Siegfried (died 3 December 937) was the Count and

Margrave Margrave was originally the Middle Ages, medieval title for the military commander assigned to maintain the defence of one of the border provinces of the Holy Roman Empire or a monarchy, kingdom. That position became hereditary in certain Feudal ...

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 ...

from an unknown date before 934 until his death. He does not appear with the title of margrave in contemporary royal charters and diplomas, so the title was informal and never official. Siegfried was probably the son of Thietmar, the tutor of Henry I of Germany. He was made

procurator Procurator (with procuracy or procuratorate referring to the office itself) may refer to: * Procurator, one engaged in procuration, the action of taking care of, hence management, stewardship, agency * Procurator (Ancient Rome), the title of var ...

of the

Duchy of Saxony The Duchy of Saxony () was originally the area settled by the Saxons in the late Early Middle Ages, when they were subdued by Charlemagne during the Saxon Wars from 772 CE and incorporated into the Carolingian Empire (Francia) by 804. Upon the 84 ...

in 936.

Otto I Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), known as Otto the Great ( ) or Otto of Saxony ( ), was East Francia, East Frankish (Kingdom of Germany, German) king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the eldest son o ...

put his younger brother

Henry Henry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters * Henry (surname) * Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone Arts and entertainmen ...

under the "protective custory" of Siegfried (or perhaps in Bavaria) during his coronation festivities. At that time, Siegfried was "second after the king," according to

Widukind of Corvey Widukind of Corvey (c. 925after 973; , in italian ''Vitichindo Sacco di Corvey'', in Latin VVITICHINDI SAXO) was a medieval Saxon chronicler. His three-volume '' Res gestae Saxonicae sive annalium libri tres'' is an important chronicle of 10th-cen ...

. When Siegfried died, his march was disputed between

Thankmar Thankmar (or Tankmaro, or Tammo) (c. 908 – 28 July 938) was the eldest (and only) son of Henry I of Germany (Henry the Fowler) by his first wife, Hatheburg of Merseburg. His mother had been previously married and widowed, after which she enter ...

, his cousin (through their mothers) and the king's brother, 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 ...

, his own brother and the king's appointee. Siegfried's first wife was Ermenburg (Irminburg), daughter of

Otto I, Duke of Saxony Otto ( – 30 November 912), called the Illustrious () by later authors, was a notable member of the Ottonian dynasty and Duke of Saxony from 880 until his death in 912. He played an important role in early medieval history of Germany during the ...

, and Hathui. His second wife (936) was Guthia (Guhtiu), who as a widow became the foundress and first abbess of Gröningen.

Notes

Sources

* * Margraves of Merseburg 937 deaths Year of birth unknown {{Germany-margrave-stub