Gothelo (or Gozelo) ( 967 – 19 April 1044), called the Great, was the
duke of Lower Lorraine
The rulers of Lorraine have held different posts under different governments over different regions, since its creation as the kingdom of Lotharingia by the Treaty of Prüm, in 855. The first rulers of the newly established region were kings of ...
from 1023 and of
Upper Lorraine
The Duchy of Lorraine (french: Lorraine ; german: Lothringen ), originally Upper Lorraine, was a duchy now included in the larger present-day region of Lorraine in northeastern France. Its capital was Nancy.
It was founded in 959 following th ...
from 1033. He was also the
margrave of Antwerp
The Margraviate of Antwerp (or Mark of Antwerp) consisted since the eleventh century of the area around the cities of Antwerp and Breda.
Origin
Under Otto II, emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, several marches were created along the border wi ...
from 1005 (or 1008) and
count of Verdun
The County of Verdun was a sovereign medieval county in the Duchy of Lower Lorraine.
County
The rulers of the sovereign County of Verdun styled themselves as Counts by the grace of God.Godfrey I, Count of Verdun, and
Matilda
Matilda or Mathilda may refer to:
Animals
* Matilda (chicken) (1990–2006), World's Oldest Living Chicken record holder
* Matilda (horse) (1824–1846), British Thoroughbred racehorse
* Matilda, a dog of the professional wrestling tag-team The ...
, daughter of
Herman, Duke of Saxony
Hermann Billung (900 or 912 – 27 March 973) was the margrave of the Billung March from 936 until his death. The first of the Saxon House of Billung, Hermann was a trusted lieutenant of Emperor Otto I.
Though never Duke of Saxony himself, w ...
. On his father's death, he received the march of Antwerp and became a vassal of his brother, Godfrey II, who became duke of Lower Lorraine in 1012. He succeeded his brother in 1023 with the support of the
Emperor Henry II
Henry II (german: Heinrich II; it, Enrico II; 6 May 973 – 13 July 1024), also known as Saint Henry the Exuberant, Obl. S. B., was Holy Roman Emperor ("Romanorum Imperator") from 1014. He died without an heir in 1024, and was the last ruler ...
, but was opposed until
Conrad II
Conrad II ( – 4 June 1039), also known as and , was the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire from 1027 until his death in 1039. The first of a succession of four Salian emperors, who reigned for one century until 1125, Conrad ruled the kingdoms ...
forced the rebels to submit in 1025. When the
House of Bar
The County of Bar, later Duchy of Bar, was a principality of the Holy Roman Empire encompassing the '' pays de Barrois'' and centred on the city of Bar-le-Duc. It was held by the House of Montbéliard from the 11th century. Part of the county, t ...
, which ruled in Upper Lorraine, became extinct in 1033, with the death of his cousin Frederick III, Conrad made him duke of both duchies, so that he could assist in the defence of the territory against Odo II, count of Blois,
Meaux
Meaux () is a Communes of France, commune on the river Marne (river), Marne in the Seine-et-Marne Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France Regions of France, region in the Functional area (France), metropolitan area of Paris, Franc ...
Battle of Bar
The Battle of Bar ( sr-Cyr, Битка код Бара, Bitka kod Bara) took place on October 7, 1042 between the army of Stefan Vojislav, the Serbian ruler of Duklja, and Byzantine forces led by Michaelus Anastasii. The battle was actually a ...
on 15 November 1037, Gothelo dealt a decisive blow to Odo, who was trying to create an independent state between France and Germany. Odo died in the battle.
Gothelo died on 19 April 1044 and was buried in the
Abbey Church
A church, church building or church house is a building used for Christian worship services and other Christian religious activities. The earliest identified Christian church is a house church founded between 233 and 256. From the 11th thro ...
of Bilzen. His son Godfrey succeeded in Upper Lorraine, but the
Emperor Henry III
Henry III (28 October 1016 – 5 October 1056), called the Black or the Pious, was Holy Roman Emperor from 1046 until his death in 1056. A member of the Salian dynasty, he was the eldest son of Conrad II and Gisela of Swabia.
Henry was raised by ...
refused to give him the duchy of Lower Lorraine as well. When Godfrey showed disagreement with the imperial decision, Henry III threatened to pass the duchy to Godfrey's incompetent brother Gothelo. This caused a long rebellion in Lotharingia between the allies of Godfrey (the
counts of Flanders
The count of Flanders was the ruler or sub-ruler of the county of Flanders, beginning in the 9th century. Later, the title would be held for a time, by the rulers of the Holy Roman Empire and Spain. During the French Revolution, in 1790, the co ...
The name of Gothelo's wife is not known, the name Barbe de Lebarten (and in fact her entire ancestry), being a spurious concoction of later genealogists.Theodor Schliephake in ''Geschichte von Nassau, von den ältesten Zeiten bis auf die Gegenwart, auf der Grundlage urkundlicher Quellenforschung'', vol 1 (Wiesbaden, 1866)
He had the following children:
*
Godfrey the Bearded
Godfrey III ( 997 – 1069), called the Bearded, was the eldest son of Gothelo I, Duke of Upper and Lower Lorraine.
Biography Disputed succession
By inheritance, Godfrey was Count of Verdun and he became Margrave of Antwerp as a vassal of ...
,
duke of Lower Lorraine
The rulers of Lorraine have held different posts under different governments over different regions, since its creation as the kingdom of Lotharingia by the Treaty of Prüm, in 855. The first rulers of the newly established region were kings of ...
* Gothelo, duke of Lower Lorraine
* Frederick, later
Pope Stephen IX
Pope Stephen IX ( la, Stephanus, christened Frederick; c. 1020 – 29 March 1058) was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 3 August 1057 to his death in 29 March 1058. He was a member of the Ardenne-Verdun family, ...
* Regilinda, married
Albert II, Count of Namur Albert II of Namur was Count of Namur from the death of his elder brother Robert II to his death in 1067. They were the sons of Albert I, and Ermengarde, daughter of duke Charles of Lower Lorraine.
Biography
In 1037, Albert participated in th ...
* Oda, married
Lambert II, Count of Leuven
Lambert II (died Tournai, 19 June 1054) was count of Leuven between 1033 and 1054. Lambert was the son of Lambert I of Louvain (d. 1015).
According to thVita Gudilae(recorded between 1048–1051) he followed his brother Henry I of Louvain.
Lamb ...
* Matilda, married
Henry I, Count Palatine of Lotharingia Henry I (german: Heinrich; d.1061), was Count Palatine of Lotharingia from 1045 until 1060. He was the son of Hezzelin I, Count in Zülpichgau, and a member of the Ezzonid dynasty. Historians have given several nicknames to Heinrich: ''Furiosus'' ...