Ansfried the elder, count in Lotharingia

Ansfried, was a Lotharingian count in the 10th century, who held 15 counties in Lotharingia, a "middle kingdom" which was in this period contested for by the larger eastern and western kingdoms surrounding it. He is sometimes referred to as "the elder" in order to distinguish him from his nephew, Bishop Ansfried of Utrecht, who was also a powerful count until he became a cleric.

Thietmar, describing his nephew of the same name, said that he had two paternal uncles, Ansfried and Robert, Bishop of Trier. This implies that Ansfried the elder is brother to Bishop Robert, who was often described as a relative to the Ottonians, the royal family at the time. It was Thietmar who described Ansfried the elder, the uncle, as a count of 15 counties, and says it was he who sent his nephew to Bruno the great for his education, after he had already spent time with his other uncle.

If Ansfried was the same as the advocatus of the Abbey of Gembloux in the 950s, as is often thought, then he is described as a blood-relative (consanguineus) of Wicfrid, the founder of that Abbey. And if he was the rebel who held Chevremont in 939 after the Battle of Andernach, then he was also described as a nephew of the leader who fell at that battle, Duke Gilbert of Lotharingia.

Records of him have often been proposed though many of them are argument by at least some historians to be someone else, such as his nephew.

Not yet described as a count, a first mention might be in 928, in a grant made by Gilbert, Duke of Lotharingia. Jongbloed suggests this partly because of the presence also of an Arnold, and the fact that in a more certain record, in 939 when a count named Ansfried is described by Widukind of Corvey as one of the leaders of the Lotharingian people, it is also together with an Arnold, possibly his brother. The two of them, described as nepotes (probably nephews) of Gilbert, held the fortification of near Liège after the Lotharingians lost the Battle of Andernach in 939, until they were talked down and captured. (Widukind says that Ansfried was partly convinced by an offer of alliance and marriage with the only daughter of Count Immo, with whom he was negotiating. Jongbloed, in the discussion about debate concerning whether Count Immo was Ehrenfrid, son of Ricfrid, suggests that this went ahead. Karsten points out that Widukind clearly wanted to give the impression that the offer was made in bad faith.) Widukind reports that Ansfried being as "hard as iron" would need the harshest torments to question him.

...
Wikipedia