Siegfried I the Elder () (died 15 March 990
),
Count of Walbeck and Möckerngau, son of
Lothar II the Old, Count of Walbeck, and Mathilde von Arneburg.
Rule
He succeeded his father as Count of Walbeck upon his death. Siegfried is first mentioned as an ally of
Odo I, Margrave of the Saxon Ostmark, in his conflict with
Mieszko I, Duke of Poland. In particular, Siegfried fought in the
Battle of Cedynia
In the Battle of Cedynia or Zehden, an army of Mieszko I of Poland defeated forces of Hodo or Odo I, Margrave of the Saxon Ostmark, Odo I of Lusatia on 24 June 972, near the Oder river. Whether or not the battle actually took place near the mode ...
(Zehden), as reported in the Chronicon of Siegfried’s son
Thietmar of Merseburg. Both Siegfried and Odo escaped the ensuing slaughter. As an interesting sidebar, Mieszko married
Oda of Haldensleben, daughter of
Dietrich, Margrave of the Nordmark, who was the predecessor of Siegfried’s brother
Lothar I
Lothair I (9th. C. Frankish language, Frankish: ''Ludher'' and Medieval Latin: ''Lodharius''; Dutch language, Dutch and Medieval Latin: ''Lotharius''; German language, German: ''Lothar''; French language, French: ''Lothaire''; Italian language, ...
as margrave. In 979, he and his brothers were appointed regents of the County of Möckerngau by
Emperor Otto II. Siegfried consolidated his position as sole count in 983. Later that year, he fought with the Saxon army against the
Great Slav Rising
In the Slavic revolt of 983, Polabian Slavs, Wends, Lutici and Obotrite tribes, that lived east of the Elbe River in modern north-east Germany overthrew an assumed Ottonian rule over the Slavic lands and rejected Christianization under Empero ...
revolt against the empire.
Death
He supported the
Empress Theophanu in her war against
Boleslaus II in 990, and while moving against the rebellious
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: t ...
, he fell from his horse and died on 15 March 990.
Marriage and children
Siegfried married Kunigunde von Stade, daughter of
Henry I the Bald, Count of Stade
Henry I the Bald (died 11 May 976) was the Counts of Stade, Count of Stade. He was the son of Lothar II, Count of Stade, and Swanhild of Saxony. Henry is recorded as a cousin of Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, but their exact relationship remains a my ...
. Siegfried and Kunigunde had five sons:
*
Henry, Count of Walbeck (killed in battle, 1004)
*
Friedrick, Count of Walbeck
*
Thietmar of Merseburg, Bishop of Merseburg
* Siegfried of Walbeck,
Bishop of Münster, 1022–1032
* Bruno of Walbeck,
Bishop of Verden, 1034–1049.
Upon his death, Siegfried was succeeded as Count of Walbeck by his son Henry.
References
Sources
*Warner, David A., ''Ottonian Germany: The Chronicon of Thietmar of Merseburg'', Manchester University Press, Manchester, 2001
*Grosse, Walther, ''Die Grafen von Walbeck''. In: Harz-Zeitschrift, 1952
{{DEFAULTSORT:Siegfried 01 the Elder, Count of Walbeck
Counts in Germany
10th-century births
990 deaths
Year of birth unknown