Bernard (died 1051) was the Margrave of the Nordmark from 1009 until his death. He was the son of Dietrich of Haldensleben

Dietrich of Haldensleben

Dietrich of Haldensleben was the first margrave of the Northern March from 965 until his deposition in 983...

 and a rival of the counts of Walbeck

Walbeck

Walbeck may refer to the following places in Germany:*Walbeck, Börde, a municipality in the Börde district, Saxony-Anhalt*Walbeck, Mansfeld-Südharz, a municipality in the Mansfeld-Südharz district, Saxony-Anhalt...

, one of whom, Werner

Werner, Margrave of the Nordmark

Werner was the Margrave of the Nordmark from 1003 until 1009. He was a cousin of the contemporary bishop and historian Thietmar of Merseburg....

, he succeeded in the march following his deposition.

In 1016–1017, Bernard feuded with Gero, Archbishop of Magdeburg

Gero, Archbishop of Magdeburg

Gero was the Archbishop of Magdeburg from 1012 until his death. He was a son of Dedo Wodenswege and Eilika and possibly a relative of the family of Gero the Great....

, and consequently with the Emperor Henry II over the ambitions of the Magdeburger church. The Emperor interevened and forced Bernard to pay Gero 500 lbs of silver in compensation for the assault his men had made on the city of Magdeburg

Magdeburg

Magdeburg , is the largest city and the capital city of the Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Magdeburg is situated on the Elbe River and was one of the most important medieval cities of Europe....

. Bernard was treated as an equal of his legal lord, the Duke of Saxony, then Bernard II

Bernard II, Duke of Saxony

Bernard II was the Duke of Saxony , the third of the Billung dynasty, a son of Bernard I and Hildegard. He had the rights of a count in Frisia....

, in a 1028 letter of the Emperor Conrad II concerning the slaves of the church of Verden

Verden

Verden can refer to:* Verden an der Aller, a town in Lower Saxony, Germany* Verden, Oklahoma, a small town in the USA* Verden , a district in Lower Saxony, Germany...

, which was located in the provinces "to whom we [Conrad] have committed [to the Bernards] the rule."

He married an illegitimate daughter of Vladimir the Great, Grand Prince of Kiev. He was succeeded as margrave by his eldest son William

William, Margrave of the Nordmark

William was the Margrave of the Nordmark from 1051 until his death. He was the eldest son and successor of the Margrave Bernard and a daughter of Vladimir I of Kiev. He died fighting the Slavs near Prizlawa.-Sources:...

, in 1051. His second son, Conrad, succeeded to Haldensleben. He also left three daughters — Theutberga, Oda, and Othelindis — the youngest of whom married Dirk III, Count of Holland

Dirk III, Count of Holland

Dirk III was Count of Holland from 993 to May 27, 1039, until 1005 under regency of his mother. It is thought that Dirk III went on pilgrimage to the Holy Land around 1030, hence his nickname of Hierosolymita....

. His illegitimate son by a Slav mistress, Otto

Otto, Margrave of the Nordmark

Otto was illegitimate son of Bernard, Margrave of the Nordmark, and a Slav mistress. He took the title marchio claimed the Northern March following the death in battle of his legitimate brother William on 10 September 1056...

, tried to succeed his brother, but was defeated and killed in battle.

Sources

• Reuter, Timothy
  Timothy Reuter
  Timothy Alan Reuter , 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 institutions of the Ottonian and Salian periods .Reuter received his D.phil from Oxford in...
  
  . Germany in the Early Middle Ages 800–1056. New York: Longman, 1991.