Otto I, Duke of Carinthia

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 Liutgarde, daughter of Emperor Otto I, and Conrad the Red, duke of Lotharingia. Otto's mother died three years after he was born and Otto lived much of his early life in his grandfather's court until the emperor's death in 973. His maternal uncle, Otto II, ascended the Imperial throne.

Otto of Worms is first documented as a count in the Nahegau about 956. He also held the Speyergau and Wormsgau, as well as several other counties in the area. In 978, Emperor Otto II appointed him duke of Carinthia and margrave of Verona, after his Luitpolding predecessor, Henry the Younger, had unsuccessfully rebelled against the Imperial authority during the War of the Three Henries and was deposed. In 985, however, Emperor Otto's widow, Empress Theophanu, in order to gain support for the succession of their minor son, Otto III, restored Carinthia to the Luitpoldings, and Otto lost the duchy. He retained the ducal title as "duke of Worms", received the ''Kaiserpfalz'' of Lautern and seized large estates of Wissembourg (''Weißenburg'') Abbey in compensation.

Upon the death of Duke Henry II of Bavaria in 995, Otto again received the Duchy of Carinthia and the March of Verona. When Emperor Otto III died in 1002, Otto of Worms and Duke Henry IV of Bavaria were candidates for the new king of Germany; Otto withdrew from the election and received the Duchy of Carinthia from Henry in return. Nevertheless, he was forced to cede his Rhenish possessions to his long-time rival Bishop Burchard of Worms.

Otto died two years later, he was succeeded as Carinthian duke by his son, Conrad.

Family

Otto married Judith (died 991), probably a granddaughter of Duke Arnulf the Bad of Bavaria. They had the following known children:
* Henry of Speyer (died before 1000), Count in the Wormsgau
* Pope Gregory V (died 999)
* Conrad I, Duke of Carinthia (1004–1011)
* William, Bishop of Strasbourg (1028–1047)

Notes

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{{Authority control

950s births
1004 deaths
Year of birth uncertain
Dukes of Carinthia
Salian dynasty
10th-century dukes in Europe
11th-century dukes in Europe