Bernard II (c. 995 – 29 June 1059) 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 ...

between 1011 and 1059, the third 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 Liudolf ...

dynasty as a son of Bernard I and Hildegard. Besides his position in Saxony, he had the rights of a count in

Frisia Frisia is a cross-border cultural region in Northwestern Europe. Stretching along the Wadden Sea, it encompasses the north of the Netherlands and parts of northwestern Germany. The region is traditionally inhabited by the Frisians, a West Ger ...

. Bernard expanded the powers of the duke in Saxony and is regarded as the greatest of the Billungers. He was originally a supporter of

Holy Roman Emperor Henry II Henry II (german: Heinrich II; it, Enrico II; 6 May 973 – 13 July 1024), also known as Saint Henry the Exuberant, Obl. S. B., was Holy Roman Emperor ("Romanorum Imperator") from 1014. He died without an heir in 1024, and was the last ruler o ...

, and he accompanied him into

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

to negotiate the

Peace of Bautzen The Peace of Bautzen (; ; ) was a treaty concluded on 30 January 1018, between Holy Roman Emperor Henry II and Bolesław I of Poland which ended a series of Polish-German wars over the control of Lusatia and Upper Lusatia (''Milzenerland'' or ...

of 1018. In 1019–1020, however, he revolted against Henry and gained the recognition of the tribal laws of Saxony, something his father had failed to do. He then returned to war with the

Obodrites The Obotrites ( la, Obotriti, Abodritorum, Abodritos…) or Obodrites, also spelled Abodrites (german: Abodriten), were a confederation of medieval West Slavic tribes within the territory of modern Mecklenburg and Holstein in northern Germany ( ...

and

Lutici The Lutici or Liutizi (known by various spelling variants) were a federation of West Slavic Polabian tribes, who between the 10th and 12th centuries lived in what is now northeastern Germany. Four tribes made up the core of the federation: th ...

(two Slavic tribes) and drew them into his sphere of influence through their leader

Gottschalk Gottschalk or Godescalc (Old High German) is a male German name that can be translated literally as " servant of God". Latin forms include ''Godeschalcus'' and ''Godescalcus''. Given name * Godescalc of Benevento, 8th-century Lombard duke *Godescal ...

. He supported Holy Roman Emperor Conrad II in 1024 and Conrad's son Henry III, though he began to fear the latter for his closeness to the Archbishop Adalbert of Bremen, whom he considered a spy and inveterate enemy of the dukes of Saxony. Although he was a critical ally of the Danes, who provided fundamental support for Henry's wars in the

Low Countries The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...

, Bernard was on the brink of rebellion until the death of Adalbert. The remainder of his reign, however, was quiet. In 1045, he erected the Alsterburg in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

. He died in 1059 and was succeeded without incident by his son Ordulf. He is buried in the Church of

Saint Michael Michael (; he, מִיכָאֵל, lit=Who is like El od, translit=Mīḵāʾēl; el, Μιχαήλ, translit=Mikhaḗl; la, Michahel; ar, ميخائيل ، مِيكَالَ ، ميكائيل, translit=Mīkāʾīl, Mīkāl, Mīkhāʾīl), also ...

Lüneburg Lüneburg (officially the ''Hanseatic City of Lüneburg'', German: ''Hansestadt Lüneburg'', , Low German ''Lümborg'', Latin ''Luneburgum'' or ''Lunaburgum'', Old High German ''Luneburc'', Old Saxon ''Hliuni'', Polabian ''Glain''), also calle ...

Marriage and issue

Bernard II, Duke of Saxony married to

Eilika of Schweinfurt Eilika of Schweinfurt (c. 1005 – after 10 December 1059) was Duchess consort of Saxony. She came from a Bavarian noble family as the daughter of Margrave Henry of Schweinfurt and Gerberga of Gleiberg (970 – aft. 1036). Around 1020, ...

, daughter of

Henry of Schweinfurt Henry of Schweinfurt (''de Suinvorde''; – 18 September 1017) was the Margrave of the Nordgau from 994 until 1004. He was called the "glory of eastern Franconia" by his own cousin, the chronicler Thietmar of Merseburg. Henry was the son of ...

. They had these children together: *

Gertrude of Saxony Gertrude of Saxony ( 1030 – August 4, 1113), also known as Gertrude Billung, was a countess of Holland by marriage to Floris I, Count of Holland, and countess of Flanders by marriage to Robert I, Count of Flanders. She was regent of Holland i ...

(c. 1030 – August 4, 1113), married firstly to

Floris I, Count of Holland Floris I (born c. 1017 in Vlaardingen – 28 June 1061) was count of Holland, then called Frisia west of the Vlie, from 1049 to 1061. Floris was born in Vlaardingen. He was a son of Dirk III and Othelindis of Nordmark. Floris succeeded his brot ...

, secondly to

Robert I, Count of Flanders Robert I ( – 13 October 1093), known as ''Robert the Frisian'', was count of Flanders from 1071 to his death in 1093. He was a son of Baldwin V, Count of Flanders and the younger brother of Baldwin VI, Count of Flanders. He usurped the countsh ...

* Ordulf, Duke of Saxony (c. 1020 – March 28, 1072), who married Ulfhilde or Wulfhilde of Norway (c. 1023 – May 24, 1070), daughter of King Olaf II (St.Olaf) of Norway and his wife Queen

Astrid Astrid is a feminine given name of Scandinavian origin, a modern form of the name Ástríðr. Derived from the Old Norse Ássfriðr, a compound name composed of the elements (a god) and (beautiful, fair). Variants * Assan (diminutive) (Swed ...

*Hermann *Ida of Saxony, who married

Albert III, Count of Namur Albert III ( 1027 – 22 June 1102) was the Count of Namur from 1063 until his death. He was the son of Count Albert II and Regelinde of Verdun. Although he was not formally a duke, Albert is considered to have played the role of an acting Duke o ...

References

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bernard 02, Duke of Saxony 990s births 1059 deaths Bernhard 02 House of Billung Burials at the Church of Saint Michael, Lüneburg 11th-century Saxon people Year of birth uncertain