Otto succeeds at twenty-three to his father's…
936 CE
Otto succeeds at twenty-three to his father's position as Duke of Saxony and King of Germany.
His coronation is held on August 7, 936, in Charlemagne's former capital of Aachen, where he is anointed and crowned by Hildebert, the Archbishop of Mainz.
Though he is a Saxon by birth, Otto appears at the coronation in Frankish dress in an attempt to demonstrate his sovereignty over the Duchy of Lotharingia and his role as true successor to Charlemagne, whose last heirs in East Francia had died out in 911.
Otto I is the first German king to be crowned in Aachen.
According to Widukind of Corvey, at his coronation banquet, Otto had the four other dukes of the kingdom (from the duchies of Franconia, Swabia, Bavaria and Lorraine) act as his personal attendants: Arnulf I of Bavaria as marshal (or stablemaster), Herman I, Duke of Swabia as cupbearer, Eberhard of Franconia as steward (or seneschal) and Gilbert of Lorraine as Chamberlain.
By performing this traditional service, the dukes signals cooperation with the new king, and clearly shows their submission to his reign.