Otto I (Eudes) (died 987), Count of Chiny, perhaps son of Adalbert I the Pious, Count of Vermandois, and

Gerberge of Lorraine Gerberge of Lorraine (c. 935-978) was the daughter of Giselbert of Lorraine, Giselbert, Duke of Lorraine,Detlev Schwennicke, ''Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten'', Neue Folge, Band III Teilband 1 (Marbu ...

. Although he probably did not use the title, Otto is regarded as the first Count of Chiny. Historically, an Otto of Vermandois is mentioned in a charter of 958 alongside his father, the Count of Vermandois. His name and that of his brother Ludolfe show a Germanic ancestry of the kings of the family of Saxony, which is indeed the case, as his mother is Gerberge of Lorraine, niece of

Emperor Otto I Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), known as Otto the Great ( ) or Otto of Saxony ( ), was East Francia, East Frankish (Kingdom of Germany, German) king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the eldest son o ...

(her mother being daughter to

Henry the Fowler Henry the Fowler ( or '; ; – 2 July 936) was the duke of Saxony from 912 and the king of East Francia from 919 until his death in 936. As the first non- Frankish king of East Francia, he established the Ottonian dynasty of kings and emper ...

). He was reported as a quarrelsome lord who threatened Hainaut and

Cambrésis Cambrésis (, , ) is a former ''pagus'' and county of the medieval Holy Roman Empire, which constituted the Prince-Bishopric of Cambrai from the 11th to the 18th centuries. It was annexed by the Kingdom of France in 1679. It is now regarded as one ...

(the region around

Cambrai Cambrai (, ; ; ), formerly Cambray and historically in English Camerick or Camericke, is a city in the Nord department and in the Hauts-de-France region of France on the Scheldt river, which is known locally as the Escaut river. A sub-pref ...

). In 971, an Otto erected a fortress in Warcq,

Ardennes The Ardennes ( ; ; ; ; ), also known as the Ardennes Forest or Forest of Ardennes, is a region of extensive forests, rough terrain, rolling hills and ridges primarily in Belgium and Luxembourg, extending into Germany and France. Geological ...

, and attacked his neighbors, including Adalbero, Archbishop of Reims. He is mentioned as having imperial ancestry. This and a number of other facts prompted the historian

Léon Vanderkindere Léon Vanderkindere (22 February 1842 – 9 November 1906) was a Belgian historian, academic and politician. Family Vanderkindere was born in Molenbeek-Saint-Jean into a wealthy middle-class family. His father, Albert Vanderkindere, was a po ...

to hypothesize that these two Ottos were in fact a single historical figure. His wife’s name is unknown. It is possible that she was from Ardennes, a relative of

Wigeric of Lotharingia Wigeric or Wideric (; or ; died before 923) was a Frankish nobleman and the count of the Bidgau (''pagus Bedensis'') and held the rights of a count within the city of Trier. He received also the advocacy of the Abbey of Saint RumboldThe abbey f ...

and

Cunigunda of France Cunigunda of Sulichgau (893-924) was the daughter of Ermentrude of France, and granddaughter in turn of Louis the Stammerer. In 898 her uncle Charles III gained control as king of the Franks, changing Cunigunda's life for the better. Family To ...

, granddaughter of

Louis the Stammerer Louis the Stammerer (; 1 November 846 – 10 April 879) was the king of Aquitaine and later the king of West Francia. He was the eldest son of Emperor Charles the Bald and Ermentrud ...

. This could explain the name of his son and the appointment of the latter as Count of Verdun in 1024. Otto and his wife had one child: *

Louis I Louis I may refer to: Cardinals * Louis I, Cardinal of Guise (1527–1578) Counts * Ludwig I, Count of Württemberg (c. 1098–1158) * Louis I of Blois (1172–1205) * Louis I of Flanders (1304–1346) * Louis I of Châtillon (died 13 ...

(d. 1025), Count of Chiny and Verdun. Upon his death, Otto was succeeded as Count of Chiny by his son

Louis Louis may refer to: People * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer Other uses * Louis (coin), a French coin * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also ...

Notes

References

Further reading