Overview
Otto of Nordheim (c. 1020 – 11 January 1083) was Duke of Bavaria from 1061 until 1070. He was one of the leaders of the Saxon revolt of 1073–1075 and the Saxon revolt of 1077–1088 against King Henry IV of Germany.
Life
Family
Otto was born about 1020, the son of Count Bernard of Nordheim (d. about 1040) and his wife Eilika. The rich and influential Saxon comital dynasty of Nordheim was first mentioned about 950, its descendance has not been conclusively established: there is possibly a relationship with the Immedinger family of legendary Duke Widukind, while according to the Magdeburg archbishop Eric of Brandenburg, Otto's grandfather Siegfried I of Nordheim was a son of Count Siegfried of Luxembourg.
The Nordheim counts held large Saxon estates on the upper Leine and Werra rivers as well as on the Weser and its Diemel and Nethe tributaries and on the lower Elbe river. They also acted as Vogts (reeves) of the Corvey, Gandersheim, Helmarshausen, Bursfelde, and Amelungsborn. Otto succeeded his father as count of Northeim about 1049, then one of the most influential Saxon nobles along with the Billung duke Bernard II and the Udonid counts of Stade.
From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).