Theodoric I of Wettin

Theodoric I (10th century; German: Dietrich, also known as Thierry) was a nobleman in the Duchy of Saxony. He is the earliest known patrilineal ancestor of Elizabeth II.

Theodoric I
Bornc. 920s
Died975/6 (?)
IssueDedo I, Count of Wettin
Frederick I of Wettin
HouseHouse of Wettin

Biography

Almost nothing is known about Theodoric's life. 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 the first member of the Wettin dynasty, taken as established by his father. Wettin Castle itself had probably been in existence since the 9th century, but it is unknown whether Theodoric had already held the castle. From the rank of count held by Dedo, a rank of count is often assumed for Theodoric in German historiography, but authors vary in naming Theodoric a count of Wettin, or of Hassegau, or of Liesgau.

Issue

Theodoric had two sons:

  • Dedo I, Count of Wettin (c. 950 –1009),
  • Frederick I, Count of Wettin and Eilenburg (died 1017), with no known issue.

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:

  • Dedi, count in the Hassegau (count in 940, died 957), one of the retainers of Otto I, a descendant of Burchard, Duke of Thuringia. Proposed by Friedrich Kurze (1886), based on the name Buzici (Buzo as short form Burchard, i.e. the Buzici would be the Burchardings).
  • Burchard III, Duke of Swabia (born 906 or 915, died 973), proposed by Reinhard Wenskus (1976) and later Stefan Pätzold (1997), also based on the interpretation of Buzici as a derived from the name Burchard.
  • Burchard II, Duke of Swabia (d. 926): the association with Liesgau is connected to this hypothesis, as a Swabian count named Burchard is attested for Liesgau in 965 (known as Burchard IV. im Hassegau, brother of Dedi I of Hassegau). This Burchard is suggested as the son of Burchard II and an older brother of Theodoric.[1]
  • Folcmar (Volkmar), count in the Harzgau (died before 961) (suggestion mentioned in Lexikon des Mittelalters.)

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. Jörg Rogge, Die Wettiner: Aufstieg einer Dynastie im Mittelalter (2005), p. 15.

Sources
  • Albert, Duke of Saxony, Die Wettiner in Lebensbildern, Graz, Wien, Köln (1995).
  • Flathe, Heinrich Theodor (1894), "Dietrich de tribu Buzizi", Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB) (in German), 37, Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot, p. 746
  • Kaemmel, Otto, Festschrift zur 800 jährigen Jubelfeier des Hauses Wettin. Dresden Hoffmann (1889).
  • Pätzold, Stefan, Die frühen Wettiner. Adelsfamilie und Hausüberlieferung bis 1221 (1997).
  • Posse, Otto, Die Markgrafen von Meissen und das Haus Wettin bis zu Konrad dem Grossen, Leipzig (1881).
  • Posse, Otto, Die Wettiner. Genealogie des Gesammthauses Wettin, Leipzig (1897).
  • Schwarz, Hilmar, Die Wettiner des Mittelalters und ihre Bedeutung für Thüringen, Leipzig (1994).
  • Wenskus, Reinhard, Sächsischer Stammesadel und fränkischer Reichsadel, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen (1976).
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