Thietmar (II) ( – 3 August 979) was

Margrave of Meissen This article lists the margraves of Margraviate of Meissen, Meissen, a March (territorial entity), march and territorial state on the eastern border of the Holy Roman Empire. History King Henry the Fowler, on his 928–29 campaign against the S ...

from about 976 until his death.

Life

Thietmar was the eldest of three brothers, all sons of Margrave

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

, count in 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 ...

, and his wife Hidda, sister of Margrave Gero the Great. His brothers were Archbishop Gero of Cologne and Margrave Odo of the Saxon Ostmark. Thietmar strengthened the ties with the mighty

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 Liudol ...

dynasty by marrying Swanehilde (d. 1014), daughter of Margrave Hermann Billung, acting

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 ...

from 961. The couple had one son:

Gero II Gero II (c. 975 – 1 September 1015 at Krosno Odrzańskie) was the eldest son of Thietmar, Margrave of Meissen, and Swanehilde of Saxony, Schwanehilde (Suanhild), daughter of Herman, Duke of Saxony. He was therefore probably a grandson of ...

, who in 993 would succeed Thietmar's brother, Odo, as Margrave of the Saxon Eastern March. In 951, he was first recorded when he succeeded his father as margrave in the '' Gau'' Serimunt. Between 951 and 978, he was also count in the Saxon

Schwabengau The Schwabengau (modernized name; originally: Suavia, Suevon, Nordosquavi) was an early medieval shire ('' Gau'') in the Eastphalia region of the medieval Duchy of Saxony. Ruled by the House of Ascania, it became the nucleus of the later Princi ...

. After the death of his uncle Gero the Great in 965, Thietmar inherited large parts of whose vast ''

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

'' and upon the death of Margrave Wigbert (before 976) received the

Margraviate of Meissen The Margravate or Margraviate of Meissen () was a medieval principality in the area of the modern German state of Saxony. It originally was a frontier march of the Holy Roman Empire, created out of the vast ''Marca Geronis'' ( Saxon Eastern March ...

from the hands of Emperor

Otto II Otto II (955 – 7 December 983), called the Red (), was Holy Roman Emperor from 973 until his death in 983. A member of the Ottonian dynasty, Otto II was the youngest and sole surviving son of Otto the Great and Adelaide of Italy. Otto II was ...

. On 29 August 970, Margrave Thietmar and his brother Gero of Cologne founded the abbey of Thankmarsfelde, which between 971 and 975 became a royal monastery. It was moved to Nienburg at the confluence of the

Saale The Saale (), also known as the Saxon Saale ( ) and Thuringian Saale (), is a river in Germany and a left-bank tributary of the Elbe. It is not to be confused with the smaller Fränkische Saale, Franconian Saale, a right-bank tributary of the M ...

and Bode rivers in 975. In the years which followed, Thietmar and Gero made further donations of land to the monastery, where Thietmar is also buried. Thietmar was succeeded by the Schwabengau count Rikdag. His widow Swanehilde married Rikdag's successor Margrave

Eckard I of Meissen Eckard I (''Ekkehard''; – 30 April 1002) was Margrave of Meissen from 985 until his death. He was the first margrave of the ''Ekkehardinger'' family that ruled over Meissen until the extinction of the line in 1046. Life Eckard was of noble ea ...

Notes

Sources

* 920s births 979 deaths Year of birth uncertain Margraves of Meissen {{Germany-margrave-stub