Duchy of Saxony

The Duchy of Saxony (Low German: Hartogdom Sassen) was a medieval duchy that was encompassing the Old Saxony, a historical region settled by the Saxons since the Migration Period. Initially independent, it came under the sphere of influence of the neighboring Frankish rulers already during the Merovingian era. It was later subdued by Charlemagne during the Saxon Wars (772-804), and incorporated into the Carolingian Empire. Since the Treaty of Verdun (843), it belonged to the East Frankish Kingdom, and thus became one of the five stem duchies of the emerging German realm. Saxon duke Henry the Fowler was elected German king in 919, thus founding the Saxon dynasty that ruled Germany and the Holy Roman Empire up to 1024.

Since the middle of the 10th century, the Duchy was administered, and then ruled by the House of Billung, and later by the House of Welf. Dukes of Saxony were also counted among the prince-electors. Upon the deposition of duke Henry the Lion in 1180, the ducal title, together with the electoral rights, fell to the House of Ascania. In time, many territories were split from the ducal jursidiction, such as the Principality of Anhalt in 1218 and the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg in 1235. In 1296, the remaining lands were divided between the Ascanian ducal branches of Saxe-Lauenburg and Saxe-Wittenberg. Their mutual dispute over the right of wielding the electoral office was resolved by the Golden Bull of 1356, granting the title of Electors of Saxony to dukes of Saxe-Wittenberg. Upon the extinction of that ducal line in 1422, the remaining Ascanian line of Saxe-Lauenburg claimed both the Saxe-Wittenberg ducal possessions and the electoral dignity. Those request were denied by the emperor Sigismund, who granted the possessions and titles in question to the House of Wettin. Since that time, the Wettin aglomeration of lands in the middle Elbe regions (Saxe-Wittenberg, March of Meissen, Osterland and others) led to the emergence of Upper Saxony, centered on the Wettin Electorate of Saxony, while core territories of the former stem duchy in the old Saxony came to be known as Lower Saxony.