Older stem duchy According to the
Res gestae saxonicae by tenth century chronicler
Widukind of Corvey, the Saxons had arrived from
Britannia at the coast of
Land Hadeln in the
Elbe-Weser Triangle, called by the
Merovingian rulers of Francia to support the conquest of
Thuringian kingdom, a seeming reversal of the English origin myth where Saxon tribes from the region, under the leadership of legendary brothers
Hengist and Horsa, invade post-Roman Britannia (see
Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain). The
Royal Frankish Annals mention a 743 Frankish campaign led by the
Carolingian Mayor of the Palace
Carloman against the Saxons, followed by a second expedition together with his brother
Pepin the Short the next year. In 747 their rebellious brother
Grifo allied with Saxon tribes and temporarily conquered the stem duchy of
Bavaria. Pepin, Frankish king from 750, again invaded Saxony and subdued several Westphalian tribes until 758. In 772, Pepin's son Charlemagne started the final conquest of the Saxon lands. Though his ongoing campaigns were successful, he had to deal with the fragmentation of the Saxon territories in Westphalian,
Eastphalian,
Angrian, and Nordalbingian tribes, demanding the conclusion of specific peace agreements with single tribes, which soon were to be broken by other clans. The Saxons devastated the Frankish stronghold at
Eresburg; their leader (
Herzog)
Widukind refused to appear at the 777 diet at
Paderborn, retired to Nordalbingia and afterwards led several uprisings against the occupants, avenged by Charlemagne at the
Massacre of Verden in 782. Widukind allegedly had to pledge allegiance in 785, having himself baptised and becoming a Frankish count. Saxon uprisings continued until 804, when the whole stem duchy had been incorporated into the Carolingian Empire. Afterwards, Saxony was ruled by Carolingian officials, e.g.
Wala of Corbie (d. 836), a grandson of
Charles Martel and cousin of the emperor, who in 811 fixed the
Treaty of Heiligen with King
Hemming of Denmark, defining the northern border of the Empire along the
Eider River. Among the installed dukes were already nobles of Saxon descent, like Wala's successor Count Ekbert, husband of Saint
Ida of Herzfeld, a close relative of Charlemagne.
Younger stem duchy 919–1125, by
William R. Shepherd: Saxony in yellow,
Franconia in blue,
Bavaria in green,
Swabia in light orange,
Lower Lotharingia in dark pink,
Upper Lotharingia in light pink,
Thuringia in dark orange and
Frisia in light orange Ida of Herzfeld may have been an ancestor of the Saxon count
Liudolf (d. 866), who married Oda of
Billung and ruled over a large territory along the
Leine river in Eastphalia, where he and Bishop
Altfrid of
Hildesheim founded
Gandersheim Abbey in 852. Liudolf became the progenitor of the Saxon ducal, royal and imperial
Ottonian dynasty; nevertheless his descendance, especially his affiliation with late Duke Widukind, has not been conclusively established. In 865, under the
Division of Frankfurt, king
Louis the German granted Saxony, together with (
Franconia) to his son
Louis the Younger, who succeeded his father as king in those regions (876), and ruled there until his death in 882, being married to
Liutgard of Saxony, daughter of count Liudolf. Subdued only a few decades earlier, the Saxons rose to one of the leading tribes in
East Francia; it is however uncertain if the Ottonians already held the ducal title in the ninth century. Liudolf's elder son
Bruno (Brun), progenitor of the
Brunswick cadet branch of the
Brunonen, was killed in a battle with invading
Vikings under
Godfrid in 880. He was succeeded by his younger brother
Otto the Illustrious (d. 912), mentioned as
dux in the contemporary annals of
Hersfeld Abbey, which, however, seems to have been denied by the Frankish rulers. His position was strong enough to wed
Hedwiga of the
Babenberg, daughter of mighty Duke
Henry of Franconia,
princeps militiae of King
Charles the Fat. As all of Hedwiga's brothers were killed in the Franconian Babenberg feud with the rivalling
Conradines, Otto was able to adopt the strong position of his father-in-law and to evolve the united Saxon duchy under his rule. In 911, the East Frankish Carolingian dynasty went extinct with the death of King
Louis the Child, whereafter the dukes of Saxony,
Swabia and
Bavaria met at
Forchheim to elect the Conradine duke
Conrad I of Franconia king. One year later, Otto's son
Henry the Fowler succeeded his father as Duke of Saxony. According to the medieval chronicler
Widukind of Corvey, King Conrad designated Henry his heir, thereby denying the succession of his own brother
Eberhard of Franconia, and in 919 the Saxon duke was elected King of East Francia by the assembled Saxon and Franconian princes at
Fritzlar. Henry was able to integrate the Saxon, Swabian, Bavarian and Lotharingian duchies into a united realm, vital to handle the continuous attacks by
Hungarian forces. In 928/929, Henry's Saxon forces invaded regions across the Elbe river and subdued various tribes of the
Polabian Slavs. Those campaigns led to the establishment of German strongholds in
Brandenburg and
Meissen, as well as the surrender of Duke
Wenceslaus of Bohemia, thus marking the beginning of the German eastward expansion (). Slavic tribes on the borders of Eastphalia, such as
Drevani, who lived along Elbe river in the region later known as
Altmark, were gradually subdued and integrated, thus expanding Saxon frontiers towards east. In 936, upon Henry's death at
Memleben, his son
Otto I succeeded him. According to Widukind, he was crowned king at
Aachen Cathedral, with the other
German Dukes Gilbert of Lorraine,
Eberhard of Franconia,
Arnulf of Bavaria and
Herman of Swabia paying homage to him. He appointed a prominent Saxon count
Hermann Billung as the royal governor of Saxony, and
princeps militiae or "markgraf", with orders to subdue the Slavic
Lutici beyond the Elbe River (
Billung March). In time, Hermann gained further influence, and before his death he was in all but name the duke of Saxony. Sometime after 965, Otto I entrusted the defense of northeastern Saxon regions in Eastphalia, later known as
Altmark (meaning:
the old march) to count
Thiadricus (
Dietrich of Haldensleben), placing him and Saxon governor Hermann Billung in charge over the pacification of neighboring Slavic tribes, such as
Redarians and
Hevellians.
House of Billung • 973: Hermann Billung dies in
Quedlinburg and shortly after Otto I dies in
Memleben.
Otto II becomes emperor and he make Hermann's son
Bernhard I the first duke of Saxony of the
Billung House. • 983: Danish uprising in
Hedeby.
Slavic uprising in Northalbingia. • 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
Emperor Henry V. • 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. • 1137 Death of Lothar. The
Welf Henry the Proud, duke of Bavaria since 1126, had been appointed Lothar's successor (who died without a male heir) as duke of Saxony. However, as he was not officially invested and it would make him far too powerful, his claim is not recognized by his rivals. • 1138: Henry loses the election for king of the Germans against
Conrad of Hohenstaufen. Insisting to hold both duchies, Bavaria and Saxonia, a claim Conrad opposes, Henry refuses an oath of allegiance and is consequently stripped of all his titles. The Duchy of Saxony is granted to the Ascanian
Albert the Bear. • 1139: Due to his marriage to Lothar's only daughter
Gertrude of Supplingenburg, Henry still holds substantial lands within the Duchy of Saxony. Henry fiercely resists Albert's attempts to take possession of Saxony. Preparing an attack on the Duchy of Bavaria, Henry dies unexpectedly. • 1141: Albert the Bear renounces the Duchy of Saxony and the title (as well as the Duchy of Bavaria) is granted to Henry X's adolescent son
Henry the Lion.
Henry the Lion In 1142, King
Conrad III of Germany granted the ducal title to the Welf scion Henry the Lion (as Duke Henry III). Henry gradually extended his rule over northeastern Germany, leading crusades against the pagan
Wends. During his reign, Henry massively supported to the development of the cities in his dominion, such as
Brunswick,
Lüneburg and
Lübeck, a policy ultimately contributing to the movement of the House of Welf from its homelands in southern Germany to the north. In 1152, Henry supported his cousin
Frederick III of Swabia, to be elected King of Germany (as Frederick I Barbarossa), likely under the promise of granting the Duchy of Bavaria back to Henry. Henry's dominion now covered more than two thirds of Germany, from the
Alps to the
North Sea and the
Baltic Sea, making him one of the mightiest rulers in central Europe, and thus also a potential threat for other German princes and even Barbarossa. To expand his rule, Henry continued to claim titles of lesser families, who left no legitimate heir. This policy caused unrest among many Saxon nobles and other German princes, first and foremost his father's old enemy, Albrecht the Bear. During Barbarossa's fourth
Italian campaign in 1166, a league of German Nobles declared war on Henry. The war continued until 1170, despite several attempts of the Emperor to mediate. Ultimately, Henry's position remained unchallenged, due to Barbarossa's favourable rule. In 1168, Henry married
Matilda Plantagenêt, the daughter of
Henry II of England and
Eleanor of Aquitaine and sister of
Richard Lionheart. The following years led to an estrangement between Barbarossa and Henry. Henry ceased to support the Emperor's Italy campaigns, which were all proven unsuccessful, as massively as he used to, and instead focused on his own possessions. In 1175 Barbarossa again asked for support against the
Lombard League, which Henry is said to have refused bluntly, even though Barbarossa kneeled before him. Records of this event were not written until several years later, and sources are contradictory, depending on whom the author favoured. Nevertheless, lacking the support of the Saxons the following
Battle of Legnano was a complete failure for the Emperor. When the majority of the realm's princes had returned from Italy, Henry's refusal was instantly exploited to weaken his position. Views differ, whether Barbarossa initiated Henry's downfall or if it was orchestrated by the princes first and foremost. Between 1175 and 1181, Henry was charged with several accusations, such as violating the
honour of the realm (honor imperii), breach of the peace, and treason. If he were to follow the summons to the
Hoftag, Henry would've acknowledge the charges as rightful, and therefore refused all summons. In 1181, he was ultimately stripped of his titles. Unwilling to give up without a fight, Henry already had dealt the first blow in 1180 against the city of
Goslar, which he had coveted for several years already. During the following war, Henry's domestic policy and the treatment of his vassals proved fatal, and his power quickly crumbled. In 1182, Henry the Lion ultimately went into exile, joining the court of his father-in-law, Henry II of England. Following the death of his wife and also of the Emperor, the latter while participating in the
Third Crusade, Henry returned to Brunswick in 1189 and briefly tried to regain the lost lands. After several setbacks, Henry made peace with Barbarossa's son and heir, King
Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor.
Ascanian Duchy of Saxony , and the ecclessiastical
Duchy of Westphalia , formerly Counts of
Ballenstedt Since 1180, the ancient
stem duchy of Saxony was partitioned in some dozens of territories of
imperial immediacy by Barbarossa, and ceased to exist in its traditional form. The western part was split amongst several minor counties and
prince-bishoprics, as well as the newly formed
Duchy of Westphalia. In the east, the Ascanians, the Welf's old rivals, finally gained a severely belittled Duchy of Saxony, occupying only the easternmost, comparably small, territories along the river
Elbe around
Lauenburg upon Elbe and around
Wittenberg upon Elbe. Limiting the lands the Ascanians gained along with the ducal title to these eastern territories caused the expansion of the name
Saxony twards the eastern regions, in the modern German state of
Saxony-Anhalt. Deposed from ducal dignity, the
House of Welf maintained its
allodial possessions, which did not remain as part of the Duchy of Saxony after the enfeoffment of the Ascanians. The Welf possessions were elevated to the
Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg in 1235. This duchy continued to use the old Saxon coat-of-arms showing the
Saxon Steed in
argent on
gules, while the Ascanians adopted for the
younger Duchy of Saxony their family colours, a
barry of ten, in
sable and
or, covered by a crancelin of rhombs bendwise in
vert, symbolising the Saxon dukedom. The Ascanian dukes of Saxony continued to exercise electoral rights, thus affirming the political importance of the Saxon duchy. In 1269, 1272, and 1282 the co-ruling Ascanian brothers, dukes
John I and
Albert II, gradually divided their governing competences within the then three territorially unconnected Saxon areas (Hadeln, Lauenburg, and Wittenberg), thus preparing a partition. After John I had resigned in 1282 in favour of his three minor sons, dukes
Eric I,
John II and
Albert III, followed by his death three years later, the three brothers and their uncle Albert II continued the joint rule in Saxony. In 1288, Albert II applied to
King Rudolph I for the enfeoffment of his son and heir
Rudolph I with the
Palatinate of Saxony, an old
palatine county in the
Saale-Unstrut region, which ensued a long-lasting dispute with the eager clan of the
House of Wettin. When the
County of Brehna was reverted to the Empire after the extinction of its comital family in 1290, the king enfeoffed Albert's son Rudolph with that county. In 1295, Albert II gained the
County of Gommern for Saxony. King
Wenceslaus II of Bohemia succeeded in bringing Albert II in favour of electing
Adolf of Germany, as new emperor (Albert II signed an elector pact on 29 November 1291 that he would vote the same as Wenceslaus). On 27 April 1292 Albert II, with his nephews still minor, wielded the Saxon
electoral vote, electing Adolf of Germany. The last document mentioning the joint government of Albert II with his nephews as Saxon fellow dukes dates to 1295.
Divisions and legacies , with the
County of Brehna and the
County of Gommern The definite partitioning of the Duchy of Saxony into two distinctive duchies of
Saxe-Lauenburg (), jointly ruled by the brothers Albert III, Eric I and John II, and
Saxe-Wittenberg (), ruled by Albert II, took place sometime before 20 September 1296. The
Vierlande, Sadelbande (Land of Lauenburg), the Land of
Ratzeburg, the Land of Darzing (today's
Amt Neuhaus), and the Land of Hadeln are all mentioned as the separate territory of the brothers. Albert II received Saxe-Wittenberg around the eponymous city and
Belzig, thus becoming the founder of the Ascanian Duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg, while his nephews continued to rule over the Ascanian Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg. On several occasions, mutual disputes ower two Saxon duchies arose over the
electoral rights. Those disputes were finally resolved by the
Golden Bull of 1356, by granting those rights to dukes of Saxe-Wittenberg, thus defining the Saxe-Wittenberg duchy as the
Electorate of Saxony. Upon the extinction of Saxe-Wittenberg line in 1422, the remaining Ascanian ducal line of Saxe-Lauenburg claimed both the Saxe-Wittenberg ducal lands and the Saxon electoral dignity. Those request were denied by the emperor
Sigismund, who granted all Saxe-Wittenberg possessions and titles to the rival
House of Wettin (1423). Since that time, the newly emerging agglomeration of Wettin lands in the middle
Elbe regions (Saxe-Wittenberg,
March of Meissen,
Osterland and various possessions throughout
Thuringia) led to the additional expansion of Saxon territorial designations, in spite of numerous Wettin dinastic divisions (such as the
Treaty of Leipzig in 1485) that all included the Saxon ducal title. Thus, the regional notion of the
Upper Saxony was created and expanded (the term promoted by the formation of
Upper Saxon Circle in 1512). It was centered on the Wettin
Electorate of Saxony, while in time the core territories of the former stem duchy in the
old Saxony came to be known as the
Lower Saxony (the term promoted by the creation of
Lower Saxon Circle in 1512). In spite of holding wast possessions in the old (lower) Saxony, non of the
House of Welf cadet branches, such as the ducal house of
Welf-Brunswick, included the
Saxon designation into the names of their duchies and principalities. In 1689, upon the extinction of the male ducal line in the Ascanian Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg, the neighboring
Welf-Lüneburg ruler captured Saxe-Lauenburg, but already in 1705 it passed to the
Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg, ruled by the Welf
House of Hanover. ==Territories seceded from Saxony after 1180==