John, Count of Eu, (died 26 June 1170), son of

Henry I, Count of Eu Henry I, Count of Eu and Lord of Hastings (c. 1075 – 12 July 1140) was the son of William II, Count of Eu and his wife Beatrice of Bully. His father died in 1096, having revolted against King William II of England. As the eldest son, Henry succ ...

, and Marguerite, daughter of

William, Count of Sully William the Simple ( – c. 1150) was Count of Blois and Count of Chartres from 1102 to 1107, and jure uxoris Count of Sully. Biography William was the eldest son of Stephen, Count of Blois and Adela of Normandy, daughter of William the Conquero ...

. John was

Count of Eu Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

and Lord of Hastings. John obtained from

Stephen, King of England Stephen (1092 or 1096 – 25 October 1154), often referred to as Stephen of Blois, was King of England from 22 December 1135 to his death in 1154. He was Count of Boulogne ''jure uxoris'' from 1125 until 1147 and Duke of Normandy from 1135 unti ...

, the honors of

Tickhill Tickhill is a market town and civil parish in the City of Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England, close to the border with Nottinghamshire. At the 2001 census it had a population of 5,301, reducing to 5,228 at the 2011 Census. Geography It lies ...

and Blyth, being a descendant of their original owner,

Roger de Busli Roger de Busli (c. 1038 – c. 1099) was a Norman baron who participated in the conquest of England in 1066. Life Roger de Busli was born in or around 1038. His surname comes from the town now known as Bully (near Neufchâtel-en-Bray, mentioned ...

, by his paternal grandmother Beatrice. John lost his holdings after his capture by

Ranulf de Gernon Ranulf II (also known as Ranulf de Gernon), 4th Earl of Chester (1099–1153), was an Anglo-Norman baron who inherited the honour of the palatine county of Chester upon the death of his father Ranulf le Meschin, 3rd Earl of Chester. He was desc ...

, the 4th Earl of Chester, at the Battle of Lincoln in February 1141. In 1148, John returned to Hilaire,

Bishop of Chichester The Bishop of Chichester is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Chichester in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers the counties of East and West Sussex. The see is based in the City of Chichester where the bishop's seat ...

, lands belonging to his diocese which his father had usurped during the troubled reign of Stephen. John had to take refuge in the summer of 1167 in Drincourt (now

Neufchâtel-en-Bray Neufchâtel-en-Bray (; Norman: ''Neucâtel-en-Bray, Le Câtel'') is a commune situated in the Seine-Maritime department of the Normandy Region, northern France. The Neufchâtel cheese is made in the area. Geography Location Neufchâtel is a ...

) during the invasion of his estates by the troops of Louis VII, an ally of

Thierry, Count of Flanders Theoderic ( nl, Diederik, french: Thierry, german: Dietrich; – 17 January 1168), commonly known as Thierry of Alsace, was the fifteenth count of Flanders from 1128 to 1168. With a record of four campaigns in the Levant and Africa (including p ...

. John married Alice, daughter of

William d'Aubigny, 1st Earl of Arundel William d'Aubigny (c. 110912 October 1176), also known as William d'Albini, William de Albini and William de Albini II, was an English nobleman. He was son of William d'Aubigny and Maud Bigod, daughter of Roger Bigod of Norfolk. William fought ...

and

Adeliza of Louvain Adeliza of Louvain, sometimes known in England as Adelicia of Louvain, also called Adela and Aleidis; (c. 1103 – March/April 1151) was Queen of England from 1121 to 1135, as the second wife of King Henry I. She was the daughter of Godfrey I, ...

, the widow of

King Henry I of England Henry I (c. 1068 – 1 December 1135), also known as Henry Beauclerc, was King of England from 1100 to his death in 1135. He was the fourth son of William the Conqueror and was educated in Latin and the liberal arts. On William's death in ...

. John and Alice had three children: *

Henry II of Eu Henry II, Count of Eu (died 1191), son of John, Count of Eu and Lord of Hastings, and Alice d'Aubigny. Henry inherited the countship of Eu and lordship of Hastings upon the death of his father (1170). Henry married Matilda, daughter of Hamelin de ...

, 6th Count of Eu, Lord of Hastings * Robert of Eu (d. 1191 in Acre) * Mathilde d'Eu (d. 1212), married to Henry d'Estouteville, Seigneur of Valmont. In addition, * John d'Eu, Lord of Eu and Hastings, issued a confirmation charter to

Robertsbridge Abbey Robertsbridge Abbey was a Cistercian abbey in Robertsbridge, East Sussex, England. It was founded in 1176 by Alured and Alicia de St Martin. Due to its position, the Abbey lands suffered continually from the effects of the sea and it was never r ...

, Sussex, c. 1198–1205.''Calendar of Charters and Documents relating to the Abbey of Robertsbridge Co: Sussex preserved at Penshurst among the muniments of Lord De Lisle and Dudley'' (Private, 1872)
pp. 24-25, no. 76
Like his father Henry, John became canon at the abbey of Eu, where he died on 26 June 1170, after devoting the rest of his days to the monastic state. He was placed in the tomb of his father behind the altar. At the time of the destruction of the Abbey of

Foucarmont Foucarmont () is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in northern France. Geography A large village of farming and associated light industry, situated by the banks of the river Yères, in the Pays de Bray, some sou ...

in 1791, Louis Jean Marie de Bourbon, Duke of Penthièvre and Count of Eu, had the remains of the counts Henry and John reclaimed and moved to the chapel of the :fr:Château de Bizy. John was succeeded as Count of Eu and Lord of Hastings by his son Henry upon his death. John was buried at

Fécamp Abbey The Abbey of the Holy Trinity at Fécamp, commonly known as Fécamp Abbey (french: Abbaye de la Trinité de Fécamp), is a Benedictine abbey in Fécamp, Seine-Maritime, Upper Normandy, France. The abbey is known as the first producer of bénédict ...

, where many of his sons and grandsons would also be interred.

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