The history of Flanders - Chapter 18
Boudewijn VIII, 17th count of Flanders
Written by: Charles
Vanderhaegen - slightly modified and translated by Herman Boel - Edited
by David Baeckelandt July 2008
Published with kind permission of Charles Vanderhaegen.
Flanders without count
On 1 June 1191 Filips van den Elzas, 16th count of Flanders, dies before the gates of Akko, Palestine, from an epidemic disease, probably cholera. This occurred during the third crusade, in which also participated Filips Augustus, king of France, and Richard Lionheart, king of England.
Filips van den Elzas' death put the Flemish county in an awkward position. Filips had died childlessly and had no direct successor. However, in 1176, shortly before his first trip to Palestine and during a meeting at the court in Rijsel, he had appointed his brother-in-law Boudewijn V, count of Henegouwen, as his successor in case he would die childlessly. Befoer his second and last trip to Palestine, in 1190, he had entrusted his wife Theresia with his authority for the time of absence. She was the daughter of king Alfons I of Portugal. 25 years had passed since Boudewijn V of Henegouwen's appointment and Theresia's authority (in Flanders she was better known as Mathilde) meant little to nothing. In reality, Flanders was now without count, and without any solid and recognised authority, the county could fell into the hands of anyone acting fast enough. As could be expected, there were a large number of candidates.
The first of three candidates was Filips Augustus, who knew Filips had died and counted on adding Flanders to his crown properties. He thought he had a very good chance as he was certain that the news of Filips' death had not yet reached Flanders. He could not have been all too certain though, because he also counted on Filips' widow Mathilde's (Theresia) cooperation. As soon as he had heard of Filips' death, he had sent a few of his knights to Flanders to propose an alliance to the countess. This alliance would enable him, he thought, to realise his ambitions.
Filips II Augustus
King of France (1181-1223)
The second candidate was Mathilde herself, who had dreamt of becoming queen of Flanders in case her husband would die without having appointed anyone else as successor. After all she was a princess and therefore had the right to bear the title of queen. At least, that is what she thought. When Filips Augustus told her about Filips' death, she saw her way clear to fulfill her dream. However, she realised she could not do this by herself and therefore counted on the alliance Filips Augustus had offered as well as his cooperation.
A weird coincidence would make havoc of both Filips Augustus' and Mathilde's plans.
Early 1191 Boudewijn V of Henegouwen sent his chancellor, Gijselbrecht of Bergen, to the German emperor with the request of appointing the bishop's chair to is countryman Waucer of Kamerijk. This was nothing special, had it not been for the fact that the German emperor was staying in Italy at the time and Gijselbrecht had to go all the way to Italy to speak to the German emperor. When he arrived in Parma, it must have been sometime in July, he met a few French knights who were returning home from Palestine. These knights told him that Filips van den Elzas had died and that Filips Augustus, had sent two knights to Flanders, Pieter du Mesnil and Robrecht de Wavrin, to inform Mathilde of the events.
Gijselbrecht understood the importance of the news he had received and immediately sent a courier to Henegouwen to inform his lord Boudewijn V of the information he had gathered. This way Boudewijn knew about Filips' death more than a week before the French and the Flemish. As of that moment Boudewijn became the third candidate for the Flemish county. Suspecting what Filips Augustus was up to, he realised he had to take immediate action.
Boudewijn V of Henegouwen versus Mathilde, widow of Filips van den Elzas
Of course, Boudewijn did not know when the news of Filips' death would reach Flanders. He did realise that it was a stroke of luck that had given him a headstart, but he did not know how long this would last until later. It was necessary to act before Filips Augustus and Mathilde heard the news. He marched with his army to Flanders and claimed his right of succession to the Flemish throne, both referring to Filips' appointment in 1176 and to the name of his wife Margareta van den Elzas, sister to the deceased Filips van den Elzas.
Soon he was confirmed as legal successor to Filips van den Elzas by the most important Flemish cities, i.e. Brugge, Kortrijk, leper, Oudenaarde, Geraardsbergen, Aalst, and the Land of Waas. Only Gent protested. Mathilde had fortified the city with weapons and soldiers as she had foreseen problems with Boudewijn. Se also appealed to the Duke of Brabant, an irreconcilable enemy of Boudewijn, to assist her in her opposition to Boudewijn. At the same time, she had approached Guillaume, the archbishop of Reims, to intervene. Guillaume had been appointed by Filips Augustus, prior to his leave for Palestine, to observe state affairs in the kingdom during his absence.
Boudewijn V, Count of Henegouwen (1171-1195)
Boudewijn did not worry about Gent's resistance. He concentrated his troops at Geraardsbergen to defend both his counties, Flanders and Henegouwen, against the duke of Brabant. The duke had responded to a request from Mathilde by marching with an army to Gent. When he engaged Boudewijn's army and realised he had no chance of gaining victory, he humbly returned to Brabant, much to Mathilde's dissatisfaction.
Mathilde did not give up easily. In order to assert what she thought were her rights, she turned to Guillaume, archbishop of Reims, to pass judgment in her difference with Boudewijn in name of the king of France, whose support she still counted on.
Boudewijn and Mathilde reach an agreement
Guillaume did not accept her request with much enthusiasm and
arranged a meeting in Atrecht for the month of october (1191).
Were invited: Boudewijn and his wife Margareta van den Elzas, and
countess Mathilde, who had appropriated the title of queen for the
occasion and probably also to impress the other guests.
As soon as they had all arrived at Atrecht, Guillaume
opened the meeting. Mathilde immediately got up to speak and claimed
the whole Flemish county. Boudewijn replied immediately saying that she
had nog right whatsoever to the Flemish throne. The only right she had
were the fiefs she was entitled to as dowager and according to her
marriage contract.
This was followed by a flaming row between both antagonists until Guillaume finally achieved an agreement that was satisfactory for both parties. The agreement more or less confirmed the current situation. The positive part was that there would now be peace between both parties, a piece which will no longer be disputed.
Mathilde recognised Boudewijn V of Henegouwen as Boudewijn VIII of Flanders and maintained the fiefs she was entitled to according to her marriage contract, among others Rijsel, Kassel, Veurne and Diksmuide. She did cede Aire and Sint-Omer (in Artois) to Lodewijk (the later Lodewijk VIII), son of Filips Augustus and Isabella of Henegouwen, whom Filips van den Elzas had married off toFilips Augustus in 1180 with Artois as dowry.
Boudewijn was not happy with the latter, but he reconciled himself to it. Artois already belonged for the largest part to the French crown and he did not want to have any issues with the French king for the possession of two fiefs which did not lie withing the boundaries of the Flemish county anyway.
I would like to add that at that time Lodewijk, Filips Augustus' son, heard about the terms of this agreement and therefore decided that Artois was now entirely part of the French crown, and appropriated the title of Count of Artois.
Filips Augustus back in France
After the fall of Akko on 11 July 1191, during the third crusade and shortly after the death of Filips van den Elzas, Filips Augustus, who was very ill, did not return to France immediately. It would take until August before he was sufficiently recovered to undertake the long journey from Palestine to France. He would reach Paris in September.
As soon as Boudewijn had received the news of Filips Augustus' return, he went to Paris with his retinue to pay tribute to his liege lord. Filips Augustus was not happy at all with Boudewijn. When he heard about the agreement between Mathilde and Boudewijn that was reached in Atrecht during his absence, he inflamed with anger. His original plan to take possession of the whole of Flanders had failed and he blamed Boudewijn. The fact that the two small fiefs of Aire and Sint-Omer were now a permanent part of the French crown seemed only an insignificant addition.
He was so angry that he considered throwing Boudewijn, who was none less than his father-in-law in jail against all rules of hospitality. He did not get the chance. Boudewijn had been informed about his son-in-law's plans and left Paris in a hurry accompanied only by one of his knights and two servants. The next day he was back in Flanders and prepared his army instantly in case his son-in-law would consider acting against him in a military way.
This did not happen either. Filips Augustus was perhaps under pressure of his wife and may have been apprehensive for a military adventure. He changed his mind and sent a messenger to Boudewijn with a polite request to meet in Péronne, assuring him that he had no hostile intentions whatsoever.
Boudewijn accepted Filips Augustus' proposal and went to Péronne where they soon reached an agreement. This meant that Filips Augustus renounced all claims for Flanders in exchange for a payment of five thousand silvermarks pur au poids, which at the time corresponded to the yearly proceeds of the fief. Boudewijn did not hesitate and happily accepted the agreement. This pleased Filips Augustus. Thus the peace between both rulers could be considered restored.
The agreement was confirmed shortly after in Atrecht in the presence of Margareta, Boudewijn's wife, and a few Flemish liegemen who, as tradition requires, confirmed their vassalage.
War for Namen
As he has now reconciled with the king of France, Boudewijn can devote his time to rule his two counties, Flanders and Henegouwen. There was a lot of work, first of all the difference with Hendrik IV de Blinde (Henry IV the blind one).
Hendrik de Blinde (1112-1196) was count of Luxembourg, Namur, Durbuy and Laroche. His vast possessions made him one of the mightiest rulers of his time, aside the German emperor, the French king and the Flemish count. Hendrik's sister Aleidis of Namur had married Boudewijn IV of Henegouwen in 1130, which means her son Boudewijn V, (the VIIIth of Flanders), born in 1150, was his nephew.
As Hendrik's marriage was still childless in 1165, he had appointed his nephew Boudewijn V of Henegouwen as his successor as far as the principalities of Namur, Durbuy and Laroche were concerned. But in 1186 Hendrik unexpectedly became father of a daughter. Indeed unexpected, as he was then 74 years old.
This means Hendrik reconsidered his 1165 statement and married off his daughter Ermesinde to Hendrik II of Champagne. The dowry consisted of the three domains he had promised Boudewijn 21 years earlier. This news was badly received by Boudewijn and he turned to Frederik I, also called Barbarossa, emperor of the Holy Roman Empire and liegelord of Hendrik, to overrule his decision and declare the betrothal of his daugther void.
The emperor agreed to this because he could not allow a fief,
in
this case the three domains, to fall into the hands of a French prince.
Champagne consisted of two counties: Troyes and Meaux, both fiefs of
French king Filips Augustus. Barbarossa declared Hendrik had
to
reconsider. But Hendrik protested to such a degree that he
allowed
Hendrik of Champagne to depart with his young bride (she was only one
year old) to France. The unevitable result was a war between nephew and
uncle. The war will last a few years and will allow Boudewijn to take
control of the three areas by force of arms.
Finally the
archbishop intervened and peace was made. The peace agreement
stipulated that the original promise of Hendrik de Blinde was confirmed
and Namur was turned into a marquisate. From then
onwards (April
1188) Boudewijn will not only be count of Flanders and
Henegouwen,
but will also be marquis of Namur.
Seal of Boudewijn VIII,
count of Flanders and Henegouwen (1191-1195)
A noble insurgence
Hendrik de Blinde was not pleased with the situation. As he was powerless to change anything to the agreement himself, he looked for other ways to pester Boudewijn. This would eventually lead to some kind of plot, followed by war. His first target was the Duke of Brabant, Boudewijn's archenemy who had still not digested the fact that he had to bow to Boudewijn's army a few years earlier at Geeraardsbergen. Other participants to the plot were: Roger van Warcoing, publican of Kortrijk, Thierri van Beveren, publican of Dixmuide, and finally a certain Willem van Sthinke. The five of them thought that together they could put Boudewijn in his place.
The first to act was Roger van Warcoing. He started claiming
all
kinds of exorbitant rights from Boudewijn and behaved as if he
were the master and Boudewijn merely one of his subjects.
As usual Boudewijn reacted instantaneously. He marched with his
army on Warcoing, put fire to Roger's castle and devastated the
surrounding land. Roger had to flee and found refuge with the
other conspirators who now jointly marched against Boudewijn. From the
south of Flanders they marched to Rupelmonde where they seized
one
of Boudewijn's castles.
Again, Boudewijn responded immediately. From Bergen he invaded Brabant and burnt down everything in his way. He advanced to Nijvel. Meanwhile Eudes III, count of Bourgogne and married to Mathilde, widow to Filips van den Elzas, had come to assist him in name of the French king. His aid did not really help as Hendrik III, duke of Limburg, had joined the side of the duke of Brabant and was marching on Namur.
Boudewijn, who in the meantime also had to suppress a rebellion in Gent, heard the news about the siege of his marquisate. Without delay he went from Gent to Namur where he took the army of the hostile coalition by surprise. Despite its superior number it was completely crushed. The duke of Limburg, his two sons, and no less than eight hundred knights were captured and the other knights of the coalition panicked and fled. This ended the insurgence.
This victory will bring a temporary peace to Flanders and Henegouwen.
The end
It is now fall 1194 and Boudewijn returns to Brugge. His wife is fatally ill. She died a few days later, on 15 November. She is buried in the church of Saint Donaas, the same church where Karel de Goede was murdered in 1127.
Margareta's death changed Boudewijn's balance of power with respect to the Flemish county. As a result of her death - she was from the house of Elzas - the county went to her oldest son, also called Boudewijn, in accordance with the will of Filips van den Elzas, in which he stipulated that after his death Boudewijn of Henegouwen would only remain count of Flanders in his wife's name and the county would go to her son.
Seal of Margareta
wife to Boudewijn VIII and countess of Flanders
Boudewijn was a very honest man for his era and had always treated his wife with a lot of respect. If it was stipulated that the county would go to his son via his wife, so be it! He broke his signet ring bearing the inscription "Baldvin Comes Flandrie et Hainoie" and wore again the ring he had worn prior to becoming count and which only says "Baldvin Comes Hainoie".
He will not use the new ring a long time. On 17 December 1195 he dies, leaving 7 children, three boys and four girls: Boudewijn, Hendrik, Filips, Eustache, Yolende, Isabella, and Sibylla.
It is the oldest son Boudewijn who succeeded him as Boudewijn IX, count of Flanders and as Boudewijn VI of Henegouwen. He will be better known in history books as Boudewijn of Constantinople.
Bibliography:
1. LEGLAY, Edward. "Histoire des comtes de Flandre", Librairie
de A. Vandale, Brussel 1843.
2. VAN DE KERCKHOVE, Gregorius. "Geschiedenis van de graven
van Vlaanderen", Uitgeverij Sintal, Leuven 1979.
3. BONENFANT P., JOOSEN H., QUICKE F. en VERNIERS L.
"Historische Lectuur", blz. 81 Uitg. A. De Boeck, Brussel 1948.