The Avesnes family played an important role during the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

. The family has its roots in the small village

Avesnes-sur-Helpe Avesnes-sur-Helpe (; vls, Avenne aan de Helpe) is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the Nord department. It is situated 14 km from the Belgian border, and 18 km south of Maubeuge, the near ...

, in the north of France. One branch produced a number of

Counts of Holland The counts of Holland ruled over the County of Holland in the Low Countries between the 10th and the 16th century. House of Holland The first count of Holland, Dirk I, was the son or foster-son of Gerolf, Count in Frisia (Dijkstra suggests th ...

during the 13th century. The family died out in the 16th century.

Origin of the House: feud between Dampierre and Avesnes

Baldwin, the first emperor 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 (" ...

, was as Baldwin IX

Count of Flanders The count of Flanders was the ruler or sub-ruler of the county of Flanders, beginning in the 9th century. Later, the title would be held for a time, by the rulers of the Holy Roman Empire and Spain. During the French Revolution, in 1790, the co ...

and as Baldwin VI

Count of Hainaut The Count of Hainaut (; ; ) was the ruler of the county of Hainaut, a historical region in the Low Countries (including the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of northern France and western Germany). In English-la ...

. Baldwin had only daughters and was in turn succeeded by his daughters

Joan Joan may refer to: People and fictional characters * Joan (given name), including a list of women, men and fictional characters *:Joan of Arc, a French military heroine * Joan (surname) Weather events *Tropical Storm Joan (disambiguation), multip ...

(reigned 1205–1244) and Margaret II (reigned 1244–1280). In 1212 Margaret II married Bouchard d'Avesnes, a prominent Hainaut nobleman. This was apparently a love match, though it was approved by Margaret's sister Joan, who had herself recently married. The two sisters subsequently had a falling-out over Margaret's share of their inheritance, which led Joan to attempt to get Margaret's marriage dissolved. She alleged that the marriage was invalid, and without much inspection of the facts of the case

Pope Innocent III Pope Innocent III ( la, Innocentius III; 1160 or 1161 – 16 July 1216), born Lotario dei Conti di Segni (anglicized as Lothar of Segni), was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1198 to his death in 16 J ...

condemned the marriage, though he did not formally annul it. Bourchard and Margaret continued as a married couple, having 3 children, as their conflict with Joan grew violent and Bouchard was captured and imprisoned in 1219. He was released in 1221 on the condition that the couple separate and that Bouchard get absolution from the pope. While he was in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, Joan convinced Margaret to remarry, this time to

William II of Dampierre William II (1196 – 3 September 1231) was the lord of Dampierre from 1216 until his death. He was the son of Guy II, constable of Champagne, and Mathilde of Bourbon.Theodore Evergates, ''The Aristocracy in the County of Champagne, 1100-1300 ...

, a nobleman from

Champagne Champagne (, ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, that demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, spe ...

. From this marriage Margaret had two sons:

William II, Count of Flanders William III (1224 – 6 June 1251) was the lord of Dampierre from 1231 and count of Flanders from 1247 until his death. He was the son of William II of Dampierre and Margaret II of Flanders. Margaret inherited Flanders and Hainault in 124 ...

and

Guy of Dampierre Guy of Dampierre (french: Gui de Dampierre; nl, Gwijde van Dampierre) ( – 7 March 1305, Compiègne) was the Count of Flanders (1251–1305) and Marquis of Namur (1264–1305). He was a prisoner of the French when his Flemings defeated the ...

. This situation caused something of a scandal, for the marriage was possibly

bigamous In cultures where monogamy is mandated, bigamy is the act of entering into a marriage with one person while still legally married to another. A legal or de facto separation of the couple does not alter their marital status as married persons. I ...

, and violated the church's strictures on

consanguinity Consanguinity ("blood relation", from Latin '' consanguinitas'') is the characteristic of having a kinship with another person (being descended from a common ancestor). Many jurisdictions have laws prohibiting people who are related by blood fr ...

as well. The disputes regarding the validity of the two marriages and the legitimacy of her children by each husband continued for decades, becoming entangled in the politics of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...

and resulting in the long

War of the Succession of Flanders and Hainault {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = {{PAGENAME , width = , partof = , image = Carte des comtés de Flandre et de Hainaut sous la comtesse Jeanne de Constantinople (1200-1244).png , image_size = 300px , alt ...

. In 1246 king

Louis IX of France Louis IX (25 April 1214 – 25 August 1270), commonly known as Saint Louis or Louis the Saint, was King of France from 1226 to 1270, and the most illustrious of the Direct Capetians. He was crowned in Reims at the age of 12, following the ...

, acting as an arbitrator, gave the right to inherit Flanders to the Dampierre children, and the rights to Hainaut to the Avesnes children. This would seem to have settled the matter, but in 1253 problems arose again. The eldest son,

John I of Avesnes John of Avesnes (1 May 1218 – 24 December 1257) was the count of Hainaut from 1246 to his death. Life Born in Houffalize, John was the eldest son of Margaret II of Flanders by her first husband, Bouchard IV of Avesnes. As the marriage of Marg ...

, who was uneasy about his rights, convinced William of Holland, the German king recognized by the pro-papal forces, to seize Hainaut and the parts of Flanders which were within the bounds of the empire. William of Holland was theoretically, as king, overlord for these territories, and also John's brother-in-law. A civil war followed, which ended when the Avesnes forces defeated and imprisoned the Dampierres at the

Battle of West-Capelle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

of 4 July 1253, after which John I of Avesnes was able to force Guy of Dampierre and his mother to respect the division of Louis and grant him Hainault. Margaret did not rest in her defeat and did not recognise herself as overcome. She instead granted Hainault to

Charles of Anjou Charles I (early 1226/12277 January 1285), commonly called Charles of Anjou, was a member of the royal Capetian dynasty and the founder of the second House of Anjou. He was Count of Provence (1246–85) and Forcalquier (1246–48, 1256–85) i ...

, the brother of King Louis, who had recently returned from the crusade. Charles took up her cause and warred with John I of Avesnes, but failed to take

Valenciennes Valenciennes (, also , , ; nl, label=also Dutch, Valencijn; pcd, Valincyinnes or ; la, Valentianae) is a commune in the Nord department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced a s ...

and just missed being killed in a skirmish. When Louis returned in 1254, he reaffirmed his earlier arbitration and ordered his brother to get out of the conflict. Charles returned to

Provence Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bor ...

. With this second arbitration of the holy king, the conflict closed and John I of Avesnes was secure in Hainault. The following decades saw further strife between the Dampierres and the Avesnes, who by the start of the 14th century had also inherited the

County of Holland The County of Holland was a State of the Holy Roman Empire and from 1433 part of the Burgundian Netherlands, from 1482 part of the Habsburg Netherlands and from 1581 onward the leading province of the Dutch Republic, of which it remained a part ...

and

Zeeland , nl, Ik worstel en kom boven("I struggle and emerge") , anthem = "Zeeuws volkslied"("Zeelandic Anthem") , image_map = Zeeland in the Netherlands.svg , map_alt = , m ...

Family Tree

*Fastré I d'Oisy m. Ade **Fastré II d'Oisy m. Richilde ***Wautier I d'Oisy m. Ida de Mortagne **** Nicholas le Beau (1129–1171) m. Mathilde de La Roche *****

James of Avesnes James (also ''Jacques'' or ''Jacob''; 1152 – 7 September 1191) was a son of Nicholas d'Oisy, Lord of Avesnes and Matilda de la Roche. He was the lord of Avesnes, Condé, and Leuze from 1171. In November 1187, James joined the Third Crusade ...

(1150–1191) m. Ameline de Guise ******

Walter II of Avesnes Walter II of Avesnes (b. 1170 – d.1244) was lord of Avesnes, Leuze, of Condé and Guise, and through his marriage to Margaret of Blois, he became count of Blois and Chartres. He was the son of James of Avesnes, and Adèle, lady of Guise. Walter ...

(1180?-1246) m. Marguerite de Blois (1231) ******

Bouchard IV of Avesnes Burchard IV or Bouchard IV (1182–1244) was the lord of Avesnes and Étrœungt. He was the son of James of Avesnes and Adela of Guise and brother of Walter, Count of Blois.(FR)Henri Platelle, ''Présence de l'au-delà: une vision médiévale du m ...

(1182–1244) m. Margaret of Flanders *******

(1218–1257) m.

Adelaide of Holland Adelaide of Holland ( nl, Aleide (Aleidis) ; – buried 9 April 1284), Countess of Hainaut, was a Dutch regent. She was a daughter of Floris IV, Count of Holland and Matilda of Brabant. She was also a sister of William II, Count of Holland and K ...

******** John II of Avesnes count of Hainaut and Holland (r. 1280-1304) m.

Philippa of Luxembourg Philippa of Luxembourg (1252 – 6 April 1311) was the daughter of Count Henry V of Luxembourg and his wife, Marguerite of Bar. She married John II, Count of Holland.M. A. Pollock, ''Scotland, England and France After the Loss of Normandy, 1204-1 ...

********* William III of Avesnes (1286–1337) m. Joan of Valois ********** William IV of Avesnes (r. 1337-1345) m.

Joanna, Duchess of Brabant Joanna, Duchess of Brabant (24 June 1322 – 1 December 1406), also known as Jeanne, was a ruling Duchess (Duke) of Brabant from 1355 until her death. She was duchess of Brabant until the occupation of the duchy by her brother-in-law Louis II of ...

**********

Margaret II of Hainaut Margaret II of Avesnes (1311 – 23 June 1356) was Countess of Hainaut and Countess of Holland (as Margaret I) from 1345 to 1356. She was Holy Roman Empress and Queen of Germany by marriage to Holy Roman Emperor Louis IV the Bavarian. Lif ...

(r. 1345-1356) m. Louis IV Wittelsbach ********

Guy of Avesnes Guy van Avennes (also spelt as Guy van Avesnes; Dutch Gwijde van Avesnes) (c. 1253 – 23 May 1317, Utrecht) was Bishop of Utrecht from 1301 to 1317. Family He was descended from an important Hainaut family, the House of Avesnes. He was the bro ...

(-1317) ********* Aleid of Avesnes, married

Otto van Asperen van Heuckelom Otto is a masculine German given name and a surname. It originates as an Old High German short form (variants ''Audo'', '' Odo'', ''Udo'') of Germanic names beginning in ''aud-'', an element meaning "wealth, prosperity". The name is recorded f ...

********* Maria of Avesnes, married

Arnold, Lord of IJsselstein Arnold, Lord of IJsselstein (also known as ''Arnoud'', 1304 – 12 February 1363) was the second Lord of IJsselstein and Stoutenburg and Schout of Amersfoort and the Eem Valley. Life He was a son of Gijsbrecht, Lord of IJsselstein and Bert ...

External links

* The History Files
The Kings of Holland (uses Dutch spellings of names)

Origin of the House: feud between Dampierre and Avesnes

Family Tree

See also

Further reading

External links