Counts of Chiny

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The counts of Chiny were part of the nobility of Lotharingia that ruled from the 9th to the 14th century in what is now part of Belgium.

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It has been proposed that the County of Chiny was created in the early 10th century out of the ancient county of Ivois. The county now forms part of the province of Luxembourg in present-day Belgium. The county of Chiny included the present-day cantons of Virton, Etalle, Florenville, Neufchâteau, Montmédy and Carignan, as well as the castles of Warcq on the Meuse, which was built in 971 by Otto, ancestor of the later Counts of Chiny.

It has also been proposed that there is a close relationship between the counts of Chiny and the early counts of Looz, the counts of Verdun and the bishops of Verdun. [1] [2] [3]

The family of the counts of Chiny merged with the family of the counts of Looz. The final count of Chiny, Arnold IV de Rumingy, sold the county to the duke of Luxembourg, ending a dynasty of five hundred years.

Ivois

Ivois was a military settlement of the Romans under the name Epoissium, Eposium, Epusum or Ivosium. Gaugericus, Bishop of Cambrai, was born in Eposium around 550. The division of the Lotharingian territories was agreed to on 8 Aug 870 between Louis the German and his half-brother Charles the Bald. This agreement allocated Wavrense comitatus II [two counties in Wavrense] to Charles. Although the name does not appear in the document, it is assumed that one of these was Ivois. Ivois is first referred to by name in a charter dated 21 Nov 955 which records an agreement between Eremboldus miles [knight] and Robert, the Archbishop of Trier, relating to property including Aduna in comitatu Ivotio [the county of Ivois] inter Boura et Lannilley.

Ivois, with its strategic location between the French and German kingdoms, was an ideal neutral location for meetings between the Frankish kings and the Holy Roman Emperors. Such a meeting took place between King Robert II of France and Emperor Henry II on 11 August 1023, where they swore mutual friendship and resolved to reform the clergy, calling for an assembly at Pavia of both German and Italian bishops.

Later in the eleventh century, upon after the death of his mother, Gisela of Swabia, in 1043, Emperor Henry III held a meeting in Ivois with King Henry I of France. It has been speculated that it may have been in connection with the emperor’s upcoming wedding with Agnes of Poitou. They met again in May 1056, and the matter of Lorraine was so contentious that the king challenged the emperor to single combat. The emperor left without a response in the dead of night, returning to Germany where the disaffected members of his domain were returning to obedience.

Counts of Ivois

The known counts of Ivois are the following:

Ricfried is also the great-grandfather of Giselbert, the first count of Looz. Presumably, the agreement above with Robert of Trier is with Étienne .

Counts of Chiny

The Counts of Chiny begin with the first dynasty started by Otto:

With the marriage of Joan and Arnold, the counties of Looz and Chiny became merged in a single office (with the exception of Louis V), beginning the second dynasty of counts.

Arnold IV sold Chiny and Looz to Wenceslaus I, Duke of Luxembourg, on 16 June 1364, thus ending the line of Counts of Chiny and Looz.

There are many interesting family relationships among the counts of Ivois and Chiny that include two counts of Verdun and a host of others, including:

An alternate history of the origins of the Counts of Chiny is provided by Jean Bertels (known as Bertelius), abbot of Saint Gregory of Munster, who wrote of Chiny in his Historia Luxemburgensis, first published in Cologne in 1605. Here he claims that the territory now known as Chiny was owned by Ricuin, Duke of Mosellane [presumably, Ricwin, Count of Verdun], and it served as dowry for his younger daughter Mathilde in her marriage to Arnulf Grandson, a subject of Ricuin. Arnoul was granted the title Count of Chiny by Archbishop Bruno the Great after a high church was built. Thus Arnoul became the first Count of Chiny, father of Otto I. According to Laret-Kayser, this narrative is a complete fabrication, probably initiated in the thirteenth century by Count Louis V to enhance is standing at the Tournament of Chauvency by showing an ancestral line to the Counts of Verdun. Nevertheless, this version continues to be repeated.

See also

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bishopric of Verdun</span> Former state of the Holy Roman Empire ruled by the Bishop of Verdun

The Bishopric of Verdun was a state of the Holy Roman Empire. It was located at the western edge of the Empire and was bordered by France, the Duchy of Luxembourg, and the Duchy of Bar. Some time in the late 990s, the suzerainty of the County of Verdun passed from Herman of Ename of the House of Ardenne–Verdun to the Bishopric of Verdun.

Otto I(Eudes) (died 987), Count of Chiny, perhaps son of Adalbert I the Pious, Count of Vermandois, and Gerberge of Lorraine. Although he probably did not use the title, Otto is regarded as the first Count of Chiny.

Louis I, Count of Chiny (987–1025) and Count of Verdun (1024–1025), son of Otto I, Count of Chiny, and an unknown mother.

Louis II, Count of Chiny, son of Louis I, Count of Chiny and Verdun, and Adélaïde de Saint Varme. He left very few traces in history and nothing is known about his reign.

Arnold I, Count of Chiny, son of Louis II, Count of Chiny, and his wife Sophie. He succeeded his father as count before 1066.

Otto II, Count of Chiny, son of Arnold I, Count of Chiny, and Adélaïs.

Albert (Albert I) (before 1131 – 29 September 1162), Count of Chiny, son of Otto II, Count of Chiny, and Adélaïs of Namur. He succeeded his father before 1131 and spent most of his time in Chiny, not taking part in the various conflicts which shook the region.

Louis IV the Young, count of Chiny from 1189 to 1226, son of Louis III, count of Chiny, and Sophie. Louis was the last of the first dynasty of counts of Chiny. Having no son, he prepared his eldest daughter Jeanne as his successor. Louis marked his reign by issuing the first postage stamp in the county.

Joan was the Countess of Chiny. Joan was the daughter of Louis IV, Count of Chiny, and Matilda of Avesnes, and became ruler of the county upon her father’s death on 7 October 1226. She married Arnold IV, Count of Loon, son of Gerard III, Count of Rieneck, and Kunigunde von Zimmern, in 1228, whereupon he assumed the role of Count of Chiny.

John I (Jean) (d. 1278 or 1279), Count of Looz and Count of Chiny, eldest son of Arnold IV, Count of Looz and Chiny, and Jeanne, Countess of Chiny. He succeeded his father in 1272 or 1273, as the Count of Looz and Chiny. Virtually nothing is known about his reign.

Louis V (1235–1299), Count of Chiny from 1268–1299, the youngest son of Arnold IV, Count of Looz and Chiny, and Jeanne, Countess of Chiny. He became Count of Chiny in 1268 when his parents entrusted him with the county before their death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arnold V, Count of Loon</span>

Arnold V de Looz, was Count of Loon from 1279 to 1323 and Count of Chiny from 1299 to 1310. He was the son of John I, Count of Looz and Mathilde Jülich.

Louis IV, Count of Looz (1323-1336) and Count of Chiny (1313-1336), son of Arnold V, Count of Looz and Chiny, and Marguerite Vianden.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diederik of Heinsberg, Count of Loon</span>

Diederik of Heinsberg, Count of Loon and Count of Chiny (1336-1361), was the son of Godfrey II, Lord of Heinsberg, and Matilda.

Godfrey de Heinsberg, Lord of Daelenbroeck, Count of Looz and Count of Chiny (1361–1362), son of John of Heinsberg, Lord of Daelenbroeck.

Arnold VI de Rumigny, Count of Looz and Count of Chiny (1362–1364), son of William of Oreye, Lord of Rumigny, and Jeanne de Looz, daughter of Arnold V, Count of Loon and Chiny, and, Marguerite Vianden, Lady of Perwez and Grimbergen.

Arnold I, Count of Loon (Looz) from about 1079, son of Emmo, Count of Loon, and Suanhildis, daughter of Dirk III, Count of Holland, and his wife Othelandis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John II of Loon</span>

John II of Loon, Lord of Jülich, Heinsberg and Löwenberg, son of Godfrey de Heinsberg, Count of Looz, and Philippa of Jülich, daughter of William V, Duke of Jülich, and Joanna of Hainaut. Although John was the first son of Godfrey, he did not inherit the countship of Looz, the title instead going to Arnold of Rumingy.

References

  1. ↑ Vanderkindere, L. (1899). Histoire de la formation territoriale des principautés belges au moyen âge. Bruxelles: Hayez.
  2. ↑ Brooke, Z. N. (Zachary Nugent)., Previté-Orton, C. W. (Charles William)., Tanner, J. R. (Joseph Robson)., Whitney, J. Pounder., Gwatkin, H. Melvill., Bury, J. B. (John Bagnell). (19111936). The Cambridge medieval history. New York: Macmillan. Volume III.
  3. ↑ Jeantin, J. François Louis. (185859). Histoire du comté de Chiny et des pays haut-wallons. Paris: J. Tardieu.
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