Odo (french: Eudes; c. 857 – 1 January 898) was the elected King of
West Francia
In medieval history, West Francia (Medieval Latin: ) or the Kingdom of the West Franks () refers to the western part of the Frankish Empire established by Charlemagne. It represents the earliest stage of the Kingdom of France, lasting from about ...
from 888 to 898. He was the first king from the
Robertian dynasty. Before assuming the kingship, Odo was the
count of Paris
Count of Paris () was a title for the local magnate of the district around Paris in Carolingian times. After Hugh Capet was elected King of France in 987, the title merged into the crown and fell into disuse. However, it was later revived by the ...
. His reign marked the definitive separation of West Francia from the
Carolingian Empire
The Carolingian Empire (800–888) was a large Frankish-dominated empire in western and central Europe during the Early Middle Ages. It was ruled by the Carolingian dynasty, which had ruled as kings of the Franks since 751 and as kings of the ...
, which would never reunite.
Family and inheritance
Odo was the eldest son of
Robert the Strong
Robert the Strong (french: Robert le Fort; c. 830 – 866) was the father of two kings of West Francia: Odo (or Eudes) and Robert I of France. His family is named after him and called the Robertians. In 853, he was named '' missus dominicus'' ...
, who was
Duke of the Franks
The title Duke of the Franks ( la, dux Francorum) has been used for three different offices, always with "duke" implying military command and "prince" implying something approaching sovereign or regalian rights. The term "Franks" may refer to an ...
,
Margrave of Neustria
The Marches of Neustria (french: Marches de Neustrie; br, Marz Neustria; Norman: ''Maurches de Neûtrie'') were two marches created in 861 by the Carolingian king of West Francia Charles the Bald. They were ruled by officials appointed by the M ...
, and
Count of Anjou
The Count of Anjou was the ruler of the County of Anjou, first granted by Charles the Bald in the 9th century to Robert the Strong. Ingelger and his son, Fulk the Red, were viscounts until Fulk assumed the title of Count of Anjou. The Robertians ...
. After his father's death at the
Battle of Brissarthe in 866, Odo inherited the Margraviate of Neustria. Odo lost this title in 868 when King
Charles the Bald
Charles the Bald (french: Charles le Chauve; 13 June 823 – 6 October 877), also known as Charles II, was a 9th-century king of West Francia (843–877), king of Italy (875–877) and emperor of the Carolingian Empire (875–877). After a ...
appointed
Hugh the Abbot to the title. Odo regained it following the death of Hugh in 886. After 882 he was the
count of Paris
Count of Paris () was a title for the local magnate of the district around Paris in Carolingian times. After Hugh Capet was elected King of France in 987, the title merged into the crown and fell into disuse. However, it was later revived by the ...
. Odo was also the
lay abbot
Lay abbot ( la, abbatocomes, abbas laicus, abbas miles, ) is a name used to designate a layman on whom a king or someone in authority bestowed an abbey as a reward for services rendered; he had charge of the estate belonging to it, and was entitle ...
of St. Martin of Tours.
In 882 or 883 Odo married
Théodrate of Troyes
Théodrate of Troyes (868 — 903) was the wife of Odo, Count of Paris and Queen consort of Western Francia from 888 to 898. Evidence of Théodrate and Odo's children comes from non-contemporary or historically inauthentic sources. The eleventh-ce ...
. The eleventh-century chronicler
Adémar de Chabannes
Adémar de Chabannes (988/989 – 1034; also Adhémar de Chabannes) was a French/Frankish monk, active as a composer, scribe, historian, poet, grammarian and literary forger. He was associated with the Abbey of Saint Martial, Limoges, where he ...
wrote that they had a son, Arnoul (c.882–898), who died shortly after his father. Guy is named as one of the couple's children in an
Alan I's charter dated 28 August 903, but genealogist
Christian Settipani
Christian Settipani (born 31 January 1961) is a French genealogist, historian and IT professional, currently working as the Technical Director of a company in Paris.
Biography
Settipani holds a Master of Advanced Studies from the Paris-Sorbo ...
has argued that the document is false.
The genealogical work
Europäische Stammtafeln ''Europäische Stammtafeln'' - German for ''European Family Trees'' - is a series of twenty-nine books which contain sets of genealogical tables of the most influential families of Medieval European history. It is a standard reference work for thos ...
refers to Raoul as a son of Odo by Théodrate, but its primary source is not known.
Reign
For his skill and bravery in resisting the attacks of
Vikings
Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden),
who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and ...
during the 885–886
Siege of Paris, Odo was chosen by the western Frankish nobles to be their king following the overthrow of Emperor
Charles the Fat
Charles III (839 – 13 January 888), also known as Charles the Fat, was the emperor of the Carolingian Empire from 881 to 888. A member of the Carolingian dynasty, Charles was the youngest son of Louis the German and Hemma, and a great-grandso ...
. He was crowned at
Compiègne
Compiègne (; pcd, Compiène) is a commune in the Oise department in northern France. It is located on the river Oise. Its inhabitants are called ''Compiégnois''.
Administration
Compiègne is the seat of two cantons:
* Compiègne-1 (with 19 ...
in February 888 by
Walter, Archbishop of Sens.
Odo continued to battle against the Vikings and defeated them at
Montfaucon, but was soon involved in a struggle with powerful Frankish nobles who supported the claim of
Charles the Simple
Charles III (17 September 879 – 7 October 929), called the Simple or the Straightforward (from the Latin ''Carolus Simplex''), was the king of West Francia from 898 until 922 and the king of Lotharingia from 911 until 919–923. He was a mem ...
to the throne.
In 890 Odo granted special privileges to the
County of Manresa in
Osona
Osona () is a comarca situated in Catalonia, Northeast Spain. Its capital is Vic. Its population in 2001 was 129,543. Osona covers roughly the same area as the historic Catalan county of Osona. The name Osona comes from ''Ausetans'', a group of ...
. Because of its position on the front line against the
Moorish aggression, Manresa was given the right to build towers of defence known as ''manresanas'' or ''manresanes''. This privilege was responsible for giving Manresa its unique character, distinct from the rest of Osona, for the next two centuries.
To gain prestige and support, Odo paid homage to the
East Francia's King
Arnulf in 888. Despite this, in 894 Arnulf declared his support for Charles the Simple, and after a conflict which lasted three years, Odo was compelled to come to terms with his rival and surrender a district north of the Seine to him. Odo died in
La Fère
La Fère () is a commune in the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France in France.
Population
See also
* Communes of the Aisne department
The following is a list of the 799 communes in the French department of Aisne.
The communes coope ...
on 1 January 898.
In popular culture
A character named ''Count Odo'' is portrayed by Owen Roe in the
History Channel
History (formerly The History Channel from January 1, 1995 to February 15, 2008, stylized as HISTORY) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Disney ...
's 2013 hit TV series ''
Vikings
Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden),
who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and ...
''. This fictional Odo actually saves Paris from a Viking attack, but is killed before ever succeeding in becoming king.
Count Odo appears in ''The Siege of Paris'', the second expansion to the 2020 video game ''
Assassin's Creed Valhalla
''Assassin's Creed Valhalla'' is a 2020 action role-playing video game developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft. It is the twelfth major installment in the ''Assassin's Creed'' series, and the successor to 2018's ''Assassin's Cre ...
''.
Odo appears in the game ''
Crusader Kings III
''Crusader Kings III'' is a grand strategy role-playing video game set in the Middle Ages, developed by Paradox Development Studio and published by Paradox Interactive as a sequel to '' Crusader Kings'' (2004) and ''Crusader Kings II'' (2012). ...
'' as a bookmarked character. Players can play as him from the year 867, when he is ten years old, and may gain an achievement for leading his dynasty to rule the Kingdom of France.
References
Bibliography
External links
*
, -
{{Authority control
9th-century kings of West Francia
850s births
898 deaths
Burials at the Basilica of Saint-Denis
Counts of Orléans
Counts of Paris
Frankish warriors
Robertians