Hervé IV of Donzy (1173– 22 January 1222) was a French nobleman and participant in the
Fifth Crusade
The Fifth Crusade (September 1217 - August 29, 1221) was a campaign in a series of Crusades by Western Europeans to reacquire Jerusalem and the rest of the Holy Land by first conquering Egypt, ruled by the powerful Ayyubid sultanate, led by al- ...
Peter II of Courtenay
Peter II of Courtenay (; died 1219), was emperor of the Latin Empire of Constantinople from 1216 to 1217.
Biography
Peter II was a son of Peter I of Courtenay (died 1183), a younger son of Louis VI of France and his second wife, Adelaide of Mau ...
, he became
Count of Nevers
The counts of Nevers were the rulers of the County of Nevers, in France, The territory became a duchy in the peerage of France in 1539 under the dukes of Nevers.
History
The history of the County of Nevers is closely connected to the Duchy of Bu ...
.
In a dispute over the
château de Gien
The Château de Gien is a historic manor in Gien, Loiret, Indre-et-Loire, Centre-Val de Loire, France.
History
It was built in the 15th century for Anne of France. Guests included King Francis I of France, King Henry II of France, Queen consort ...
with Peter of Courtenay, Hervé came to a settlement in 1199, having defeated and captured his overlord Peter at
Cosne-sur-Loire
Cosne-Cours-sur-Loire () is a commune and a subprefecture of the Nièvre department in central France. It was created in 1973 by the merger of two former communes: Cosne-sur-Loire and Cours.Philip II, Marquis of Namur
Philip II (1195–1226), called ''à la lèvre'', was the Marquis of Namur from 1216 to his death. He was the eldest son of Peter II of Courtenay and Yolanda of Flanders. On the death of his maternal uncle Philip the Noble in 1212, his mother Yol ...
and
Robert de Courtenay
Robert I (died 1228), also known as Robert of Courtenay, was Latin Emperor of Constantinople from 1221 until his death in 1228. He was a younger son of the emperor Peter II of Courtenay, and Yolanda of Flanders.
When it became known in France tha ...
contesting Auxerre. He acquired Liernais also, in 1210.
Hervé and his countess were active in developing the
Nivernais
Nivernais (, ) was a province of France, around the city of Nevers, which forms the modern department of Nièvre. It roughly coincides with the former Duchy of Nevers.Donzy adjoining the Nivernais and
Burgundy
Burgundy ( ; ; Burgundian: ''Bregogne'') is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. ...
. In 1209 they founded a
Carthusian
The Carthusians, also known as the Order of Carthusians (), are a Latin enclosed religious order of the Catholic Church. The order was founded by Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns. The order has its own rule, called th ...
abbey at . He reconstructed the château Musard, Billy-sur-Oisy, around 1212–5. The priory at Beaulieu was founded in 1214.There are several places in France called Beaulieu, and it is uncertain which this one was. The
County of Nevers
The County of Nevers () was a county in central France. Its principal town was Nevers. It roughly corresponds to the later Provinces of France, province of Nivernais and the modern of Departments of France, department of Nièvre.Nièvre
Nièvre () is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region, central-east France. Named after the river Nièvre, it had a population of 204,452 in 2019.Beaulieu, Nièvre. Alternatively, Beaulieu may have been the name of the priory itself; for example, French Wikipedia lists several Abbayes de Beaulieu, most of which are not associated with a settlement of that name.
In 1204–05 Hervé supported the French against the English in fighting in
Normandy
Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy.
Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...
,
Poitou
Poitou ( , , ; ; Poitevin: ''Poetou'') was a province of west-central France whose capital city was Poitiers. Both Poitou and Poitiers are named after the Pictones Gallic tribe.
Geography
The main historical cities are Poitiers (historical ...
and
Touraine
Touraine (; ) is one of the traditional provinces of France. Its capital was Tours. During the political reorganization of French territory in 1790, Touraine was divided between the departments of Indre-et-Loire, :Loir-et-Cher, Indre and Vien ...
, and in 1209 would take part in the
Albigensian Crusade
The Albigensian Crusade (), also known as the Cathar Crusade (1209–1229), was a military and ideological campaign initiated by Pope Innocent III to eliminate Catharism in Languedoc, what is now southern France. The Crusade was prosecuted pri ...
. In 1214 he took part in the
Battle of Bouvines
The Battle of Bouvines took place on 27 July 1214 near the town of Bouvines in the County of Flanders. It was the concluding battle of the Anglo-French War (1213–14), Anglo-French War of 1213–1214. Although estimates on the number of troo ...
, on the side of
King John of England
John (24 December 1166 – 19 October 1216) was King of England from 1199 until his death in 1216. He lost the Duchy of Normandy and most of his other French lands to King Philip II of France, resulting in the collapse of the Angevin Empi ...
, later with John's intervention Hervé would obtain King Philip's pardon. In 1217 he would be involved in the French invasion of England.
His death, at Saint-Aignan, has been attributed to poisoning.
Family
The daughter of Hervé and Mahaut,
*
Agnès de Donzy
Agnes is a feminine given name derived from the Greek , meaning 'pure' or 'holy'. The name passed to Italian as , to French as , to Portuguese as , and to Spanish as . It is also written as "Agness". Inez is an English variant. The Greek name ...
(1205–1225), married in 1217 Philippe de France, eldest son of the future
Louis VIII of France
Louis VIII (5 September 1187 8 November 1226), nicknamed The Lion (), was King of France from 1223 to 1226. As a prince, he invaded Kingdom of England, England on 21 May 1216 and was Excommunication in the Catholic Church, excommunicated by a ...
. Philippe died the following year. Agnès then married Count Guy II of Saint-Pol (died 1226). They had three children, including Yolande I.
Following Hervé's death in 1222, Mahaut married
Guigues IV of Forez
Guigues IV or Guy IV (died 10 August. or 29 October. 1241) was the count of Forez, Auxerre and Tonnerre from 1203 and the count of Nevers from 1226. He was still a child when his father, Guigues III, died on the Fourth Crusade and he inherited F ...