Siegfried (died 3 December 937) was the Count and

Margrave Margrave was originally the medieval title for the military commander assigned to maintain the defence of one of the border provinces of the Holy Roman Empire or of a kingdom. That position became hereditary in certain feudal families in the E ...

Merseburg Merseburg () is a town in central Germany in southern Saxony-Anhalt, situated on the river Saale, and approximately 14 km south of Halle (Saale) and 30 km west of Leipzig. It is the capital of the Saalekreis district. It had a diocese ...

from an unknown date before 934 until his death. He does not appear with the title of margrave in contemporary royal charters and diplomas, so the title was informal and never official. Siegfried was probably the son of Thietmar, the tutor of Henry I of Germany. He was made

procurator Procurator (with procuracy or procuratorate referring to the office itself) may refer to: * Procurator, one engaged in procuration, the action of taking care of, hence management, stewardship, agency * ''Procurator'' (Ancient Rome), the title o ...

of the

Duchy of Saxony The Duchy of Saxony ( nds, Hartogdom Sassen, german: Herzogtum Sachsen) was originally the area settlement geography, settled by the Saxons in the late Early Middle Ages, when they were subdued by Charlemagne during the Saxon Wars from 772 and in ...

in 936.

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 Frankish king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the oldest son of Henr ...

put his younger brother Henry under the "protective custory" of Siegfried (or perhaps in Bavaria) during his coronation festivities. At that time, Siegfried was "second after the king," according to

Widukind of Corvey Widukind of Corvey (c. 925after 973) was a medieval Saxon chronicler. His three-volume '' Res gestae Saxonicae sive annalium libri tres'' is an important chronicle of 10th-century Germany during the rule of the Ottonian dynasty. Life In view of ...

. When Siegfried died, his march was disputed between Thankmar, his cousin (through their mothers) and the king's brother, and

Gero Gero I ( – 20 May 965), sometimes called the Great ( la, magnus),Thompson, 486. Also se was a German nobleman who ruled an initially modest march centred on Merseburg in the south of the present German state of Saxony-Anhalt, which he expande ...

, his own brother and the king's appointee. Siegfried's first wife was Ermenburg (Irminburg), daughter of

Otto I, Duke of Saxony Otto ( – 30 November 912), called the Illustrious (german: Otto der Erlauchte) by later authors, a member of the Ottonian dynasty, was Duke of Saxony from 880 to his death. Family Otto was a younger son of the Saxon count Liudolf (d. 866), ...

, and Hathui. His second wife (936) was Guthia (Guhtiu), who as a widow became the foundress and first abbess of

Gröningen Gröningen () is a town in the Börde district in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It lies approx. 40 km south-west of Magdeburg, and 10 km east of Halberstadt. It has 3.621 inhabitants (December 2015). Gröningen is part of the '' Verband ...

Notes

Sources

* * Margraves of Merseburg 937 deaths Year of birth unknown {{Germany-margrave-stub