Godfrey III, Count of Louvain
| Godfrey III | |
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Duke of Lower Lorraine Landgrave of Brabant Count of Louvain Count of Brussels |
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| Spouse(s) | Marguerite of Limbourg Imagina of Looz |
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Titles and styles
The Duke of Lower Lorraine
The Landgrave of Brabant The Count of Louvain and Brussels |
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| Noble family | House of Reginar |
| Father | Godfrey II, Count of Louvain |
| Mother | Luitgarde of Sulzbach |
| Born | ca. 1142 |
| Died | 21 August 1190 |
Godfrey III (1142 – died 21 August 1190) was count of Louvain (or Leuven), landgrave of Brabant, margrave of Antwerp, and duke of Lower Lorraine (as Godfrey VIII) from 1142 to his death.
He was the son of Godfrey II and Lutgarde of Sulzbach. He was still an infant at his succession (therefore called dux in cunis) of which a few Brabantian vassals sought to take advantage to become independent of the duke (Wars of Grimbergen, 1141–1159).
On 30 March 1147, Godfrey was present at the coronation of Henry Berengar, son of Conrad III of Germany, in Aachen. When Conrad left on Crusade, war began anew in 1148. Peace was elusive until the election of Conrad's successor, Frederick Barbarossa. By marriage to Margaret, daughter of Henry II of Limburg, Godfrey united two powerful and antagonistic houses in the region. Their son was Henry I, Duke of Brabant.
In 1159 Godfrey ended the war with the Berthout, lords of Grimbergen, by burning their impressive motte at Grimbergen. In 1171, Godfrey was at war with Hainaut, but was defeated. In 1172, he bought the County of Aarschot from its wayward count Godfried III, which in future generations would give rise to the dynasty of the Dukes of Aarschot that remain to this day. In 1179, he gave his son Henry in marriage to a niece of Philip of Alsace, Count of Flanders.
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