Gunther von Merseburg

Gunther von Merseburg , also Günther von Merseburg , (* before 949; † July 13, 982 near Crotone , Calabria , Italy ) from the noble family of Ekkehardines was from 965 to 976 and again from 981 to 982 Margrave of the Mark Meißen and the Mark Merseburg .

Life

Gunther, son of Count Ekkehard von Merseburg, was enfeoffed with the Mark Merseburg by King Otto I in 965. This is assumed due to Gunther's designation as margrave in the founding deed of the Archdiocese of Magdeburg. The assignment of a Mark Merseburg is based on a certificate from Otto II, in which he gave the Merseburg Church Zwenkau and a forest belonging to it in the county of Count Gunther.

Gunther fought against Byzantium in 966 in Otto's I commission in Calabria .

After he had participated in the uprisings of Heinrich the Quarrel against King Otto II from 974 to 976 , he was relieved of his margraviate in 976; he went into exile with his son Ekkehard von Meißen . According to Thietmar von Merseburg, he was reconciled with the emperor in 981. It is therefore assumed that he was reinstated in the Margraviate of Meissen after Thietmar I's death .

After the death of Margrave Wigger I in 981, Gunther is said to have received control of the Zeitz region because the margraviate would otherwise have been vacant.

As a participant in Otto II's Italian campaign against the Saracens under Emir Abu al-Qasim , he was killed on July 13, 982 in the battle of Cape Colonna in Calabria.

Marriage and offspring

Gunther had two sons Ekkehard von Meißen (* approx. 960; † April 30, 1002), from 985 Margrave of Meißen and Duke of Thuringia and Gunzelin who succeeded his brother in the Margraviate of Meißen.

predecessor	Office	successor
Thietmar I.	Margrave of Meissen 981–982	Rikdag

personal data
SURNAME	Gunther von Merseburg
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Günther von Merseburg
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Margrave of Meissen
DATE OF BIRTH	before 949
DATE OF DEATH	July 13, 982
Place of death	near Crotone , Calabria , Italy