During the

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 ...

, the County of Moha ( or ''Mohae'') was a small territory in the ''pagus'' of Hesbaye. The area was located in the

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

, within 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 ...

(in what is now eastern

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

). It was centred around the village of Moha on the right bank of the river

Mehaigne The Mehaigne () is a river in Belgium. It is a left tributary to the Meuse. Its source is at Saint-Denis ( La Bruyère), in the province of Namur Namur (; ; ) is a city and municipality in Wallonia, Belgium. It is the capital both of the p ...

and its nearby

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

Léon Vanderkindere Léon Vanderkindere (22 February 1842 – 9 November 1906) was a Belgian historian, academic and politician. Family Vanderkindere was born in Molenbeek-Saint-Jean into a wealthy middle-class family. His father, Albert Vanderkindere, was a po ...

''La formation territoriale des principautés belges au Moyen Âge'', vol. 2
(Brussels: H. Lamertin, 1902), pp. 151–56. The "county" of Moha was originally an

allod Allod, deriving from Frankish language, Frankish ''alōd'' meaning "full ownership" (from ''al'' "full, whole" and ''ōd'' "property, possession"; Medieval Latin ''allod'' or ''allodium''), also known as allodial land or proprietary property, was ...

. It came to be regarded as a county only during the 11th century, when its lords became counts of Eguisheim, and later counts of Dagsburg and

Metz Metz ( , , , then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle (river), Moselle and the Seille (Moselle), Seille rivers. Metz is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Moselle (department), Moselle Departments ...

. Among its dependencies were the manors of Antheit, Saint-Jean, Waleffe and

Wanze Wanze (; ) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is b ...

Alberts I and II

The first recorded lord (not count) of Moha was Albert I, known from a charter of the

bishopric of Liège In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associated ...

dated 1031 and from another of Archbishop Poppo of Trier dated to 1040–44. This Albert may have belonged to the House of Verdun, since he signed immediately after Count Albert II of Namur in 1031 and Duke

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 ...

in the 1040s. Furthermore, Archbishop Poppo's charter was issued on behalf of Count Gozelo I of Montaigu and his wife. Albert I was succeeded by Albert II, but how or even whether they are related is unknown. Albert II married Hedwig (Heilwig), a daughter of Count Henry I of Dagsburg and Egisheim, himself a son of Count Henry VI and nephew of

Pope Leo IX Pope Leo IX (, , 21 June 1002 – 19 April 1054), born Bruno von Egisheim-Dagsburg, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 February 1049 to his death in 1054. Leo IX is considered to be one of the most historica ...

. According to a letter of Pope Leo, his nephew Henry was dead by 1050. He was succeeded in Dagsburg by his son Hugh VII and in Egisheim by his daughter, who thus passed the county to Albert II. He became, by a combination of his new title (count) with his old allodial lordship (Moha), the first count of Moha. The '' Codex Hirsaugiensis'' explicitly refers to Albert as count of Egisheim. In his own donation to Marbach Abbey, he refers to himself as "the count of Egisheim, called of Moha". Finally, in a document from

Sint-Truiden Abbey Sint-Truiden Abbey or St Trudo's Abbey (; ) is a former Benedictine monastery in Sint-Truiden (named after Saint Trudo) in the province of Limburg, Belgium. The abbey was founded in the 7th century and was one of the oldest and most powerful i ...

he is called simply the count of Moha. In 1089, Hugh VII died and Albert II inherited Dagsburg. After the death of Hedwige, he married Ermesindis, daughter of Count

Conrad I 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 arc ...

. Hugh VIII, his son by Hedwig, succeeded to the county of Dagsburg around 1098, while Egisheim passed to another branch of the family. Thereafter, Moha remained in the hands of the counts of Dagsburg until the death of the last of the line in 1212. Castell_de_Moha

War of succession

In 1201, Count Albert II of Dagsburg (Albert III of Moha) made Duke

Henry I of Brabant Henry I (, ; 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 (Louvain), the son of Count Godfr ...

his heir for the castle of Dagbsurg and the county of Metz if he should die without an heir of the body. Moha was included in this grant. In 1204, Albert altered the terms of his will, leaving the same possessions to the bishopric of Liège. In these two wills the legal status of the territory is not confused by the traditional title of "county". It is described as the ''allodium de Muha'' r ''Musal''''et de Waleve''. On Albert's death in 1212, the county of Moha was disputed between Liège and Brabant. Duke Henry, assisted by Waleran, heir of 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 ...

, marched an army as if to attack Moha, while Bishop

Hugues de Pierrepont Hugh de Pierrepont (died 1229) was bishop of Liège from 1200 to 1229. He was French in origin, from the diocese of Laon; he was son of Hugues de Wasnad. He was supported after his election by Baldwin VI of Hainaut.Huy Huy ( ; ; ) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium. Huy lies along the river Meuse, at the mouth of the small river Hoyoux. It is in the '' sillon industriel'', the former industrial backbone of Wall ...

. Bypassing Moha, the duke attacked undefended Liège while the bishop force-marched his army back from Huy. Liège was occupied on 3 May and looted for four days. On 8 May, Henry began the siege of Moha, but failing to take it quickly, abandoned it on 10 May.J. F. Verbruggen, ''The Art of Warfare in Western Europe During the Middle Ages: From the Eighth Century to 1340'', 2nd ed. (Boydell, 1997), pp. 155–58. The bishop immediately set to work strengthening and rebuilding Liège. In July, strengthened by alliances with Marquis

Philip I of Namur Philip I (1175 – 9 October 1212), called the Noble, was the margrave of Namur from 1195 until his death. He was the second son of Count Baldwin V of Hainault and Countess Margaret I of Flanders. His paternal grandmother was Alice of Nam ...

, Count Louis II of Looz and Count

Ferdinand of Flanders Ferdinand ( Portuguese: ''Fernando'', French and Dutch: ''Ferrand''; 24 March 1188 – 27 July 1233) reigned as ''jure uxoris'' Count of Flanders and Hainaut from his marriage to Countess Joan, celebrated in Paris in 1212, until his death. Biog ...

, he moved against Brabant. Threatened by a superior force, Henry opened negotiations. In the end, he relinquished his claim on Moha. The settlement did not last. In October 1213, Bishop Hugues and Ferdinand invaded Brabant from two sides, claiming that Henry was not fulfilling his obligations under the prior treaty. When Ferdinand was forced to divert his attention to his French border, the bishop called on the count of Looz. Henry marched an army through the county of Moha and the two sides met in the

Battle of Steppes The Battle of Steppes was fought in modern-day Belgium on 13 October 1213 between Hugh Pierrepont, Bishop of Liège, and Henry I, Duke of Brabant. Cause In 1212, Albert II, Count of Dagsburg, the last ruler of the County of Moha, died with ...

on 13 October 1213. The Liègeois were victorious. The county of Moha was confirmed to the bishop.

List of lords and counts

*Albert I (or Adalbert I), fl. 1031 – c. 1042 *Albert II (or Adalbert II), before 1050 – 1097/8 *For subsequent counts, see

County of Dagsburg The County of Dagsburg with its capital Dagsburg (now Dabo, Moselle, Dabo in France) existed in Lorraine (duchy), Lorraine from 11th to 18th centuries when the area was still part of Holy Roman Empire. History The ancestral castle in Dabo, the ...

Notes

References

{{coord missing, Belgium Medieval history of the Low Countries House of Ardennes Prince-Bishopric of Liège Former states in the Low Countries