Bernard II of Haldensleben (or Bernhard) (died 1051) was the

Margrave of the Nordmark The Northern March or North March (, ) was created out of the division of the vast ''Marca Geronis'' in 965. It initially comprised the northern third of the ''Marca'' (roughly corresponding to the modern state of Brandenburg) and was part of the ...

from 1018 until his death. He was the grandson of

Dietrich of Haldensleben , father = Wichmann the Elder , mother = Frederuna of Ringelheim Dietrich (Theoderich, Theodoric) of Haldensleben (died 25 August 985) was a count in the Schwabengau, later also in the Nordthüringgau and the Derlingau, who was the first Ma ...

and a rival of the

counts of Walbeck The Counts of Walbeck ruled a medieval territory with its capital Walbeck, Börde, Walbeck northeast of Helmstedt in the present town Oebisfelde-Weferlingen in Saxony-Anhalt. The foundation of the Archbishopric of Magdeburg established the region ...

, one of whom,

Werner Werner may refer to: People * Werner (name), origin of the name and people with this name as surname and given name Fictional characters * Werner (comics), a German comic book character * Werner Von Croy, a fictional character in the ''Tomb Rai ...

, succeeded him in the march following his deposition. In 1016–1017, his father, Bernard I (1009–1018), feuded with

Gero, Archbishop of Magdeburg Gero (died 21 October 1023) was the Archbishop of Magdeburg from 1012 until his death. He was a son of Dedo Wodenswege and Eilika (Eilica) and possibly a relative of the family of Gero the Great. Gero was the candidate of King Henry II followin ...

, and consequently with the

Emperor Henry II Henry II (; ; ; 6 May 973 – 13 July 1024 AD), also known as Saint Henry, Obl. S. B., was Holy Roman Emperor ("Romanorum Imperator") from 1014. He died without an heir in 1024, and was the last ruler of the Ottonian line. As Duke of Bavaria, ...

over the ambitions of the Magdeburger church. The Emperor intervened and forced Bernard I to pay Gero 500 lbs of silver in compensation for the assault his men had made on the city of

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; ) is the Capital city, capital of the Germany, German States of Germany, state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is on the Elbe river. Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archbishopric of Mag ...

. Bernard I was treated as an equal of his legal lord, 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 ...

. Then Bernard II, in a 1028 letter of the

Emperor Conrad II Conrad II (, – 4 June 1039), also known as and , was the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire from 1027 until his death in 1039. The first of a succession of four Salian emperors, who reigned for one century until 1125, Conrad ruled the kingdom ...

concerning the slaves of the church of Verden, which was located in the provinces "to whom we onradhave committed o the Bernardsthe rule." He married a daughter of

Vladimir the Great Vladimir I Sviatoslavich or Volodymyr I Sviatoslavych (; Christian name: ''Basil''; 15 July 1015), given the epithet "the Great", was Prince of Novgorod from 970 and Grand Prince of Kiev from 978 until his death in 1015. The Eastern Orthodox ...

Grand Prince of Kiev The Grand Prince of Kiev (sometimes also Grand Duke) was the title of the monarch of Kievan Rus', residing in Kiev (modern Kyiv) from the 10th to 13th centuries. In the 13th century, Kiev became an appanage principality first of the grand prin ...

. He was succeeded as margrave by his eldest son

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

, in 1051.Reuter, 194. His second son, Conrad, succeeded to Haldensleben. He also left daughters, Theutberga, Oda, and perhaps Othelindis, wife of

Dirk III, Count of Holland Dirk III (also called ''Dirik'' or ''Theodoric'') was the count with jurisdiction over what would become the county of Holland, often referred to in this period as "West Frisia", from 993 to 27 May 1039. Until 1005, this was under regency of his ...

. His illegitimate son by a Slav mistress,

Otto Otto is a masculine German given name and a surname. It originates as an Old High German short form (variants '' Audo'', '' Odo'', '' Udo'') of Germanic names beginning in ''aud-'', an element meaning "wealth, prosperity". The name is recorded fr ...

, tried to succeed his brother, but was defeated and killed in battle.

Sources

Reuter, Timothy Timothy Alan Reuter (25 January 1947 – 14 October 2002), grandson of the former mayor of Berlin Ernst Reuter, was a German-British historian who specialized in the study of medieval Germany, particularly the social, military and ecclesiastical ...

. ''Germany in the Early Middle Ages 800–1056''. New York: Longman, 1991.

Notes

{{Reflist Margraves of the Nordmark 1051 deaths Year of birth missing