Gothelo (or Gozelo) ( 967 – 19 April 1044), called the Great, was the

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 ...

from 1023 and of Upper Lorraine from 1033. He was also the

margrave of Antwerp The Margraviate of Antwerp (or March 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 w ...

from 1005 (or 1008) and count of Verdun. Gothelo was the youngest son of

Godfrey I, Count of Verdun 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 count of Verdun 963 to his death. In 969, he obtained the Margraviate of ...

, and Matilda, daughter of Herman, Duke of Saxony. On his father's death, he received the march of Antwerp and became a vassal of his brother, Godfrey II, who became duke of Lower Lorraine in 1012. Gothelo succeeded his brother in 1023 with the support of the

Emperor Henry II Henry II (; ; ; 6 May 973 – 13 July 1024 AD), also known as Saint Henry, Obl. S. B., was Holy Roman Emperor ("Romanorum Imperator") from 1014. He died without an heir in 1024, and was the last ruler of the Ottonian line. As Duke of Bavaria, ...

, but was opposed until Conrad II forced the rebels to submit in 1025. When the House of Bar, which ruled in Upper Lorraine, became extinct in 1033, with the death of his cousin Frederick II, Conrad made Gothelo duke of both duchies, so that he could assist in the defence of the territory against Odo II,

count of Blois Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

Meaux Meaux () is a Communes of France, commune on the river Marne (river), Marne in the Seine-et-Marne Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France Regions of France, region in the Functional area (France), metropolitan area of Paris, Franc ...

Chartres Chartres () is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Eure-et-Loir Departments of France, department in the Centre-Val de Loire Regions of France, region in France. It is located about southwest of Paris. At the 2019 census, there were 1 ...

and Troyes (the later Champagne). It was during this time 1033-1034, that Gothelo clashed with

Baldwin IV, Count of Flanders Baldwin IV (980 – 30 May 1035), called the Bearded, was the count of Flanders from 987 until his death. Baldwin IV was the son of Count Arnulf II of Flanders (c. 961 — 987) and Rozala of Italy (950/60 – 1003), of the House of Ivrea.Detlev ...

, concerning the march of

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 ...

. In the Battle of Bar on 15 November 1037, Gothelo dealt a decisive blow to Odo, who was trying to create an independent state between France and Germany. Odo died in the battle. Gothelo died on 19 April 1044 and was buried in the

Abbey Church A church, church building, church house, or chapel is a building used for Christian worship services and Christian activities. The earliest identified Christian church is a house church founded between 233 AD and 256 AD. ''Church'' is also ...

Bilzen Bilzen () is a former Municipalities of Belgium, municipality and City status in Belgium, city located in the Belgium, Belgian province of Limburg (Belgium), Limburg. In 2021, Bilzen had a total population of 32,536. The total area is 75.90 ...

. His son Godfrey succeeded in Upper Lorraine, but the

Emperor Henry III Henry III (, 28 October 1016 – 5 October 1056), called the Black () or the Pious, was Holy Roman Emperor from 1046 until his death in 1056. A member of the Salian dynasty, he was the eldest son of Conrad II and Gisela of Swabia. Henry was rais ...

refused to give him the duchy of Lower Lorraine as well. When Godfrey showed disagreement with the imperial decision, Henry III threatened to pass the duchy to Godfrey's incompetent brother Gothelo. This caused a long rebellion in Lotharingia between the allies of Godfrey (the counts of Flanders and

Leuven Leuven (, , ), also called Louvain (, , ), is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipalit ...

) and imperial forces (1044–1056).

Family

The name of Gothelo's wife is not known, the name Barbe de Lebarten (and in fact her entire ancestry), being a spurious concoction of later genealogists.Theodor Schliephake in ''Geschichte von Nassau, von den ältesten Zeiten bis auf die Gegenwart, auf der Grundlage urkundlicher Quellenforschung'', vol 1 (Wiesbaden, 1866) He had the following children: *

Godfrey the Bearded Godfrey III ( – 1069), called the Bearded, was the eldest son of Gothelo I, Duke of Upper and Lower Lorraine. Biography Disputed succession By inheritance, Godfrey was Count of Verdun and he became Margrave of Antwerp as a vassal of t ...

* Gothelo, duke of Lower Lorraine * Frederick, later

Pope Stephen IX Pope Stephen IX (, christened Frederick; – 29 March 1058) was the Bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 3 August 1057 to his death on 29 March 1058. He was a member of the Ardenne-Verdun family, who ruled the Duchy of Lorra ...

* Regilinda, married

Albert II, Count of Namur Albert II of Namur was Count of County of Namur, Namur from the death of his elder brother Robert II, Count of Namur, Robert II to his death in 1067. They were the sons of Albert I, Count of Namur, Albert I, and Ermengarde, daughter of duke Charles ...

* Oda, married Lambert II, Count of Leuven * Matilda, married Henry I, Count Palatine of Lotharingia

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gothelo 01, Duke of Lorraine 960s births 1044 deaths Year of birth uncertain House of Ardenne–Verdun House of Limburg Dukes of Lower Lorraine Dukes of Upper Lorraine Lords of Bouillon Margraves of Antwerp