Odo of Gascony

Who was Odo of Gascony?

Odo was Duke of Gascony from 1032 and then Duke of Aquitaine and Count of Poitou from 1038.

He was a member of the House of Poitiers, the second son of William V of Aquitaine, the eldest by second wife Sancha of Gascony, daughter of William II of Gascony and sister of Sancho VI.

The Chronicle of Saint-Maixent and Adhemar of Chabannes are the chief sources for his reign. He was subscribing donation charters to Saint-Cyprien with his father and mother and his brother Theobald, who died young, before 1018. He vied for the succession of his uncle in Gascony in 1032, but he did not receive it, at least not in full. Berengar, his cousin, appeared as count of Gascony until 1036, either in his own right or as Odo's regent. In 1033, Odo took possession of the County of Bordeaux, traditional seat of the Gascon dukes.

Odo succeeded his half-brother William VI in Aquitaine in 1038. He had to war for his rights in Poitou against his stepmother Agnes and his half-brother William VII. He died in battle at Mauzé defending his recently acquired title there. He was buried in the abbey of Saint-Pierre at Maillezais beside his father and brother.