Louis I, Count of Loon

Louis I, Count of Loon
The castle of the Counts of Loon in Brustem
Spouse(s)	Agnes of Metz
Noble family	House of Loon
Father	Arnold II, Count of Loon
Mother	Agnes
Born	after 1107
Died	11 August 1171(1171-08-11) Chapel of the infirmary in Borgloon

Louis I, Count of Loon (after 1107 – 11 August 1171) was the fifth Count of Loon. He ruled from 1139 until his death.

Life

He was the son of Count Arnold and his wife Agnes, about whom very little is known.

He was vogt of Averbode Abbey. In 1154, he donated Laethof Manor (also known as the Bolderberg winning) to the abbey. The manor is now park in Heusden-Zolder, named domein Bovy, after Joseph Bovy, a governor of Limburg province who lived at the manor for a while.

He constructed a castle in Brustem (now part of Sint-Truiden). In 1155, he inherited the County of Rieneck from his brother Gerhard.

Louis married Agnes of Metz (c. 1114 – c. 1175/1180), the daughter of Count Folmar V of Metz and Matilda of Dagsburg, the heiress of Longwy. Agnes commissioned Hendrik van Veldeke to write his "Life of Saint Servatius". Louis I served as burgrave of Metz from 1159 to 1162. Via his wife, he also had a claim on the Duchy of Luxembourg, however, he could not realize this claim.

In 1171, Louis attempted to conquer the County of Duras. However, the Count of Duras called in the help of the citizens of Sint-Truiden and together they defeated Louis' army. Louis died during this battle, on 11 August 1171. He was buried in the chapel of the infirmary in Borgloon. His grave can still be found there.

Issue

Louis and Agnes had the following children:

• Agnes, married Otto I of Wittelsbach, Duke of Bavaria
• Arnold, died young
• Gerhard, succeeded Louis I as Count of Loon
• Hugo, married and had issue
• Bonne, married Walter Berthout, Lord of Mechelen and Grimbergen
• Imagina married Godfrey III, Count of Louvain
• Lauretta (d. before 1193), married Gilles of Duras (divorced 1174), later married to Theobald I of Bar