Wichmann the Elder
a member of the Saxon House of Billung
895 CE to 944 CE
Wichmann I the Elder (also spelled Wigmann or Wichman) (died 23 April 944) was a member of the Saxon House of Billung.
He was a brother of Amelung, Bishop of Verden, and Herman, Duke of Saxony.
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The Great Crossroads
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The royal family is not harmonious during Otto's early reign, despite his peaceful transition to the throne of Germany.
Otto's younger brother, Henry, also claims the throne, contrary to his father's wishes.
According to his biography, Vita Mathildis reginae posterior, their mother had favored Henry as king: in contrast to Otto, Henry had been "born in the purple" during his father's reign and shared his name.
Otto also faces internal opposition from various local aristocrats.
According to Widukind of Corvey, in 936, Otto appoints Hermann Billung as Margrave, granting him authority over a march north of the Elbe River between the Limes Saxoniae and Peene Rivers.
As military governor, Hermann extracts tribute from the Polabian Slavs inhabiting the area and often fight against the Western Slavic tribes of the Lutici, Obotrites, and Wagri.
Hermann's appointment angers his brother, Count Wichmann the Elder.
As the elder and wealthier of the two, Wichmann believes his claim to the office is superior to his brother's.
Additionally, Wichmann is related by marriage to the dowager queen Matilda.
Henry I, having effected Germany's transition from a group of tribal duchies into an autonomous kingdom, and in the midst of planning an Italian expedition, dies from the effects of a cerebral stroke on July 2, 936, at his palace, the Kaiserpfalz in Memleben, and is buried at Quedlinburg Abbey.
At the time of his death, all of the various German tribes are united in a single realm.
His son, Otto, becomes king, inheriting a state centered primarily on the duchies of Saxony and Franconia.
Otto further offends the nobility in 937 through his appointment of Gero to succeed his older brother, Siegfried, as Count and Margrave of a border region abutting the Wends on the lower Saale.
His decision frustrates Thankmar, Otto's half-brother and Siegfried's cousin, who feels that he holds a greater right to the appointment.
Eberhard, infuriated with Otto's actions over the disposition of Meresburg, in 938 joins Otto's half-brother Thankmar, Count Wichmann, and Archbishop Frederick of Mainz in rebellion against the King.
They besiege Warstein in the Arnsberg Forest and free Otto's brother, Henry, from imprisonment here.
Duke Herman I of Swabia, one of Otto's closest advisors, warns him of the rebellion and the King moves quickly to put down the revolt.
Wichmann is soon reconciled with Otto and joins the King's forces against his former compatriots.
Eberhard and Frederick seek reconciliation with the King following their defeats, Otto pardons both after a brief exile in Hildesheim and restores them to their former positions.
The revolt is soon suppressed: Otto besieges Thankmar at Eresburg and has him killed.
Wichmann allies with some Slavs and makes war against his former compatriots.