Burchard III, Duke of Swabia

Burchard and his second wife Hedwig

Burchard III(c. 915 – 12 November 973), a member of theHunfridingdynasty,was the count ofThurgauandZürichgau,perhaps ofRhaetia,and thenDuke of Swabiafrom 954 to his death.

Life

Burchard was the son ofBurchard II, Duke of SwabiaandRegilinda.At a young age on the murder of his father in 926, he was sent toSaxonyfor his safety after the accession of the dukeHerman I.

After the rebellion of DukeLiudolf,son of KingOtto I,in 954, the king bestowed the ducal title on his nephew-in-law Burchard at a general council atArnstadt.Burchard was an intimate of Otto and his queen,Adelaide of Italy.He was often at the royal court and he accompanied Otto on his campaign against theMagyarsand was present at the greatBattle of the Lechfeldon 10 August 955.

In 965, Burchard led a third campaign againstBerengar IIinItaly.At the Battle of the Po on 25 June, he defeated Berengar's son,Adalbert,and restored Italy to Ottonian control,even the south Italian principalities were brought to heel by 972. In 973, he died and was buried in the chapel of Saint Erasmus in the monastery onReichenau IslandinLake Constance.He was succeeded byOtto,son of Liudolf.

Marriage & issue

In Saxony, he married a member of theImmedingerfamily. From this marriage came two sons:

• Theodoric,count ofWettin
• Burchard, count ofLiesgau.

His second marriage was toHedwig,daughter ofHenry I, Duke of Bavaria.Burchard built the great fortress atop theHohentwiel,and Hedwig was the foundress of the monastery of St. George there, but their marriage remained childless.

Sources

• Bachrach, David S. (2012).Warfare in Tenth-Century Germany.The Boydell Press.
• Bowlus, Charles R. (2006).The Battle of Lechfeld and its Aftermath, August 955: The End of the Age of.Routledge.
• Greer, Sarah (2021).Commemorating Power in Early Medieval Saxony: Writing and Rewriting the Past at Gandersheim and Quedlinburg.Oxford University Press.
• Leyser, Karl (1979).Rule and Conflict in an Early Medieval Society:Ottonian Saxony.Edward Arnold.
• Reuter, Timothy (1991).Germany in the Early Middle Ages C. 800-1056.Routledge.