William of Saint Omer was a French knight, descended from a

Fauquembergues Fauquembergues (; vls, Valkenberg; pcd, Fauquimbergue) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. First mentioned in 961 as "in monten qui dicitur Falcoberg", the place later in 1124 was called ''Fal ...

family who were castellans of the eponymous castle of

Saint-Omer Saint-Omer (; vls, Sint-Omaars) is a commune and sub-prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department in France. It is west-northwest of Lille on the railway to Calais, and is located in the Artois province. The town is named after Saint Audomar, ...

.Lognon (1969), p. 244 His father,

Nicholas I of Saint Omer Nicholas I of Saint Omer was a Medieval France, French knight who in the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade became a lord in the Frankish Greece, Frankish Duchy of Athens. Nicholas was a younger son of William IV of Saint Omer, castellan of Saint-Omer ...

, received lands in

Boeotia Boeotia ( ), sometimes Latinized as Boiotia or Beotia ( el, Βοιωτία; modern: ; ancient: ), formerly known as Cadmeis, is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Central Greece. Its capital is Livadeia, and its lar ...

in the aftermath of the

Fourth Crusade The Fourth Crusade (1202–1204) was a Latin Christian armed expedition called by Pope Innocent III. The stated intent of the expedition was to recapture the Muslim-controlled city of Jerusalem, by first defeating the powerful Egyptian Ayyubid S ...

.Perra (2011)
Οικογένεια Σεντ Ομέρ
/ref> He later married

Margaret of Hungary Margaret of Hungary (''Margit'' in Hungarian; born 1175, living 1223) was a Byzantine Empress by marriage to Isaac II Angelos and Queen of Thessalonica by marriage to Boniface of Montferrat. She was regent of Thessalonica during the minority of he ...

, the widow of

Boniface of Montferrat Boniface I, usually known as Boniface of Montferrat ( it, Bonifacio del Monferrato, link=no; el, Βονιφάτιος Μομφερρατικός, ''Vonifatios Momferratikos'') (c. 1150 – 4 September 1207), was the ninth Marquis of Montferrat ( ...

, Lord of Thessalonica (died 1207).Bon (1969), p. 707 It is unclear when the marriage took place: traditional accounts mention that Nicholas died already in 1212 or 1214, but F. Van Tricht dates the marriage to after 1217.Van Tricht (2011), pp. 381–382 note 112 William was the younger son of the couple, he had an elder brother

Bela of Saint Omer Bela of Saint Omer was a French knight, descended from a Fauquembergues family who were castellans of the eponymous castle of Saint-Omer.Lognon (1969), p. 244 His father, Nicholas I of Saint Omer, received lands in Boeotia in the aftermath of ...

. While Bela received one half of Thebes as

dowry A dowry is a payment, such as property or money, paid by the bride's family to the groom or his family at the time of marriage. Dowry contrasts with the related concepts of bride price and dower. While bride price or bride service is a payment b ...

from his marriage, William and his mother moved to the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephen ...

, where

Béla IV Béla may refer to: * Béla (crater), an elongated lunar crater * Béla (given name), a common Hungarian male given name See also * Bela (disambiguation) * Belá (disambiguation) * Bělá (disambiguation) Bělá, derived from ''bílá'' (''whit ...

was the King, also a grandson of

Béla III Béla may refer to: * Béla (crater), an elongated lunar crater * Béla (given name), a common Hungarian male given name See also * Bela (disambiguation) * Belá (disambiguation) * Bělá (disambiguation) Bělá, derived from ''bílá'' (''whit ...

, like William. Following his mother's death sometime after 1223, William inherited her estates in

Syrmia Syrmia ( sh, Srem/Срем or sh, Srijem/Сријем, label=none) is a region of the southern Pannonian Plain, which lies between the Danube and Sava rivers. It is divided between Serbia and Croatia. Most of the region is flat, with the exce ...

and Macsó. He participated in the

Battle of Mohi The Battle of Mohi (11 April 1241), also known as Battle of the Sajó River''A Global Chronology of Conflict: From the Ancient World to the Modern Middle East'', Vol. I, ed. Spencer C. Tucker, (ABC-CLIO, 2010), 279; "Although Mongol losses in t ...

, following this he belonged to the companion of Béla IV who had fled to

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see #Name, names in other languages) is one of the four historical region, historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of ...

, escaping before the

Mongols The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal membe ...

. William was ''

ispán The ispánRady 2000, p. 19.''Stephen Werbőczy: The Customary Law of the Renowned Kingdom of Hungary in Three Parts (1517)'', p. 450. or countEngel 2001, p. 40.Curta 2006, p. 355. ( hu, ispán, la, comes or comes parochialis, and sk, župan)Kirs ...

'' of

Kraszna County Kraszna county ( Hungarian: ''Kraszna vármegye'') was a historic administrative county (comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary along the river Kraszna, its territory is now in north-western Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country ...

in 1241. From 1241 until his death, he served as

Master of the Horse Master of the Horse is an official position in several European nations. It was more common when most countries in Europe were monarchies, and is of varying prominence today. (Ancient Rome) The original Master of the Horse ( la, Magister Equitu ...

.Zsoldos (2011), p. 357 Béla IV betrothed William to his second eldest daughter Margaret (not to be confused with

Saint Margaret of Hungary Margaret of Hungary (January 27, 1242 – January 18, 1270) was a Dominican nun and the daughter of King Béla IV of Hungary and Maria Laskarina. She was the younger sister of Kinga of Poland (Kunegunda) and Yolanda of Poland and, through her fa ...

), however both persons died by 1242. According to his epitaph at the

Cathedral of Saint Domnius The Cathedral of Saint Domnius ( hr, Katedrala Svetog Duje), known locally as the ''Sveti Dujam'' or colloquially ''Sveti Duje'', is the Catholic cathedral in Split, Croatia. The cathedral is the seat of the Archdiocese of Split-Makarska, headed ...

, William died in April 1242 in

Trogir Trogir (; historically known as Traù (from Dalmatian, Venetian and Italian: ); la, Tragurium; Ancient Greek: Τραγύριον, ''Tragyrion'' or Τραγούριον, ''Tragourion'') is a historic town and harbour on the Adriatic coast in S ...

, where the royal family resided until the Mongol occupation.

References

Sources

* * * * * {{s-end 1242 deaths Year of birth unknown French expatriates in Hungary Saint Omer family 13th-century Hungarian people Masters of the horse (Kingdom of Hungary)