Notes:

Otto (or Eudes) of Vermandois (29 August 979 - 25 May 1045), Count of Vermandois, was the son of Herbert III, Count of Vermandois and Ermengarde of Bar-sur-Seine. He succeeded in 1021 as count of Vermandois. Otto donated property to Notre-Dame de Homblières by charter.

Family and children

He married Pavia (or Patia) (b. 990). Their children were:

Odo I De Furneaux (b.1040 - d.1086)
Herbert IV, Count of Vermandois.
Simon (-after 1076), Seigneur de Ham.
Peter of Vermandois. He is shown by Brandenburg as the son of Comte Eudes.

Otto — Pavia. Pavia was born 990. [Group Sheet]

1. Herbert, IV Count of Vermandois was born Abt 1028; died Abt 1080.

Other Events:

• Name:

Notes:

Herbert III of Vermandois, born about 954 , died between 993 and 1002 , was Count of Vermandois from 987 to his death. He was the son of Albert I , Count of Vermandois, and Gerberge of Lotharingia.

Biography

Two charters of the abbey of Montierender ( 968 and 980 ) attributed to Herbert III of Vermandois, then Count of Chateau-Thierry , de Vitry and lay abbot of the abbey of St. Medard de Soissons , the title "Count of the Franks" . This title can be compared to that of Duke of the Franks worn by Robertians and that made them the second in the kingdom after the king of the Franks. Styled "Count of the Franks," is to claim to be the first of the counts of the Frankish king and third place in the kingdom after the king and the duke of the Franks.

A charter of King Lothair called him "Count of the Palace" . This title is comparable to that of Count Palatine that he will after the counts of Blois and Champagne " , heirs of Herbertiens .

In 990 he founded with his wife Ermengarde, the Chapter of the Collegiate Church of Saint-Florent to Roye , under the title of St. George for 25 canons .
Marriage and children

He had married before 987 Ermengarde. This Ermengarde is said to be the daughter of the Earl Fox of Bar-sur-Seine and afterward married to Miles IV, Count of Tonnerre . If this hypothesis were confirmed, the death of Herbert must be earlier than 998, when the last mention of Miles.

Herbert and Ermengarde had:

Albert II († c. 1016), Count of Vermandois
Odo (c. 1000 † v. 1045), Count of Vermandois

Herbert married Ermengarde of Bar Bef 987. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Name:

Notes:

He married Gerberge de Lotharingie, daughter of Gislebert, Duc de Lotharingie.

Adalbert I of Vermandois (French: Albert I le Pieux, the Pious) (ca. 915/917 - 9 September 988), Count of Vermandois, was the son of Herbert II of Vermandois and Hildebrante of France.

Family

In 954 he married Gerberge of Lorraine (ca. 935-978), daughter of Giselbert, Duke of Lorraine, and Gerberga of Saxony.

Their children were:

Herbert III of Vermandois
Eudes of Vermandois (ca. 956-983)
Liudolfe de Noyon (ca. 957-986)
Guy I of Vermandois, count of Soissons

Adalbert married Gerberge of Lorraine 954. Gerberge (daughter of Gilbert, Duke of Lorraine and Gerberga of Saxony) was born 935; died 978. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Name:

Notes:

Gerberge of Lorraine (ca. 935-978) was daughter of Giselbert, Duke of Lorraine, and Gerberga of Saxony.

In 954, she married Adalbert I of Vermandois

Their children were:

Herbert III of Vermandois
Eudes of Vermandois (ca. 956-983)
Liudolfe de Noyon (ca. 957-986)
Guy I of Vermandois, count of Soissons

Other Events:

• Name:

Notes:

Herbert II (884 - February 23, 943), Count of Vermandois and Count of Troyes, was the son of Herbert I of Vermandois.

Life

He inherited the domain of his father and in 907, added to it the Saint de Soissons abbey. His marriage with Hildebrand of France (also known as Liégarde) brought him the County of Meaux. Because Adela, the name given to the queen, since his mother was so well known. So it has been presumed that he had one spouse with two different common names. But, Hildebrandt was the dau. of Robert I/V and Aelis; and, Lieutgarde was the dau. of Robert I/V and Beatrice.

In 918, he was also named Count of Mézerais and of the Véxin. With his cousin Bernard, Count of Beauvais and Senlis, he constituted a powerful group in the west of France, to the north and east of Paris. In 923, he imprisoned King Charles III in Château-Thierry, then in Péronne.

In 922, the Archbishop of Rheims, Seulf, called on Herbert II to reduce some of his vassals who were in rebellion against him. On the death of Seulf, in 925, with the help of King Rudolph, he acquired for his second son Hugh (then five years old) the archbishopric of Rheims, which had a large inheritance in France and Germany. In 926, on the death of Count Roger of Laon, Herbert demanded this County for Eudes, his eldest son. He settled there, initially against the will of King Rudolph and constructed a fortress there. Rudolph yielded to pressure to free king Charles III, whom Herbert still held in prison. In 930, Herbert took the castle of Vitry-en-Perthois at the expense of Boso, the brother of King Rudolph. Rudolph united his army with the army of Hugh, marquis of Neustria, and in 931, they entered Rheims and defeated Hugh, the son of Herbert. Artaud became the new archbishop of Reims. Herbert II then lost, in three years, Vitry, Laon, Château-Thierry, and Soissons. The intervention of his ally, Henry the Fowler, allowed him to restore his domains (except Rheims and Laon) in exchange for his submission to King Rudolph.

Later Herbert allied with Hugh the Great and William Longsword, duke of Normandy against King Louis IV, who allocated the County of Laon to Roger II, the son of Roger I, in 941. Herbert and Hugh the Great took back Rheims and captured Artaud. Hugh, the son of Herbert, was restored as archbishop. Again the mediation of the German King Otto I in Visé, near Liège, in 942 allowed for the normalization of the situation.

Death and legacy

Herbert II died on 23 February 943 without having succeeded in building the principality of which he dreamed. His succession was reconciled by Hugh the Great, maternal uncle of his children. It took place in 946 and led to an equitable distribution between the sons of Herbert II: Herbert "the Elder", Robert, Albert (Adalbert), and Hugh (his other son Eudes died before 946). As for his girls, Adela was married to Arnulf I, count of Flanders, Luitgarde (widow of William Longsword) was married to Theobald I, count of Blois, the first lieutenant of Hugh. She brought to Theobald Provins and domains in the Mézerais.

Family

With Hildebrand of France, daughter of Robert I of France, he had the following children:

Adele of Vermandois (910-960), married 934 Count Arnulf I of Flanders, also a descendant of Charlemagne
Eudes of Vermandois, Count of Amiens and of Vienne, (912-946)
Adalbert I, Count of Vermandois (915-987), married Gerberge of Lorraine, also a descendant of Charlemagne
Robert of Vermandois, Count of Meaux and Châlons (ca. 918-968)
Herbert "the Elder", Count of Meaux and of Troyes (ca. 920-993)
Luitgarde of Vermandois (ca. 920-978), married 943 Theobald I of Blois
Hugh of Vermandois (died 962), Archbishop of Reims

But, Hildebrandt was the dau. of Robert I/V and Aelis; and, Lieutgarde was the dau. of Robert I/V and Beatrice. Which children belong to which, is to be determined.

Herbert — Hildebranda of France. Hildebranda (daughter of Robert, I of France and Aelis) was born 895; died 931. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Name:

Notes:

Robert I of France was married twice. Through his first wife, Aelis, he had two daughters. Each married powerful lay vassals of their father: Emma of France (894-935) to Rudolph, Duke of Burgundy, and Hildebranda (895-931) to Herbert II of Vermandois.

Notes:

Gilbert (or Giselbert) (c. 890 - 2 October 939) was the duke of Lotharingia (or Lorraine) until 939.

The beginning of the reign of Gilbert is not clear. A dux Lotharingiae is mentioned in 910 and this may have been Gilbert. Lotharingia sided with Charles III in 911, who was deposed in West Francia in 922 by Robert but remained king in Lotharingia, from where he tried to reconquer West Francia until being imprisoned in 923.

In 925, Gilbert swore fealty to King Henry the Fowler of Germany as duke of Lotharingia. Gilbert married Henry's daughter Gerberga of Saxony by 930. For whatever reason, Gilbert rebelled when Henry died in 936 and changed allegiance to Louis IV of France, where the king had less authority. Gilbert managed to be practically independent for three years until he was defeated by the army of king Otto I of Germany in 939 at the Battle of Andernach. Gilbert was made prisoner, and succeeded in fleeing but drowned while trying to cross the Rhine. Lorraine was given to Henry I, Duke of Bavaria.

Gilbert married Gerberga of Saxony Bef 931. Gerberga (daughter of Henry, I the Fowler and Matilda of Ringelheim) was born Abt 913; died 05 May 984, Rheims, Marne, Champagne-Ardenne, France. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Birth: Abt 919
• Name:

Notes:

Gerberga of Saxony (c. 913-5 May 984) was a daughter of Henry the Fowler, King of Germany, and Matilda of Ringelheim.

Marriages

She married first Gilbert, Duke of Lorraine. They had four children:

Alberade of Lorraine b. about 929. Married Renaud (originally as Ragenold), a Viking chieftain who became the Count of Roucy [1]
Henry, Duke of Lorraine b. about 932
Gerberge of Lorraine b. about 935. Married Adalbert I of Vermandois.
Wiltrude, b. about 937.

She married secondly Louis IV of France in 939. They were parents to eight children:

Lothair of France (941-986)
Matilda b. about 943; married Conrad of Burgundy
Hildegarde b. about 944
Carloman b. about 945
Louis b. about 948
Charles, Duke of Lower Lorraine (953-993)
Alberade b. before 953
Henry b. about 953

Education and later life

Contemporary sources describe her as a highly educated, intelligent and forceful player in the political game of the time.

Louis IV died on 10 September 954. As a widow, Gerberga became a nun and served as the abbess of Notre Dame in Laon. She died in Reims, Champagne.