In the 10th through 13th centuries, the Lords of Esch (French ''seigneurs d'Esch'') were the holders of the castle of Esch-sur-Sûre in the

Ardennes The Ardennes (french: Ardenne ; nl, Ardennen ; german: Ardennen; wa, Årdene ; lb, Ardennen ), also known as the Ardennes Forest or Forest of Ardennes, is a region of extensive forests, rough terrain, rolling hills and ridges primarily in Be ...

region of

Lower Lorraine The Duchy of Lower Lotharingia, also called Northern Lotharingia, Lower Lorraine or Northern Lorraine (and also referred to as ''Lothier'' or ''Lottier''

, then a part of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...

Fredelo

Fredelo (or Frithelo, French ''Fredelon'') (d. between 1083 and 1085), of unknown parentage, was the patriarch of the house of Esch, which produced several notable knights in service of the Crusades. Fredelon's family were likely vassals of

Henry III, Count of Luxembourg Henri III, Count of Luxembourg (died 1096) was count of Luxembourg from 1086 until his death. He succeeded his father, Conrad I. His mother was Clementia of Aquitaine. Henry III was the first count known to have established his permanent residenc ...

, and his brother and successor

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

. Fredelon was

avoué During the Middle Ages, an (sometimes given as modern English: advocate; German: ; French: ) was an office-holder who was legally delegated to perform some of the secular responsibilities of a major feudal lord, or for an institution such as ...

(or

vogt During the Middle Ages, an (sometimes given as modern English: advocate; German: ; French: ) was an office-holder who was legally delegated to perform some of the secular responsibilities of a major feudal lord, or for an institution such as ...

) of the abbeys of

Malmedy Malmedy (; german: Malmünd, ; wa, Måmdiy) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium. On January 1, 2018, Malmedy had a total population of 12,654. The total area is 99.96 km2 which gives a populati ...

and

Echternach Echternach ( lb, Iechternach or (locally) ) is a commune with town status in the canton of Echternach, which is part of the district of Grevenmacher, in eastern Luxembourg. Echternach lies near the border with Germany, and is the oldest town in L ...

, and also known to be their despoiler. Fredelon was an accomplice to

Giselbert, Count of Clermont Giselbert (Gilbert) (d. after 1097), once Count of Clermont, son of Widrich II (d. after 1062), who in turn was son of Widrich I (d. before 1062), the first Count of Clermont, and his wife Hersende, ex-wife of Hildrad (Hezelin), Count of :fr:Grand ...

, in a variety of nefarious enterprises. Fredelon and Giselbert terrorized the region near

Nandrin Nandrin () is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium. On January 1, 2006, Nandrin had a total population of 5,539. The total area is 35.90 km² which gives a population density of 154 inhabitants per km². The ...

preventing inhabitants from performing even the basic of tasks.

Henri de Verdun Henri de Verdun was bishop of Liège from 1075 to 1091. He owed his election to the influence of his relative Godfrey IV, Duke of Lower Lorraine, with the Emperor Henry IV. Henri took part in the Synod of Worms (1076). He was instrumental in refo ...

Bishop of Liège A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

, gave this land to

Conon, Count of Montaigu Conon (also Cono or Cuno; died 1 May 1106) was a Lotharingian nobleman and military leader of the First Crusade. He was one of the most prominent lords of the Ardennes, being the count of Montaigu, lord of Rochefort and advocate (defender) of the ...

, forcing Fredelon and Giselbert to restore the resultant damage. Fredelon and Giselbert were the lords of castle Clermont in 1095 and engaged in

brigandage Brigandage is the life and practice of highway robbery and plunder. It is practiced by a brigand, a person who usually lives in a gang and lives by pillage and robbery.Oxford English Dictionary second edition, 1989. "Brigand.2" first recorded usa ...

, although these two regarded their activity as the legitimate levying of tolls on river traffic. Otbert, Henri's successor, organized a siege of the castle but was unsuccessful. A 1095 entry in the chronicle of

Giles of Orval Giles of Orval (french: Gilles d'Orval; la, Aegidius Aureaevallensis) was a Cistercian monk and historian. Originally from the prince-bishopric of Liège, he lived and worked in the abbey of Orval in the archdiocese of Trier. His major work was t ...

reveals that Otbert's objective was ultimately accomplished by purchase, resulting in the

enfeoffment In the Middle Ages, especially under the European feudal system, feoffment or enfeoffment was the deed by which a person was given land in exchange for a pledge of service. This mechanism was later used to avoid restrictions on the passage of ti ...

of the property to his vassal

Lambert, Count of Montaigu Lambert (died 1140 or after), Count of Montaigu and , son of Conon, Count of Montaigu. Lambert was also Seigneur de Rochefort, Advocate of Dinant, and Advocate of Saint-Symphorien-des-Bois. As reported by both Albert of Aix and William of Tyre, L ...

. Giselbert subsequently joined the

First Crusade The First Crusade (1096–1099) was the first of a series of religious wars, or Crusades, initiated, supported and at times directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The objective was the recovery of the Holy Land from Islamic ru ...

. It is unclear as to what Fredelon did after his ouster.

Children of Fredelo

Fredelon was married twice. By his first wife, whose name is unknown, he had two sons: *

Henry of Esch Henry (''Henricus de Ascha'') (d. after 1098), lord (or, in some accounts, count) of Esch, son of Fredelon of Esch. Henry was brother to Godfrey of Esch, and his family held the castle of Esch-sur-Sûre in the Ardennes. He and his brother were vas ...

(d. after 1097) (''Henricus de Ascha''), Crusader with

Godfrey of Bouillon Godfrey of Bouillon (, , , ; 18 September 1060 – 18 July 1100) was a French nobleman and pre-eminent leader of the First Crusade. First ruler of the Kingdom of Jerusalem from 1099 to 1100, he avoided the title of king, preferring that of princ ...

Godfrey of Esch Godfrey (Geoffrey) (''Filius Fredelonis, unus de collateralibus ducis Godefridi)'' (died after 1098), Lord of Esch and crusader, son of Fredelon of Esch. Godfrey was brother to Henry of Esch. His family held the castle of Esch-sur-Sûre in the ...

(), Crusader with Godfrey of Bouillon. Second, Fredelon married Ermengarde, Countess of Clermont, widow of Gozelon, Count of Montaigu. Fredelon and Ermenrgard had one son: * Giselbert (d. after 18 March 1131), Count of Esch, who married Aelide, of unknown origin. It is unclear how Giselbert was to become the Count of Esch and it is not until two generations later that another Count of Esch appears.

Later generations

Giselbert, son of Fredelon, (to distinguish him from Fredelon's accomplice Giselbert, Count of Clermont) had at least one son, Renard (d. after 1157), who was Seigneur de

Hermalle-sous-Huy Hermalle-sous-Huy is a district of the municipality of Engis, located in the province of Liège in Wallonia, Belgium. During the Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the lat ...

, and had some relationship with Godefroi, Count of Montaigu and Clermont. He married a woman named Lietgard, daughter of Robert Richira. They had a son Henri (d. after 1187), also Seigneur de Hermalle-sous-Huy, who witnessed a charter in 1182 regarding a matter involving

Conon, Count of Montaigu and Duras Conon II (Cono) (died 1189 or after), Count of Montaigu and Count of Duras, son of Godefroi, Count of Montaigu, and his wife Julienne, daughter of Otto II, Count of Duras. Conon replaced his elder brother Gilles, who had leprosy, but the precise ...

. The next generation also include Godfrey II (Gottfried) (d. 1150 or after), Count of Esch, although it is unclear which of the sons of Fredelon was his father. He married Alix de Grandpré, widow of

Godefroi, Count of Durbuy Godefroi (d. before 1124), Count of Durbuy, son of Henry I, Count of Durbuy. Godefroi captured Otbert, Bishop of Liège, and imprisoned him in Durbuy. This presumably was related to the conflict between Otbert and Godfrey I the Bearded, Count o ...

. Godfrey and Alix had five children: * Robert (d. 25 August 1170), Abbé de Foigny * Heinrich II * Friedrich * Bartholomäus von Esch (d. before 1192) * Ermengarde. Bartholomäus founded the Priory of Ufeldange in 1182, as described in a charter confirmed by

Arnold I of Vaucourt Arnold I of Vaucourt (french: Arnaud, Arnaut de Vaucort, german: Arnold von Valcourt, Valancourt, Walecourt) (''circa'' 1120 – May 25, 1183 in Trier), was the Archbishop of Trier from 1169 to 1183. He took a pro-Imperial position in the Investi ...

Archbishop of Trier The Diocese of Trier, in English historically also known as ''Treves'' (IPA "tɾivz") from French ''Trèves'', is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic church in Germany.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 o ...

from 1217-1224 (as John I of Aspremont) and

Bishop of Metz Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand Es ...

from 1224-1238 (as Johann of Aspremont). Ermengarde's parents were Ida of Chiny, daughter of

Albert, Count of Chiny Albert (Albert I) (before 1131 – 29 September 1162), Counts of Chiny, Count of Chiny, son of Otto II, Count of Chiny, Otto II, Count of Chiny, and Adélaïs of Namur. He succeeded his father before 1131 and spent most of his time in Chiny, not ...

, and Gobert V, Lord of Aspremont. Robert's son Heinrich IV von Esch appears to have been married to a member of the

House of Salm The House of Salm was an ancient Lotharingian noble family originating from Salmchâteau in the Ardennes (present-day Belgium) and ruling Salm. The dynasty is above all known for the experiences of the Upper Salm branch which came to be located ...

but the precise relationship there is unclear. His son Godfrey d’Esch was the last member of the House of Esch to appear in historical documents, participating in the

Tournament of Chauvency The Tournament of Chauvency was held in 1285 to bring together the greatest knights of France and Germany for six days of jousting and other activities, a social event of primary importance at the end of the thirteenth century. Dedicated to Henry ...

, sponsored by

Louis V, Count of Chiny 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. In ...

. Godfrey was championed by his niece Perrine.

Sources

*Murray, Alan V.
"The Army of Godfrey of Bouillon, 1096–1099: Structure and Dynamics of a Contingent on the First Crusade" (PDF)
Revue belge de philologie et d'histoire 70 (2), 1992 *Le Long, Nicolas, Histoire Ecclésiastique et Civile du Duché De Luxembourg et Comté de Chiny, Chevalier, 1783 (available o
Google Books
* Bretel, Jacques, ''Le Tournoi de Chauvency'', 1285 (manuscripts: Mons MS 330-215 and Oxford MS Douce 308).
Esch-sur-Sûre Castle
at Visit Luxembourg

References

{{reflist Christians of the First Crusade