The Brunonids (or Brunonians, german: Brunonen, la, Brunones, i.e. "Brunos") were a Saxon noble family in the 10th and 11th centuries, who owned property in

Eastphalia Eastphalia (german: Ostfalen; Eastphalian: ''Oostfalen'') is a historical region in northern Germany, encompassing the eastern '' Gaue'' (shires) of the historic stem duchy of Saxony, roughly confined by the River Leine in the west and the Elbe ...

(around Brunswick) and Frisia. The Brunonids are assumed to be descendants of

Brun, Duke of Saxony Bruno, also called Brun or Braun ( 2 February 880), a member of the Ottonian dynasty, was Duke of Saxony from 866 until his death. He is rated as an ancestor of the Brunonids, a cadet branch of the Ottonians, though an affiliation is uncertain. ...

(d. 880). This would make them the senior branch of the Liudolfing house, to which the

Ottonian 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 ...

emperors also belonged. This relationship is considered likely because the names Brun and Liudolf are both common among the Brunonids, and their properties are located in the same areas as the properties of the early Liudolfings. In addition, contemporaries seemed to regard the Brunonids as male-line relatives of the Ottonian kings, as shown by the candidacy for king of

Brun I, Count of Brunswick Brun (Latin Bruno; born around 975, died around 1010), was Count in the Derlingau, the Nordthüringgau, the Hastfalagau, the Salzgau, the Gau Gretinge, and the Gau Mulbeze, with Brunswick as his residence. Brun was a member of the Brunones d ...

. However, there is no evidence that the Brunonids are related to the Liudolfings, and nothing is known about the existence of any children of Duke Brun. The oldest properties of the Brunonids were located in the

Derlingau The Derlingau was an early medieval county ('' Gau'') of the Duchy of Saxony. Geography The Derlingau approximately consisted of the area between the river Oker in the west and the Lappwald forest in the east. It was bordered by (from the north, ...

, from which they spread their influence to adjacent areas. The town of Brunswick, located at the western edge of the Derlingau, became their comital seat in the 9th or 10th century; according to legends, Brunswick (the name literally means "Brun's town") was founded by one of the Brunonids named Brun — it is unclear by which one. Their county came to be known as the

County of Brunswick The County of Brunswick was a county in the medieval Duchy of Saxony. It existed from about the 9th century until 1235, when it was raised to a duchy, the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg. The County developed out of the possessions of the Brunonen ...

. The next assumed member of the Brunonid (Brunoner) house was a Count Liudolf, who was mentioned in 942. The first certain member of the house was

, who is attested since 991. Count Bruno I sought without success to succeed Otto III in 1002 as King of the Romans. In 1067, Bruno's grandson

Egbert Egbert is a name that derives from old Germanic words meaning "bright edge", such as that of a blade. Anglo-Saxon variant spellings include Ecgberht () and Ecgbert. German variant spellings include Ekbert and Ecbert. People with the first name Mid ...

was granted the Margraviate of Meissen by Emperor Henry IV. His son, Egbert II, opposed that same ruler and lost his rights to both Meissen and Frisia. Egbert II's death marked the end of the Brunonid line. Egbert II's sister,

Gertrude of Brunswick Gertrud of Brunswick (german: Gertrud von Braunschweig; – 9 December 1117) was Countess of Katlenburg by marriage to Dietrich II, Count of Katlenburg, Margravine of Frisia by marriage to Henry, Margrave of Frisia, and Margravine of Meissen b ...

, had a daughter with her second husband, Henry the Fat, Margrave of Frisia of

Northeim Northeim (; nds, Nuurten) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, seat of the district of Northeim, with, in 2011, a population of 29,000. It lies on the German Half-Timbered House Road. History Northeim is first mentioned in 800 in a document ...

. This daughter, Richenza (d. 1141) married Lothar of Süpplingenburg, who was Duke of Saxony and later became Holy Roman Emperor. Their daughter Gertrude (d. 1143) married Duke

Henry the Proud Henry the Proud (german: Heinrich der Stolze) (20 October 1139), a member of the House of Welf, was Duke of Bavaria (as Henry X) from 1126 to 1138 and Duke of Saxony (as Henry II) as well as Margrave of Tuscany and Duke of Spoleto fro ...

of Saxony and

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

, a member of the House of Welf. In this way, the Welf dynasty gained the Brunonid properties around Brunswick, which they would hold until the 20th century.

Family tree

# Brun I of Brunswick (d. 1015/1016), married

Gisela of Swabia Gisela of Swabia ( 990 – 15 February 1043), was queen of Germany from 1024 to 1039 and empress of the Holy Roman Empire from 1027 to 1039 by her third marriage with Emperor Conrad II. She was the mother of Emperor Henry III. She was regent of ...

(b. c. 990; d. 15 February 1043 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 ...

) (married 1016/1017 Emperor Conrad II (d. 1039)) ## Liudolf (d. 23 April 1038), married Gertrud of Frisia (d. 1077) ###

Brun II :''Bruno II can also refer to Bruno II von Berg''. Bruno II (1024–1057) was a Frisian count or margrave ruling Middle-Friesland. He belonged to the Brunonen family. In 1038 he succeeded his father Liudolf, Margrave of Frisia. His mother wa ...

(b. c. 1024; d. 26. Juni 1057), Margrave of Frisia ### Egbert I (d. 1068), married Irmgard of Susa #### Egbert II (d. 1090), married Oda of

Orlamünde Orlamünde () is a small town in the Saale-Holzland district, in Thuringia, Germany. It is part of the ''Verwaltungsgemeinschaft'' ("collective municipality") Südliches Saaletal. Geography The town centre stretches along the steep banks of th ...

####

(d. 1117), married I. Dietrich of Katlenburg (d. 1085); II. Henry the Fat, Margrave of Northeim (d. 1101); III.

Henry I, Margrave of Meissen Henry I (1070 – 1103), nicknamed the Old, a member of the House of Wettin, was Count of Eilenburg as well as Margrave of the Saxon Eastern March (March of Lusatia) from 1081 and Margrave of Meissen from 1089 until his death. Life Henry was the ...

(d. 1103)

References

* * {{Authority control German noble families Noble families of the Holy Roman Empire History of Brunswick Saxon noble families