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Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor

Otto the Great
Alter Markt (Magdeburg-Altstadt).Magdeburger Reiter edit.jpg
Replica of the Magdeburger Reiter, an equestrian monument traditionally regarded as a portrait of Otto I (Magdeburg, original c. 1240)
Holy Roman Emperor
Reign 2 February 962 – 7 May 973
Coronation 2 February 962
Old St. Peter's Basilica, Rome
Predecessor Berengar of Friuli
Successor Otto II
King of Italy
Reign 25 December 961 – 7 May 973
Coronation 10 October 951
Pavia
Predecessor Berengar II
Successor Otto II
King of Germany
Reign 2 July 936 – 7 May 973
Coronation 7 August 936
Aachen Cathedral
Predecessor Henry the Fowler
Successor Otto II
Duke of Saxony
Reign 2 July 936 – 7 May 973
Predecessor Henry the Fowler
Successor Bernard I
Born (912-11-23)23 November 912
possibly Wallhausen, East Francia
Died 7 May 973(973-05-07) (aged 60)
Memleben, Holy Roman Empire
Burial Magdeburg Cathedral
Consort Eadgyth of England (930–946)
Adelaide of Italy (951–973)
Issue illegitimate
William, Archbishop of Mainz
with Eadgyth
Liutgarde of Saxony
Liudolf, Duke of Swabia
with Adelaide
Matilda, Abbess of Quedlinburg
Otto II, Holy Roman Emperor
Dynasty Ottonian
Father Henry the Fowler
Mother Matilda
Religion Roman Catholic
Signum manus
German royal dynasties
Ottonian dynasty
Chronology
Henry I 919 – 936
Otto I 936 – 973
Otto II 973 – 983
Otto III 983 – 1002
Henry II 1002 – 1024
Family
Family tree of the German monarchs
Succession
Preceded by
Conradine dynasty
Followed by
Salian dynasty

Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), traditionally known as Otto I the Great (German: Otto I. der Große), was German king from 936 and emperor of the Holy Roman Empire from 962 until his death in 973. He was the oldest son of Henry I the Fowler and Matilda.

Otto inherited the Duchy of Saxony and the kingship of the Germans upon his father's death in 936. He continued his father's work of unifying all German tribes into a single kingdom and greatly expanded the king's powers at the expense of the aristocracy. Through strategic marriages and personal appointments, Otto installed members of his family in the kingdom's most important duchies. This reduced the various dukes, who had previously been co-equals with the king, to royal subjects under his authority. Otto transformed the Roman Catholic Church in Germany to strengthen royal authority and subjected its clergy to his personal control.

After putting down a brief civil war among the rebellious duchies, Otto defeated the Magyars at the Battle of Lechfeld in 955, thus ending the Hungarian invasions of Western Europe. The victory against the pagan Magyars earned Otto a reputation as a savior of Christendom and secured his hold over the kingdom. By 961, Otto had conquered the Kingdom of Italy and extended his realm's borders to the north, east, and south. The patronage of Otto and his immediate successors facilitated a so-called "Ottonian Renaissance" of arts and architecture. Following the example of Charlemagne's coronation as "Emperor of the Romans" in 800, Otto was crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 962 by Pope John XII in Rome.


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