 Godfrey succeeded his father in the Ardennes counties; he appeared as Count of Verdun about 960.He married Matilda, a daughter of the Saxon margrave Hermann Billung and widow of Count Baldwin III of Flanders.In 1012 his son Godfrey II was appointed Duke of Lower Lorraine by the East Frankish (German) king Henry II, in order to protect the lands against claims raised by West Francia (France).