County of Duras

The County of Duras was a 12th-century county in the Holy Roman Empire, with its seat at the castle of Duras, in an area where the Prince bishops of Liège contested for power with the counts of Leuven. The 18th century version of this castle still stands, and is within the municipality of modern Sint-Truiden in the province of Belgian Limburg.

The county was one of several early counties in the Hesbaye region (Haspengouw in Dutch) which covers parts of several Flemish and Wallonian Provinces of Belgium. As a distinct entity under the name Duras the county ceased to exist when the second male line of counts died out, who were also the Counts of Montaigu, whose other holdings were further south. Duras was subsequently merged into the neighbouring County of Loon, which was at that time ruled by cousins of the original counts of Duras.

The history of Duras is entangled with that of its powerful neighbour, Sint-Truiden Abbey. The first certain counts of Duras were under-advocates (subadvocati) of the abbey, who were responsible for exercising the secular aspects of lordship on their worldly estate, such as death penalties and military matters. As in many similar cases in the twelfth century, this office became powerful and controversial. There was conflict not only between the subadvocatus and the abbey's own brethren and tenants, but also with the higher advocatus, the Dukes of Limburg, and their successors the Dukes of Brabant. Such conflicts are a major theme in the medieval Gesta or chronicle of the abbey.