Eustace of Flanders or Eustace of Hainaut was a member 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 ...

, brother of the

Latin Emperor The Latin Emperor was the ruler of the Latin Empire, the historiographical convention for the Crusader realm, established in Constantinople after the Fourth Crusade (1204) and lasting until the city was recovered by the Byzantine Greeks in 1261 ...

s Baldwin I and

Henry Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) * Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

, and regent of the

Kingdom of Thessalonica The Kingdom of Thessalonica () was a short-lived Crusader State founded after the Fourth Crusade over conquered Byzantine lands in Macedonia and Thessaly. History Background After the fall of Constantinople to the crusaders in 1204, Bonifac ...

in 1209–1216.

Life

Eustace was a younger son of

Baldwin V, Count of Hainaut Baldwin V of Hainaut (1150 – 17 December 1195) was count of Hainaut (1171–1195), margrave of Namur as Baldwin I (1189–1195) and count of Flanders as Baldwin VIII (1191–1195). History He was the son of Baldwin IV, Count of Hainaut. In the ...

. His older brothers Baldwin I (r. 1204–1205) and

(r. 1205–16) participated in the

Fourth Crusade The Fourth Crusade (1202–1204) was a Latin Christian armed expedition called by Pope Innocent III. The stated intent of the expedition was to recapture the Muslim-controlled city of Jerusalem, by first defeating the powerful Egyptian Ayyubid S ...

and were the first two emperors of the

Latin Empire The Latin Empire, also referred to as the Latin Empire of Constantinople, was a feudal Crusader state founded by the leaders of the Fourth Crusade on lands captured from the Byzantine Empire. The Latin Empire was intended to replace the Byzanti ...

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

. Eustace himself probably did not participate in the Crusade, and only appears among the senior noblemen of the Latin Empire in 1206. He was evidently among those nobles from Flanders and northern France who were invited to come to the Latin Empire by his brothers. In 1208 he was sent to command a garrison in the

Rhodope Mountains The Rhodopes (; bg, Родопи, ; el, Ροδόπη, ''Rodopi''; tr, Rodoplar) are a mountain range in Southeastern Europe, and the largest by area in Bulgaria, with over 83% of its area in the southern part of the country and the remainder in ...

, belonging to the autonomous prince

Alexius Slav Alexius Slav ( bg, Алексий Слав, el, ; 1208–28) was a Bulgarian nobleman ('' bolyarin''), a member of the Asen dynasty, and a nephew of the first three Asen brothers. He was first probably the governor of the Rhodopes domain of ...

. In summer 1209, Henry quelled a revolt of the Lombard barons of the

, and brought the realm under his effective control by appointing Eustace (along with Berthold of Katzenelnbogen) as his ''de facto'' viceroy there. The Greek ruler of

Epirus sq, Epiri rup, Epiru , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = Historical region , image_map = Epirus antiquus tabula.jpg , map_alt = , map_caption = Map of ancient Epirus by Heinrich ...

Michael I Komnenos Doukas Michael I Komnenos Doukas, Latinized as Comnenus Ducas ( el, Μιχαήλ Κομνηνός Δούκας, Mikhaēl Komnēnos Doukas), and in modern sources often recorded as Michael I Angelos, a name he never used, was the founder and first ruler ...

, sent envoys to propose an alliance. Henry distrusted Michael's sincerity, but sent an embassy to Epirus with his terms, which amounted to Michael declaring himself a vassal of the Latin Empire. As confirmation of the pact, Eustace married a daughter of Michael and received a third of his lands as her dowry. Eustace is last mentioned in April 1217 as attending the coronation of the new Latin Emperor, Peter of Courtenay, and his sister,

Yolanda of Flanders Yolanda (french: Yolande de Hainault; 1175 – August 1219), often called Yolanda of Flanders, was Empress of the Latin Empire in Constantinople, first as the wife of Emperor Peter from 1216 to 1217 and thereafter as regent until her death in 1 ...

. Eustace probably accompanied Peter on his overland march into

Epirus sq, Epiri rup, Epiru , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = Historical region , image_map = Epirus antiquus tabula.jpg , map_alt = , map_caption = Map of ancient Epirus by Heinrich ...

, was taken captive alongside him by

Theodore Komnenos Doukas Theodore Komnenos Doukas ( el, Θεόδωρος Κομνηνὸς Δούκας, ''Theodōros Komnēnos Doukas'', latinisation of names, Latinized as Theodore Comnenus Ducas, died 1253) was ruler of Despotate of Epirus, Epirus and Thessaly#Late M ...

, and perished in captivity.

References

Sources

* * * {{cite book , last = Van Tricht , first = Filip , title = The Latin ''Renovatio'' of Byzantium: The Empire of Constantinople (1204-1228) , location = Leiden , publisher = Brill , year = 2011 , isbn = 978-90-04-20323-5 , url = https://books.google.com/books?id=JlnPm2riK1UC 12th-century births 1217 deaths 13th-century French people Eustace Regents of Thessalonica Christians of the Crusades