Henry III of Louvain (German: ''Heinrich'', Dutch: ''Hendrik'', French: ''Henri''; died 1095), was Count of Louvain (Leuven) and

Landgrave of Brabant The Landgraviate of Brabant (Modern , Modern ) was a small imperial fiefdom west of Brussels, consisting of the area between the Dender and Zenne rivers in the Low Countries, then part of the Holy Roman Empire. Before 1085 the land had belonge ...

, son of

Henry II Henry II may refer to: Kings * Saint Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor (972–1024), crowned King of Germany in 1002, of Italy in 1004 and Emperor in 1014 *Henry II of England (1133–89), reigned from 1154 *Henry II of Jerusalem and Cyprus (1271–1 ...

(c. 1020–1078), Count of Louvain and

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

, and Adela of Orthen (or Betuwe), a daughter of Count Everard of Orthen.

Life

At his father Henry's death 1078 he became Count of Louvain. He was allied by family marriages to most of the nearby lords: he was brother-in-law of

Baldwin II of Hainaut Baldwin II (1056–1098?) was count of Hainaut from 1071 to his death. He was an unsuccessful claimant to the County of Flanders. He disappeared in Anatolia during the First Crusade. Minority Baldwin was the younger son of Count Baldwin VI of ...

, and son-in-law of Robert I of Flanders. The

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

, Henri I of Verdun, was peace-loving. Henry was able to concentrate on the internal affairs of his lands, without external threats. He supported religious foundations in the western parts, and legislated to reduce

lawlessness Lawlessness is a lack of law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously descr ...

. After the death on 20 September 1085 of

Hermann II, count palatine of Lotharingia Hermann II (born 1049; died Dalhem, 20 September 1085), Count Palatine of Lotharingia 1064–1085. He was count in the Ruhrgau and the Zulpichgau, as well as a count of Brabant. Life According to Egon Kimpen he was the son of Henry I of Lothar ...

, he became

landgrave of Brabant The Landgraviate of Brabant (Modern , Modern ) was a small imperial fiefdom west of Brussels, consisting of the area between the Dender and Zenne rivers in the Low Countries, then part of the Holy Roman Empire. Before 1085 the land had belonge ...

, which was an imperial

fief A fief (; ) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal alle ...

between the

Dender The Dender () or Dendre () is a long river in Belgium, the right tributary of the river Scheldt. The confluence of the two rivers is in the Belgian town of Dendermonde. The Western or Little Dender is long and begins in Barry near Leuze-en-Hain ...

and the

Zenne The ( French, ) or ( Dutch, ) is a small river that flows through Brussels, Belgium. Its source is in the village of Naast near the municipality of Soignies. It is an indirect tributary of the Scheldt, through the Dyle and the Rupel. It jo ...

. In July 1095, he took part in a

tournament A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concen ...

Tournai Tournai ( , ; ; ; , sometimes Anglicisation (linguistics), anglicised in older sources as "Tournay") is a city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia located in the Hainaut Province, Province of Hainaut, Belgium. It lies by ...

. Fighting in a

joust Jousting is a medieval and renaissance martial game or hastilude between two combatants either on horse or on foot. The joust became an iconic characteristic of the knight in Romantic medievalism. The term is derived from Old French , ultim ...

against Gosuin de Forest, he was mortally wounded.

Family

About 1090 he married Gertrude of Flanders (1080–1117), daughter of Robert I of Flanders and

Gertrude of Saxony Gertrude of Saxony ( 1030 – August 4, 1113), also known as Gertrude Billung, was a countess of Holland by marriage to Floris I, Count of Holland, and countess of Flanders by marriage to Robert I, Count of Flanders. She was regent of Holland ...

. A genealogy of the time attributes to him four daughters (not named). Since he was succeeded by his brother

Godfrey I of Leuven Godfrey I (, 1060 – 25 January 1139), called the Bearded, the Courageous, or the Great, was the Landgraviate of Brabant, Landgrave of Brabant, Count of Brussels and Leuven (Louvain) from 1095 to his death and Duke of Lower Lorraine from 1106 ...

, it is inferred that he did not leave a son as heir. It has been suggested that the daughters included: *

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

, wife of duke

Simon I of Lorraine Simon I (1076 – 13 or 14 January 1139) was the duke of Lorraine from 1115 to his death, the eldest son and successor of Theodoric II and Hedwig of Formbach and a half-brother of Emperor Lothair III. Continuing the policy of friendship ...

* Gertrude, wife to

Lambert, count of Montaigu and Clermont 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, ...

. Gertrude of Flanders, widowed, married in 1096 duke Theodoric II of Lorraine (died 1115) and was mother of

Thierry of Alsace Theoderic (, , ; – 17 January 1168), commonly known as Thierry of Alsace, was the fifteenth count of Flanders from 1128 to 1168. With a record of four campaigns in the Levant and Africa (including participation in the Second Crusade, the faile ...

("Theodoric").

Ancestry

References

Sources

* * {{Authority control Counts of Louvain Margraves of Antwerp 1095 deaths House of Reginar 11th-century counts in Europe Year of birth unknown

Life

Family

Ancestry

See also

References

Sources