Geoffrey III (died 5 April 1202) was the

count of Perche The county of Perche was a medieval county lying between Normandy and Maine (province), Maine. It was held by an independent line of counts until 1226. One of these, Geoffroy V, would have been a leader of the Fourth Crusade had he not died before ...

from 1191 until his death. He was the son of Count

Rotrou IV of Perche Rotrou IV (1135-1191), was the Count of Perche. He joined Louis VII of France in a war against Henry II of England, in which he lost lands to the English. Rotrou later went on crusade with Philip II of France and died after the Siege of Acre in 1191 ...

, and Matilda, daughter of Count

Theobald II of Champagne Theobald is a Germanic dithematic name, composed from the elements '' theod-'' "people" and ''bald'' "bold". The name arrived in England with the Normans. The name occurs in many spelling variations, including Theudebald, Diepold, Theobalt, Tybal ...

, and

Matilda of Carinthia Matilda of Carinthia (Mathilde of Sponheim; died 13 December 1160 or 1161) was a daughter of Engelbert, Duke of Carinthia and his wife Uta of Passau. She married Theobald II, Count of Champagne in 1123. Her children with Theobald were: * Henry I, ...

. He accompanied his father to the

Third Crusade The Third Crusade (1189–1192) was an attempt by three European monarchs of Western Christianity (Philip II of France, Richard I of England and Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor) to reconquer the Holy Land following the capture of Jerusalem by ...

and participated in the

Siege of Acre Siege of Acre may refer to: *Siege of Acre (1104), following the First Crusade *Siege of Acre (1189–1191), during the Third Crusade *Siege of Acre (1263), Baibars laid siege to the Crusader city, but abandoned it to attack Nazareth. *Siege of Acr ...

, where his father was killed. Back from the Holy Land, he sold more land to the abbeys in order to replenish his finances depleted by his participation in the crusade. He then fought King

Richard I of England Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199) was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine and Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, and Count of Poitiers, Anjou, Maine, and Nantes, and was ...

under the banner of King

Philip II of France Philip II (21 August 1165 – 14 July 1223), byname Philip Augustus (french: Philippe Auguste), was King of France from 1180 to 1223. His predecessors had been known as kings of the Franks, but from 1190 onward, Philip became the first French ...

and in 1194, he managed to recover the commune of

Bonsmoulins Bonsmoulins () is a commune in the Orne department in northwestern France. Population Heraldry See also *Communes of the Orne department The following is a list of the 385 communes of the Orne department of France. The communes cooperat ...

that his father had yielded to King

Henry II of England Henry II (5 March 1133 – 6 July 1189), also known as Henry Curtmantle (french: link=no, Court-manteau), Henry FitzEmpress, or Henry Plantagenet, was King of England from 1154 until his death in 1189, and as such, was the first Angevin king ...

. When Richard sent an army to regain control of Normandy, Geoffrey, as a French army commander, helped defeat him.

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

, the brother and successor of Richard, was forced to renounce England's claim to Normandy in 1204. In 1202, Geoffrey and his brother

Stephen Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; ...

decided to take part 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 ...

, but he died at Soissons during

Lent Lent ( la, Quadragesima, 'Fortieth') is a solemn religious observance in the liturgical calendar commemorating the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring temptation by Satan, according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke ...

before he could set out. At

Chartres Cathedral Chartres Cathedral, also known as the Cathedral of Our Lady of Chartres (french: Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Chartres), is a Roman Catholic church in Chartres, France, about southwest of Paris, and is the seat of the Bishop of Chartres. Mostly con ...

, an anniversary mass was said for his soul on 5 April, presumably the date of his death. Geoffrey's first wife was named Matilda of which nothing is known. His second wife was

Matilda Matilda or Mathilda may refer to: Animals * Matilda (chicken) (1990–2006), World's Oldest Living Chicken record holder * Matilda (horse) (1824–1846), British Thoroughbred racehorse * Matilda, a dog of the professional wrestling tag-team The ...

, daughter of Duke

Henry the Lion Henry the Lion (german: Heinrich der Löwe; 1129/1131 – 6 August 1195) was a member of the Welf dynasty who ruled as the duke of Saxony and Bavaria from 1142 and 1156, respectively, until 1180. Henry was one of the most powerful German p ...

of Saxony and Bavaria and

Matilda of England Empress Matilda ( 7 February 110210 September 1167), also known as the Empress Maude, was one of the claimants to the English throne during the civil war known as the Anarchy. The daughter of King Henry I of England, she moved to Germany as ...

. They married in 1189 in Rouen, and King Richard, uncle of the bride, granted them land in the counties of Suffolk, Essex and Kent previously owned by

Henry of Essex Henry of Essex or Henry de Essex (died c. 1170) was an Anglo-Norman nobleman who was feudal baron of Rayleigh in Essex (by inheritance) and of Haughley in Suffolk (by right of his second wife). He served as one of the royal constables during the ...

. Geoffrey and his second wife Matilda had two children: * Geoffrey *

Thomas, Count of Perche Thomas (1195 – 20 May 1217), Count of Perche, was the son of Geoffrey III, Count of Perche, and Matilda of Saxony, daughter of Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony and Bavaria, and Matilda of England. He died young. Only seven when his father died, T ...

Geoffrey was succeeded by his son Thomas upon his death.

References

Sources

* * * {{s-end 1191 births 1202 deaths Counts of Perche Christians of the Third Crusade Christians of the Fourth Crusade