Godfried, Duke of Friesland
Encyclopedia
Godfrid, Godafrid, Gudfrid, or Gottfrid (murdered June 885) was a Danish Viking leader of the late ninth century. He had probably been with the Great Heathen Army
, descended on the continent, and became a vassal of the emperor Charles the Fat
, controlling most of Frisia
between 882 and 885.
In 880, Godfrid ravaged Flanders
using Ghent
as his base. In 882, Godfrid ravaged Lotharingia
and the cities of Maastricht
, Liège
, Stavelot
, Prüm
, Cologne
, and Koblenz
were devastated. After the Siege of Asselt
forced him to come to terms, Godfrid was granted the Kennemerland
, which had formerly been ruled by Rorik of Dorestad, as a vassal of Charles, according to the Annales Fuldenses
. Godfrid swore oaths to Charles promising never to again lay waste his kingdom and accepted Christianity and baptism, at which Charles stood as his godfather. In return, Charles appointed him Duke of Frisia and gave him Gisela, daughter of Lothair II
, as his wife.
However, Godfrid did nothing against a Danish raid which pillaged large parts of the Low Countries
. In 885, he was summoned to Lobith
for a meeting after being accused of complicity with Hugh, Duke of Alsace
, in an insurrection. In an act of treachery he was killed by a group of Frisian
and Saxon
nobles at the connivance of Henry of Franconia
. The local count Gerulf took over the West Frisian coastline from the Danish after the murder.
This Godfrid has sometimes been confused with Godfrid Haraldsson
.
Great Heathen Army
The Great Heathen Army, also known as the Great Army or the Great Danish Army, was a Viking army originating in Denmark which pillaged and conquered much of England in the late 9th century...
, descended on the continent, and became a vassal of the emperor Charles the Fat
Charles the Fat
Charles the Fat was the King of Alemannia from 876, King of Italy from 879, western Emperor from 881, King of East Francia from 882, and King of West Francia from 884. In 887, he was deposed in East Francia, Lotharingia, and possibly Italy, where the records are not clear...
, controlling most of Frisia
Frisia
Frisia is a coastal region along the southeastern corner of the North Sea, i.e. the German Bight. Frisia is the traditional homeland of the Frisians, a Germanic people who speak Frisian, a language group closely related to the English language...
between 882 and 885.
In 880, Godfrid ravaged Flanders
Flanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
using Ghent
Ghent
Ghent is a city and a municipality located in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is the capital and biggest city of the East Flanders province. The city started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Lys and in the Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of...
as his base. In 882, Godfrid ravaged Lotharingia
Lotharingia
Lotharingia was a region in northwest Europe, comprising the Low Countries, the western Rhineland, the lands today on the border between France and Germany, and what is now western Switzerland. It was born of the tripartite division in 855, of the kingdom of Middle Francia, itself formed of the...
and the cities of Maastricht
Maastricht
Maastricht is situated on both sides of the Meuse river in the south-eastern part of the Netherlands, on the Belgian border and near the German border...
, Liège
Liège
Liège is a major city and municipality of Belgium located in the province of Liège, of which it is the economic capital, in Wallonia, the French-speaking region of Belgium....
, Stavelot
Stavelot
Stavelot is a Walloon municipality located in the Belgian province of Liège. On January 1, 2006, Stavelot had a total population of 6,671. The total area is 85.07 km² which gives a population density of 78 inhabitants per km².-History:...
, Prüm
Prüm
Prüm is a town in the Westeifel , Germany. Formerly a district capital, today it is the administrative seat of the Verbandsgemeinde Prüm.-Geography:...
, Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
, and Koblenz
Koblenz
Koblenz is a German city situated on both banks of the Rhine at its confluence with the Moselle, where the Deutsches Eck and its monument are situated.As Koblenz was one of the military posts established by Drusus about 8 BC, the...
were devastated. After the Siege of Asselt
Siege of Asselt
The Siege of Asselt was a Frankish siege of the Viking camp at Asselt in Frisia in the year 882. Though the Vikings were not forced by arms to abandon their camp, they were compelled to come to terms whereby their leader, Godfrid, was converted to Christianity....
forced him to come to terms, Godfrid was granted the Kennemerland
Kennemerland
Kennemerland is a region in the Netherlands, near the coast in the province of North Holland. In includes the sand dunes north of the North Sea Canal, as well as the dunes of Zuid-Kennemerland National Park.-History:...
, which had formerly been ruled by Rorik of Dorestad, as a vassal of Charles, according to the Annales Fuldenses
Annales Fuldenses
The Annales Fuldenses or Annals of Fulda are East Frankish chronicles that cover independently the period from the last years of Louis the Pious to shortly after the end of effective Carolingian rule in East Francia with the accession of the child-king, Louis III, in 900...
. Godfrid swore oaths to Charles promising never to again lay waste his kingdom and accepted Christianity and baptism, at which Charles stood as his godfather. In return, Charles appointed him Duke of Frisia and gave him Gisela, daughter of Lothair II
Lothair II of Lotharingia
Lothair II was the second son of Emperor Lothair I and Ermengarde of Tours. He was married to Teutberga, daughter of Boso the Elder. He is the namesake of the Lothair Crystal, which he probably commissioned, and of the Cross of Lothair, which was made over a century after his death but...
, as his wife.
However, Godfrid did nothing against a Danish raid which pillaged large parts of the Low Countries
Low Countries
The Low Countries are the historical lands around the low-lying delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse rivers, including the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of northern France and western Germany....
. In 885, he was summoned to Lobith
Lobith
Lobith is a village in the Dutch province of Gelderland. It is located in the municipality of Rijnwaarden. Traditionally, it is said that the Rhine enters the Netherlands at Lobith, although in reality, this happens about 4 km further upstream, near Spijk....
for a meeting after being accused of complicity with Hugh, Duke of Alsace
Hugh, Duke of Alsace
Hugh was the only son of Lothair II, an illegitimate child by his relationship with Waldrada. He did not inherit his father's kingdom, but he did receive a lot of lands and benefices in the Duchy of Alsace from Louis the German....
, in an insurrection. In an act of treachery he was killed by a group of Frisian
Frisians
The Frisians are a Germanic ethnic group native to the coastal parts of the Netherlands and Germany. They are concentrated in the Dutch provinces of Friesland and Groningen and, in Germany, East Frisia and North Frisia, that was a part of Denmark until 1864. They inhabit an area known as Frisia...
and Saxon
Duchy of Saxony
The medieval Duchy of Saxony was a late Early Middle Ages "Carolingian stem duchy" covering the greater part of Northern Germany. It covered the area of the modern German states of Bremen, Hamburg, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, and Saxony-Anhalt and most of Schleswig-Holstein...
nobles at the connivance of Henry of Franconia
Henry of Franconia
Henry , a son of Count Poppo of Grapfeld, one of the first Babenbergs, was the most important East Frankish general during the reign of Charles the Fat. He was variously titled Count or Margrave of Saxony and Duke of Franconia....
. The local count Gerulf took over the West Frisian coastline from the Danish after the murder.
This Godfrid has sometimes been confused with Godfrid Haraldsson
Godfrid Haraldsson
Godfrid Haraldsson was the son of the Danish king Harald Klak. In 826 he was baptized together with his parents in Mainz in the Frankish Empire, with crown prince Lothair standing as a godparent....
.
Sources
- Nelson, Janet L (ed.), and Reuter, TimothyTimothy ReuterTimothy Alan Reuter , grandson of the former mayor of Berlin Ernst Reuter, was a German-British historian who specialized in the study of medieval Germany, particularly the social, military and ecclesiastical institutions of the Ottonian and Salian periods .Reuter received his D.phil from Oxford in...
(trans.) The Annals of Fulda. (Manchester Medieval series, Ninth-Century Histories, Volume II.) Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1992. - MacLean, Simon. Kingship and Politics in the Late Ninth Century: Charles the Fat and the end of the Carolingian Empire. Cambridge University Press: 2003.
- Smith, Julia M. H. Province and Empire: Brittany and the Carolingians. Cambridge University Press: 1992.