 Abt 1111 - 1196 (85 years)
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| Name |
NAMUR Henri |
| Birth |
Abt 1111 |
Comté de Namur, Lower Lotharingia, Holy Roman Empire  |
| Gender |
Male |
| Death |
14 Aug 1196 |
Comté de Luxembourg, Upper Lotharingia, Holy Roman Empire |
| Notes |
- Henri / Heinrich de Namur (later Henri IV "l'Aveugle" Comte de Luxembourg et Comte de Namur) was born in about 1111 and was the son of Ermesinde de Luxembourg and her second husband Godefroi Comte de Namur, who married in 1109. [1] [2] [3]
Siblings
Henri's father Godefroi de Namur, who succeeded as Comte de Namur in 1102, had two daughters with his first wife Sibylle de Porcien: [1]
Elisabeth de Namur
Flandrine de Namur
Henri's mother Ermesinde de Luxembourg was first married to Albert II Graf von Dagsburg, as his second wife. Her husband died on 24 Aug 1098, and they had no known children together. [4]
His father Godefroi's first wife Sibylle was reportedly seduced by Enguerrand de Boves Comte d'Amiens, Seigneur de Coucy, and fled Godefroi before giving birth to an illegitimate child. Guibert de Nogent records that Ingelrannus abducted filia…Rogeri comitis Porcensis, wife of Namurensi…comiti Godefrido. Godefroi and Sibylle were divorced in about 1104. In about 1109, Godefroi married Henri's mother, Ermesinde de Luxembourg, who was then a widow. [1]
Ermesinde de Luxembourg and Godefroi de Namur, each in their second marriage, had five children together: [1] [2]
Albert de Namur - who died before 1131
Henri de Namur - who succeeded his cousin and mother to become Henri IV Comte de Luxembourg and later succeeded his father as Comte de Namur
Clementia (Clemence) de Namur - who married Konrad Herzog von Zähringen (fr: Conrad, duc de Zähringen)
Beatrix de Namur - who married Ithier / Gonthier, Comte de Rethel
Adelaide (Adelis / Aledis / Alix) de Namur - who married Baudoin IV Comte de Hainaut
Accessions to Luxembourg and to Namur
Henri's older brother Albert de Namur died sometime between 1125-1131, leaving Henri as the eldest son. [1] [2]
In 1136, his first cousin Conrad II Comte de Luxembourg (Ermesinde's nephew), died without heirs and his mother inherited the county of Luxembourg, but effectively abdicated in favor of Henri, who then succeeded his cousin as Henri IV Comte de Luxembourg. [1] [2] [4] [5]
On 19 Aug 1139, his father Godefroi Comte de Namur died, and Henri succeeded him as Henri Comte de Namur. [1] [2]
First Marriage and Divorce
In about 1155 (1152-59), Henri married Lauretta de Flandre who was three times widowed. Lauretta and Henri had no known children together and she left him in about 1163 and refused to return, despite excommunication. They were divorced and she retired to the nunnery at Voorst. [1] [2]
Second Marriage, Separation and Family
In about 1168, Henri married Agnes van Gelre (fr: Agnès de Gueldre), the daughter of Hendrik Graf van Gelre in Holland. [1] [2] [5] [6]
Henri lost his sight in connection with an illness during the winter of 1182/83 and was later called Henri l'Aveugle. [5]
His second wife Agnes later left him to enter a convent and refused to return to him despite his appeal to Pope Alexander III. A reconciliation was negotiated in 1185 by the Archbishop of Köln, Philippe Count of Flanders and Godefroi Duke of Brabant, anxious to ensure that Namur and Luxembourg were not inherited by Baudouin V Comte de Hainaut (the nominated successor of Comte Henri). [1] [2] [5] [6]
After Agnes returned to Henri, they had a daughter named Ermesinde de Namur who was born in July 1186. [1] [2] [5]
Successions of Namur and Luxembourg
After the return of his wife and the birth of their daughter Ermesinde in 1186, Henri revoked his assurance to Baudouin V Comte de Hainaut concerning the succession and betrothed his infant daughter to Henri II Comte de Champagne. In 1188, Henri was obliged to reinstate Baudouin as his heir after a verdict in the latter's favour from Heinrich VI King of Germany. Comte Baudouin later attacked Namur, captured Henri and obtained a confirmation of his position from Emperor Friedrich I who also secretly created him Marquis de Namur. Under a compromise reached in 1190, Baudouin received Namur immediately, with the expectation of La Roche and Durbuy after the death of Henri who received the revenues of these two counties for life; the fate of Luxembourg was not mentioned. The creation of the Marquisate of Namur was announced at Worms in 1190, at which time Comte Henri retired to Luxembourg where he continued to rule as count. He made a last attempt to recover Namur in 1194 but was defeated at Noville-sur-Mehaigne. [2] [5]
Henri died on 14 Aug 1196. In Namur, he had already been succeeded by his nephew Baudouin V de Hainaut. In Luxembourg, he was succeeded by his daughter Ermesinde, who became the Comtesse de Luxembourg. [2] [5]
Sources
↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 Comtes de Namur 907-1190 - Godefroi de Namur 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, accessed 2024; see also WikiTree's source page for MedLands)
↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 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) - Henri l'Aveugle, CXII - CXXV
↑ Wikipedia - Henry IV, Count of Luxembourg
↑ 4.0 4.1 Comtes de Luxembourg 963-1136 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, accessed 2024; see also WikiTree's source page for MedLands)
↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 Comtes de Luxembourg 1136-1247 (Namur) 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, accessed 2024; see also WikiTree's source page for MedLands)
↑ 6.0 6.1 Graven van Gelre 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, accessed 2024; see also WikiTree's source page for MedLands)
See also:
- Rousseau, Félix. Henri l’Aveugle, Comte de Namur et de Luxembourg (1136-1196). (1921, Presses universitaires de Liège)
|
| Person ID |
I59501 |
Freeman-Smith |
| Last Modified |
27 Jan 2026 |
| Father |
NAMUR Godefroi, b. Abt 1070, Comté de Namur, Lower Lotharingia, Holy Roman Empire d. 19 Aug 1139 (Age 69 years) |
| Relationship |
natural |
| Mother |
LUXEMBOURG Ermesinde, b. Bef 1086, Luxembourg, Upper Lotharingia, Holy Roman Empire d. 26 Jun 1141 (Age > 55 years) |
| Relationship |
natural |
| Family ID |
F26468 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
| Family |
GELRE Agnes, b. Abt 1155, Gelre, Holland, Holy Empire d. 1196, Comté de Luxembourg, Upper Lotharingia, Holy Roman Empire (Age 41 years) |
| Children |
| | 1. NAMUR Ermensinde, b. Abt Jul 1186, Namur, Belgium d. 17 Feb 1247, Limbourg, Belgium (Age 60 years) [Father: natural] [Mother: natural] |
|
| Family ID |
F26423 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
| Last Modified |
27 Jan 2026 |
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