Odo (french: Eudes; c. 857 – 1 January 898) was the elected King of

West Francia In medieval history, West Francia (Medieval Latin: ) or the Kingdom of the West Franks () refers to the western part of the Frankish Empire established by Charlemagne. It represents the earliest stage of the Kingdom of France, lasting from ab ...

from 888 to 898. He was the first king from the Robertian dynasty. Before assuming the kingship, Odo was the count of Paris. His reign marked the definitive separation of West Francia from the

Carolingian Empire The Carolingian Empire (800–888) was a large Frankish-dominated empire in western and central Europe during the Early Middle Ages. It was ruled by the Carolingian dynasty, which had ruled as kings of the Franks since 751 and as kings of the L ...

, which would never reunite.

Family and inheritance

Odo was the eldest son of Robert the Strong, who was Duke of the Franks, Margrave of Neustria, and Count of Anjou. After his father's death at the

Battle of Brissarthe The Battle of Brissarthe was fought on 2 July 866, between the Franks and a joint Breton-Viking army near Brissarthe, Neustria. It was marked by the death of Robert the Strong, the Neustrian margrave, and Ranulf I, the duke of Aquitaine. In ...

in 866, Odo inherited the Margraviate of Neustria. Odo lost this title in 868 when King

Charles the Bald Charles the Bald (french: Charles le Chauve; 13 June 823 – 6 October 877), also known as Charles II, 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 se ...

appointed

Hugh the Abbot Hugh the Abbot (died 12 May 886) was a member of the Welf family, a son of Conrad I of Auxerre and Adelaide. After his father's death, his mother apparently married Robert the Strong, the margrave of Neustria. On Robert's death in 866, Hugh bec ...

to the title. Odo regained it following the death of Hugh in 886. After 882 he was the count of Paris. 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 Alan I may refer to: * Alan I, King of Brittany (died 907) * Alan I, Viscount of Rohan Alan I of Rohan (1084–1147), also known as ''Alain le Noir'', was the 1st Viscount de Rohan and Viscount of Castelnoec. He was the third son of Odo I, Vi ...

's charter dated 28 August 903, but genealogist Christian Settipani 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 ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to 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 se ...

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. He was crowned at

Compiègne Compiègne (; pcd, Compiène) is a commune in the Oise department in northern France. It is located on the river Oise. Its inhabitants are called ''Compiégnois''. Administration Compiègne is the seat of two cantons: * Compiègne-1 (with ...

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 to the throne. In 890 Odo granted special privileges to the

County of Manresa The County of Manresa ( ca, Comtat de Manresa, es, Condado de Manresa) is the western extremity of the County of Osona, divided into the Moianès and Bages. Through the Reconquista, Manresa was extended as far as Anoia, Segarra, and Urgell. The ...

in Osona. 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 the East Francia's King

Arnulf Arnulf is a masculine German given name. It is composed of the Germanic elements ''arn'' "eagle" and ''ulf'' "wolf". The ''-ulf, -olf'' suffix was an extremely frequent element in Germanic onomastics and from an early time was perceived as a mere ...

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 History Channel's 2013 hit TV series ''

''. 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''. Odo appears in the game '' Crusader Kings III'' as a bookmarked character. Players can play as him from the year 867, when he is ten years old, and may gain an achievement for leading his dynasty to rule the Kingdom of France.

References

Bibliography

External links

* , - {{Authority control 9th-century kings of West Francia 850s births 898 deaths Burials at the Basilica of Saint-Denis Counts of Orléans Counts of Paris Frankish warriors Robertians