Friedrick (''Friedrich von Walbeck''; 974–1018),
Count of Walbeck and Viscount (Burggraf) of
Magdeburg
Magdeburg (; nds, label=Low Saxon, Meideborg ) is the capital and second-largest city of the German state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is situated at the Elbe river.
Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archdiocese of Magdebu ...
, son of
Siegfried I the Older, Count of Walbeck
Siegfried I the Elder (Siegfried der Ältere von Walbeck) (died 15 March 990), Count of Walbeck and Möckerngau, son of Lothar II the Old, Count of Walbeck, and Mathilde von Arneburg.
Rule
He succeeded his father as Count of Walbeck upon his ...
, and Kunigunde von Stade daughter of
Henry I the Bald, Count of Stade Henry I the Bald (died 11 May 976) was Count of Stade. He was son of Lothar II, Count of Stade, and Swanhild of Saxony. Henry is recorded as a cousin of Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, but their exact relationship remains a mystery. Henry was also ap ...
. He was brother to
Thietmar of Merseburg
Thietmar (also Dietmar or Dithmar; 25 July 9751 December 1018), Prince-Bishop of Merseburg from 1009 until his death, was an important chronicler recording the reigns of German kings and Holy Roman Emperors of the Ottonian (Saxon) dynasty. Two ...
, whose Chronicon was the main source of information on him, and his predecessor
Henry, Count of Walbeck
Henry (died September 1004), Count of Walbeck, son of Siegfried I the Older, Count of Walbeck, and Kunigunde von Stade, daughter of Henry I the Bald, Count of Stade. Virtually all that is known about Henry was provided in the chronicle of his br ...
.
Frederick was the first recorded Burggraf of Magdeburg. Frederick and his brother
Henry
Henry may refer to:
People
*Henry (given name)
* Henry (surname)
* Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry
Royalty
* Portuguese royalty
** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal
** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...
accompanied their cousin
Werner, Margrave of the Nordmark
Werner (also ''Wirinher'' or ''Werinharius'') (died 11 November 1014) was the Margrave of the Nordmark from 1003 until 1009. He was a cousin of the contemporary bishop and historian Thietmar of Merseburg.
Werner was the eldest son of Lothair ...
, and "other excellent warriors" in their abduction of Reinhild, the mistress of Beichlingen, from her fortress at Quedlinburg. Werner was captured by the forces of the abbess, but apparently neither Friedrick nor Henry were charged.
Frederick supported Werner in his quarrel with
Dedo I of Wettin, although it is not clear that he participated in his murder. The years before Dedo's death were overshadowed by a feud with the Counts of Walbeck. When his father-in-law
Dietrich was deposed as the Margrave of the Nordmark, Dedo claimed the office of margrave for himself. The office was granted instead to
Lothair I, Freidrick's uncle. Dedo I was involved in the devastation of the castle of
Wolmirstedt
Wolmirstedt () is a town in the Börde district in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is located 14 km north of Magdeburg, on the river Ohre. The town Wolmirstedt consists of Wolmirstedt proper and the ''Ortschaften'' (municipal divisions) Elbeu, F ...
which was in the possession of the Counts of Walbeck. Dedo's dispute with the House of Walbeck continued with Lothair's son and successor as margrave
Werner. Dedo was killed by Werner on 13 November 1009, along with his vassals, near Mose at the confluence of the Tange and Elbe rivers.
Friedrick married to Thietburga, born of an unknown family. Friedrick and Thietuerga had two children:
*
Conrad, Count of Walbeck and Viscount of Magdeburg
* Brigida, Abbess of the Monastery of St. Lawrence at Magdeburg. (Bridida's parentage is described in two ways by
Thietmar. She either the daughter of Frederick or that of his uncle
Lothar
Lothar is a Danish, Finnish, German, Norwegian, and Swedish masculine given name, while Lotár is a Hungarian masculine given name. Both names are modern forms of the Germanic Chlothar (which is a blended form of ''Hlūdaz'', meaning "fame", a ...
.)
Upon Friedrick's death, his son assumed the titles of Count of Walbeck and Viscount of Magdeburg.
References
* Warner, David A., ''Ottonian Germany: The Chronicon of Thietmar of Merseburg'', Manchester University Press, Manchester, 2001
* Grosse, Walther, ''Die Grafen von Walbec''k. In: Harz-Zeitschrift, 1952
Medieval Lands Project, Grafen von Walbeck
Counts of Germany
974 births
1018 deaths