John I, also called John the Victorious (1252/533 May 1294) was

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, Duke of Brabant, Henry I of the House of Reginar, son of Godfrey III of Le ...

(1267–1294), Lothier and Limburg (1288–1294). During the 13th century, John I was venerated as a

folk hero A folk hero or national hero is a type of hero – real, fictional or mythology, mythological – with their name, personality and deeds embedded in the popular consciousness of a people, mentioned frequently in Folk music, folk songs, folk tales ...

. He has been painted as the perfect model of a brave, adventurous and chivalrous feudal prince.

Life

John I Duke of Brabant effigy silver coin

Born in

Leuven Leuven (, , ), also called Louvain (, , ), is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipalit ...

, he was the son of Henry III, Duke of Brabant and Aleidis of Burgundy, daughter of Hugh IV, Duke of Burgundy. He was also an older brother of Maria of Brabant,

Queen consort A queen consort is the wife of a reigning king, and usually shares her spouse's social Imperial, royal and noble ranks, rank and status. She holds the feminine equivalent of the king's monarchical titles and may be crowned and anointed, but hi ...

Philip III of France Philip III (1 May 1245 – 5 October 1285), called the Bold (), was King of France from 1270 until his death in 1285. His father, Louis IX, died in Tunis during the Eighth Crusade. Philip, who was accompanying him, returned to France and wa ...

. In 1267 his older brother Henry IV, Duke of Brabant, being mentally deficient, was deposed in his favour. John's greatest military victory was the

Battle of Worringen The Battle of Worringen was fought on 5 June 1288 near the town of Worringen (also spelled Woeringen), which is now part of Chorweiler, the northernmost borough (Stadtbezirk) of Cologne. It was the decisive battle of the War of the Limburg Succe ...

1288, by which John I came to reign over the

Duchy of Limburg The Duchy of Limburg or Limbourg was an imperial estate of the Holy Roman Empire. Much of the area of the duchy is today located within Liège Province of Belgium, with a small portion in the municipality of Voeren, an Enclave and exclave, excla ...

. He was completely outnumbered in forces but led the successful invasion into the

Rhineland The Rhineland ( ; ; ; ) is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly Middle Rhine, its middle section. It is the main industrial heartland of Germany because of its many factories, and it has historic ties to the Holy ...

to defeat the confederacy. In 1288 Limburg was formally attached to Brabant. John I was said to be a model of feudal prince: brave, adventurous; excelling in every form of active exercise, fond of display, and generous in temper. He was considered one of the most gifted princes of his time. This made him very popular in

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

poetry and literature. Even today there exists an ode to him, so well known that it was a potential candidate to be the

North Brabant North Brabant ( ; ), also unofficially called Brabant, Dutch Brabant or Hollandic Brabant, is a province in the south of the Netherlands. It borders the provinces of South Holland and Gelderland to the north, Limburg to the east, Zeeland to ...

anthem. John I delighted in tournaments and was always eager to take part in jousts. He was also famous for his many illegitimate children. On 3 May 1294 at some marriage festivities at

Bar-le-Duc Bar-le-Duc (), formerly known as Bar, is a commune in the Meuse département, of which it is the capital. The department is in Grand Est in northeastern France. The lower, more modern and busier part of the town extends along a narrow valley, ...

, John I was mortally wounded in the arm in an encounter by Pierre de Bausner. He was buried in the church of the

Order of Friars Minor The Order of Friars Minor (commonly called the Franciscans, the Franciscan Order, or the Seraphic Order; Post-nominal letters, postnominal abbreviation OFM) is a Mendicant orders, mendicant Catholic religious order, founded in 1209 by Francis ...

(Minderbroederskerk) in Brussels, but since the

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

iconoclasm Iconoclasm ()From . ''Iconoclasm'' may also be considered as a back-formation from ''iconoclast'' (Greek: εἰκοκλάστης). The corresponding Greek word for iconoclasm is εἰκονοκλασία, ''eikonoklasia''. is the social belie ...

('' Beeldenstorm'') in 1566, nothing remains of his tomb.

Family and children

John was married twice. On 5 September 1270, he married

Margaret Margaret is a feminine given name, which means "pearl". It is of Latin origin, via Ancient Greek and ultimately from Iranian languages, Old Iranian. It has been an English language, English name since the 11th century, and remained popular thro ...

, daughter of

Louis IX of France Louis IX (25 April 1214 – 25 August 1270), also known as Saint Louis, was King of France from 1226 until his death in 1270. He is widely recognized as the most distinguished of the Direct Capetians. Following the death of his father, Louis VI ...

and Margaret of Provence. They had a son, but both mother and child died shortly after his birth. In 1273, John married

(d. 3 July 1285), daughter of

Guy, Count of Flanders Guy of Dampierre (; ) ( – 7 March 1305, Compiègne) was the Count of Flanders (1251–1305) and List of rulers of Namur, Marquis of Namur (1264–1305). He was a prisoner of the French when his Flemings defeated the latter at the Battle of ...

and had the following children: # Godfrey (1273/74 – aft. 13 September 1283). # John II of Brabant (1275–1312). #

(4 October 127614 December 1311,

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

), married 9 July 1292 to

Henry VII, Holy Roman Emperor Henry VII (German: ''Heinrich''; Vulgar Latin: ''Arrigo''; 1273 – 24 August 1313),Kleinhenz, pg. 494 also known as Henry of Luxembourg, was Count of Luxembourg, King of Germany ('' Rex Romanorum'') from 1308 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1312 ...

. # Marie (d. after 2 December 1338), married to Count Amadeus V of Savoy. John I had several illegitimate children: # Gillis van der Balcht # Jean Meuwe, Seigneur of Wavre and Dongelberg. # Margareta of Tervuren, she was married on 2 March 1292 to Jean de Rode de Lantwyck # Jan Pylyser (1272–1342) # Jan van der Plasch

Legacy

The duke is remembered in the folkish song HarbalorifaHet lied van Hertog Jan
www.codeximperium.be
www.bossche-encyclopedie.nl that remains popular. The popular Dutch beer Hertog Jan was named after the duke. Also the beer Primus of the is named after John I (Jan Primus).

Ancestry

References

Bibliography