Hugh III (1142 – 25 August 1192) was

Duke of Burgundy Duke of Burgundy () was a title used by the rulers of the Duchy of Burgundy, from its establishment in 843 to its annexation by the Crown lands of France, French crown in 1477, and later by members of the House of Habsburg, including Holy Roman E ...

between 1162 and 1192. As duke, Burgundy was invaded by King Philip II and Hugh was forced to sue for peace. Hugh then joined the

Third Crusade The Third Crusade (1189–1192) was an attempt led by King Philip II of France, King Richard I of England and Emperor Frederick Barbarossa to reconquer the Holy Land following the capture of Jerusalem by the Ayyubid sultan Saladin in 1187. F ...

, distinguishing himself at Arsuf and

Acre The acre ( ) is a Unit of measurement, unit of land area used in the Imperial units, British imperial and the United States customary units#Area, United States customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one Chain (unit), ch ...

, where he died in 1192.

Life

Hugh was the eldest son of Duke Odo II and Marie, daughter of Theobald II, Count of Champagne. The rule of Hugh III marked the ending of a period of relative peace in the

duchy of Burgundy The Duchy of Burgundy (; ; ) was a medieval and early modern feudal polity in north-western regions of historical Burgundy. It was a duchy, ruled by dukes of Burgundy. The Duchy belonged to the Kingdom of France, and was initially bordering th ...

. Hugh was a belligerent man and soon was involved in conflicts against King

Louis VII of France Louis VII (1120 – 18 September 1180), called the Younger or the Young () to differentiate him from his father Louis VI, was King of France from 1137 to 1180. His first marriage was to Duchess Eleanor of Aquitaine, one of the wealthiest and ...

over their borders. When

Philip Augustus Philip II (21 August 1165 – 14 July 1223), also known as Philip Augustus (), was King of France from 1180 to 1223. His predecessors had been known as kings of the Franks (Latin: ''rex Francorum''), but from 1190 onward, Philip became the firs ...

succeeded Louis in 1180, Hugh seized the opportunity and forced several men to change their allegiance to Burgundy. Philip II was not happy with the loss of his

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 and invaded the

duchy A duchy, also called a dukedom, is a country, territory, fiefdom, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess, a ruler hierarchically second to the king or Queen regnant, queen in Western European tradition. There once existed an important differe ...

, besieging Châtillon in 1186. The town fell and with it, its garrison, commanded by Odo, Hugh's heir. A peace was negotiated and Hugh had to pay a high ransom for his son and give up ambitions over French territory. In 1187, Hugh transferred the capital of Burgundy to

Dijon Dijon (, ; ; in Burgundian language (Oïl), Burgundian: ''Digion'') is a city in and the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Côte-d'Or Departments of France, department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in eas ...

, and endeavoured to turn the city into a major commercial centre.

Joins crusade

Hugh then turned his energies to the Holy Land, embarking in the

in the retinue of Philip II. Hugh played a major role in the victory of the

Battle of Arsuf The Battle of Arsuf took place on 7 September 1191, as part of the Third Crusade. It saw a multi-national force of Crusaders, led by Richard I of England, defeat a significantly larger army of the Ayyubid Sultanate, led by Saladin. Followi ...

(7 September 1191) and at the Siege of Acre. When Philip returned to France in July 1191, he left Hugh in charge of the French troops. In January 1192, Hugh traveled to Ascalon and argued with

Richard I of England Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199), known as Richard the Lionheart or Richard Cœur de Lion () because of his reputation as a great military leader and warrior, was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ru ...

over pay for his troops. He died 25 August 1192 at

Marriage and issue

He was married twice: Firstly, in 1165, to Alice (1145–1200), daughter of Matthias I, Duke of Lorraine; he repudiated her in 1183. With his first wife he had: * Odo III (1166–1218), his successor in the Duchy *Alexander (1170–1206), Lord of Montaigu, married Beatrix of Montaigu *Douce (1175 – 1219), married in 1196 Simon of Semur (d. 1219), Lord of Luzy *Alice (1177–1266), married Béraud VII, Lord of Mercœur and Robert VI, Dauphin d'Auvergne (d. 1252) Secondly, in 1183, to Beatrice (1161–1228), Countess of Albon and Dauphine of Viennois, daughter of Guigues, Count of Albon and Dauphin of Viennois. With his second wife, he had: * Guigues VI (1184–1237), Dauphin of Viennois * Mahaut (1190–1242), married in 1214 John I, Count of Châlon and Auxonne (1190–1267) *

Margaret Margaret is a feminine given name, which means "pearl". It is of Latin origin, via Ancient Greek and ultimately from Iranian languages, Old Iranian. It has been an English language, English name since the 11th century, and remained popular thro ...

(1192–1243), married in 1222 Amadeus IV (1197–1253),

Count of Savoy The titles of the count of Savoy, and then duke of Savoy, are titles of nobility attached to the historical territory of Savoy. Since its creation, in the 11th century, the House of Savoy held the county. Several of these rulers ruled as kings at ...

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