Counts of Chiny

The Counts of Chiny were part of the nobility of Lotharingia that ruled from the 9th to the 14th century in what is now part of Belgium. The County of Chiny was created in the early 10th century out of the ancient county of Ivois. The county now forms part of the province of Luxembourg in present-day Belgium. The county of Chiny included the present-day cantons of Virton, Etalle, Florenville, Neufchâteau, Montmédy and Carignan, as well as the castles of Warcq on the Meuse, which was built in 971 by Otto, ancestor of the later Counts of Chiny. There is a close relationship between the Counts of Chiny and the Counts of Looz, the Counts of Verdun and the Bishops of Verdun.

Ivois was a military settlement of the Romans under the name Epoissium, Eposium, Epusum or Ivosium. Gaugericus, Bishop of Cambrai, was born in Eposium around 550. The division of the Lotharingian territories was agreed to on 8 Aug 870 between Louis the German and his half-brother Charles the Bald. This agreement allocated Wavrense comitatus II [two counties in Wavrense] to Charles. Although the name does not appear in the document, it is assumed that one of these was Ivois. Ivois is first referred to by name in a charter dated 21 Nov 955 which records an agreement between Eremboldus miles [a military commander] and Robert, the Archbishop of Trier, relating to property including Aduna in comitatu Ivotio inter Boura et Lannilley [the county of Ivois].

Ivois, with its strategic location between the Frankish and Germanic kingdoms, was an ideal neutral location for meetings between the Frankish kings and the Holy Roman Emperors. Such a meeting took place between Robert the Pious and Emperor Henry II on 11 August 1023, where they swore mutual friendship and resolved to reform the clergy, calling for an assembly at Pavia of both German and Italian bishops.

Later in the eleventh century, upon after the death of his mother Gisela of Swabia in 1043, the Emperor Henry III held a meeting in Ivois with Henry I, King of France. It has been speculated that it may have been in connection with the emperor’s upcoming wedding with Agnes of Poitou. They met again in May 1056, and the matter of Lorraine was so contentious that Henry of France challenged Henry of Germany to single combat. The emperor left without a response in the dead of night, returning to Germany where the disaffected members of his domain were returning to obedience.

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