Enguerrand II (d. 25 October 1053) was the son of Hugh II count of

Ponthieu Ponthieu (, ) was one of six feudal counties that eventually merged to become part of the Province of Picardy, in northern France.Dunbabin.France in the Making. Ch.4. The Principalities 888-987 Its chief town is Abbeville. History Ponthieu play ...

. He assumed the county upon the death of his father on November 20, 1052.

Life

Enguerrand II was the eldest son and heir of

Hugh II, Count of Ponthieu Hugh II of Ponthieu was count of Ponthieu and lord of Abbeville, the son of Enguerrand I of Ponthieu. Evidently, Hugh II was the half-brother of Guy, who became the bishop of Amiens; Fulk, who became the abbot of Forest l'Abbaye; and Robert. Howev ...

and his wife

Bertha of Aumale The County of Aumale, later elevated to a duchy, was a medieval fief in Normandy. It was disputed between England and France during parts of the Hundred Years' War. Aumale in Norman nobility Aumale was a medieval fief in the Duchy of Normandy an ...

, heiress of

Aumale Aumale (), formerly known as Albemarle," is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in north-western France. It lies on the River Bresle. History The town's Latin name was ''Alba Marla''. It was raised by William t ...

.Detlev Schwennicke, '' Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten'', Neue Folge, Band III Teilband 4 (Verlag von J. A. Stargardt, Marburg, Germany, 1989), Tafel 635 Enguerrand was married to

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

, daughter of

Robert I, Duke of Normandy Robert the Magnificent (french: le Magnifique;He was also, although erroneously, said to have been called 'Robert the Devil' (french: le Diable). Robert I was never known by the nickname 'the devil' in his lifetime. 'Robert the Devil' was a fic ...

and sister of

William the Conqueror William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first House of Normandy, Norman List of English monarchs#House of Norman ...

. But at the

Council of Reims Reims, located in the north-east of modern France, hosted several councils or synods in the Roman Catholic Church. These councils did not universally represent the church and are not counted among the official ecumenical councils. Early synodal cou ...

in 1049, when the proposed marriage of Duke William with

Matilda of Flanders Matilda of Flanders (french: link=no, Mathilde; nl, Machteld) ( 1031 – 2 November 1083) was Queen of England and Duchess of Normandy by marriage to William the Conqueror, and regent of Normandy during his absences from the duchy. She was t ...

was prohibited based on

consanguinity Consanguinity ("blood relation", from Latin '' consanguinitas'') is the characteristic of having a kinship with another person (being descended from a common ancestor). Many jurisdictions have laws prohibiting people who are related by blood fr ...

, so was Enguerrand's existing marriage to Adelaide, causing him to be

excommunicated Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...

. The marriage was apparently annulled c.1049/50. He had given her in

dower Dower is a provision accorded traditionally by a husband or his family, to a wife for her support should she become widowed. It was settled on the bride (being gifted into trust) by agreement at the time of the wedding, or as provided by law. ...

, which she retained after the dissolution of their marriage. The Conqueror's uncle, William of Arques, who had originally challenged Duke William's right to the duchy based on his illegitimacy, had been given the county of Talou by Duke William as a fief, but still defiant and on his own authority proceeded to build a strong castle at Arques. Enguerrand was allied to William of Arques by virtue of the latter being married to Enguerrand's sister. By 1053 William of Arques was in open revolt against Duke William and

Henry I of France Henry I (4 May 1008 – 4 August 1060) was King of the Franks from 1031 to 1060. The royal demesne of France reached its smallest size during his reign, and for this reason he is often seen as emblematic of the weakness of the early Capetians. Th ...

came to William of Arques' aid invading Normandy and attempting to relieve the castle of Arques.Jim Bradbury, ''The Routledge Companion to Medieval Warfare'' (Routledge, NY, 2004), pp. 160-1 Duke William had put Arques under siege, but had remained mobile with another force in the countryside nearby. To relieve the siege Enguerrand was with Henry I of France and on October 25, 1053 was killed when the Normans feigned a retreat in which Enguerrand and his companions followed and were ambushed, a tactic the Normans used again to great success at the

Battle of Hastings The Battle of Hastings nrf, Batâle dé Hastings was fought on 14 October 1066 between the Norman-French army of William the Conqueror, William, the Duke of Normandy, and an English army under the Anglo-Saxons, Anglo-Saxon King Harold Godw ...

Issue

Enguerrand married

Adelaide of Normandy Adelaide of Normandy (or Adeliza) ( 1030 – bef. 1090) was the ruling Countess of Aumale in her own right in 1069-1087. She was the sister of William the Conqueror. Life Born 1030, Adelaide was an illegitimate daughter of the Duchy of Normand ...

, Countess of Aumale, daughter of Robert I, Duke of Normandy.The name of Adelaide's mother remains unsettled. David C. Douglas 'William the Conqueror'', 1964, pp. 381stated that William had a sister or half-sister Adelaide; that she may have been the daughter of Robert I by a mistress other than Herleva, but that "it is more probable she was the Conqueror's sister of the whole blood". As such the question remains open. By her he had a daughter: * Adelaide, living in 1096.George Edward Cokayne, ''The Complete Peerage of England Scotland Ireland Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant Extinct or Dormant'', ed. Vicary Gibbs, Vol. I (The St. Catherine Press, Ltd., London, 1910), p. 351 As Enguerrand died without male issue he was followed by his brother Guy I as

Count of Ponthieu The County of Ponthieu (, ), centered on the mouth of the Somme, became a member of the Norman group of vassal states when Count Guy submitted to William of Normandy after the battle of Mortemer.Dunbabin.France in the Making. Ch.4. The Princip ...

. Thomas Stapleton, 'Observations on the History of Adeliza, Sister of William the Conqueror', ''Archaeologia'', Vol. 26 (J.B. Nichols & Sons, 1836), pp. 349-360

References

Notes

{{end box Year of birth unknown Counts of Ponthieu People excommunicated by the Catholic Church 1053 deaths 11th-century French people