Walter II of Avesnes (b. 1170 – d.1244) was lord of

Avesnes Avesnes () is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France. Geography The commune is a very small village situated some 12 miles (19 km) northeast of Montreuil-sur-Mer, on the D 129 E 1. Population See also *Communes of ...

, Leuze, of Condé and Guise, and through his marriage to

Margaret of Blois Margaret of Blois (French: ''Marguerite''; died 1230) was ''suo jure'' Countess of Blois in France from 1218 to 1230. From 1190 to 1200, she was the countess consort of the County of Burgundy and then regent for her daughters from 1200 until 1208. ...

, he became

count of Blois 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

Chartres Chartres () is the prefecture of the Eure-et-Loir department in the Centre-Val de Loire region in France. It is located about southwest of Paris. At the 2019 census, there were 170,763 inhabitants in the metropolitan area of Chartres (as d ...

. He was the son of

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 ...

, and Adèle, lady of Guise. Walter fought alongside Count

Ferdinand of Flanders Ferdinand (Portuguese: ''Fernando'', French and Dutch: ''Ferrand''; 24 March 1188 – 27 July 1233) reigned as ''jure uxoris'' Count of Flanders and Hainaut from his marriage to Countess Joan, celebrated in Paris in 1212, until his death. He was ...

at the

Battle of Bouvines The Battle of Bouvines was fought on 27 July 1214 near the town of Bouvines in the County of Flanders. It was the concluding battle of the Anglo-French War of 1213–1214. Although estimates on the number of troops vary considerably among mo ...

in 1214, then left to fight in the Holy Land. Taken prisoner, he was ransomed by the Knights Templar and helped construct the Pilgrim Castle, in 1218, donating 1,000 ''

Saracen bezants In the Middle Ages, the term bezant (Old French ''besant'', from Latin ''bizantius aureus'') was used in Western Europe to describe several gold coins of the east, all derived ultimately from the Roman ''solidus''. The word itself comes from th ...

'' towards its construction. With the income from Guise lands, he began work on modernizing his castles. He also built a castle

Englancourt Englancourt () is a commune in the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France in 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. The co ...

to control the road through the

county of Hainaut The County of Hainaut (french: Comté de Hainaut; nl, Graafschap Henegouwen; la, comitatus hanoniensis), sometimes spelled Hainault, was a territorial lordship within the medieval Holy Roman Empire that straddled what is now the border of Belg ...

Family

Walter married

Margaret, Countess of Blois Margaret of Blois (French: ''Marguerite''; died 1230) was ''suo jure'' Countess of Blois in France from 1218 to 1230. From 1190 to 1200, she was the countess consort of the County of Burgundy and then regent for her daughters from 1200 until 1208. ...

and Chartres,(FR)Henri Platelle, ''Présence de l'au-delà: une vision médiévale du monde'', 284. daughter of Theobald V, Count of Blois, count of Blois and Chartres, and

Alix of France Alice of France (french: Alix; July/August 1150 – 1197/1198) was countess consort of Blois by marriage to Theobald V, Count of Blois. She was regent of Blois during the absence of her spouse in 1190-1191, and regent during the minority of Loui ...

. Their children: * Theobald, died young *

Mary, Countess of Blois Mary, Countess of Blois, also known as ''Marie of Avesnes'', (1200–1241) was countess of Blois from 1230 to 1241. She was the daughter of Walter of Avesnes and Margaret of Blois.(FR)Henri Platelle, ''Présence de l'au-delà: une vision médié ...

(† 1241), married

Hugh I, Count of Blois Hugh I, Count of Blois, also known as ''Hugh I of Châtillon'' ( – 9 April 1248)Theodore Evergates, ''The Aristocracy in the County of Champagne, 1100-1300'', (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2007), 223. was jure uxoris Count of Blois from 123 ...

, (1196 † 1248). * Isabelle, married John, lord of Oisy and Montreuil

References

{{reflist Lords of Avesnes Avesnes family Christians of the Fifth Crusade