Ekbert (Wetigau)

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Ekbert , also Egbert (* before 889; † 7 February before 932) from the group of relatives of the descendants of Widukind was a Saxon count who was one of the close confidants of the East Franconian King Arnolf of Carinthia at the end of the 9th century .

Ekbert belonged to the descendants of Widukind and thus came from the most influential and distinguished group of relatives in northern Saxony by far. He is also likely to be one of the ancestors of the later Billungers , who were the dukes of Saxony for five generations.

Ekbert was first mentioned in the year 889 as Count in Wetigau on the side of Count Reithard and Hermann, who were possibly his relatives. In the years 892 and 893 he probably took part with his contingent in the campaigns of Arnolf of Carinthia against the Moravians under their prince Zwentibold , which, however, had little success. Nevertheless, in return for his support from Arnolf, Ekbert is said to have received a total of 66 king hooves, each with 60 acres of arable land, first in the summer and then again in the winter of 892. In relation to the size of the arable land cultivated in Saxony at that time, it was a donation of extraordinary size. The donation was spread across the Tilithigauon the Oberweser, the Marstemgau west of Hanover and the Loingau and Bardengau in the Lüneburg Heath . Around 940 the goods belonged to the Billunger family.

Ekberts is thought of in the necrologists of Gandersheim and Lüneburg as well as Triers , which reflects an outstanding importance during their lifetime. In addition, he is equated with the Ekbert mentioned in a copy of the Ottonian family necrolog in the St. Gallen Book of Fraternities. That would put him in close family ties to the later Saxon royal house of the Liudolfinger .

Gerd Althoff assumes that Ekbert was "only able to form rule in northern Saxony" through the rich donation by Arnolf.

swell

  • Paul Kehr (editor): The documents of the German Carolingians 3. The documents of Arnulf (= MGH Diplomata regum Germaniae ex stirpe Karolinorum. Volume 3). Weidmann, Berlin 1940.

literature

  • Gerd Althoff : Noble and royal families in the mirror of their memorial tradition. Studies on the commemoration of the dead of the Billunger and Ottonians (= Münster medieval writings. Volume 47). Fink, Munich 1984, ISBN 3-7705-2267-2 , pp. 71 f., 390.

Remarks

  1. ^ Gerd Althoff : Noble and royal families in the mirror of their memorial tradition. Studies on the commemoration of the dead of the Billunger and Ottonians (= Münster medieval writings. Volume 47). Fink, Munich 1984, ISBN 3-7705-2267-2 , p. 71 f.
  2. ↑ DD Arn 60 .
  3. ^ Reinhard Wenskus : Saxon tribal nobility and Frankish imperial nobility. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1976, p. 246.
  4. ↑ DD Arn 102 .
  5. ↑ DD Arn 106 .
  6. ^ Albert K. Hömberg : Westphalia and the Saxon Duchy. Aschendorff, Münster 1963, p. 18 f.
  7. ^ Gerd Althoff: Noble and royal families in the mirror of their memorial tradition. Studies on the commemoration of the dead of the Billunger and Ottonians (= Münster medieval writings. Volume 47). Fink, Munich 1984, ISBN 3-7705-2267-2 , p. 71 f.
personal data
SURNAME Ekbert
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Egbert
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Saxon count
DATE OF BIRTH before 889
DATE OF DEATH February 7 before 932