The Brunonids (or Brunonians , German : Brunonen , Latin : Brunones , i.e. "Brunos") were a Saxon noble family in the 10th and 11th centuries, who owned property in Eastphalia (around Brunswick ) and Frisia .
31-614: The Brunonids are assumed to be descendants of Brun, Duke of Saxony (d. 880). This would make them the senior branch of the Liudolfing house, to which the Ottonian emperors also belonged. This relationship is considered likely because the names Brun and Liudolf are both common among the Brunonids, and their properties are located in the same areas as the properties of the early Liudolfings. In addition, contemporaries seemed to regard
62-539: A Danish contingent of the Great Heathen Army , defeated by King Alfred the Great ) on Candlemas Day, 2 February 880. The mid-winter battle was a crushing defeat; Duke Bruno, the bishops of Minden and Hildesheim , as well as twelve Saxon counts and several other noblemen, were killed. According to the chronicler Bishop Thietmar of Merseburg , Bruno died in a flooded river, which probably took place during
93-647: A council at Mainz . In attendance were the three archbishops of the East Frankish kingdom— Wilbert of Cologne , Liutbert of Mainz and Ratbod of Trier —and the West Frankish archbishops of Reims ( Fulk ) and Rouen (John I) along with the bishops of Beauvais and Noyon . According to Walter Ullmann , the presence of the West Franks was on account of the "barren ecclesiastical thought" of the East, and
124-711: A daughter with her second husband, Henry the Fat, Margrave of Frisia of Northeim . This daughter, Richenza (d. 1141) married Lothar of Süpplingenburg , who was Duke of Saxony and later became Holy Roman Emperor. Their daughter Gertrude (d. 1143) married Duke Henry the Proud of Saxony and Bavaria , a member of the House of Welf . In this way, the Welf dynasty gained the Brunonid properties around Brunswick, which they would hold until
155-638: Is called ducem et fratrem reinæ , 'duke and the queen's brother' in the Annales Fuldenses . Nothing is known of Bruno's marriage and children. He supported his brother-in-law Louis the Younger in the fights with his uncle, Emperor Charles the Bald . As Saxon commander-in-chief during the Viking invasions , he died, along with several other noblemen, in a battle against "Norsemen" warriors (probably
186-619: Is possible that Bruno, according to the Res gestae saxonicae by the medieval chronicler Widukind of Corvey , already was dux totius Saxonum , duke ( Herzog ) of all Saxony. The rise of his family in East Francia is documented by the fact that Bruno's sister Liutgard in 874 married the Carolingian prince Louis the Younger , second son of King Louis the German , whereafter he
217-768: Is venerated as one of the Ebsdorf Martyrs . He was the eldest son of the Saxon count Liudolf (died 866) and his wife, Oda . His father held large estates in Eastphalia along the Leine river, where in 852 he founded the Brunshausen monastery. Bruno succeeded his father and is mentioned as a count in 877. While Liudolf is described as dux orientalis Saxonum , i.e. leader in East Saxony (Eastphalia), it
248-463: The "different people" ( diversae nationes populorum ) of East Francia, mostly Germanic- and Slavic-speaking, could be "distinguished from each other by race, customs, language and laws" ( genere moribus lingua legibus ). In 869, Lotharingia was divided between West and East Francia under the Treaty of Meersen . The short lived Middle Francia turned out to be the theatre of Franco-German wars up until
279-412: The 14th century was defined as the place of the 880 battle and became a major pilgrimage site. According to tradition, Bruno is also the founder of Brunswick as well as the ancestor of the local count Brun I (a candidate in the royal election of 1002 ) and his Brunonid descendants. Consistent naming suggests a kinship; however, some mentions appear to refer to an earlier Saxon margrave called Brun
310-592: The 20th century. Brun, Duke of Saxony Bruno , also called Brun or Braun ( c. 830/840 – 2 February 880), a member of the Ottonian dynasty , was Duke of Saxony from 866 until his death in 880. He is rated as an ancestor of the Brunonids , a cadet branch of the Ottonians, though an affiliation is uncertain. Bruno was killed fighting against Norse warriors in the Battle of Lüneburg Heath and
341-702: The 20th century. All the Frankish lands were briefly reunited by Charles the Fat , but in 888 he was deposed by nobles and in East Francia Arnulf of Carinthia was elected king. The increasing weakness of royal power in East Francia meant that dukes of Bavaria, Swabia, Franconia , Saxony and Lotharingia turned from appointed nobles into hereditary rulers of their territories. Kings increasingly had to deal with regional rebellions. In 911 Saxon, Franconian, Bavarian and Swabian nobles no longer followed
SECTION 10
#1732772073760372-619: The Brunonids as male-line relatives of the Ottonian kings, as shown by the candidacy for king of Brun I, Count of Brunswick . However, there is no evidence that the Brunonids are related to the Liudolfings, and nothing is known about the existence of any children of Duke Brun. The oldest properties of the Brunonids were located in the Derlingau , from which they spread their influence to adjacent areas. The town of Brunswick , located at
403-548: The Emperor Lothair I. While Eastern Francia contained about a third of the traditional Frankish heartland of Austrasia, the rest consisted mostly of lands annexed to the Frankish empire between the fifth and the eighth century. These included the duchies of Alamannia, Bavaria, Saxony and Thuringia , as well as the northern and eastern marches with the Danes and Slavs. The contemporary chronicler Regino of Prüm wrote that
434-452: The Rhine. The use of the term in a broader sense, to refer to the eastern kingdom, was an innovation of Louis the German 's court. Since eastern Francia could be identified with old Austrasia, the Frankish heartland, Louis's choice of terminology hints at his ambitions. Under his grandson, Arnulf of Carinthia, the terminology was largely dropped and the kingdom, when it was referred to by name,
465-571: The Treaty of Verdun in 843, enforced by the Germanic - Latin language split, "gradually hardened into the establishment of separate kingdoms", with East Francia becoming (or being) the Kingdom of Germany and West Francia becoming the Kingdom of France . The term orientalis Francia originally referred to Franconia and orientales Franci to its inhabitants, the ethnic Franks living east of
496-488: The Younger, possibly Bruno's grandfather. East Francia East Francia ( Latin : Francia orientalis ) or the Kingdom of the East Franks ( Regnum Francorum orientalium ) was a successor state of Charlemagne 's empire ruled by the Carolingian dynasty until 911. It was created through the Treaty of Verdun (843) which divided the former empire into three kingdoms. The east–west division with
527-661: The battle or a retreat. He was succeeded by his younger brother Otto the Illustrious , whose son Henry the Fowler became King of East Francia in 919. Bruno is venerated as a saint and martyr in the Catholic Church , being honoured with a feast day on 2 February under the name St. Bruno of Saxony . About 1160 of his relics were translated by the Dannenberg counts to Ebstorf Abbey near Uelzen , which from
558-505: The council proceeded to adopt West Frankish ideas of royal sacrality and anointing . It was "the first phase in the process of assimilation of the two halves of the Carolingian inheritance". In another church council at Tribur in 895, the prelates declared that Arnulf was chosen by God and not by men and Arnulf in turn swore to defend the church and its privileges from all its enemies. When Arnulf died in 899, his minor son, Louis IV ,
589-401: The extent of Louis's lands: "at the assigning of portions, Louis obtained all the land beyond the Rhine river, but on this side of the Rhine also the cities of Speyer, Worms and Mainz with their counties". The kingdom of West Francia went to Louis's younger half-brother Charles the Bald, and between their realms a kingdom of Middle Francia, incorporating Italy , was given to their elder brother,
620-573: The house was Brun I, Count of Brunswick , who is attested since 991. Count Bruno I sought without success to succeed Otto III in 1002 as King of the Romans. In 1067, Bruno's grandson Egbert was granted the Margraviate of Meissen by Emperor Henry IV . His son, Egbert II , opposed that same ruler and lost his rights to both Meissen and Frisia . Egbert II's death marked the end of the Brunonid line. Egbert II's sister, Gertrude of Brunswick , had
651-562: The kingdom of Middle Francia , Charles the Bald received West Francia and Louis the German received the eastern portion of mostly Germanic-speaking lands: the Duchy of Saxony , Austrasia , Alamannia , the Duchy of Bavaria , and the March of Carinthia . The contemporary East Frankish Annales Fuldenses describes the kingdom being "divided in three" and Louis "acceding to the eastern part". The West Frankish Annales Bertiniani describe
SECTION 20
#1732772073760682-473: The most capable successor. This kingship changed from Franks to Saxons, who had suffered greatly during the conquests of Charlemagne. Henry, who was elected to kingship by only Saxons and Franconians at Fritzlar , had to subdue other dukes and concentrated on creating a state apparatus which was fully utilized by his son and successor Otto I . By his death in July 936, Henry had prevented collapse of royal power, as
713-458: The royal family and the kingdom. Collectively, these were known by the technical term servitium regis ("king's service"). According to the evidence of the Notitia de servitio monasteriorum , a list of monasteries and the services they owed drawn up around 817, the burden of military and monetary service was more severe in west Francia than in east Francia. Only four monasteries listed as "beyond
744-403: The symbols and rituals of East Frankish kingship were created from scratch. From an early date, the East Frankish kingdom had a more formalised notion of royal election than West Francia. Around 900, a liturgy for the coronation of a king, called the early German ordo , was written for a private audience. It required the coronator to ask the "designated prince" ( princeps designatus ) whether he
775-459: The tradition of electing someone from the Carolingian dynasty as a king to rule over them and on 10 November, 911 elected one of their own ( Conrad I ) as the new king. Because Conrad I was one of the dukes, he found it very hard to establish his authority over them. Duke Henry of Saxony was in rebellion against Conrad I until 915 and struggle against Arnulf, Duke of Bavaria cost Conrad I his life. On his deathbed, Conrad I chose Henry of Saxony as
806-541: The western edge of the Derlingau, became their comital seat in the 9th or 10th century; according to legends, Brunswick (the name literally means "Brun's town") was founded by one of the Brunonids named Brun — it is unclear by which one. Their county came to be known as the County of Brunswick . The next assumed member of the Brunonid (Brunoner) house was a Count Liudolf, who was mentioned in 942. The first certain member of
837-559: Was "now called the kingdom of the Germans" ( regnum Teutonicorum ). In August 843, after three years of civil war following the death of emperor Louis the Pious on 20 June 840, the Treaty of Verdun was signed by his three sons and heirs. The division of lands was largely based on the Meuse , Scheldt , Saone and Rhone rivers. While the eldest son Lothair I kept the imperial title and
868-544: Was crowned, but not anointed, and placed under the tutelage of Archbishop Hatto I of Mainz . Louis's coronation was the first in German history. When Louis died in late September 911, Duke Conrad I, then the Duke of Franconia , was elected to replace him on 10 November and he became the first German king to receive unction. The three basic services monasteries could owe to the sovereign in the Frankish realms were military service, an annual donation of money or work, and prayers for
899-711: Was happening in West Francia , and left a much stronger kingdom to his successor Otto I. After Otto I was crowned as the Emperor in Rome in 962, the era of the Holy Roman Empire began. The regalia of the Carolingian empire had been divided by Louis the Pious on his deathbed between his two faithful sons, Charles the Bald and Lothair. Louis the German, then in rebellion, received nothing of the crown jewels or liturgical books associated with Carolingian kingship. Thus
930-472: Was simply Francia . When it was necessary, as in the Treaty of Bonn (921) with the West Franks, the "eastern" qualifier appeared. Henry I refers to himself as rex Francorum orientalium , "king of the East Franks", in the treaty. By the 12th century, the historian Otto of Freising , in using the Carolingian terminology, had to explain that the "eastern kingdom of the Franks" ( orientale Francorum regnum )
961-477: Was willing to defend the church and the people and then to turn and ask the people whether they were willing to be subject to the prince and obey his laws. The latter then shouted, " Fiat , fiat !" (Let it be done!), an act that later became known as "Recognition". This is the earliest known coronation ordo with a Recognition in it, and it was subsequently incorporated in the influential Pontificale Romano-Germanicum . In June 888, King Arnulf of Carinthia convened