Gunther, Margrave of Merseburg
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Gunther (died 13 July 982) was the Margrave of Merseburg
from 965 until his death, upon which the march of Merseburg was united to that of Meissen.
Gunther was a scion of the Ekkeharding noble family first recorded around Naumburg
, which may be affiliated with the Ottonian dynasty. In 962, he was already regarded as a margrave in the newly created Diocese of Magdeburg
, alongside Count Wigger of Bilstein
and Wigbert.
He was appointed to the newly created Merseburger march by Emperor Otto I
following the death of Margrave Gero the Great
in 965, after which the Marca Geronis
was split in several smaller parts. The establishment of the march was followed by the Merseburg diocese
under Bishop Boso
in 968.
Gunther supported Duke Henry II the Quarrelsome
of Bavaria in his revolt against Emperor Otto II
and was therefore deposed as margrave and banished in 976, while his march fell to Thietmar of Meissen
. Gunther nevertheless became reconciled with Otto II and after Thietmar's death in 979 was reinstalled as margrave.
He joined Otto's campaign in Calabria
in 979 and died there in the Battle of Stilo
against the Saracens. He was succeeded by Rikdag
, who then united the marches of Meissen, Merseburg and Zeitz
under his rule.
According to chronicler Thietmar of Merseburg
, Gunther may have been married to Dobrawa, daughter of Duke Boleslaus the Cruel of Bohemia and consort of Duke Mieszko I of Poland
from 965. He left three sons: Eckard I
, who succeededed Rikdag as Margrave of Meissen in 985; Gunzelin of Kuckenburg
, who followed his brother in 1002, and Bruno, who defended Meissen against the troops of duke Bolesław I Chrobry of Poland in 1009.
Merseburg
Merseburg is a town in the south of the German state of Saxony-Anhalt on the river Saale, approx. 14 km south of Halle . It is the capital of the Saalekreis district. It had a diocese founded by Archbishop Adalbert of Magdeburg....
from 965 until his death, upon which the march of Merseburg was united to that of Meissen.
Gunther was a scion of the Ekkeharding noble family first recorded around 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....
, which may be affiliated with the Ottonian dynasty. In 962, he was already regarded as a margrave in the newly created Diocese of Magdeburg
Archbishopric of Magdeburg
The Archbishopric of Magdeburg was a Roman Catholic archdiocese and Prince-Bishopric of the Holy Roman Empire centered on the city of Magdeburg on the Elbe River....
, alongside Count Wigger of Bilstein
Wigger I
Wigger I was the father of a line of counts ruling from his new castle of Bilstein, west of Albungen to the Werra...
and Wigbert.
He was appointed to the newly created Merseburger march by Emperor Otto I
Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor
Otto I the Great , son of Henry I the Fowler and Matilda of Ringelheim, was Duke of Saxony, King of Germany, King of Italy, and "the first of the Germans to be called the emperor of Italy" according to Arnulf of Milan...
following the death of Margrave Gero the Great
Gero
Gero I , called the Great , ruled an initially modest march centred on Merseburg, which he expanded into a vast territory named after him: the marca Geronis. During the mid-10th century, he was the leader of the Saxon Drang nach Osten.-Succession and early conflicts:Gero was the son of Count...
in 965, after which the Marca Geronis
Marca Geronis
The Marca Geronis was a vast super-march in the middle of the tenth century. It was created probably for Thietmar and passed to his two sons consecutively: Siegfried and Gero...
was split in several smaller parts. The establishment of the march was followed by the Merseburg diocese
Bishopric of Merseburg
The Bishopric of Merseburg was a episcopal see on the eastern border of the mediæval Duchy of Saxony with its centre in Merseburg, where Merseburg Cathedral was constructed...
under Bishop Boso
Boso of Merseburg
Boso of Merseburg was the first Bishop of Merseburg in Saxony-Anhalt, and "Apostle of the Wends."Boso, a native of Bavaria, was a Benedictine monk of Saint Emmeram's in Regensburg, from where he was summoned to the court of Otto I, who, considering the conversion of the lately subjugated Wends...
in 968.
Gunther supported Duke Henry II the Quarrelsome
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 :...
of Bavaria in his revolt against Emperor Otto II
Otto II, Holy Roman Emperor
Otto II , called the Red, was the third ruler of the Saxon or Ottonian dynasty, the son of Otto the Great and Adelaide of Italy.-Early years and co-ruler with Otto I:...
and was therefore deposed as margrave and banished in 976, while his march fell to Thietmar of Meissen
Thietmar, Margrave of Meissen
Thietmar was the Margrave of Meissen from 970 until his death. Thietmar was the eldest of three brothers, all sons of Hidda, sister of Gero the Great, and Count Christian of Thuringia...
. Gunther nevertheless became reconciled with Otto II and after Thietmar's death in 979 was reinstalled as margrave.
He joined Otto's campaign in Calabria
Calabria
Calabria , in antiquity known as Bruttium, is a region in southern Italy, south of Naples, located at the "toe" of the Italian Peninsula. The capital city of Calabria is Catanzaro....
in 979 and died there in the Battle of Stilo
Battle of Stilo
The Battle of Stilo or Cape Colonna was fought on 13 or 14 July 982 near Crotone in Calabria between the forces of the Emperor Otto II and his Italo-Lombard allies and those of the Kalbid emir of Sicily, Abu al-Qasim...
against the Saracens. He was succeeded by 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...
, who then united the marches of Meissen, Merseburg and Zeitz
March of Zeitz
The March of Zeitz was a frontier county of the Holy Roman Empire, created through the division of the marca Geronis in 965, when the Emperor Otto I, on the death of Gero the Great. Its capital was Zeitz. Its first and only margrave was Wigger...
under his rule.
According to chronicler Thietmar of Merseburg
Thietmar of Merseburg
Thietmar of Merseburg was a German chronicler who was also bishop of Merseburg.-Life:...
, Gunther may have been married to Dobrawa, daughter of Duke Boleslaus the Cruel of Bohemia and consort of Duke Mieszko I of Poland
Mieszko I of Poland
Mieszko I , was a Duke of the Polans from about 960 until his death. A member of the Piast dynasty, he was son of Siemomysł; grandchild of Lestek; father of Bolesław I the Brave, the first crowned King of Poland; likely father of Świętosława , a Nordic Queen; and grandfather of her son, Cnut the...
from 965. He left three sons: Eckard I
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:...
, who succeededed Rikdag as Margrave of Meissen in 985; Gunzelin of Kuckenburg
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....
, who followed his brother in 1002, and Bruno, who defended Meissen against the troops of duke Bolesław I Chrobry of Poland in 1009.
Sources
- Foundation for Medieval Genealogy: Nobility of Meissen.
- 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.