Fredelon and the House of Esch

In the 10th through 13th centuries, the Lords of Esch (French seigneurs d'Esch) were the holders of the castle of Esch-sur-Sûre in the Ardennes region of Lower Lorraine, then a part of the Holy Roman Empire.

Fredelo (or Frithelo, French Fredelon) (d. between 1083 and 1085), of unknown parentage, was the patriarch of the house of Esch, which produced several notable knights in service of the crusades. Fredelon's family were likely vassals of Henry III, Count of Luxembourg, and his brother and successor William.

Fredelon was avoué (or vogt) of the abbeys of Malmedy and Echternach, and also known to be their despoiler. Fredelon was an accomplice to Giselbert, Count of Clermont, in a variety of nefarious enterprises. Fredelon and Giselbert terrorized the region near Nandrin preventing inhabitants from performing even the basic of tasks. Henri de Verdun, Bishop of Liège, gave this land to Conon, Count of Montaigu, forcing Fredelon and Giselbert to restore the resultant damage.

Fredelon and Giselbert were the lords of castle Clermont in 1095 and engaged in brigandage, although these two regarded their activity as the legitimate levying of tolls on river traffic. Otbert, Henri's successor, organized a siege of the castle but was unsuccessful. A 1095 entry in the chronicle of Giles of Orval reveals that Otbert's objective was ultimately accomplished by purchase, resulting in the enfeoffment of the property to his vassal Lambert, Count of Montaigu. Giselbert subsequently joined the First Crusade. It is unclear as to what Fredelon did after his ouster.

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