Ordulf (sometimes ''Otto'') ( – 28 March 1072) was the

duke of Saxony This article lists dukes, electors, and kings ruling over different territories named Saxony from the beginning of the Saxon Duchy in the 6th century to the end of the German monarchies in 1918. The electors of Saxony from John the Steadfast on ...

from 1059, when he succeeded his father Bernard II, until his death. He was a member of the

Billung The House of Billung was a dynasty of Saxon noblemen in the 9th through 12th centuries. The first known member of the house was Count Wichmann, mentioned as a Billung in 811. Oda, the wife of Count Liudolf, oldest known member of the Liudol ...

family.

Reign

Ordulf's entire reign was occupied by wars with the Wends. He was allied with

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

in this endeavor, and he strengthened the alliance by marrying

Wulfhild of Norway Wulfhild of Norway (1020 – 24 May 1071), Old West Norse: ''Úlfhildr Ólafsdóttir'', Swedish: ''Ulfhild Olofsdotter'', was a Norwegian princess, and a duchess of Saxony by marriage to Ordulf, Duke of Saxony. Life Wulfhild was born in 1020 a ...

, the daughter of King

Olaf II of Norway Olaf II Haraldsson ( – 29 July 1030), later known as Saint Olaf (and traditionally as St. Olave), was King of Norway from 1015 to 1028. Son of Harald Grenske, a petty king in Vestfold, Norway, he was posthumously given the title '' Rex Per ...

, in 1042. Their son Magnus succeeded Ordulf as Duke of Saxony. Ordulf's second wife, Gertrude of Haldensleben, daughter of a Count Conrad, was imprisoned in

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 joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-west, with Ma ...

in 1076 and died 21 February 1116. Their son Bernard died after a fall from a horse in Lüneburg on 15 July of an unknown year. Ordulf is buried in the Church of St. Michael in Lüneburg.

References

Sources

* * * 1020s births 1072 deaths Dukes of Saxony House of Billung Burials at the Church of Saint Michael, Lüneburg Year of birth uncertain {{Germany-noble-stub