Richilde, Countess of Mons and Hainaut ( 1018 – 15 March 1086), was a ruling countess of Hainaut from c. 1050 until 1076, in co-regency with her husband

Baldwin VI of Flanders Baldwin VI ( 1030 – 17 July 1070), also known as Baldwin the Good, was Count of Hainaut from 1051 to 1070 (as Baldwin I) and Count of Flanders from 1067 to 1070. Baldwin was the eldest son of Baldwin V of Flanders and Adela, a daughter of Ki ...

(until 1070) and then her son

Baldwin II of Hainaut Baldwin is a Germanic name, composed of the elements ''bald'' "bold" and ''win'' "friend". People * Baldwin (name) Places Canada * Baldwin, York Regional Municipality, Ontario * Baldwin, Ontario, in Sudbury District * Baldwin's Mills, ...

. She was also countess of Flanders by marriage to Baldwin VI between from 1067 to 1070. She ruled Flanders as

regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

during the minority of her son Arnulf III in 1070–1071.

Life

Richilde was most likely a daughter of Reinier of Hasnon (died c. 1049) and Adelheid of Egisheim. She was born c. 1018.Karen S. Nicholas, 'Countesses as Rulers in Flanders', ''Aristocratic Women in Medieval France'', Ed. Theodore Evergates (Philadelphia : University of Pennsylvania Press, 1999), p. 115 In 1040, she married

Herman of Mons Herman (died 3 July 1049), Count of Mons and Hainaut, son of Reginar V, Count of Mons, and Mathilde of Verdun, daughter of Herman, Count of Verdun. As the Count of Mons, a title inherited from his father, he allied with Godfrey the Bearded, Duke ...

, who became Count of Hainaut.

Countess of Hainaut

For a long time, Richilde's own rights and position were not well understood. She is counted as ruling countess of Hainaut for different periods in different sources. In a first phase, she followed in the marche of Valenciennes c. 1049 as only heir of her father, Reinier of Hasnon, who was installed in 1047 as

margrave Margrave was originally the medieval title for the military commander assigned to maintain the defence of one of the border provinces of the Holy Roman Empire or of a kingdom. That position became hereditary in certain feudal families in the ...

of Valenciennes to replace

Baldwin V of Flanders Baldwin V ( 1012 – 1 September 1067) was Count of Flanders from 1035 until his death. He secured the personal union between the counties of Flanders and Hainaut and maintained close links to the Anglo-Saxon monarchy, which was overthrown by hi ...

(who rebelled against the

empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...

and lost his

fief A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form ...

s). Richilde's first husband, Herman of Mons, count of Hainaut, died c. 1050/1051, and left her in the position of "heiress of Hainaut". As such, she was countess in her own right in Valenciennes and in her husband's rights in Hainaut. Her position as "heiress of Hainaut" made her an attractive bride, but placed the county in a dangerous position. She was forced, by the threat of invasion, by Baldwin V of Flanders to marry his eldest son Baldwin.Renée Nip, 'The Political Relations Between England and Flanders (1066–1128)', ''Anglo-Norman Studies 21: Proceedings of the Battle Conference 1998'', Ed. Christopher Harper-Bill (Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 1989), p. 147. As Hainaut and Valenciennes were imperial fiefs and

Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor Henry III (28 October 1016 – 5 October 1056), called the Black or the Pious, was Holy Roman Emperor from 1046 until his death in 1056. A member of the Salian dynasty, he was the eldest son of Conrad II and Gisela of Swabia. Henry was raised ...

had not been consulted, the marriage resulted in a war between the emperor and the Baldwins, ending in a total defeat of the latter in 1054.Detlev Schwennicke, ''Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten'', Neue Folge, Band II (Marburg, Germany: Verlag von J. A. Stargardt, 1984), Tafle 5 But still Richilde's husband Baldwin became ruling count of Hainaut ''

jure uxoris ''Jure uxoris'' (a Latin phrase meaning "by right of (his) wife"), citing . describes a title of nobility used by a man because his wife holds the office or title '' suo jure'' ("in her own right"). Similarly, the husband of an heiress could beco ...

'' and the two children she had with Herman were disinherited. Roger, probably lame, became a secular clerk (later bishop of Bishop of Châlons-sur-Marne) and her daughter a nun. Hainaut and Valenciennes being inherited by the count of Flanders. Baldwin VI followed as count of Flanders in 1067, unifying as such Hainaut, Valenciennes and Flanders, and ruled until his death (17 July 1070).

Regency of Flanders

Baldwin VI left Flanders to their eldest son, Arnulf III, and 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 ...

to the younger son, Baldwin II, with the provision that if either son preceded the other in death, he would inherit the other's county as well. Gilbert of Mons, ''Chronicle of Hainaut'', Trans. Laura Napran (Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 2005), p. 5 Baldwin VI also obtained assurances from his brother

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory ...

who gave his oath of homage and promised to protect his nephew. After Baldwin VI's death their son Arnulf III became Count of Flanders, but as he was a minor, Richilde served as

of Flanders. Almost immediately,

broke his oath and disputed Arnulf's right to Flanders. Jim Bradbury, ''The Capetians: The History of a Dynasty (987–1328)'' (London & New York: Hambledon Continuum, 2007), p. 114 Richilde obtained support from King Philip I of France. William FitzOsbern of Normandy (who married her) also assisted her in the conflict, but likely with a very small contingent.Charles Verlinden, ''Robert Ier Le Frisson'' (Universitet de Gent, 1935), p. 62Karen S. Nicholas, 'Countesses as Rulers in Flanders', ''Aristocratic Women in Medieval France'', Ed. Theodore Evergates (Philadelphia : University of Pennsylvania Press, 1999), p. 116 However, her forces were defeated at the Battle of Cassel and William Fitzosbern was killed along with her oldest son, Arnulf. Richilde herself was captured and released, and King Philip later married Robert's stepdaughter Bertha and recognized him as Count of Flanders, abandoning the cause of Richilde and her son.Gilbert of Mons, ''Chronicle of Hainaut'', Trans. Laura Napran (Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 2005), p. 6

Later reign

Richilde and her younger son, Baldwin II, retained Hainaut, and made subsequent unsuccessful attempts to recover Flanders. They enfeoffed Hainaut to the Prince-Bishopric of Liège, and formed a big coalition of nobles which included Duke Godfrey of Bouillon,

Albert I, Count of Namur Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia * Albert Productions, a record label * Albert C ...

, Lambert I, Count of Louvain and Conon, Count of Montaigu. However, the attempt was ultimately unsuccessful.Gilbert of Mons, ''Chronicle of Hainaut'', Trans. Laura Napran (Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 2005), p. 10-11 Richilde built the castle at Beaumont along with a chapel there dedicated to St. Venantius. She, along with her son Baldwin, founded the monastery of Saint-Denis-en-Broqueroie. At the end of her regency she retired to the Abbey of Messines. In 1076, she was evidently deposed by her son. Richilde died on 15 March 1086. George Edward Cokayne, ''The Complete Peerage of England Scotland Ireland Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant Extinct or Dormant'', Vol. VI, Ed. H. A. Doubleday & Howard de Walden (London: The St. Catherine Press, Ltd., 1926), p. 449

Family

Richilde married Herman, Count of Hainaut. They had two children: * Roger (d. 1093) who was apparently lame, became Bishop of Châlons-sur-Marne. Gilbert of Mons, ''Chronicle of Hainaut'', Trans. Laura Napran (Woodbridge, The Boydell Press, 2005), pp. 3 & n. 8 * Daughter, whose name is unknown. Richilde married secondly Baldwin VI, Count of Flanders. They were the parents of: * Arnulf III, Count of Flanders (c. 1055 – 22 February 1071). *

Baldwin II, Count of Hainaut Baldwin II (1056–1098?) was count of Hainaut from 1071 to his death. He was an unsuccessful claimant to the County of Flanders. He disappeared in Anatolia during the First Crusade. Minority Baldwin was the younger son of Count Baldwin VI ...

(c. 1056 – 1098). In 1071 Richilde married thirdly William FitzOsbern, 1st Earl of Hereford (c. 1025 – 1071).

Notes

References

{{S-end 1030s births 1086 deaths 11th-century women rulers Countesses of Flanders Countesses of Hainaut

Hereford Hereford () is a cathedral city, civil parish and the county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, south-west of Worcester, England, Worcester and north-west of Gloucester. ...

Counts of Hainaut