Coronation Emperor Charles' position rapidly deteriorated through 887, and he was deposed at the end of the year by a revolt led by
Arnulf of Carinthia, who was elected as the King of
East Francia. His death created a power vacuum in the Carolingian empire that led to the rise of kings in East Francia,
Provence,
Upper Burgundy, and
Italy. Odo had demonstrated bravery and skill during the Siege of Paris, and had now inherited the property of both Bishop
Joscelin of Paris and
Hugh the Abbot. He held military command of Neustria and three lay abbacies. Odo was chosen by the West Frankish nobles to be their king. He was crowned at
Compiègne in February 888 by
Walter, Archbishop of Sens.
Fulk, the
Archbishop of Reims, attempted to resist Odo and invited
Guy of Spoleto to take the crown, but he had little success. Fulk sought Arnulf, but as he considered this offer Odo decisively defeated a viking force at
Montfaucon, which caused Arnulf to switch his support over to Odo. Odo met with Arnulf and entered into his protection, receiving recognition of his rule. Odo successfully won over many of the magnates through both promises and threats, although he ended the Carolingian policy of giving away the royal
fisc, and failed to fully integrate them into his government. As he consolidated his position, Odo organized a second coronation in November, at
Reims, and compelled Fulk to submit to him for a second time. Odo defeated the vikings again at Clermont, and in a battle on the River Allier his standard bearer was killed, though he still won. It seems that Fulk's faction at this point remained quite weak.
Ranulf (or Ramnulf) of
Aquitaine submitted by 889. Odo's power was constrained outside of his family landholdings. He was rarely outside of Northern France, and one of his charters issued in
Aquitaine was made on the condition of
the count's consent. He was still the last ruler of West Francia for three centuries to take any interest in Aquitaine. In 890 Odo granted special privileges to the
County of Manresa in
Osona. Odo's
honores had been much of the reason that he was able to attain the throne, and upon his accession he gave his brother,
Robert, the majority of them. Robert became Count of Paris,
Count of Poitiers, and became well-connected in Neustria.
Difficulties After 890, with the initial phase of consolidation largely complete, the number of diplomas issued by Odo dropped. There had been a kingdom-wide assembly in 889 at Orléans, but in subsequent councils in the early 890s the rate of attendance dropped. For the next few years, Odo and Fulk appeared to have cooperated, helped by the king's attempts at appeasement. Fulk gave political and ecclesiastical aid to the king, and received Odo's support in kind. It was not until 892 that a significant force in favor of Charles arose, which contacted Archbishop Fulk seeking his support. It included Odo's old ally
Herbert of Vermandois (who defected back to him in 896), Bishop
Anscharic of Paris, and his mother
Adelaide. Their opposition probably stemmed from a mix of genuine support for Charles (in the case of his mother), opposition to Odo, or opportunity for political advancement. After this point, Count Robert would almost monopolise control of Odo's court due to defections and deaths of other members. of King Odo Meanwhile, Odo's political situation began to weaken in southern France, as when he granted Poitiers to Altmar, a revolt broke out. Odo reneged on his decision and granted Poitiers to Robert, but then back to Altmar.
Ebalus Manzer, the son of
Ramnulf II, revolted alongside his relative Abbot Ebolus of St.Germain due to this. Odo was too distracted to fight them effectively. Also in 892,
Baldwin II of Flanders who had earlier opposed Odo but been pacified, revolted again over the abbey of St. Germain. Odo recaptured Laon, seized by Baldwin, executed his ally Walter, and was assisted in the revolt by Fulk, who threatened the margrave (rather than count) with excommunication. By now, Odo had lost the symbolic capital from his victories and was handicapped by his lack of blood-claim to the throne. It was finally in 893 which Fulk chose to coronate the 14-year-old Charles the Simple at Reims. They were supported by
Pope Formosus, who with Fulk attempted to rally international support for Charles. A war broke out, and the rival parties marched armies against each other, but left without fighting. Odo won a surprise attack in the Autumn that forced Fulk onto the backfoot, and then besieged Fulk's faction at Reims. Fulk was forced to seek support from Arnulf, who recognized the young Charles as king in 894, probably to ensure the safety of his lands in Lotharingia and secure Charles' submission. The Lotharingian troops sent by Arnulf to support Charles were largely ineffectual, many being politically allied with Odo. In 895, Arnulf invited both Charles and Odo to his court. Odo went, but Charles' supporters only sent a letter, and thus Arnulf conferred his support back onto the Robertian. After realising his mistake, Fulk went as damage control, but on the way was caught by Odo and barely managed to escape, his ally Adalung being killed. Later the same year,
Zwentibold was appointed by his father as
King of Lotharingia. Promised part of West Francia, he invaded in favor of Fulk and seized Laon, but the coalition soon broke down and he left. Odo had retained control of the whole of West Francia, and was effectively militarily victorious, but after lengthy negotiations he agreed to cede part of the realm to him in 896. More defections followed from Charles' side, including the aforementioned one of Herbert, but a definitive peace was established soon afterwards, in which Odo made Charles his successor to the kingdom. Odo died in
La Fère on 1 January 898, succeeded by Charles. ==In popular culture==