Godfrey I
(
Dutch
:
Godfried
,
c.
1060 ? 25 January 1139), called
the Bearded
,
the Courageous
, or
the Great
, was the
Landgrave of Brabant
, Count of
Brussels
and
Leuven
(Louvain) from 1095 to his death and
Duke of Lower Lorraine
from 1106 to 1129. He was also
Margrave of Antwerp
from 1106 to his death.
Biography
[
edit
]
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
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 Liege
, 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
, 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
, 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
Liege
and
Namur
.
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
[
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]
He 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
,
Count of Brussels
and
Louvain
. 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
(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:
See also
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References
[
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]
Notes
[
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]
Sources
[
edit
]
- Collins's Peerage of England
, ed.
S.E. Brydges
IX vols, London 1812.
- Academie royale de Belgique,
Biographie Nationale
, v. 7, Brussels, 1883.
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