Gozlin GozlinOn 15 March 942, Gozlin appears as count as a witness in a charter of his brother Adalbero, bishop of Metz ["Signum Ottonis ducis Signum Adalberti comitis Signum Rodulphi comitis Signum Gozlini comitis ..." Parisot (1907-8), 58: 15, n. 5; Barth (1990), 193]. The region over which he was count is not known. He is named as a brother of bishop Adalbero by the life of abbot John of Gorze, where he is seen holding the village of Varengéville ["Ea facile impetrata, villam quondam iuris monasterii, quam etiam tunc germanus ipsius Gozilinus in benefitio retinebat, quæ Waringis villa dicitur, eis continuo contulit; ..." Vita Ioh. Gorz., c. 99, 128; "... villam Waringisi dictam ... . Tenebat igitur villam illam unus fratrum eius carior ceteris; ..." Miracula S. Gorgonii, c. 10, MGH SS 4: 241].
In 943, the last will of Gozlinus nomine miles quidam, ex nobilissimis regni Chlotarii ducens prosapiam was executed by his widow Uda and son Regingerus with his brothers Fridericus, Gisilbertus, and Sigebertus among the witnesses ["C. Neminem ex conventu lateat fidelium, qualiter quedam villula sancto Maximino est tradita. Fuit igitur Gozlinus nomine miles quidam, ex nobilissimis regni Chlotarii ducens prosapiam et secundum seculum honestam ac secundum Deum religiosam agens vitam, cui cum presentis vite finis appropinquaret, dolore infirmitatis cepit pregravari et usque at extrema perduci; ergo cum se iam sentiret mortuum, necessarium sue saluti iniit consilium, lapsus culparum scilicet penitere confitere et pro venia emendationem in posterum repromittere. Nec mora crescente pietatis gratia partem hereditatis proprie ad servicium monachorum in monasterio sancti Maximini presulis conversantium legitima traditione statuit conferre; deinde hanc voluntatem legitime uxoris et proprii filii auribus, si ipse non posset, perficiendum comisit. Postquam illi hoc se libenter facturos promiserunt, dolor prefato Gozlino ad vitalia rediit, nec multo post novissimum spiritum emisit. Quem fideles sui ad prefatum monasterium perduxere et ante limen sepeliere basilice. Accedentes quoque altario uxor eius nomine Uda et filius eius vocabulo Regingerus, tradunt legittime (!) villam que vulgo Hunzelinesdorph dicta est cum omnibus ibidem adqusitis et in posterum adquirendis. Sic autem eam tradiderunt ut olim fuit tradita Gozlino a quodam viro nomine Volmaro, ut scilcet in usum ac servicium monachorum fixa permaneat in perpetuum sine ullius contradiction. Jam vero si aliquis huic veridice obviare nititur kartule, perfacile est eum cum sua pravitate enervare subscriptorum testium iudiciali certamine: Ogonis abbatis, Friderici, Gisilberti, Sigeberti fratrum predicti Gozlini, Oftradi, Bernacri, Johannis, Amolrici, Bertholdi et aliorum multorum. Acta est hec tradicio anno Dominice incarnationis DCCCCº Xº LIIIº, regni domni Ottonis VIIº indictione II, temporibus domni Ogonis abbatis venerande memorie. Wampach (1935), 193-7 (#156)].
Countess Uda was still living 18 May 963, when she refers to her husband Gozlinus and her sons Henricus, Reginherus, Godefridus, and Adalbero ["C. In nomine sancte et individue Trinitatis. Licet parva et exigua sint, que pro immensitate criminum Deo offerimus, ipse tamen non quantitatem muneris, sed voluntatem aspicit largitoris. Ideoque notum sit omnibus in Christo fidelibus, qualiter ego Vºda Dei gratia comitissa, tradidi sancto confessori Christi Maximino, qui in suburbia civitatis Treverice requiescit, quoddam mee hereditatis predium Frisinga nuncupatum, ad opus monachorum ibidem Deo servientium in pago Rizzigovvi, cui Egylolfus comes preesse conspicitur, quod etiam hereditario iure meum esse dinoscitur, pro remedio et absolutione peccatorum meorum seniorisque mei Gozlini, necnon filiorum meorum Henrici vidilicet et Reginheri, Godefridi quoque et Adalberonis, cum ecclesia eiusdem oppidi omnibusque suis appendiciis, vel quicquid in Hadespelth et Ebiringon et in Villinisdorph proprietatis habere videbar tam in edificiis quam in mancipiis, silvis, pratis, aquis aquarumve decursibus, terris cultis et incultis, exitibus et reditibus, quesitis et inquirendis, ut sine ullius contradictione iure perpetuo firmiter teneant adque possideant. Ea tamen ratione ut quamdiu vixero, meis utilitatibus succumbat ipsaque singulis annis vite mee ad idem monasterium sancti Maximini de eodem predio censum persolvam. Post obitum vero meum plena et perfecta possessione ad predictum cenobium appendeat. Unum etiam agrum iacentem iuxta vineam in Brisichi, Vilmaresaker nominatum. Acta est autem hec tradicio publice Treviris sub die XV Kal(endas) Junii, anno dominice incarnationis DCCCCº LXº IIIº, indictione V., secundo anno regnante Ottone, filio imperatoris Ottonis, per manum Stephani, sub fideiussoribus quos vulgo saleburgiones vocamus: Sigefrido comite, Richuvino comite, Hildrado, astante Henrico Trevirensi archiepiscopo, abbate quoque Wikero cum omni congregatione monachorum in domo sancti Maximini, coram testibus subnotatis: Hudilberto, Lamberto, Harberno, Udone, Diderico, Gozberto et multis aliis." Wampach (1935), 227-230 (#172); Of the witnesses, Sigefroid was Gozlin's brother Sigefroid of Luxemburg. For the other count, Richuvinus (Ricuin), whose relationship (if any) to Gozlin's stepfather, count Ricuin of Verdun (d. 923), is unknown, see Hlawitschka (1969), 92-98].
Date of Birth: Unknown.
Place of Birth: Unknown.
Date of Death: 18 October 942 [or, less likely, 943].
Gozlin was still living on 15 March 942, when he was witness to
an act of his brother bishop Adalbero, and was deceased by the
time of his wife's will in 943 [see above]. The necrology of
Saint-Maximin gives 18 October as the date of death ["XV
Kalendas Novembris. Gozilo comes qui cum uxore sua Uta, contulit
ecclesiae Frisinga." Depoin (1908-10), 15: 304; Parisot
(1907-8), 58: 15; since this obituary clearly refers to the
present Gozlin, this date is preferable to the date of 16
February given for an otherwise unidentified Gozlin in Nec.
Gorze, 69]
Place of Death: Unknown.
Father:
Wigeric, d. 916×9, count in Bidgau; count palatine.
Mother: Cunégonde/Kunigund, who m. (2) Ricuin, d.
923, count of Verdun
Gozlin was a brother of Adalbero, who is
documented as a son of Wigeric and Cunégonde. It is not
chronologically plausible that he was a son of Cunégonde's
second marriage. See Cunégonde's
page for discussion.
Spouses: Uda, living 19 May 963.
[See above]
Children:
Henri/Heinrich, living 963, d. 6
September, year unknown, count of Verdun.
["VIII Idus Septembris. Henricus
comes, frater Adalberonis archiepiscopi." Depoin
(1908-10), 15: 304]
Reginar, living 963.
[For Reginar's children, see Parisse
(1981), 29]
Godefroid/Gottfried "the Captive", d. 3 September, 997 or later,
count in Bidgau and Methingau; count of Verdun, before 965-after
997; marquis/duke of Eename; m. Mathilde von Sachsen, d. 25 May 1009.
Adalbero, d. 23 January 989, archbishop
of Reims, 969-989.
A letter of Gerbert to archbishop Adalbero refers to the captured
Godefridus as his brother [Gerbert, Letters, 59 (#60)].
He died on 23 January 989, and was succeeded by Arnulf,
illegitimate son of king Lothair ["10 Kal. Febr."
Richer iv, 24-5, MGH SS 3: 636; Parisse (1981), 25 also cites the
necrologies of Saint-Remi de Reims and Mouzon for the date of 23
January]
Falsely attributed mother: Ève (Wigeric's supposed first wife. See Wigeric's page.)
Falsely attributed
daughter: Gerberge, m. Megingoz.
Gerberge is stated to be daughter of a dux
Godefroid and sister of another dux Godefroid who died
without issue [Vita Adelheidis Abbatissae Vilicensis,
MGH SS 15, 757], which has misled some to make her a sister of
Godefroid of Verdun and a daughter of duke Gozlin [e.g.,
Vanderkindere (1902), 2: 170-1, 179]. However, this
identification cannot be correct, for Gerberge's grandson Otto of
Hammerstein was married to Godefroid of Verdun's daughter
Ermengarde (see above). Gerberge was a sister of the duke
Godefroid of Lorraine who died in 964 ["... Ex qua
pestilentia obierunt ... et Godefridus, dux Lothariensis, ..."
Continuator Reginonis, MGH SS 1: 627], and a first
cousin of Godefroid of Verdun [see above under Ermengarde]. The
relationship is discussed in more detail on the page of
Gerberge's father count Godefroid.
Barth (1990) = Rüdiger E. Barth, Der Herzog in Lotharingien im 10. Jahrhundert (Sigmaringen, 1990).
Depoin (1908-10) = Joseph Depoin, "Études sur le Luxembourg à l'époque carolingienne. II. Le roman de s. Meingaud", Ons Hemecht 14 (1908): 220-4, 313-318, 377-381, 417-424, 454-461; 15 (1909): 69-76, 110-4, 132-136, 174-8, 219-222, 260-265, 298-306, 321-328, 378-385; 16 (1910): 4-10, 41-6, 84-9, 125-131, 162-8, 202-8, 244-9, 284-295.
Gerbert, Letters = Julien Havet, ed., Lettres de Gerbert (983-997) (Paris, 1889).
Hlawitschka (1969) = Eduard Hlawitschka, Die Anfänge des Hauses Habsburg-Lothringen (Saarbrücken, 1969).
MGH SS = Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Scriptores series.
Nec. Gorze = Michel Parisse, Le Nécrologe de Gorze (Nancy, 1971). [Also edited by Charles Aimond, "Le Nécrologe de Gorze", Bulletin mensuel de la Société d'archéologie lorraine 63 (1914): 76-85]
Parisot (1907-8) = Robert Parisot, "Les Origines de la Haute-Lorraine et sa première maison ducale (959-1033), Mémoires de la Société d'Archéologie Lorraine et du Musée historique Lorrain 57 (1907): 151-428; 58 (1908): 5-265.
Parisse (1981) = Michel Parisse, "Généalogie de la Maison d'Ardenne", Publications de la Section historique de l'Institut Grand-Ducal de Luxembourg 95 (1981): 9-41.
Vanderkindere (1902) = Léon Vanderkindere, La Formation Territoriale des Principautes Belge au Moyen Age (2 vols., 2nd ed., Brussels, 1902, reprinted 1981).
Vita Ioh. Gorz. = Michel Parisse, ed. & trans., La Vie de Jean, abbé de Gorze (Picard, 1999) [Vita Iohannis Gorziensis, Latin with parallel French translation; also edited (Latin only) by Georg Heinrich Pertz, MGH SS 4: 335-377; citations are by chapter number and page in Parisse's edition].
Wampach (1935) = Camillus Wampach, Urkunden- und Quellenbuch zur Geschichte der altluxemburgischen Territorien bis zur burgundischen Zeit, I (Luxemburg, 1935).
I would like to thank Peter Stewart for his comments on the internet newsgroup/mailing list soc.genealogy.medieval/GEN-MEDIEVAL in response to many of my postings there on this subject, and for sharing copies of sources with me.
Compiled by Stewart Baldwin
First uploaded 5 April 2007.