Eckard I, Margrave of Meissen, is of noble east Thuringian stock, the eldest son of Margrave Gunther of Merseburg.

In 985, the young King Otto III of Germany had appointed him to succeed Margrave Rikdag in Meissen, following severe Saxon setbacks against the Slavic Lutici tribes.

He was later elected Duke of Thuringia by the magnates of the region, an event which has been taken as evidence of the principle of tribal ducal election.

Eckard is high in the favor of the Emperor Otto III, who has rewarded him handsomely by converting many of his benefices (fiefs) into proprietas (allods).

In Otto's conflict with his rival cousin Duke Henry II of Bavaria, Eckard's military responsibilities as holder of the Meissen march consists primarily of containment of the neighboring Polish and Bohemian duchies.

Duke Boleslaus II of Bohemia had allied with Duke Henry and had taken the occasion to occupy the Albrechtsburg in 984; he nevertheless had had to withdraw the next year, after Otto III had prevailed.

Margrave Eckard had had to restore Thiadric, Bishop of Prague to his see after his expulsion by Boleslaus II of Bohemia.

When in January 1002 Otto III dies without issue and the German princes meet at Frohse (today part of Schönebeck) to elect a new king, Eckard even aims at the German crown, because the late emperor's Ottonian relative Henry of Bavaria, son of Duke Henry II, who is the preeminent candidate, meets with strong opposition.

Eckard is at this time the most obvious Saxon candidate, but the nobles are opposed to him.

They only agree to meet again at the Kaiserpfalz of Werla and to support no candidate before then.

The emperor, dealing with a revolt against his reign in Italy in 1001, had sent word for Duke Henry of Bavaria to join him with reinforcements from Germany. 

In the Ottonian dynasty, succession to the throne has been drawn from the Saxon branch, not the Bavarian line of which Henry is a member.

As the funeral procession moves through the Duchy of Bavaria in February 1002, Henry meets the procession in Polling, just north of the Alps.

To legitimize his claims, Henry demands Archbishop Heribert of Cologne give him the imperial regalia, chief among them being the Holy Lance.

Heribert, however, had sent these ahead of the procession, possibility out of distrust of Henry and possibly because he favors the succession of his relative Duke Herman II of Swabia as the next king.

In order to force Herman II to relinquish the Holy Lance to him, Henry imprisons the Archbishop and his brother the Bishop of Wurzburg.

With neither the symbols of imperial authority, the crown jewels, nor the cooperation of Heribert, Henry is unable to persuade the nobles attending Otto III's funeral procession to elect him as king.

The Werla meeting takes place in April and Henry, through his cousins, Abbess Sophia I of Gandersheim and Adelheid I of Quedlinburg, the sisters of deceased Otto III, succeed in having his election confirmed, at least in part by hereditary right.

Nevertheless, Eckard receives enough support to commandeer the closing banquet of the Werla assembly and dine in state with Duke Bernard I of Saxony and Bishop Arnulf of Halberstadt.

Eckard is subsequently honored as royalty by Bishop Bernward when he arrives at Hildesheim.

Within days, however, he his assassinated by agents of his Saxon opposition in Pöhlde.

Among these rivals are Count Henry III of Stade, his brother Udo, and Count Siegfried II of Northeim.

Otto III, having never married, has died without issue, leaving the Empire without a clear successor.

As the funeral procession moved through the Duchy of Bavaria in February 1002, Otto III's cousin Henry II, son of Henry the Quarrelsome, and the new Duke of Bavaria, had asked the bishops and nobles to elect him as the new king of Germany.

With the exception of the Bishop of Augsburg, Henry II had received no support for his claims.

At Otto III's funeral on Easter 1002, in Aachen, the German nobles repeat their opposition to Henry II.

Several rival candidates for the throne—Count Ezzo of Lotharingia, Margrave Eckard I of Meissen, and Duke Herman II of Swabia—strongly contest the succession of Henry II.

The excellent relations enjoyed by Poland and the Holy Roman Empire during the reign of Otto III had quickly deteriorated following the emperor’s untimely death.

Boleslaw had supported Eckard I, Margrave of Meissen, for the German throne, but after Eckard’s is assassination, Boleslaw lends his support to Henry IV, Duke of Bavaria, and helps him ascend to the German throne as Henry II.

The death of Otto III had upset the ambitious renovation plans, which will never be fully implemented.

The less idealistic Henry II, an opponent of his predecessor’s policies, reverses the course of Imperial policy towards the east.

Henry takes the radical action of having himself anointed and crowned king by Archbishop of Mainz Willigis on June 7, 1002, without the support of the kingdom's nobility.

Henry's action marks the first time a German king is not crowned in Aachen Cathedral since Emperor Otto I began the tradition in 936 and the first time a German king assumes the throne without election by the German nobility.

The new German monarch appears before the Saxons in mid-July in full regal apparel as " King Henry II".

Here, Henry peersuades Bernard I, Duke of Saxony, to support his claims to the throne.

In return for his support, Henry will guarantee Bernard's right to rule the Saxons and to represent their interests before the king.

Henry arranges for Archbishop Willigis to crown his wife, Cunigunde of Luxembourg, as queen, one month after gaining the support of the Saxons.

He soon asserts his authority on the western frontier against the Frisians and the counts of Flanders and Luxembourg.

Henry II's Struggle for the German Throne and the Submission of Herman II of Swabia (1002)

Following the death of Emperor Otto III in January 1002, Henry II faced significant opposition in his bid to claim the German throne. The most formidable challenger was Herman II, Duke of Swabia, who contested Henry’s legitimacy based on his marital connection to the Ottonian dynasty. Their rivalry escalated into military conflict, followed by a prolonged struggle for the loyalty of the kingdom’s nobles.

Herman II’s Challenge to Henry II

• Herman II of Swabia asserted his claim as Otto III’s rightful heir due to his marriage to a daughter of Liudolf, the eldest son of Emperor Otto I.
• The armed conflicts between Henry and Herman were inconclusive, leading to a prolonged political strugglefor the support of Swabian nobles.
• Swabia, a powerful and autonomous duchy, became the primary battleground in this contest for legitimacy.

Henry II’s Strategy for Securing the Throne

• Unable to decisively defeat Herman militarily, Henry II embarked on a diplomatic campaign, traveling through the key duchies of the realm—Saxony, Bavaria, Swabia, Upper Lorraine, Lower Lorraine, and Franconia—to secure the loyalty of the regional elites.
• Rather than relying solely on the traditional election process, Henry sought general consent from his subjects, presenting himself as the natural successor to the Ottonian rulers.
• His familial ties to the Ottonian dynasty, as the great-grandson of Otto I, ultimately convinced the kingdom’s nobles to accept him as king.

Herman II’s Defeat and Submission (1002)

• After a prolonged power struggle, Henry II finally defeated Herman II near Strasbourg.
• On October 1, 1002, Herman II formally submitted to Henry, acknowledging his rule.
• In return for his submission, Henry II allowed him to retain the Duchy of Swabia until his death the following year (1003).

The Fate of Swabia After Herman II

• Upon Herman II’s death in 1003, his minor son, Hermann III, inherited the title of Duke of Swabia, but Henry II effectively took control of the duchy, ensuring that Swabia remained under royal influence.
• This direct intervention in Swabian affairs strengthened royal authority over the duchies, laying the groundwork for imperial centralization in the Holy Roman Empire.

Legacy and Significance

Henry II’s success in subduing Herman II and consolidating his rule marked a crucial step in securing the German crown. His reliance on noble support rather than outright military conquest demonstrated the shifting nature of royal power in medieval Germany, where kings had to balance military strength with political legitimacy. His actions set a precedent for future rulers seeking to assert dominance over the powerful regional duchies.