[May 7] Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor

Surame: "The Great"
Parents: Henry I, king of Germany, and Matilda of Ringelheim

Date of Birth: 23 November 912

House: Ottonian
Spouse: Eadgyth, daughter of Edward I, king of Wessex, and Æfflæd, then Adelaide, daughter of Rudolf II, king of Burgundy, and Bertha of Swabia

Predecessor: Henry I

Reign: 936 – 973

Summary: Otto was born to Henry the Fowler's second wife in 912. Little of his youth is known but he first was active in the military during his father's campaigns against the Slavs. Otto's first illegitimate son, William, was born in 929 during these campaigns and that son would later become the Archbishop of Mainz. When Conrad I, king of Germany, died in 918, Otto's father was elected the new king. Henry was the first Saxon, rather than Frank, to rule over East Francia. Henry was given the right of sole succession in Germany making Otto the heir apparent. His two brothers were promised lands and titles instead. Henry then made an alliance with the king of Wessex in England and married Otto to one of the king's daughters. When Henry died in 936, Otto became the duke of Saxony and king of Germany, both hereditary titles. Unlike his father, Otto attempted in all his manners to appear the successor of Charlemagne. While he aspired to France, he accepted rulership of Germany and Lotharingia (Lorraine) first. Four other German rulers submitted formally to his authority. Otto began his reign with a unified kingdom not seen for many years.

Troubles started for Otto almost immediately. In 937, Bavaria rose up in rebellion and Otto was forced to depose the duke and install a loyal duke instead. The original duke was eventually restored but rose up again a year later and was much more successful this time around. The Bavarian duke recruited leaders from all around Germany in his second uprising and joined with France as well since King Louis IV wished to retake Lorraine. Otto finally reconciled with the disaffected parties and forced them to show public penance on Christmas of 941. The half-decade of rebellions was over. For the next ten years, Otto consolidated his power in Germany, arranging royal marriages and arranging a merit-based system of promotion. Germany became a true international state during this time and Otto centralized authority under himself directly, at the expense of the other German dukes and his two brothers. Internationally, Otto was continuously butting heads with France throughout his reign because, while Otto claimed succession from Charlemagne, in France Charlemagne's descendants, the Carolingians, still ruled. Burgundy and Bohemia, two independent, realms, both entered into long-term associations with Germany and could, by this time, be considered quasi-vassal states of the latter. In the east, Otto fought a long and continuous war against the Slavs. The Slavs in the north joined forces with the Danish king and caused a constant nuisance there. Political infighting in Italy gave Otto the chance to unify most of Charlemagne's empire once and for all. Otto sent his son, Luidolf, sough in 951 to overthrow the current Roman Imperial claimant, Berengar II. Luidolf arrived, however, unopposed. Otto quickly came in on October 10, 951, he was crowned king of Italy as soon as he arrived. Liudolf soon after went into open civil war against his father and he singlehandedly led the rest of Germany in rebellion. When Magyars from Hungary invaded Germany in 954, Otto blamed his son and the rebels. Sentiment quickly returned to Otto and he reasserted himself in Germany. Within two years, most of the leaders of the rebellion, including his own son, were dead. Meanwhile, Otto was able to centralize his authority even further with through the fear of invasion from the Magyars. It took another year, but Otto was finally able to defeat them as well. In 957, Otto led a second campaign into Italy and this time demanded that the pope crown him Roman Emperor. With his coronation, the titles "king of Germany" and "king of Italy" were linked in dynastic union under the all-encompassing title "Holy Roman Emperor." A few years later, Otto called a synod to discuss the relationship between the Papacy and the Empire. They agreed that the pope would remain spiritual leader while the emperor would rule as secular leader. Problems regarding this agreement arose again many years later in the Investiture Controversy. Almost as soon as Otto left, Italy rose up in rebellion. Otto arranged for his illegitimate son to act as regent for his legitimate surviving son, Otto (II). Otto then marched to Italy and captured all the rebel leaders. The emperor then sought further assurances by marrying his son to a Byzantine princess, thereby legitimizing his own title of Roman Emperor in the eyes of the eastern empire. Otto fell ill with fever in 973 and died at the age of 60. His son succeeded without opposition.
Date of Death: 7 May 973

Successor: Otto II

Other Monarch Deaths:

Feodor III, tsar of Russia (1682)