Thankmar

Thankmar or Tammo (c.908 – 28 July 938) was the eldest (and only) son of Henry I of Germany by his first wife, Hatheburg (or Liutgard). His mother had been previously married and widowed, after which she entered a convent. Because she left the convent to marry Henry, her second marriage was considered invalid and the couple split. Thankmar's legitimacy was ever after questioned.

Henry I arranged for his succession in 929 and he had that arrangement ratified by an assembly at Erfurt just before his death. After his death, his lands and wealth were divided between his four sons: Thankmar, Otto, Henry, and Bruno. [Bernhardt, 3.] Otto, however, received the crown over Thankmar's head. The only succession dispute, however, was between Otto and his younger full brother Henry, who was kept under house arrest in Bavaria during Otto's coronation. [Reuter, 149, based on Flodoard and Widukind of Corvey.]

When Siegfried, Count of Merseburg, died in 937, Thankmar believed he had a right to be his successor, as he was a cousin of Thankmar's mother. [Bernhardt, 18.] Otto, however, appointed Gero to succeed Siegfried. At the same time, Eberhard of Franconia and Wichmann the Elder, over royal encouragement to a rebellious vassal and unfavourable disposal of fiefs respectively, revolted against Otto and Thankmar joined. Thankmar was besieged in Eresburg and killed by one Maginzo at the altar of the church of Saint Peter. Maginzo was consequently punished with a cruel death by Otto.

ources

*Reuter, Timothy. "Germany in the Early Middle Ages 800–1056". New York: Longman, 1991.
*Bernhardt, John W. "Itinerant Kingship and Royal Monasteries in Early Medieval Germany, c. 936–1075". Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993.

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