Count Otto of Loon as he was known during his own lifetime (d. abt 1087), was founder of the family of
Counts of Duras, and brother of
Emmo, Count of Loon, one of the first known
counts of Loon. In contemporary and later medieval records he is mainly known for his role as
advocate
An advocate is a professional in the field of law. List of country legal systems, Different countries and legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a ba ...
of
Sint-Truiden Abbey
Sint-Truiden Abbey or St Trudo's Abbey (; ) is a former Benedictine monastery in Sint-Truiden (named after Saint Trudo) in the province of Limburg, Belgium. The abbey was founded in the 7th century and was one of the oldest and most powerful i ...
, which is today in
Belgian Limburg
Limburg (, ; or ; , ), also known as Belgian Limburg, is a province in Belgium. It is the easternmost of the five Dutch-speaking provinces that together form the Region of Flanders, which is one of the three main political and cultural sub-d ...
.
Brother of the count of Loon
It has been suggested that Otto and Emmo were sons of Count
Giselbert of Loon
Giselbert van Loon (probably died about 1045) is the first definitely known count of the County of Loon, a territory which, at least in later times, roughly corresponded to the modern Belgian province of Belgian Limburg, Limburg, and generations la ...
, who Emmo succeeded as count over
Borgloon
Borgloon (; , ; ) is a former Municipalities of Belgium, municipality and City status in Belgium, city located in the Belgium, Belgian province of Limburg (Belgium), Limburg. On January 1, 2006, Borgloon had a total population of 10,697. The tota ...
, although there is no contemporary record of their exact relationship to Giselbert. (It has for example been suggested that Gilbert was their uncle.)
The mother of Emmo and Otto on the other hand is clearly named in one near-contemporary record, as Ludgarde, sister of Albert, Count of Namur.
Advocacy of Sint-Truiden
In a charter dated 1065,
Adalbero III of Luxembourg
Adalbero III of Luxembourg (13 November 1072) was a German nobleman. He was a titular Count of Luxembourg and Bishop of Metz.
Adalbero was the third son of Count Frederick of Luxembourg and a brother of Count Giselbert. In 1047, he succeeded ...
,
Bishop of Metz
This is a list of bishops of the Roman Catholic diocese of Metz, which now lies in eastern France.
To 500
* Clement of Metz (c. 280–300)
* Celestius
* Felix I
* Patient
* Victor I 344–346
* Victor II
* Simeon
* Sambace
* Rufus of Metz
* Ad ...
, confirmed Otto’s rights in regard to the abbey. This was partly necessary because the bishop had given a superior advocacy to his own brother Duke Frederic, and disputes did eventually arise between the Abbey and its advocates. These are a major topic of the ''Gesta'' or chronicle of St Truiden Abbey.
Duras
The 3rd continuation of the ''Gesta'' of St Truiden Abbey, written in the 14th century, is the only medieval source which describes Otto as a Count of Duras, which is a title that his son Gilbert later used. According to an old proposal of Mantelius which Baerten supported, Otto must have married the heiress of the previous known advocate, whose name was
Giselbert Giselbert is the name of:
* Gilbert, Duke of Lorraine (c. 890 – 939), also known as ''Giselbert''
* Giselbert I of Roussillon (d. 1013 or 1014)
* Giselbert II of Roussillon (d. 1102)
* Giselbert, Count of Clermont (d. after 1097)
* Giselbert of Lo ...
, and inherited both a county and advocacy. His wife, the mother of his one known son, is known from one record to have been named Oda.
Marriage and children
Otto married Oda. Otto and Oda had children:
*
Giselbert II, Count of Duras
Count Giselbert (or Gilbert) of Loon or (later) Duras (d. before 1138), was the deputy advocate (''subadvocatus'') of Saint Trudo’s Abbey. He was son of Count Otto, the younger brother of Count Emmo of Loon. Giselbert was the first person to b ...
* Gerard of Bertrée, Prior of Bertrée
*
Hériman de Duras.{{citation needed, date=July 2019 (Named by Wolters in 19th century. Not named by more recent scholars.)
Upon his death, Otto was succeeded as Count of Duras by his son Giselbert.
Sources
Bibliography
*Baerten, Jean, ‘Les origines des comtes de Looz et la formation territoriale du comté’, in: ''Revue belge de philologie et d'histoire'' 43 (2 parts; 1965) 459-491, 1217-1242. On persee
part 1part 2
*Baerten, Jean, ''Het Graafschap Loon (11de - 14de eeuw)'', (Assen 1969).
pdf
*Gorissen, P., ‘Omtrent de wording van het graafschap Loon’, in: ''Jaarboek van de Vereniging van Oudheidkundige en geschiedkundige kringen van België: 32e zitting Congres van Antwerpen 27-31 juli 1947'' (1950-1951).
*Mantelius, Joannes, ''Historiae Lossensis libri decem'', (Liège 1717)
google
*Ulens, R., "Les origines et les limites primitives du comté de Duras" ''Bulletin de la Société Scientifique & littéraire du Limbourg'' 50 (1936) pp. 49–71.
*Vaes, Jan, ''De Graven van Loon. Loons, Luiks, Limburgs'' (Leuven 2016)
*Wolters, Mathias J., ''Notice Historique sur l’Ancien Comté de Duras en Hesbaie'', Gyselinck, 1855 (available o
Google Books
*Zeller, Thibaut, "La maison de Durras en Hesbaye : les pilliers de pouvoir d’une parentèle comtale (XIe -XIIe siècles)", ''l'Annuaire d'histoire liégeoise'', 37, (2007-2008), pp. 33–57.
Primary sources
*''Gestorum Abbatem Trudonensium Continuatio Tertia'': Koepker (ed.) MGH SS Vol.1
=de Borman (ed.) Vol.
=Lavigne (trans.) 228-229
pdf
.
Counts of the Holy Roman Empire
House of Loon
History of Belgian Limburg