County of Luxembourg
Luxembourg, 963 CE–1354. Draft, not yet reviewed
The county arose from medieval Lucilinburhuc Castle in the present-day City of Luxembourg, which Siegfried, Count of the Ardennes, purchased in 963. By the middle of the 13th century, the counts of Luxembourg had managed to gain considerable wealth and power and had expanded their territory from the river Meuse to the Moselle. The ascension of the Counts of Luxembourg culminated when Henry VII became King of the Romans, King of Italy and finally, in 1312, Holy Roman Emperor. Luxembourg was an independent fief of the Holy Roman Empire until 1353, when Emperor Charles IV elevated it to the status of a duchy for his half-brother, Wenceslaus I, Duke of Luxembourg.
Seat of power: Luxembourg
Rulers
Siegfried of Luxembourg
Count of Luxembourg, 963 CE–998 CE
Siegfried is known in European historiography as founder and first ruler of the Castle of Luxembourg in 963 AD. Siegfried always remained a loyal servant of the Holy Roman emperors. From 966 to 972 Siegfried joined emperor Otto I during the third Italian expedition to Rome.
Portrait of Siegfried of Luxembourg: Unknown - uploaded by user Otets, Public domain, file
Henry V, Duke of Bavaria
Count of Luxembourg, 998 CE–1026
Henry was the Count of Luxembourg from 998 and the Duke of Bavaria from 1004. He was an advocate of the abbeys of Saint-Maximin of Trier and Saint-Willibrord of Echternach. He never married and his county passed to his nephew Henry.
Henry VII, Duke of Bavaria
Count of Luxembourg, 1026–1047
Henry was the count of Luxembourg from 1026 and duke of Bavaria from 1042 until his death. In 1026, he inherited Luxembourg from his uncle Henry I, along with the advocacy of the abbeys of Saint-Maximin in Trier and Saint-Willibrord in Echternach. In 1042, he was made Duke of Bavaria by the Emperor Henry III, who needed a resident duke to deal with the raids of Samuel Aba, king of Hungary.
Portrait of Henry VII, Duke of Bavaria: Gustav Adelbert Seyler, Public domain, file
Giselbert of Luxembourg
Count of Luxembourg, 1047–1057
Giselbert was Count of Salm and of Longwy, then Count of Luxembourg from 1047 to 1059. In 1050, since the population of the town of Luxembourg had risen considerably, he expanded the city by building a new fortified wall around it.
Conrad I, Count of Luxembourg
Count of Luxembourg, 1057–1086
Conrad succeeded his father, Giselbert, as Count of Luxembourg. Conrad was embroiled in an argument with the Archbishop of Trier as to the abbey of Saint-Maximin in Trier, and the archbishop excommunicated him. To have his excommunication lifted, Conrad had to make honourable amends and set out on pilgrimage for Jerusalem.
Portrait of Conrad I, Count of Luxembourg: Augustin Calmet, Public domain, file
Henry III, Count of Luxembourg
Count of Luxembourg, 1086–1096
Henry III was the first count known to have established his permanent residence in Luxembourg castle. In a document from the year 1089, he is referred to as comes Henricus de Lutzeleburg, which also makes him the first documented count of Luxembourg.
William, Count of Luxembourg
Count of Luxembourg, 1096–1128
William succeeded his elder brother Henry III as count of Luxembourg in 1096 and ruled until his death in 1131. William was the first of his family to use the title count of Luxembourg in his documents. Like his predecessors, William was embroiled in debates with Bruno, the archbishop of Trier, in 1122 and 1127, leading to William's excommunication.
Portrait of William, Count of Luxembourg: Augustin Calmet, CC0, file
Conrad II, Count of Luxembourg
Count of Luxembourg, 1128–1136
Conrad II succeeded his father William as Count of Luxembourg. Conrad II died without a male heir, and so the county of Luxembourg reverted to the Holy Roman Emperor. The emperor did not want the county ruled by Henri de Grandpré, a French lord who might align it with the Kingdom of France, and so granted it to Henry of Namur.
Portrait of Conrad II, Count of Luxembourg: Augustin Calmet, Public domain, file
Henry IV, Count of Luxembourg
Count of Luxembourg, 1136–1196
Henry the Blind was heir of his mother's family as Count of Luxembourg from 1136 until his death. In 1141, Henry made peace with Bishop Adalbero II of Liège, and helped lead his successful military expedition to take Bouillon under the secular control of the bishopric. Under Henry's lordship, Luxembourg was joined by several smaller Ardennes possessions which the family had acquired earlier.
Portrait of Henry IV, Count of Luxembourg: Augustin Calmet, Public domain, file
Countess Ermesinde II, Countess of Luxembourg
Count of Luxembourg, 1197–1247
Ermesinde ruled as the countess of Luxembourg from 1197 until her death. After Waleran's death, Ermesinde ruled Luxembourg alone for two decades. She proved to be an effective administrator, granting charters of freedom to several towns and increasing the prosperity of her country.
Henry V, Count of Luxembourg
Count of Luxembourg, 1247–1281
Henry V was Count of Luxembourg and Laroche from 1247 to his death. Henry inherited Luxembourg and Laroche following the death of his mother, Ermesinde, in 1247. Upon receiving 15,000 tournois from the Pope, Henry joined Edward of England on the Ninth Crusade.
Portrait of Henry V, Count of Luxembourg: Sebastien Francois de Blanchard, Public domain, file
Henry VI, Count of Luxembourg
Count of Luxembourg, 1281–1288
Henry VI was Count of Luxembourg and Arlon from the death of his father, Henry V the Blond, in 1281 until his own death at the Battle of Worringen, seven years later. He was killed alongside three of his brothers at the Battle of Worringen by a knight of John I, Duke of Brabant.
Portrait of Henry VI, Count of Luxembourg: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, file
Henry VII, Holy Roman Emperor
Count of Luxembourg, 1288–1313
As Count of Luxembourg, Henry agreed to become a French vassal, seeking the protection of King Philip the Fair of France. During his rule of Luxembourg, he ruled effectively, especially in keeping the peace in local feudal disputes. Henry VII was King of Germany from 1308 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1312.
Portrait of Henry VII, Holy Roman Emperor: Sailko, CC BY 3.0, file
John of Bohemia
Count of Luxembourg, 1313–1346
John was King of Bohemia from 1310 and Count of Luxembourg from 1313. He left the Czech country to be ruled by the barons while spending time in Luxembourg and the French court. He is also known for having founded the Schueberfouer in 1340.
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Charles IV
Count of Luxembourg, 1346–1353
Charles inherited the County of Luxembourg from his father and was elected king of the Kingdom of Bohemia. In 1353, he granted the Duchy of Luxembourg to his half-brother, Wenceslaus.
Portrait of Charles IV: Circle of Theodoric of Prague, Public domain, file
Culture
- The Codex Aureus of Echternach, an important surviving codex written entirely in gold ink, was produced at the Abbey of Echternach in the 11th century. The so-called Emperor's Bible and the Golden Gospels of Henry III were also produced in Echternach at this time.
- Conrad I founded the Orval Abbey in 1070 with Count Arnold I of Chiny and the Altmünster Abbey in 1083.
- A small town and market grew around the new castle. Its first inhabitants were probably servants of Count Siegfried and clergy of Saint Michael's Church.
Picture
The Bock is a promontory in the eastern corner of Luxembourg City's historical upper town, the Ville Haute, where Count Siegfried built his Castle of Lucilinburhuc in 963.
Image: Christophe-Guillaume Selig (1791-1837), Public domain, file
Sources
Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.