Arnout II (d. after 1115),
Count of Aarschot, son of Arnout I, Count of Aarschot (d. after 1060).
Arnout commanded one of the fleets which left on the
First Crusade
The First Crusade (1096–1099) was the first of a series of religious wars, or Crusades, initiated, supported and at times directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The objective was the recovery of the Holy Land from Islamic ru ...
in 1096. His fleet presumably carried the army of
Hugh, Count of Vermandois
Hugh, Count of Vermandois (1057 – October 18, 1101), called the Great (french: Hugues le Grand, la, Hugo Magnus) was the first count of Vermandois from the House of Capet. He is known primarily for being one of the leaders of First Crusade. His ...
, since the other crusader armies travelled by land. Other sources say he travelled with
Godfrey of Bouillon
Godfrey of Bouillon (, , , ; 18 September 1060 – 18 July 1100) was a French nobleman and pre-eminent leader of the First Crusade. First ruler of the Kingdom of Jerusalem from 1099 to 1100, he avoided the title of king, preferring that of princ ...
,
although Murray does not identify him as a member of Godfrey's army. He apparently survived the crusade and was at Aachen in 1115 with
Emperor Henry V
Henry V (german: Heinrich V.; probably 11 August 1081 or 1086 – 23 May 1125, in Utrecht) was King of Germany (from 1099 to 1125) and Holy Roman Emperor (from 1111 to 1125), as the fourth and last ruler of the Salian dynasty. He was made co-ru ...
at an Easter celebration, when his fingers began to bleed, a portent of shedding blood through disputes with the princes.
Arnout was married but the name of his wife is unknown. He and his wife had at least three children:
*
Arnout III, Count of Aarschot Arnout III (1080-after 1136), Count of Aarschot, son of Arnout II, Count of Aarschot, and his wife whose name remains unknown. Arnout is sometimes confused with his father, especially in regard to the blood shedding at Aachen in 1115.
Arnout sup ...
* Godfried I van Aarschot
* Oda van Aarschot, married to Gerard van Grimbergen.
Upon his death, Arnout was succeeded by his son and namesake as Count of Aarschot.
Sources
*Hasselt, A. H. C. van, Les Belges aux Croisade, Jamar, 1846 (available o
Google Books*Murray, Alan V.
"The Army of Godfrey of Bouillon, 1096–1099: Structure and Dynamics of a Contingent on the First Crusade" (PDF) ''
Revue belge de philologie et d'histoire'' 70/2 (1992), pp. 301-329.
The History of the Country of Aarschot
References
{{Reflist
Christians of the First Crusade