Eustace III (c. 1050 – c. 1125) was the

count of Boulogne Count of Boulogne was a historical title in the Kingdom of France. The city of Boulogne-sur-Mer became the centre of the County of Boulogne during the ninth century. Little is known of the early counts, but the first holder of the title is rec ...

from 1087 succeeding his father, Eustace II. He joined the First Crusade, being present at

Nicaea Nicaea (also spelled Nicæa or Nicea, ; ), also known as Nikaia (, Attic: , Koine: ), was an ancient Greek city in the north-western Anatolian region of Bithynia. It was the site of the First and Second Councils of Nicaea (the first and seve ...

, Dorylaeum,

Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; , ) "Antioch on Daphne"; or "Antioch the Great"; ; ; ; ; ; ; . was a Hellenistic Greek city founded by Seleucus I Nicator in 300 BC. One of the most important Greek cities of the Hellenistic period, it served as ...

, and

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

. After fighting in the battle of Ascalon, he returned home. Initially offered the Kingdom of Jerusalem, Eustace was at Apulia when he received news of Baldwin of Bourcq's election to the throne. On his return to Boulogne, he founded a

Cluniac Cluny Abbey (; , formerly also ''Cluni'' or ''Clugny''; ) is a former Order of Saint Benedict, Benedictine monastery in Cluny, Saône-et-Loire, France. It was dedicated to Saint Peter, Saints Peter and Saint Paul, Paul. The abbey was constructed ...

monastery in Rumilly, retired as a monk, and died in 1125.

Early life and family

Eustace was the son of Count Eustace II and Ida of Lorraine. In 1088, he rebelled against

William II of England William II (; – 2 August 1100) was List of English monarchs, King of England from 26 September 1087 until his death in 1100, with powers over Duchy of Normandy, Normandy and influence in Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland. He was less successfu ...

in favour of

Robert Curthose Robert Curthose ( – February 1134, ), the eldest son of William the Conqueror, was Duke of Normandy as Robert II from 1087 to 1106. Robert was also an unsuccessful pretender to the throne of the Kingdom of England. The epithet "Curthose" ...

. Whilst waiting for Robert Curthose's arrival from Normandy, Eustace and his fellow compatriots were besieged at Rochester castle by William II. With provisions running out and the situation becoming dire within the castle, the rebels asked for terms. William II pardoned most of the rebels allowing those such as Eustace to return to Normandy. In 1091, Eustace was with Robert Curthose when the latter agreed to terms with William II, recognising him as king of England. Eustace married Mary, daughter of King

Malcolm III of Scotland Malcolm III (; ; –13 November 1093) was List of Scottish monarchs, King of Alba from 1058 to 1093. He was later nicknamed "Canmore" (, , understood as "great chief"). Malcolm's long reign of 35 years preceded the beginning of the Scoto-Norma ...

and

Saint Margaret of Scotland Saint Margaret of Scotland (; , ), also known as Margaret of Wessex, was Queen of Alba from 1070 to 1093 as the wife of King Malcolm III. Margaret was sometimes called "The Pearl of Scotland". She was a member of the House of Wessex and was b ...

. Eustace and Mary had a daughter, Matilda.

Crusade

Eustace participated in the

First Crusade The First Crusade (1096–1099) was the first of a series of religious wars, or Crusades, initiated, supported and at times directed by the Latin Church in the Middle Ages. The objective was the recovery of the Holy Land from Muslim conquest ...

of 1096 along with his brothers Godfrey (

duke of Lower Lotharingia The kings and dukes of Lorraine have held different posts under different governments over different regions, since its creation as the kingdom of Lotharingia by the Treaty of Prüm, in 855. The first rulers of the newly established region were ...

) and Baldwin. It is unclear whether he travelled eastwards with his brother Godfrey's or

's army, although throughout the journey to Jerusalem, Eustace assisted Godfrey. Eustace was present at the Siege of Nicaea (May–June 1097), and helped to rescue

Bohemund of Taranto Bohemond I of Antioch ( 1054 – 5 or 7 March 1111), also known as Bohemond of Taranto or Bohemond of Hauteville, was the prince of Taranto from 1089 to 1111 and the prince of Antioch from 1098 to 1111. He was a leader of the First Crusade, lead ...

's beleaguered troops at the Battle of Dorylaeum (1 July 1097), defeated an enemy ambush during the

Siege of Antioch The siege of Antioch took place during the First Crusade in 1097 and 1098, on the crusaders' way to Jerusalem through Syria (region), Syria. Two sieges took place in succession. The first siege, by the crusaders against the city held by the Sel ...

, and was one of the commanders during the capture of Antioch on 3 June 1098. Eustace, as a member of the council held at Ruj on 4 January 1099, mediated the conflict over the control of Antioch between Bohemund of Taranto and

Raymond IV of Toulouse Raymond of Saint-Gilles ( 1041 – 28 February 1105), also called Raymond IV of Toulouse or Raymond I of Tripoli, was the count of Toulouse, duke of Narbonne, and margrave of Provence from 1094, and one of the leaders of the First Crusade from ...

. In early December 1098, Eustace joined Raymond's attack on

Maarrat al-Nu'man Maarat al-Numan (), also known as al-Ma'arra, is a city in northwestern Syria, south of Idlib and north of Hama, with a population of about 58,008 before the Civil War (2004 census). In 2017, it was estimated to have a population of 80,000, inc ...

and an attack on

Nablus Nablus ( ; , ) is a State of Palestine, Palestinian city in the West Bank, located approximately north of Jerusalem, with a population of 156,906. Located between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, it is the capital of the Nablus Governorate and a ...

in July 1099. He gained notoriety for his actions during the Siege of Jerusalem fighting relentlessly from a siege tower along with his brother Godfrey and the crusaders they commanded. They were among the first to breach Jerusalem's city walls and participated in the ensuing massacre. Eustace commanded a division of the crusader army during the

Battle of Ascalon The Battle of Ascalon took place on 12 August 1099 shortly after the capture of Jerusalem, and is often considered the last action of the First Crusade. The crusader army led by Godfrey of Bouillon defeated and drove off a Fatimid army. The ...

, and was a patron of the

Knights Templar The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, mainly known as the Knights Templar, was a Military order (religious society), military order of the Catholic Church, Catholic faith, and one of the most important military ord ...

Return home

While his brothers stayed in the Holy Land, Eustace returned to administer his domains. The mint at Boulogne struck silver coins to commemorate Eustace's crusading adventures. The coins displayed a lion above the walls of Jerusalem stamped on the obverse. When his youngest brother

Baldwin I of Jerusalem Baldwin I (1060s – 2 April 1118) was the first count of Edessa from 1098 to 1100 and king of Jerusalem from 1100 to his death in 1118. He was the youngest son of Eustace II, Count of Boulogne, and Ida of Lorraine and married a Norman noblew ...

died in 1118, the elderly Eustace was offered the throne. Eustace was at first uninterested, but was convinced to accept it. He travelled all the way to

Apulia Apulia ( ), also known by its Italian language, Italian name Puglia (), is a Regions of Italy, region of Italy, located in the Southern Italy, southern peninsular section of the country, bordering the Adriatic Sea to the east, the Strait of Ot ...

before learning that a distant relative, Baldwin of Bourcq, had been crowned in the meantime. Eustace returned to Boulogne, founded the

house of Rumilly, and retired there as a Cluniac monk. He died about 1125. On his death the county of Boulogne was inherited by his daughter, Matilda.

References

Sources

* * * * * * * * * {{s-end Counts of Boulogne House of Boulogne Christians of the First Crusade 11th-century births 1120s deaths Place of birth missing Place of death missing