For the most part, Flanders or the western part of Belgium was a vassal of the French King; Lotharingia or the eastern part of Belgium was a vassal of the German Empire. The dependency of Lotharingia, however, was less definite than was that of Flanders to France, for the numerous principalities into which the former was broken up introduced more autonomy for the local dynasties and rendered intervention on the part of the Emperor more difficult. Flanders, on the other hand, as a more homogeneous territory, was more closely united with its feudal lord. The ultimate fate of Flanders and Lotharingia depended, however, on the degree of independence that their princes would be able to win. In accordance with the general politics of all vassals, the counts of Flanders and the dukes of Lotharingia dreamed of but one thing, namely, of escape from the domination of their feudal lord. The result was that, after some centuries, both parts of Belgium were brought more and more closely together, and from this resulted that much-needed political unity, the only hope of a real independent Belgium. The political history of the country in feudal times (the tenth to the twelfth century) must now be examined. Annexed to the German Empire, Lotharingia became from 925 a sort of German province, especially during the reign of Emperor Otto I (962), a man of powerful personality. Otto clearly realized that no layman at the head of Lotharingia would be loyal enough to submit entirely to his own politics and he therefore appealed to the devotion and faithfulness of the bishops. These were to be the agents of the German influence and domination. In 953 Otto appointed his own brother, Bruno, as Duke of Lotharingia and obtained for him at the same time the archbishopric of Cologne. Having thus acquired control of both the political and ecclesiastical power, Bruno became the intermediary by whom not only the duchy but also the Lotharingian church was to be more and more Germanized.