Henry IV, Count of Luxembourg

Who was Henry IV, Count of Luxembourg?

Henry IV, called the Blind, was count of Luxembourg from 1136 until his death and count of Namur from 1139 until his abdication in 1189. He was the son of Godfrey I, Count of Namur and Ermesinde, a daughter of Conrad I of Luxembourg.

He inherited the counties of La Roche and Durbuy from his cousins Henry II of Durbuy and Henry of Laroche. When another cousin, Conrad II of Luxembourg, died he was granted that county by the Emperor Lothair II, who thus prevented its passing to the French count of Grandpré. At the same time he also inherited the advocacies of the abbeys of Saint-Maximin at Trier and Saint-Willibrord at Echternach. This was the cause of many conflicts with the archbishop of Trier. Three years later, he inherited Namur from his father.

In 1141, he helped Alberon II, Bishop of Liège take Bouillon with Renaut I of Bar. In 1147, he gave up Saint-Maximin, but he regained it on the death of the Archbishop Albero de Montreuil in 1152. The new archbishop, Hillin von Fallemanien, exchanged the rights over the abbeys with the town of Grevenmacher in 1155. In 1157, he married Laurette, daughter of Thierry of Alsace, Count of Flanders, and Swanhilde. They separated in 1163.