Henry I, Duke of Burgundy

2025-03-23T22:25:28Z

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{{Short description|Duke of Burgundy from 965 to 1002}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2021}}
{{Infobox royalty|name=Otto-Henry|birth_date={{circa|946}}|death_date=15 October 1002|father=[[Hugh the Great]]|mother=[[Hedwig of Saxony]]|succession=[[Duke of Burgundy]]|reign=965 – 15 October 1002|spouse={{ubl|{{marriage|[[Gerberga, Queen of Italy|Gerberga]]|972}}|Gersenda of Gascony<br>(before June 992)}}|issue=Odo, Viscount of Beaune|successor=[[Otto-William, Count of Burgundy|Otto-William]] |predecessor=[[Otto, Duke of Burgundy|Otto]]}}

'''Henry I''' (946 – 15 October 1002), called '''the Great''',{{efn|His nickname, Latin ''magnus'', originally meant "the elder", and distinguished him from Duke [[Henry I of France|Henry II]].}} was [[Duke of Burgundy]] from 965 to his death and [[Counts and dukes of Nevers|Count of Nevers]] through his first marriage. He is sometimes known as '''Odo-Henry''' or '''Otto-Henry''' (in French ''Eudes-Henri''), since his birth name was "Odo" and he only adopted "Henry" on being elected duke of Burgundy.

==Life==

He was a younger son of [[Hugh the Great]], [[Duke of the Franks]], and [[Hedwig of Saxony]] and thus the younger brother of King [[Hugh Capet]].<ref name="ESII10">Detlev Schwennicke, ''Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten'', Neue Folge, Band II (Marburg, Germany: Verlag von J. A. Stargardt, 1984), Tafel 10</ref> As Odo, he entered the church at a young age and was a cleric at the time of the death of his brother [[Otto, Duke of Burgundy|Otto]], Duke of Burgundy, on 22 February 965.<ref>Jim Bradbury, ''The Capetians: Kings of France, 987-1328'' (London, New York: Hambledon Continuum, 2007), p. 42</ref> He was elected by the Burgundian counts to succeed his brother and they gave him the name Henry. However Otto-Henry only held three counties of his own, his vassals holding the remaining six that comprised the core of that held by [[Richard, Duke of Burgundy|Richard the Justiciar]] who died in 921.<ref>Jim Bradbury, ''The Capetians: Kings of France, 987-1328'' (London, New York: Hambledon Continuum, 2007), p. 62</ref>

In 978, Henry participated in the [[Franco-German war of 978–980|invasion of Lotharingia]] and the defence of [[Paris]] from a counter-raid.<ref>{{New Cambridge Medieval History |volume=3 |first=Jean |last=Dunbabin |chapter=West Francia: The Kingdom |page=388}}</ref>

In 972, he married [[Gerberga, Queen of Italy|Gerberga]], the widow of [[Adalbert of Italy|Adalbert II of Italy]],<ref name="ESII10"/> who had sought refuge at [[Autun]]. Through Gerberga, he had a stepson named [[Otto-William, Count of Burgundy|Otto-William]].<ref>Detlev Schwennicke, ''Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten'', Neue Folge, Band II (Marburg, Germany: Verlag von J. A. Stargardt, 1984), Tafel 59</ref> This marriage allowed Henry to rule the County of Nevers.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Raphaël Bijard |title=La construction de la Bourgogne Robertienne (936 - 1031) |url=https://www.academia.edu/53288686/La_construction_de_la_Bourgogne_Robertienne_936_1031_ |website=Academia|pages=48-52}}</ref>

He married a second time to [[Gersenda of Gascony|Gersenda]], daughter of [[William Sánchez of Gascony|William II of Gascony]]. As Henry had no child, Otto-William became a legitimate contender to inherit the [[Duchy of Burgundy]]. So did Henry's nephew, the king [[Robert II of France]]. This resulted<ref>Constance Brittain Bouchard, ''Sword, Miter, and Cloister: Nobility and the Church in Burgundy, 980-1198'' (New York: Cornell University Press, 1987), pp. 33, 265, 267 and 310.</ref> in a war of succession (from 1003 to 1005) between Otto-William and Robert II. Otto-William eventually gave up the Duchy but kept in the Western Frankish Kingdom, the county of [[Mâcon]], the county of [[Beaune]] and the advowson for the abbey of St-Benigne in [[Dijon]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Raphaël Bijard |title=La construction de la Bourgogne Robertienne (936 - 1031) |url=https://www.academia.edu/53288686/La_construction_de_la_Bourgogne_Robertienne_936_1031_ |website=Academia|pages=72-74}}</ref>

==Family==
Henry died without any sons of his own two wives.<ref name="ESII10"/> He adopted his step-son Otto-William making him a possible heir of the [[Duchy of Burgundy]].<ref>Constance Brittain Bouchard, ''Sword, Miter, and Cloister: Nobility and the Church in Burgundy, 980-1198'' (New York: Cornell University Press, 1987), pp. 33, 265, 267 and 310.</ref>

Odo-Henry had at least one illegitimate child by an unknown mother:

* Odo of Beaune († after August 25, 1005), viscount of Beaune.

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Sequence|
prev=[[Otto, Duke of Burgundy|Otto]]|
next=[[Otto-William, Count of Burgundy|Otto-William]]|
list=[[Duke of Burgundy]]|
}}

[[Category:Robertians]]
[[Category:Dukes of Burgundy]]
[[Category:946 births]]
[[Category:1002 deaths]]
[[Category:10th-century dukes in Europe]]
[[Category:11th-century dukes in Europe]]

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Henry I, Duke of Burgundy