Rotrou IV (1135-1191), was the

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

. 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.

Biography

Born in 1135, Rotrou was the son of Rotrou III, Count of Perche, and Hawise, daughter of Walter of Salisbury, and Sibilla de Chaworth. Upon the death of his father in 1144, Rotrou continued the fight against his archenemy, William III Talvas, Count of Ponthieu and Lord of Alençon. Aside from this long-running blood feud, his uncle Patrick had married William Talvas' daughter Adela. His mother Hawise and her second husband, Robert I of Dreux, served as regents at Perche until he reached the age of maturity. Rotrou aided

Louis VII the Younger Louis VII (1120 – 18 September 1180), called the Younger or the Young () to differentiate him from his father Louis VI, was King of France from 1137 to 1180. His first marriage was to Duchess Eleanor of Aquitaine, one of the wealthiest and ...

against

Henry II of England Henry II () was King of England The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the form of government used by the United Kingdom by which a hereditary monarch reigns as the head of state, with the ...

in an ineffective war that saw their troops routed, lands ravaged and property stolen. He was forced to yield the communes of Moulins and Bonsmoulins to the crown England. Nevertheless, a matrimonial alliance with the

House of Blois The House of Blois () was a noble family that arose in the West Francia, Kingdom of West Francia in the early 10th century, and whose prominent members were often named Theobald (''Thibaud'', ''Thibault'', ''Thibaut'' in French language, French). ...

consolidated the declining power of the Counts of Perche. In 1189, Rotrou joined

Philip II of France Philip II (21 August 1165 – 14 July 1223), also known as Philip Augustus (), was King of France from 1180 to 1223. His predecessors had been known as kings of the Franks (Latin: ''rex Francorum''), but from 1190 onward, Philip became the firs ...

and Richard I the Lionheart in the

Third Crusade The Third Crusade (1189–1192) was an attempt led by King Philip II of France, King Richard I of England and Emperor Frederick Barbarossa to reconquer the Holy Land following the capture of Jerusalem by the Ayyubid sultan Saladin in 1187. F ...

. He died sometime after the Siege of Acre in 1191.

Marriage and issue

In 1160, Rotrou married Matilda of Blois-Champagne, daughter of

Theobald II, Count of Champagne Theobald the Great (1090–1152) was count of Blois and of Chartres as Theobald IV from 1102 and was Count of Champagne and of Brie as Theobald II from 1125. Theobald held Auxerre, Maligny, Ervy, Troyes and Châteauvillain as fiefs from O ...

, and Matilda of Carinthia. Rotrou and Matilda had: *

Geoffrey III, Count of Perche Geoffrey, Geoffroy, Geoff, etc., may refer to: People * Geoffrey (given name), including a list of people with the name Geoffrey or Geoffroy * Geoffroy (surname), including a list of people with the name * Geoffroy (musician) (born 1987), Canadi ...

Stephen Stephen or Steven is an English given name, first name. It is particularly significant to Christianity, Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; he is w ...

(d. 14 April 1205), Duke of Philadelphia, killed in the

Battle of Adrianople The Battle of Adrianople also known as Battle of Hadrianopolis was fought between the Eastern Roman army led by the Roman emperor Valens and Gothic rebels (largely Thervings as well as Greutungs, non-Gothic Alans, and various local rebels) ...

* Rotrou du Perche (d. 10 December 1201), Bishop of Chalons (1190-1200) *

William II, Count of Perche William II (died 1226), count of Perche and bishop of Châlons, son of Count Rotrou IV of Perche and Matilda, daughter of Count Theobald II of Champagne and Matilda of Carinthia. William began his career as treasurer and provost of the Church of St ...

and Bishop of Chalons * Beatrix, married Renaud III, lord of Chateau-Gonthier Rotrou was succeeded as Count of Perche by his son Geoffrey upon his death.

References

Sources

* * * * * * {{s-end Counts of Perche Christians of the Third Crusade 1135 births 1191 deaths