Arnold I (died 16 April 1106), Count of Chiny, son of Louis II, Count of Chiny, and his wife Sophie. He succeeded his father as Count before 1066. Arnold is best known for his many clashes with the authorities. The only known positive action of his was the founding of the

Abbey of Orval Orval Abbey (Abbaye Notre-Dame d'Orval) is a Cistercian monastery founded in 1132 in the Gaume region of Belgium, located in Villers-devant-Orval, part of Florenville, Wallonia in the province of Luxembourg. The abbey is well known for its histo ...

with

Conrad I, Count of Luxembourg Conrad I (c. 1040 – 8 August 1086) was Count of Luxembourg (1059–1086), succeeding his father, Giselbert. Conrad was embroiled in an argument with the Archbishop of Trier as to the abbaye Saint-Maximin in Trier which he had avowed. The ar ...

. In addition he began other religious institutions, apparently as atonement for his many crimes. He had many run-ins with the clergy, particularly with Henry, Bishop of Liège, a relative of

Godfrey the Bearded Godfrey III ( – 1069), called the Bearded, was the eldest son of Gothelo I, Duke of Upper and Lower Lorraine. Biography Disputed succession By inheritance, Godfrey was Count of Verdun and he became Margrave of Antwerp as a vassal of t ...

, no doubt due to the murder of his grandfather by Godfrey’s father. There were also issues with Henry's successor Otbert. A convenient story is that Arnold regularly confronted Godfrey’s grandson Count

Godfrey of Bouillon Godfrey of Bouillon (; ; ; ; 1060 – 18 July 1100) was a preeminent leader of the First Crusade, and the first ruler of the Kingdom of Jerusalem from 1099 to 1100. Although initially reluctant to take the title of king, he agreed to rule as pri ...

, a leader of 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 Middle Ages. The objective was the recovery of the Holy Land from Muslim conquest ...

and nephew of Countess Mathilda of Tuscany, but that they eventually became friends. Because of this newly-found friendship, he allegedly entrusted Godfrey with his sons Otto and Louis to take part in the crusade. The reality is that this is likely a story concocted by Count Louis V, much like the rest of his version of the history of Chiny (see the discussion in the

Counts of Chiny The Counts of Chiny were part of the nobility of Lotharingia that ruled from the 9th to the 14th century in what is now part of Belgium. It has been proposed that the County of Chiny was created in the early 10th century out of the ancient county o ...

), to enhance his standing at 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 ...

in 1285, which included such royalty as Rudolf I, King of Germany. It is clear that Otto and Louis never actually joined the crusade, as their names are not listed among the participants in the Holy quest. The reality of the situation appears that Godfrey's army included relatively few of the major nobles of the duchy, especially those of comital rank. The nobles of

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

were not all vassals of the Duke (and later Defender of the Holy Sepulchre) and felt no obligation to follow him, despite the seriousness of the taking of the cross. Notable absentees were Arnold,

Albert III of Namur Albert III ( 1027 – 22 June 1102) was the Count of Namur from 1063 until his death. He was the son of Count Albert II and Regelinde of Verdun. Although he was not formally a duke, Albert is considered to have played the role of an acting Duke ...

and Henry of Arlon and Limburg. These were all part of the coalition that had waged war on Godfrey and his principal allies Henry of Verdun and his successor Otbert, Prince-Bishops of Liège. There is some uncertainty as to his sons' whereabouts during the crusade, but upon their return, Otto, who became the next Count of Chiny, found Orval falling in ruins. The Calabrian monks left in 1108, and the Cistercians revived Orval with Otto's help. Apparently unable to abide by normal legal traditions, Arnold attempted to capture Richilde, Countess of Hainaut, widow of Baldwin VI the Good, Count of Flanders, and her son Baldwin II, Count of Hainaut. Like most of his ventures, he failed in this. In 1082, Richilde and her son went on a pilgrimage to Rome, but on her return in 1084, she learned as she approached Chiny that Arnold was planning to kidnap her. She escaped by taking refuge in Benedictine Abbey of Amdain, in the present-day

Saint Hubert In Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Anglican, Oriental Ortho ...

. He married Adélaïs (Adelaide), daughter of Hilduin IV, Count of Montdidier, Roucy and Ramerupt, and Alix de Roucy. They had six children: *

Otto II Otto II (955 – 7 December 983), called the Red (), 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 Italy. Otto II was ...

, Count of Chiny * Louis, founder of the priory of Saint-Valpurge at Chiny * Halide (Hadvide, Hadwida), married to Dodo of Cons (Dudo of Konz-Saarburg), who took the cross and became a Crusader in the

army of Godfrey of Bouillon The army of Godfrey of Bouillon, the duke of Lower Lorraine, in response to the call by Pope Urban II to both liberate Jerusalem from Muslim forces and protect the Byzantine Empire from similar attacks. Godfrey and his army, one of several Franki ...

in 1096. He was one of two sons of Adelon de Cons. * Clemence, married to Hugel de Waha, Châtelain de Mirwart, who was son of Hériman de Duras, who in turn was son of Otto I, Count of Duras, and grandson to Giselbert I, Count of Duras. * Beatrix, mother of Arnulf, Archdeacon of

Trier Trier ( , ; ), formerly and traditionally known in English as Trèves ( , ) and Triers (see also Names of Trier in different languages, names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle (river), Moselle in Germany. It lies in a v ...

. * Unnamed daughter, mother to Arnoul and Conon. Arnold's second wife was Ermengarde (d. 1081), a union for which no children are recorded. Arnold and his third wife Agnes had one child: * Adelbero III of Chiny,

Bishop of Verdun The Diocese of Verdun (; ) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in France. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Besançon. The Diocese of Verdun co ...

(1131-1156) Upon his death, Arnold’s son Otto assumed the title of Count of Chiny.

References

Sources

* * Laret-Kayser, Arlette, ''Entre Bar et Luxembourg : Le Comté de Chiny des Origines à 1300'', Bruxelles (éditions du Crédit Communal, Collection Histoire, série in-8°, n° 72), 1986 * 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 {{DEFAULTSORT:Arnold 01, Count of Chiny 11th-century births 1106 deaths Counts of Chiny Year of birth unknown