Liudolf of Brunswick ( 1003 – 23 April 1038) was

Margrave of Frisia This is a list of historically verifiable, legendary and fictitious rulers of Frisia, whether they were called chieftains, counts, dukes or kings. The earliest names of Frisian rulers are documented by the chronicles of the Merovingian (Franks, ...

, Count of Brunswick, Count in the Derlingau and the Gudingau. Liudolf was a descendant of the

Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

family of the Brunonen. He was a son of Bruno I, Count of Brunswick, and

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 ...

. After the death of his father, Liudolf's mother remarried several times, her last marriage was to

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

. Therefore, Holy Roman Emperor Henry III was his younger half-brother. Liudolf married Gertrude of Egisheim and had four children. He controlled the Frisian counties

Oostergo Eastergoa (also Ostergau, Ostergo, or Oostergo) was one of the Seven Sealands and one of the three ''gau (territory), Gaue'' within what is today the province of Friesland in the Netherlands. Area On its west side Eastergoa was bordered by ...

, Zuidergo and

Westergo Westergoa was one of the Seven Sealands and one of the three that now lie within the borders of today's Dutch province of Friesland. Later it was one of the three goaen of Frisia. In the Middle Ages Westergoa most probably formed the political ...

. For two more generations the Brunonen family line inherited the title. How the Brunonen came to their position in the counties is not known. There is a theory that Liudolf took advantage of the reign of violence by the

Counts of Holland The counts of Holland ruled over the County of Holland in the Low Countries between the 10th and the 16th century. The Frisian origins While the Frisian kingdom had comprised most of the present day Netherlands, the later province of Friesland ...

in the part of Friesland between the

Vlie The Vlie or Vliestroom () is the seaway between the Dutch islands of Vlieland, to its southwest, and Terschelling, to its northeast. The Vlie was the estuary of the river IJssel in medieval times. Today it's still possible to reach the port of ...

and the

Lauwers The Lauwers () is a river in the Netherlands. It forms part of the border between the provinces of Friesland and Groningen. From the 730s to Widukind's defeat in 785, it was part of the border of the Frankish Empire. The former Lauwerszee an ...

. Not much is known about his life. He died in 1038 and was succeeded by his son, Bruno II.

Family

Liudolf and Gertrude of Egisheim had the following children: * Bruno II (around 1024 – 26 June 1057) *

Egbert I, Margrave of Meissen Egbert I () (died 11 January 1068) was the Margrave of Meissen from 1067 until his early death the next year. Egbert was the Count of Brunswick from about 1038, when his father, Liudolf, Margrave of Frisia, died. Egbert was the scion of the i ...

(died 1068) * Matilda of Frisia (died 1044); married King

Henry I of France Henry I (4 May 1008 – 4 August 1060) was King of the Franks from 1031 to 1060. The royal demesne of France reached its smallest size during his reign, and for this reason he is often seen as emblematic of the weakness of the early Capetians. ...

. * Ida of Elsdorf, married to Leopold (Luitpold, Lippold) of Babenberg †1043 Hungarian March. Their daughter Oda of Stade married Sviatoslav II Yaroslavich, Grand Prince of Kiev. * (possibly)

Agatha, wife of Edward the Exile Agatha (before 1030 – after 1070) was married to Edward the Exile, a candidate for the throne of England, and mother of Edgar Ætheling, Saint Margaret of Scotland and Cristina. Her antecedents are unclear and the subject of much speculati ...

, of the royal family of

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, the mother of

Edgar the Ætheling Edgar is a commonly used masculine English given name, from an Anglo-Saxon name ''Edgar'' (composed of '' ead'' "rich, prosperous" and '' gar'' "spear"). Like most Anglo-Saxon names, it fell out of use by the Late Middle Ages; it was, howeve ...

and

Saint Margaret of Scotland Saint Margaret of Scotland (; , ), also known as Margaret of Wessex, was Queen of Alba from 1070 to 1093 as the wife of King Malcolm III. Margaret was sometimes called "The Pearl of Scotland". She was a member of the House of Wessex and was b ...

References

Bibliography

* * * *
Die familiären Verbindungen der Brunonen
* Braunschweigisches Biographisches Lexikon, Appelhans 2006,
Mladjov, "Reconsidering Agatha, Wife of Eadward the Exile"
The Plantagenet Connection 11 (2003). p. 1–85. {{Authority control Counts of Frisia 1000s births 1038 deaths Brunonids Counts of Brunswick