Godfrid, Godafrid, Gudfrid, or Gottfrid ( non, Guðfrið; murdered June 885) was a

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...

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 Frisia is a cross-border cultural region in Northwestern Europe. Stretching along the Wadden Sea, it encompasses the north of the Netherlands and parts of northwestern Germany. The region is traditionally inhabited by the Frisians, a West Ger ...

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 Liège ( , , ; wa, Lîdje ; nl, Luik ; german: Lüttich ) is a major city and municipality of Wallonia and the capital of the Belgian province of Liège. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east of Belgium, not far from b ...

Stavelot Stavelot (; german: Stablo ; wa, Ståvleu) is a town and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium. The municipality consists of the following districts: Francorchamps and Stavelot. It is best known as the home of Sp ...

Prüm Prüm () is a town in the Westeifel (Rhineland-Palatinate), Germany. Formerly a district capital, today it is the administrative seat of the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' ("collective municipality") Prüm. Geography Prüm lies on the river Prüm (a tri ...

, Cologne, and

Koblenz Koblenz (; Moselle Franconian language, Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz''), spelled Coblenz before 1926, is a German city on the banks of the Rhine and the Moselle, a multi-nation tributary. Koblenz was established as a Roman Empire, Roman mili ...

were devastated. After the

Siege of Asselt The siege of Asselt was a Frankish siege of the Viking camp at Ascloha () in the Meuse valley 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, ...

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 Lothair II (835 – 8 August 869) was the king of Lotharingia from 855 until his death. He was the second son of Emperor Lothair I and Ermengarde of Tours. He was married to Teutberga (died 875), daughter of Boso the Elder. Reign For political ...

, as his wife. However, Godfrid did nothing against a Danish raid which pillaged large parts of the Low Countries in 884. In 885, he was summoned to

Lobith Lobith is a village in the Dutch province of Gelderland. It is located in the municipality of Zevenaar. Traditionally, it is said that the Rhine enters the Netherlands at Lobith, although in reality, this happens about 4 km further upstream, ...

for a meeting after being accused of complicity with

Hugh, Duke of Alsace Hugh or Hugo (before 855 – 895) was an illegitimate son of Lothair II, king of Lotharingia, by his concubine Waldrada. His father made him Duke of Alsace in 867. Hugh's name was not a Carolingian royal name, but it was common among the Etichon ...

and brother of Godfrid's wife Gisela, in an insurrection. In an act of treachery he was killed by a group of Frisian and

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

nobles at the connivance of

Henry of Franconia Henry (died 28 August 886) was the leading military commander of the last years of the Carolingian Empire. He was commander-in-chief under Kings Louis the Younger and Charles the Fat. His early career was mostly restricted to East Francia, his home ...

, who had been at odds with Hugh and was against the initial appointment of Godfrid as Duke. 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.

Sources

* Nelson, Janet L (ed.), and Reuter, Timothy (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. {{Authority control Viking rulers Viking warriors Medieval Frisian rulers 885 deaths Danish murder victims 9th-century rulers in Europe Year of birth unknown 9th-century Vikings