Editing Hugh Capet (section)

==France under Ottonian influence==
In 956, when his father Hugh the Great died, Hugh, the eldest son, was then about fifteen years old and had two younger brothers. [[Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor|Otto I, King of Germany]], intended to bring western Francia under his control, which was possible since he was the maternal uncle of Hugh Capet and [[Lothair of France]], the new king of the Franks, who succeeded Louis IV in 954, at the age of 13.

In 954, Otto I appointed his brother [[Bruno the Great|Bruno, Archbishop of Cologne and Duke of Lorraine]], as guardian of Lothair and regent of the kingdom of France. In 956, Otto gave him the same role over Hugh and the Robertian principality. With these young princes under his control, Otto aimed to maintain the balance between Robertians, Carolingians, and Ottonians. In 960, Lothair agreed to grant to Hugh the legacy of his father, the margraviate of [[Neustria]] and the title of Duke of the Franks. But in return, Hugh had to accept the new independence gained by the counts of Neustria during Hugh's minority. Hugh's brother, [[Otto, Duke of Burgundy|Otto]] received only the duchy of [[Burgundy]] (by marriage). [[Andrew W. Lewis]] has sought to show that Hugh the Great had prepared a succession policy to ensure his eldest son much of his legacy, as did all the great families of that time.

The West was dominated by Otto I, who had [[Battle of Lechfeld (955)|defeated the Magyars in 955]], and in 962 assumed the restored imperial title. The new emperor increased his power over Western Francia with special attention to certain bishoprics on his border; although elected by Lothair, Adalberon, [[Archbishop of Reims]], had imperial sympathies. Disappointed, King Lothair relied on other dioceses ([[Langres]], [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Châlons|Chalons]], [[Noyon]]) and on [[Arnulf I, Count of Flanders]].