Gero (Lausitz)

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Gero (* around 970; † September 1 or October 1, 1015 near Krossen ) was Count in the Serimunt Gau , Schwabengau , from 992 in Hassegau and from 993 Margrave of the Lausitz region , which he largely owned on the eastern flank in 1002 Polish King Bolesław lost. He ruled over an area that roughly corresponds to today's Niederlausitz .

In the older literature it is listed under the name Gero II , Margrave of the Saxon Ostmark . This is not correct, as the Saxon Ostmark was dissolved after the death of Gero “the Great” in 965 and divided into five smaller administrative units (brands).

ancestry

Gero was the only son of Margrave Thietmar I of Meißen and Suanehild from the Billunger tribe , daughter of Duke Hermann of Saxony . He was a great-nephew of Margrave Gero of Ostmark and nephew of Archbishop Gero of Cologne .

Domination

After Thietmar's death in 979, Gero, who was still very young at the time, succeeded his father in Gau Serimunt and soon also in Schwabengau, while the Meißen and Merseburg brands were returned by Emperor Otto I to Gunther von Merseburg, who had been banished in the meantime were given. Over time, however, Gero was able to expand his domain and position considerably. As a count in Hassegau he is documented from 992. He owned a county to which he was entitled under inheritance law north of Serimunt in the Slavic Gau Zitizi on the Elbe, around today's Zerbst . A county in Gau Coledizi also came from the father . After the death of Margrave Hodo I , who was closely related to him , in 993, Gero received his marrow Lausitz and the Slavic Gau Nizizi as well as parts of Hodos allodies ; since then he has held the title marchio (margrave).

Imperial politics

Gero was a loyal supporter of the Ottonians and was one of the confidants of Emperor Otto III. and was a supporter of his policy of the Renovatio imperii ("Restoration of the Roman Empire") and thus a proponent of the act of Gniezno , which in 1000 founded the Archdiocese of Gniezno . As the master of important border marks, Gero maintained very good contacts with King Bolesław I of Poland, which can also be seen in the high respect that Bołeslaw and his people showed to the fallen Gero and his men in 1015.

Polish campaigns

Probably in order not to endanger these good relations and to protect his territory, Gero held back in the so-called Polish Wars between Emperor Heinrich II. And Bolesław I. The border situation and the ongoing hostilities required military action, but Gero was not very successful as a military leader. Nor is it known that Gero attempted to recapture Lusatia from Bolesław. Its areas suffered frequent devastation, not only from invading Slavs, but also from German troops, who looted and enriched themselves; so devastated z. For example, an army gathered by Henry II against Bolesław in 1010 took over the margravial estates around Belgians after Heinrich had left because of illness before returning home after the Polish campaign that had broken off. At this point in time, Gero does not seem to have had a good reputation with Heinrich, and he was not compensated for the damage caused by the emperor. He has also not been mentioned in the imperial documents since then.

Five years later, during Heinrich's fourth campaign against Bolesław, the imperial army, under the personal leadership of Heinrich, devastated and pillaged the Mark Geros around "Sclaucisvordi" in July 1015. This is seen by some historians as a "deliberately executed punitive action by the emperor", with which Gero was forced to participate in the upcoming campaign.

death

On this last campaign, Gero commanded the imperial rearguard on the retreat via Strehla Castle to Merseburg. When Heinrich's army was ambushed on September 1st (or October 1st) 1015 near Krossen on the Oder, Gero fell with 200 of his men. He was buried in the monastery of Nienburg an der Saale .

family

Gero's marriage to Adelheid had a son, Thietmar, Margrave of Lusatia († January 10, 1030), who followed his father in office as Margrave of Lusatia.

literature

Web links

Gero II in the genealogy of the Middle Ages

Remarks

  1. ↑ Probably a now unknown desert to the left of the Elbe between Riesa and Wittenberg .
predecessor Office successor
Hodo Margrave of Lusatia
993-1015 		Thietmar
personal data
SURNAME Gero
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Gero II.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Margrave of Lusatia
DATE OF BIRTH around 970
DATE OF DEATH September 1, 1015 or October 1, 1015
Place of death Krusty