The County of Verdun was a sovereign medieval county in the Duchy of Lower Lorraine.

County

The rulers of the sovereign County of Verdun styled themselves as Counts by the grace of God.
country was located near Lower Lotharingia within the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...

. The Bishopric of Verdun bordered on it from the east. The

Forest of Argonne The Forest of Argonne () is a long strip of mountainous and wild woodland in northeastern France, approximately east of Paris. The forest measures roughly long and wide filled with many small hills and deep valleys formed by water run-off fro ...

formed the western border of the county, but it also included the fortresses at

Montfaucon-d'Argonne Montfaucon-d'Argonne (, literally ''Montfaucon of Argonne'') is a commune in the Meuse department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. It is home to the Meuse-Argonne American Memorial. See also * Communes of the Meuse department The follo ...

and

Vienne-le-Château Vienne-le-Château () is a commune in the Marne department in north-eastern France. History The village dates back to the 6th century when it was the possession of the Bishop of Verdun. A castle stood on a hill in the west of the town. It was des ...

. According to an imperial diploma issued in 1156, Bishop Haimo of Verdun received the right to appoint counts, but the counts from the Ardennes-Bouillon dynasty made the office hereditary by the end of the 10th century.

List of counts

*to 923

Ricwin Ricwin (Ricuin, Richwin) (died 923), was a Count of Verdun. After the death of Lothar II, the Treaty of Meerssen (August 870) divided Lotharingian territories between Louis the German and his half-brother Charles the Bald. This division allocated ...

, married first to the daughter of Engelram, Chamberlain to Charles the Bald, and second to Cunigunda, widow of Wigeric, Count of Bidgau *923–944

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 fro ...

, also duke of Lorraine from 940, son of Ricwin by his first marriage *944-963 Raoul, also Count of Ivois (as Rudolfe II) *963–1002 Godfrey I, called ''the Prisoner'', son of Gothelo, Count of Bidgau, son of Wigeric and Cunigunda, and Uda of Metz; married Matilda, daughter of Herman, Duke of Saxony *1002–1012 Godfrey II, son of previous, duke of Lower Lorraine from 1012 to his death in 1023 *1012–1022 Frederick, brother of previous *1022–1024

Herman Herman may refer to: People * Herman (name), list of people with this name * Saint Herman (disambiguation) * Peter Noone (born 1947), known by the mononym Herman Places in the United States * Herman, Arkansas * Herman, Michigan * Herman, Minne ...

(d.1029), brother of previous, retired to monastery *1024–1025

Louis Louis may refer to: * Louis (coin) * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also Derived or associated terms * Lewis (d ...

, also count of Chiny, received the county from Bishop Raimbert, killed by Gothelo, brother of Herman, who took the city and gave it as an appanage to Godfrey, his son *1025–1069 Godfrey III, called ''the Bearded'', also duke of Upper Lorraine from 1044 and Lower Lorraine from 1065, he was deprived of his possessions, Verdun included, by the Emperor Henry III, but he was reinstated and spent his life vacillating between rebellion and peace *1069–1076 Godfrey IV, called ''the Hunchback'', son of previous, also duke of Lower Lorraine *1076–1086

Matilda of Tuscany Matilda of Tuscany ( it, Matilde di Canossa , la, Matilda, ; 1046 – 24 July 1115 or Matilda of Canossa after her ancestral castle of Canossa), also referred to as ("the Great Countess"), was a member of the House of Canossa (also known as th ...

, called ''la Gran Contessa'', widow of previous, also marquise of Tuscany *1086–1095

Godfrey V Godfrey may refer to: People * Godfrey (name), a given name and surname * Godfrey (comedian), American comedian, actor Places In the United States * Godfrey, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Godfrey, Illinois, a village * Godfrey, Kansas, an ...

(d.1100), nephew of Godfrey IV, also duke of Lower Lorraine from 1089 and defender of the Holy Sepulchre from 1099 **''unknown'' *1100–1105 Theodoric, also count of Montbéliard and Bar *1105–1134

Reginald Reginald is a masculine given name in the English language. Etymology and history The meaning of Reginald is “King". The name is derived from the Latin ''Reginaldus'', which has been influenced by the Latin word ''regina'', meaning "queen". Th ...

(d.1149), called ''le Borgne'', son of previous, also count of Montbéliard and Bar In 1134, the bishop deposed Reginald and reattached the county to the episcopal demesne.

References

Sources

* {{Refend

Verdun Verdun (, , , ; official name before 1970 ''Verdun-sur-Meuse'') is a large city in the Meuse department in Grand Est, northeastern France. It is an arrondissement of the department. Verdun is the biggest city in Meuse, although the capital ...