Waleran III (or Walram III) ( – 2 July 1226) was initially lord of Montjoie, then

count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York ...

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

from 1214. He became count of Arlon and

duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are r ...

of Limburg on his father's death in 1221. He was the son of Henry III of Limburg 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 The Third Crusade (1189–1192) was an attempt by three European monarchs of Western Christianity ( Philip II of France, Richard I of England and Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor) to reconquer the Holy Land following the capture of Jerusalem by ...

in 1192. In 1208, the imperial candidate

Philip of Swabia Philip of Swabia (February/March 1177 – 21 June 1208) was a member of the House of Hohenstaufen and King of Germany from 1198 until his assassination. The death of his older brother Emperor Henry VI in 1197 meant that the Hohenstaufen rule (w ...

died and Waleran, his erstwhile supporter, turned to his opponent, Otto of Brunswick. In 1212, he accompanied his first cousin

Henry I, Duke of Brabant Henry I ( nl, Hendrik, french: Henri; c. 1165 – 5 September 1235), named "The Courageous", was a member of the House of Reginar and first duke of Brabant from 1183/84 until his death. Early life Henry was possibly born in Leuven (Louvai ...

, to

Liège Liège ( , , ; wa, Lîdje ; nl, Luik ; german: Lüttich ) is a major city and municipality of Wallonia and the capital of the Belgian province of Liège. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east of Belgium, not far fro ...

, then in a war with Guelders. Waleran's first wife, Cunigunda, a daughter of

Frederick I, Duke of Lorraine Frederick I ( or ) (c. 1143 – 7 April 1206) was the duke of Lorraine from 1205 to his death. He was the second son of Matthias I and Bertha (also called Judith), daughter of Frederick II, Duke of Swabia. He succeeded his brother, Simon II, w ...

, died in 1214 and in May he married Ermesinda of Luxembourg, and became count there. Ermesinda claimed

Namur Namur (; ; nl, Namen ; wa, Nameur) is a city and municipality in Wallonia, Belgium. It is both the capital of the province of Namur and of Wallonia, hosting the Parliament of Wallonia, the Government of Wallonia and its administration. Na ...

and so Waleran added a crown to his

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

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 Margrave was originally the medieval title for the military commander assigned to maintain the defence of one of the border provinces of the Holy Roman Empire or of a kingdom. That position became hereditary in certain feudal families in the ...

Philip II. He failed and signed a peace treaty on 13 February in Dinant. He then took part in various imperial diets and accompanied the

Emperor Frederick II Frederick II (German: ''Friedrich''; Italian: ''Federico''; Latin: ''Federicus''; 26 December 1194 – 13 December 1250) was King of Sicily from 1198, King of Germany from 1212, King of Italy and Holy Roman Emperor from 1220 and King of Jer ...

into Italy. Returning from there, he died in Rolduc.

Family and children

Waleran had four children by his first wife, Cunigunda of Lorraine, daughter of

, and three children by his second wife, Ermesinda of Luxembourg. Children with Cunigunda of Lorraine: # Sophie (c. 1190 – 1226/27), married c. 1210 Frederick of Isenberg # Matilda (c. 1192 – aft. 1234), married c. 1210

William III, Count of Jülich William was Count of Jülich from 1207 to 1219. He was a nephew of the previous Count, William II. He married Mathilde, daughter of Waleran III, Duke of Limburg. He died in 1219 during the Fifth Crusade in Egypt, and was succeeded by his son Willia ...

, mother of William IV, Count of Jülich #

Henry IV, Duke of Limburg Henry IV (1195 – 25 February 1247) was the duke of Limburg and count of Berg from 1226 to his death. He was the son of Waleran III, count of Luxembourg and duke of Limburg, and Cunigunda, daughter of Frederick I, Duke of Lorraine. Cou ...

, married

Irmgard of Berg Irmgard of Berg, heiress of Berg (died 1248–1249), was the child of Adolf VI count of Berg (1185–1218) and Berta von Sayn. She married in 1217 Henry IV, Duke of Limburg (since 1226), who became count of Berg in 1225. Henry IV of Limburg- ...

, heiress of the County of Berg, a daughter of the count Adolf VI # Waleran (c. 1200 – 1242), married Elisabeth of Bar, daughter of Ermesinda of Luxembourg and Theobald I, Count of Bar Children with Ermesinde, Countess of Luxembourg: # Catherine of Limburg (c. 1215 – 1255), married

Matthias II, Duke of Lorraine Matthias II ( 1193 – 9 February 1251) 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. He immediately had to give away Nancy to his brother's widow, Ge ...

, nephew of Waleran's first wife #

Henry V, Count of Luxembourg Henry V the Blondell (1216 – 24 December 1281), called the Great, was the Count of Arlon from 1226 to his death, lord of Ligny from 1240 to his death, Count of Luxembourg and Laroche from 1247 to his death, and the Marquis of Namur between ...

married Margaret of Bar # Gerhard, Count of Durbuy

Notes

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Waleran 03 of Limburg 1160s births 1226 deaths Year of birth uncertain Counts of Arlon Dukes of Limburg House of Ardennes Lords of Monschau Christians of the Third Crusade Christians of the Fifth Crusade