NAMUR Berengar

Abt 0880 - Bef 0946  (< 65 years)

• Name	NAMUR Berengar
  Birth	Abt 0880	Namur, Lotharingia
  Gender	Male
  Death	Bef 0946	Namur, Lotharingia
  Notes	Berengar (fr: Bérenger) Comte de Namur was the first noted count of the territory that became known as Namur, within the duchy of Lotharingie (Lothringen / Lotharingia) in the Holy Roman Empire. Namur was an important trading settlement since Celtic times and later as part of the Roman Empire following Julius Caesar's defeat of the local Aduatuci tribe. Prior to Berengar, the region had been referred to as pagus Lommensis although it is not certain that the territories were precisely co-extensive. Namur is now the capital of Wallonia in the French-speaking region of Belgium. [1] [2] [3] Berengar's parents and origin are unknown but he is believed to have been born in about 875-885, based on his being count by the time he is referenced in a charter of 907. [2] [3] Nobility of Lotharingia Territories Europe after the Treaty of Prüm 855 The medieval land of Lotharingia included the territory from the North Sea to Burgundy that now comprises the Benelux countries: Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg - as well as the eastern portion of France that arose from the Duchy of Lorraine, and the Rhineland of Germany. Lotharingia arose as the northern half of Middle Francia, originally granted to Charlemagne's grandson Lothair upon division of the Carolingian Empire by the Treaty of Verdun in 843. Before Lothar's death, he divided Middle Francia among his three sons by the Treaty of Prüm in 855: granting Italy and the imperial title to eldest son Louis; Provence and Lower Burgundy to youngest son Charles; and the northern territories, which became known as Lotharingia, to his middle son Lothair II. Lotharingia / Lothringen / Lotharingie 10th century Lotharingia (lat: Regnum Lotharii or Lotharingia, fr: Lotharingie (later Lorraine), de: Lothringen, nl: Lotharingen) formed part of the Holy Roman Empire but was the subject of frequent political and territorial conflict between West Francia, the kingdom of the Western Franks who would eventually establish France - and East Francia, the kingdom of he Eastern Franks who remained in the Holy Roman Empire and would eventually establish the Kingdom of Germany. In 959 (just after Berengar's time as count), Lotharingia was partitioned into Lower Lotharingia (the lower Northern region that today comprises the Benelux countries) and Upper Lotharingia (the higher more Southern region that developed into the Duchy of Lorraine). While these became two separate duchies, they remained closely related and were often headed by members of the same Lotharingian noble family - and in some cases individuals who became the Duke of Lower Lotharingia also later succeeded as the Duke of Upper Lotharingia, or vice versa. Languages and Names Latin was the principal written language in Lotharingia and in adjacent lands. The Franks who were migrating to the west, including in particular the nobility. increasingly adopted spoken ("vulgar" or popular) versions of Latin that would become Lorrain roman, Walloon and Old French (all of which introduced Germanic words into the Latin) - while the Eastern Franks generally continued to speak more purely Germanic tongues (although these also introduced words of Latin origin) - which in Lotharingia would develop into Dutch, Flemish and Luxembourgish. The resulting countries such as Belgium continue to reflect both French and Germanic influences - concentrated in Wallonia and Flanders, respectively - and Belgian place names generally have counterparts in both languages, e.g. Bruxelles et Louvain (fr), Brussel en Leuven (fl/nl). [4] Among French speakers, the Old French terms Loherigne and Loherainc were increasingly used for the territories and people - which later developed into the word and regional name of Lorraine in French. Marriage Berengar married a woman who was the sister of Giselbert (II) Graaf van Maasgau, Duke of Lotharingia - and the daughter of Reginar I "Langhals / Longneck" Graaf van Maasgau, Comte de Hainaut and his second wife Alberada. [2] [3] [5] [6] [7] [8] Berengar's marriage was before 924. [6] His wife's first name is not certain but may have been Ada. [5] Other authors have suggested the names Symphorienne (without clear source) and Berthe (indicated by Depoin 1911). [6] Death and Succession of the County of Namur Berengar died sometime after 937 (when he was last noted in records) - and prior to 946 by which time Robert Comte de Namur was reflected in documents as the count of Namur. [2] [3] Since no intervening counts are noted in the relatively short time between records of Berengar and those of Robert, it is generally presumed that Robert was the son Berengar - but the relationship between the two is not considered certain. [2] [3] Sources ↑ Namur - Introduction by Cawley, Charles. Medieval Lands: A prosopography of medieval European noble and royal families. Published by Charles Cawley and the Foundation for Medieval Genealogy (FMG) 2006-2021, including source citations and relevant texts; hosted online by FMG, v5.0 Updated 27 February 2025; see also WikiTree's source page for MedLands) ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Comtes de Namur 907-1190 by Cawley, Charles. Medieval Lands: A prosopography of medieval European noble and royal families. Published by Charles Cawley and the Foundation for Medieval Genealogy (FMG) 2006-2021, including source citations and relevant texts; hosted online by FMG, v5.0 Updated 27 February 2025; see also WikiTree's source page for MedLands) ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Rouseau, Félix (Conservateur aux Archives du Royaume). Actes des Comtes de Namur de la Première Race (946-1196) (1936, Marcel, Hayez, Imprimeur de l'Académie Royale de Belgique); disponible via Commission Royale d'Histoire de la Belgique Actes des Comtes de Namur (946-1196) cf. pp xx-xxviii - Bérenger; xxix-xxxvi - Robert Ier ↑ Wikipédia (fr) - Basse-Lotharingie ↑ 5.0 5.1 Rubincam, Milton. The House of Brabant, Ancestry of Philippa of Hainault, Wife of Edward III, The American Genealogist, (1949) Vol. 25, pp. 224-25 ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Baldwin, Stewart et al. The Henry Project: The ancestors of king Henry II of England, cf. The Henry Project - Regnier I (Reginar), hosted by the American Society of Genealogists (ASG) 2020, including source citations and relevant texts, accessed Sep 2025 (see also WikiTree's source page for Pre-1500 Resource Page) ↑ Graven van Maasgau by Cawley, Charles. Medieval Lands: A prosopography of medieval European noble and royal families. Published by Charles Cawley and the Foundation for Medieval Genealogy (FMG) 2006-2021, including source citations and relevant texts; hosted online by FMG, v5.0 Updated 27 February 2025; see also WikiTree's source page for MedLands) ↑ Dukes of Lotharingia 903-959 by Cawley, Charles. Medieval Lands: A prosopography of medieval European noble and royal families. Published by Charles Cawley and the Foundation for Medieval Genealogy (FMG) 2006-2021, including source citations and relevant texts; hosted online by FMG, v5.0 Updated 27 February 2025; see also WikiTree's source page for MedLands)
  Person ID	I58993	Freeman-Smith
  Last Modified	27 Jan 2026

  
  

  Family	REGINAR Ada,   b. Aft 0890, Lotharingia, Holy Roman Empire d. Abt 0933, Lotharingia, Holy Roman Empire (Age < 41 years)
  Marriage	Bef 0924	Lotharingia, Holy Roman Empire
  Children	1. NAMUR Robert,   b. 0916, Lotharingia, Holy Roman Empire d. 0981, Lotharingia, Holy Roman Empire (Age ~ 65 years)  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural]
  Family ID	F26242	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	27 Jan 2026