Otto I the Great (23 November 912-7 May 973) was a Frankish king and Emperor, serving as King of Germany from 2 July 936 to 7 May 973, succeeding Henry the Fowler and preceding Otto II of Germany, and then as Holy Roman Emperor from 2 February 962 to 7 May 973, succeeding Berengar of Friuli and preceding Otto II of Germany. He gained his sobriquet "the Great" due to his astounding victory at the Battle of Lechfeld in 955, where he defeated the pillaging Magyars of Hungary.
Biography[]
Otto in battle
In 843, the Carolingian Empire was divided, its easternmost part becoming the kingdom of East Francia. The father of the future emperor, Otto I, Saxon Duke Henry the Fowler, was elevated to the throne of East Francia in 919. Otto succeeded him in 936, but faced a tough fight to assert his authority. Powerful dukes rebelled against royal overlordship and even Otto's own brother and son campaigned against him. His authority might never have recovered but for a wave of raids by the Magyars, swift-moving nomadic horsemen from Asia who were pressing across Germany's eastern borders. To oppose Magyar incursions, the German nobles closed ranks behind Otto. The dukes led forces to support him in an attack on the invaders, who were besieging Augsburg. Otto placed his army, which consisted mostly of mounted armored troops, between Augsburg and the Magyars' home territory, provoking them to give battle. The two sides eventually clased at the battle of Lechfeld on August 10, 955.
Winning Chance[]
The Magyar horsemen, armed chiefly with bows, encircled Otto's troops and looked to be the likely victors until they were distracted by plundering the German baggage train. This gave Otto's men an opportunity to mount a series of cavalry charges, inflicting such heavy losses that the Magyars were driven from the field. The German nobles raised Otto on their shields, which was the traditional German manner of proclaiing an emperor. Otto's title was confirmed by the pope in 962, thereby establishing the tradition that the imperial crown would be worn by the king of the Eastern Franks.