Udo was a 9th-century nobleman of

East Francia East Francia (Medieval Latin: ) or the Kingdom of the East Franks () was a successor state of Charlemagne's empire ruled by the Carolingian dynasty until 911. It was created through the Treaty of Verdun (843) which divided the former empire int ...

, a son of Gebhard, Count of Lahngau, and older brother of

Berengar I of Neustria Berengar I was a 9th-century nobleman of East Francia, a son of Gebhard, Count of Lahngau, and younger brother of Udo. He and his brother were created Margraves of Neustria by Charles the Bald in 861. He was possibly a Conradine, a relative for ...

. He and his brother were afforded their position in the

March 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 Mo ...

both by kinship to

Adalard the Seneschal Adalard, also known as Adalhard or Alard, and called ''the Seneschal'', was a Frankish nobleman of the 9th century. He served as warden of the Norman march from 861 to 865, and was Lord Chancellor of France under Louis the Pious. He was a son of ...

and the favour of

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 se ...

. With his brothers, Berengar and Waldo, Abbot of St Maximin's, Trier, he took part in the 861 revolt of Carloman of Bavaria, possibly his cousin-in-law, against

Louis the German Louis the German (c. 806/810 – 28 August 876), also known as Louis II of Germany and Louis II of East Francia, was the first king of East Francia, and ruled from 843 to 876 AD. Grandson of emperor Charlemagne and the third son of Louis the P ...

. The revolt was crushed, and the three brothers fled with their relative Adalard to the court of the

West Frankish 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 ...

king,

, who granted them wardship of the march held against the

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 se ...

while the march against the

Bretons The Bretons (; br, Bretoned or ''Vretoned,'' ) are a Celtic ethnic group native to Brittany. They trace much of their heritage to groups of Brittonic speakers who emigrated from southwestern Great Britain, particularly Cornwall and Devon, ...

was granted to Robert the Strong. Charles' patronage of the family provoked the jealousy of the

Rorgonids The Rorgonids were a powerful Frankish family dating from the eighth century. They are sometimes referred to as the first Mayennaise dynasty, referring to the city of Mayenne, and are the original counts of Maine. The Rorgonids were named after Ro ...

, the most powerful family local to Neustria, which controlled the ''

ducatus Cenomannicus This is a list of counts and dukes of Maine. The capital of Maine was Le Mans. In the thirteenth century it was annexed by France to the royal domain. Dukes of Maine (''duces Cenomannici'') * Charivius (fl. 723) – appears as ''dux'' in a doc ...

'' (

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and nor ...

). In 865, they allied with

Saloman of Brittany Salomon ( br, Salaün) (died 874) was Count of Rennes and Nantes from 852 and Duke of Brittany from 857 until his death by assassination. He used the title King of Brittany intermittently after 868. In 867, he was granted the counties of Avranches ...

and attacked the brothers. Charles, to attain peace, took the march back and gave it to Gauzfrid of Neustria, a Rorgonid. A charter of 879 mentions Udo and his brothers taking part in the foundation of the college of Gemünden. Evidently, the death of Louis the German in 876 had allowed them to return to the court of Carloman. Udo left a son,

Conrad, Duke of Thuringia Conrad (died 27 February 906), called the Old or the Elder, was the Duke of Thuringia briefly in 892–93. He was the namesake of the Conradiner family and son of Udo of Neustria. His mother (probably) was a daughter of Conrad I of Logenahe (832� ...

, who was the founder of the

Conradine The Conradines or Conradiner were a dynasty of Franconian counts and dukes in the 8th to 11th Century, named after Duke Conrad the Elder and his son King Conrad I of Germany. History The family is first mentioned in 832, with Count Gebhard in ...

dynasty and father of Conrad I of Germany. One younger son, Rudolf, became Bishop of Würzburg, and another, Gebhard, became Duke of Lotharingia.

Sources

*Guillotel, Hubert. "Une autre marche de Neustrie." in Christian Settipani and Katharine S. B. Keats-Rohan, ''Onomastique et Parenté dans l'Occident médiéval''. 2000. Nobility of the Carolingian Empire Conradines 9th-century European people {{noble-stub