Odo (; c. 857 – 1 January 898) was King of
West Francia
In medieval historiography, West Francia (Medieval Latin: ) or the Kingdom of the West Franks () constitutes the initial stage of the Kingdom of France and extends from the year 843, from the Treaty of Verdun, to 987, the beginning of the Capet ...
from 888 to 898. He was the first king from the
Robertian dynasty, the parent house of the
House of Capet. Before assuming the kingship, Odo was the
Count of Paris
Count of Paris () was a title for the local magnate of the district around Paris in Carolingian times. After Hugh Capet was elected King of the Franks in 987, the title merged into the crown and fell into disuse. However, it was later revived ...
, since 882. His reign marked the definitive separation of West Francia from the
Carolingian Empire
The Carolingian Empire (800–887) was a Franks, Frankish-dominated empire in Western and Central Europe during the Early Middle Ages. It was ruled by the Carolingian dynasty, which had ruled as List of Frankish kings, kings of the Franks since ...
, which would never be reunited.
Family and inheritance
Odo was the eldest son of
Robert the Strong (d. 866),
Duke of the Franks
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they ...
,
Margrave of Neustria, and
Count of Anjou
The Count of Anjou was the ruler of the County of Anjou, first granted by King Charles the Bald, Charles the Bald of West Francia in the 9th century to Robert the Strong. Ingelger and his son, Fulk the Red, were viscounts until Fulk assumed the t ...
. Regarding the identity of Odo's mother, chronicler
Regino of Prüm (d. 915) stated that count Adalhelm was Odo's maternal uncle (), meaning that Odo's mother was count Adalhelm's sister. On the other side, some researchers have proposed that Odo's father Robert was married to
Adelaide of Tours, but those suggestions are not universally acknowledged in scholarly literature, since it was shown that they were based on some misunderstandings in the Chronicle of St-Bénigne.
At the time of his father's death at the
Battle of Brissarthe in 866, Odo and his brother
Robert
The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, prais ...
were still young, and thus king
Charles the Bald
Charles the Bald (; 13 June 823 – 6 October 877), also known as CharlesII, 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 series of civil wars during t ...
appointed
Hugh the Abbot (d. 886) to govern over counties previously held by Robert the Strong. Since 882, Odo was the
Count of Paris
Count of Paris () was a title for the local magnate of the district around Paris in Carolingian times. After Hugh Capet was elected King of the Franks in 987, the title merged into the crown and fell into disuse. However, it was later revived ...
, and gained prominence during the reign of
Charles the Fat
Charles the Fat (839 – 13 January 888) was the emperor of the Carolingian Empire from 881 to 887. A member of the Carolingian dynasty, Charles was the youngest son of Louis the German and Hemma, and a great-grandson of Charlemagne. He was t ...
(884-887).. Odo was also the
lay abbot of St. Martin of Tours.
In 882 or 883 Odo married
Théodrate of Troyes. The eleventh-century chronicler
Adémar de Chabannes wrote that they had a son, Arnoul (c.882–898), who died shortly after his father. Guy is named as one of the couple's children in an
Alan I's charter dated 28 August 903, but genealogist
Christian Settipani
Christian Settipani (born 31 January 1961) is a French genealogist, historian and IT professional, currently working as the Technical Director of a company in Paris.
Biography
Settipani holds a Master of Advanced Studies from the Paris-Sorb ...
has argued that the document is false.
The genealogical work
Europäische Stammtafeln refers to Raoul as a son of Odo by Théodrate, but its primary source is not known.
Reign

For his skill and bravery in resisting the attacks of
Vikings
Vikings were 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 settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...
during the 885–886
Siege of Paris, Odo was chosen by the western Frankish nobles to be their king following the overthrow of Emperor
Charles the Fat
Charles the Fat (839 – 13 January 888) was the emperor of the Carolingian Empire from 881 to 887. A member of the Carolingian dynasty, Charles was the youngest son of Louis the German and Hemma, and a great-grandson of Charlemagne. He was t ...
.
He was crowned at
Compiègne
Compiègne (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Oise Departments of France, department of northern France. It is located on the river Oise (river), Oise, and its inhabitants are called ''Compiégnois'' ().
Administration
Compiègne is t ...
in February 888 by
Walter, Archbishop of Sens.
Odo continued to battle against the Vikings and defeated them at
Montfaucon, but was soon involved in a struggle with powerful Frankish nobles who supported the claim of
Charles the Simple
Charles III (17 September 879 – 7 October 929), called the Simple or the Straightforward (from the Latin ''Carolus Simplex''), was the king of West Francia from 898 until 922 and the king of Lotharingia from 911 until 919–923. He was a memb ...
to the throne.
In 890 Odo granted special privileges to the
County of Manresa in
Osona
Osona () is a comarques of Catalonia, comarca situated in the Central Catalonia, central region of Catalonia, Spain. Its capital is Vic, Spain, Vic. Its population in 2001 was 129,543. Osona covers roughly the same area as the historic Catalan co ...
. Because of its position on the front line against the
Moorish aggression, Manresa was given the right to build towers of defence known as ''manresanas'' or ''manresanes''. This privilege was responsible for giving Manresa its unique character, distinct from the rest of Osona, for the next two centuries.
To gain prestige and support, Odo paid homage to
East Francia
East Francia (Latin: ) or the Kingdom of the East Franks () was a successor state of Charlemagne's empire created in 843 and ruled by the Carolingian dynasty until 911. It was established through the Treaty of Verdun (843) which divided the for ...
's King
Arnulf in 888. Despite this, in 894 Arnulf declared his support for Charles the Simple, and after a conflict which lasted three years, Odo was compelled to come to terms with his rival and surrender a district north of the Seine to him.
Odo died in
La Fère on 1 January 898.
In popular culture
A character named ''Count Odo'' is portrayed by Owen Roe in the 2013
History Channel
History (formerly and commonly known as the History Channel) is an American pay television television broadcaster, network and the flagship channel of A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Disney General Entertainme ...
series ''
Vikings
Vikings were 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 settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...
''. This fictional Odo actually saves Paris from a Viking attack, but is killed before ever succeeding in becoming king.
Count Odo appears in ''The Siege of Paris'', the second expansion to the 2020 video game ''
Assassin's Creed Valhalla''.
Notes
References
Sources
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
*
, -
{{Authority control
9th-century kings of West Francia
850s births
Year of birth uncertain
898 deaths
Burials at the Basilica of Saint-Denis
Counts of Orléans
Counts of Paris
Frankish warriors
Robertians