Giselbert van Loon is probably the first, or in any case the first definitely known count of the County of Loon, a territory which, at least in later times, roughly corresponded to the modern Belgian province of Limburg, and generations later became a part of the Prince-bishopric of Liège. Very little is known about him except that he had two brothers, one of whom, Bishop Balderic II of Liège, is much better attested in historical records.
Origins
Giselbert's parents are not known for sure. A 14th century writer of the Gesta of the Abbey of St Truiden said that the parents of Giselbert and Balderic were Count Otto of Loon and his wife Lutgarde, daughter of Countess Ermengarde of Namur, who was supposedly a daughter of Duke Otto of Lower Lotharingia. However, there are doubts about the reliability of this much later source. It was proposed by Joseph Daris, and Léon Vanderkindere, that Giselbert is likely to be an descendant of Count Nevelong, who is known to have married a daughter Count Reginar II, and to have had a brother and a son who were both bishops named Balderic. This proposal brings together two important families in the region with the right types of influence to put the brothers into their various positions. At least three specific modern hypotheses have been published:
Vanderkindere, followed by Baerten and others, proposes that he was a son of Rudolf, Nevelong's son, who was named in a document of 943.
Otto, Count of Looz is accepted, but in a way which makes him Nevelong's grandson. There are at least two such proposals:
In medieval records, Bishop Balderic II of Liège, about which more is written than his brothers, was said to be a kinsman of both Lambert I, Count of Louvain and Arnoul of Valenciennes, a grandson of Nevelong and his Regnarid wife. According to Kupper, he may have also had common ancestry with Bishop Gerard of Florennes. Balderic II, Giselbert's brother, was able to donate his personal possessions at Pannerden in Batavia, as area associated with the family of Nevelong, to the church in Liège. Just before the Battle of Vlaardingen, where Balderic died of sickness on campaign, he was accused of wanting to spare a blood-relative, which implies a close relationship to Count Dirk III of Holland. Giselbert's brother Arnulf was apparently described in 1040 as count of a county named Haspinga, in the land of Haspingow, a reference which has caused many different interpretations. According to Baerten, it is probable that when Haspinga was donated to the Prince-bishopric of Liège, Loon, itself a fief of Haspinga, became a fief of Liege. In any case when the male line of the Counts died out, the Bishop claimed the county successfully.
Life
It is not certain when Giselbert started his rule, but his brother Balderic became Bishop by 1008. The third continuation of the medieval chronicle kept at the nearby Abbey of St Truiden states that Giselbert did not become count until about 1021, after his brother Bishop Balderic II died in 1018, and it says there were some years between his father's death and him taking up the position. Records from Liège on the other hand seem to indicate that Giselbert was already an adult and count during his brother's reign. Giselbert apparently died around 1045, because in 1044 a charter of St. Barthélémy of Liége mentions a count Giselbert, probably him, and in May 1046 the next generation of counts, the brothers Emmo and Otto, appear as counts of Loon. As pointed out for example by Verhelst, it is not certain that Giselbert of Loon was the father of the next counts of Loon, Emmo and Otto. There is no medieval source which confirms that relationship. Giselbert's county was based in Borgloon, originally simply called Loon. The castle, probably built by his grandson, was a motte-and-bailey, with a hall and a chapel in the front court. The area nearby forms the core of the modern town. The castle itself was destroyed some generations later and the hill on which it stood was excavated in the 19th century. Giselbert was the first known advocate of the Saint-Jacobs-Abbey Liege, founded by his brother Balderic.
Succession
Giselbert was succeeded as Count of Loon by two brothers:
Count Emmo, possibly Giselbert's son. Ancestor of the counts of Loon.
Count Otto, also described in contemporary records as a count "of Loon"; may have shared his brother's rule in some way. Ancestor of the counts of Duras.
No wife is named for Giselbert in medieval records. A noblewoman named Erlende is sometimes mentioned in genealogies, including the Europaische Stammtafeln. As explained by Baerten this is no longer accepted. The Vita Arnulfi describes Lutgarde of Namur as mother of both Emmo Count of Loon, who was father of Count Arnulf of Loon and his sister Sophia, and also Otto, who was father of Count Gislebert of Duras. This Lutgarde is described as a sister of Count Albert of Namur. Her husband is not named there. But the Gesta of St Truiden appears to say that the same Lutgarde was the mother of Bishop Balderic II, the brother of Emmo's supposed father Gilbert. In short, these sources are in conflict with each other, and at least one of them seems to be misinterpreting the facts.
