Lothair, Margrave of the Nordmark
Encyclopedia
Lothair (circa 940 – 25 January 1003) was a Saxon
count and Margrave
of the Northern March
from about 983 until his death.
Born the eldest son of Count Lothair II of Walbeck
and Matilda von Arneburg
, he succeeded his father as Count Lothair III of Walbeck in 964. He was a paternal uncle of the chronicler Bishop Thietmar of Merseburg
, son of his younger brother Siegfried. Lothair did not inherit the County of Walbeck, but rather became count in the Derlingau
and Nordthüringgau
of Eastphalia
in 982. When his brother Siegfried died in 990, he tried to seize all his mother's possessions to the disadvantage of his nephews.
After Count Dietrich of Haldensleben
in 983 had been deposed from the Northern March for failing to defend the bishoprics of Brandenburg and Havelberg
east of the Elbe
river in the Great Slav Rising
, he was replaced by Lothair, who was first mentioned as margrave in 993. However, his attempts to wrest the eastern territories of the Northern March from the Slavic Lutici
were unsuccessful and he actually ruled only over a small strip of land along the Elbe in the southwest. Lothair came into conflict with Margrave Eckard I of Meissen
over the arranged marriage of his eldest son Werner
with Eckard's daughter Liutgard, which the Meissen margrave opposed. He therefore put up resistance against Eckard's candidacy for the succession of late Emperor Otto III
in 1002 and won the Saxon nobles over for the support of rivaling Duke Henry IV of Bavaria
. Eckard was murdered in the same year, and the wedding of Werner and Liutgard could take place.
Margrave Lothair died in 1003 and was buried in Cologne
. His widow, Godila of Rothenburg, remained unmarried for four years after his death. His first-born son Werner succeeded him in the Northern March and his second son, Count Lothair IV of Walbeck, eventually also placed a claim on it. His third son, Berthold, rebelled in 1017 and submitted in 1018, and his youngest son, Dietrich, became a canon at Magdeburg
around 1008.
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...
count and Margrave
Margrave
A margrave or margravine was a medieval hereditary nobleman with military responsibilities in a border province of a kingdom. Border provinces usually had more exposure to military incursions from the outside, compared to interior provinces, and thus a margrave usually had larger and more active...
of the Northern March
Northern March
The Northern March or North March was created out of the division of the vast Marca Geronis in 965. It initially comprised the northern third of the Marca and was part of the territorial organisation of areas conquered from the Wends...
from about 983 until his death.
Born the eldest son of Count Lothair II of Walbeck
Walbeck, Börde
Walbeck is a village and a former municipality in the Börde district in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 January 2010, it is part of the town Oebisfelde-Weferlingen....
and Matilda von Arneburg
Arneburg
Arneburg is a town in the district of Stendal, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated on the left bank of the Elbe, approx. 12 km northeast of Stendal. It is part of the Verbandsgemeinde Arneburg-Goldbeck.-History:...
, he succeeded his father as Count Lothair III of Walbeck in 964. He was a paternal uncle of the chronicler Bishop Thietmar of Merseburg
Thietmar of Merseburg
Thietmar of Merseburg was a German chronicler who was also bishop of Merseburg.-Life:...
, son of his younger brother Siegfried. Lothair did not inherit the County of Walbeck, but rather became count in the Derlingau
Derlingau
The Derlingau was an early medieval county of the Duchy of Saxony.-Geography:The Derlingau approximately consisted of the area between the river Oker in the west and the Lappwald forest in the east. It was bordered by : Bardengau, Gau Osterwald, Nordthüringgau, Harzgau, Salzgau, Hastfalagau, Gau...
and Nordthüringgau
Nordthüringgau
The Nordthüringgau was an early medieval county in the Eastphalia region of the Duchy of Saxony. It was bounded by the River Elbe in the east, by the River Bode in the southwest, the Lappwald in the west, and the Drömling forest in the northwest...
of Eastphalia
Eastphalia
Eastphalia is a historical region in northern Germany, encompassing the eastern part of the historic Duchy of Saxony, between the Elbe, Leine, Saale and Unstrut rivers. Today, it covers the southeastern part of the state of Lower Saxony and the western part of Saxony-Anhalt.-Etymology:The name...
in 982. When his brother Siegfried died in 990, he tried to seize all his mother's possessions to the disadvantage of his nephews.
After Count Dietrich of Haldensleben
Dietrich of Haldensleben
Dietrich of Haldensleben was the first margrave of the Northern March from 965 until his deposition in 983...
in 983 had been deposed from the Northern March for failing to defend the bishoprics of Brandenburg and Havelberg
Bishopric of Havelberg
The Bishopric of Havelberg was a Roman Catholic diocese founded by King Otto I, King of the Germans, in 946. The diocese was suffragan to the Archbishopric of Magdeburg. Its most famous bishop was Anselm of Havelberg. Its seat was in Havelberg in the Northern March and it roughly covered the...
east of the Elbe
Elbe
The Elbe is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Krkonoše Mountains of the northwestern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia , then Germany and flowing into the North Sea at Cuxhaven, 110 km northwest of Hamburg...
river in the Great Slav Rising
Great Slav Rising
The Great Slav Rising von 983 was an uprising of the Slavic Lutici und Obotrite people living to the east of the Elbe in modern north-east Germany...
, he was replaced by Lothair, who was first mentioned as margrave in 993. However, his attempts to wrest the eastern territories of the Northern March from 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...
were unsuccessful and he actually ruled only over a small strip of land along the Elbe in the southwest. Lothair came into conflict with Margrave Eckard I of Meissen
Eckard I, Margrave of Meissen
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.-Life:...
over the arranged marriage of his eldest son 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....
with Eckard's daughter Liutgard, which the Meissen margrave opposed. He therefore put up resistance against Eckard's candidacy for the succession of late Emperor Otto III
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:...
in 1002 and won the Saxon nobles over for the support of rivaling Duke Henry IV 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...
. Eckard was murdered in the same year, and the wedding of Werner and Liutgard could take place.
Margrave Lothair died in 1003 and was buried in Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
. His widow, Godila of Rothenburg, remained unmarried for four years after his death. His first-born son Werner succeeded him in the Northern March and his second son, Count Lothair IV of Walbeck, eventually also placed a claim on it. His third son, Berthold, rebelled in 1017 and submitted in 1018, and his youngest son, Dietrich, became a canon at 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....
around 1008.