Ekkehardiner

The Ekkehardiner were a German noble family from the Thuringian region. They were the Margraves of Meissen from 985 until the family died out in 1046 .

origin

The ancestral seat of the Ekkehardiner or at least an important castle of the family in the Saale-Unstrut area was located on the western bank of the Unstrut on the Kapellenberg in Kleinjena (1258 Teutonica Ihene, German Ihen, German Jena , in contrast to the one opposite on the other side of the Unstrut Großjena , formerly called Wendisch Jena ). The location of their hereditary property and other possessions, such as at the Kuckenburg or the Ekkhardsburg, on the one hand firmly linked them with Thuringia , on the other hand they ruled as margraves over the Mark Meissen from 965 and at times also over the state of Bautzen, which justified their outstanding position. The burial of Ekkehard I. in the urbs Gene still serves as an argument for their ancestral home near Großjena or Kleinjena (1002 urbe, quae Geniun dicitur , 1033 urbs geni ). In the Reichschronik Annalista Saxo it is written that Ekkehard 1002 "in sua urbe nomine Gene in parrochia Mogontiensi in loco ubi Sala et Unstrod confluunt, sepeliri fecit" (in his castle called Gene in the parish of Mainz at the place where Saale and Unstrut flow together, buried).

Using the guiding name Ekkehard , Eduard Hlawitschka came to the conclusion that the Ekkehardines were a subsidiary line of the Liudolfingers : Ekkehard († probably August 30, 954) could be a son of Ekkehard, who fell in 936 and who in turn was a grandson of the Saxon Duke Otto the Illustrious . However, no family relationship is mentioned in the written sources.

Margraves of Meissen

Gunther von Merseburg (965–982)

Gunther von Merseburg , the son of a Count Ekkehard mentioned in 949, was appointed Margrave of Meissen under Otto I in 965 . As a participant in an Italian campaign by Otto II against the Saracens under Emir Abu al-Qasim , he was killed on July 13, 982 in the battle of Cape Colonna in Calabria .

Ekkehard I. (985-1002)

In 985 Ekkehard I , Günther's son, received the Margraviate of Meissen .

He tried after the death of Otto III. 1002 even for the royal dignity (see: King election of 1002 ), but was murdered by the opposing party in the same year in the Palatinate Pöhlde .

Gunzelin von Kuckenburg (1002–1009)

King Heinrich II initially appointed Ekkehard's brother Gunzelin as Margrave of Meissen, but he was unable to prevent Bolesław I from advancing from Poland to Meissen and as far as the Elster . However, by accusing his two nephews before the king, the latter deposed the margrave in 1009 and imprisoned him. An unconfirmed legend tells that he taught the residents of the Ströbeck chess village the royal game while in captivity. After hard fighting, the conquered territories were regained and Ekkehard's sons received the inheritance, including Eckartsburg and the Margraviate of Meißen: first Hermann in 1009 and, after his death in 1038, his brother Ekkehard II.

Hermann I. (1009-1038)

Around 1010 the brothers under Hermann I had left their seat near Kleinjena and built a "New Castle" - today Naumburg (Saale) - on the east bank of the Saale . Their initiative to find a new Saalefurt near Almerich and to steer the old long-distance road from Erfurt and continuing via Goseck to Leipzig, a royal road ( Via Regia ), to the territory controlled by them to the right of the Saale and the city of Naumburg proved to be momentous to found. Both should lead to long-term success. (This important trade route established the connection between Western Europe via Frankfurt am Main and Erfurt with Silesia and Eastern Europe.)

Ekkehard II (1038-1046)

Donor figures of Ekkehard II and Uta in Naumburg Cathedral

In 1046, with Ekkehard II, the Ekkehardines died out. This family had a great influence on imperial politics. Her power was based on ecclesiastical and imperial fiefs, which she increasingly knew how to transform into hereditary property. Numerous castles such as the Eckartsburg on the Finns also formed an indispensable framework for their rule. In the Naumburg Cathedral , the artistically outstanding donor figures (Ekkehard II with his wife Uta von Ballenstedt and Hermann with his Polish wife Reglindis ) are reminiscent of the noble donor family.

Tribe list

1. Ekkehard, † probably August 30, 954, 949/950 Graf - presumed ancestors (Ekkehard, † 936) see Liudolfinger
   1. Gunther von Merseburg , † July 13, 982 in the battle of Cape Colonna near Cotrone , 968–976 and 979–982 margrave in the diocese of Merseburg , went to Calabria ⚭ Dubrawka of Bohemia , also Dubrava, Dobrava (* between 925 and 931; † 977 in Poland), daughter of the Bohemian Přemyslid Duke Boleslav I and the Biagota
      1. Ekkehard I. , testified in 976, † murdered April 30, 1002 in Pöhlde , Count, 985–1002 Margrave of Meißen , candidate for the king's election in 1002 , founded the Klein-Jena monastery; ⚭ Schwanhild, † November 26, 1014, widow of Margrave Thietmar , daughter of Hermann Billung , Duke of Saxony , was buried in the monastery of Jena, after 1028 the George Monastery in Naumburg (Saale) transferred
         1. Liutgard, † November 13, 1012; ⚭ January 1003 Werner Graf von Walbeck , Margrave of the Nordmark , † November 11, 1014
         2. Hermann I , † 1038, 1007 Count in Bautzen , 1009 Margrave of Meißen , 1028 Count in Hassegau and Gau Chutizi , after 1028 relocated the monastery Klein-Jena to Sankt Georg in Naumburg (Saale) together with his siblings ; ⚭ Summer 1002 Regelinda, * 989, † after March 21, 1016, daughter of Boleslaw I. Chrobry , 992 prince and 1025 king of Poland ( Piast )
         3. Ekkehard II , attested in 1009, † January 24, 1046, count in Gau Chutizi and in Burgward Teuchern , 1032 Margrave of Lusatia , buried in Naumburg (Saale) ; ⚭ Uta, † October 23 ..., probably Margravine Uta von Naumburg , sister of Esiko Graf in Schwabengau etc. ( Askanier )
         4. Gunther, † November 1, 1025, before 1001 royal court chaplain, 1009 royal chancellor , 1024-1025 archbishop of Salzburg
         5. Eilward , † November 24, 1023, royal court chaplain, 1016-1023 Bishop of Meissen
         6. Mathilde; ⚭ Dietrich I , † murdered November 19, 1034, 1017 Graf in Eilenburg , 1021 Graf im Hassegau , Margrave of Lusatia
         7. Oda, † 1025; ⚭ February 3, 1018 at Castle Cziczani Boleslaw I. Chrobry , 992 prince and 1025 king of Poland , † June 17, 1025 ( Piast )
      2. Gunzelin, † after 1017, Margrave of Meißen 1002–1009, deposed
      3. Brun, count 1009

• Gunther, Bishop of Bamberg, * 1025 as the last of the Ekkehardines, 1054 Chancellor, advisor to Empress Agnes, 1057 Bishop of Bamberg, † July 23, 1065.

literature

• Eduard Machatschek : History of the bishops of the Meissen Monastery in chronological order. At the same time a contribution to the cultural history of the Mark Meissen and the Duchy and Electorate of Saxony. Edited from the “Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae”, other credible sources and proven historical works. Meinhold, Dresden 1884.
• Robert Holtzmann : Contributions to the history of the Margrave Gunzelin of Meissen. In: Saxony and Anhalt. Vol. 8, 1932, ISSN  0945-2842 , pp. 108-129.
• Siegfried Lüpke: The Margraves of the Saxon East Brands in the time from Gero to the beginning of the investiture dispute (940-1075). Frommhold & Wendler, Leipzig 1937, (Halle, university, dissertation, 1937, typed).
• Ruth Schölkopf: The Saxon Counts. (919-1024) ( Studies and preparatory work for the Historical Atlas of Lower Saxony, issue 22, ISSN  0933-2960 ). Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1957.
• Hans Patze : The emergence of sovereignty in Thuringia (= Central German research. 22, 1, ISSN  0544-5957 ). Part 1. Böhlau, Cologne et al. 1962.
• Rudolf Stöwesand: On the genealogy and history of the founders of the Naumburg Cathedral, Count Dietmar the Fallen and Timo the Bird Free. In: The Herald. NF 4, No. 8/9, 1962, ISSN  0018-0793 , pp. 163-187.
• Herbert Ludat : On the Elbe and the Oder around the year 1000. Sketches on the politics of the Ottonian Empire and the Slavic powers in Central Europe. Böhlau Cologne et al. 1971, ISBN 3-412-07271-0 .
• Christian Lübke : Regesten on the history of the Slavs on the Elbe and Oder (= Eastern European studies of the universities of the state of Hesse. Series 1: Giessen treatises on agricultural and economic research in the European East. 134). Volume 3: Regesten. 983-1013. Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1986, ISBN 3-428-05844-5 .
• Eduard Hlawitschka : Investigations on the change of throne in the first half of the 11th century and on the aristocratic history of southern Germany. At the same time clarifying research on "Kuno von Öhningen" (= lectures and research. Special vol. 35). Thorbecke, Sigmaringen 1987, ISBN 3-7995-6695-3 .
• Winfrid Glocker: The relatives of the Ottonians and their importance in politics. Studies on family policy and genealogy of the Saxon imperial family (= dissertations on medieval history. 5). Böhlau Cologne et al. 1989, ISBN 3-412-12788-4 (also: Munich, university, dissertation, 1986/1987).
• Gabriele Rupp: The Ekkehardiner, Margraves of Meissen and their relations to the empire and to the Piasts (= European university publications. Series 3: History and their auxiliary sciences. Vol. 691). Lang, Frankfurt am Main et al. 1996, ISBN 3-631-49868-3 (also: Munich, University, dissertation, 1995).
• Heinz Wießner: The Diocese of Naumburg. Volume 1: The Diocese (= Germania Sacra . NF Vol. 35, 1). de Gruyter, Berlin et al. 1997, ISBN 3-11-015193-6 .
• Bernd W. Bahn: The castles of the Ekkehardinger at the Unstrut estuary. (1st chapter). In: Saale-Unstrut-Yearbook. Yearbook for cultural history and natural history of the Saale-Unstrut region. Vol. 5, 2000, ISSN  1431-0791 , pp. 28-39.
• Detlev Schwennicke : European family tables . New series Volume 1, 1: The Frankish kings and the kings and emperors, tribal dukes, electors, margraves and dukes of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. 2nd, improved edition. Klostermann, Frankfurt am Main 2005, ISBN 3-465-03420-1 .

Web links

• Ekkehardiner

Remarks

1. ↑ Eduard Hlawitschka: “Do you not notice that you are missing the fourth wheel on the car?” On Ekkehard von Meißen's candidacy for the throne (1002) according to Thietmar, Chronicon IV c. 52nd in: Karl Hauck, Hubert Mordeck (Ed.): Historiography and intellectual life in the Middle Ages. Festschrift for Heinz Löwe on his 65th birthday. Cologne u. a. 1978, pp. 281-311, here p. 293.