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 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 ...

. 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 Rotrou III (bef. 1080 – 8 May 1144), called the Great (''le Grand''), was the Count of Perche and Mortagne from 1099. He was the son of Geoffrey II, Count of Perche, and Beatrix de Ramerupt, daughter of Hilduin IV, Count of Montdidier. He was a ...

, 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 against

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 ...

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 () is a lineage derived from the Frankish nobility, whose principal members were often named Theobald (''Thibaud'', ''Thibault'', ''Thibaut'' in French). History Heirs of the viscounts of Blois, the House of Blois accumulated ...

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), 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

Richard I the Lionheart 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 overl ...

in 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 ...

. He died sometime after 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 A ...

in 1191.

Marriage and issue

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

Theobald II, Count 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, ...

. Rotrou and Matilda had: *

Geoffrey III, Count of Perche Geoffrey III (died 5 April 1202) was the count of Perche from 1191 until his death. He was the son of Count Rotrou IV of Perche, and Matilda, daughter of Count Theobald II of Champagne, and Matilda of Carinthia. He accompanied his father to the ...

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; ...

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

Battle of Adrianople The Battle of Adrianople (9 August 378), sometimes known as the Battle of Hadrianopolis, was fought between an Eastern Roman army led by the Eastern Roman Emperor Valens and Gothic rebels (largely Thervings as well as Greutungs, non-Gothic Ala ...

* Rotrou du Perche (d. 10 December 1201),

Bishop of Chalons A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

(1190-1200) *

William II, Count of Perche William II (died 1226), Count of Perche and Bishop of Châlons, son of Rotrou IV, Count of Perche, and Matilda of Blois-Champagne, daughter of Theobald II, Count of Champagne, and Matilda of Carinthia, daughter of Engelbert, Duke of Carinthia. Will ...

and

* 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