German is a West Germanic language that is mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, South Tyrol (Italy), the German-speaking Community of Belgium, and Liechtenstein. It is also one of the three official languages of Luxembourg and a co-official language in the Opole Voivodeship in Poland. The languages which are most similar to German are the other members of the West Germanic language branch: Afrikaans, Dutch, English, the Frisian languages, Low German/Low Saxon, Luxembourgish, and Yiddish. There are also strong similarities in vocabulary with Danish, Norwegian and Swedish, although those belong to the North Germanic group. German is the second most widely spoken Germanic language, after English.
Eastphalia is a historical region in northern Germany, encompassing the eastern Gaue (shires) of the historic stem duchy of Saxony, roughly confined by the River Leine in the west and the Elbe and Saale in the east. The territory corresponds with the southeastern part of the present-day states of Lower Saxony, western Saxony-Anhalt and northern Thuringia. Together with Westphalia, central Angria and Nordalbingia it was one of the four main Saxon administrative regions. It should not be confused with East Westphalia (Ostwestfalen).
The Kingdom of Germany or German Kingdom developed out of Eastern Francia, the eastern division of the former Carolingian Empire, over the 9th to 11th centuries. East Francia was formed by the Treaty of Verdun in 843, and was ruled by the Carolingian dynasty until 911, after which the kingship was elective. The initial electors were the rulers of the stem duchies, who generally chose one of their own. After 962, when Otto I was crowned emperor, East Francia formed the bulk of the Holy Roman Empire along with Italy; it later included Bohemia and Burgundy.
The Aller is a 215-kilometre (134 mi) long river in the states of Saxony-Anhalt and Lower Saxony in Germany. It is a right-hand, and hence eastern, tributary of the Weser and is also its largest tributary. Its last 117 kilometres (73 mi) form the Lower Aller federal waterway (Bundeswasserstraße). The Aller was extensively straightened, widened and, in places, dyked, during the 1960s to provide flood control of the river. In a 20-kilometre (12 mi) long section near Gifhorn, the river meanders in its natural river bed.
Saxony-Anhalt is a state of Germany.
The Lappwald is a heavily wooded range of hills, 20 km long and up to 5 km wide, in central Germany. It stretches northwards from the town of Helmstedt. The border between Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt runs through the woods, of which about three quarters is on Lower Saxon terrain. The Lappwald is part of the Elm-Lappwald Nature Park.
Neighboring Saxon counties were Osterwalde and Balsamgau in the north, Derlingau in the west, as well as Harzgau and Schwabengau in the south. Beyond Elbe and Saale it bordered on the Morazena, Ciervisti and Serimunt counties, administrative parts of the vast marca Geronis from 937.
Osterwalde is a medieval shire (Gau) in the Eastphalia region of the Duchy of Saxony. In present-day terms, it is located in northern Saxony-Anhalt. It was bordered by the River Ohre to the west and by the River Dumme to the north; its eastern borders are unclear; it possibly reached all the way to the River Elbe. The most important town was Salzwedel, other towns were Seebenau, Tylsen, and Osterwohle, after which it is probably named. Neighboring shires include Drevani, Choina, Balsamgau, Nordthüringgau, Derlingau, and Bardengau.
The Balsamgau was an early medieval Gau (shire) in the Eastphalia region of the Duchy of Saxony. It was centered on Stendal and located on the West bank of the River Elbe. Other towns in the Balsamgau include Arneburg, Döbbelin, Elversdorf, Windberge. It was bordered by the following shires: Osterwalde, Liezizi, Morazani, Nordthüringgau.
The Derlingau was an early medieval county (Gau) of the Duchy of Saxony.
History
The Saxon count Christian, probably a scion of the Billung dynasty, was mentioned in the Nordthüringgau about 937. He also ruled in the adjacent Schwabengau and upon the implementation of the marca Geronis in from 945 also over the adjacent Serimunt region beyond the Elbe River, being the brother-in-law of Margrave Gero. Upon his death in 950 he was succeeded by his son Count Thietmar (d. 979), who after the exile of Gunther of Merseburg was appointed Margrave of Meissen in 976. Count Christian' s grandson Gero II (d. 1015) was not able to retain Meissen, but in 993 succeeded his uncle Odo as margrave of the Saxon Eastern March.
The House of Billung was a dynasty of Saxon noblemen in the 9th through 12th centuries.
The Marca Geronis was a vast super-march in the middle of the tenth century. It was created probably for Thietmar and passed to his two sons consecutively: Siegfried and Gero. On Gero's death in 965 it was divided into five different marches: the Nordmark, the Ostmark, Meissen, Zeitz, and Merseburg.
Gero I, called the Great, ruled an initially modest march centred on Merseburg in the south of the present German state of Saxony-Anhalt, which he expanded into a vast territory named after him: the marca Geronis. During the mid-10th century, he was the leader of the Saxon Ostsiedlung.
The last count in the Nordthüringgau from the Billung dynasty was Thietmar II, Margrave of the Saxon Eastern March from 1015 to 1030. Upon his death, Schwabengau, Harzgau and Nordthüringgau as well as Serimunt were enfeoffed to Esico of Ballenstedt, a maternal grandson of Margrave Odo. Esico became the progenitor of the House of Ascania and his lands over the following generations evolved into the state of Anhalt.
Thietmar (IV) was the Count of the Schwabengau and Nordthüringgau from 1010 and the Margrave of the Saxon Ostmark from 1015 until his death. He was the son and successor of Margrave Gero II. His mother was Adelaide.
Esico of Ballenstedt is the progenitor of the House of Ascania,. Esico was the count of Ballenstedt (r.1036-1060), and his possessions became the nucleus of the later Principality of Anhalt.
The House of Ascania is a dynasty of German rulers. It is also known as the House of Anhalt, which refers to its longest-held possession, Anhalt.
Henry the Lion was a member of the Welf dynasty and Duke of Saxony, as Henry III, from 1142, and Duke of Bavaria, as Henry XII, from 1156, the duchies of which he held until 1180.
The Archbishopric of Magdeburg was a Roman Catholic archdiocese (969–1552) and Prince-Archbishopric (1180–1680) of the Holy Roman Empire centered on the city of Magdeburg on the Elbe River.
The Altmark is a historic region in Germany, comprising the northern third of Saxony-Anhalt. As the initial territory of the March of Brandenburg, it is sometimes referred to as the "Cradle of Prussia", as by Otto von Bismarck, a native from Schönhausen near Stendal.
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Related Research Articles
The Margravate of Meissen was a medieval principality in the area of the modern German state of Saxony. It originally was a frontier march of the Holy Roman Empire, created out of the vast Marca Geronis in 965. Under the rule of the Wettin dynasty, the margravate finally merged with the former Duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg into the Saxon Electorate by 1423.
Rikdag, also called Ricdag, Riddag, or Rihdag, was Margrave of Meissen from 979 until his death. In 982, he also acquired the marches of Merseburg and Zeitz. After the Great Slav Rising in 983, he temporarily reunited all of the southern marca Geronis under his command. His march included the territory of the Chutizi and Dolomici tribes.
Gero was Archbishop of Cologne from 969 until his death.
The Principality of Anhalt was a State of the Holy Roman Empire, located in Central Germany, in what is today part of the federal state of Saxony-Anhalt.
The Saxon Eastern March was a march of the Holy Roman Empire from the 10th until the 12th century. The term "eastern march" stems from the Latin term marchia Orientalis and originally could refer to either a march created on the eastern frontier of the East Frankish duchy of Saxony or another on the eastern border of the Duchy of Bavaria: the Bavarian marchia Orientalis, corresponding to later Austria.
The March of Merseburg was a short-lived march of the Holy Roman Empire. It comprised the lands of the Polabian Slavs beyond the margravial residence at Merseburg on the Saale river.
Dietrichof Haldensleben was a Saxon count in the Schwabengau, later also in the Nordthüringgau and the Derlingau, who was the first Margrave of the Northern March from 965 until the Great Slav Rising of 983. He also bore the title of a dux (duke) in contemporary sources.
The March or Margraviate of Lusatia was as an eastern border march of the Holy Roman Empire in the lands settled by Polabian Slavs. It arose in 965 in the course of the partition of the vast Marca Geronis. Ruled by several Saxon margravial dynasties, among them the House of Wettin, the lordship was contested by the Polish kings as well as by the Ascanian margraves of Brandenburg. The remaining territory was finally incorporated into the Lands of the Bohemian Crown in 1367.
OdoI was margrave in the Saxon Eastern March of the Holy Roman Empire from 965 until his death.
Gero II was the eldest son of Thietmar, Margrave of Meissen, and Schwanehilde (Suanhild), daughter of Herman, Duke of Saxony. He was therefore probably a grandson of Hidda and Christian of Thuringia and named for his great uncle Gero the Great. He succeeded his probable uncle, Hodo, as Margrave of the Saxon Ostmark including Mark Lausitz (Lusatia) in 993 upon the death of margrave of Lusatia Hodo or Odo I, Margrave of the Saxon Ostmark.
Lothair I was Margrave of the Nordmark from about 983 until his death. He was also a member of Saxon nobility as Count of Derlingau and of Nordthüringgau.
The Billung March or March of the Billungs was a frontier region of the far northeastern Duchy of Saxony in the 10th century. It was named after the family which held it, the House of Billung.
Thietmar (II) was Margrave of Meissen from about 976 until his death.
The Schwabengau was an early medieval shire (Gau) in the Eastphalia region of the medieval Duchy of Saxony. Ruled by the House of Ascania, it became the nucleus of the later Principality of Anhalt, today part of the German state of Saxony-Anhalt.
Christian was count in the Saxon Nordthüringgau and Schwabengau from 937. He also ruled in the neighbouring Gau Serimunt of the Marca Geronis from 945.
