County of Hainaut

See also: Hainaut

The county of Hainaut is an old county which raised of the Germanic Roman Holy roman Empire, which was in edge of the kingdom of France. It extended around the towns of Mons, Valencian and Cambrai.

History

Origins

Occupied by the Nerviens before being conquered by the Romans, this country draws his name from a river which crosses it, the Haine. By the Treated of Verdun (843), the area returns to Lothaire, the the Scheldt being the Western border of its territory. But the empire of Lothaire does not persist a long time. It is quickly divided between Louis Germanic the and Charles the Bald person.

Régnier

The Traité of Meerssen (870) allots Hainaut to Charles the Bald person, who makes of them in fact in 877 a hereditary stronghold of the crown of France. The first count is Régnier Ier de Hainaut. At the time, the field rather modest, is limited to north by the Haine, in the west by the the Scheldt, in the south by the Thiérache and, in the east, it stops with the doors of Binche, Lobbes and Estinnes. Two abbeys are present there: Holy-Waudru and Saint-Ghislain, but no city still, because Mons is whereas a village. At the end of the 9th century, the country is devastated by the Normands, which combat Régnier Ier de Hainaut.

After a short reunification under Charles the Large, the empire of the Francs is again divided. The nobility of Lotharingie chooses to join with Arnulf de Carinthie rather than with Eudes Ier de France. In 895, Arnulf restores the kingdom of Lotharingie to the profit of Zwentibold. Fearing the establishment of a royal capacity nearer and thus more extremely, the feudal ones revolt, carried out by Régnier Ier de Hainaut, which asks for the support of Charles Simple the. Zwentibold dies in the combat in 900 and the kingdom of Lotharingie disappears definitively.

The elder one of wire of Régnier, Gislebert obtains the title of duke of Lotharingie and leaves that of count de Hainaut to his junior, Régnier II of Hainaut. This one is made build a castle in Mons. Its county is attacked by the Maison of Ardenne, pushed by the emperor. Régnier II is victorious and additional the imperial grounds of the Estinnes, Valencian and Bavay and becomes laic Abbé abbeys Holy-Waudru of Mons and Holy-Aldegonde of Maubeuge.

A fight of feudal against the emperor is followed from there to ensure their autonomy. Régnier III beats Conrad the Red, duke of Lotharingie named by Otton III, but undergoes then a defeat vis-a-vis the imperial troops in 958. It is then exiled in Bohemia. Régnier IV continues the combat of his/her father and requests the assistance of king de France, Hugues Capet, which hopes to attach Lotharingie to its kingdom. Régnier marries Hedwige, girl of the king and exchange the grounds which it brings in dowry against the field of Couvin with the monks of Saint-Germain-of-Meadows. The principal enemy of Régnier is Godefroid the Prisoner, count de Verdun and combined of the emperor. This one takes even the castle of Mons in 974, but is driven out by it in 998. During these fights, the county of Hainaut aggrandit of Beaumont and Chimay (at the expense of the County of Lome) and of Chièvres, Soignies, Braine-the-Count and Hall (at the expense of the County of the Brabant). Finally, the authority of feudal is recognized by the emperor.

1071: refeodation of the county of Hainaut

August 1st

House of Flanders to the States let us bourguigons

The county passes to the house of Flanders in 1051, but it is only into 1191 that the two counties of Flanders and Hainaut are plain. It are again separate in 1280, with died of Marguerite II of Flanders, and Hainaut passes then to the Maison of Avesnes, then in 1345 with the Maison of Bavaria. In 1428, Jacqueline of Bavaria is forced to recognize Philippe III the Good, duke of Burgundy, like heir, which joins together Hainaut into 1433 with the Burgundian Netherlands.

“Netherlands”

This one becomes in 1549 the Spanish Netherlands, then in 1581 the Netherlands of the south. In 1659 and 1678, the southern part of Hainaut is attached to the France. In 1713 and by the Treated of Utrecht, the Netherlands of the south become the Austrian Netherlands. In 1795, it east conquered by the armies of the French Republic, which make of it the department of Jemappes, and in 1815 the Congrès of Vienna gives it to the Kingdom of the Netherlands. In 1830, Belgium raises itself, and the treated of London of 1839 allots Hainaut to the new kingdom, where it becomes the Province of Hainaut.

See also: List of the counts de Hainaut

Armorial bearings

The counts resulting from the house of Flanders carried: sand and gold senior.

The Flanders and Hainaut were then joined together and the counts carried the weapons of the counts de Flandre. Then, the county of Flanders passed to Dampierre, while Hainaut passed to the house of Avesnes, which inherited the county of Holland. The counts de Hainaut carried then: quartered into 1 and 4 of gold, with the sand lion, armed and lampassé of mouths (which is of Flanders) and in 2 and 3d' but, with the lion of mouths, armed and lampassé of azure (which is of Holland).

Administrative organization

The county of Hainaut was divided into:

See too

  • historical List of the French counties

Source

  • Georges Bohy, Hainaut or the epopee of people , Mons, 1971.

Internal bond

External bonds

  • Henri Pirenne, “the place of Hainaut in the history of Belgium”, Yearly of the archaeological and historical Congress of Mons , Mons, Union of Printing works, 1929 (downloadable on the site of Digithèque of ULB)
  • the county of Hainaut (Belgian federal gate)
  • Hannonia - and contact Information center of the Circles of history, archeology and folklore of Hainaut
  • Chart of the county of Hainaut at the end of XIIè century
  • Nicolas Choin author having published work and document concerning in medieval Hainaut.

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