Eckard I, Margrave of Meissen
Encyclopedia
Eckard I was Margrave of Meissen from 985 until his death, the first margrave of the Ekkehardinger family that dominated Meissen until the extinction of the line in 1046.
n stock, the eldest son of Margrave Gunther of Merseburg
and his wife, formerly identified as Dobrawa of Bohemia. In 985 young King Otto III of Germany
appointed him to succeed Margrave Rikdag
in Meissen, following severe Saxon
setbacks against the Slavic Lutici
tribes. He was later elected Duke of Thuringia by the magnates of the region, an event which has been taken as evidence of the principle of tribal ducal election. Eckard was high in the favour of the Emperor Otto III, who rewarded him handsomely by converting many of his benefices (fiefs) into proprietas (allods). In Otto's conflict with his rivaling cousin Duke Henry II of Bavaria
, Eckard's military responsibilities as holder of the Meissen march consisted primarily of containment of the neighbouring Polish and Bohemia
n duchies. Duke Boleslaus II of Bohemia had allied with Duke Henry and had taken the occasion to occupy the Albrechtsburg
in 984, he nevertheless had to withdraw the next year, after Otto III had prevailed. Margrave Eckard had to restore Thiadric, Bishop of Prague to his see after his expulsion by Boleslaus II of Bohemia.
When in January 1002 Otto III died without issue and the German princes met at Frohse (today part of Schönebeck
) to elect a new king, Eckard even aimed at the German crown, because the late emperor's Ottonian relative Henry of Bavaria
, son of Duke Henry II, who was the preeminent candidate, met with strong opposition. Eckard was at that time the most obvious Saxon candidate, but the nobles were opposed to him. They only agreed to meet again at the Kaiserpfalz
of Werla
and to support no candidate before then. The Werla meeting took place in April and Henry, through his cousins, Abbess Sophia I of Gandersheim
and Adelheid I of Quedlinburg
, the sisters of deceased Otto III, succeeded in having his election confirmed, at least in part by hereditary right. Nevertheless, Eckard received enough support to commandeer the closing banquet of the Werla assembly and dine in state with Duke Bernard I of Saxony
and Bishop Arnulf of Halberstadt. He was subsequently honoured as royalty by Bishop Bernward
when he arrived at Hildesheim
. Within days, however, he had been assassinated by agents of his Saxon opposition in Pöhlde
. Among these rivals were Count Henry III of Stade
, his brother Udo, and Count Siegfried II of Northeim
.
Eckard was initially buried at his family's castle in Kleinjena near Naumburg
, but his remains were transferred to the Benedictine monastery of Saint George in Naumburg in 1028. He was remembered by Bishop Thietmar of Merseburg
as decus regni, solatium patriae, comes suis, terror inimicis et per omnia perfectissimus. Meissen fell into dispute on his death. King Bolesław I Chrobry of Poland, who had supported Eckard for the throne, laid claim to it as his relative by marriage. Henry, now king, alloted to Bolesław the March of Lusatia (which had been attached to Meissen), but Meissen itself was granted to Gunzelin
, Eckard's younger brother.
:
Life
He was of noble east ThuringiaThuringia
The Free State of Thuringia is a state of Germany, located in the central part of the country.It has an area of and 2.29 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen states....
n stock, the eldest son of Margrave Gunther of Merseburg
Gunther, Margrave of Merseburg
Gunther was the Margrave of Merseburg from 965 until his death, upon which the march of Merseburg was united to that of Meissen....
and his wife, formerly identified as Dobrawa of Bohemia. In 985 young King Otto III of Germany
Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor
Otto III , a King of Germany, was the fourth ruler of the Saxon or Ottonian dynasty of the Holy Roman Empire. He was elected King in 983 on the death of his father Otto II and was crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 996.-Early reign:...
appointed him to succeed Margrave Rikdag
Rikdag
Rikdag, Ricdag, Riddag, or Rihdag was the Margrave of Meissen from 979 until his death. In 982, he acquired the marches of Merseburg and Zeitz. In 985, he was made count in the Schwabengau. He temporarily reunited all of the southern marca Geronis under his command...
in Meissen, following severe Saxon
Duchy of Saxony
The medieval Duchy of Saxony was a late Early Middle Ages "Carolingian stem duchy" covering the greater part of Northern Germany. It covered the area of the modern German states of Bremen, Hamburg, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, and Saxony-Anhalt and most of Schleswig-Holstein...
setbacks against the Slavic Lutici
Lutici
The Lutici 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: the Redarians , Circipanians , Kessinians and Tollensians...
tribes. He was later elected Duke of Thuringia by the magnates of the region, an event which has been taken as evidence of the principle of tribal ducal election. Eckard was high in the favour of the Emperor Otto III, who rewarded him handsomely by converting many of his benefices (fiefs) into proprietas (allods). In Otto's conflict with his rivaling cousin Duke Henry II of Bavaria
Henry II, Duke of Bavaria
Henry II , called the Wrangler or the Quarrelsome, in German Heinrich der Zänker, was the son of Henry I and Judith of Bavaria.- Biography :...
, Eckard's military responsibilities as holder of the Meissen march consisted primarily of containment of the neighbouring Polish and Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
n duchies. Duke Boleslaus II of Bohemia had allied with Duke Henry and had taken the occasion to occupy the Albrechtsburg
Albrechtsburg
The Albrechtsburg is a Late Gothic castle that dominates the town centre of Meissen in the German state of Saxony.-History:By 929 King Henry I of Germany had finally subdued the Slavic Glomacze tribe and built a fortress within their settlement area, situated on a rock high above the Elbe river...
in 984, he nevertheless had to withdraw the next year, after Otto III had prevailed. Margrave Eckard had to restore Thiadric, Bishop of Prague to his see after his expulsion by Boleslaus II of Bohemia.
When in January 1002 Otto III died without issue and the German princes met at Frohse (today part of Schönebeck
Schönebeck
Schönebeck is a town in the district of Salzlandkreis, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated on the left bank of the Elbe, approx. 14 km southeast of Magdeburg.-International relations:Schönebeck is twinned with:...
) to elect a new king, Eckard even aimed at the German crown, because the late emperor's Ottonian relative Henry of Bavaria
Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor
Henry II , also referred to as Saint Henry, Obl.S.B., was the fifth and last Holy Roman Emperor of the Ottonian dynasty, from his coronation in Rome in 1014 until his death a decade later. He was crowned King of the Germans in 1002 and King of Italy in 1004...
, son of Duke Henry II, who was the preeminent candidate, met with strong opposition. Eckard was at that time the most obvious Saxon candidate, but the nobles were opposed to him. They only agreed to meet again at the Kaiserpfalz
Kaiserpfalz
The term Kaiserpfalz or Königspfalz refers to a number of castles across the Holy Roman Empire which served as temporary, secondary seats of power for the Holy Roman Emperor in the Early and High Middle Ages...
of Werla
Werlaburgdorf
Werlaburgdorf is a municipality in the district of Wolfenbüttel, part of the Samtgemeinde Schladen in Lower Saxony, Germany....
and to support no candidate before then. The Werla meeting took place in April and Henry, through his cousins, Abbess Sophia I of Gandersheim
Sophia I, Abbess of Gandersheim
Sophia I , also known as Sophie I, was Abbess of Gandersheim and an important kingmaker of the medieval Germany.- Early life :...
and Adelheid I of Quedlinburg
Adelheid I, Abbess of Quedlinburg
Adelaide I was Abbess of Quedlinburg and Gandersheim, as well as highly influential kingmaker of medieval Germany.- Early life :...
, the sisters of deceased Otto III, succeeded in having his election confirmed, at least in part by hereditary right. Nevertheless, Eckard received enough support to commandeer the closing banquet of the Werla assembly and dine in state with Duke Bernard I of Saxony
Bernard I, Duke of Saxony
Bernard I was the duke of Saxony , the second of the Billung dynasty, a son of Duke Herman and Oda. He extended his father's power considerably....
and Bishop Arnulf of Halberstadt. He was subsequently honoured as royalty by Bishop Bernward
Bernward of Hildesheim
Saint Bern[w]ard was the Bishop of Hildesheim from 993 until his death in 1022.Bernward came from a Saxon noble family and studied at the cathedral school of Hildesheim...
when he arrived at Hildesheim
Bishopric of Hildesheim
The Diocese of Hildesheim is a diocese or ecclesiastical territory of the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church in Germany. Founded in 815 as a missionary diocese by King Louis the Pious, his son Louis the German appointed the famous former archbishop of Rheims, Ebbo, as bishop...
. Within days, however, he had been assassinated by agents of his Saxon opposition in Pöhlde
Pöhlde
Pöhlde is a village in southern Lower Saxony in Germany. It is part of the town Herzberg am Harz. It has a population of 2207 . Archaeological excavation has revealed traces of settlement dating to the 2nd through 4th centuries AD. The town is noted for its Benedictine abbey...
. Among these rivals were Count Henry III of Stade
Stade
Stade is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany and part of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region . It is the seat of the district named after it...
, his brother Udo, and Count Siegfried II of Northeim
Northeim
Northeim is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, seat of the district of Northeim, with, as of 2002, a population of 31 000. It's located on the German Half-Timbered House Road.-History:...
.
Eckard was initially buried at his family's castle in Kleinjena near Naumburg
Naumburg
Naumburg is a town in Germany, on the Saale River. It is in the district Burgenlandkreis in the Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt. It is approximately southwest of Leipzig, south-southwest of Halle, and north-northeast of Jena....
, but his remains were transferred to the Benedictine monastery of Saint George in Naumburg in 1028. He was remembered by Bishop Thietmar of Merseburg
Thietmar of Merseburg
Thietmar of Merseburg was a German chronicler who was also bishop of Merseburg.-Life:...
as decus regni, solatium patriae, comes suis, terror inimicis et per omnia perfectissimus. Meissen fell into dispute on his death. King Bolesław I Chrobry of Poland, who had supported Eckard for the throne, laid claim to it as his relative by marriage. Henry, now king, alloted to Bolesław the March of Lusatia (which had been attached to Meissen), but Meissen itself was granted to Gunzelin
Gunzelin, Margrave of Meissen
Gunzelin of Kuckenburg was the Margrave of Meissen from 1002 until 1009. He was the second son of Gunther of Merseburg, younger brother of Eckard I of Meissen, and half-brother of Boleslaus I of Poland....
, Eckard's younger brother.
Marriage and children
Eckard left behind his wife Schwanehilde (Suanhild), daughter of Hermann Billung, regent of Saxony. She died on 26 November 1014, having given him seven children, though he was her second husband, she being the widow of Margrave Thietmar of the Eastern MarchThietmar, Margrave of the Saxon Ostmark
Thietmar was the Count of the Schwabengau and Nordthüringgau from 1010 and the Margrave of the Saxon Ostmark from 1015 until his death. He was the son and successor of Margrave Gero II. His mother was Adelaide....
:
- Liutgard (d. 1012), married Margrave Werner of the Northern MarchWerner, Margrave of the NordmarkWerner was the Margrave of the Nordmark from 1003 until 1009. He was a cousin of the contemporary bishop and historian Thietmar of Merseburg....
- Herman I, Margrave of MeissenHerman I, Margrave of MeissenHerman I was the Margrave of Meissen from 1009 until his death. He was the eldest son of Eckard I of Meissen and Swanehilde.Herman married Regelinda, daughter of Boleslaus I of Poland. In 1007, he was created Count of Bautzen. He and his brother Eckard II feuded with their uncle Gunzelin in what...
(d. 1038), married RegelindaRegelindaRegelinda , was a Polish princess member of the House of Piast and by marriage Margravine of Meissen.She was the third daughter of Bolesław I the Brave but the second born from his third marriage with Emnilda, daughter of Dobromir, a Slavic prince of Lusatia.-Life:By 30 April 1002, she was married...
, daughter of King Bolesław I Chrobry of Poland - Eckard II, Margrave of MeissenEckard II, Margrave of MeissenEckard II was the margrave of Meissen from 1038 until his death, succeeding his brother, Herman I. His line was descended from Eckard I...
(d. 24 January 1046), married Uta, sister of Count Esico of BallenstedtEsico of BallenstedtEsico of Ballenstedt is the top ancestor of the House of Ascania, i.e., he is the oldest member of the house known for certain. Little is known about him, but he is assumed to have been count of the Schwabengau and of the Harzgau with his seat at Ballenstedt... - Gunther (d. 1025), Archbishop of SalzburgArchbishopric of SalzburgThe Archbishopric of Salzburg was an ecclesiastical State of the Holy Roman Empire, its territory roughly congruent with the present-day Austrian state of Salzburg....
- Eilward (d. 1023), Bishop of MeissenRoman Catholic Diocese of Dresden-MeissenThe Diocese of Dresden-Meissen is a Diocese of Catholic Church in Germany. Founded as the Bishopric of Meissen in 968, it was dissolved in 1539 during the Protestant Reformation. The diocese was reestablished in 1921 and renamed Dresden-Meissen in 1980. The seat of the diocese is in Dresden and...
- Matilda, married Dietrich II, Margrave of Lower Lusatia
- OdaOda of MeissenOda of Meissen , was a German noblewoman member of the Ekkehardiner dynasty and by marriage firstly Duchess and later the first Queen of Poland....
(d. after 1018), married King Bolesław I Chrobry of Poland
Sources
- Reuter, TimothyTimothy ReuterTimothy 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. - Thompson, James WestfallJames Westfall ThompsonJames Westfall Thompson was an American historian specializing in the history of medieval and early modern Europe, particularly of the Holy Roman Empire and France...
. Feudal Germany, Volume II. New York: Frederick Ungar Publishing Co., 1928. - Bernhardt, John W. Itinerant Kingship and Royal Monasteries in Early Medieval Germany, c. 936–1075. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993.