Realm choice: 'bar'.
Luxembourg is a separate imperial county, but on 1 January 1200 it is ruled by the count of Bar in his child-wife's right, with Philip of Swabia's approval, and Bar's knights and money hold it: the ground answers to Theobald, so it is coloured as Bar's realm. The union is personal and ends with Theobald's death in 1214, when Ermesinde marries Waleran of Limburg. The county itself is still small: the rock-castle of Luxembourg on the Alzette and the lands around it, with the Ardennes counties of Durbuy and La Roche that came to Ermesinde in the settlement after her father's death.
Namur, her father's other county, was lost to Philip of Namur at Dinant in July 1199.
Who he is
- Name
- Ermesinde (born July 1186) and Theobald I of Bar
- Title
- Countess of Luxembourg in her own right, with her husband as count
- Since
- 1197
- Born
- Ermesinde July 1186
- Family
- Ermesinde is the only child of Henry IV the Blind, count of Luxembourg and Namur (died 1196), and Agnes of Guelders. As an infant she was betrothed to Count Henry II of Champagne, who broke it off when he went on crusade.
- Confidence
- high
de.wikipedia and en.wikipedia on Ermesinde; en.wikipedia on Theobald I
Overlord
The emperor (Luxembourg is an imperial county, held separately from Bar).
What it holds
- Luxembourg: castle on the Bock rock and the settlement below it
- The county's lands on the Alzette and toward the Moselle
- County of Durbuy on the Ourthe
- County of La Roche in the Ardennes
How it was acquired
Henry the Blind died in 1196; Henry VI took Luxembourg as a vacant fief and gave it, with Durbuy and La Roche, to his brother Otto I of Burgundy; in 1197 Theobald, newly married to Ermesinde, negotiated Otto's renunciation and became count with her. The Namur war ended at Dinant (6 or 26 July 1199), where Philip of Namur and Baldwin IX renounced Luxembourg, Durbuy and La Roche and Theobald gave up Namur.
Allies and rivals
Allies: Philip of Swabia. Rivals: Philip of Namur and Baldwin IX of Flanders-Hainaut (settled at Dinant); the dukes of Limburg, who hold the neighbouring marquisate of Arlon; the counts of Vianden to the north.
How things stand that morning
Held by Theobald and Ermesinde. Across the borders: Arlon belongs to the house of Limburg (whose heir Waleran is styled marquis of Arlon); Chiny to the west does homage to Bar; the archbishop of Trier and the abbey of Echternach to the east; Thionville to the south is Luxembourg's by Ermesinde's charter of 1239, but its status on 1 January 1200 is not pinned.
Wealth
Castle tolls, the Alzette and Moselle routes, Ardennes forests and iron. No figures.
Military
The castle of Luxembourg, among the strongest on the Moselle side; Durbuy and La Roche castles. No numbers.
Threats
- The child countess: her kin and neighbours (Limburg, Guelders, Namur) watch the inheritance.
- A reopening of the Namur quarrel.
What the year holds
What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.
- 1214 (later course)Theobald dies 13 February 1214; Ermesinde marries Waleran of Limburg in May 1214 and Luxembourg leaves Bar's orbit.Depends on: Theobald's death. Stopped by: n/a
Places of note
- Castle of Luxembourg: Seat
- Castle of Durbuy: County castle
- Castle of La Roche: County castle
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: The succession settlement is attested in outline; the exact day of the marriage and of Dinant differ between sources; the 1200 extent of the county is not mapped in them.
On the map: The core polygon is a rough estimate of the small 1200 county around the castle.
Primary sources for Bar
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- Chronicle of Alberic of Trois-Fontaines, Alberic of Trois-Fontaines (about 1227 to 1241, at the Cistercian abbey of Trois-Fontaines in Champagne). The widest net of any Latin chronicle for 1200, compiled from dozens of sources, many now lost. Read online
- Deeds of the archbishops of Trier, continuations (continuations written in the 13th century). The Trier house history for Archbishop John I (1190 to 1212), who held the Moselle between the two kings. Read online
Sources and studies
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.