Otto I (Eudes) (died 987),

Count of Chiny The counts of Chiny were part of the nobility of Lotharingia that ruled from the 9th to the 14th century in what is now part of Belgium. It has been proposed that the County of Chiny was created in the early 10th century out of the ancient county o ...

, perhaps son of Adalbert I the Pious, Count of Vermandois, and

Gerberge of Lorraine Gerberge of Lorraine (c. 935-978) was the daughter of Giselbert, Duke of Lorraine,Detlev Schwennicke, ''Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten'', Neue Folge, Band III Teilband 1 (Marburg, Germany: J. A. Sta ...

. Although he probably did not use the title, Otto is regarded as the first Count of Chiny. Historically, an Otto of Vermandois is mentioned in a charter of 958 alongside his father, the Count of Vermandois. His name and that of his brother Ludolfe show a Germanic ancestry of the kings of the family of Saxony, which is indeed the case, as his mother is Gerberge of Lorraine, niece of

Emperor Otto I Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), traditionally known as Otto the Great (german: Otto der Große, it, Ottone il Grande), was East Francia, East Frankish king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the olde ...

(her mother being daughter to

Henry the Fowler Henry the Fowler (german: Heinrich der Vogler or '; la, Henricus Auceps) (c. 876 – 2 July 936) was the Duke of Saxony from 912 and the King of East Francia from 919 until his death in 936. As the first non-Frankish king of East Francia, he ...

). He was reported as a quarrelsome lord who threatened Hainaut and

Cambrésis Cambrésis () is a former ''pagus'', county and prince-bishopric of the medieval Holy Roman Empire that was annexed to the Kingdom of France in 1679. It is now regarded as one of the "natural regions" of France, and roughly equivalent to the Arro ...

(the region around

Cambrai Cambrai (, ; pcd, Kimbré; nl, Kamerijk), formerly Cambray and historically in English Camerick or Camericke, is a city in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department and in the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, regio ...

). In 971, an Otto erected a fortress in Warcq,

Ardennes The Ardennes (french: Ardenne ; nl, Ardennen ; german: Ardennen; wa, Årdene ; lb, Ardennen ), also known as the Ardennes Forest or Forest of Ardennes, is a region of extensive forests, rough terrain, rolling hills and ridges primarily in Be ...

, and attacked his neighbors, including

Adalbero Adalbero or Adalberon (french: Adalbéron) is a masculine given name, a variant of Adalbert (given name), Adalbert, derived from the Old High German words ''Ethel (disambiguation), adal'' ("noble") and ''beraht'' ("bright") or '':en:wikt:bero#Old_Hi ...

, Archbishop of Reims. He is mentioned as having imperial ancestry. This and a number of other facts prompted the historian

Léon Vanderkindere Léon Vanderkindere (22 February 1842 – 9 November 1906) was a Belgian historian, academic and politician. Family Vanderkindere was born in Sint-Jans-Molenbeek into a wealthy middle-class family. His father, Albert Vanderkindere, was a politi ...

to hypothesize that these two Ottos were in fact a single historical figure. His wife’s name is unknown. It is possible that she was from Ardennes, a relative of

Wigeric of Lotharingia Wigeric or Wideric (german: Wigerich; french: Wigéric or ; died before 923) was a Frankish nobleman and the count of the Bidgau (''pagus Bedensis'') and held the rights of a count within the city of Trier. He received also the advocacy of the Abb ...

and

Cunigunda of France Cunigunda of Sulichgau (893-924) was the daughter of Ermentrude of France, daughter in turn of Louis the Stammerer. Her father was Eberhard of Sulichgau, son of Unruoch III. In 898 her uncle Charles III gained control as king of the Franks, changin ...

, granddaughter of

Louis the Stammerer Louis II, known as Louis the Stammerer (french: Louis le Bègue; 1 November 846 – 10 April 879), was the king of Aquitaine and later the king of West Francia. He was the eldest son of Emperor Charles the Bald and Ermentrude of Orléans. Louis t ...

. This could explain the name of his son and the appointment of the latter as

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.Louis I Louis I may refer to: * Louis the Pious, Louis I of France, "the Pious" (778–840), king of France and Holy Roman Emperor * Louis I, Landgrave of Thuringia (ruled 1123–1140) * Ludwig I, Count of Württemberg (c. 1098–1158) * Louis I of Blois ( ...

(d. 1025), Count of Chiny and Verdun. Upon his death, Otto was succeeded as Count of Chiny by his son

Louis Louis may refer to: * Louis (coin) * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also Derived or associated terms * Lewis ( ...

Notes

References

Further reading