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 that can be applied to the highest leader in various categories. The word is borrowed from Old French , which is ultimately derived from the Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to ...
count of Verdun 963 to his death. In 969, he obtained the
Margraviate of Antwerp and
Ename. Between 974 and 998, he was also the
sovereign
''Sovereign'' is a title that can be applied to the highest leader in various categories. The word is borrowed from Old French , which is ultimately derived from the Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to ...
count of Hainault and
Mons
Mons commonly refers to:
* Mons, Belgium, a city in Belgium
* Mons pubis (mons Venus or mons veneris), in mammalian anatomy, the adipose tissue lying above the pubic bone
* Mons (planetary nomenclature), a sizable extraterrestrial mountain
* Batt ...
.
He was the founder of the
House of Ardennes-Verdun, 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 () was a Saxon dynasty of German monarchs (919–1024), named after three of its kings and Holy Roman emperors, especially Otto the Great. It is also known as the Saxon dynasty after the family's origin in the German stem du ...
s, to whom he was related through his maternal grandmother.
Life
He was the son of
Gozlin, Count of Bidgau and Methingau, and
Oda of Metz. He was the brother of
Adalberon, Archbishop of Reims, who crowned
Hugh Capet
Hugh Capet (; ; 941 – 24 October 996) was the King of the Franks from 987 to 996. He is the founder of and first king from the House of Capet. The son of the powerful duke Hugh the Great and his wife Hedwige of Saxony, he was elected as t ...
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, king of the Fra ...
.
He is styled as Count
by the grace of God 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 , , ; ; or ; ) is a communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department, Hauts-de-France, France.
It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced ...
, after the fall of
Reginar III.
Charles, Duke of Lower Lorraine
Charles (c. 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 ...
, 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 fighting
Lothair of France
Lothair (; ; 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. was the penultimate Carol ...
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 Bishop Adalberon, Godfrey's brother, who had crowned Hugh. Godfrey continued to be 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 Charles Martel and his grandson Charlemagne, descendants of the Arnulfing and Pippinid c ...
rival.
In 989, he was made prisoner a third time by
Herbert III of Vermandois. He was liberated before 995, when he appears at the synod of
Mousson. In 998, he lost his Hainault portion (the county of Mons) to Reginar IV.
Family
In 963, he married
Matilda, daughter of
Herman, Duke of Saxony, of the
Billung family, a widow of
Baldwin III of Flanders. He had the following issue:
*
Frederick Frederick may refer to:
People
* Frederick (given name), the name
Given name
Nobility
= Anhalt-Harzgerode =
* Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670)
= Austria =
* Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria fro ...
(d. 1022), count of Verdun
*
Godfrey (d. 1023),
duke of Lower Lorraine
The kings and dukes 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 k ...
(1012–1023)
* Adalberon (d. 988),
bishop of Verdun (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 (; ) is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality of Wallonia located in the Namur Province, 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 pop ...
* Adela, married Count Godizo of
Aspelt. Their daughter Irmgard married Berthold von Walbeck, son of
Lothair I, Margrave of the Nordmark.
Notes
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Godfrey 01, Count of Verdun
10th-century births
1002 deaths
10th-century counts of Hainaut
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