Liudolf, Margrave of Frisia

Liudolf
Margrave of Frisia Count of Brunswick
Ceremonial Cross for Liudolf of Brunswick, commissioned by his wife shortly after his death in 1038
Born	c. 1003
Died	23 April 1038 (aged 34–35)
Noble family	Brunonen
Spouse(s)	Gertrude of Egisheim
Issue	Brun II Egbert I, Margrave of Meissen Matilda of Frisia Ida of Elsdorf
Father	Bruno I, Count of Brunswick
Mother	Gisela of Swabia

Liudolf of Brunswick (c. 1003 – 23 April 1038) was Margrave of Frisia, Count of Brunswick, Count in the Derlingau and the Gudingau.

Liudolf was a descendant of the Saxon family of the Brunonen. He was a son of Bruno I, Count of Brunswick, and Gisela of Swabia. The later Roman Emperor Henry III was his half-brother. He married Gertrude of Egisheim and had four children. He controlled the Frisian counties Oostergo, Zuidergo and Westergo. For two more generations the Brunonen family line inherited the title. How the Brunonen came to their position in the counties is not known. There is a theory that Liudolf took advantage of the reign of violence by the Counts of Holland in the part of Friesland between the Vlie and the Lauwers. Not much is known about his life. He died in 1038 and was succeeded by his son, Bruno II. His daughter Matilda married Henry I of France, the widower of her aunt. One popular theory of the origins of Agatha, wife of Edward the Exile makes her another daughter.

Family

Liudolf and Gertrude had the following children:

• Brun II (around 1024 – 26 June 1057)
• Egbert I, Margrave of Meissen (died 1068)
• Matilda of Frisia (died 1044); married King Henry I of France
• Ida of Elsdorf

Bibliography

• Halbertsma, Herrius (2000). Frieslands oudheid: het rijk van de Friese koningen, opkomst en ondergang (in Dutch with English summary) (New ed.). Utrecht: Matrijs. ISBN 9789053451670. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
• Die familiären Verbindungen der Brunonen
• Liudolf Graf von Braunschweig
• Braunschweigisches Biographisches Lexikon, Appelhans 2006, ISBN 3-937664-46-7