the consent of Emperor Conrad II, he and his brother Herman had the seat of the Bishopric of Zeitz relocated to

Naumburg Cathedral Naumburg Cathedral (german: Naumburger Dom St. Peter und St. Paul, ), located in Naumburg, Germany, is the former cathedral of the Bishopric of Naumburg-Zeitz. The church building, most of which dates back to the 13th century, is a renowned landma ...

in 1028–29. In 1034 Eckard II became Margrave of Lusatia (

Lower Lusatia Lower Lusatia (; ; ; szl, Dolnŏ Łużyca; ; ) is a historical region in Central Europe, stretching from the southeast of the German state of Brandenburg to the southwest of Lubusz Voivodeship in Poland. Like adjacent Upper Lusatia in the ...

) after his followers had slain the Wettin margrave

Theoderic II Theodoric II, ''Teodorico'' in Spanish and Portuguese, ( 426 – early 466) was the eighth King of the Visigoths, from 453 to 466. Biography Theoderic II, son of Theodoric I, obtained the throne by killing his elder brother Thorismund. The Engli ...

, husband of Eckard's sister Matilda. Four years later he succeeded his brother Herman as Margrave of

Meissen Meissen (in German orthography: ''Meißen'', ) is a town of approximately 30,000 about northwest of Dresden on both banks of the Elbe river in the Free State of Saxony, in eastern Germany. Meissen is the home of Meissen porcelain, the Albre ...

. As guardian of the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

eastern frontiers against

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is divided into Voivodeships of Poland, sixteen voivodeships and is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union (EU), with over 38 mill ...

and Bohemia, he was often serving Emperor Conrad II and his successor King Henry III against these menaces, including the "Bohemian Achilles", Duke

Bretislaus I Bretislav I ( cs, Břetislav I.; 1002/1005 – 10 January 1055), known as the "Bohemian Achilles", of the Přemyslid dynasty, was Duke of Bohemia from 1034 until his death. Youth Bretislav was the son of Duke Oldřich and his low-born concubine ...

. In 1039 Bretislaus, allied with King Peter of Hungary, who was at the same time raiding the Bavarian Avar March, made great gains in Poland, plundering

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 159 ...

and

Gniezno Gniezno (; german: Gnesen; la, Gnesna) is a city in central-western Poland, about east of Poznań. Its population in 2021 was 66,769, making it the sixth-largest city in the Greater Poland Voivodeship. One of the Piast dynasty's chief cities, ...

, where he took along the relics of Saint Adalbert of Prague. In turn, King Henry III launched a campaign against him, together with his loyalest and most trusted allies, Archbishop

Bardo of Mainz Bardo (c. 980 – 10/11 June 1051) was the Archbishop of Mainz from 1031 until 1051, the Abbot of Werden from 1030 until 1031, and the Abbot of Hersfeld in 1031. Bardo was born in Oppershofen in the Wetterau. He was educated and trained at th ...

and Margrave Eckard. The

forces led by the Meissen margrave took part in both of the king's expedition's, in 1040 and 1041: the first unsuccessful, the latter a victory which forced Duke Bretislaus to submit and conclude a peace treaty. Margrave Eckard remained one of Henry's closest advisors until his death during a Saxon

epidemic An epidemic (from Greek ἐπί ''epi'' "upon or above" and δῆμος ''demos'' "people") is the rapid spread of disease to a large number of patients among a given population within an area in a short period of time. Epidemics of infectious d ...

of 1046. He bequeathed his exceptional wealth and his margravial titles and lands to King Henry, who bestowed the margraviate on the

Thuringian Thuringian is an East Central German dialect group spoken in much of the modern German Free State of Thuringia north of the Rennsteig ridge, southwestern Saxony-Anhalt and adjacent territories of Hesse and Bavaria. It is close to Upper Saxon sp ...

count

William IV of Weimar William IV, Count of Weimar (died 1062) was Margrave of Meissen from 1046 until his death. Life He was the eldest son of Count William III of Weimar from his second marriage with Oda, a daughter of Margrave Thietmar of the Saxon Eastern March. He ...

. He and his wife Uta von Ballenstedt were immortalized by their famous donor portraits by the Naumburg Master in the Naumburg Cathedral.

Sources

* Gwatkin, H.M., Whitney, J. P. (ed) et al. ''The Cambridge Medieval History: Volume III''.

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press in the world. It is also the King's Printer. Cambr ...

, 1926. {{Authority control 1046 deaths Margraves of Meissen 11th-century rulers in Europe 980s births House of Ekkehardiner