Gervase of Bazoches, who is also known as Gervaise (died in Damascus in May 1108), was

Prince of Galilee The principality of Galilee was one of the four major seigneuries of the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem, according to 13th-century commentator John of Ibelin, grandson of Balian. The direct holdings of the principality centred around Tiberias, i ...

from 1105/1106 until his death. He was born into a French noble family but migrated to the Holy Land, where King

Baldwin I of Jerusalem Baldwin I, also known as Baldwin of Boulogne (1060s – 2April 1118), was the first count of Edessa from 1098 to 1100, and king of Jerusalem from 1100 to his death in 1118. He was the youngest son of Eustace II, Count of Boulogne, and Ida of Lor ...

made him senechal in the early 1100s and appointed him prince of Galilee in 1105/1106. Gervase was captured during a raid by

Toghtekin Toghtekin or Tughtekin (Modern tr, Tuğtekin; Arabicised epithet: ''Zahir ad-Din Tughtikin''; died February 12, 1128), also spelled Tughtegin, was a Turkic military leader, who was ''atabeg'' of Damascus from 1104 to 1128. He was the founder o ...

, atabeg of Damascus, who had Gervase executed after Baldwin I refused to surrender three important towns in exchange for Gervase's release.

Early life

Vestiges de l'église de Mont-Notre-Dame -DSC 0061

The contemporaneous

Guibert of Nogent Guibert de Nogent (c. 1055 – 1124) was a Benedictine historian, theologian and author of autobiographical memoirs. Guibert was relatively unknown in his own time, going virtually unmentioned by his contemporaries. He has only recently caught the ...

described Gervase as a "knight ... of noble blood, from the castle of Basilcas in

Soissons Soissons () is a commune in the northern French department of Aisne, in the region of Hauts-de-France. Located on the river Aisne, about northeast of Paris, it is one of the most ancient towns of France, and is probably the ancient capital o ...

Albert of Aix Albert of Aix(-la-Chapelle) or Albert of Aachen; la, Albericus Aquensis; ''fl.'' c. 1100) was a historian of the First Crusade and the early Kingdom of Jerusalem. He was born during the later part of the 11th century, and afterwards became canon ( ...

referred to Gervase as "a famous and very noble man who was born in the realm of western France". Gervase's brother Hugh was lord of

Bazoches-sur-Vesles Bazoches-sur-Vesles (, literally ''Bazoches on Vesles'', before 1943: ''Bazoches'') is a former commune in the department of Aisne in the Hauts-de-France region of northern France. On 1 January 2022, it was merged into the new commune of Bazoc ...

, a village near Soissons. They were related to the lords of Milly. Gervase was the advocate of the church in

Mont-Notre-Dame Mont-Notre-Dame is a commune in the Aisne department located in Hauts-de-France, Northern France. Population See also *Communes of the Aisne department The following is a list of the 799 communes in the French department of Aisne. ...

before he settled in the Holy Land.

Prince of Galilee

Gervase became an important member of the royal court in the

Kingdom of Jerusalem The Kingdom of Jerusalem ( la, Regnum Hierosolymitanum; fro, Roiaume de Jherusalem), officially known as the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem or the Frankish Kingdom of Palestine,Example (title of works): was a Crusader state that was establish ...

. He witnessed one of the charters of

as ''Gervasius dapifer'' (or senechal) in 1104. After

Hugh of Fauquembergues Hugh of Fauquembergues, also known as Hugh of St Omer, Hugh of Falkenberg, or Hugh of Falchenberg ( la, Hugo de Falchenberch; died in 1105 or 1106) was Prince of Galilee from 1101 to his death. He was Lord of Fauquembergues before joining the ...

, Prince of Galilee, was ambushed and killed during a pillaging raid in late 1105 or early 1106, the king conferred Galilee on Gervase. In 1106, the Muslims of Tyre attacked the Galilean fortress of

Toron Toron, now Tibnin or Tebnine in southern Lebanon, was a major Crusader castle, built in the Lebanon mountains on the road from Tyre to Damascus. The castle was the centre of the Lordship of Toron, a seigneury within the Kingdom of Jerusalem ...

while

, the atabeg of Damascus, raided the region of

Tiberias Tiberias ( ; he, טְבֶרְיָה, ; ar, طبريا, Ṭabariyyā) is an Israeli city on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. A major Jewish center during Late Antiquity, it has been considered since the 16th century one of Judaism's F ...

, but they could not do much harm. Baldwin and Toghtekin's envoys signed an armistice, temporarily ending the Muslim raids against Galilee. Toghtekin again invaded Galilee, and captured Gervase and his retainers outside Tiberias in early 1108. He demanded Acre,

Haifa Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...

, and

as their ransom from Baldwin, who was only willing to pay a large sum of money. Outraged by the king's answer, Toghtekin ordered Gervase be executed in Damascus in May. On Toghtekin's order, his soldiers tied Gervase to a tree and shot arrows at him until he died. His scalp was put on a pole to be carried before Toghtekin's army and his skull was made into a goblet for Toghtekin. After Gervase's death, Baldwin granted the title Prince of Galilee to

Tancred Tancred or Tankred is a masculine given name of Germanic origin that comes from ''thank-'' (thought) and ''-rath'' (counsel), meaning "well-thought advice". It was used in the High Middle Ages mainly by the Normans (see French Tancrède) and espe ...

, who had held the principality before

. Royal officials administered the principality during the following five years.

References

Sources

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bazoches, Gervaise of 1108 deaths

Gervase Gervase is a masculine given name which may refer to: Pre-modern era :''Ordered chronologically'' * Gervase of Besançon (died 685), saint and a bishop of Besançon * Gervase of Bazoches (died 1108), Prince of Galilee * Gervase of Blois (died c ...

Christians of the First Crusade Year of birth unknown