Otto I
The German king who defeated the Magyars and was crowned emperor, regarded as the founder of the Holy Roman Empire.
Life
Saxon prince
Otto, son of Henry I of the Saxon dynasty, was crowned King of Germany at Aachen in 936. He put down the revolts of the duchies, placed relatives and churchmen in key positions, and governed through bishops and abbots (the "imperial church system").
Lechfeld
In 955 he crushed the invading Magyars at the Lechfeld near Augsburg, ending half a century of their plundering raids on Central Europe; in the same year he also defeated the Slavs.
Crowned in Rome
He led two expeditions into Italy and in 962 was crowned emperor in Rome by the pope, beginning the tradition of German kings also serving as Roman emperors; later generations called this empire the Holy Roman Empire. He died in 973 and was buried in Magdeburg Cathedral.
Legacy
Otto I is known as "the Great," and the imperial system he established survived, at least in name, until 1806.
Did you know? He established the first archbishopric at Magdeburg as a base for missionary work among the Slavs to the east.
Key dates
- 936Crowned king at Aachen
- 951First expedition into Italy
- 955Battle of Lechfeld
- 962Crowned emperor in Rome
- 968Establishes the Archbishopric of Magdeburg
- 973Died