The ''Marca Geronis'' or March of Gero was a vast super-march in the middle of the tenth century. It was probably created for Thietmar in the 920s and passed consecutively to his two sons,

Siegfried Siegfried is a German-language male given name, composed from the Germanic elements ''sig'' "victory" and ''frithu'' "protection, peace". The German name has the Old Norse cognate ''Sigfriðr, Sigfrøðr'', which gives rise to Swedish ''Sigfrid' ...

and

Gero Gero I ( 900 – 20 May 965), sometimes called the Great (),Thompson, 486. Also se was a nobleman from East Francia who ruled an initially modest march centred on Merseburg in the south of the present German state of Saxony-Anhalt, which he ...

. On Gero's death in 965 it was divided into five different marches: 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 ...

, Ostmark,

Meissen Meissen ( ), is a town of approximately 30,000 about northwest of Dresden and 75 km (46 mi) west of Bautzen on both banks of the Elbe river in the Free State of Saxony, in eastern Germany. Meissen is the home of Meissen porcelain, th ...

Zeitz Zeitz (; , ) is a town in the Burgenlandkreis district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated on the river White Elster, in the triangle of the federal states Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Saxony. History First a Slavic pagan settlem ...

, and

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 ...

. Because Siegfried's and Gero's comital seat was

, it has sometimes been called the March of Merseburg. However, there is also a Merseburger march which grew out of it after 965. Because the central diocese in his march was

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 ...

, it is sometimes called the March of Magdeburg. Other historians prefer to call it the

Saxon Eastern March The Saxon Eastern March () was a march of the Holy Roman Empire from the 10th until the 12th century. The term "eastern march" stems from the Latin term ''marchia Orientalis'' and originally could refer to either a march created on the eastern fr ...

or Ostmark, but these terms are also applied to another march which grew out of it in 965. Because the ''Marca Geronis'' was created simultaneously with the March of Billung to the north, it is sometimes said to be the southern half of the Ostmark. Some historians even call it the "March of Meissen." Within the span of one page,

James Westfall Thompson James Westfall Thompson (1869–1941) was an American historian specializing in the history of medieval and early modern Europe, particularly of the Holy Roman Empire and France. He also made noteworthy contributions to the history of literacy, lib ...

refers to it as both the " Sorben Mark" and the " Thuringian March".Thompson, 487. Part of the complication involved in ascertaining the territoriality of the march over which Gero ruled is the nature of the margravial title in tenth-century Saxony. It may have signified territorial governance, but on the other hand may have been an honorific for especially powerful counts signifying nothing more than a preeminence in providing defence of the provinces in which were found their counties. It has been suggested that marcher jurisdictions even overlapped within provinces. In 965, Merseburg became the centre of a smaller, more restricted march belonging to

Gunther Gundaharius or Gundahar (died 437), better known by his legendary names Gunther () or Gunnar (), was a historical King of the Burgundians in the early 5th century. Gundahar is attested as ruling his people shortly after they crossed the Rhine ...

. On Gunther's death in 982, it was united to the March of Meissen.

Notes

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. * Thompson, James Westfall. ''Feudal Germany, Volume II''. New York: Frederick Ungar Publishing Co., 1928. * Leyser, Karl
"Ottonian Government."
''The English Historical Review'', Vol. 96, No. 381. (Oct., 1981), pp 721–753. * Leyser, Karl
"Henry I and the Beginnings of the Saxon Empire."
''The English Historical Review'', Vol. 83, No. 326. (Jan., 1968), pp 1–32. * Lang, Henry Joseph
"The Fall of the Monarchy of Mieszko II, Lambert."
''Speculum'', Vol. 49, No. 4. (Oct., 1974), pp 623–639. * Dvornik, F
"The First Wave of the Drang Nach Osten."
''Cambridge Historical Journal'', Vol. 7, No. 3. (1943), pp 129–145. * Jakubowska, Bogna
"Salve Me Ex Ore Leonis."
''Artibus et Historiae,'' Vol. 12, No. 23. (1991), pp. 53–65. * Howorth, H. H
"The Spread of the Slaves. Part III. The Northern Serbs or Sorabians and the Obodriti."
''The Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland'', Vol. 9. (1880), pp 181–232. {{coord missing, Germany 982 disestablishments Geronis History of Saxony-Anhalt History of Magdeburg Merseburg 920s establishments 10th century in East Francia States and territories disestablished in the 960s ru:Саксонская Восточная марка