It begins with historical records showing Giselbert de Lorraine Comte De Maasgau born in the year 825 at Maasgau, Meuse Valley, Austrasia while Ermengarde Des Francs De Germanie Der Karolingers was born in the year 827 Alsace-Champagne-Ardenne-Lorraine, France/ In the year 846 at Moselle, Austrasia they married. This pair represent the ancestral beginnings of the VanMeter lineage which came to the United States.
The following is a world perspective during this time period:
In the year of Ermengarde‘s birth, 827, Muslims invaded Sicily. Control of the country remained until 902. The fall of the once impervious Byzantine Empire.
The future ruler Lothair I was born in 795, to Louis the Pious and Ermengarde of Hesbaye. His father was the son of the reigning Emperor, Charlemagne. Lothair I reigned 817-855 over the Frankish Empire often referred to Austrasia was the largest post-Roman barbarian kingdom in Western Europe.
Giselbert and Ermengarde three years before their marriage were witnesses to the Treaty of Verdun (French: Traité de Verdun), agreed in August 843, divided the Frankish Empire into three kingdoms between Lothair I, Louis II and Charles II, the surviving sons of the emperor Louis I, the son and successor of Charlemagne. The treaty was concluded following almost three years of civil war and was the culmination of negotiations lasting more than a year. It was the first in a series of partitions contributing to the dissolution of the empire created by Charlemagne and has been seen as foreshadowing the formation of many of the modern countries of western Europe.
Our couple had only one child, a son born in 855 Scarmois, Lorraine, France. The noble titled name Count Ehrenfried van Maasgau of Bliesgau, the Keldachgau and Charmois was bestowed to the young man,
Year 864 The Christianization of Bulgaria was completed – the process by which 9th-century medieval pagan Bulgaria converted to Christianity. It reflected the need of unity within the religiously divided Bulgarian state as well as the need for equal acceptance on the international stage in Christian Europe.
Vikings invaded Northumbria, East Anglia, and Mercia (what is now England); all were overwhelmed in 866.
Alfred the Great assumes the throne, the first king of a united England in 871. He defended England from the Viking invaders, formed new laws and fostered a rebirth of religious and scholarly activities.
Harold Fairhair becomes the first King of Norway in 872.
Iceland is officially claimed settled by Norsemen, year 874.
In the 882 the state of Kievan Rus was formed – Encompassing a variety of peoples, including East Slavic, Norse and Finnish. The modern nations of Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine all claim Kievan Rus’ as their cultural ancestor.
Christian missionaries (later sainted) Cyril and Methodius arrive in Bulgaria 885 – their presence ushers in the Eastern Orthodox church into the Slavic world – culminating in the creation of ‘Slavic Script’ … a writing system used for various languages across Eurasia, and still used today.
The years of 885 and 886 saw the Siege of Paris by the Vikings, attacking at the river Seine. For two months the Vikings maintained the siege, while being firmly repulsed by the native population and a final insertion of the Imperial Army of King Charles (The Fat) spring of 886. The Viking invasion as well as further persistent raids of the city destroyed much of the urban infrastructure on the Left Bank, which eventually converted to agricultural use, while the Right Bank were mostly spared from pillaging, with subsequent development favoring the Right Bank.
Giselbert died June 14 892 in Rheims, Marne, Champagne-Ardenne, France. Ermengarde died in the year 855 in Moselle, Alsace-Champagne-Ardenne-Lorraine, France.
The Count, (child of Giselbert and Ermengarde) spousal information is nonexistent – supposition and guesses regarding this matter are topics of conversation; but one thing is clear – the blending of Frankish (German) and French ancestry starts hereafter as the genealogy moves across the European Continent. Laying the foundation for the VanMeter name.
