Liutgarde of Saxony (932 – 18 November 953), a member of the

Ottonian dynasty The Ottonian dynasty (german: Ottonen) was a Saxon dynasty of German monarchs (919–1024), named after three of its kings and Holy Roman Emperors named Otto, especially its first Emperor Otto I. It is also known as the Saxon dynasty after the ...

, was

Duchess of Lorraine The royal consorts of the rulers of the Lorraine region have held varying titles, over a region that has varied in scope since its creation as the kingdom of Lotharingia by the Treaty of Prüm, in 855. The first rulers of the newly established r ...

from 947 until her death by her marriage with Duke

Conrad the Red Conrad ( – 10 August 955), called the Red (german: Konrad der Rote), was Duke of Lorraine from 944 until 953. He became the progenitor of the Imperial Salian dynasty. Life He was the son of Werner V (died about 935), a Franconian count in the ...

. She and Conrad became progenitors of the

Salian dynasty The Salian dynasty or Salic dynasty (german: Salier) was a dynasty in the High Middle Ages. The dynasty provided four kings of Germany (1024–1125), all of whom went on to be crowned Holy Roman emperors (1027–1125). After the death of the la ...

Life

Liutgarde was the only daughter of King Otto I of Germany from his first marriage with

Edith of England Edith of England, also spelt Eadgyth or Ædgyth ( ang, Ēadgȳð, german: Edgitha; 910 – 946), a member of the House of Wessex, was a German queen from 936, by her marriage to King Otto I. Life Edith was born to the reigning English king Edw ...

, half-sister of King

Æthelstan Æthelstan or Athelstan (; ang, Æðelstān ; on, Aðalsteinn; ; – 27 October 939) was King of the Anglo-Saxons from 924 to 927 and King of the English from 927 to his death in 939. He was the son of King Edward the Elder and his first ...

. To build closer ties to the Salian dynasty, King Otto in 947 married her off to Conrad the Red, whom he had installed as

Duke of Lorraine The rulers of Lorraine have held different posts under different governments over different regions, since its creation as the kingdom of Lotharingia by the Treaty of Prüm, in 855. The first rulers of the newly established region were kings of t ...

three years before. The marriage was not particularly happy. Around 950 Liutgarde gave birth to a son,

Otto of Worms Otto I (c. 950 – 4 November 1004), called Otto of Worms, a member of the Salian dynasty, was Duke of Carinthia from 978 to 985 and again from 1002 until his death. Biography Otto was the only son of Conrad the Red, Duke of Lotharingia, and Liu ...

. Her husband accompanied the king on his

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

campaign in 951; however, he fell out with Otto over the agreements made with King Berengar II. Liutgarde died at

Mainz Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main (river), Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-we ...

in 953, where Conrad the Red had joined the rebellion of her elder brother Duke

Liudolf of Swabia Liudolf ( – 6 September 957), a member of the Ottonian dynasty, was Duke of Swabia from 950 until 954. His rebellion in 953/54 led to a major crisis of the rising German kingdom. Liudolf was the only son of the Saxon duke Otto the Great, son a ...

and Archbishop

Frederick Frederick may refer to: People * Frederick (given name), the name Nobility Anhalt-Harzgerode *Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670) Austria * Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria from 1195 to 1198 * Frederick ...

. She was buried in St. Alban's Abbey, Mainz Next year, Duke Conrad finally submitted himself to the authority of King Otto and remained a loyal supporter; he died at the 955

Battle of Lechfeld The Battle of Lechfeld was a series of military engagements over the course of three days from 10–12 August 955 in which the Kingdom of Germany, led by King Otto I the Great, annihilated the Hungarian army led by ''Harka ''Bulcsú and the chi ...

. Liutgarde's brother Liudolf died two years later, while on campaign in Italy. Upon the death of Emperor Otto in 973, the

Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...

passed through his second wife

Adelaide of Italy Adelaide of Italy (german: Adelheid; 931 – 16 December 999 AD), also called Adelaide of Burgundy, was Holy Roman Empress by marriage to Emperor Otto the Great; she was crowned with him by Pope John XII in Rome on 2 February 962. She was the ...

to their son Otto II. In turn, Liudolf's son

Otto I Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), traditionally known as Otto the Great (german: Otto der Große, it, Ottone il Grande), was East Francia, East Frankish king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the olde ...

was vested with the

Duchy of Swabia The Duchy of Swabia (German: ''Herzogtum Schwaben'') was one of the five stem duchies of the medieval German Kingdom. It arose in the 10th century in the southwestern area that had been settled by Alemanni tribes in Late Antiquity. While the ...

, while Liutgarde's son Otto of Worms succeeded as

Duke of Carinthia The Duchy of Carinthia (german: Herzogtum Kärnten; sl, Vojvodina Koroška) was a duchy located in southern Austria and parts of northern Slovenia. It was separated from the Duchy of Bavaria in 976, and was the first newly created Imperial Sta ...

in 978. Upon the death of Emperor

Otto III Otto III (June/July 980 – 23 January 1002) was Holy Roman Emperor from 996 until his death in 1002. A member of the Ottonian dynasty, Otto III was the only son of the Emperor Otto II and his wife Theophanu. Otto III was crowned as King of ...

in 1002, Otto of Worms also appeared as a candidate in the royal

election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...

but renounced in favour of the Ottonian duke Henry IV of Bavaria, a grandson of Emperor Otto I's brother Duke Henry I. After Henry's death, Liutgarde's great-grandson Conrad II was elected

King of the Romans King of the Romans ( la, Rex Romanorum; german: König der Römer) was the title used by the king of Germany following his election by the princes from the reign of Henry II (1002–1024) onward. The title originally referred to any German k ...

, the first of the Salian dynasty.

Ancestry

References

Sources

* * {{authority control Ottonian dynasty Salian dynasty 932 births 953 deaths German people of Danish descent German princesses 10th-century German women 10th-century Saxon people Daughters of emperors bg:Лиутгарда