Eustace I,

Count of Boulogne Count of Boulogne was a historical title in the Kingdom of France. The city of Boulogne-sur-Mer became the centre of the county of Boulogne during the ninth century. Little is known of the early counts, but the first holder of the title is recor ...

, was a nobleman and founder of the Boulogne branch of the

House of Flanders The House of Flanders—also called the Baldwins ( la, Balduini, french: Baudouinides)—was a medieval ruling family that was founded by Baldwin Iron Arm, son-in-law of Charles the Bald. From 1051, the House of Flanders also reigned ove ...

. He held the

county of Boulogne The County of Boulogne was a county within the Kingdom of France during the 9th to 15th centuries, centred on the city of Boulogne-sur-Mer. It was ruled by the counts of Flanders in the 10th century, but a separate House of Boulogne emerged durin ...

from 1024 until his death in 1047.

Life

Eustace was the elder son of Count Baldwin II of Boulogne and

Adelina of Holland Adelina of Holland ( – ) was possibly a daughter of Arnulf, Count of Holland, and Lutgardis of Luxemburg. She married firstly Baldwin II, Count of Boulogne (with whom she had Eustace I of Boulogne Eustace I, Count of Boulogne, was a ...

. He succeeded his father as count of Boulogne in 1024. Eustace was also the count of Lens. In 1028 Eustace confirmed the foundation of a college of canons in his castle at Lens and despite accounts of Lens passing to Baldwin V of Flanders circa 1036 it was still held by Eustace and was passed to his son Lambert at his death. During the minority of

Baldwin IV, Count of Flanders Baldwin IV (980 – 30 May 1035), called the Bearded, was the count of Flanders from 987 until his death. Baldwin IV was the son of Count Arnulf II of Flanders (c. 961 — 987) and Rozala of Italy (950/60 – 1003), of the House of Ivrea.Detlev Sc ...

, Eustace's grandfather,

Arnulf III, Count of Boulogne Arnulf III of Boulogne (died 990) was a son of Arnulf II, Count of Boulogne. He succeeded his father as Count of Boulogne from 972 to 990. On his death his lands were divided among his three sons: * Baldwin got Boulogne *Arnulf got Ternois *a ...

had broken free of Flanders and operated as an independent prince, as did Eustace's father and Eustace himself. In 995, having attained his majority, Baldwin IV attempted to recover several of the independently held castles and to expand the Flemish borders. This had caused considerable animosity between Baldwin IV, Count of Flanders and Eustace's father, but when Baldwin IV's son

Baldwin V Baldwin is a Germanic name, composed of the elements ''bald'' "bold" and ''win'' "friend". People * Baldwin (name) Places Canada * Baldwin, York Regional Municipality, Ontario * Baldwin, Ontario, in Sudbury District * Baldwin's Mills, ...

succeeded him in 1035 Eustace and Baldwin V of Flanders cooperated on several ventures including several charters and in limiting the powers of the Castellan-advocates of several abbeys including the

Abbey of Saint Bertin The Abbey of St. Bertin was a Benedictine monastic abbey in Saint-Omer, France. The buildings are now in ruins, which are open to the public. It was initially dedicated to but was rededicated to its second abbot, . The abbey is known for its La ...

in Flanders. Eustace was allied to the ducal

house of Normandy The House of Normandy ( nrf, Maison de Nouormandie ) designates the noble family which originates from the Duchy of Normandy and whose members were counts of Rouen, dukes of Normandy, as well as kings of England following the Norman conquest o ...

by the marriage of his son Eustace II to Goda, niece of

Richard II Richard II (6 January 1367 – ), also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He was the son of Edward the Black Prince, Prince of Wales, and Joan, Countess of Kent. Richard's father died ...

. This had far reaching alliances to other branches of these families including that of

Edward the Confessor Edward the Confessor ; la, Eduardus Confessor , ; ( 1003 – 5 January 1066) was one of the last Anglo-Saxon English kings. Usually considered the last king of the House of Wessex, he ruled from 1042 to 1066. Edward was the son of Æth ...

, King of England. Under Eustace the counts of Boulogne rose to great prominence in Northern France. Eustace I died in 1047. Eustace was apparently a patron of

Samer Samer (; pcd, Samé; vls, Sint-Wulmaars) is a commune and in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. Population Places of interest * The church of St.Martin, dating from the 15th century. * The château du Gr ...

Abbey near

Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's prefecture is its third-largest city of Arras. Th ...

and he is said to have been buried there.

Family and children

Eustace married Matilda of Louvain, daughter of Lambert I of

Louvain Leuven (, ) or Louvain (, , ; german: link=no, Löwen ) is the capital and largest city of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipality itself comprises the historic c ...

and

Gerberga of Lower Lorraine Gerberga of Lower Lorraine (975-1019), Countess of Louvain, was the daughter of Charles, Duke of Lower Lorraine, himself the son of Louis IV of France and Gerberga of Saxony. Her mother was Adelaide/Agnes de Vermandois. Personal life She married ...

and had: *

Eustace II of Boulogne Eustace II, (), also known as Eustace aux Grenons ("Eustace with long moustaches"),Heather J. Tanner, 'Eustace (II), count of Boulogne (d. c.1087)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004. was Count of Boulogne fro ...

. *Godfrey,

Bishop of Paris The Archdiocese of Paris (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Parisiensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse de Paris'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. It is one of twenty-three archdioceses in France ...

(1061–1095) * Lambert II, Count of Lens. *Gerberga, married

Frederick, Duke of Lower Lorraine Frederick of Luxembourg ( – 18 May 1065) was the ''advocatus'' of Abbey of Stavelot-Malmedy from 1033, Duke of Lower Lorraine from 1046, ''advocatus'' of the Abbey of St Truiden from around 1060 or earlier. He was also lord of a large domain ...

Notes

References

Sources

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{{s-end 1049 deaths 11th-century French people House of Boulogne Counts of Boulogne Year of birth unknown House of Flanders