Count Gerard (or Gerhard) of Loon (died 1191), was son and successor of Louis I, Count of Loon, and Agnes of Metz. He was count of Loon (in modern Belgium) and of Rieneck (in Germany). Because of a widespread misunderstanding concerning a document from 1101, some generations earlier, he is sometimes wrongly referred to as the second Gerard in this dynasty, "Gerard II".
Gerard became count in difficult times. His father Louis, who ravaged the territory of Sint-Truiden, was attacked and beaten near Brustem on July 28, 1171, by the citizens of Sint-Truiden and Gilles, Count of Duras. They then besieged his castle of Loon (now Borgloon), killing Count Louis on 11 August. The assault was prevented by the arrival of reinforcements form Louis’ son-in-law Godfrey III, Count of Louvain, and a truce was concluded. Gerard and his mother went to emperor Frederick Barbarossa in Aachen to obtain compensation, but the citizenry of Sint-Truiden successfully defended their claim.
Falling ill, Gerard fulfilled a vow to go make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. On his return, he found the county in full disorder. His brother Hugo had begun to fortify the village of Brustem, which had caused strife for many years. Finally in 1175, he granted the inhabitants of Brusthem the laws and freedom enjoyed by the citizens of Liege.
Gerard moved his court to Kuringen, near the Belgian city of Hasselt located in the Flemish Region in the province of Limburg, and in 1182, he founded the Abbey of Herkenrode, entrusted to the Cistercian Order. He built a heptagonal donjon at Rieneck, perhaps inspired by the donjon of Borgloon.
In 1135, Gerard married Adelaide of Gelderland, daughter of Henry I, Count of Guelders, and Agnes of Arnstein, daughter of Louis III of Arnstein. Gérard and Adelaide had at least eight children:
Imagina, married to William V, Châtelain de Saint-Omer
Matilda, Abbess of Munsterbilzen.
Mistakenly proposed earlier Gérard I
Gérard I is a wrongly proposed Count of Loon (Dutch), or Looz (French), who was supposedly mentioned in an 1101 charter of Emperor Henry IV concerning the return of the town of Andenne by Albert III, Count of Namur. There is general consensus that he did not exist, but this misconception meant that the later Gerard is often referred to as "Gerard II".
The charter, or at least one modern version of it (old manuscripts do not use modern commas), mentions a list of people including "Gerardus Comes de Looz, Arnoldus et frater ejus Theodoricus, Gislebertus filius Comitis Ottonis, Comitis de Duras" meaning Gerard is specifically a count of Looz or Loon, whereas Arnold, mentioned next (with his known relatives Theoderic, Gislebert, and Otto) would have been expected from other records.
In an 1866 article on Arnold I, Count of Looz in the Belgian National Biography, Jean-Joseph Thonissen concluded from this that he died between 1098 and 1101, succeeded by his eldest son Gérard, followed by his younger son Arnold II. Although this statement still causes misunderstandings, these conclusions are not generally believed, and current historians agree on 1126 as the correct date of the death of Arnold I, with his son Arnold II succeeding him directly.
It was pointed out by J. Daris in 1867 that there was another copy of the charter of 1101 which called Gérard simply a count, and Arnold was the one described as "Comes de Looz".
An example of a recent article still using the wrong reading of the 1101 charter, is that of Donald C. Jackman, noted by Verdonk.[1] (Jackman replied in his "Geldern, Looz, and Public Succession".)
Sources
^Verdonk (2008), "Is graaf Gerard van Gelre een broer van graaf Arnold van Loon?", Limburg; Het Oude Land van Loon, 87
Bibliography
Biographie nationale, par Académie royale des sciences, des lettres et des beaux-arts de Belgique, Tome VII, par H. Thiry-Van Buggenhoudt, Bruxelles, 1866
Baerten, Jean (1969), Het Graafschap Loon (11de - 14de eeuw) (PDF)
Vaes, Jan (2016), De Graven van Loon. Loons, Luiks, Limburgs, ISBN9789059087651
J. Daris, "Notes Chronologiques sur les Comtes de Looz", Bulletin de la Société Scientifique et Littéraire du Limbourg 8 (1867), page 97.
gerard, count, loon, count, gerard, gerhard, loon, died, 1191, successor, louis, count, loon, agnes, metz, count, loon, modern, belgium, rieneck, germany, because, widespread, misunderstanding, concerning, document, from, 1101, some, generations, earlier, some. Count Gerard or Gerhard of Loon died 1191 was son and successor of Louis I Count of Loon and Agnes of Metz He was count of Loon in modern Belgium and of Rieneck in Germany Because of a widespread misunderstanding concerning a document from 1101 some generations earlier he is sometimes wrongly referred to as the second Gerard in this dynasty Gerard II Contents 1 Biography 2 Mistakenly proposed earlier Gerard I 3 Sources 4 Bibliography 5 External linksBiography EditGerard became count in difficult times His father Louis who ravaged the territory of Sint Truiden was attacked and beaten near Brustem on July 28 1171 by the citizens of Sint Truiden and Gilles Count of Duras They then besieged his castle of Loon now Borgloon killing Count Louis on 11 August The assault was prevented by the arrival of reinforcements form Louis son in law Godfrey III Count of Louvain and a truce was concluded Gerard and his mother went to emperor Frederick Barbarossa in Aachen to obtain compensation but the citizenry of Sint Truiden successfully defended their claim Falling ill Gerard fulfilled a vow to go make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem On his return he found the county in full disorder His brother Hugo had begun to fortify the village of Brustem which had caused strife for many years Finally in 1175 he granted the inhabitants of Brusthem the laws and freedom enjoyed by the citizens of Liege He went to war against Rudolf of Zahringen Prince Bishop of Liege On July 31 1180 he and his knights routed the episcopal army in Tongeren plundering and burning the cathedral In retaliation Rudolf burned the castle and the town of Loon as well as the village and the Abbey of Munsterbilzen and the castle at Montenaeken Several villages and sixteen churches were completely destroyed Gerard sued for peace through the mediation of Henry the Blind Count of Luxembourg and Engelbert I Count of Berg Gerard moved his court to Kuringen near the Belgian city of Hasselt located in the Flemish Region in the province of Limburg and in 1182 he founded the Abbey of Herkenrode entrusted to the Cistercian Order He built a heptagonal donjon at Rieneck perhaps inspired by the donjon of Borgloon Gerard joined the Third Crusade led by emperor Frederick Barbarossa King Philip Augustus of France and the English King Richard the Lionheart He was killed on 2 November 1191 at the headquarters of Saint Jean d Acre His body was returned to Loon and buried at Herkenrode where he rests alongside his wife and children In 1135 Gerard married Adelaide of Gelderland daughter of Henry I Count of Guelders and Agnes of Arnstein daughter of Louis III of Arnstein Gerard and Adelaide had at least eight children Louis II Count of Looz d 1218 Gerard Count of Rieneck d 1216 ancestor of the counts of Loon and Rieneck through his two sons Henry d August 1218 Count of Looz and Duras married Mechtild daughter of Frederick III Count of Vianden Arnold III d by 1221 Count of Looz and Count of Rieneck married Adelaide daughter of Henry I Duke of Brabant Thierry de Loos d 1207 1209 Seneschal of Romania and Duke of Nicomedia in 1206 Guillaume de Loos killed in 1206 at the battle of Rousion Thrace Imagina married to William V Chatelain de Saint Omer Matilda Abbess of Munsterbilzen Mistakenly proposed earlier Gerard I EditGerard I is a wrongly proposed Count of Loon Dutch or Looz French who was supposedly mentioned in an 1101 charter of Emperor Henry IV concerning the return of the town of Andenne by Albert III Count of Namur There is general consensus that he did not exist but this misconception meant that the later Gerard is often referred to as Gerard II The charter or at least one modern version of it old manuscripts do not use modern commas mentions a list of people including Gerardus Comes de Looz Arnoldus et frater ejus Theodoricus Gislebertus filius Comitis Ottonis Comitis de Duras meaning Gerard is specifically a count of Looz or Loon whereas Arnold mentioned next with his known relatives Theoderic Gislebert and Otto would have been expected from other records In an 1866 article on Arnold I Count of Looz in the Belgian National Biography Jean Joseph Thonissen concluded from this that he died between 1098 and 1101 succeeded by his eldest son Gerard followed by his younger son Arnold II Although this statement still causes misunderstandings these conclusions are not generally believed and current historians agree on 1126 as the correct date of the death of Arnold I with his son Arnold II succeeding him directly It was pointed out by J Daris in 1867 that there was another copy of the charter of 1101 which called Gerard simply a count and Arnold was the one described as Comes de Looz An example of a recent article still using the wrong reading of the 1101 charter is that of Donald C Jackman noted by Verdonk 1 Jackman replied in his Geldern Looz and Public Succession Sources Edit Verdonk 2008 Is graaf Gerard van Gelre een broer van graaf Arnold van Loon Limburg Het Oude Land van Loon 87Bibliography EditBiographie nationale par Academie royale des sciences des lettres et des beaux arts de Belgique Tome VII par H Thiry Van Buggenhoudt Bruxelles 1866 Baerten Jean 1969 Het Graafschap Loon 11de 14de eeuw PDF Vaes Jan 2016 De Graven van Loon Loons Luiks Limburgs ISBN 9789059087651 J Daris Notes Chronologiques sur les Comtes de Looz Bulletin de la Societe Scientifique et Litteraire du Limbourg 8 1867 page 97 J J Thonissen Arnoul Ier et Arnoul II Biographie nationale de Belgique vol 1 Brussels 1866 linkExternal links EditMedieval Lands Project Comtes de Looz Medieval Lands Project Comtes de Looz Medieval Lands Project Comtes de Duras Looz Contested charter mentioning Gerard I Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Gerard Count of Loon amp oldid 1039636789, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
