A Meuse and Moselle county of castles and abbey advocacies (Bar, Saint-Mihiel, Pont-a-Mousson and Mousson, Briey, Stenay, Gondrecourt), held since 1190 by Theobald I, a veteran of the Third Crusade.
In 1197 he married the eleven-year-old Ermesinde, heiress of Henry the Blind of Luxembourg and Namur, and by a deal with Otto I of Burgundy, to whom Henry VI had given Luxembourg in 1196, he became count of Luxembourg in her right. He then fought Baldwin IX's brother Philip of Namur for Namur and lost it at the treaty of Dinant (July 1199), keeping Luxembourg with Durbuy and La Roche. On 1 January 1200 he is the strongest lay prince between Champagne and the Rhine, and his daughter Agnes is married to Ferry II, heir of Lorraine.
Who rules
- Name
- Theobald I (Thiebaut Ier)
- Title
- Count of Bar; count of Luxembourg, Durbuy and La Roche jointly with his wife
- Since
- 1190 for Bar, when his brother Count Henry I was killed at the siege of Acre (some accounts say 1191); 1197 for Luxembourg
- Born
- about 1158, so about 41
- Family
- House of Bar (Montbeliard-Bar). Son of Count Renaud II of Bar and Agnes of Champagne, Count Henry the Liberal's sister: first cousin of Theobald III of Champagne. Dies 13 February 1214.
- Confidence
- high
en.wikipedia and fr.wikipedia on Theobald I; de.wikipedia and en.wikipedia on Ermesinde.
Threats
- The duke of Lorraine on the Moselle (Preny facing Pont-a-Mousson).
- Philip of Namur and Baldwin IX if the Dinant settlement breaks.
- The child countess: Luxembourg is held in her right, and her kin in the Low Countries (the Limburg and Guelders houses) watch it.
- The bishops of Verdun and Metz, with whom the count shares and disputes advocacies.
Consort
Ermesinde of Luxembourg, born July 1186 (13 years old), daughter of Henry IV the Blind, count of Luxembourg and Namur (died 1196), and Agnes of Guelders; married 1197 (en.wikipedia; de.wikipedia gives 14 August 1196, which is the date usually given for her father's death and looks like a confusion). Earlier wives: Laurette of Loon (married 1176), and Ermesinde, also called Isabelle, of Bar-sur-Seine (married about 1189, divorced about 1195).
Heirs and children
By Laurette of Loon: Agnes (born about 1177), wife of Ferry II of Lorraine. By the Bar-sur-Seine marriage: Henry (II), born 1190, heir of Bar; Agnes; Margaret (born about 1192). By Ermesinde: no child is known to have been born by 1 January 1200 (Renaud, Henry, Elisabeth, Margaret and a daughter are born later; years not pinned). The heir of Luxembourg is Ermesinde herself.
Officers
Not pinned for 1 January 1200. The count governs through prevots and castellans at Bar, Saint-Mihiel, Pont-a-Mousson, Briey and Stenay, and in Luxembourg through the castle of Luxembourg.
Court winter 1199 in 1200
Not pinned (Bar-le-Duc or Luxembourg).
Treaties marriages wars
Luxembourg: after Henry the Blind's death in 1196 the Emperor Henry VI took the county as a vacant fief and gave it to his brother Otto I of Burgundy; in 1197 Theobald negotiated Otto's renunciation and he and Ermesinde became count and countess. Namur: Theobald besieged Namur castle; Philip of Namur and Baldwin IX settled at the treaty of Dinant (6 July 1199 at Saint-Medard per en.wikipedia; 26 July 1199 per de.wikipedia): Namur stays with Philip, and the brothers renounce their claims to Luxembourg, Durbuy and La Roche. Lorraine: Agnes of Bar married to Ferry II by 1189; the duke's overlordship of Vaudemont passes to Bar in 1202.
Chiny: the counts of Chiny do liege homage to Bar for part of their lands (Louis III in spring 1189; Louis IV renewed it).
Rome and interdict
Bar lies in the dioceses of Toul, Verdun and Metz (province of Trier), and Luxembourg mostly in Trier: imperial churches, outside the French interdict.
Throne dispute
Theobald's recovery of Luxembourg, Durbuy and La Roche was made with Philip of Swabia's approval (en.wikipedia), and he holds Luxembourg by Otto of Burgundy's renunciation: he stands with the Staufen. Across the Meuse, Baldwin IX and Philip of Namur lean to Otto IV.
Coinage
The counts of Bar strike deniers; mint places in 1200 not pinned.
The host
The knights of the Barrois and of Luxembourg; liege homage of Chiny. No numbers in the sources.
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.
In 1200
- 1200 (no dated event pinned)No act of Theobald I is pinned to 1200 in the sources checked. Expect consolidation of Luxembourg after Dinant.Depends on: Dinant holding; Philip of Swabia's cause holding in Lorraine. Stopped by: A Hainaut-Namur attempt to reopen Dinant, or a Welf turn in the Low Countries.
Later, on the likely course
- 1202 (later course)Simon II of Lorraine cedes the overlordship of Vaudemont to Theobald in return for his support of the Lorraine succession.Depends on: Lorraine still needing Bar's backing for Ferry II. Stopped by: War between Bar and Lorraine.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Marriages, the Luxembourg settlement and Dinant are attested, with the Dinant day and the Ermesinde marriage date differing between sources; officers and mints not pinned.
Primary sources for this realm
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
- Theobald I, Count of Bar
- Thiebaut Ier de Bar
- Ermesinde (Luxemburg)
- Ermesinde, Countess of Luxembourg
- Comte de Chiny
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.