Otto II ( 995 – 7 September 1047), a member of the

Ezzonid The Ezzonids (, ) were a dynasty of Lotharingian stock dating back as far as the ninth century. They attained prominence only in the eleventh century, through marriage with the Ottonian dynasty of Holy Roman Emperors. Named after Ezzo, Count P ...

dynasty, was

Count Palatine of Lotharingia The counts palatine of Lotharingia /counts palatine of the Rhine /electors of the Palatinate (german: Kurfürst von der Pfalz) ruled some part of Rhine area in the Kingdom of Germany and the Holy Roman Empire from 915 to 1803. The title was a kind ...

from 1034 until 1045 and

Duke of Swabia The Dukes of Swabia were the rulers of the Duchy of Swabia during the Middle Ages. Swabia was one of the five stem duchies of the medieval German kingdom, and its dukes were thus among the most powerful magnates of Germany. The most notable family ...

from 1045 until his death.

Life

Otto was the son of the

Lotharingian Lotharingia ( la, regnum Lotharii regnum Lothariense Lotharingia; french: Lotharingie; german: Reich des Lothar Lotharingien Mittelreich; nl, Lotharingen) was a short-lived medieval successor kingdom of the Carolingian Empire. As a more durable ...

count palatine Ezzo (955–1034) and his wife

Matilda Matilda or Mathilda may refer to: Animals * Matilda (chicken) (1990–2006), World's Oldest Living Chicken record holder * Matilda (horse) (1824–1846), British Thoroughbred racehorse * Matilda, a dog of the professional wrestling tag-team The ...

(979–1025), a daughter of 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 Italy. ...

and his consort

Theophanu Theophanu (; also ''Theophania'', ''Theophana'', or ''Theophano''; Medieval Greek ; AD 955 15 June 991) was empress of the Holy Roman Empire by marriage to Emperor Otto II, and regent of the Empire during the minority of their son, Emperor Ott ...

. He was a member of the

Ezzonian dynasty The Ezzonids (, ) were a dynasty of Lotharingian stock dating back as far as the ninth century. They attained prominence only in the eleventh century, through marriage with the Ottonian dynasty of Holy Roman Emperors. Named after Ezzo, Count Pa ...

. Otto's elder brother

Herman Herman may refer to: People * Herman (name), list of people with this name * Saint Herman (disambiguation) * Peter Noone (born 1947), known by the mononym Herman Places in the United States * Herman, Arkansas * Herman, Michigan * Herman, Min ...

became

Archbishop of Cologne The Archbishop of Cologne is an archbishop governing the Archdiocese of Cologne of the Catholic Church in western North Rhine-Westphalia and is also a historical state in the Rhine holding the birthplace of Beethoven and northern Rhineland-Palati ...

in 1036; his sister Richeza married the

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

king

Mieszko II Lambert Mieszko II Lambert (; c. 990 – 10/11 May 1034) was King of Poland from 1025 to 1031, and Duke from 1032 until his death. He was the second son of Bolesław I the Brave, but the eldest born from his third wife Emnilda of Lusatia. He was prob ...

in 1013. Upon the death of his father in 1034, Otto succeeded him as count palatine as well as count in Deutz and in the Rhenish ''Auelgau'', as his elder brother Liudolf had died already in 1031. He also served as protector (''

Vogt During the Middle Ages, an (sometimes given as modern English: advocate; German: ; French: ) was an office-holder who was legally delegated to perform some of the secular responsibilities of a major feudal lord, or for an institution such as ...

'') of

Brauweiler Abbey Brauweiler Abbey (german: Abtei Brauweiler) is a former Rule of St. Benedict, Benedictine monastery located at Brauweiler, now in Pulheim near Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, in Germany. History The monastery was founded and endowed in 1024 by ...

near

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

, which had been founded by his parents. In the conflict with Duke

Godfrey III of Lower Lorraine Godfrey III ( 997 – 1069), called the Bearded, was the eldest son of Gothelo I, Duke of Upper and Lower Lorraine. Biography Disputed succession By inheritance, Godfrey was Count of Verdun and he became Margrave of Antwerp as a vassal of ...

, Otto remained a loyal supporter of the

Salian 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 l ...

king Henry III. In turn Henry vested him with the princeless

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 ...

, which he had seized upon the early death of Duke Herman IV. At Easter on 7 April 1045 in

Goslar Goslar (; Eastphalian: ''Goslär'') is a historic town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the administrative centre of the district of Goslar and located on the northwestern slopes of the Harz mountain range. The Old Town of Goslar and the Mines ...

, the ducal title was awarded to Otto; in exchange, he gave up the office of count palatine, which was bestowed on his cousin

Henry I Henry I may refer to: 876–1366 * Henry I the Fowler, King of Germany (876–936) * Henry I, Duke of Bavaria (died 955) * Henry I of Austria, Margrave of Austria (died 1018) * Henry I of France (1008–1060) * Henry I the Long, Margrave of the No ...

. Also, his territories in

Kaiserswerth Kaiserswerth is one of the oldest quarters of the City of Düsseldorf, part of Borough 5. It is in the north of the city and next to the river Rhine. It houses the where Florence Nightingale worked. Kaiserswerth has an area of , and 7,923 inh ...

and

Duisburg Duisburg () is a city in the Ruhr metropolitan area of the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Lying on the confluence of the Rhine and the Ruhr rivers in the center of the Rhine-Ruhr Region, Duisburg is the 5th largest city in Nor ...

devolved onto the crown.

Marriage and children

Otto married a daughter of Count Hugh IV of Eguisheim. He had a daughter, Richenza ( 1025 – 1083), who married, firstly, Herman, Count of

Werl Werl (; Westphalian: ''Wiärl'') is a town located in the district of Soest in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Werl is easily accessible because it is located between the Sauerland, Münsterland, and the Ruhr Area. The Hellweg road ...

, and, secondly,

Otto of Nordheim Otto of Nordheim (c. 1020 – 11 January 1083) was Duke of Bavaria from 1061 until 1070. He was one of the leaders of the Saxon Rebellion in 1073-75 and the Great Saxon Revolt of 1077-88 against King Henry IV of Germany. Life Family Otto was born ...

. Another daughter, Hildegarde, married

Frederick of Büren Frederick of Büren ( 1053) was a count in northern Swabia and an ancestor of the imperial Staufer dynasty., nn. 8 & 9. The name Frederick of Büren is known only from the ''Tabula Consanguinitatis'', a Staufer genealogy drawn up by the monk Wib ...

, and they were the parents of Duke

Frederick I of Swabia Frederick I (c. 1050 – 1105) before 21 July was Duke of Swabia from 1079 to his death, the first ruler from the House of Hohenstaufen (''Staufer''). Life Frederick was the son of Frederick of Büren (c. 1020–1053), Count in the Riesgau and ...

. Recently, any matrimonial alliance of Otto has been disputed. In 1047, Otto died unexpectedly at his castle, the Tomburg, while preparing an imperial campaign against the invading forces of Count

Baldwin V of Flanders Baldwin V ( 1012 – 1 September 1067) was Count of Flanders from 1035 until his death. He secured the personal union between the counties of Flanders and Hainaut and maintained close links to the Anglo-Saxon monarchy, which was overthrown by hi ...

and Count

Dirk IV of Holland Dirk IV (ca. 1020/1030 – 13 January 1049) was Count of Holland from 1039 to 1049 (which was called Frisia at that time). Dirk's date of birth is unknown but it was probably ca. 1030 or shortly before, he was described as "adolescent" at the ti ...

. He was buried in Brauweiler Abbey; the ceremony was held by his brother-in-law, Bishop Bruno of Toul, the later

Pope Leo IX Pope Leo IX (21 June 1002 – 19 April 1054), born Bruno von Egisheim-Dagsburg, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 February 1049 to his death in 1054. Leo IX is considered to be one of the most historically ...

. In 1048, Emperor Henry III appointed

Otto of Schweinfurt Otto III (died 28 September 1057), called the White and known as Otto of Schweinfurt, was the margrave of the Nordgau (1024–1031) and duke of Swabia (1048–1057). He was the son of Henry of Schweinfurt, margrave of the Nordgau, and Gerberga of ...

his successor as Duke of Swabia.

References

Sources

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Otto 02, Duke of Swabia 1047 deaths Dukes of Swabia Counts Palatine of Lotharingia People of Byzantine descent 11th-century German nobility Year of birth unknown Burials at Brauweiler Abbey