Odo the Great

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For the later duke of Aquitaine, and also Gascony, with the same name, see Odo of Gascony.

Odo the Great (also called Eudes or Eudo) (died c. 735), Duke of Aquitaine, obtained this dignity about 700. His territory included the southwestern part of Gaul from the Loire to the Pyrenees, with his capital in Toulouse. He retained it until his abdication in 735.

His earlier life is obscure, as is his ancestry and succession. Several Dukes of Aquitaine have been named as Odo's father: Boggis or Bertrand, to which errant historians ascribed descent from the Merovingian Charibert II (based on the forged Charte d'Alaon), but also Duke Lupus I, who was not Merovingian at all. Odo is called the brother of Hubertus.

Odo succeeded to the ducal throne as early as 679, probably the date of the death of Lupus, or 688. Other dates are possible, including 692, but he was certainly in power by 700. In 715 he declared himself independent during the civil war raging in Gaul. It is not likely that he ever took the title of king.

In 718, he appears as the ally of Chilperic II of Neustria and the Mayor of the Palace Ragenfrid, who may have offered recognition of his kingship over Aquitaine. They were fighting against the Austrasian mayor of the palace, Charles Martel; but after the defeat of Chilperic at Soissons that year, he probably made peace with Charles by surrendering to him the Neustria]n king and his treasures.

Odo was also obliged to fight both the Umayyads and the Franks who invaded his kingdom. On 9 June 721 he inflicted a major defeat upon Anbasa ibn Suhaym Al-Kalbi at the Battle of Toulouse, a victory celebrated with gifts from the Pope and solidifying Odo's independence. To help secure his borders he married his daughter, probably named Lampegia, to Uthman ibn Naissa, called "Munuza" by the Franks, the deputy governor of what would later become Catalonia. The peace was not to last. Within a few years, he was again attacked by Charles Martel and defeated near Bordeaux by the Umayyads. Meanwhile, his Muslim ally fell out with the Umayyad rulers, who exerted their own control over the region. Odo was compelled to fight for Charles, who defeated the Umayyads at the Battle of Tours in 732.

In 735 the Duke Odo abdicated and was succeeded by his son Hunald. He died sometime later, probably in a monastery, perhaps as late as 740. His popularity in Aquitaine is attested by the Vita Pardulfi.

[edit] Sources

• Oman, Charles. The Dark Ages, 476–918. London: Rivingtons, 1914.

Preceded by Lupus

Duke of Aquitaine 700–735

Succeeded by Hunald