This article deals with the historical county of Hainaut, for other meanings see Hainaut. The
County of Hainaut (, ) was a historical region in the
Low Countries. It consisted of what is now the
Belgian province of
Hainaut and the southern part of the French département
Nord. In
Roman times, Hainaut 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
Mons (Bergen),
Cambrai (Kamerijk) and
Charleroi. Today the historic county of Hainaut is territorially divided between
Belgium and
France.
History
The county of Hainaut, located in the
west of the
Holy Roman Empire, near to the borders with the
Kingdom of France, emerged from the
refeudalisation of three counties in 1071:
The unification of the county of Hainaut as imperial fief was accomplished in 1071, when
Richilde, Countess of Mons and Hainaut tried to sell her fiefs to
Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor after she was defeated in the
Battle of Kassel. Henry IV ordered the
Bishop of Liège to purchase the fiefs, then return them as a unified county to the countess Richilde and under feudal intermediance to the
Duke of Lower Lotharingia. The counts of Hainaut had several historical connections with the counts of
Flanders and
Holland, to whom they had strong family ties.
Throughout its history, the county of Hainaut formed a
personal union with other states, e.g.:
- Hainaut and Flanders: 1067–71 and 1191–1246
- Hainaut and Holland: 1299–1436
In
October 8 1436, with the early death of
Jacqueline, Countess of Hainaut and Holland (presumably of
tuberculosis) in Teilingen Castle, near
The Hague (where she is buried), her estates were acquired by
Philip III of Valois, Duke of Burgundy. After the marriage of
Mary I of Valois, Duchess of Burgundy to
Emperor Maximilian I von Habsburg, the lands became a part of the
Habsburg Southern Netherlands.
See also
Category:Seventeen ProvincesCategory:Burgundian CircleCategory:1794 disestablishmentsCategory:States and territories established in the 9th centurybr:Kontelezh Hainautca:Comtat d'Hainautde:Grafschaft Hennegaues:Condado de Hainautfr:Comté de Hainautfy:Greefskip Henegouwenhe:רוזנות אינוlt:Hainauto grafystėnl:Graafschap Henegouwenpt:Condado de Hainautro:Comitatul Hainautru:Графство Эноth:อาณาจักรเคานท์แห่งเอโนต์
