Topic summary
Otto II
Extracted from the Wikipedia article Otto II, Holy Roman Emperor.
War against France
Otto II's support of Charles, however, infuriated the French king, who claimed the Duchy as his own territory. Charles and Lothair were also feuding, with Charles being exiled from France over an infidelity allegation he had made against Lothair's wife. Charles fled to Otto II's court and paid homage to Otto II. In return, Otto II appointed Charles as Duke and promised to support his claim to the French throne. Soon after Otto II crushed Henry II's revolt in the south, the Emperor and his wife Theophanu returned to the old capital of Aachen in Lorraine. With the Imperial family near the French border, Lothair invaded Lorraine and marched on Aachen. With the French army in sight, Otto II and Theophanu fled to Cologne and then to the Duchy of Saxony. Upon hearing of the French invasion, Otto II's mother Adelaide of Italy, who was Lothair's mother-in-law, sided with Lothair over her own son and moved to the court of her brother King Conrad of Burgundy. After occupying Aachen for five days, Lothair returned to France after symbolically disgracing the city.