Otto, Count of Maçon, was the son of the King of Italy, yet lived in France. Kidnapped and saved, he warred with the King of France, inherited other titles and made a nuisance of himself.

He is my 26 x great-grandfather.

Guglielmo-Otto of Ivrea was born sometime between 9581 and 9622. He is the son of Adalberto II, associate-King of Italy and Gerberge de Chalon.

He used both the name Guglielmo and the name Otto2. It’s possible Guglielmo is a link to his mother’s ancestors2.

His mother’s second husband, Henry the Duke of Burgundy, adopted him2.

Titles

A photo of the Fruttuaria Abbey tower
The Fruttuaria Abbey tower

In 981, he succeeded as Count of Maçon, through his first wife1 2.

In 986, his stepfather installed him as Count of Nevers, and declared him his heir to the duchy of Burgundy2.

As a result when, on 15 October 10023, his stepfather died, he took the title of Duke of Burgundy1 2. King Robert II of France deprived him of this inheritance when he invaded Burgundy using troops lent to him by Duke Richard II of Normandy2. (Richard and Guglielmo were family. They both were grandsons of Rollo the Viking). Otto continued to claim this title till 1015 when he renounced his claims2.

He also held the title Count of Burgundy2, but there’s no record of what this title brought him.

Family

He married twice. His first wife was Ermentrude, the widow of Aubrey, the Count of Maçon, sometime before 9811 2 3. Together they had 5 children2 3:

A photo of the Fruttuaria Abbey
The Fruttuaria Abbey
  • Guy
  • Mathilde
  • Gerberge
  • Renaud
  • Agnes

He then married a lady called Adelais, sometime before 10162 3.

Notable events

As a boy, someone kidnapped Otto from Lombardy. It was “with no small cunning by a certain monk“ that he ended up back with his family2.

He often fought his uncle, Bishop of Auxerre, over control of Maçon.

On 28 October 1019 he donated property by charter to Fruttuaria monastery, in Turin, for the souls of his family.

Death

He died either on 11 December 10252 or in 21 October 10261 3, or on 11 October 10272 in Dijon2.

They buried him in the Abbaye de Saint-Benigne in Dijon1 2.

Lineage

This person is my 26 x great-grandfather.

Get in touch!

Do you have any other information about this person? Would you like to ask me something about my research? I’d love to hear from you!

References

  1. Stuart, R.W. (1995). Royalty for Commoners[][][][][][]
  2. Fmg.ac. (2023). BURGUNDY DUCHY NOBILITY – MÂCON & BEAUJEU. [online] Available at: http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/BURGUNDIAN%20NOBILITY.htm[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]
  3. Constance Brittain Bouchard (2009). Sword, miter, and cloister : nobility and the Church in Burgundy, 980-1198. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press[][][][][]

Family Tree

Zoom In
Zoom Out