Ermesinde, Countess of Luxembourg

Who was Ermesinde, Countess of Luxembourg?

Ermesinde of Luxembourg, also known as Ermesinde of Namur, was the Countess of Luxembourg, Laroche and Durbuy between 1197 and 1247. She was the only child of Henry IV, Count of Luxembourg and Namur, and his second wife, Agnes of Guelders.

Prior to her birth, her aging father Henry IV had designated Baldwin V, Count of Hainaut as his likely successor. However, when Ermesinde was born in 1186 and Henry IV named her as his heir, a war of succession inevitably took place. At its end, it was decided that Baldwin would have Namur, Ermesinde would have Durbuy and La Roche, and that Luxembourg would revert to the Holy Roman Empire.

Ermesinde was initially betrothed to Henry II of Champagne, but the engagement was cancelled in 1189. Instead her first husband was Theobald I of Bar. He successfully negotiated with Otto I, Count of Burgundy for the latter's renunciation of Luxembourg, thus making Theobald and Ermesinde the Count and Countess of Luxembourg. When Theobald died in 1214, Ermesinde married Waleran III, Count of Limburg, who would rule as the Count of Luxembourg. In 1223 Ermesinde and Waleran pressed their claim to Namur against Margrave Philip II, but were ultimately unsuccessful.