Brunonen
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The Brunonen were a Saxon noble family in the 10th and 11th centuries.
The Brunonen named themselves after their founder, Duke Brun(o) of Saxony (d. 880). Their seats were in Eastphalia and Friesia. In the year 942, a Brunonen called "Count Liudolf", was said to be in Brunswick, the first of many in that dynasty to be associated with that area.
The Brunonen were close blood relatives of the Salians. In fact, Duke Bruno I sought without success to succeed Otto III in 1002 as Holy Roman Emperor. In 1067 Duke Ekbert I of the Brunonen was granted the Margraviate of Meißen by Emperor Henry IV. His son, Ekbert II, opposed that same ruler and lost the his rights to both the Margraviate and the Duchy of Friesia.
Ekbert II's death marked the end of the male Brunonen line. Ekbert II's sister, Gertrud of Brunswick, had a daughter with her second husband, Henry the Fat, Markgraf of Friesland of Northeim. This daughter, Richenza (d. 1141) married Lothar of Süpplingenburg, who was Duke of Saxony and later became the Holy Roman Emperor. Their daughter Gertrud (d. 1143) was married to Duke Henry the Proud of Saxony and Bavaria. In this way, the Welf dynasty gained the County of Brunswick, which they would hold well into the modern era.
[edit] Famous Brunonen
- Markgrave Ekbert I, Markgraf of Meißen (d. 1068)
- Markgrave Ekbert II, Markgraf of Meißen (d. 1090)
[edit] A Family Tree
- Brun I of Braunschweig (d. 1015/16) (Duke of Saxony) ∞ Gisela of Swabia (b. c. 990; d. 15. February 1043 in Goslar) (∞ 1016/17 Emperor Konrad II (d. 1039))
[edit] References
- The information in this article is based on and/or translated from its German equivalent.
