Coronation at
Aachen Cathedral, where Otto was crowned King of Germany in 936 Henry died from the effects of a
cerebral stroke on 2 July 936 at his palace, the
Kaiserpfalz in
Memleben, and was buried at
Quedlinburg Abbey. At the time of his death, all of the various German tribes were united in a single realm. At the age of almost 24, Otto assumed his father's position as
Duke of Saxony and
King of Germany. His coronation was held on 7 August 936 in
Charlemagne's former capital of
Aachen, where Otto was anointed and crowned by Hildebert, the Archbishop of Mainz. Though he was a Saxon by birth, Otto appeared at the coronation in Frankish dress in an attempt to demonstrate his sovereignty over the
Duchy of Lotharingia and his role as true successor to Charlemagne, whose last heirs in East Francia had died out in 911. According to Widukind of Corvey, Otto had the four other dukes of the kingdom (from the duchies of
Franconia,
Swabia,
Bavaria and
Lorraine) act as his personal attendants at the coronation banquet:
Arnulf I of Bavaria as
marshal (or stablemaster),
Herman I, Duke of Swabia as
cupbearer,
Eberhard of Franconia as
steward (or
seneschal) and
Gilbert of Lorraine as
Chamberlain. By performing this traditional service, the dukes signaled cooperation with the new king, and clearly showed their submission to his reign. Despite his peaceful transition, the royal family was not harmonious during his early reign. Otto's younger brother Henry also claimed the throne, contrary to his father's wishes. According to her biography, , their mother had favored Henry as king: in contrast to Otto, Henry had been "
born in the purple" during his father's reign and shared his name. Otto also faced internal opposition from various local aristocrats. In 936, Otto appointed
Hermann Billung as
Margrave, granting him authority over
a march north of the
Elbe River between the
Limes Saxoniae and
Peene Rivers. As military governor, Hermann extracted tribute from the
Polabian Slavs inhabiting the area and often fought against the
Western Slavic tribes of the
Lutici,
Obotrites, and
Wagri. Hermann's appointment angered his brother,
Count Wichmann the Elder. As the elder and wealthier of the two, Wichmann believed his claim to the office was superior to his brother's. Additionally, Wichmann was related by marriage to the
dowager queen Matilda. In 937, Otto further offended the nobility through his appointment of
Gero to succeed his older brother
Siegfried as Count and Margrave of a vast
border region around
Merseburg that abutted the
Wends on the lower
Saale. His decision frustrated Thankmar, Otto's half-brother and Siegfried's cousin, who felt that he held a greater right to the appointment.
Rebellion of the dukes , 919–1125. The
Kingdom of Germany included the duchies of
Saxony (yellow),
Franconia (blue),
Bavaria (green),
Swabia (orange) and
Lorraine (pink left). Various dukes rebelled against Otto's rule in 937 and again in 939. Arnulf, Duke of Bavaria, died in 937 and was succeeded by his son
Eberhard. The new duke quickly came into conflict with Otto, as Eberhard opposed the king's sovereignty over Bavaria under the peace treaty between King Henry and Arnulf. Refusing to recognize Otto's supremacy, Eberhard rebelled against the king. In two campaigns in the spring and fall of 938, Otto defeated and exiled Eberhard from the kingdom and stripped him of his titles. In his place, Otto appointed Eberhard's uncle
Berthold, a count in the
March of Carinthia, as the new Duke of Bavaria on the condition that Berthold would recognize Otto as the sole authority to appoint bishops and to administer royal property within the duchy. At the same time, Otto had to settle a dispute between Bruning, a Saxon noble, and Duke Eberhard of Franconia, the brother of the former king
Conrad I of Germany. After the rise of a Saxon to kingship, Bruning, a local lord with possessions in the borderland between Franconia and Saxony, refused to swear fealty to any non-Saxon ruler. Eberhard attacked Bruning's Helmern castle near
Peckelsheim, killed all of its inhabitants and burned it down. The king called the feuding parties to his court at
Magdeburg, where Eberhard was ordered to pay a fine, and his lieutenants were sentenced to carry dead dogs in public, which was considered a particularly shameful punishment. Infuriated with Otto's actions, Eberhard joined Otto's half-brother Thankmar, Count Wichmann, and
Archbishop Frederick of Mainz and rebelled against the king in 938. Duke Herman I of Swabia, one of Otto's closest advisors, warned him of the rebellion and the king moved quickly to put down the revolt. Wichmann was soon reconciled with Otto and joined the king's forces against his former allies. Otto besieged Thankmar at
Eresburg and although the latter surrendered, he was killed by a common soldier named Maincia or Meginzo at the altar of the Church of St. Peter. Otto mourned his half-brother and praised his courage but the killer was not punished. Following their defeats, Eberhard and Frederick sought reconciliation with the king. Otto pardoned both after a brief exile in
Hildesheim and restored them to their former positions.
War in France Shortly after his reconciliation, Eberhard planned a second rebellion against Otto. He promised to assist Otto's younger brother Henry in claiming the throne and recruited Gilbert, Duke of Lorraine, to join the rebellion. Gilbert was married to Otto's sister Gerberga of Saxony, but had sworn fealty to King
Louis IV of
West Francia. Otto exiled Henry from East Francia, and he fled to the court of King Louis. The West Frankish king, in hopes of regaining dominion over Lorraine once again, joined forces with Henry and Gilbert. In response, Otto allied with Louis's chief antagonist,
Hugh the Great,
Count of Paris, and husband of Otto's sister
Hedwige. Henry captured
Merseburg and planned to join Gilbert in Lorraine, but Otto besieged them at
Chevremont near
Liège. Before he could defeat them, he was forced to abandon the siege and moved against Louis, who had seized
Verdun. Otto subsequently drove Louis back to his capital at
Laon. While Otto gained some initial victories against the rebels, he was unable to capture the conspirators and end the rebellion. Archbishop Frederick sought to mediate peace between the combatants, but Otto rejected his proposal. Under Otto's direction, Duke Herman of Swabia led an army against the conspirators into Franconia and Lorraine. Otto recruited allies from the
Duchy of Alsace who crossed the
Rhine River and surprised Eberhard and Gilbert at the
Battle of Andernach on 2 October 939. Otto's forces claimed an overwhelming victory: Eberhard was killed in battle, and Gilbert drowned in the Rhine while attempting to escape. Left alone to face his brother, Henry submitted to Otto and the rebellion ended. With Eberhard dead, Otto assumed direct rule over the Duchy of Franconia and dissolved it into smaller counties and bishoprics accountable directly to him. The same year, Otto made peace with Louis IV, whereby Louis recognized his suzerainty over Lorraine. In return Otto withdrew his army and arranged for his sister Gerberga (the widow of Gilbert) to marry Louis IV. In 940, Otto and Henry were reconciled through the efforts of their mother. Henry returned to East Francia, and Otto appointed him as the new
Duke of Lorraine to succeed Gilbert. Henry had not dropped his ambitions for the German throne and initiated another conspiracy against his older brother. With the assistance of Archbishop Frederick of Mainz, Henry planned to have Otto assassinated on Easter Day, 941, at Quedlinburg Abbey. Otto discovered the plot and had the conspirators arrested and imprisoned at
Ingelheim. The king later released and pardoned both men only after they publicly performed
penance on Christmas Day that same year.
Consolidation of power The decade between 941 and 951 was marked by Otto's exercise of undisputed domestic power. Through the subordination of the dukes under his authority, Otto asserted his power to make decisions without their prior agreement. He deliberately ignored the claims and ranks of the nobility, who wanted dynastic succession in the assignment of office, by freely appointing individuals of his choice to the kingdom's offices. Loyalty to Otto, not lineage, was the pathway towards advancement under his rule. His mother Matilda disapproved of this policy and was accused by Otto's royal advisers of undermining his authority. After Otto briefly exiled her to her Westphalian manors at
Enger in 947, Matilda was brought back to court at the urging of his wife Eadgyth. The nobility found it difficult to adapt to Otto, as the kingdom had never before followed individual succession to the throne. Whereas tradition dictated that all the sons of the former king were to receive a portion of the kingdom, Henry's succession plan placed Otto at the head of a united kingdom at the expense of his brothers. Otto's authoritarian style was in stark contrast to that of his father. Henry had purposely waived Church anointment at coronation as a symbol of his election by his people and governing his kingdom on the basis of "friendship pacts" (Latin:
amicitia). Henry regarded the kingdom as a confederation of duchies and saw himself as a
first among equals. Instead of seeking to administer the kingdom through royal representatives, as Charlemagne had done, Henry allowed the dukes to maintain complete internal control of their holdings as long as his superior status was recognized. Otto, on the other hand, had accepted Church anointment and regarded his kingdom as a feudal monarchy with himself holding the "
divine right" to rule it. He reigned without concern for the internal hierarchy of the various kingdoms' noble families. This new policy ensured Otto's position as undisputed master of the kingdom. Members of his family and other aristocrats who rebelled against Otto were forced to confess their guilt publicly and unconditionally surrender to him, hoping for a pardon from their king. For nobles and other high-ranking officials, Otto's punishments were typically mild and the punished were usually restored to a position of authority afterwards. His brother Henry rebelled twice and was pardoned twice after his surrenders. He was even appointed Duke of Lorraine and later Duke of Bavaria. Rebellious commoners were treated far more harshly; Otto usually had them executed. Otto continued to reward loyal
vassals for their service throughout his tenure as king. Although appointments were still gained and held at his discretion, they were increasingly intertwined with dynastic politics. Where Henry relied upon "friendship pacts", Otto relied upon family ties. Otto refused to accept uncrowned rulers as his equal. Under Otto, the integration of important vassals took place through marriage connections. King Louis IV of France had married Otto's sister Gerberga in 939, and Otto's son
Liudolf had married Ida, the daughter of
Hermann I, Duke of Swabia, in 947. The former dynastically tied the royal house of West Francia to that of East Francia, and the latter secured his son's succession to the Duchy of Swabia, as Hermann had no sons. Otto's plans came to fruition when, in 950, Liudolf became
Duke of Swabia, and in 954 Otto's nephew
Lothair of France became
King of France. In 944, Otto appointed
Conrad the Red as Duke of Lorraine and brought him into his extended family through his marriage to Otto's daughter
Liutgarde in 947. A
Salian Frank by birth, Conrad was a nephew of former king Conrad I of Germany. Following the death of Otto's uncle Berthold, Duke of Bavaria, in 947, Otto satisfied his brother Henry's ambition through his marriage to
Judith, Duchess of Bavaria, daughter of Arnulf, Duke of Bavaria, and appointed him as the new Duke of Bavaria in 948. This arrangement finally achieved peace between the brothers, as Henry thereafter abandoned his claims to the throne. Through his familial ties to the dukes, Otto had strengthened the sovereignty of the crown and the overall cohesiveness of the kingdom. On 29 January 946, Eadgyth died suddenly at the age of 35, and Otto buried his wife in the
Cathedral of Magdeburg. The union had lasted sixteen years and produced two children; with Eadgyth's death, Otto began to make arrangements for his succession. Like his father before him, Otto intended to transfer sole rule of the kingdom to his son Liudolf upon his death. Otto called together all leading figures of the kingdom and had them swear an oath of allegiance to Liudolf, thereby promising to recognize his sole claim to the throne as Otto's heir apparent. Relying on recent archaeological evidences, Bachrach estimates that the armies he mobilized in 953 and 954 should have been in the range of 20,000 to 25,000 men, which were needed to besiege cities such as Mainz, which was defended by armies in excess of 30,000.
Foreign relations France The West Frankish kings had lost considerable royal power after internal struggles with their aristocracy, but still asserted their authority over the Duchy of Lorraine, a territory also claimed by East Francia. The German king was supported by Louis IV's chief domestic rival, Hugh the Great. Louis IV's second attempt to reign over Lorraine in 940 was based on his asserted claim to be the rightful Duke of Lorraine due to his marriage to Gerberga of Saxony, Otto's sister and the widow of Gilbert, Duke of Lorraine. Otto did not recognize Louis IV's claim and appointed his brother Henry as duke instead. In the following years, both sides tried to increase their influence in Lorraine, but the duchy remained a part of Otto's kingdom. Despite their rivalry, Louis IV and Hugh were both tied to Otto's family through marriage bonds. Otto intervened for peace in 942 and announced a formal reconciliation between the two. As a part of the deal, Hugh was to perform an act of submission to Louis IV, and in return, Louis IV was to waive any claims to Lorraine. After a short period of peace, the West Frankish kingdom fell into another crisis in 946.
Normans captured Louis IV and handed him over to Hugh, who released the King only on condition of the surrender of the fortress of Laon. At the urging of his sister Gerberga, Otto invaded France on behalf of Louis IV, but his armies were not strong enough to take the key cities of Laon,
Reims, and Paris. After three months, Otto finally lifted the siege without defeating Hugh, but managed to depose
Hugh of Vermandois from his position as
Archbishop of Reims, restoring
Artald of Reims to his former office. To settle the issue of control over the
Archdiocese of Reims, Otto called for a
synod at
Ingelheim on 7 June 948. The assembly was attended by more than 30 bishops, including all the archbishops of Germany – a demonstration of Otto's strong position in East and West Francia alike. The synod confirmed Otto's appointment of Artald as Archbishop of Reims, and Hugh was admonished to respect his king's royal authority. But it was not until 950 that the powerful vassal accepted Louis IV as king; the opponents were not fully reconciled until March 953. Otto left the sorting out of West Frankish affairs to his son-in-law
Conrad the Red and later
Bruno the Great, together with Otto's sisters Gerberga and Hadwig who were regents for their sons King Lothar and Duke Hugh. Otto had received the feudal commendation of several west Frankish magnates, and like his father had settled royal and episcopal succession disputes in the western kingdom. Bruno intervened militarily in West Francia in 958, as well as against the Reginarids in Lotharingia. However, this Ottonian hegemony from 940 to 965 was personal rather than institutional, and quickly disappeared after the accession of
Hugh Capet in 987.
Burgundy Otto continued the peaceful relationship between Germany and the
Kingdom of Burgundy initiated by his father. King
Rudolf II of Burgundy had previously married
Bertha of Swabia, the daughter of one of Henry's chief advisers, in 922. Burgundy was originally a part of
Middle Francia, the central portion of Charlemagne's empire according to its division under the
Treaty of Verdun in 843. On 11 July 937, Rudolf II died and
Hugh of Provence, the
King of Italy and Rudolf II's chief domestic opponent, claimed the Burgundian throne. Otto intervened in the succession and with his support, Rudolf II's son,
Conrad of Burgundy, was able to secure the throne. Burgundy had become an integral, but formally independent, part of Otto's sphere of influence and remained at peace with Germany during his reign.
Bohemia Boleslaus I, Duke of Bohemia, assumed the
Bohemian throne in 935. The next year, following the death of Otto's father, King Henry the Fowler, Boleslaus stopped paying tribute to the German Kingdom (East Francia) in violation of the peace treaty Henry had established with Boleslaus' brother and predecessor,
Wenceslaus I. Boleslaus attacked an ally of the Saxons in northwest Bohemia in 936 and defeated two of Otto's armies from
Thuringia and
Merseburg. After this initial large-scale invasion of Bohemia, hostilities were pursued, mainly in the form of border raids. The war was not concluded until 950, when Otto besieged a castle owned by Boleslaus' son. Boleslaus decided to sign a peace treaty, promising to resume payment of tribute. Boleslaus became Otto's ally, and his Bohemian force helped the German army against the common
Magyar threat at the Lech river in 955. Later he went on to crush an uprising of two Slavic dukes (
Stoigniew and
Nako) in
Mecklenburg, probably to ensure the spread of Bohemian estates to the east.
Byzantine Empire During his early reign, Otto fostered close relations with Emperor
Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus, who ruled over the
Byzantine Empire from 913 until his death in 959; East Francia and Byzantium sent several ambassadors to one another. Bishop
Thietmar of Merseburg, a medieval chronicler, records: "After this [Gilbert's defeat in 939], legates from the Greeks [Byzantines] twice brought gifts from their emperor to our king, both rulers being in a state of concord." It was during this time that Otto first tried to link himself to the Eastern Empire through marriage negotiations.
Slavic wars As Otto was finalizing actions to suppress his brother's rebellion in 939, the Slavs on the Elbe River revolted against German rule. Having been subdued by Otto's father in 928, the Slavs saw Henry's rebellion as an opportunity to regain their independence. Otto's lieutenant in east Saxony, Count Gero of Merseburg, was charged with the subjugation of the pagan Polabian Slavs. According to Widukind, Gero invited about thirty Slavic chieftains to a banquet; after the feast his soldiers attacked and massacred the unsuspecting drunken guests. The Slavs demanded revenge and marched against Gero with an enormous army. Otto agreed to a brief truce with his rebellious brother Henry and moved to support Gero. After fierce fighting, their combined forces were able to repel the advancing Slavs; Otto then returned west to subdue his brother's rebellion. In 941, Gero initiated another plot to subdue the Slavs. He recruited a captive Slav named Tugumir, a
Hevelli chieftain, to his cause. Gero promised to support him in claiming the Hevellian throne, if Tugumir would later recognize Otto as his overlord. Tugumir agreed and returned to the Slavs. Due to Gero's massacre, few Slavic chieftains remained, and the Slavs quickly proclaimed Tugumir as their prince. Upon assuming the throne, Tugumir murdered his chief rival and proclaimed his loyalty to Otto, incorporating his territory into the German kingdom. Otto granted Tugumir the title of "duke" and allowed Tugumir to rule his people, subject to Otto's
suzerainty, in the same manner as the German dukes. After the coup by Gero and Tugumir, the Slavic federation broke apart. In control of the key Hevelli stronghold of
Brandenburg, Gero was able to attack and defeat the divided Slavic tribes. Otto and his successors extended their control into Eastern Europe through military colonization and the establishment of churches. ==Military expansion into Italy==