House of Reginar

Adela

Married: Reginar III

Children:
Notes:
Adela was possibly the daughter of Hugo [V] Graf von Dachsburg und Egisheim [Alsace] & his wife Hildegard.

Death: 961
Iacobi de Guisia Annales Hannoniae vol 9 p183 in Monumenta Germaniæ Historica SS 30 (1896)
  ANNO D, DCCCCLX, … Anno eodem Adela, comitissa Montensis, obiit uxor Ragineri comitis.
This roughly translates as:
In the Year of the Lord 960, … In the same year Adela, Countess of Montagne, wife of Count Raginer, died.

Sources:

Alberada

Married: Reginar I

Children:
Notes:
The Henry Project: The Ancestors of King Henry II of England
Alberada
  Wife of Regnier I.
  A 968 charter of Giselbert's widow Gerberge mentions Giselbert and his parents Regnier and Alberada ["Gerberga divina dispensante clementia humulis Francorum Regina ... et remedio senioris nostri piæ memoriæ Giselberti, suique parentum patris scilicet matris, Rageneri et Albradæ; ..." RHF 9: 666].
… Date of death: Living 915.
Sigehard's Miraculi S. Maximini indicates that Giselbert's mother survived Regnier ["Ipse etenim cum inhumane prorsus familiam sancti tractaret, et a matre iuvenis ducis - nam pater iam obierat - proinde saepius obiurgaretur, ..." Ex Sigehardi Miraculis S. Maximini, c. 16, MGH SS 4: 233]
… Children:
Of Regnier's children, only Giselbert is directly documented as a child of Alberada. See Regnier's page for details.
MALE Giselbert, d. 2 October 939, duke of Lorraine.
MALE Regnier II, fl. 916-931, count of Hainaut.
FEMALE NN, m. before 924, Bérenger, fl. 907-924, count in pagus Lomacensis.
Bibliography
MGH SS = Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Scriptores series.
RHF = Recueil des historiens des Gaules et de la France.

Sources:

Gerberge of Lorraine

Father: Gislebert, duke of Lotharingia

Mother: Gerberga of Saxony

Married: Adalbert I of Vermandois

Children:
Sources:

Gislebert, duke of Lotharingia

Father: Reginar I

Mother: Alberada

Married: Gerberga of Saxony, in 929

Children:
Occupation: Duke of Lotharingia, succeeding his father in 916
Gislebert is also recorded as the lay-abbot of Echternach, Stavelot-Malmedy, Saint-Maximin, Saint-Servais and Chèvremont.

Richeri Historiarum Liber Primus in Richer: Histoire de son temps pp70-78 (ed. J. Gaudet, 1845)
    XXXIV.
  Hac etiam tempestate Ragenerus, vir consularis et nobilis, cognomento Collo-Longus, cujus etiam obitus multam rei publicæ in Belgica intulit labem, communi corporis valitudine tactus et oppressus, finem vitæ apud Marsnam palatium accepit. Cujus exequiis Karolus rex interfuisse dicitur, ac oculos lacrimis suffusus dixisse: O, inquiens, ex alto humilem, ex amplo artissimum! altero personam, altero monumentum significans. Peractisque exsequiis, Gisleberto ejus filio, jam facto juveni, paternum honorem, coram principibus qui confluxerant liberalissime accommodat.
    XXXV.
  Hic cum esset clarissimo genere inclitus, et Heinrici Saxoniæ ducis filiæ Gerbergæ conjugio nimium felix, in nimiam præ insolentia temeritatem præceps ferebatur. In disciplina militari ex audatia nimius, adeo ut quodcumque inevincibile, appetere non metueret. Corpore mediocri et denso, duroque membrorum robore, cervice inflexibili, oculis infestis atque inquietis sicque mobilibus, ut eorum color nemini ad plenum innotuerit, pedibus omnino inpatientibus, mente levi. Oratio ejus, ambigua ratione consistens, interrogatio fallens, responsio anceps; orationis partes, raro dilucidæ sibi cohærebant. Suis adeo profusus, aliena enormiter sitiens, majoribus ac sibi æqualibus, coram favens, occulte vero invidens; rerum confusione ac mutua dissidentium insectatione plurimum gaudens.
    XXXVI.
  Talis itaque in regem nimia animositate ferebatur. Meditabatur quoque regis abjectionem admodum, ac plurimum id pertractabat apud eos qui in Belgica potiores videbantur, non quidem Rotberto, sed sibi regnum affectans; sua quoque principibus pene omnia distribuens, Et majores quidem prædiis et ædibus egregiis inclite donabat, mediocres autem auri et argenti talentis efficaciter illiciebat. Fit itaque multorum ex Belgica cum eo consensus. Sed hoc satis inprovide ac inconsulte; nam licet ob magna beneficia comparatos sibi attraxisset, non tamen ex jurejurando ad patrandum facinus sibi annexuit. Leviter ergo attracti, leviter post dissociati fuere.
    XXXVII.
  Nam cum Karolus, hoc audito, a Celtica cum exercitu rediret, Belgisque bellum inferre pararet, Belgæ mox non in aperto cum Gisleberto resistere nisi sunt, sed oppidis ac municipiis sese recludunt. Rex vero singulis qui ab se defecerant legatos dirigit, per quos significabat sese regali atque sollemni donatione lar giturum quicquid eis ab Gisleberto prædiorum et ædium collatum est, sese quoque contra Gislebertum pro eis certaturum, si is eis ex collatis beneficiis quicquam repetere velit. Quo capti, mox jure sacramenti ad regem redeunt, habitisque rationibus, quicquid beneficiorum ab Gisleberto eis collatum fuit, regali largitate firmissime unicuique donatur. Unde et a Gisleberto recedentes, regi constantissime resociantur, ac cum eo in Gislebertum feruntur.
XXXVIII
  Gislebertus vero in oppido Harburc, quod hinc Mosa et inde Gullo fluviis vallatur, a fronte vero immani hiatu, multoque horrore veprium defensum est, cum paucis claudebatur. Huc rex cum exercitu properat, locatque obsidionem, hinc et inde navalem, a fronte vero equestrem. In cujus expugnatione cum persisteret, Gislebertus2 navali fuga dilabitur. Oppidani vero capti, in regis deveniunt jussionem. Gislebertus autem cum duobus clientulis, paterna hereditate privatus, Rhenum exulaturus pertransit. Ibique per annos aliquot apud Heinricum socerum deceptus exulat. Evoluto autem aliquot annorum tempore, Heinricus apud regem suasorie egit, ut Gislebertus revocaretur, ac in regis gratiam rede sumeretur, ea vero rerum conditione, ut regis sententia ex collatis beneficiis intemerata, Gislebertus ea tantum regali clementia reciperet, quorum possessores per tot sui exilii tempora jam obierant.
  2 G. clam per murum dilapsus fluvium enatando transmeavit, et cum duobus clientibus Rhenum exulaturus pertransiens, annis aliquot apud socerum suum Heinricum patrimonio privatus exulavit. Oppidani autem absque duce relicti, se subdiderant regi. Ekkehardus Ur.
    XXXIX.
  Ab exilio itaque revocatus, regis gratiam per Heinricum meretur, ea tamen, ut dictum est, conditione, ut a beneficiis quæ insolenter diduxerat, quandiu possessores viverent careat; ea vero quorum possessores per annos aliquot obierant, regis miseratione repetat. Recipit itaque quæ a defunctis quidem derelicta vacabant, maximam suarum rerum partem, Trajectum, Juppilam, Harstalium, Marsnam, Littam, Capræmontem. Quibus habitis, Karolus rex in Celticam redit, Nortmannis qui extremos Galliarum fines locis maritimis infestabant, copias inferre parans. Heinrico vero trans Rhenum contra Sarmatas profecto, Gislebertus per suos immaniter vexabat et atterebat eos qui ab rege sua data obtinebant. Alios clandestina invasione enecans, alios incessanter ut sua relinquant adurgens, tandem evincit, suisque omnibus potitur, truculentius exinde in regem machinans. Socerum itaque adit, eique ab rege dissuadet, Celticam solam regi posse sufficere asserens, Belgicam vero atque Germaniam rege alio plurimum indigere. Unde et, ut ipse in regnum coronari non abnueret, multis suasionibus permovebat. Heinricus vero cum nefanda eum suadere adverteret, dictis suadentis admodum restitit, et ut quiesceret ab illicitis, multis amplificationibus agitabat.
    XL.
  Et Gislebertus quidem, cum apud socerum non proficeret ut regnum sibi parare posset, in Celticam secedit ac transit in Neustriam; sicque cum Rotberto duce de eodem negotio consilium confert, suadens ei de regni susceptione, ac Karoli abjectione. Exultat tirannus, et tiranno absque mora favet. Deliberant itaque ambo, et post pro perpetrandis fidem sacramento confirmant.
This roughly translates as:
34.  During this time, too, Ragener, a nobleman of consular rank, nicknamed Long-Neck, whose death dealt a blow to the public order in Belgium, was touched and oppressed by his general health, and died at the palace of Marsna. King Charles is said to have attended his funeral, and with tears in his eyes he said: "O, how greatness is lowered, how space is narrowed!", referring to the person on one hand and the monument on the other. And when the funeral was over, he most liberally accorded his father's rank to his son Gislebert, who was now a young man, in the presence of the princes who had gathered.
35.  Although he was famous for his illustrious lineage and extremely happy in his marriage to Gerberga, the daughter of Duke Henry of Saxony, he was prone to excessive rashness due to his insolence. He was very daring in military discipline, so much so that he did not fear to aspire to anything invincible. His body was medium and dense, his limbs were hard and strong, his neck was inflexible, his eyes were fierce and restless and so mobile that no one could fully recognize their color, his feet were completely inert, and his mind was light. His speech consisted of ambiguous reasoning, his questioning was deceptive, his answers were ambiguous; the parts of his speech were rarely clear and coherent. He was so generous with his own, he was extremely thirsty for others, he favored his elders and equals in public, but secretly envied them; he greatly enjoyed the confusion of things and the mutual scolding of dissenters.
36. Such a man was therefore carried away with excessive animosity towards the king. He also greatly meditated the king's abdication, and he greatly discussed it with those who seemed more important in Belgium, not indeed with Robert, but with himself, aspiring to the kingdom; he also distributed almost everything he had to the princes, and he famously bestowed on the greater with excellent estates and buildings, but he effectively enticed the mediocre with talents of gold and silver. And so many from Belgium agreed with him. But this was quite unforeseeably and unwisely; for although he had attracted those brought to him for great benefits, he did not nevertheless attach himself to him by oath to commit a crime. So they were slightly attracted, then slightly dissociated.
37.  For when Charles, hearing this, returned from Celtica with an army, and prepared to wage war on the Belgians, the Belgians soon did not resist Gislebert in the open, except in the towns and cities, but shut themselves up in their towns and cities. The king, however, sent ambassadors to each of those who had defected from him, by whom he signified that he would grant by royal and solemn gift whatever estates and buildings had been bestowed upon them by Gislebert, and that he would also fight against Gislebert on their behalf, if he wished to reclaim any of the benefits bestowed upon them. Whereupon, having been captured, they soon returned to the king by right of oath, and after due accounts, whatever benefits had been bestowed upon them by Gislebert was most firmly granted to each of them by royal generosity. Hence, even as they departed from Gislebert, they were most firmly re-united with the king, and were taken with him to Gislebert.
38.  Gislebert was in the town of Harburg, which is surrounded by the rivers Meuse and Gullus, but on the front by a huge gap and great fear, and was closed with a few men. The king hastened there with his army and laid siege, with naval forces on both sides and cavalry on the front. While he persisted in the assault, Gislebert2 was swept away by naval flight. The townspeople were captured and fell under the king's command. Gislebert, deprived of his paternal inheritance, crossed the Rhine with two of his clients, intending to go into exile. There, he spent several years in exile with his father-in-law Henry. After several years had passed, Henry persuaded the king to recall Gislebert and restore him to the king's favor, but under such conditions that the king's judgment, untainted by the benefits he had bestowed, would allow Gislebert to receive only those royal clemency whose owners had already died during his many years of exile.
  2 G. secretly slipped through the wall, swam across the river, and, crossing the Rhine with two clients to escape exile, he lived in exile for several years with his father-in-law Henry, deprived of his patrimony. But the townspeople, left without a leader, had submitted themselves to the king. Ekkehard Ur.
39.  Recalled from exile, he merits the king's favor through Henry, but on the condition, as has been said, that he be deprived of the benefits he had insolently withdrawn as long as the owners lived; but those whose owners had died some years before, he may recover through the king's mercy. He therefore receives what was left vacant by the deceased, the greatest part of his possessions, Trajetum, Juppila, Harstalium, Marsna, Litta, Capraemontum. Having obtained these, King Charles returns to Celtica, preparing to bring forces against the Northmen who were infesting the extreme borders of Gaul in the maritime places. As for Henry, he has gone across the Rhine against the Sarmatians, Gislebert through his men cruelly harassed and destroyed those who were obtaining his grant from the king. Killing some by clandestine invasion, incessantly urging others to abandon theirs, he finally defeats them, and gains possession of all his own, plotting more brutally from then on against the king. So he went to his father-in-law and dissuaded him from the king, asserting that the Celtic kingdom alone could suffice for a king, but that Belgium and Germany greatly needed another king. Hence, so that he himself would not refuse to be crowned king, he urged him with many persuasions. But when Henry perceived that he was being persuasive, he strongly resisted his persuasive words, and in order to keep him from doing unlawful things, he urged him with many exaggerations.
40.  And Gislebert, when he could not make progress with his father-in-law in preparing a kingdom for himself, retired to Celtica and crossed over to Neustria; and so he conferred with Duke Robert on the same matter, persuading him to assume the kingdom and abdicate Charles. The tyrant rejoiced, and without delay he supported the tyrant. So they both deliberated, and afterwards confirmed their faith by oath in favor of the things to be done.

Annalista Saxo in Corpus historicorum medii ævi pp242-3 (Jo. Georgio Eccardo 1723)
  Anno Dominicæ Incarnationis IXC XVI. … Hac tempeſtate Raginerus Princeps nobilis partium Karoli fidiſſimus Tutor, finem vitæ accepit, cujus exequiis Karolus interfuit. Gililberto filio ejus jam adulto paternum honorem coram principibus, qui confluxerant, liberaliter contulit: hic opibus inclitus, temeritate princeps, pro abjectione Karoli multa moliebatur. Karolus a Celcica eſt egreſſus contra Belgas, quorum Dux erat Giſilbertus. Belgæ non auſi reſiſtere, oppidis & municipiis ſe includunt. Rege promittente eis ſe omnia daturum, quæ a Giſilberto prius in beneficium habuerant, per Sacramenta ad eum redeunt, & contra Giſilbertum pariter ſurgunt, Illo in Oppido Harburg, quod hinc Moſa & inde Gullo fluviis vallatur, alias autem immani hiatu multoque horrore veprium tutiſſimum videbatur, clauſo; Rex cum copiis properat obſidionem, locat hinc & inde navalem, alias vero equeſtrem. Giſilbertus clam per murum elapſus fluvium natando transmeavit, & cum duodus clientibus Rhenum tranſiens, apud Heinricum in Saxonia annis aliquot, partrimonio privatus exulavit. Poſt hæc Heinricus egit apud Regem, ut Giſilbertus recipererur in gratiam, ea tamen conditione, ut beneficiis, quæ ipſe inſolenter diduxerar, quæque Rex faventibus ſibi poſtea contulerat, quandiu poſſeſſores eorum viverent, careret; ea vero quorum poſſeſſores per annos exilii ſui exceſſerant, Regis miſeratione reciperet. Recepit itaque  Trajeƈtum, Vippilam, Harſtallium, Marmam, Lutam, Capremontem, quæ a defuƈtis dereliƈtæ vacabant. ceteros qui ſua habebant, ingenti cæde vexabat, donec omnia ſua reciperet. Poſtea multa contra Regem machinans, Heinricum ſocerum poſtmodum ſuum adiit, Regi adhærere plurimum diſſuaſit, aſſerens Celticam ſolam ei ſufficere, Belgicam vero & Germaniam Rege alio plurimum indigere, unde ut ipſe Rex creari non abnueret, multiplici permovebat ſuaſione. Heinricus cum illicita eum ſuadere adverteret, admodum reſtitit, & ut a nefariis quieſceret, crebro admonuit.  
This roughly translates as:
  In the year of the Incarnation of the Lord 916. … At this time, Raginer, a noble prince, the most trusted guardian of Charles's party, met the end of his life, at whose funeral Charles attended. To his son Gilbert, now an adult, he liberally bestowed paternal honors before the princes who had gathered: this prince, renowned for his wealth and rashness, was trying to abdicate Charles. Charles had marched out from Celts against the Belgians, of whom Gilbert was Duke. The Belgians did not dare to resist, and locked themselves in towns and municipalities. The king, promising them that he would give them everything that they had previously received from Gilbert as a favor, returned to him through sacraments, and rose up against Gilbert in the same way, in the town of Harburg, which is fenced on one side by the Meuse and the other by the Gullus rivers, but otherwise seemed the safest place to be, closed by an immense gap and much horror; The king with his forces hastened the siege, stationing naval forces here and there, and cavalry in others. Gilbert secretly escaped through the wall, swam across the river, and, crossing the Rhine with two of his clients, went into exile with Henry in Saxony for several years, deprived of his inheritance. After this, Henry made arrangements with the king to have Gilbert restored to favor, but on the condition that he should be deprived of the benefits which he had insolently withdrawn, which the king had later bestowed on those who favored him there, as long as their owners were alive; but those whose owners had exceeded their rights during the years of exile, he should receive at the king's mercy. So he received Trajetum, Vippila, Harstallium, Marma, Luta, and Capremont, which were vacant after the deserters had left them. He harassed the others who had their own with great slaughter, until he had recovered all that was his. After much plotting against the King, he went to Henry the Blind, and strongly dissuaded him from adhering to the King, asserting that Celtica alone was sufficient for him, but that Belgium and Germany were in great need of another King, and so that he would not refuse to be made King himself, he urged him with manifold persuasion. When Henry noticed that he was persuading him unlawfully, he strongly resisted, and repeatedly warned him to desist from evil deeds..

Notes:
  Giselbert was the son of Reginar I. Upon his father's death in 915, Giselbert inherited vast estates in the Meuse region but faced immediate conflict with the Carolingian king Charles the Simple. Although he acted as a leader in Lotharingia, his formal recognition as duke was not immediate. He spent the early 920s maneuvering against king Charles, at one point inviting the German king Henry the Fowler to intervene in the region.
  In 925, Henry the Fowler successfully brought Lotharingia into the East Frankish sphere. Recognizing Giselbert's local authority, Henry formally appointed him duke of Lotharingia in 928. To cement Giselbert’s loyalty to the German crown, Henry the Fowler gave him his daughter, Gerberga of Saxony, in marriage in 929.
  After the death of Henry the Fowler in 936, Giselbert’s relationship with his brother-in-law, now emperor, Otto the Great, soured. Giselbert sought to restore Lotharingia’s autonomy and joined a massive rebellion against Otto in 939. Giselbert allied with Otto’s own brother, Henry of Bavaria, and Eberhard of Franconia. They also sought support from the West Frankish king, Louis IV. On October 2, 939, the rebel forces were surprised by royalist counts at the Battle of Andernach. During the chaos of the defeat at Andernach, Giselbert attempted to escape across the Rhine but drowned in the river.
  His widow, Gerberga married the West Frankish king Louis IV later that same year, taking her Lotharingian interests with her to the French court.

Allgemeine deutsche Biographie vol 9 pp196-198 (1879)
  Giselbert (Giselbrecht) von Lothringen, Sohn des Herzogs Reginar mit dem Beinamen Langhals und der Albrada, aus altem und vornehmem Geschlechte, solgte seinem wahrscheinlich im J. 915 verstorbenen Vater in der herzoglichen Regierung Lothringens nach. Trok seiner Unmündigkeit, in Folge deren anfänglich die Mutter statt seiner die Leitung übernehmen mußte, belehnte ihn der westsränkische König Karl mit allen Würden und Besikungen des Vaters, zu denen außer der Grasschaft im Hennegau und Haspengau am linken Ufer der Maas noch die Einkünfte von sechs Klöstern sich gesellten, über die er als Laienabt gebot, von Echternach und St. Servaes zu Mastricht, Stavelot und Malmedy, St. Maximin zu Trier und der Marienabtei zu Chevremont bei Lüttich. Sehr bald trat der junge Herzog selbständig handelnd hervor: er zeigte sich gleich seinem Vorgänger rastlos und unternehmend, übermüthig und verwegen, unzuverlässig und zweideutig, wie man es den Lothringern überhaupt nachsagte, voll Thatkrast, aber in jugendlichem Leichtsinn noch der rechten Umsicht entbehrend. Die Schwäche seines Lehnsherrn, Karls des Einfältigen, mußte dazu ausmuntern für Lothringen, das ja überdies erst seit 911 dem westsränkischen Reiche an= gehörte, volle Unabhängigkeit zu erringen und reiche Geschenke an Geld und Land auch aus dem für den Unterhalt der Mönche vorbehaltenen Gute der Klöster soll G. an die Großen gespendet haben, um sie für seine Pläne zu ge= winnen. Daß er mit Karl zerfiel, zeigt die Entziehung der Mastrichter Abtei, welche im I. 919 der Trierer Kirche, freilich nur für kurze Zeit, zurückgegeben wurde. Als dann im J. 920 die Macht des Königs ohnehin ganz untergraben war, fiel die Mehrzahl der Lothringer von ihm ab und erhob G. als ihren Fürsten zu unabhängiger Herrschaft. Bei der Erledigung des Bisthums Lüttich wagte es der Herzog im Gegensahe zu der Wahl und dem Willen Karls seinen Anhänger Hilduin zum Bischose weihen zu lassen, der dann bald auch einen Rückhalt an Heinrich, dem ostsränkischen Herrscher sand. Da aber erschien im Herbste Karl, in seinem eigenen Reiche hergestellt, in Lothringen, dessen Bewohner zum Gehorsam gegen ihn zurückkehrten. Wie eine sagenhaste Quelle berichtet, sollen die Großen gegen Bestätigung ihres Besizes ihm treu geblieben sein, während G. in seiner Veste Hardestein zwischen Maas und Geul sich von ihm belagert sah und endlich mit zwei Begleitern über den Rhein zu Heinrich flüchten mußte. Erst nach längerer Verbannung soll dieser ihm eine Aussöhnung mit Karl zu Stande gebracht haben, bei der er einen Theil seiner Güter einbüßte. Wie dem auch sein mag, in Lüttich trat Richar als Bischof an die Stelle Hilduins und durch eine Zusammenkunst der Könige Heinrich und Karl bei Bonn am 7. November 921 wurde des lekteren Herrschaft über Lothringen wesentlich befestigt. Ohne deutschen Beistand stand G. ihm im folgenden Winter gegenüber und wurde von ihm bekämpft, das Mißvergnügen aber, welches Karl im westsränkischen Reiche selbst, zumal durch Bevorzugung eines gewissen Hagano, gegen sich erregt hatte, führte dazu, daß am 29. Juni 922 Robert, Odo's Bruder, der Capetinger zum Könige erhoben wurde. Lothringen zeigte sich bei diesem Thronstreite innerlich gespalten, ein Theil des Volkes stand aus der Seite Karls, G. blieb sein Gegner. Als Robert bei Soissons (15. Juni 923) gefallen war und Karl, der Besiegte dieser Schlacht, abermals durch Rudolf von Burgund verdrängt wurde, wandte sich G. mit dem Erzbischose Rotger von Trier an den deutschen König Heinrich, aus den auch Karl in seinem Sturze noch seine Hoffnung sekte. So wurde durch den Beistand des Herzogs selbst, der Heinrich auf seinem ersten Zuge Mek belagern half, die Erwerbung Lothringens für das deutsche Reich vorbereitet, doch bald gerieth G. in Hader mit seinen nächsten Verwandten und fiel sogar eine Zeit lang in die Gesangenschaft seines Schwagers Berengar. Wetterwendisch wie er war bot er jekt Rudolf seine Huldigung an, der, nachdem er zuerst sie zurückgewiesen, 925 an der Maas sie persönlich in Empfang nahm, rasch aber erschien Heinrich im Lande, eroberte Zülpich, eine Veste Giselbert's, und brachte ihn, den ein Graf Christian ihm als Gesangenen überliefert haben soll, nebst ganz Lothringen zur Unterwerfung. Unter der deutschen Herrschast, welche König Rudolf nicht anzusechten vermochte, beschwichtigten sich allmählich die inneren Wirren: 928 zog der König abermals nach Lothringen, versöhnte G. mit Boso, dem Bruder Rudolfs und mit Reginar, über= ließ ihm die Abtei St. Servaes noch auf Lebenszeit zum Genusse, ja er vermählte ihn, den er lieb gewonnen hatte, sogar mit seiner klugen Tochter Gerberga, welche ihn auf das innigste an das sächsische Herrscherhaus fesseln sollte. Daneben diente aber auch Eberhard, der Franke, der in Lothringen Besitzungen und Einfluß hatte, daselbst als Stüke der deutschen Herrschaft. In diesen friedlicheren Tagen, die freilich noch öster durch Giselbert's Einmischung in die westsränkischen Händel, durch seine Verbindung zumal mit dem Grasen Heribert von Vermandois, gestört wurden, konnte auch endlich Hand an die Herstellung des arg zerrütteten Klosterlebens gelegt werden. In St. Maximin begann die Reform durch die Einsehung des Abtes Ogo im J. 934, nachdem der Heilige selbst, wie nachmals im Kloster erzählt wurde, dem Herzoge im Schlase erschienen war und ihn eigenhändig gezüchtigt hatte, St. Ghislain wurde schon 931 dem heiligen Gerard von Brogne, einem eisrigen Verbesserer des Mönchslebens, übergeben und reichlicher ausgestattet, auch in Moyenmoutier priesen noch die nachfolgenden Geschlechter Giselbert's Verdienste um die Herstellung des Stistes. Diese segens= reiche Umwandelung, die sich an verwandte Strebungen anderer Zeitgenossen an= lehnte, war nicht möglich ohne den Verzicht aus manchen bisher der Kirche entfremdeten Besik.
  Nach einer an Wirren und Schwankungen reichen Jugend befand sich demnach G. in den Jahren männlicher Reise und auf besseren Wegen, als fast gleichzeitig durch den Tod Rudolfs am 14. Januar, Heinrichs am 2. Juli 936 der westsränkische und der deutsche Thron erledigt wurden. Während dort wieder ein Karolinger Ludwig, noch ein Knabe, durch die Großen erhoben ward, beging hier einige Wochen später auf lothringischem Boden zu Aachen Otto I. das glänzende Fest seiner Krönung und G. leitete als Kämmerer die Feier, die in seinem Gebiete stattsand. Rasch genug trübte sich durch mancherlei Widerwärtigkeiten die Herrlichkeit des neuen Herrschers, obgleich sie aus der einhelligen Wahl der deutschen Stämme hervorgegangen war: einer der treuesten Anhänger seines Hauses, Eberhard der Frankenherzog, mußte bereits 937 als Landfriedensbrecher bestraft werden. Dem Bunde, welchen dieser aus Rachsucht insgeheim mit Otto's jüngerem ehrgeizigem Bruder Heinrich schloß, neigte bald auch G. zu, doch beschäftigten ihn im J. 938 noch die westsränkischen Händel, in denen er die Grafen Hugo und Heribert gegen den König Ludwig unterstüßte. Das J. 939 brachte, nachdem dort der Friede hergestellt war, die von langer Hand her vorbereiteten Pläne zur Reise, die Bewegung zum Ausbruche: der Sturz Ottos mußte das Ziel der Empörer sein, unter der Herrschaft seines jugendlichen Bruders dursten die Herzöge hoffen eine so gut wie unabhängige Stellung einzunehmen. Von Saalfeld aus, wo er mit seinen Anhängern getagt hatte, eilte Heinrich an den Rhein und verband sich hier mit den Lothringern. Otto folgte ihm und mußte es vom rechten User des Stromes aus mit ansehen, wie ein kleiner Theil der Seinigen, der bereits übergesekt war, bei Birten unweit Xanten von Heinrich und G. mit gewaltiger Uebermacht angegriffen wurde. Der fast wunderbar erscheinende Sieg der tapseren Minderzahl stärkte das Zutrauen in die gerechte Sache, G. aber, zu dem sein Schwager Heinrich sich bald aus's neue gesellte, wurde durch die Niederlage bewogen Beistand bei dem westfränkischen Könige zu suchen und diesem zu huldigen trok des Friedens, der damals zwischen beiden Reichen bestand. Ein zweiter Zug Ottos nach Lothringen im Sommer führte nur zu einer vergeblichen Belagerung der durch die Natur fast uneinnehmbaren Veste Chevremont bei Lüttich, doch gewann er den in der dortigen Gegend angesessenen Grafen Immo, bisher Giselbert's zuverlässigsten und verschmihtesten Berather, für sich und schus ihm dadurch einen lästigen und gefährlichen Feind. Nachdem der König Ludwig gleich darauf einen verwüstenden Einfall in das Elsaß unternommen hatte, zog Otto vor Breisach am Oberrhein, das von den Leuten Eberhard's besetzt war, und gerieth, während die Festung sich tapser wehrte, durch vielfachen Abfall aus seinen Reihen in wachsende Bedrängniß. Inzwischen vereinigte sich G. jekt offen mit Eberhard und beide überschritten bei Andernach mit Heeresmacht den Rhein, um die Gaue der königlich gesinnten fränkischen Grafen Konrad und Udo, der Vettern Eberhard's, zu verwüsten. Schon war ihr Heer mit reicher Beute über den Strom zurückgekehrt und sie selbst mit wenigen Begleitern diesseits bei dem Mahle beschäftigt, als gerade jene feindlichen Grafen, durch einen ausgeplünderten Priester geführt, sie überfielen und ihnen ein jähes Ende bereiteten. Denn während Eberhard mit seinem Gefolge dem Schwerte erlag, wars sich G. mit Begleitern in einen Kahn, der unter der allzu schweren Last der Fliehenden umschlug und sie alle in die Fluthen versenkte. Fischer sollen den Leichnam, nachdem sie ihn des reichen Waffenschmuckes beraubt hatten, heimlich beerdigt haben. In so schimpflicher Weise endete ein Mann, der dem Könige Heinrich einst theuer gewesen war und zu großen Hoffnungen berechtigt hatte: ein warnendes Beispiel allen Denen, die aus persönlichem Ehrgeize Feinde ihres Vaterlandes werden wollten. Sein Untergang besiegelte die Vereinigung Lothringens mit dem deutschen Reiche. Seiner Familie blieb das Herzogthum nicht erhalten, denn sein einziger Sohn Heinrich überlebte ihn nur um wenige Jahre und seine Wittwe Gerberga wählte mit ihrer Tochter Albrada das westsränkische Reich zur neuen Heimath, indem sie in zweiter Che sich mit dem Könige Ludwig verband.
  K. Wittich, Die Entstehung des Herzogthums Lothringen, Göttingen 1862. G. Waiz, Jahrbücher des deutschen Reichs unter König Heinrich I., Neue Bearb. Berlin 1863. Köpke und Dümmler, Kaiser Otto der Große, Leipzig 1876.
This roughly translates as:
  Giselbert (Giselbrecht) of Lorraine, son of Duke Reginar, surnamed "Longneck," and Albrada, and a scion of an ancient and noble lineage, succeeded his father (who likely died in 915) in the ducal governance of Lorraine. Despite his minority, a circumstance that initially compelled his mother to assume the administration in his stead, the West Frankish King Charles invested him with all of his father's dignities and possessions. In addition to the counties of Hainaut and Hesbaye on the left bank of the Meuse, these included the revenues from six monasteries over which he exercised authority as a lay abbot: Echternach, St. Servatius in Maastricht, Stavelot and Malmedy, St. Maximin in Trier, and the Abbey of St. Mary at Chevremont near Liège. Very soon, the young duke began to act independently; much like his predecessor, he proved to be restless and enterprising, audacious and daring, yet also unreliable and duplicitous, traits commonly attributed to the Lorrainers in general, full of vigor, but, owing to youthful recklessness, still lacking in true prudence. The weakness of his liege lord, Charles the Simple, served as an encouragement to strive for the complete independence of Lorraine, a territory that, moreover, had belonged to the West Frankish realm only since 911. Furthermore, Giselbert is said to have bestowed lavish gifts of money and land upon the magnates, drawing even upon estates reserved for the sustenance of the monks, in order to win them over to his schemes. That he eventually fell out with Charles is evidenced by the revocation of the Maastricht Abbey, which was restored to the Church of Trier in 919, albeit only for a brief period. Then, in the year 920, when the King's authority had in any case been completely undermined, the majority of the Lotharingians defected from him and elevated G. to the status of their prince, establishing him in independent rule. Upon the vacancy of the Bishopric of Liège, the Duke, acting in defiance of Charles's choice and will, dared to have his adherent, Hilduin, consecrated as bishop; Hilduin soon found a source of support in Henry, the East Frankish ruler. However, in the autumn, Charles, having re-established his authority within his own realm, appeared in Lotharingia, whereupon its inhabitants returned to their allegiance to him. According to a legendary account, the magnates reportedly remained loyal to him in exchange for the confirmation of their possessions; meanwhile, G., ensconced in his fortress of Hardestein, situated between the Meuse and the Geul, found himself under siege by the king and was ultimately forced to flee across the Rhine to Henry, accompanied by just two companions. It was only after a prolonged period of exile that Henry reportedly brokered a reconciliation between G. and Charles, a settlement in which G. forfeited a portion of his estates. Be that as it may, Richar succeeded Hilduin as Bishop of Liège; furthermore, a meeting between Kings Henry and Charles near Bonn on November 7, 921, served to significantly consolidate the latter's dominion over Lotharingia. Bereft of German support, G. confronted Charles during the ensuing winter and was actively opposed by him; however, the discontent that Charles had stirred up within the West Frankish realm itself, particularly through his favoritism toward a certain Hagano, led to Robert (Odo's brother and a member of the Capetian house) being elevated to the kingship on June 29, 922. During this dynastic struggle, Lotharingia proved to be internally divided: while a segment of the populace sided with Charles, G. remained his adversary. When Robert fell in battle near Soissons (June 15, 923), and Charles, the defeated party in that engagement, was once again supplanted, G., together with Archbishop Rotger of Trier, turned to the German King Henry, the very monarch in whom Charles, even in his downfall, continued to place his hopes. Thus, through the assistance of the Duke himself, who aided Henry in besieging Metz during the latter's initial campaign, the groundwork was laid for the incorporation of Lotharingia into the German realm; yet, G. soon became embroiled in a feud with his immediate kinsmen and even fell, for a time, into the captivity of his brother-in-law, Berengar. True to his fickle nature, he now offered his homage to Rudolf; the latter, having initially rejected it, personally received it on the banks of the Meuse in 925. However, Henry swiftly appeared in the land, conquered Zülpich, one of Giselbert’s strongholds, and brought both Giselbert (whom a certain Count Christian is said to have handed over to him as a prisoner) and the entirety of Lotharingia to submission. Under German rule, which King Rudolf was powerless to challenge, internal turmoil gradually subsided. In 928, the King marched into Lotharingia once again; he reconciled Giselbert with Boso (Rudolf’s brother) and with Reginar, and granted him the Abbey of St. Servatius for his lifetime enjoyment. Indeed, having grown fond of him, the King even gave him his astute daughter Gerberga in marriage, a union intended to bind him most intimately to the Saxon ruling house. Alongside this, Eberhard the Frank, who possessed lands and influence within Lotharingia, also served as a pillar of German authority in the region. During these more peaceful days, which were, admittedly, still frequently disrupted by Giselbert’s meddling in West Frankish affairs, and particularly by his alliance with Count Herbert of Vermandois, steps could finally be taken to restore monastic life, which had fallen into a state of severe disarray. At St. Maximin, the work of reform began with the installation of Abbot Ogo in 934, an event that occurred after the Saint himself, as later recounted within the monastery, had appeared to the Duke in a dream and chastised him with his own hand. As early as 931, St. Ghislain was entrusted to St. Gerard of Brogne, a zealous reformer of monastic life, and was endowed with generous resources; likewise, at Moyenmoutier, subsequent generations continued to laud Giselbert’s contributions to the restoration of the abbey. This beneficial transformation, which drew on related aspirations of other contemporaries, was not possible without the renunciation of some Besiks who had previously been alienated from the Church.
  Thus, after a youth marked by turmoil and vicissitudes, G. found himself in the years of his early manhood, a time of travel and of treading better paths, when, almost simultaneously, the deaths of Rudolf on January 14 and of Henry on July 2, 936, left both the West Frankish and the German thrones vacant. While in the West a Carolingian, Louis, still a mere boy, was once again raised to the throne by the magnates, here in the East, a few weeks later and on Lotharingian soil in Aachen, Otto I celebrated the magnificent festivities of his coronation; as Chamberlain, G. presided over the ceremony, which took place within his own domain. All too quickly, however, the splendor of the new ruler’s reign was dimmed by various adversities, even though it had emerged from the unanimous election by the German tribes: indeed, one of the most loyal adherents of his House, Eberhard, Duke of the Franks, had to be punished as early as 937 for breaching the public peace. G. soon gravitated toward the secret alliance that Eberhard, driven by a thirst for revenge, had forged with Otto’s younger, ambitious brother, Henry; yet throughout 938, G. remained preoccupied with West Frankish affairs, in which he supported Counts Hugh and Herbert against King Louis. The year 939, once peace had been restored in the West, saw the long-laid plans for rebellion finally set in motion and the movement erupt into open conflict: the overthrow of Otto was the rebels' ultimate objective, for they hoped that under the rule of his youthful brother, the dukes would be able to secure a position of virtual independence. From Saalfeld, where he had conferred with his followers, Henry hastened to the Rhine and there joined forces with the Lotharingians. Otto pursued him, yet from the river’s right bank, he was forced to watch helplessly as a small detachment of his own troops, who had already crossed over, was attacked near Birten, not far from Xanten, by Henry and G. at the head of a vastly superior force. The seemingly miraculous victory of the valiant minority bolstered confidence in the justness of their cause; G., however, to whom his brother-in-law Heinrich soon rejoined himself, was prompted by the defeat to seek assistance from the West Frankish King and to swear fealty to him, despite the peace that then existed between the two realms. A second campaign by Otto into Lotharingia that summer resulted only in a futile siege of the fortress of Chevremont near Liège, a stronghold rendered almost impregnable by nature; yet, he succeeded in winning over Count Immo, a local magnate who had hitherto been Giselbert’s most reliable and cunning advisor, thereby ridding himself of a troublesome and dangerous foe. Shortly thereafter, King Louis launched a devastating incursion into Alsace; in response, Otto marched upon Breisach on the Upper Rhine, a town then occupied by Eberhard’s forces, and, while the fortress put up a spirited defense, found himself in increasingly dire straits due to widespread desertions within his own ranks. Meanwhile, G. now openly allied himself with Eberhard; together, they crossed the Rhine near Andernach with a sizable army to ravage the territories of the pro-royal Frankish counts Konrad and Udo, Eberhard’s cousins. Their army had already recrossed the river laden with rich plunder, and the two leaders themselves were dining on the near bank with only a few companions, when those very enemy counts, guided by a plundered priest, suddenly ambushed them and brought them to a swift and violent end. For while Eberhard and his retinue fell beneath the sword, G. and his companions scrambled into a small boat; however, the vessel capsized under the excessive weight of the fleeing men, plunging them all into the swirling waters. It is said that local fishermen, after stripping the corpse of its rich weaponry and adornments, secretly buried his remains. Thus ended, in so ignominious a manner, a man who had once been dear to King Henry and had inspired great hopes, a cautionary example to all those who, out of personal ambition, might seek to become enemies of their fatherland. His downfall sealed the incorporation of Lorraine into the German realm. The duchy did not remain in his family’s possession, for his only son, Henry, survived him by but a few years; moreover, his widow, Gerberga, together with her daughter Albrada, chose the West Frankish realm as her new home, having entered into a second marriage with King Louis.
  K. Wittich, Die Entstehung des Herzogthums Lothringen, Göttingen 1862. G. Waiz, Jahrbücher des deutschen Reichs unter König Heinrich I. (New Edition), Berlin 1863. Köpke and Dümmler, Kaiser Otto der Große, Leipzig 1876.

Death: 2 October 939. drowned in the Rhine river

Gislebert drowned in the Rhine in 939, while being pursued by the Saxons during a plundering mission.
Flodoardi annales in Monumenta Germaniæ Historica SS 3 p386 (ed. G. H. Pertz, 1839)
  Anno 939
… Gislebertus dux Lothariensium, trans Rhenum profectus praedatum, Saxonibus se dum revertitur insequentibus, in Rhenum fertur desiluisse cum equo; ibique vi enecatus undarum, postea repperiri non potuit, ut fertur. Quidam tamen ferunt, quod a piscatoribus sit repertus et humatus, atque propter spoliorum ipsius ornamenta celatus.
This roughly translates as:
In the year 939 … Gislebert, duke of Lotharingia, having set out across the Rhine to plunder, is said to have jumped into the Rhine with his horse, while the Saxons were pursuing him on his return; and there he was drowned by the force of the waves, and could not be found afterwards, as is said. Some, however, say that he was found and buried by fishermen, and hidden because of the ornaments of his spoils.

Richeri Historiarum Liber Primus in Richer: Histoire de son temps pp150-152 (ed. J. Gaudet, 1845)
    XIX.—Impetus Gisleberti in Germaniam, ejusque ac suorum fusio.
  At Gislebertus dux dedecoris injuriam ultum ire volens, omnem Belgicam lustrat ac tirones lectissimos in unum cogit, senes tantum emeritos patriæ linquens. Factoque exercitu, Rhenum transmeat, ac patriam solotenus incendiis ingentibus vastat. Armentorum etiam pecudumque prædam nimiam exercitus congregat abducitque. Jam vero flumen ingredi parabat, cum Otto exercitum accelerantibus induxit. Belgici renitentes, cum Germanis secus fluvium congressi sunt, atque in parte utraque nimium fusi. Qua die Germanorum victoria ægre sustentata est, et licet innumerabilibus suorum stratis tamen enituit. Nam Gislebertus dux suorum fusione exercitum defecisse advertens, fuga periculum evadere nitebatur. In fluentum itaque cum equo prosilit. Qui cum fluminis pelagus enatare non posset, vi undarum victus periit, atque sessorem in mersit. Belgicorum vero alii fluvio enecati, alii ferro cæsi, alii capti nonnulli vero profugio erepti sunt. Ludovicus rex Gislebertum extinctum comperiens, multam in ejus casu commiserationem habuit. Atque in Belgicam profectus, ejus uxorem Gerbergam, Ottonis sororem, conjugio duxit, eamque secum reginam in regnum coronavit.
This roughly translates as:
19.—The attack of Gislebert on Germany, and the rout of him and his men.
  But Duke Gislebert, wishing to avenge the disgraceful injury, scoured all Belgium and gathered together the choicest recruits, leaving only the old men who had served their country. Having formed an army, he crossed the Rhine and laid waste the country with enormous fires. He also gathered and carried off a great amount of booty and cattle for the army. But he was just about to cross the river when Otto led his army forward. The Belgians, resisting, met the Germans by the river, and were routed on both sides. On that day the victory of the Germans was hardly sustained, and although it was still notable for the countless deaths of his men. For duke Gislebert, perceiving that his army had failed due to the rout of his men, sought to escape danger by flight. So he leaped into the river with his horse, who could not swim with the river's current, was overcome by the force of the waves and drowned his rider. Of the Belgians, some were drowned in the river, others were slain with the sword, others were captured, and some were rescued by the refugees. King Louis, learning that Gislebert was dead, had great compassion for his fate. And he went to Belgium, married his wife Gerberg, Otto's sister, and crowned her queen with him in the kingdom.

Sources:

Lambert de Louvain

Lambert and Gerberga
Lambertvs et Geerberga
illustration from Dvcvm Brabantiae chronica p238 (Adrian van Baarland, 1600)
Father: Reginar III, count of Hainaut

Mother: Adela

Married: Gerberga de Lorraine

Children:
Occupation: Count of Brabant and Louvain

Notes:
In 958, when their father was exiled to Bohemia and his lands confiscated, Lambert and his brother Reginar, fled to Lothar, king of the Franks.
Annalista Saxo in Corpus historicorum medii ævi p299 (Jo. Georgio Eccardo 1723)
  Anno Dominicæ Incarnationis IXC LIIX. … Bonis Ragineri ad fiſcum publicatis, filii ejus Raginerus & Lambertus ad Lotharium Francorum Regem confugerunt.  
This roughly translates as:
  In the year of the Incarnation of the Lord 958. … Raginar's goods having been confiscated to the treasury, his sons Raginar and Lambert fled to Lothar, King of the Franks.

After the death of the emperor, Otto the Great in 973, Lambert and Reginar returned to Hainaut to attempt to win back their father's lands. They had initial success in 974, fighting and killing count Werner and his brother Rainold, who were occupying the county once held by Reginar III. They attacked at Péronnes-lez-Binche and captured, then fortified the castle of Boussu on the river Haine, but  were eventually defeated by the forces of the new empereror, Otto II. The brothers withdrew to northern France where they continued their rebellion with the aid of Charles, duke of Lower Lorraine, whose daughter, Gerberga, Lambert would marry.

Annalista Saxo in Corpus historicorum medii ævi p316 (Jo. Georgio Eccardo 1723)
  Anno Dominicæ Incarnat. IXC LXXIIII. … Eodem itaque tempore Raginerus jnnior filius Ragineri Longicolli, paulatim reſumptis viribus a Francia rediit, & cum Warnhero Comite, qui comitatum patris ſui ab Imperatore acceperat, apud Perronam conflixit, eoque cum multis interfecto hereditatem paternam recepit.  
This roughly translates as:
 In the year of the Incarnation 974. … At the same time, therefore, Raginerus, the son of Raginerus Longicolli, having gradually regained his strength, returned from France, and fought with Count Warner, who had received his father's county from the Emperor, at Perron, and after killing him and many others, he obtained his paternal inheritance.

Gesta Episcoporum Cameracensium in Monumenta Germaniæ Historica SS 7 pp439-40 (ed. G. H. Pertz, 1846)
  95. De rabie Raineri et Lantberti contra imperatorem. Audita igitur longe lateque morte imperatoris, Rainerus atque Lantbertus, filii videlicet Raineri, quem vivente adhuc imperatore archiepiscopus Bruno, qui sub fratre monarchiam tenebat, pro insolentiis, pro rapinis, pro aecclesiae incussionibus, pro multis etiam sceleribus saepe arguendo corrigebat, saepe beneficiis eius servitiam placando leniebat; sed cum tamen eius feritatem siriatico turgore inflatam nullo modo premere potuerit, in exilio tandem perpetuo dampnatum fratri contradidit, terramque suam primum Richario nobili viro, (an. 957) sed hoc defuncto Warnero et Raynaldo, quibus etiam defunctis, Godefrido atque Arnulfo comitibus nobilissimis contulit, filiosque eius praefatos a patriis finibus pro eisdem insolentiis eliminavit; — illi, inquam, audita morte imperatoris, revocantibus quidem quibusdam scelerosis pacem odio habentibus, filiis videlicet Belial, patrios fines regressi, terram patris violenter volentes repetere, super Hagnam fluvium castrum Bussud munierunt, ibique satis et super dum licuit sevierunt. Hoc autem iuvenis imperator audiens collecto exercitu castellum obsidione clausit, diruit captosque rebelles in exilio misit ( an. 974, Ian. ).
  96. Ubi idem rapinatores contra fideles imperatoris in prelio congressi tergo verterunt. Interea vero predicti fratres Rainerus et Lantbertus, coacti inopia moresque patrios imitantes, rapinis insistebant, quietemque publicam interpolantes, minus potentes utcumque vexabant. Denique in partes Karlensium concedentes, Karolum, regis Lotharii fratrem pravis moribus deditum, pariterque Ottonem, Alberti Vermandensium comitis filium, cum aliis quoque multis raptoribus suo auxilio adsciverunt; suam quippe callide deplorantes erumnam: se videlicet exheredes et exutos patrimoniis factos extorres paternae habitationis, terram in qua nati sint sibi negari, ad ulciscendam ergo iniuriam socia arma precari. His ergo fulcientibus atque comitantibus, reformatis quidem bellicis usibus, ad Montem castrum properato contendunt, ibique anno dominicae incarnationis 976 super fideles imperatoris, comites videlicet Godefridum atque Arnulfum, facto impetu irruerunt. Illi tamen non minore spiritu excitati, suis quos presentes habebant coactis, extra munitionem emergunt; preruptoque periculo sese offerentes, inexpectato omni nisi Dei tantum auxilio, manus conserunt, diuque utrinque certato, tamen fructu victoriae potiuntur. His ad sua receptis, nec longum, Otto predium illud Gogicum, quia sibi esset contiguum, Arnulfo presumpta vendicatione eripuit, ibique castello munito, urbem hanc, quia nec longe distat, frequenti incursione concitavit.
This roughly translates as:
  95. Of the rage of Rainer and Lanbert against the emperor. Therefore, having heard far and wide of the death of the emperor, Rainer and Lanbert, namely the sons of Rainer, whom Archbishop Bruno, who held the monarchy under his brother, while the emperor was still alive, often corrected by reproof for his insolence, for his robberies, for his attacks on the church, and for many crimes as well, and often softened his servitude by placating him with benefits; but since he could in no way suppress his ferocity, which was inflated by the syriac turgor, he finally condemned him to perpetual exile and gave his land to his brother, first to the nobleman Richard (in the year 957), but this after the death of Warner and Raynald, who also died, he gave it to the most noble counts Godfrey and Arnulf, and removed his aforementioned sons from their native lands for the same insolences; — they, I say, having heard of the death of the emperor, and recalling indeed certain wicked men who hated peace, namely the sons of Belial, returned to their native lands, wanting to violently reclaim their father's land, fortified the castle of Bussud on the river Hagna, and there they raged as much and as long as was permitted. But the young emperor, hearing of this, gathered an army, besieged the castle, destroyed it, and sent the captured rebels into exile (an. 974, Jan.).
  96. Where the same robbers, having met the faithful of the emperor in battle, turned their backs. Meanwhile, the aforementioned brothers Rainer and Lanbert, compelled by poverty and imitating their native customs, persisted in their robberies, and disturbed the public peace, harassing the less powerful in every way. Finally, conceding to the side of the Charlemagne, they enlisted Charles, the brother of King Lothair, who was given to wicked customs, and Otto, the son of Count Albert of Vermand, with many other robbers as their help; for they cunningly lamented their own misfortune: namely, that they were disinherited and stripped of their patrimony, made extortioners of their paternal dwelling, that the land in which they were born should be denied to them, and that they should therefore pray for allied arms to avenge the injury. Therefore, with these supporting and accompanying them, having indeed reformed their warlike habits, they hastened to the castle of Monte, and there in the year of our Lord's incarnation 976 they made an attack on the faithful of the emperor, namely the counts Godfrey and Arnulf. They, however, no less excited by spirit, having compelled their own men whom they had present, emerged from the fortifications; and, exposing themselves to sudden danger, they joined hands, unexpectedly for all but God's help, and after a long struggle on both sides, nevertheless obtained the fruit of victory. When these were received back to their own, and not long afterwards, Otto, assuming a claim on Arnulf, seized that Gogic estate, because it was adjacent to him, and having fortified a castle there, he agitated this city, because it was not far away, with frequent raids.
p469
  9. Denique vero tempore procedente (an. 1015), Lantbertus iam dictus cum Rainero nepote suo, Raineri filio, inimicitiam adversum ducem Godefridum et Herimannum fratrem, soluto foedere, iterum excitavit, alternisque pulsibus contentio invicem eo usque processit, dum in campum Florinensem convenientes, asperam pugnam committerent (Sept. 12); Dei tamen iusto iudicio Lantbertus cum multa quoque suorum strage caesus occumberet. Postea idem Rainerus et Heinricus Lantberti filius, paternos quidem mores omnino imitati, super fideles imperatoris plerosque impetus faciebant, ac humanis operibus morumque insolentiis imperatorem male offenderant. Videns autem Gerardus episcopus domnum imperatorem circa alia negotia occupatum, in quantum potuit salutem patriae sapienter previdit; sibique coepiscopus Albaldo videlicet et Haimone adhibitis, gratiam imperatoris ipsis malefactoribus pace interveniente optinuit.
This roughly translates as:
  9. Finally, as time passed (1015), the already mentioned Lanbert, together with his nephew Rainer, Rainer's son, again stirred up enmity against Duke Godfrey and his brother Herimann, having broken the treaty, and with alternate blows the contention between them went so far that, meeting on the plain of Florin, they engaged in a fierce battle (Sept. 12); however, by the just judgment of God, Lanbert was slain and died with a great slaughter of his men. Afterwards, the same Rainer and Henry, Lanbert's son, completely imitating their paternal manners, made many attacks on the faithful of the emperor, and had badly offended the emperor with their human deeds and insolence of manners. But Bishop Gerard, seeing that the lord emperor was occupied with other matters, wisely provided for the safety of the country as far as he could; and, having employed his fellow bishops, namely Albald and Haimon, he obtained the emperor's favor by intervening in peace with the malefactors themselves.

Dietmar of Merseburg, described Lambert as the worst person in his whole country - a country which mourned during his life, and rejoiced at his death.
Dithmari Chronicon p227 (Thietmar von Merseberg, 1807)
In occidente Lambertus Reinherii filius cum ſuis victus ab hoſte Godefrido, multorum inimicus occubuit. 95) Non fuit enim in terra hac tunc deterior illo, qui multos in eccleſiis cum fune campanarum ſtrangulavit. Quot homines hic exhaereditaret vel occideret, nullus explicare valet. Nunquam is de perpetrato facinore poenitentiam ſuscipere curavit. Ille cum fratre ſuo Reingerio Uuirinharium et eius germanum Reinzonem pariter occidit. Huius pater ad Boëmiam ab Ottone in exilium miſſus ibidem moritur. Ipſa eorundem patris viventes doluit, amiſſos gaudet. Hoc duntaxat conqueri debemus, quod eo die propter nocentem ex utraque parte congredientium tot inculpabiles ceciderunt.
  95,) Lambertus occubuit. Discedit a Cod. noſtro Ann. Saxo: Godefridus dux comitatum Ragineri Montenſis depopulatur; quem Raginerus cum patruo ſuo, Lamberto Lovanienſi inſecutus apud caſtrum Florinis pugnam conſerit, ubi Lambertus multorum inimicus occubuit. — — Urs. Chr. Butkens Trophées de Brebant T. I. p. 75 proelium ad Florennas, in quo Lambertus Comes Brabantiae et Lovanii occidit, 12. Sept. 1015. accidiſſe tradit. In Necrol. noſtro ad 22. Sept. Lambertus laic. occiſus. Wed.
This roughly translates as:
In the west, Lambert, the son of Reinherius, with his men, was defeated by the enemy Godfrey, and the enemy of many died. 95) For there was no one in this land at that time worse than him, who strangled many in churches with the bell-ropes. How many people he disinherited or killed here, no one can explain. He never cared to take penance for the crime he committed. He, together with his brother Reingerius, killed Wirinharius and his brother Reinzonus. His father, sent into exile by Otto to Bohemia, died there. The land mourned the life of their father, but rejoiced over his loss. We must only complain that on that day, because of the guilty one, so many innocent people fell on both sides.
  95,) Lambert died. It is left from our Cod. Ann. Saxo: Duke Godfrey ravages the county of Raginerius Montensis; whom Raginerus with his uncle, Lambert of Louvain, pursued, fought at the castle of Florinis, where Lambert, the enemy of many, died. — — Urs. Chr. Butkens Trophées de Brebant T. I. p. 75 battle at Florennas, in which Lambert Count of Brabant and Louvain was killed, 12. Sept. 1015. is reported to have occurred. In our Necrol. on 22. Sept. Lambert was killed. Wed.

After his death, Lambert's widow, Gerberga, tried to make amends for his soul with gifts to the church.
Recuiel des chartes de l’Abbaye de Gembloux p33 (ed. C. G. Roland, 1921)
Gerberge, veuve de Lambert, comte de Louvain, donne à l’abbaye de Gembloux, avec l’assentiment du comte Henri, son fils, sa propriété dite Tortouse dans la, paroisse de Baisy, pour le repos de l’âme de son mari, tué à la bataille de Florennes (12 septembre 1015).
      [Vers 1016]
  Acte perdu. — La donation est rapportée en ces termes par Sigebert (SS, t. VIII, p. 537). « Eodem quoque tempore commissa pugna in Florinis inter Lambertum comitem, filium Ragineri Longicolli, et Godefridum ducem, cum Lambertus ibidem gladiis cesus accepisset vitae finem, conjunx ejux Gerberga nobilissima, peccatis viri sui compuncta, cum animae ejus absolutionem et requiem quaereret per elemosinarum remedia, voluit ut etiam aecclesia Gemmelacensis, cujus ipse comes defensor fuerat, ex debito animae ipsius persolveret jugiter orationum munia. Unde salubri accepto consilio, annitente sibi filio suo comite Heinrico, fundum proprietatis suae quod Tortosa vocatur in parochia Basciu tradidit Gemmelacensi loco ».
This roughly translates as:
Gerberge, widow of Lambert, count of Louvain, donates to the Abbey of Gembloux, with the consent of her son count Henri, her property called Tortouse in the parish of Baisy, for the repose of the soul of her husband, killed at the Battle of Florennes (September 12, 1015).
    [Circa 1016]
Deed lost. — The donation is reported in these terms by Sigebert (SS, t. VIII, p. 537). "At the same time, a battle was fought in Florina between Count Lambert, son of Raginer Longicoll, and Duke Godfrey. When Lambert fell there by the sword and received the end of his life, the most noble Gerberga, who was conjoined with him, remorseful for her husband's sins, and seeking absolution and repose for his soul through the remedies of alms, wanted the church of Gemmelac, of which he himself had been the defender, to continually pay the duties of prayer out of the debt owed to his soul. Hence, having received wholesome advice, with the consent of her son Count Henry, she gave the estate of her property which is called Tortosa in the parish of Basciu instead of Gemmelac."

Death: 12 September 1015, in battle, at the castle of  Florennes, in modern-day Belgium

Buried: in the Collegiate Church of St. Gertrude in Nivelles, in modern-day Belgium
Annales de la Société archéologique de l'arrondissement de Nivelles vol 4 p58 (1894)
ÉPITAPHIER DE NIVELLES
    Près du Maitre- Autel dans le pavement
Reposent en cette collégiale les très
hauts et très puissants Princes les ducs
de brabant de Glorieuse mémoire
PEPIN 1er père de Ste Gertrude le 21 février
l’an 646.
OTTHON l’an 1005 GERBERGA sa sœur
aiant épousé LAMBERT Comte de Mons
et de Louvain deceda l’an 1016, et luy
l’an 1015. HENRI 1er fils du Comte LAMBERT
l'an 1038. LAMBERT son frère l’an 1051.
HENRI 2e l’an 1068. HENRI 3e l’an 1090
HENRI 4e l’an 1095
This roughly translates as:
EPITAPHES OF NIVELLES
    Near the High Altar in the pavement
Repose in this collegiate church the very high and very powerful Princes, the Dukes of Brabant, of glorious memory.
PEPIN I, father of St. Gertrude, on February 21, in the year 646.
OTTO I, in the year 1005. GERBERGA, his sister, having married LAMBERT, Count of Mons and Louvain, died in the year 1016, and he died in the year 1015. HENRY I, son of Count LAMBERT, in the year 1038. LAMBERT, his brother, in the year 1051.
HENRY II, in the year 1068. HENRY III, in the year 1090.
HENRY IV, in the year 1095.

Sources:

Mahaut de Louvain

Her name is written in French as Mahaut, and in Latin as Mathilda

Father: Lambert de Louvain

Mother: Gerberga de Lorraine

Married: Eustace de Boulogne

Children:
Notes:
Genealogia Comitum Buloniensium (ed. L. C. Bethmann) in Monumenta Germaniæ Historica SS 9 p301 (ed. G. H. Pertz, 1851)
Henricus senior genuit5 Lambertum comitem et Henricum fratrem eius et Mathildem sororem eorum. Hanc Mathildem duxit uxorem comes Eustacbius de Bolonia, et genuit ex ea duos filios, Eustachium et Lantbertum.
  5 Falsum. Henricus senior non pater fuit Lamberti atque Mathildis, sed frater.
This roughly translates as:
Henry the Elder begot5 Count Lambert and his brother Henry and their sister Mathilde. This Mathilde was married to Count Eustace of Bologna, and by her he begot two sons, Eustace and Lambert.
  5 False. Henry the Elder was not the father of Lambert and Mathilde, but the brother.

The Complete Peerage vol 1 p352 (George Edward Cokayne, enlarged by Vicary Gibbs, 1910)
  [ADELAIDE or ADELIZ, sister of William the Conqueror] m., 2ndly, Lambert, (a) COUNT OF LENS in Artois, who d. s.p.m., being slain in 1054.
  (a) He was yr. s. of Eustace I, Count of Boulogne, by Mahaut, da. of Lambert I, Count of Louvain.

Sources:

Reginar I

Married: Alberada

Children:
Occupation: Nobleman and lay-abbot.
Reginar was variously referred to as duke, count, marquis, and missus dominicus. He is described in Richeri Historiarum Liber Primus as "a nobleman of consular rank" (vir consularis et nobilis). Reginar was also lay-abbot of Echternach from 897 until 915, as well as of Stavelot-Malmedy. Saint-Servais and Saint-Maximin.

The Henry Project: The Ancestors of King Henry II of England
Regnier I
  Count (Hesbaye?, Masau?)
  Lay-abbot of Echternach, 897-915.
  Lay-abbot of Stavelot-Malmedy.
  Lay-abbot of Saint-Servais.
  Lay-abbot of Saint-Maximin.
  "Dux", 898, 905.
  "Missus Dominicus", 911.
  Marquis, 915.
  Regnier I may be the Rainerus who was mentioned in the Capitulary of Quierzy (11 June 877), along with several others (including a Giselbert) ["Si versus Mosam perrexerit, sint cum eo Franco episcopus, Iohannes episcopus, Arnulfus comes, Gislebertus, Letardus, Matfridus, Widricus, Gotbertus, Adalbertus, Ingelgerus, Rainerus, una cum praedictis." MGH Leg. 1: 539]. According to Folcuin, writing a century later, Regnier joined with Franco, bishop of Liège, to fight the Normans, until their king, Godefrid, was converted (882) and later killed (885) ["Tali ergo modo turbata ecclesiae pace, et firmamento regni posito in formidine, Franco praedictus episcopus, coactus iusta, quantum ad saeculares, et vere necessaria bella suscipere, accito sibi Reginerio quodam, quem Longum-collum vocant, viro strennuo et in bellicis rebus exercitato, hii frequenter in acie confligentes, perraro victi, multoties extitere victores. Nec cessatum est donec peste attrito rege eorum Godefrido ad fidem Christi converso et baptisato, nec multo post interfecto, pax ecclesiae redditur." Folcuin, Gesta abbatum Lobiensium, c. 17, MGH SS 4: 62]. In 895, along with count Baldwin of Flanders and Baldwin's brother Raoul, Regnier changed sides from king Charles the Simple to Zwentibold, king of Lorraine ["Balduinus vero comes et Rodulfus frater eius, necnon et Ragnerus, non bono consilio accepto, Karolum reliquerunt, et se ad Zuendebolchum contulerunt." Ann. Vedast., s.a. 895]. In 898, Zwentibold deprived Regnier of all of his lands in the kingdom of Lorraine, and gave him fourteen days to leave the kingdom ["Eodem anno Zuendibolch Reginarium ducem sibi fidissimum et unicum consiliarium, nescio cuius instinctu, a se reppulit et honoribus, hereditatibus, quas in suo regno habebat, interdictis eum extra regnum infra XIIII dies secedere iubet." Regino, Chronicon, s.a. 898, 145]. Regnier returned to Charles and promised his loyalty, persuading him to invade Zwentibold's kingdom ["Rainerus/Ragnerus vero comes venit ad Karolum regem; et fidem ei promittens, suasit illi atque suis fidelibus invadere regnum Zuendebolchi." Ann. Vedast., s.a. 898].
  The most detailed information about Regnier's geographical sphere of activity comes from the lay-abbacies which he held. He was lay-abbot of Echternach, apparently from 897 (third year of Zwentibold) to 915 (twenty-first year of Charles the Simple, or his fourth year as king of Lorraine) ["Reinerus 19 annis presidens huic loco, anno incarnationis Domini 915, indict. 3, anno 21 regnante Karolo, filio Ludovici Balbi ex Adeleida regina, contulit huic loco Berge et Rudmachra, Waderloi et Thremethe cum aecclesiis et ceteris omnibus suis appenditiis." Catalogi abbatum Epternacensium (Catalogue 1), MGH SS 13: 739; "Rainerus iunior comes et abbas praefuit huic loco 19 annis, id est a 3.anno [Zuen]diboldi regis usque ad 4. annum Karoli regis, filii Ludovici Balbi, qui est annus incarnationis Domini 915." ibid. (Catalogue 2), 741]. He was also lay-abbot of Stavelot-Malmedy [Series abbatum Stabulensium, MGH SS 13: 293; Bernard (1957), 5 ff.], Saint-Servais [Dümmler (1862-88), 3: 468 & n. 1; Parisot (1898), 544; RHF 9: 541-2, 546] and Saint-Maximin and perhaps also of Chèvremont [Parisot (1898), 603; Knetsch (1917), 12-3]. No record tells us the region or regions over which Regnier was count. Although he is often called count of Hainaut and Hesbaye, there is no authority for this earlier than the unreliable Dudo, who calls him "duke" of those places ["... Raginerum Longi-Colli, Hasbacensem et Hainaucensem ducem, ..." Dudo, ii, 9 (p. 150)]. The presence of a count Sigard of Hainaut in 908 and 920 suggests that Regnier was not count there at the time of his death [see Dhondt (1945), 125-7]. Brabant suggested that Regnier was count of the western part of Hainaut and Sigard of the eastern [Brabant (1881), 28 (#31)], while Vanderkindere suggested that Regnier was count of Hainaut until his disgrace of 898, and that Sigard became count at that time [Vanderkindere (1902), 2: 65-6, 78]. In a discussion of the area ruled by Regnier as count, Parisot suggested that he was perhaps count of Hesbaye and Masau [Parisot (1898), 562-3].
  Regnier's supposed status as duke of Lorraine has also been widely discussed. The basis for his assumption of that title is not strong. One problem is chronology, for the two early places where Regnier is described as dux occur at times when it would be hard to argue that he was then duke of Lorraine. Regnier is called dux in the 898 entry of Regino of Prüm (see above), but he was probably not duke of Lorraine at that time, because Lorraine was then a kingdom under the direct rule of Zwentibold [Parisot (1898), 543]. He signs a charter as dux on 21 July 905 [Parisot (1898), 563; Wampach (1935), 154, n. 5], but the duke of Lorraine at that time was Gebhard, who is called duke of Lorraine in an act of 24 June 903 ["Kebehart dux regni quod a multis Hlotharii dicitur" MGH DD LdK 126 (#20)] and probably held that title until his death in 910. In 911 Regnier appears as "comes et missus dominicus necnon et abba Stabulensis atque Malmundariensis monasteriorum" [Wampach (1935), 154, n. 5; Parisot (1898), 601]. In a charter of king Charles "the Simple" in the period 908×915, he appears as "comes et demarcus" alongside duke Robert (later king Robert I) ["... comes Reynerus et demarcus et Rotbertus comes et demarcus ..." Wampach (1935), 165-6 (#144); see the page of Wigeric for a full transcript]. In another charter of Charles, on 25 August 915, he appears alongside Robert as "marchio" ["Raginerus Marchio strenuus" RHF 9: 523]. These titles of missus dominicus, demarcus, and marchio suggest that Regnier had some sort of special status in Lorraine between 910 and 915, but they do not prove that he was duke of Lorraine [see Parisot (1898), 563, 601-3].
  Regnier is sometimes given the nickname "Langhals" (Collo-longus, Longicollus) ["Hac etiam tempestate Ragenerus, vir consularis et nobilis cognomento Collo-longus, cuius etiam obitus multam rei publicae in Belgica intulit labem, communi corporis valitudine tactus et oppressus, finem vitae apud Marsnam palatium accepit." Richer, i, 34, MGH SS 3: 579; Folcuin, Gesta abbatum Lobiensium, c. 17, MGH SS 4: 62 (see above); Dudo, ii, 9 (p. 150, see above)]. However, since the writers who give him that nickname all wrote after his grandson Regnier III, who is also recorded using that nickname, it is possible that Regnier I was mistakenly given that nickname in confusion with his grandson [Parisot (1898), 610-1].
Bibliography
Ann. Vedast. = B. de Simson, ed., Annales Xantenses et Annales Vedastini (MGH SRG 12, 1909), 41-82.
Brabant (1881) = Firmin Brabant, "Étude sur Regnier I au Long Col et la Lotharingie à son époque", Mémoires couronnes et autres mémoires publiée par l'Académie Royale des sciences, des lettres et des beaux-arts de Belgique 31 (1881). [Since page numbers are often cut off in the easily available Google Books version of this work, I have also cited Brabant's section numbers.]
Dhondt (1945) = Jan Dhondt, "Note critique sur les comtes de Hainaut au dixième siècle", Annales du cercle archéologique de Mons 59 (1945): 123-144.
Dudo = Jules Lair, ed., Dudonis Sancti Quintini De moribus et actis primorum Normanniæ ducum (Mémoires de la Société des Antiquaires de Normandie, 23, Caen, 1865); see also Eric Christiansen, ed. & trans., Dudo of St. Quentin, History of the Normans (The Boydell Press, Woodbridge, Suffolk, 1998). Page numbers refer to Lair's edition.
Dümmler (1862-88) = Ernst Dümmler, Geschichte des Ostfränkischen Reiches (Leipzig, 1862-88).
Knetsch (1917) = C. Knetsch, Das Haus Brabant (Darmstadt, 1917).
MGH DD = Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Diplomata series (LdK = Ludwig das Kind; OI = Otto I).
MGH Leg. = Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Leges series.
MGH SRG = Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Scriptores rerum Germanicarum (separate editions).
MGH SS = Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Scriptores series.
Parisot (1898) = Robert Parisot, Le Royaume de Lorraine sous les Carolingiens (1898, reprinted Geneva, 1975).
Regino, Chronicon = Friedrich Kurze, ed., Reginonis abbatis Prumiensis Chronicon cum continuatione Treverensi (MGH SRG, Hannover, 1890).
RHF = Recueil des historiens des Gaules et de la France.
Vanderkindere (1902) = Léon Vanderkindere, La Formation Territoriale des Principautes Belge au Moyen Age (2 vols., 2nd ed., Brussels, 1902, reprinted 1981).
Wampach (1935) = Camillus Wampach, Urkunden- und Quellenbuch zur Geschichte der altluxemburgischen Territorien bis zur burgundischen Zeit, I (Luxemburg, 1935).

Death: 916, at Maarssen castle, in the modern day province of Utreacht, Netherlands, of natural causes.
Richeri Historiarum Liber Primus in Richer: Histoire de son temps p70 (ed. J. Gaudet, 1845)
    XXXIV.
  Hac etiam tempestate Ragenerus, vir consularis et nobilis, cognomento Collo-Longus, cujus etiam obitus multam rei publicæ in Belgica intulit labem, communi corporis valitudine tactus et oppressus, finem vitæ apud Marsnam palatium accepit. Cujus exequiis Karolus rex interfuisse dicitur, ac oculos lacrimis suffusus dixisse: O, inquiens, ex alto humilem, ex amplo artissimum! altero personam, altero monumentum significans. Peractisque exsequiis, Gisleberto ejus filio, jam facto juveni, paternum honorem, coram principibus qui confluxerant liberalissime accommodat.  
This roughly translates as:
  During this time, too, Ragener, a nobleman of consular rank, nicknamed Long-Neck, whose death dealt a blow to the public order in Belgium, was touched and oppressed by his general health, and died at the palace of Marsna. King Charles is said to have attended his funeral, and with tears in his eyes he said: "O, how greatness is lowered, how space is narrowed!", referring to the person on one hand and the monument on the other. And when the funeral was over, he most liberally accorded his father's rank to his son Gislebert, who was now a young man, in the presence of the princes who had gathered.

Annalista Saxo in Corpus historicorum medii ævi p242 (Jo. Georgio Eccardo 1723)
  Anno Dominicæ Incarnationis IXC XVI. … Hac tempeſtate Raginerus Princeps nobilis partium Karoli fidiſſimus Tutor, finem vitæ accepit, cujus exequiis Karolus interfuit. Gililberto filio ejus jam adulto paternum honorem coram principibus, qui confluxerant, liberaliter contulit: hic opibus inclitus, temeritate princeps, pro abjectione Karoli multa moliebatur.  
This roughly translates as:
  In the year of the Incarnation of the Lord 916. … At this time, Raginerus, the noble prince, the most faithful guardian of Charles' party, met the end of his life, at whose funeral Charles attended. He liberally bestowed paternal honor on his son Gilbert, now an adult, before the princes who had gathered: this man, renowned for his wealth, but a prince of rashness, attempted many things to abhor Charles.

Sources:

Reginar II

Father: Reginar I

Mother: Alberada

Children:
Occupation: Count of Hainaut

Notes:
In 924 Reginar was attacked by the king at his castle of Mons, and, in a truce, gave up his son to the king as a hostage.
Flodoardi annales in Monumenta Germaniæ Historica SS 3 p373 (ed. G. H. Pertz, 1839)
  Anno 924
Inde reversi circa quoddam castellum venimus, quod dicitur Mons sancti Iohannis. Hoc Raginardus invaserat, et retinebat. Hortatu tamen nepotum suorum, Walonis et Gisleberti, ceterorumque quos rex ad id expugnandum miserat, obsidem regi filium suum transmisit. Quem rex, exoratus a propinquis Ragenardi et Hugone fratre suo, recipi iussit, et Ragenardo inducias dedit, caeterosque omnes qui cum Ragenardo erant, obstrictos sacramento reliquid. Interea Gislebertum Berengarius, qui sororem ipsius uxorem habebat, comprehendit, quemque oblatis obsidibus sibi pro eo filiis Ragenarii, fratris ipsius Gisleberti, dimisit. Idem vero Gislebertus dimissus, terram Berengarii Ragenariique fratris sui et Isaac comitis depraedationibus plurimis vastat. Post haec regi Rodulfo legatos, ut ab eo reciperetur, dirigit. Quod rex fidelium suorum consilio, ipsius abominatus periuria et instabilitatem, facere contempsit. 
This roughly translates as:
In the year 924
…Returning from there, we came to a certain castle, which is called the Mount of Saint John. Raginard had invaded and held it. However, at the urging of his nephews, Walloni and Gislebert, and others whom the king had sent to conquer it, he sent his son as a hostage to the king. The king, having been entreated by Raginard's relatives and Hugh his brother, ordered him to be received, and gave Raginard a truce, and left all the others who were with Raginard bound by oath. In the meantime, Berengarius, who had married his sister, arrested Gislebert, and then he was released, giving as hostages the children of Raginard II, his brother. But Gislebert, having been released, devastated the land of Berengard, his brother Raginard, and Count Isaac with many plunderings. After this, he sent ambassadors to King Rudolf to have it taken back by him. Which the king, on the advice of his faithful, abhorred his perfidy and instability, disdained to do.

Sources:

Reginar III

Father: Reginar II, count of Hainaut

Married: Adela

Children:
Occupation: Count of Hainaut
Reginar III was count of Hainaut from approximately 940 until his exile in 958.

Notes:
In 956, Reginar seized Brussels and the surrounding areas which were in the dower of Gerberga, regent and formerly queen of France and the widow of Reginar's uncle, Gislebert, duke of Lorraine. King Lothaire of France, together with Bruno, Archbishop of Cologne, invaded the seized territory, captured his fort on the Chier and took his family prisoner, releasing them only after Reginar returned the land which he had taken.
Flodoardi annales in Monumenta Germaniæ Historica SS 3 p403 (ed. G. H. Pertz, 1839)
  Anno 956
Lotharius rex munitionem quamdam super Charum fluvium, quam Ragenarius cornes Ursioni cuidem Remensis aecclesiae militi abstulerat, pugnando recepit; et infantes Ragenarii ac milites quosdam ibidem inventos secum abduxit; ipsumque castrum direptum incendit. Hugo princeps obiit. Gerberga regina colloquium habuit cum Brunone fratre suo, ubi praedicto Ragenrio sui militis et infantes reddantur;
This roughly translates as:
   In the year 956
King Lothair fought and recovered a certain fortress on the river Chier, which Ragenarius had taken from Ursion, a soldier of the church of Reims; and he carried off with him Ragenarius's infants and certain soldiers found there; and he plundered and burned the castle itself. Prince Hugh died. Queen Gerberga had a conference with her brother Bruno, where she returned to the aforesaid Ragenarius his soldiers and infants;

Gesta Normannorum ducum (Guillaume de Jumièges) book II pp216-8 (ed. Jean Marx, 1914)
INTERPOLATIONS DE ROBERT DE TORIGNY
        [VIII]
Congesto et exaggerato atque dato Frisiae tributo, illico librat in altum carbasa navibus data, vertitque proras ad Rainerii Prolixi Juguli terras, ulcisci se cupiens de ipso, qui adfuit Walgris cum Frisonibus jam prostratis in prelio. Pererrato ponto, intrat Scaldi alveum et cis citraque terram depopulans super Longi Colli Rainerium, venit ad quamdam abbatiam dictam nomine Condatum. Rainerius vero multa prelia contra eum fecit, sed ex omnibus Rollo victor potens exstitit. Devastabatur terra utriusque exercitus mala perpessa. Prevalida fames exoritur, quia terra aratro non scinditur. Vulgus penuria affligitur, fame bellisque atteritur. Diffidunt vivere cuncti, salute victus privati. Quadam igitur die (1), Rainerio loco insidiarum commorante, clam super Dacos cupiente irruere, Daci eum hinc inde congesti vallaverunt, eumque nimium debellantem manciparunt, vinctumque ad Rollonem duxerunt. Ipsa namque die Raineridae, Dacorum ut caperent aliquos latebris commorantes, invaserunt duodecim milites precipuos Rollonis et constanti virtute ceperunt. Tunc uxor Rainerii, flens et ejulans super eo, convocatis principibus suis, misit ad Rollonem, ut pro duodecim comitibus captis redderet sibi suum seniorem. Illico Rollo, suscepta legatione, remisit ad eam dicens: « Non reddetur Rainerius tibi, sed decollabitur, nisi reddideris prius meos comites, mihi insuper dederis quidquid auri et argenti sui ducaminis, cum juramento Christianae religionis, quin etiam tributum istius regionis ». Mox conjux Rainerii, lugubri legatione afflicta, comites captos Rolloni remisit, aurumque et argentum quod usquam invenire potuit. Quin etiam illud quod erat sacris altaribus concessum, pariterque vectigal illius ducaminis, cum jurejurando, quod plus metalli non haberet nec exigere posset, supplicibus verbis et deprecativis misit ad Rollonem, ut redderet sibi suum virum. Ipse vero motus pietate vocibusque suppliciter petentium, ad se fecit venire Longi Colli Rainerium, verbisque pacificis affatur eum: « Rainerie dux, milesque asperime, regumque et ducum atque comitum superbo satus sanguine, quid tibi feceram olim injuriae, propter quod preliatus es cum Walgris et Flandrensibus contra me? Si sevire modo voles, armorum spicula desunt, et satellites. Si velis a nobis fuga labi, compedibus intricatus nunc captus potes evadere. Talionem, sicut Frisonibus, tibi reddidi pro malis quae mihi sine re intulisti. Uxor tua et principes tui quidquid auri et argenti recuperare potuerunt pro te miserunt mihi. Dimidium exaggerati muneris reddam tibi, teque tuae uxori remittam. Hinc mansuescens requiesce, et nullatenus sit discordia sed sempiterna inter me et te pax et amicitia ». His dictis, Rainerii crura solvuntur compedibus. Statimque Rollo sibi federatum, muneribusque et donis premaximis ditatum, quin etiam reddita mediate legatorum munerum, ad uxorem suam remisit Rainerium.
  (1) Dudon, II, 10, p. 150.
 
This roughly translates as:
INTERPOLATIONS OF ROBERT DE TORIGNY
        [VIII]
Having collected and exaggerated the tribute of Frisia and given it, he immediately set sail for the ships given to him, and turned his bows to the lands of Rainer the Long-necked, desiring to avenge himself on him, who had been present at the Walgri with the Frisians already defeated in battle. Having wandered the sea, he entered the channel of the Scheldt and, ravaging the land on both sides of the Long-necked Rainer, came to a certain abbey called Condatum. Rainer fought many battles against him, but Rollo emerged victorious and powerful over all. The land of both armies was devastated by the evils suffered. A great famine arose, because the land was not tilled by the plough. The common people were afflicted by want, and were worn out by hunger and war. All were divided in their lives, deprived of their safety by the conquerors. One day, therefore, while Rainer was staying in a place of ambush, desiring to secretly attack the Dacians, the Dacians surrounded him on both sides, and, having defeated him too fiercely, they captured him and led him bound to Rollo. For on that very day the women of Rainer, who were staying in hiding places to capture some of the Dacians, attacked twelve of Rollo's leading soldiers and captured them with constant valor. Then Rainer's wife, weeping and wailing over him, summoned her princes and sent to Rollo to return her elder to her in exchange for the twelve captured counts. Rollo immediately accepted the embassy and sent it back to her, saying: "Rainer will not be returned to you, but will be beheaded, unless you first return my counts, and in addition give me whatever gold and silver of his duchy is, with an oath of the Christian religion, and also the tribute of this region." Soon Rainier's wife, afflicted by the mournful embassy, ​​sent back the captured earls to Rollo, and the gold and silver that she could find anywhere. Moreover, she also sent what had been granted to the sacred altars, as well as the revenue of that duchy, with an oath that she had no more metal and could not demand, to Rollo with supplicating words and entreaties, that he would restore her husband to her. But he himself, moved by the piety and the voices of those who supplicated, brought Rainier of the Long Neck to him, and spoke to him in peaceful words: "Rainier, Duke, and most harsh knight, and proud of the blood of kings and dukes and earls, what wrong did I do you in the past, for which you fought with the Walgri and the Flemish against me? If you wish to serve now, the spears of your weapons and the escorts are lacking. If you wish to escape from us by flight, you can escape being caught in chains now. I have repaid you, as I did to the Frisians, for the evils you have unjustly inflicted on me." Your wife and your princes have sent me whatever gold and silver they could recover for you. I will repay you half of the exaggerated gift, and I will send you back to your wife. Hence, meek, rest, and let there be no discord at all, but eternal peace and friendship between me and you.” With these words, Rainier’s legs were untied from the fetters. And immediately Rollo, who had become his ally, enriched him with gifts and most excellent gifts, and even returned the gifts of the ambassadors, sent Rainier back to his wife.
(1) Dudo, II, 10, p. 150.

In 958, Reginar was exiled by Archbishop Bruno, the emperor's brother, for his insolence, robberies and attacks on the church.
Annalista Saxo in Corpus historicorum medii ævi p299 (Jo. Georgio Eccardo, 1723)
  Anno Dominicæ Incarnationis IXC LIIX. … Brun Archicpiſcopus & Dux Lotharingiæ ſecundas partes in regno fratris ſui potenter & induſtrie adminiſtrans, Raginerum Montenſem Comitem, qui Longicollus cognominabatur, apud Valentinianas evocatum cepit, & irrevocabili exilio damnavit apud Slavos, eo quod regnum bcllis inquietabat, vel quod verius ſuiſſe dicitur, pro eo quod mortuo Giſilberto Conſanguineo ſuo, ea quæ ipſe uxori ſuæ Gerbergæ ſorori Regis in dotem contulerat, violenter auferre præſumebat. Bonis Ragineri ad fiſcum publicatis, filii ejus Raginerus & Lambertus ad Lotharium Francorum Regem confugerunt.  
This roughly translates as:
  In the year of the Incarnation of the Lord 958. … Brun, Archbishop and Duke of Lotharingia, powerfully and industriously administering the second part of his brother's kingdom, summoned Count Raginar of Mons, who was surnamed Longicollus, and at Valentiniana he captured him, and condemned him to irrevocable exile among the Slavs, because he disturbed the kingdom of the poor, or, as is more truly said, because he presumed to violently take away what he had given as dowry to his wife Gerberg, the King's sister, after the death of his cousin Gisilbert. Raginar's goods having been confiscated to the treasury, his sons Raginar and Lambert fled to Lothar, King of the Franks.

Gesta Episcoporum Cameracensium in Monumenta Germaniæ Historica SS 7 pp439-40 (ed. G. H. Pertz, 1846)
  95. De rabie Raineri et Lantberti contra imperatorem. Audita igitur longe lateque morte imperatoris, Rainerus atque Lantbertus, filii videlicet Raineri, quem vivente adhuc imperatore archiepiscopus Bruno, qui sub fratre monarchiam tenebat, pro insolentiis, pro rapinis, pro aecclesiae incussionibus, pro multis etiam sceleribus saepe arguendo corrigebat, saepe beneficiis eius servitiam placando leniebat; sed cum tamen eius feritatem siriatico turgore inflatam nullo modo premere potuerit, in exilio tandem perpetuo dampnatum fratri contradidit, terramque suam primum Richario nobili viro, (an. 957) sed hoc defuncto Warnero et Raynaldo, quibus etiam defunctis, Godefrido atque Arnulfo comitibus nobilissimis contulit, filiosque eius praefatos a patriis finibus pro eisdem insolentiis eliminavit;
This roughly translates as:
  95. Of the rage of Rainer and Lanbert against the emperor. Therefore, having heard far and wide of the death of the emperor, Rainer and Lanbert, namely the sons of Rainer, whom Archbishop Bruno, who held the monarchy under his brother, while the emperor was still alive, often corrected by reproof for his insolence, for his robberies, for his attacks on the church, and for many crimes as well, and often softened his servitude by placating him with benefits; but since he could in no way suppress his ferocity, which was inflated by the syriac turgor, he finally condemned him to perpetual exile and gave his land to his brother, first to the nobleman Richard (in the year 957), but this after the death of Warner and Raynald, who also died, he gave it to the most noble counts Godfrey and Arnulf, and removed his aforementioned sons from their native lands for the same insolences;

Death: in or before 973, in exile in Bohemia

Sources:
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