#ottonians

Scientists Confirm Remains of Medieval Emperor Otto the Great

"Born into the Ottonian royal family, [Gerberga of Saxony] fostered and, at times, challenged, the political bonds between herself, her household, and her siblings. Gerberga’s siblings included King Otto I, Duke Henry of Bavaria, Archduke Bruno of Cologne, and comitissa Hadwig. Alongside her husband Giselbert, Gerberga conspired with Henry on at least one occasion during an ongoing coniuratio against Otto I from 936 to 939. [She subsequently married Louis IV of Francia in opposition to Otto's wishes]. More civilly, Gerberga sent legates to Otto I’s court in 946, pleading for help against Duke Hugh ‘the Great’ after his capture of King Louis IV and siege of her fortified city, Laon. Gerberga attended assemblies with Otto I, the Queen Dowager Mathilda, Empress Adelheid, and others in Francia, Lotharingia, and Saxony. As dowager queen, Gerberga joined her armed forces with those of Hadwig and Bruno to combat the rebellious Count Reginar III of Hainaut. She also brought her son, King Lothar, to an important colloquium with Hadwig, her son Hugh, and Bruno to settle territorial control disputed by King Lothar and his cousins. The line between familial obligation and political maneuver was often obscured in the tenth century, but Gerberga’s strong bonds with Hadwig and Bruno and her rebellion with Henry against their brother Otto, demonstrates how malleable political and familial bonds could be in royal households."

Otto the Great’s Tomb Opened for Investigation and Conservation Work