of Gero, Otto lost the support of his half-brother Thankmar, who in spite of being barred from the throne had hitherto shown himself a loyal subject. Being akin to Siegfried he had counted on succeeding to his position and estates; disappointed in this, he joined with Everard in the rebellion of 938.
At the coronation festival at Aix-la-Chapelle the dukes had fully recognised Otto as king and, no doubt with the idea that he would continue his father's policy, had done homage for their dukedoms. But no sooner had Otto revealed his intentions than they were up in arms. The trouble began in Bavaria. Arnulf died in July 937 and his sons refused their homage. Two campaigns in 938 were necessary to restore the royal authority. Berthold, Arnulf's brother, formerly Duke of Carinthia, was set over the duchy, but with limited powers. Otto took to himself the right of nominating to bishoprics and also, now or shortly after, set up Arnulf, son of the late duke, as Count palatine[1] to safeguard the royal interests in the duchy.
Between the two Bavarian campaigns Otto had been called away to deal with a more serious rising in Franconia. Small raids had been frequent on the borders of Saxony, raids in which Duke Everard had been involved. In one of these Everard burnt the city of Hellmern and slaughtered the inhabitants; the duke was fined and the abettors of the crime were condemned to the indignity of carrying dogs through the streets of Magdeburg. But the disturbance was not at an end: the delinquents were emboldened rather than deterred by the lenient treatment they received from Otto at a diet held at Steele on the Ruhr in May, and the petty warfare rose to the dimensions of civil war. Thankmar, who, as we have seen, had his own reasons to be displeased with Otto's rule, joined forces with Everard: together they captured Belecke on the Möhne and with it the king's younger brother Henry. But a reaction followed; the discontented Wichmann returned to loyalty and the insurrection in Saxony completely broke down; the fortress of Eresburg, which Thankmar had taken, opened its gates at Otto's approach. Thankmar himself fled to the Church of St Peter where he was slain at the altar, an act of sacrilege of which Otto was entirely innocent. Everard was restored to favour after undergoing a short term of honourable imprisonment at Hildesheim; but before making his peace he
- ↑ His duties were to act as the king's representative in judicial matters, to take charge of the royal fortresses and lands, and to be responsible for the revenues due from Bavaria. The object was plainly to set up a counter authority against that of the tribal duke. Arnulf was the leader of the opposition in Bavaria in 937-8, and was banished as a punishment; his recall and appointment as Count Palatine is characteristic of Otto's generous and lenient treatment of opponents. The Cont. Reginonis, anno 938, the only authority for the Bavarian revolt, speaks of an Everard as the leader of the rebellion, but Erben in Neues Archiv, xvi. conjectures on very convincing grounds that the passage Everhardum Arnolfi filium should read Arnolfum Arnolfi filium.
