The Counts of Louvain were a branch of the Lotharingian

House of Reginar The Reginarids (or Regnarids, Regniers, Reiniers, etc.) were a family of magnates in Lower Lotharingia during the Carolingian and Ottonian period. Their modern name is derived from the personal name which many members of the family bore, and which ...

which from the late 10th century ruled over the estates of

Louvain Leuven (, , ), also called Louvain (, , ), is the capital and largest city of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipality itself comprises the sub-municipalities of ...

(''

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

'') or Leuven (''

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

'') in

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

History

The likely ancestor of the Reginars,

Gilbert, Count of the Maasgau Gilbert (Giselbert), Count of Maasgau was a Frankish noble in what would become Lotharingia, during his lifetime in the 9th century. The Carolingian dynasty created this "middle kingdom" and fought over it, and he is mentioned as playing a role on b ...

, a vassal of the

West Frankish Frankish ( reconstructed endonym: *), also known as Old Franconian or Old Frankish, was the West Germanic language spoken by the Franks from the 5th to 10th centuries. Franks under king Chlodio settled in Roman Gaul in the 5th century. On ...

king

Charles the Bald Charles the Bald (; 13 June 823 – 6 October 877), also known as CharlesII, was a 9th-century king of West Francia (843–877), King of Italy (875–877) and emperor of the Carolingian Empire (875–877). After a series of civil wars during t ...

, married a daughter of the

Carolingian The Carolingian dynasty ( ; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charles Martel and his grandson Charlemagne, descendants of the Arnulfing and Pippinid c ...

emperor

Lothair I Lothair I (9th. C. Frankish: ''Ludher'' and Medieval Latin: ''Lodharius''; Dutch and Medieval Latin: ''Lotharius''; German: ''Lothar''; French: ''Lothaire''; Italian: ''Lotario''; 795 – 29 September 855) was a 9th-century emperor of the ...

in 846. Reginar I "longneck", possibly his son, was the most powerful noble in the now kingless kingdom of

Lotharingia Lotharingia was a historical region and an early medieval polity that existed during the late Carolingian and early Ottonian era, from the middle of the 9th to the middle of the 10th century. It was established in 855 by the Treaty of Prüm, a ...

(Lorraine), in the period from 910 to 915. His son and successor Gilbert swore fealty to the

East Frankish East Francia (Latin: ) or the Kingdom of the East Franks () was a successor state of Charlemagne's empire created in 843 and ruled by the Carolingian dynasty until 911. It was established through the Treaty of Verdun (843) which divided the for ...

king

Henry the Fowler Henry the Fowler ( or '; ; – 2 July 936) was the duke of Saxony from 912 and the king of East Francia from 919 until his death in 936. As the first non- Frankish king of East Francia, he established the Ottonian dynasty of kings and emper ...

in 925 and three years later married his daughter

Gerberga of Saxony Gerberga of Saxony ( 913 – 5 May 968/9 or 984?) was the queen of West Francia by marriage to Louis IV of France between 939 and 954. She ruled as regent during the minority of their son Lothair in 954–959. She was a member of the Ottonian ...

. His younger brother's son

Reginar III Reginar III (c. 920 – 973) was Count of Hainaut from approximately 940 until his exile in 958. He was the son of Reginar II, Count of Hainaut. He took part in the rebellion of his uncle Gilbert, Duke of Lorraine. When Gilbert was killed in 93 ...

held lands in the region of

Mons Mons commonly refers to: * Mons, Belgium, a city in Belgium * Mons pubis (mons Venus or mons veneris), in mammalian anatomy, the adipose tissue lying above the pubic bone * Mons (planetary nomenclature), a sizable extraterrestrial mountain * Batt ...

. About 990, Lambert the Bearded (d. 1015), son of Count Reginar III, married Gerberga, daughter of the Carolingian duke Charles of Lower Lorraine, and by 1003 he was being described as a Count of Louvain. His county, with its original capital of Louvain built upon the Dyle river, between the old

Pagus of Brabant The ''pagus'' of Brabant (; ) was a geographical region in the early Middle Ages, located in what is now Belgium. It was the first region known to have been called Brabant, and it included the modern capital of Belgium, Brussels. It was divided ...

and

Pagus of Hasbania The ''pagus'' or '' gau'' of ''Hasbania'' was a large early medieval territory in what is now eastern Belgium. It is now approximated by the modern French- and Dutch-speaking region called Hesbaye in French, or ''Haspengouw'' in Dutch — both bei ...

, rapidly increased in size and power. In 1013, Lambert annexed part of the county of Bruningrode, located between Louvain and

Tienen Tienen (; ) is a city and municipality in the province of Flemish Brabant, in Flanders, Belgium. The municipality comprises Tienen itself and the towns of Bost, Goetsenhoven, Hakendover, Kumtich, Oorbeek, Oplinter, Sint-Margriete-Houtem and Viss ...

, and this became a source of long-running conflict with the prince-bishops of Liège. Lambert's family gained great influence in the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

, acquiring more comital titles over time. His son Lambert II is also mentioned as a count of

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 ...

, where he had the St. Michael's Church erected to house the relics of

Saint Gudula Gudula of Brabant, also known as Saint Gudula (ca. 646–712), was a Christian saint who is venerated in Catholic and Orthodox churches. In Brabant, she is usually called ''Goedele'' or ''Goule''; (, later '; ; ). Her name is connected to se ...

. When he joined the rebellion of Count

Baldwin V of Flanders Baldwin V ( 1012 – 1 September 1067) was Count of Flanders from 1035 until his death. He secured the personal union between the counties of Flanders and Hainaut and maintained close links to the Anglo-Saxon monarchy, which was overthrown by h ...

against

Emperor Henry III Henry III (, 28 October 1016 – 5 October 1056), called the Black () or the Pious, was Holy Roman Emperor from 1046 until his death in 1056. A member of the Salian dynasty, he was the eldest son of Conrad II and Gisela of Swabia. Henry was rais ...

, he was killed in a 1054 battle at

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 ...

. Lambert's grandson, Count

Henry III of Louvain Henry III of Louvain (German: ''Heinrich'', Dutch: ''Hendrik'', French: ''Henri''; died 1095), was Count of Louvain (Leuven) and Landgrave of Brabant, son of Henry II (c. 1020–1078), Count of Louvain and Brussels, and Adela of Orthen (or Betu ...

was vested with the title of a

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 ...

upon the death of the Ezzonid count palatine Hermann II of Lotharingia in 1085. In the early 12th century, Henry III was succeeded by his brother Godfrey I, who was entrusted with the imperial Dukedom of Lower Lotharingia, and

Margraviate of Antwerp The Margraviate of Antwerp (or March of Antwerp) consisted since the eleventh century of the area around the cities of Antwerp and Breda. Origin Under Otto II, emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, several marches were created along the border wi ...

after Henry of Limbourg fell out of favour. Although the title was later given back to the lords of

Limbourg-sur-Vesdre Limbourg (; German and Dutch: ''Limburg''; ) or Limbourg-sur-Vesdre is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium. On 1 January 2008, Limbourg had a total population of 5,680. The total area is 24.63 k ...

, Godefrey and his family refused to stop using the title, and kept possession of Antwerp. The ensuing conflict between the families led to the eventual abolishment of the Duchy, and the two families came to be known as the Dukes of Brabant and Limbourg respectively.

Counts of Louvain and Brussels

* 1003–1015: Lambert I, was the first Count of Louvain, son of

Count of Hainaut The Count of Hainaut (; ; ) was the ruler of the county of Hainaut, a historical region in the Low Countries (including the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of northern France and western Germany). In English-la ...

* 1015–1038:

Henry I Henry I or Henri I may refer to: :''In chronological order'' * Henry I the Fowler, King of Germany (876–936) * Henry I, Duke of Bavaria (died 955) * Henry I of Austria, Margrave of Austria (died 1018) * Henry I of France (1008–1060) * Henry ...

, (son of Lambert I) * 1038–1040:

Otto Otto is a masculine German given name and a surname. It originates as an Old High German short form (variants '' Audo'', '' Odo'', '' Udo'') of Germanic names beginning in ''aud-'', an element meaning "wealth, prosperity". The name is recorded fr ...

{{cn, date=February 2022 * 1040–1054: Lambert II, (son of Lambert I) * 1054–1079:

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 ...

, (son of Lambert II) * 1079–1086: Henry III, (son of

)

Counts of Louvain and Brussels, Landgraves of Brabant

* 1086–1095: Henry III, (son of

) * 1095–1106: Godfrey I, (son of

)

Counts of Louvain and Brussels, Landgraves of Brabant, Dukes of Lower-Lorraine

* 1106–1128: Godfrey I, (son of

) * 1128–1141: Godfrey II, (son of Godfrey I) * 1141–1190: Godfrey III, (son of Godrey II) From 1183 onwards, the titles of Count of Louvain, Count of Brussels and

were merged in the title of

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 ...

and used as

appanage An appanage, or apanage (; ), is the grant of an estate, title, office or other thing of value to a younger child of a monarch, who would otherwise have no inheritance under the system of primogeniture (where only the eldest inherits). It was ...

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 ...

House of Reginar History of Leuven