duchy of Brabant

Coat of arms of the Dukes of Brabant

The Duchy of Brabant was a historical region in the Low Countries. It consisted of not only the three modern-day Belgian provinces of Flemish Brabant, Walloon Brabant and Antwerp as well as the Brussels-Capital Region, but also the present-day Dutch province of North Brabant. In Roman times, Brabant was situated in the Roman provinces of Belgica and Germania Inferior and inhabited by Celtic tribes, until Germanic peoples replaced them and made an end to roman imperial rule. Its most important cities were Brussels (Brussel), Antwerp (Antwerpen), Leuven, Breda, 's-Hertogenbosch, Lier and Mechelen. The region's name is first recorded as the Carolingian shire pagus Bracbatensis, located between the rivers Scheldt and Dijle, from bracha "new" and bant "region".

History

Historical map of the duchy of Brabant and of the Prince-Bishopric of Liège (1477).

The Landgraviate of Brabant was established as a feudal imperial fief within Lower Lotharingia. As such, it was an integral part of the Holy Roman Empire. The imperial fief was assigned to count Henry III of Leuven about 1085-1086, more exactly after the death of the preceding count of Brabant, Count Palatine Herman II of Lotharingia (1085).

The Duchy of Brabant was formally established in 1183-1184 and the hereditary title of Duke of Brabant was created by the German Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa in favour of Henry I of Brabant, son of Godfrey III of Leuven, Duke of Lower Lotharingia. Although the corresponding county was quite small and limited to the territory between the rivers Dender and Zenne, situated to the west of Brussels) its name was applied to the entire country under control of the dukes from the 13th century on.

In 1190, after the death of Godfrey III, Henry I of Brabant also became duke of Lower Lotharingia, a title practically without territorial authority. According to protocol, all his successors were therefore called dukes of Brabant and Lower Lotharingia (often called Duke of Lothier).

Map of the Duchy of Brabant; territory covering approximately the present province of North Brabant, the three Belgian provinces Antwerp, Walloon Brabant and Flemish Brabant, and the Brussels-Capital Region.

After the Battle of Worringen in 1288, the dukes of Brabant also acquired the duchy of Limburg and Overmaas. In 1354 the Blijde Inkomst, or charter of liberty was granted to the citizens of Brabant by John III, Duke of Brabant. In 1430, the Duchies of Lower Lotharingia, Brabant and Limburg were inherited by Philip the Good of Burgundy. In 1477 the titles fell to the Habsburgs by dowry of Mary of Burgundy. The subsequent history of Brabant is part of the history of the Low Countries or Seventeen Provinces.

The Eighty Years' War (1568-1648) brought the northern provinces (the present North Brabant) under Dutch military control. After the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648, the United Provinces' independence was confirmed and the northern Brabant formally ceded to the United Provinces as Staats-Brabant, a federally governed territory.

The southern part remained in Habsburg hands as a part of the Southern Netherlands. It was transferred to the Austrian family branch of the House of Habsburg in 1714. During the French occupation of the Southern Netherlands in 1795 the duchy of Brabant was dissolved. The territory was reorganised in the départements of Deux-Nèthes (present province of Antwerp) and Dyle (the later province of Brabant).

See also

• Dukes of Brabant
• Dukes of Brabant family tree
• War of Devolution (1667 – 1668)

v • d • e Burgundian Circle (1512–1806) of the Holy Roman Empire Seventeen Provinces of Habsburg Netherlands Artois (until 1659) · Brabant · Drenthe1 · Flanders · Friesland1 · Groningen1 · Guelders1 · Hainaut · Holland1 · Limburg · Luxembourg · Mechelen · Namur · Overijssel1 · Utrecht1 · Zeeland1 · Zutphen1 County Burgundy2 Imperial City Besançon2 Dependent territories Antwerp · Breda 1 until 1581.   2 until 1678.