Wars of the Loon Succession

Wars of the Loon Succession
	Part of the Liégeois–Brabantian Wars
	; Loon ; Liège (Lüttich); Brabant ; Chiny ; Luxemburg (Lützelburg); Southern Netherlands c. 1250. Loon and Chiny disappeared from the map because of the war.
Date	1336 – 1366
Location	County of Loon
Result	Liégeois victory
Territorial; changes	Annexation of Loon by Liège ; Annexation of Chiny by Luxemburg
Belligerents
County of Loon ; Supported by:; Duchy of Brabant ; (1337–1363); Duchy of Luxemburg (1361–1366)	Prince-Bishopric of Liège ; Supported by:; Avignon Papacy
Commanders and leaders
Diederik of Heinsberg ; John III of Brabant Arnold of Rummen ; Wenceslaus I ; Joanna of Brabant (1361–1363)Contents First period (1336–1346) ; Escalation ; Diederik versus Adolph ; Second period (1361–1366) ; Arnold and Godfrey versus Engelbert ; Arnold versus John of Arkel ; References ; Godfrey of Dalenbroek (1361–1362)	Adolph II of the Mark ; Engelbert III ; John of Arkel ; Pope Benedict XII

Last updated October 09, 2022

The Wars of the Loon Succession (Dutch: Loonse Successieoorlogen, French: Guerres de succession de Looz) is the name of the war of succession that arose after the childless death of Louis IV, Count of Loon on 22 January 1336. In the first period, the County of Loon led by claimant Diederik of Heinsberg managed to maintain its autonomy in relation to the Prince-Bishopric of Liège. During the second period, however, Arnold of Rummen, the last indigenous claimant to the title of count of Loon, first had to sell the County of Chiny to the Duchy of Luxemburg to cover his military expenses, and soon after conceded defeat. The wars came to an end with the annexation of Loon by Liège in 1366.

Since there was a time of peace between 1346 and 1361, it is common to refer to the Wars of the Loon Succession in plural, as it is to call it the War of the Loon Succession in singular with two 'periods', 'acts' or 'phases'.^[2]

First period (1336–1346)

Escalation

Diederik of Heinsberg, the son of Louis' sister,^[2] claimed the title of Count of Loon, and had himself proclaimed the heir with the assistance of John III, Duke of Brabant.^[3] Even before his death, Louis had in fact designated Diederik as his successor.^[2] However, the chapter of Saint Lambert's Cathedral in Liège, of which Loon was a fief, refused to appoint him. The chapter invoked a decision made at the Diet of Frankfurt of 13 August 1246, which stipulated that all ecclesiastical fiefs should return into the Catholic Church's possession if the vassal died without children.^[2] Moreover, the chapter argued, because Loon was a so-called swordfief, meaning women cannot inherit the fief according to the old German customary law, Diederik could not gain his uncle's inheritance via his mother. The chapter allotted 40,000 guilders for the conquest of Loon, and requested and received the support of the Pope in Avignon, Benedict XII.^[2] The Liégeois cities supported the chapter's demand, but the Liégeois nobility preferred a different hereditary custom, in which sisters and sons are allowed to inherit fiefdoms.^[2] The prince-bishop of Liège himself, Adolph of the Mark, was a brother-in-law of Diederik, and initially did not want a conflict with his own family, and distanced himself from the demands of his chapter.^[2]

Diederik versus Adolph

While the Pope was putting the prince-bishop under pressure to claim Loon by military force in the name of the Church, Diederik was appointed as the count of Loon by Emperor Louis the Bavarian on 12 April 1336. Although Adolph occupied Kolmont (near Tongeren), this was more of a symbolic act than a strategic move, and on 13 August 1337 he received a new papal reminder to annex Loon in its entirety. As soon as Diederik heard the demand to surrender his county to the Church of Liège, he deliberately turned towards Liège's arch enemy, the Duchy of Brabant, on 19 December 1337. He concluded a military alliance with duke John III, agreeing to support each other if either of them was attacked, especially by Liège.^[2]

Thus, Diederik became the de facto count, while he placed himself under the aegis of the duke of Brabant and the emperor; in Chiny he was the undisputed ruler.

Godfrey of Loon-Heinsberg, Diederik's only son, died in battle in 1342, rendering his succession uncertain.^[4]

Second period (1361–1366)

Arnold and Godfrey versus Engelbert

Post-war situation (1477) Brabant1477.png — Post-war situation (1477)

When Diederik died in January 1361, his succession was challenged by Arnold of Rummen and Godfrey of Dalenbroek (both cousins of Diederik) on the one hand, and prince-bishop Engelbert III on the other, who once again tried to annex Loon.^[3] The prince-bishop proclaimed the attachment of Loon to Liège, and had his troops occupy the county. Godfrey gave up the fight in 1362, and sold his rights to Loon and Chiny to Arnold. The latter managed to rally the assistance of duke Wenceslaus of Brabant and Luxembourg (whom he was already serving as an advisor) and his half-brother, emperor Charles IV; moreover, his wife Elisabeth was rich. The Liégeois army could not maintain its position and was forced to withdraw.

Arnold versus John of Arkel

However, Arnold's odds were turning: duchess Joanna of Brabant abandoned him in 1363 by retracting her support for Loon. The next year, Engelbert III became archbishop of Cologne; John of Arkel, the bishop of Utrecht, replaced him as prince-bishop of Liège. That same year, John of Arkel invaded Loon anew; the ongoing war forced Arnold to sell Chiny to Wenceslaus, who merged it into the Duchy of Luxemburg. In 1365, Arnold and Elisabeth's family fortress "De Warande" at Rummen (near Geetbets) was besieged for nine weeks from 9 August until 21 September by the prince-bishop, who conquered it and razed it to the ground. Incidentally, the defenders reportedly used gunpowder and small blunderbusses for the first time in this region.^[5] The next year, 1366, the County of Loon definitively lost its autonomy and was annexed by the Prince-Bishopric of Liège.

Related Research Articles

John III was Duke of Brabant, Lothier (1312–1355), and Limburg. He was the son of John II, Duke of Brabant, and Margaret of England.

The County of Loon was a county in the Holy Roman Empire, which corresponded approximately with the Belgian province of Limburg. It was named after the original seat of its count, Loon, which is today called Borgloon. During the middle ages the counts moved their court to a more central position in Kuringen, which is today a part of Hasselt, the modern capital of the region.

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Godfrey I, called the Bearded, the Courageous, or the Great, was the Landgrave of Brabant, Count of Brussels and Leuven (Louvain) from 1095 to his death and Duke of Lower Lorraine from 1106 to 1129. He was also Margrave of Antwerp from 1106 to his death.

The Burgundian inheritance in the Low Countries consisted of numerous fiefs held by the Dukes of Burgundy in modern-day Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, and in parts of France and Germany. The Duke of Burgundy was originally a member of the House of Valois-Burgundy and later of the House of Habsburg. Given that the Dukes of Burgundy lost Burgundy proper to the Kingdom of France in 1477, and were never able to recover it, while retaining Charolais and the Free County of Burgundy, they moved their court to the Low Countries. The Burgundian Low Countries were ultimately expanded to include Seventeen Provinces under Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. The Burgundian inheritance then passed to the Spanish branch of the Habsburgs under Philip II of Spain, whose rule was contested by the Dutch revolt, and fragmented into the Spanish Netherlands and the Dutch republic. Following the War of the Spanish succession, the Habsburg Netherlands passed to Austria and remained in Austrian hands until the French conquest of the late 18th century. The Bourbon Restoration did not re-establish the Burgundian states, with the former Burgundian territories remaining divided between France, the Netherlands and, following the Belgian Revolution, modern-day Belgium.

Arnold IV of Loon (Looz), was Count of Loon from 1227 to 1273 and Count of Chiny from 1228 to 1268. He was the son of Gérard III, Count of Rieneck and Cunegonde von Zimmern.

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.

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

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.

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.

Count Gerard of Loon, was son and successor of Louis I, Count of Loon, and Agnes of Metz. He was count of Loon and of Rieneck. Because of a widespread misunderstanding concerning a document from 1101, some generations earlier, he is sometimes wrongly referred to as the second Gerard in this dynasty, "Gerard II".

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.

John of Heinsberg (1397–1459), was Prince-Bishop of Liège from 1419 to 1456.

Ghislain or Gilain de Sart (1379–1444) was Chancellor of Brabant from 1429 to 1431, effectively ruling the Duchy of Brabant for some months in 1430.

Dirk Loef of Horne was a medieval nobleman.

Willem VI of Horne was a Dutch Nobleman, the Lord of Horne.

References

↑ One must keep in mind that Arnold and Godfrey were also quarreling amongst themselves, and did not constitute a united front against the Liégeois prince-bishop.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Molemans, Jos (1992). Loon tussen Brabant en Luik. Teloorgang en toch behoud van eigen identiteit (PDF). Hasselt: Vereniging voor Limburgse Dialect- en Naamkunde. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
1 2 Encarta-encyclopedie Winkler Prins (1993-2002) s.v. Loon [geschiedenis]. Microsoft Corporation/Het Spectrum.
↑ Peter Fasol (6 November 2017). "Kwartierstaat – maak een overzicht van al je voorouders (m/v)". Fasol.nl. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
↑ Vandeputte, Omer; Devos, Filip (2007). Gids Voor Vlaanderen 2007. Tielt: Lannoo Uitgeverij. p. 387. ISBN 9789020959635 . Retrieved 4 December 2019.

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[1] One must keep in mind that Arnold and Godfrey were also quarreling amongst themselves, and did not constitute a united front against the Liégeois prince-bishop.

[Molemans-2] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Molemans, Jos (1992). Loon tussen Brabant en Luik. Teloorgang en toch behoud van eigen identiteit (PDF). Hasselt: Vereniging voor Limburgse Dialect- en Naamkunde. Retrieved 12 January 2017.

[Encarta-3] 1 2 Encarta-encyclopedie Winkler Prins (1993-2002) s.v. Loon [geschiedenis]. Microsoft Corporation/Het Spectrum.

[Kwartierstaat-4] Peter Fasol (6 November 2017). "Kwartierstaat – maak een overzicht van al je voorouders (m/v)". Fasol.nl. Retrieved 6 December 2019.

[5] Vandeputte, Omer; Devos, Filip (2007). Gids Voor Vlaanderen 2007. Tielt: Lannoo Uitgeverij. p. 387. ISBN 9789020959635 . Retrieved 4 December 2019.

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