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Odo (or Eudes) (c. 860 - January 1, 898) was a king of the Franks (888 - 898). He was a son of Robert the Strong, count of Anjou, and is sometimes referred to as duke of France and
also as count of Paris.
For his skill and bravery in resisting the attacks of the Normans, Odo was chosen
king by the western Franks when the emperor Charles the Fat was
deposed in 887, and was crowned at Compiègne
in February 888.
He continued to battle against the Normans, whom he defeated at Montfaucon and elsewhere, but was soon involved in a struggle with some powerful nobles, who
supported the claim of Charles, afterwards King Charles
III, to the Frankish kingdom.
To gain prestige and support Odo owned himself a vassal of the German king, Arnulf of Carinthia, but
in 894 Arnulf declared for Charles. Eventually, after a struggle which lasted for three
years, Odo was compelled to come to terms with his rival, and to surrender to him a district north of the Seine. He died at La
Fère on January 1, 898.
See E Lavisse, Histoire de France, tome ii. (Paris, 1903);
and E Favre, Eudes, comte de Paris et roi de France (Paris, 1893).
This article incorporates text from the public domain 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica.
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