March of the Nordgau

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The March of the Nordgau or the Bavarian Nordgau (German: Bayerischen Nordgau) was a margraviate in the north of the Duchy of Bavaria in the High Middle Ages. It covered the region roughly covered by the modern Upper Palatinate along the River Main.^[1] The chief cities of the Nordgau were Nürnberg and Bamberg.

The Nordgau was occupied by the Franks in Merovingian times. The great fortress of Wogastisburg was built at the insistence of Saint Boniface by Charles Martel.^[2] Charlemagne entered the Nordgau through Bavaria in 788 and brought the Franks into contact with the Bohemians permanently. For this reason, the Nordgau has been called the Bohemian March on occasion.^[3]

The Nordgau was first separated from Bavaria in 938, following the death of Duke Arnulf in 937. Otto I appointed one Berthold, already empowered in the districts of Radenzgau and Volkfeld in East Franconia, to administrate the region as a distinct march. There has been some confusion over whether or not the Nordgau was separated from Bavaria at this date or only as late as 976, in consequence of the revolt of Duke Henry II.

In 1004, Henry II of Germany deposed Henry of Schweinfurt from the Nordgau and gave the temporal authority of the region over to the Diocese of Bamberg, which he heavily favoured throughout his career. However, the margravial title survived in a succession of families in the region. Henry's descendants used the title "Margrave of Schweinfurt" and the Ratpotonen eventually received the title by royal grant, passing it down as "Margrave of Vohburg" to their descendants.

Throughout the 11th and 12th centuries, the Nordgau was a pathway for invading armies from Bohemia and Hungary and for the countering armies of the Holy Roman Empire.^[4]

[edit] Sources

Reuter, Timothy. Germany in the Early Middle Ages 800–1056. New York: Longman, 1991.
Thompson, James Westfall. Feudal Germany, Volume II. New York: Frederick Ungar Publishing Co., 1928.