The Margraviate of Antwerp (or Mark of Antwerp) consisted since the eleventh century of the area around the cities of Antwerp and Breda.

Origin

Under

Otto II Otto II (955 – 7 December 983), called the Red (''der Rote''), was Holy Roman Emperor from 973 until his death in 983. A member of the Ottonian dynasty, Otto II was the youngest and sole surviving son of Otto the Great and Adelaide of Ita ...

, emperor of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...

, several

marches In medieval Europe, a march or mark was, in broad terms, any kind of borderland, as opposed to a national "heartland". More specifically, a march was a border between realms or a neutral buffer zone under joint control of two states in which diff ...

were created along the border with

West Francia In medieval history, West Francia (Medieval Latin: ) or the Kingdom of the West Franks () refers to the western part of the Frankish Empire established by Charlemagne. It represents the earliest stage of the Kingdom of France, lasting from about ...

(this border coincided with the river

Scheldt The Scheldt (french: Escaut ; nl, Schelde ) is a river that flows through northern France, western Belgium, and the southwestern part of the Netherlands, with its mouth at the North Sea. Its name is derived from an adjective corresponding to ...

). Originally the mark was restricted to the borders of the Scheldt, in 994

Ansfried of Utrecht Saint Ansfried (also Ansfrid, Ansfridus) of Utrecht sometimes called Ansfried the younger (died 3 May 1010 near Leusden) was Count of Huy and the sword-bearer for Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor. He became Bishop of Utrecht in 995. He appears to have ...

added

Toxandria Texandria (also Toxiandria; later Toxandria, Taxandria), is a region mentioned in the 4th century AD and during the Middle Ages. It was situated in the southern part of the modern Netherlands and in the northern part of present-day Belgium, current ...

to the mark.

History

In the 11th century the mark of Antwerp was one of the fiefs of the duke 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''

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 ...

received the mark in 1076 from emperor Henry IV. After his death in the Crusader state of Jerusalem in 1100, Henry I of Limburg was appointed as margrave. In 1106 the duchy of Lower Lorraine and the margraviate were united. After the abolishment of the duchy in 1190 during the Diet of

Schwäbisch Hall Schwäbisch Hall (; "Swabian Hall"; from 1802 until 1934 and colloquially: ''Hall'' ) is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg located in the valley of the Kocher river, the longest tributary (together with its headwater Lein) of the ...

Emperor Henry VI Henry VI (German: ''Heinrich VI.''; November 1165 – 28 September 1197), a member of the Hohenstaufen dynasty, was King of Germany (King of the Romans) from 1169 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1191 until his death. From 1194 he was also King of Sic ...

only its titles remained and these were given to the

duke of Brabant The Duke of Brabant (, ) was the ruler of the Duchy of Brabant since 1183/1184. The title was created by the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa in favor of Henry I of the House of Reginar, son of Godfrey III of Leuven (who was duke of Low ...

Composition

The margraviate consisted (after the loss of Breda) of the cities of Antwerp,

Herentals Herentals () is a city in the province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises the city of Herentals proper and the towns of Morkhoven and . In 2021, Herentals had a total population of 28.194. The total area is . Saint Waltrude is the patron saint ...

and Lier and the quarters of Arkel, Rijen,

Geel Geel () is a city located in the Belgian province of Antwerp, which acquired city status in the 1980s. It comprises Central-Geel which is constituted of 4 old parishes a/o towns: Sint-Amand, Sint-Dimpna, Holven and Elsum. Further on around the ce ...

Zandhoven Zandhoven () is a municipality in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises the villages of , , , and Zandhoven proper. In 2021, Zandhoven had a population of 13,124. The total area is 40.10 km2. Sports Women's volleybal ...

Turnhout Turnhout () is a Belgian municipality and city located in the Flemish province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises only the city of Turnhout proper. In 2021, Turnhout had a total population of 45,874. The total area is . The agglomeration, ho ...

and Hoogstraten.

Margraves of Antwerp

*974–1002 Godfrey I, Count of Verdun *1005–1044 Gothelo I the Great *1044–1046 Gothelo II the Lazy *1046–1065

Frederick of Luxembourg Frederick of Luxembourg (965 – 6 October 1019), Count of Moselgau, was a son of Siegfried of Luxembourg and Hedwig of Nordgau. Frederick married Irmtrud, daughter of Count Herbert of Wetterau. They had issue: * Henry VII (d. 1047), Count of L ...

*1065–1069 Godfrey III the Bearded *1069–1070

Baldwin VI, Count of Flanders Baldwin VI ( 1030 – 17 July 1070), also known as Baldwin the Good, was Count of Hainaut from 1051 to 1070 (as Baldwin I) and Count of Flanders from 1067 to 1070. Baldwin was the eldest son of Baldwin V of Flanders and Adela, a daughter of Kin ...

*1070–1076 Godfrey IV the Hunchback *1076–1100

*1101–1106 Henry I of Limbourg *1106–1139

Godfrey I, Count of Louvain Godfrey I ( nl, Godfried, 1060 – 25 January 1139), 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 w ...

*1139–1142 Godfrey II, Count of Louvain *1142–1190

Godfrey III, Count of Louvain Godfrey III ( nl, Godfried; c. 1142 – 21 August 1190) was count of Louvain (or Leuven), landgrave of Brabant, margrave of Antwerp, and duke of Lower Lorraine (as Godfrey VIII) from 1142 to his death. Origins He was the son of Godfrey II and ...

*1427 Klaas Kersmakers

References

{{coord missing, Belgium Antwerp Antwerp History of Antwerp Province History of North Brabant