Otto I, King of the East Franks
| Otto the Great | |
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.Magdeburger_Reiter_edit.jpg)
Replica of the Magdeburger Reiter, an equestrian monument traditionally regarded as a portrait of Otto I (Magdeburg, original c. 1240)
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| 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 |
23 November 912 possibly Wallhausen, East Francia |
| Died | 7 May 973 (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 | |||
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Family tree of the German monarchs |
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| Succession | |||
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Preceded by Conradine dynasty |
Followed by Salian dynasty |
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Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), traditionally known as Otto the Great (German: Otto 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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