Gero (died 11 August 979), Count of Alsleben, conjectured to be the son of Siegfried and therefore grandson of Gero the Great. If so, his mother was Hedwig, daughter of

Wichmann the Elder Wichmann I the Elder (also spelled ''Wigmann'' or ''Wichman'') (died 23 April 944) was a member of the Saxon House of Billung. He was a brother of Amelung, Bishop of Verden, and Herman, Duke of Saxony. Biography In 938, Wichmann rebelled beca ...

. Gero was the brother of Tetta, who established a monastery at Alsleben in his name.

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 is the major source of information here, refers to Gero as a Count in Northern Thuringia and Morzani. Gero was married to Adela of an unknown family. Gero and Adela had one daughter, Adela of Alsleben, who married

Siegfried II, Count of Stade Siegfried II (c. 956 – 1037), Count of Stade, was the youngest son of Henry I the Bald, Count of Stade, and his wife Judith von der Wetterau, granddaughter of Gebhard, Duke of Lorraine. Siegfried married Adela of Rhienfelden, daughter of Gero ...

. No other counts of Alsleben are recorded until the 12th century. Gero was accused before

Emperor Otto II An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother (empr ...

by the Saxon warrior Waldo of a crime. Neither the identity of Waldo nor the crime are known. At the instigation of

Adalbert, Archbishop of Magdeburg Adalbert of Magdeburg (c. 91020 June 981), sometimes incorrectly shortened to "Albert", known as the Apostle of the Slavs, was the first Archbishop of Magdeburg (from 968) and a successful missionary to the Polabian Slavs to the east of what is ...

, and Dietrich, Margrave of the Northern March, Gero was captured at Sömmering and placed in the custody of Thietmar's father and uncle, Siegfried I, Count of Walbeck, and

Lothair I, Margrave of the Nordmark Lothair I (Lothar, Liuthar) (ca. 940 – 25 January 1003) was Margrave of the Nordmark ( Northern March) from about 983 until his death. He was also a member of Saxon nobility as Count of Derlingau and of Nordthüringgau. Born the eldest son o ...

. In accordance with the practice of

trial by combat Trial by combat (also wager of battle, trial by battle or judicial duel) was a method of Germanic law to settle accusations in the absence of witnesses or a confession in which two parties in dispute fought in single combat; the winner of the ...

, Gero and Waldo met for a judicial duel on 11 August 979. During the fight, Gero's strikes resulted in two serious blows to the neck of Waldo, but Waldo was able to counter with a heavy blow to Gero’s head. With his opponent too dizzy to continue, Waldo left the site and disarmed, only to suddenly die of his wounds. Despite clearly winning the combat, Gero was declared guilty and sentenced to death. On the emperor’s orders, Gero was beheaded at sunset. Apparently, the only ones pleased with the verdict were Adalbert and Dietrich.

Otto I, Duke of Swabia and Bavaria Otto I (born 954, died 31 October or 1 November 982) was the Duke of Swabia from 973 and Duke of Bavaria from 976. He was a member of the Ottonian dynasty, the only son of Duke Liudolf of Swabia and his wife Ida, and thus a grandson of the Empero ...

, who arrived later in the day, and Berthold, Count of the Radenzgau, rebuked the emperor,

Otto II Otto II (955 – 7 December 983), called the Red (''der Rote''), was Holy Roman Emperor from 973 until his death in 983. A member of the Ottonian dynasty, Otto II was the youngest and sole surviving son of Otto the Great and Adelaide of Ita ...

, for allowing such a man to be condemned on a petty charge. The remarkable outcome of this duel was long remembered in medieval Germany.

Sources

* Warner, David A., Ottonian Germany: The Chronicon of Thietmar of Merseburg, Manchester University Press, Manchester, 2001
Medieval Lands Project, Grafen von Alsleben

References

{{Reflist 979 deaths Counts of Germany German duellists People executed by decapitation Trials by combat