Godfrey I (, 1060 – 25 January 1139), called the Bearded, the Courageous, or the Great, was the
Landgrave of Brabant
The Landgraviate of Brabant (Modern , Modern ) was a small imperial fiefdom west of Brussels, consisting of the area between the Dender and Zenne rivers in the Low Countries, then part of the Holy Roman Empire.
Before 1085 the land had belonge ...
, Count of
Brussels
Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...
and
Leuven
Leuven (, , ), also called Louvain (, , ), is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipalit ...
(Louvain) from 1095 to his death and
Duke of Lower Lorraine
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 k ...
from 1106 to 1129. He was also
Margrave of Antwerp from 1106 to his death.
Biography
Godfrey was the son of
Henry II (c. 1020–1078) and Adela of Orthen (or Betuwe), a daughter of Count
Everard of Orthen. He succeeded his brother
Henry III who died wounded in a
tournament
A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses:
# One or more competitions held at a single venue and concen ...
in 1095, and only had young daughters. His widow
Gertrude married
Theodoric II, Duke of (upper) Lorraine.
He first came into conflict in 1096 with
Otbert, Bishop of Liège, over the county of
Brunengeruz that both claimed. In 1099,
Emperor Henry IV allotted the county to the bishop, who entrusted it to
Albert III, Count of Namur. Godfrey arbitrated a dispute between
Henry III of Luxembourg and
Arnold I, Count of Loon, over the appointment of the abbot of
Sint-Truiden.
Godfrey was in favour with the emperor and defended his interests in Lorraine. In 1102, he stopped
Robert II of Flanders "the Crusader", who was invading the
Cambraisis. After the death of the emperor in 1106, his son and successor,
Henry V, who had been in rebellion, decided to avenge himself on his father's partisans.
Duke Henry of Lower Lorraine was imprisoned and his duchy confiscated and given to Godfrey. After Henry escaped from prison, he tried to retake his duchy and captured
Aachen
Aachen is the List of cities in North Rhine-Westphalia by population, 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, 27th-largest city of Germany, with around 261,000 inhabitants.
Aachen is locat ...
, but ultimately failed.
In 1114, during a rift between the emperor and
Pope Paschal II, Godfrey led a revolt in Germany. In 1118, the emperor and the duke were reconciled. In 1119,
Baldwin VII of Flanders died heirless and Flanders was contested between several claimants, one of whom,
William of Ypres, had married a niece of Godfrey's second wife. Godfrey supported William, but could not enforce his claim against that of
Charles the Good. Also dead in that year was Otbert. Two separate men were elected to replace him and Godfrey again sided with the loser.
By marrying his daughter
Adeliza to
Henry I of England
Henry I ( – 1 December 1135), also known as Henry Beauclerc, was King of England from 1100 to his death in 1135. He was the fourth son of William the Conqueror and was educated in Latin and the liberal arts. On William's death in 1087, Henr ...
, who was also the father-in-law of the emperor, he greatly increased his prestige. However, Henry V died in 1125 and Godfrey supported
Conrad of Hohenstaufen, the
duke of Franconia, against
Lothair of Supplinburg. Lothair was elected. Lothair withdrew the
duchy of Lower Lorraine and granted it to
Waleran of
Limburg (c. 1085 – 1139), the son of Henry, whom Henry V had deprived in 1106. Nonetheless, Godfrey maintained the margraviate of Antwerp and retained the ducal title (which would in 1183 become
Duke of Brabant).
After the assassination of Charles the Good in 1127, the Flemish succession was again in dispute.
William Clito prevailed, but was soon fraught with revolts. Godfrey intervened on behalf of
Theodoric of Alsace, who prevailed against Clito. Godfrey continued to war against
Liège
Liège ( ; ; ; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east o ...
and
Namur
Namur (; ; ) is a city and municipality in Wallonia, Belgium. It is the capital both of the province of Namur and of Wallonia, hosting the Parliament of Wallonia, the Government of Wallonia and its administration.
Namur stands at the confl ...
.
Godfrey spent his last years in the abbey of
Affligem. He died of old age on 25 January 1139 and was buried in the left aisle of the abbey church. He is sometimes said to have passed in 1140, but this is an error.
Family and children
Godfrey married Ida of Chiny (1078–1117), daughter of
Otto II, Count of Chiny, (c. 1065 – after 1131) and
Adelaide of Namur. They had several children:
*
Adeliza of Louvain (b. 1103 – d. abbey of Affligem, 23 April 1151) married
Henry I, King of England and later
William d'Aubigny, 1st Earl of Arundel (1109 – before 1151).
*
Godfrey II of Louvain (b. 1107 – d. 13 June 1142),
Duke of Lower Lotharingia (Lower Lorraine),
Landgrave of Brabant
The Landgraviate of Brabant (Modern , Modern ) was a small imperial fiefdom west of Brussels, consisting of the area between the Dender and Zenne rivers in the Low Countries, then part of the Holy Roman Empire.
Before 1085 the land had belonge ...
,
Count of Brussels and
Louvain
Leuven (, , ), also called Louvain (, , ), is the capital and largest city of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipality itself comprises the sub-municipalities of ...
. He married
Lutgardis of Sulzbach (d.a. 1163), daughter of
Berenger I of Sulzbach.
* Clarissa (d. 1140).
* Henry (d. in the abbey of
Affligem, 1141), monk.
* Ida (d. 1162) married to
Arnold I, Count of Cleves
The Duchy of Cleves (; ) was a Imperial State, state of the Holy Roman Empire which emerged from the medieval . It was situated in the northern Rhineland on both sides of the Lower Rhine, around its capital Cleves and the towns of Wesel, Kalkar, ...
(d. 1147).
Later, he married
Clementia of Burgundy (c. 1078 – c. 1133), daughter of
William I, Count of Burgundy, and widow of
Robert II, Count of Flanders. They had no children.
By an unknown mistress he had one son:
[Early Yorkshire Charters Percy by C T Clay ed Publication date 1963 https://archive.org/details/YASES9/page/6/mode/2up ]
*
Joscelin of Louvain, married Agnes De Percy and had issue.
See also
*
Dukes of Brabant family treeChronique des Ducs de Brabant, Adrian van Baerland, Antwerp (1612)
References
Sources
*''Collins's Peerage of England'', ed.
S.E. Brydges IX vols, London 1812.
*Académie royale de Belgique, ''Biographie Nationale'', v. 7, Brussels, 1883.
*
{{Authority control
Dukes of Lower Lorraine
Counts of Louvain
Margraves of Antwerp
1060s births
1139 deaths
Year of birth uncertain
House of Reginar
12th-century dukes in Europe
12th-century counts in Europe