Godfrey I (died 1002), called the Prisoner or the Captive (''le Captif''), sometimes the Old (''le Vieux''), was the count of Bidgau and Methingau from 959 and the

sovereign ''Sovereign'' is a title which can be applied to the highest leader in various categories. The word is borrowed from Old French , which is ultimately derived from the Latin , meaning 'above'. The roles of a sovereign vary from monarch, ruler or ...

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.Margraviate 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 ...

and

Ename Ename is a Belgian village in the Flemish province of East Flanders. It stands on the right side of the river Scheldt and it is part of the municipality of Oudenaarde. The territory was inhabited during Prehistoric and Roman times, and became a t ...

. Between 974 and 998, he was also the

count of Hainault and

Mons Mons (; German and nl, Bergen, ; Walloon and pcd, Mont) is a city and municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the province of Hainaut, Belgium. Mons was made into a fortified city by Count Baldwin IV of Hainaut in the 12th century. T ...

. He was the founder of the

House of Ardennes-Verdun A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

, a cadet branch of the

House of Ardennes The House of Ardenne (or Ardennes, French ''Maison d'Ardenne'') was an important medieval noble family from Lotharingia, known from at least the tenth century. They had several important branches, descended from several brothers:Parisse, ‘Généa ...

. He was always loyal to the

Ottonian The Ottonian dynasty (german: Ottonen) was a Saxon dynasty of German monarchs (919–1024), named after three of its kings and Holy Roman Emperors named Otto, especially its first Emperor Otto I. It is also known as the Saxon dynasty after the ...

s, whom he was related to through his maternal grandmother.

Life

He was the son of

Gozlin, Count of Bidgau and Methingau Gozlin (c. 911 – between 19 October 942 and 16 February 943), was count of the Ardennes and the Bidgau, and army commander for his brother, Adalbero I of Metz. Gozlin was a son of Count Palatine Wigeric of Lotharingia and Cunigunda of Fr ...

, and

Oda of Metz Oda of Metz (c. 910 – 10 April 963) was a German noblewoman. She was the daughter of Count Gerard of Metz. Her mother Oda of Saxony was a daughter of Otto I, Duke of Saxony and thus a member of the Liudolfings. One of her brothers was Hen ...

. He was the brother of Adalberon, Archbishop of Reims, who crowned

Hugh Capet Hugh Capet (; french: Hugues Capet ; c. 939 – 14 October 996) was the King of the Franks from 987 to 996. He is the founder and first king from the House of Capet. The son of the powerful duke Hugh the Great and his wife Hedwige of Saxony, ...

the

king of France France was ruled by monarchs from the establishment of the Kingdom of West Francia in 843 until the end of the Second French Empire in 1870, with several interruptions. Classical French historiography usually regards Clovis I () as the first ...

. He is styled as Count

by the grace of God By the Grace of God ( la, Dei Gratia, abbreviated D.G.) is a formulaic phrase used especially in Christian monarchies as an introductory part of the full styles of a monarch. For example in England and later the United Kingdom, the phrase was fo ...

o

in 963 and already count of Bidgau and Methingau through inheritance since 959. In 974, he became count of Mons, and Hainault jointly with Arnulf of Valenciennes, Arnold, Count of

Valenciennes Valenciennes (, also , , ; nl, label=also Dutch, Valencijn; pcd, Valincyinnes or ; la, Valentianae) is a commune in the Nord department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced a s ...

, after the fall of

Reginar IV Reginar may refer to: * Reginar, Duke of Lorraine (c. 850–915) * Reginar II, Count of Hainaut (c. 890–932) * Reginar III, Count of Hainaut (c. 920–973) * Reginar IV, Count of Mons (c. 950–1013) * Reginar V, Count of Mons (c. 995–1039) * Ho ...

Charles, Duke of Lower Lorraine Charles (953 – 22 June 992×995) was the Duke of Lower Lorraine from 977 until his death. Life Born at Reims in the summer of 953, Charles was the son of Louis IV of France and Gerberga of Saxony and the younger brother of King Lothair. He wa ...

, was a supporter of Reginar and defeated Godfrey and Arnold at Mons in 976, where the former was captured. After his release, he was at the side of the

Emperor Otto II An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother (empr ...

fighting

Lothair of France Lothair (french: Lothaire; la, Lothārius; 941 – 2 March 986), sometimes called Lothair II,After the emperor Lothair I. IIICounting Lothair II of Lotharingia, who ruled over modern Lorraine and Belgium. or IV,Counting Lothair II of Italy. ...

at Verdun in 985, but he was again taken captive, along with his son Frederick, and held several years. He was released in 987 by Hugh Capet, whose political ally was Adalberon, Godfrey's brother, and had crowned Hugh. Godfrey was also an enemy of Charles of Lower Lorraine, Hugh's

Carolingian The Carolingian dynasty (; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charlemagne, grandson of mayor Charles Martel and a descendant of the Arnulfing and Pippin ...

rival. In 989, he was made prisoner a third time by

Herbert III of Vermandois Herbert III of Vermandois (953–1015), Count of Vermandois, was the son of Adalbert I of Vermandois and Gerberge of Lorraine. Biography Two charters of the abbey of Montierender (968 and 980) attribute to Herbert III of Vermandois, then count ...

. He was liberated before 995, when he appears at the synod of

Mousson Mousson () is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France. The village lies on a hilltop, adjacent to the east of Pont-à-Mousson. See also * Communes of the Meurthe-et-Moselle department The following is a list of ...

. In 998, he lost his Hainault portion (the county of Mons) to Reginar IV.

Family

In 963, he married

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 ...

, of the

Billung The House of Billung was a dynasty of Saxon noblemen in the 9th through 12th centuries. The first known member of the house was Count Wichmann, mentioned as a Billung in 811. Oda, the wife of Count Liudolf, oldest known member of the Liudolf ...

family, a widow of

Baldwin III of Flanders Baldwin III (–962), called the Young, was Count of Flanders, who briefly ruled the County of Flanders together with his father, Arnulf I, from 958 until his early death. Baldwin III was born . He was the son of Count Arnulf I of Flanders and ...

. He had the following issue: *

Frederick Frederick may refer to: People * Frederick (given name), the name Nobility Anhalt-Harzgerode *Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670) Austria * Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria from 1195 to 1198 * Frederick ...

(d. 1022), count of Verdun * Godfrey (d. 1023),

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 t ...

(1012–1023) * Adalberon (d. 988),

bishop of Verdun The Bishopric of Verdun was a state of the Holy Roman Empire. It was located at the western edge of the Empire and was bordered by France, the Duchy of Luxembourg, and the Duchy of Bar. Some time in the late 990s, the suzerainty of the Count ...

(984–988) * Herman of Ename (d. 1024), count of Brabant (retired as a monk in the abbey of Verdun abt. 1022) * Gothelo (d. 1044), margrave of Antwerp, duke of Lower (1023–1044) and later also Upper (1033–1044) Lorraine * Ermengarde (d. 1042), married Otto of Hammerstein, count in the Wettergau * Probably Ermentrude, who married Arnold de Rumigny (d. 1010), lord of

Florennes Florennes (; wa, Florene) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Namur, Belgium. As of 1 January 2006, Florennes has a total population of 10,754. The total area is 133.55 km² which gives a population density of 81 inhabita ...

* Adela, married Count Godizo of

Aspelt Aspelt () is a small town in the commune of Frisange, in southern Luxembourg. In 2005, its population was 970. Aspelt Castle in the centre of the town is a Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, scu ...

. Their daughter Irmgard married Berthold von Walbeck, son of

Lothair I, Margrave of the Nordmark Lothair I (Lothar, Liuthar) (ca. 940 – 25 January 1003) was Margrave of the Nordmark ( Northern March) from about 983 until his death. He was also a member of Saxon nobility as Count of Derlingau and of Nordthüringgau. Born the eldest son o ...

Notes

References

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Godfrey 01, Count of Verdun 10th-century births 1002 deaths Year of birth unknown House of Limburg Counts of Mons Counts of Bidgau Counts of Methingau Counts of Verdun Margraves of Antwerp Margraves of Ename Lords of Bouillon House of Ardenne–Verdun