Consolidation of power
The decade between 941 and 951 is marked by Otto's exercise of undisputed domestic power. Through the subordination of the dukes under his authority, Otto asserted his power to make decisions without their prior agreement. He deliberately ignored the claims and ranks of the nobility, who wanted dynastic succession in the assignment of office, by freely appointing individuals of his choice to the kingdom's offices. Loyalty to Otto, not lineage, was the pathway towards advancement under his rule. His mother Matilda disapproved of this policy and was accused by Otto's royal advisers of undermining his authority. After Otto briefly exiled her to her Westphalian manors at
Enger in 947, Matilda was brought back to court at the urging of his wife Eadgyth.
The nobility found it difficult to adapt to Otto, as the kingdom had never before followed individual succession to the throne. Whereas tradition dictated that all the sons of the former king were to receive a portion of the kingdom, Henry's succession plan placed Otto at the head of a united kingdom at the expense of his brothers. Otto's authoritarian style was in stark contrast to that of his father. Henry had purposely waived Church anointment at coronation as a symbol of his election by his people and governing his kingdom on the basis of "friendship pacts" (Latin:
amicitia). Henry regarded the kingdom as a confederation of duchies and saw himself as a
first among equals. Instead of seeking to administer the kingdom through royal representatives, as Charlemagne had done, Henry allowed the dukes to maintain complete internal control of their holdings as long as his superior status was recognized. Otto, on the other hand, had accepted Church anointment and regarded his kingdom as a feudal monarchy with himself holding the "
divine right" to rule it, allowing him to reign without concern for the internal hierarchy of the various kingdoms' noble families.
This new policy ensured Otto's position as undisputed master of the kingdom. Members of his family and other aristocrats who rebelled against Otto were forced to publicly confess their guilt and unconditionally surrender to him, hoping for a pardon from their king. For nobles and other high-ranking officials, Otto's punishments were typically mild and the punished were usually restored to a position of authority afterwards. His brother, Henry, rebelled twice and was pardoned twice after his surrenders. He was even appointed as Duke of Lorraine and later Duke of Bavaria. Rebellious commoners were treated far more harshly, as Otto usually had them executed.
[29]
Otto continued to reward loyal
vassals for their service throughout his tenure as king. Although appointments were still gained and held at his discretion, they were increasingly intertwined with dynastic politics. Where Henry relied upon "friendship pacts", Otto relied upon family ties. Otto refused to accept uncrowned rulers as his equal. Under Otto, the integration of important vassals took place through marriage connections. King Louis IV of France had married Otto's sister, Gerberga of Saxony in 939, and Otto's son
Liudolf had married Ida, the daughter of
Hermann I, Duke of Swabia in 947. The former dynastically tied the royal house of West Francia to that of East Francia, and the latter secured his son's succession to the Duchy of Swabia as Hermann had no sons. Otto's plans came to fruition when, in 950, Liudolf became
Duke of Swabia, and in 954 Otto's nephew
Lothair of France became
King of France.
In 944, Otto appointed
Conrad the Red as Duke of Lorraine and brought him into his extended family through his marriage to Otto's daughter
Liutgarde in 947. A
Salian Frank by birth, Conrad was a nephew of former king Conrad I of Germany. Following the death of Otto's uncle Berthold, Duke of Bavaria in 947, Otto satisfied his brother Henry's ambition through his marriage to
Judith of Bavaria, daughter of Arnulf, Duke of Bavaria, and appointed him as the new Duke of Bavaria in 948. This arrangement finally achieved peace between the brothers as Henry thereafter abandoned his claims to the throne. Through his familial ties to the dukes, Otto had strengthened the sovereignty of the crown and the overall cohesiveness of the kingdom.
[30]
On 29 January 946, Eadgyth died suddenly at the age of 35, and Otto buried his wife in the
Cathedral of Magdeburg.
[31] The union had lasted sixteen years and produced two children;
with Eadgyth's death, Otto began to make arrangements for his succession. Like his father before him, Otto intended to transfer sole rule of the kingdom to his son Liudolf upon his death. Otto called together all leading figures of the kingdom and had them swear an oath of allegiance to Liudolf, thereby promising to recognize his sole claim to the throne as Otto's heir apparent.[32]