Gero 2348949 208087541 2008-04-25T11:42:43Z FeanorStar7 160806 +cat and edits {{otheruses}} [[Image:Gero.png|thumb|right|200px|14th-century wall painting depiciting Gero in the church he founded at Gernrode.]] '''Gero I''' (c. [[900]] &ndash; [[20 May]] [[965]]), called '''the Great''' (Latin ''magnus''),<ref>Thompson, 486. Also see [http://www.genealogie-mittelalter.de/gero_sippe/gero_1_der_grosse_markgraf_der_ostmark_965/schoelkopf_ruth.html Lexikon des Mittelalters.]</ref> ruled an initially modest [[Marches|march]] centred on [[Merseburg]], which he expanded into a vast territory named after him: the ''[[marca Geronis]]''.<ref>Ibid, 639. ''marca'' is also spelled ''marcha''. His title in Lang, 625, is "Count of the East March."</ref> During the mid-10th century, he was the leader of the [[Duchy of Saxony|Saxon]] ''[[Drang nach Osten]]''. ==Succession and early conflicts== Gero was the son of [[Thietmar, Margrave of Merseburg|Count Thietmar]], tutor of [[Henry I of Germany|Henry I]]. He was appointed by [[Otto I of Germany|King Otto I]] to succeed his brother, [[Siegfried, Margrave of Merseburg|Siegfried]], as count and [[margrave]] in the district fronting the [[Wends]] on the lower [[Saale]] in 937. His appointment frustrated [[Thankmar]], the king's half-brother and Siegfried's cousin, and together with [[Eberhard of Franconia]] and [[Wichmann the Elder]], he revolted against the king (938).<ref>Reuter, 152.</ref> Thankmar was dead within a year and his accomplices came to terms with Otto. Gero was kept in his march. During the insurrection of his opponents, Gero had been prosecuting a losing war against the Slavs in 937&ndash;938. The losses his troops sustained could not be made up for by the produce of the land nor by tribute, since the Slavs refused to pay. As an important marcher lord, Gero's command included ''milites ad manum Geronis presidis conscripti'', that is, a "military following," "warband of vassals or companions," or "specially chosen group of fighters" differentiated from the rest of the army (''exercitus'').<ref>Leyser, "Henry I," 13.</ref> These men formed the elite of Gero's troops. ==Slav campaigns== In 939, an [[Obodrites|Obodrite]] attack left a German army routed and its margravial leader dead. Gero in revenge invited thirty Slav chieftains to a banquet whereat he killed all but one, who managed to escape by accident.<ref>Howorth, 218.</ref> In response, the [[Stodorani]] revolted against German overlordship and chased the Germans across the Elbe, but Gero was able to reverse this before Otto's arrival in [[Magdeburg]] later in the year. He subsequently bribed [[Tugumir]], a baptised Slav prince, to betray his countryman and make his people subject to Germany. Soon after, the Obodrites and the [[Wilzes]] made submission.<ref>Ibid.</ref> In 954, while Gero was away, the [[Ukrani]] (or Ucri) revolted, but Gero returned with [[Conrad the Red]] and pacified them.<ref>Ibid.</ref> In 955, some Saxon counts rebelled and were banished by [[Herman, Duke of Saxony|Duke Herman]]. They found refuge in [[Swetlastrana]], a Slav town, location unknown, where the Obodrite chiefs [[Nakon]] and [[Stoinegin]] (or Stojgnev) resided. There Herman besieged them until an agreement was reached, but an ensuing skirmish spoiled the peace. The Obodrites, Wilzes, [[Chrepienyani]], [[Redarii]], and [[Dolenzi]] then banded together to oppose the coming army of Gero, the king, and [[Liudolf, Duke of Swabia]]. After negotiations failed because the Germans harsh terms, the Slavs were defeated in battle on the [[Drosa]].<ref>Ibid, 219.</ref> Gero participated in general Saxon campaigns against the Slavs in 957, 959, and 960, as well as campaigning against the Wends and forcing [[Mieszko I]] of the [[Polans]] to pay tribute, grant land lien, and recognise German sovereignty during Otto's absence in Italy (962&ndash;963).<ref>Reuter, 164. Howorth, 226.</ref> Lusatia, according to [[Widukind of Corvey|Widukind]], was subjected "to the last degree of servitude."<ref>Leyser, "Ottonian," 740.</ref> Gero was responsible for subjecting the [[Liutizi]] and [[Milceni|Milzini]] (or Milciani) and extending German suzerainty over the whole territory between the [[Elbe]] and the [[Bober]].<ref>Thompson, 639.</ref> In these lands, the native Slavic populace was reduced to serfdom and "tribute-paying peoples" were converted into "census-paying peasants."<ref>Ibid. Bernhardt, 38.</ref> ==Relationship with Church and family== Gero founded a monastery dedicated to [[St Cyriacus]] at [[Frose]], though it was later converted into a convent.<ref>Bernhardt, 176 and n243.</ref> Gero had a close relationship to Otto I. Otto was godfather to Gero's eldest son, Siegfried, and he granted Siegfried the ''villae'' of [[Egeln]] and [[Westeregeln]] in the [[Schwabengau]] in 941.<ref>Leyser, "Henry I," 27.</ref> Amongst other acts of devotion, Gero made a pilgrimage to [[Rome]] in 959 after Siegfried's untimely death.<ref>Ibid, 147. </ref> In Siegfried's name, he also founded the [[Romanesque architecture|Romanesque]] nunnery of ''Geronisrode'' ([[Gernrode]]), in a forest named after him, in 960 and left a large part of his great wealth to it on his death.<ref>Reuter, 241.</ref> His second son, Gero II, had already died at that point. The name of Gero's wife has to be hypothesised from ''[[libri memoriales]]'': it was either Judith (Iudita) or Thietsuuind (Thietswind). ==Death and division of territory== [[Image:HRR 10Jh.jpg|thumb|right|200px|The ''marca Geronis'' (hatched) corresponds to the southern 3/4 of the Saxon marches: Nordmark, Lausitz, Merseburg, Meissen, and Zeitz.]] At his death, Gero's march extended as far as the [[Neisse]] river. He was not popular with the Saxon nobility of his day, because he had a strong sense of moral rectitude and was of low birth.<ref>Thompson, 487.</ref> Nonetheless, he became celebrated in the ''[[Nibelungenlied]]'' as the ''marcgrâve Gêre'', though have disputed whether he was ever officially accorded that title.<ref>Dvornik, 138. Thompson, 486. He is referred to as ''ducis et marchionis nostri'' by Otto I in a charter dated [[9 May]] [[946]], though Widukind only ever refers to him as ''comes'' or ''praeses''.</ref> Gero's tomb can still be see in Gernrode today. A decorative painting was added to it c. 1350. It depicts Gero standing over a vanquished Wend.<ref>Jakubowska, 64 n16.</ref> After his death, the huge territory he had conquered was divided by the Emperor Otto into several different marches: the [[Northern March]] (under [[Dietrich of Haldensleben]]), the [[Saxon Eastern March|Eastern March]] (under [[Odo I, Margrave of the Saxon Ostmark|Odo I]]), the [[March of Meissen]] (under [[Wigbert of Meissen|Wigbert]]), the [[March of Merseburg]] (under [[Günther of Merseburg|Günther]]) and the [[March of Zeitz]] (under [[Wigger I of Zeitz|Wigger I]]). Later the Northern March was subdivided into the marches of [[March of Landsberg|Landsberg]], [[March of Lusatia|Lusatia]], and [[March of Brandenburg|Brandenburg]]. The division of Gero's "super-march" probably had something to do with its immense size and the political consideration of trying to please many without making enemies.<ref>Reuter, 160.</ref> The subdivisions into which it was divided, however, were natural. As early as 963, Lusatia &mdash; and even upper and lower Lusatia &mdash; and the Ostmark were distinguishable as governable provinces within Gero's march.<ref>Thompson, 639&ndash;640.</ref> ==Sources== The primary chronicle sources for Gero's life are those of [[Widukind of Corvey]] and [[Thietmar of Merseburg]], on which most of the work in the secondary sources is based. * [[Timothy Reuter|Reuter, Timothy]]. ''Germany in the Early Middle Ages 800&ndash;1056''. New York: Longman, 1991. * [[James Westfall Thompson|Thompson, James Westfall]]. ''Feudal Germany, Volume II''. New York: Frederick Ungar Publishing Co., 1928. * Bernhardt, John W. ''Itinerant Kingship and Royal Monasteries in Early Medieval Germany, c. 936&ndash;1075''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993. * Leyser, Karl. [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0013-8266%28198110%2996%3A381%3C721%3AOG%3E2.0.CO%3B2-4 "Ottonian Government."] ''The English Historical Review'', Vol. 96, No. 381. (Oct., 1981), pp 721&ndash;753. * Leyser, Karl. [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0013-8266%28196801%2983%3A326%3C1%3AHIATBO%3E2.0.CO%3B2-L "Henry I and the Beginnings of the Saxon Empire."] ''The English Historical Review'', Vol. 83, No. 326. (Jan., 1968), pp 1&ndash;32. * Lang, Henry Joseph. [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0038-7134%28197410%2949%3A4%3C623%3ATFOTMO%3E2.0.CO%3B2-7 "The Fall of the Monarchy of Mieszko II, Lambert."] ''Speculum'', Vol. 49, No. 4. (Oct., 1974), pp 623&ndash;639. * Dvornik, F. [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=1474-6913%281943%297%3A3%3C129%3ATFWOTD%3E2.0.CO%3B2-R "The First Wave of the Drang Nach Osten."] ''Cambridge Historical Journal'', Vol. 7, No. 3. (1943), pp 129&ndash;145. * Jakubowska, Bogna. [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0391-9064%281991%2912%3A23%3C53%3ASMEOL%3E2.0.CO%3B2-Y "Salve Me Ex Ore Leonis."] ''Artibus et Historiae,'' Vol. 12, No. 23. (1991), pp. 53&ndash;65. * Howorth, H. H. [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0959-5295%281880%299%3C181%3ATSOTSP%3E2.0.CO%3B2-7 "The Spread of the Slaves. Part III. The Northern Serbs or Sorabians and the Obodriti."] ''The Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland'', Vol. 9. (1880), pp 181&ndash;232. * "[http://de.wikisource.org/w/index.php?title=ADB:Gero_%28Markgraf%29&oldid=165650 Gero (Markgraf)]." ''Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie'', by the ''Historischen Kommission of the Bayrischen Akademie der Wissenschaften'', Band 9, Seite 38. (retrieved 29 May 2007, 15:09 UTC) * [http://www.genealogie-mittelalter.de/gero_sippe/gero_1_der_grosse_markgraf_der_ostmark_965/schoelkopf_ruth.html Genealogie Mittelalter: Mittelalterliche Genealogie im Deutschen Reich bis zum Ende der Staufer. "Die sächsischen Grafen 919-1024." Schölkopf Ruth.] * Foundation for Medieval Genealogy: [http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/MEISSEN.htm#_Toc155843803 Meissen.] ==Notes== {{reflist}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Gero, Margrave}} [[Category:900s births]] [[Category:965 deaths]] [[Category:German nobility]] [[de:Gero (Ostmark)]] [[fr:Gero (margrave)]] [[pl:Gero (margrabia Marchii Wschodniej)]] [[ru:Геро I Железный]]