Waleran III of Limburg
Encyclopedia
Count
A count or countess is an aristocratic nobleman in European countries. The word count came into English from the French comte, itself from Latin comes—in its accusative comitem—meaning "companion", and later "companion of the emperor, delegate of the emperor". The adjective form of the word is...
of Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
from 1214. He became count of Arlon and duke
Duke
A duke or duchess is a member of the nobility, historically of highest rank below the monarch, and historically controlling a duchy...
of Limburg
Duchy of Limburg
The Duchy of Limburg, situated in the Low Countries between the river Meuse and the city of Aachen, was a state of the Holy Roman Empire. Its territory is now divided between the Belgian provinces of Liège and Limburg , the Dutch province of Limburg , and a small part of North Rhine-Westphalia in...
on his father's death in 1221. He was the son of Henry III of Limburg
Henry III of Limburg
Henry III was the duke of Limburg and count of Arlon from 1165 to his death. He was the son and successor of Henry II and Matilda of Saffenberg....
and Sophia of Saarbrücken.
As a younger son, he did not expect to inherit. He carried on an adventurous youth and took part in the Third Crusade
Third Crusade
The Third Crusade , also known as the Kings' Crusade, was an attempt by European leaders to reconquer the Holy Land from Saladin...
in 1192. In 1208, the imperial candidate Philip of Swabia
Philip of Swabia
Philip of Swabia was king of Germany and duke of Swabia, the rival of the emperor Otto IV.-Biography:Philip was the fifth and youngest son of Emperor Frederick I and Beatrice I, Countess of Burgundy, daughter of Renaud III, count of Burgundy, and brother of the emperor Henry VI...
died and Walern, his erstwhile supporter, turned to his opponent, Otto of Brunswick. In 1212, he accompanied his first cousin Henry I, Duke of Brabant
Henry I, Duke of Brabant
Henry I of Brabant , named "The Courageous" Duke of Brabant and Duke of Lower Lotharingia until his death.-Biography:...
, to Liège
Liège
Liège is a major city and municipality of Belgium located in the province of Liège, of which it is the economic capital, in Wallonia, the French-speaking region of Belgium....
, then in a war with Guelders
Guelders
Guelders or Gueldres is the name of a historical county, later duchy of the Holy Roman Empire, located in the Low Countries.-Geography:...
. Waleran's first wife, Cunigunda, a daughter of Frederick I, Duke of Lorraine
Frederick I, Duke of Lorraine
Frederick I was the duke of Lorraine from 1205 to his death. He was the second son of Matthias I and Judith, daughter of Frederick II, Duke of Swabia. He succeeded his brother, Simon II, who had already given him the county of Bitche in 1176 and had recognised him over the northern, germanophone...
, died in 1214 and in May he married Ermesinda of Luxembourg*, and became count there. Ermesinda claimed Namur
Namur (city)
Namur is a city and municipality in Wallonia, in southern Belgium. It is both the capital of the province of Namur and of Wallonia....
and so Waleran added a crown to his coat of arms
Coat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
to symbolise this claim.
In 1221, he inherited Limburg and added a second tail to the rampant lion on his arms. This symbolised his holding of two great fiefs. In 1223, he again tried to take Namur from the Margrave
Marquis of Namur
Namur was a county of the Carolingian and later Holy Roman Empire in the Low Countries. Its territories largely correspond with the present-day Belgian arrondissement Namur plus the northwestern part of the arrondissement Dinant....
Philip II. He failed and signed a peace treaty on 13 February in Dinant
Dinant
Dinant is a Walloon city and municipality located on the River Meuse in the Belgian province of Namur, Belgium. The Dinant municipality includes the old communes of Anseremme, Bouvignes-sur-Meuse, Dréhance, Falmagne, Falmignoul, Foy-Notre-Dame, Furfooz, Lisogne, Sorinnes, and Thynes.-Origins to...
. He then took part in various imperial diets and accompanied the Emperor Frederick II into Italy. Returning from there, he died in Rolduc
Rolduc
Rolduc is the name of a medieval abbey in Kerkrade, the Netherlands, which is now a Roman Catholic seminary and an affiliated conferencing center.-History:...
.
Family and children
Waleran had four children by his first wife, Cunigunda of Lorraine, and three children by his second wife, Ermesinda of Luxembourg.- Sophie (c.1190-1226/27), married c.1210 Frederick of IsenbergFrederick of IsenbergCount Frederick of Isenberg was a German noble, the younger son of Count Arnold of Altena...
- Matilda (c.1192-aft 1234), married c.1210 William III of Jülich, mother of William IV, Count of JülichWilliam IV, Count of JülichWilliam IV, Count of Jülich was the son and heir of William III of Jülich and Mathilde of Limburg, daughter of Waleran III, Duke of Limburg....
- Henry IV, Duke of Limburg
- Waleran (c.1200-1242), married Elisabeth of Bar, daughter of Ermesinda of Luxembourg by her first husband, Theobald I, Count of Bar
- Catherine (c.1215-1255), married Matthias II, Duke of LorraineMatthias II, Duke of LorraineMatthias II was Duke of Lorraine from 1220 to his death. He was the son of Duke Frederick II and Agnes of Bar and succeeded his brother, Theobald I....
, nephew of Waleran's first wife - Henry V, Count of Luxembourg
- GerhardGérard I of DurbuyGérard I of Durbuy , was the Count of Durbuy from 1247 to his death. He was the second son of Waleran III of Limburg and Ermesinda of Luxembourg....
, Count of Durbuy
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