Hugh II ( French, ''Hugues'') (died 1130) was the count of St. Pol in

Artois Artois ( , ; ; Picard: ''Artoé;'' English adjective: ''Artesian'') is a region of northern France. Its territory covers an area of about 4,000 km2 and it has a population of about one million. Its principal cities include Arras (Dutch: ...

, after having succeeded his brother Guy I who died without issue. He was the son of Hugh I, Count of Saint-Pol. He 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 ...

(1096–99) with his son Enguerrand, where they both won fame as military leaders. Being

vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain ...

s of

Eustace III of Boulogne Eustace III (c. 1050 – c. 1125) was the count of Boulogne from 1087 succeeding his father, Eustace II. He joined the First Crusade, being present at Nicaea, Dorylaeum, Antioch, and Jerusalem. After fighting in the battle of Ascalon, he returned ...

, they probably travelled east in his company, among the retinue of

Godfrey of Bouillon Godfrey of Bouillon (; ; ; ; 1060 – 18 July 1100) was a preeminent leader of the First Crusade, and the first ruler of the Kingdom of Jerusalem from 1099 to 1100. Although initially reluctant to take the title of king, he agreed to rule as pri ...

. Hugh and Enguerrand participated in 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 ...

in 1098, where they were central in raiding the Turkish forces. Hugues is last mentioned in the east during the Siege of Jerusalem in 1099. Upon returning, he took up arms for the

Count of Hainaut The Count of Hainaut (; ; ) was the ruler of the county of Hainaut, a historical region in the Low Countries (including the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of northern France and western Germany). In English-la ...

against Robert II, Count of Flanders, and then his successor, Baldwin VII. In 1115, he lost the castle of Encre (now in Albert) to Baldwin, and in 1117 lost Saint-Pol itself; however, St. Pol was returned to him shortly after at the request of 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 ...

. After Baldwin's death, he entered the coalition formed by Robert's widow Clementia of Burgundy, with the aim of unseating Charles the Good from the county Flanders and giving it to William of Ypres. Charles triumphed over this coalition and, upon entering the county of Saint-Pol, razed all the fortresses and forced the count to offer peace in exchange for restoring the sovereignty of Flanders in the region. Hugh's first wife was Elissende of Ponthieu, daughter of Enguerrand II, Count of Ponthieu and Adelaide of Normandy. Hugh's children from his first marriage were: * Enguerrand, died of disease after the capture of Ma'arrat al-Numan around Christmas 1098. * Hugues III, succeeded his father as Count. * Béatrix of Saint-Pol, heiress of Amiens, married Robert, son of Thomas of Coucy. Hugh then married Marguerite of Clermont, daughter of Renaud II, Count of Clermont. They had two sons, Raoul and Guy.

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* * * * {{S-end Christians of the First Crusade 1130 deaths 11th-century births