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The subject of this article was previously also known as Saxony. For other uses, see Saxony (disambiguation).
The mediæval Duchy of Saxony was a late Early Middle Ages "Carolingian stem duchy" covering the greater part of Northern Germany. It covered the area of the modern German states of Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, and Saxony-Anhalt and most of Schleswig-Holstein. Duke Henry the Lion occupied the area of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
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The Saxon people were one of the most robust groups in the late tribal culture of the times, and eventually bequeathed their tribe's name to a variety of more and more modern geo-political territories from Old Saxony near the mouth of the Elbe River, up the Elbe successively to eventually, the Kingdom of Saxony and the three Germany free states which bear the name today (see map at left).
History
Middle Ages
For the early history of the Saxons before incorporation into the Holy Roman Empire, see: Old Saxony
- 804: The Duchy of Saxony, consisting of Engern, Westphalia, Eastphalia and Northalbingia (today Schleswig-Holstein) becomes part of the Franconian Empire.
- 852: Liudolf, Duke of Saxony, descendant of Widukind and first of the Ottonian dynasty, founds Gandersheim Abbey.
- 880: Bruno, son of Liudolf, is killed in a battle with Vikings. His younger brother Otto becomes Duke of Saxony.
- 912: Henry, son of Otto, succeeds him as Duke.
- 919: Henry of Saxony is elected King of the Germans by the assembled Saxon and Frankish princes in Fritzlar.
- 936: Henry's son, Otto I the Great, succeeds him and is crowned in Aachen as King of the Germans.
- 938: Hermann Billung becomes margrave ("Markgraf") of Saxony.
- 953: Otto I elevates Hermann Billung to viceduke of Saxony.
- 973: Otto I dies in Memleben; Otto II becomes Emperor. Hermann Billung dies in Quedlinburg; Bernhard I Billung becomes duke of Saxony.
- 983: Danish uprising in Hedeby. Slavonian uprising in Northalbingia. Otto III becomes Emperor.
- 1002: The death of Otto III marks the end of the Saxon emperors.
- 1011: Duke Bernhard I Billung dies; his son Bernhard II becomes duke.
- 1042: Ordulf Billung, son of Bernhard II, marries Wulfhild, the half-sister of King Magnus of Denmark and Norway. Danes and Saxons fight against the Wends.
- 1059: Ordulf Billung becomes Duke after the death of his father.
- 1072: Magnus Billung becomes Duke.
- 1106: Duke Magnus dies without heir, ending the Billung dynasty. The Billung territory becomes part of the Welf and Ascanian countries. Lothar of Supplinburg becomes Duke of Saxony.
- 1112: Otto of Ballenstedt created Duke by Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor.
- 1115: Victory of Lothar of Supplinburg in the battle of Welfesholz over King Henry V.
- 1125: Lothar of Supplinburg elected as German King and crowned Emperor, as Lothar II.
- 1137 Death of Lothar. The Welf Henry X the Proud, Duke of Bavaria since 1126, becomes Duke of Saxony, as Henry II.
- 1138: Henry X tries to become king, but without success. The Ascanian Albert the Bear becomes new Duke of Saxony.
- 1139: Death of Henry X.
- 1141: Albert the Bear resigns.
- 1142: Conrad III, King of the Romans and of Germany, grants the ducal title to the Welf Henry the Lion (as Henry III). Henry the Lion gradually extends his rule over northeastern Germany. After gaining also the Duchy of Bavaria, Henry's realm covers more than two thirds of Germany from the Alps to the North Sea and the Baltic Sea, making him the mightiest ruler in central Europe.
- 1180: Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor, strips his cousin Henry the Lion of his duchies of Saxony and Bavaria, giving a severely belittled younger Duchy of Saxony to the Ascanians who were based further east. The Welfs later became kings of Hanover, Great Britain and Ireland (House of Hanover).
Territories seceded from Saxony following its break-up in 1180
A number of seceded territories gaining even imperial immediacy, while others only changed their liege lord on the occasion.
- County of Blankenburg, until 1180 a Saxon fief, then a fief of the Prince-Bishopric of Halberstadt
- Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen
- Brunswick-Lüneburg, the Welfic allodial possessions, not remaining with the belittled younger Duchy of Saxony, but elevated to a Duchy of its own in 1235
- Prince-Bishopric of Halberstadt
- Prince-Bishopric of Hildesheim
- County of Hohenstein, seated in Hohenstein
- County of Holstein
- County of Hoya
- Lordship of Lippe, an allodial possession within the Duchy of Saxony until 1180, gaining disputed imperial immediacy
- Prince-Bishopric of Lübeck
- Prince-Archbishopric of Magdeburg
- Prince-Bishopric of Minden
- Prince-Bishopric of Münster
- County of Oldenburg
- Prince-Bishopric of Osnabrück
- Prince-Bishopric of Paderborn
- Prince-Bishopric of Ratzeburg
- County of Ravensberg
- Prince-Bishopric of Schwerin
- County of Tecklenburg
- Prince-Bishopric of Verden
- Duchy of Westphalia and Angria
See also
Notes and references
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