Godfrey I, Duke of Lower Lorraine
Encyclopedia
Godfrey I was the count of Hainault from 958 and margrave
or vice-duke of Lower Lorraine from 959, when that duchy was divided by Duke Bruno
, who remained duke until his death in 965.
Godfrey was the son of Godfrey, Count Palatine of Lotharingia, and Ermentrude. He was a sixth generation descendant of Charlemagne
and was related, through blood and marriages, to the most important royal families in Europe. His father was a Matfriding, the son of Gerard, Count of Metz, and Oda, widow of the Carolingian
king of Lotharingia Zwentibold
and sister of Henry the Fowler, the Saxon king of Germany. His aunt, Oda, was married to Gothelo, Count of Bidgau and Methingau, and he was thus a cousin of Godfrey I, Count of Verdun
, whose children later became dukes of Lower Lorraine as well. In 958, Bruno finished off the revolt of Count Reginar III and exiled him. He gave his county to Godfrey. The next year, Lorraine was divided, to make it easier to defend from enemies within and without. The lower portion went to Godfrey while the upper to one Frederick
. In 962, he was made count of Jülich
. He accompanied the Emperor Otto I, his first cousin once removed, into Italy
, against the usurper Adalbert, in 962 and died at Rome
of an epidemic
in 964.
Margrave
A margrave or margravine was a medieval hereditary nobleman with military responsibilities in a border province of a kingdom. Border provinces usually had more exposure to military incursions from the outside, compared to interior provinces, and thus a margrave usually had larger and more active...
or vice-duke of Lower Lorraine from 959, when that duchy was divided by Duke Bruno
Bruno I, Archbishop of Cologne
Bruno the Great was Archbishop of Cologne, Germany, from 953 until his death, and Duke of Lotharingia from 954. He was the brother of Otto I, king of Germany and later Holy Roman Emperor....
, who remained duke until his death in 965.
Godfrey was the son of Godfrey, Count Palatine of Lotharingia, and Ermentrude. He was a sixth generation descendant of Charlemagne
Charlemagne
Charlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...
and was related, through blood and marriages, to the most important royal families in Europe. His father was a Matfriding, the son of Gerard, Count of Metz, and Oda, widow of the Carolingian
Carolingian
The Carolingian dynasty was a Frankish noble family with origins in the Arnulfing and Pippinid clans of the 7th century AD. The name "Carolingian", Medieval Latin karolingi, an altered form of an unattested Old High German *karling, kerling The Carolingian dynasty (known variously as the...
king of Lotharingia Zwentibold
Zwentibold
Zwentibold was the illegitimate son of the Carolingian Emperor Arnulf of Carinthia. In 895 his father, then king of East Francia, granted him the Kingdom of Lotharingia, which he ruled until his death.After his death he was declared a saint and martyr by the Catholic Church.- Life :Zwentibold...
and sister of Henry the Fowler, the Saxon king of Germany. His aunt, Oda, was married to Gothelo, Count of Bidgau and Methingau, and he was thus a cousin of Godfrey I, Count of Verdun
Godfrey I, Count of Verdun
Godfrey I , called the Prisoner or the Captive , sometimes the Old , was the count of Bidgau and Methingau from 959 and the count of Verdun from 963 to his death. In 969, he obtained the margravate of Antwerp and Ename...
, whose children later became dukes of Lower Lorraine as well. In 958, Bruno finished off the revolt of Count Reginar III and exiled him. He gave his county to Godfrey. The next year, Lorraine was divided, to make it easier to defend from enemies within and without. The lower portion went to Godfrey while the upper to one Frederick
Frederick I, Duke of Upper Lorraine
Frederick I was the count of Bar and duke of Upper Lorraine. He was a son of Wigeric, count of Bidgau, also count palatine of Lorraine, and Cunigunda, and thus a sixth generation descendant of Charlemagne....
. In 962, he was made count of Jülich
Jülich
Jülich is a town in the district of Düren, in the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Jülich is well known as location of a world-famous research centre, the Forschungszentrum Jülich and as shortwave transmission site of Deutsche Welle...
. He accompanied the Emperor Otto I, his first cousin once removed, into Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, against the usurper Adalbert, in 962 and died at Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
of an epidemic
Epidemic
In epidemiology, an epidemic , occurs when new cases of a certain disease, in a given human population, and during a given period, substantially exceed what is expected based on recent experience...
in 964.