Theodoric I of Wettin

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Theodoric I
Bornc. 916
Died976 (age 56)
SpouseJutta of Magdeburg
Issue Dedo I, Count of Wettin
Frederick I of Wettin
Names
Theodoric I von Wettin
House House of Wettin
FatherVon Harzgau
Mother?

Theodoric I (Full Name Theodoric I von Wettin) (10th century; German: Dietrich, also known as Thierry) was a nobleman in the Duchy of Saxony, and the oldest traceable member of the House of Wettin. [1]

Contents

Biography

Theodoric was born in the early 10th century to Von Harzgau and an unknown mother. He married Jutta of Magdeburg. They had at least two sons, Dedo and Frederick. He is mentioned as Dedo's father by bishop Thietmar of Merseburg. Dedo is the first known count of Wettin, and Dedo's son, Theodoric II, Margrave of Lower Lusatia, is considered as the first member of the Wettin dynasty, taken as established by his father. He inherited or acquired Wettin Castle during his career, perhaps from his father. As his son Dedo held the rank of Count, Theodoric may also have been a Count of Wettin. Little is known about his political career, other than that he was a supporter of the Dukes of Saxony. He died in 975 in a feud against his son. Von Harzgau (Father) was the son of Count Frederick II von Harzgau (Died 945 CE) who was the son of Friedrich I Graf im Harzgau (Died 880 CE) who was the son of Rikdag (805-861).

Issue

Theodoric had two sons:

Ancestral theories

Thietmar names Theodoric as a member of the tribe of the Buzici (de tribu, quae Buzici dicitur) and as a relative on his father's side of Rikdag, Margrave of Meissen (r. 979–985). Several possible fathers have been identified for him, but there is no conclusive evidence for any of them:

Depending on who is assumed to be Theodoric's father, it is reasonable to assume a date of birth for Theodoric in the 910s, 920s or 930s. The year of his death has been proposed as 975/6, because it is known that his son Dedo in this year took his own mother hostage in the context of a feud (presumably against his father). Theodoric's wife is named as one Jutta or Judith of Merseburg in early modern historiography.

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References

  1. Goff, Jacques le; Schmitt, Jean-Claude (April 1980). "Lexikon des Mittelalters, Volume I: « Aachen-Ägypten ». Zurich, Munich: Artemis Verlag, 1977, column 224". Annales. Histoire, Sciences Sociales. 35 (2): 311–313. doi:10.1017/s0395264900142738. ISSN   0395-2649. S2CID   100631691.
  2. Jörg Rogge, Die Wettiner: Aufstieg einer Dynastie im Mittelalter (2005), p. 15.

Sources