The
House of Dampierre
played an important role during the
Middle Ages
. Named after
Dampierre
, in the Champagne region, where members first became prominent, members of the family were later
Count of Flanders
,
Count of Nevers
,
Counts and Dukes of Rethel
,
Count of Artois
and
Count of Franche-Comte
.
Guy II of Dampierre
, with his wedding with
Mathilde of Bourbon
, became also lord of Bourbon and founded the
House of Bourbon-Dampierre
.
The senior line of the House came to an end with the death of
Margaret III
in March 1405. She was succeeded in Flanders, Artois, Nevers and Franche-Comte by her eldest son
John the Fearless
and in Rethel by her younger son
Anthony
, which marked the start of the
House of Valois-Burgundy
. The junior line, springing from a younger son of Guy I reigning in Namur, ended in 1429. The earliest known member of the House of Dampierre is
Guy I of Dampierre
, great-grandson of
Guy I of
Montlhery
through his son
Milo I of
Montlhery
.
The members of the House of Dampierre had an antagonistic relation with the
House of Avesnes
.
Origin of the House: feud between Dampierre and Avesnes
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Baldwin
, the first emperor of the
Latin Empire
of
Constantinople
, was as Baldwin IX
Count of Flanders
and as Baldwin VI
Count of Hainaut
. Baldwin had only daughters and was in turn succeeded by his daughters
Joan
(reigned 1205-1244) and
Margaret II
(reigned 1244-1280).
In 1212 Margaret II married
Bouchard d'Avesnes
, a prominent
Hainaut
nobleman. This was apparently a love match, though it was approved by Margaret's sister Joan, who had herself recently married. The two sisters subsequently had a falling-out over Margaret's share of their inheritance, which led Joan to attempt to get Margaret's marriage dissolved. She alleged that the marriage was invalid, and without much inspection of the facts of the case
Pope Innocent III
condemned the marriage, though he did not formally annul it. Bouchard and Margaret continued as a married couple, having 3 children, as their conflict with Joan grew violent and Bouchard was captured and imprisoned in 1219. He was released in 1221 on the condition that the couple separate and that Bouchard get absolution from the pope. While he was in
Rome
, Joan convinced Margaret to remarry, this time to
William II of Dampierre
, a nobleman from
Champagne
. From this marriage Margaret had two sons:
William II, Count of Flanders
and
Guy of Dampierre
. This situation caused something of a scandal, for the marriage was possibly
bigamous
, and violated the church's strictures on
consanguinity
as well. The disputes regarding the validity of the two marriages and the legitimacy of her children by each husband continued for decades, becoming entangled in the politics of the
Holy Roman Empire
and resulting in the long
War of the Succession of Flanders and Hainault
.
In 1246 king
Louis IX of France
, acting as an arbitrator, gave the right to inherit Flanders to the Dampierre children, and the rights to Hainaut to the Avesnes children. This would seem to have settled the matter, but in 1253 problems arose again. The eldest son,
John I of Avesnes
, who was uneasy about his rights, convinced
William of Holland
, the German king recognized by the pro-papal forces, to seize Hainaut and the parts of Flanders which were within the bounds of the empire. William of Holland was theoretically, as king, overlord for these territories, and also John's brother-in-law. A civil war followed, which ended when the Avesnes forces defeated and imprisoned the Dampierres at the
Battle of West-Capelle
of 4 July 1253, after which John I of Avesnes was able to force Guy of Dampierre and his mother to respect the division of Louis and grant him Hainault.
Margaret did not rest in her defeat and did not recognise herself as overcome. She instead granted Hainault to
Charles of Anjou
, the brother of King Louis, who had recently returned from the crusade. Charles took up her cause and warred with John I of Avesnes, but failed to take
Valenciennes
and just missed being killed in a skirmish. When Louis returned in 1254, he reaffirmed his earlier arbitration and ordered his brother to get out of the conflict. Charles returned to
Provence
. With this second arbitration of the holy king, the conflict closed and John I of Avesnes was secure in Hainault.
The following decades saw further strife between the Dampierres and the Avesnes, who by the start of the 14th century had also inherited the
County of Holland
and
Zeeland
.
Counts of Flanders
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- William I
(r. 1247?1251), son of Margaret II and William II of Dampierre, Count of Flanders by
Jure matris
- Guy I
(r. 1251?1280
jure matris
and 1280?1305
suo jure
), son of Margaret II and William II of Dampierre, imprisoned 1253?1256 by John I of Avesnes, Guy was also
Count of Namur
from 1263 on.
- Robert III
("the Lion of Flanders") (r. 1305?1322), son of Guy I, Count of Flanders, by marriage
Jure uxoris
Count of Nevers (1272?1280).
- Louis I
(r. 1322?1346), grandson of Robert III, Count of Flanders, Nevers, and Rethel (inherited from his mother Joan in 1328)
- Louis II
(r. 1346?1384), son of Louis I, Count of Flanders, Nevers, Rethel, Artois and Franche-Comte (inherited from his mother
Margaret
in 1382)
- Margaret III
(r. 1384-1405), daughter of Louis II, Countess of Flanders, Nevers, Rethel, Artois and Franche-Comte
- jointly with her husband,
Philip II
, Duke of Burgundy
Legacy
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The main line of the House of Dampierre, originally only counts of Flanders, had managed to inherit the counties of Nevers (1280) and Rethel (1328) through a clever marriage policy. Through Louis II's mother, a daughter of King
Philip V of France
, the counties of Artois and Burgundy (the "Franche Comte") were added to this. These lands were to provide the core of the dominions of the
House of Valois-Burgundy
, which were, together with the
Duchy of Burgundy
, to provide them with a power base to challenge the rule of their cousins, the Valois kings of France in the 15th century.
Counts of Namur
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In 1263, the
count of Namur
,
Baldwin II of Courtenay
, sold his county to Guy I of Dampierre. Guy in turn gave over the county on his death to his younger son
John I
from his marriage to his second wife
Isabelle of Luxembourg
. The house of Dampierre would rule Namur until 1421, when the county of Namur was sold to the
Burgundian
duke
Philip the Good
. The last Dampierre count, John III, died in 1429.
- Guy I, r. 1263-1305
- John I
, son of Guy I, r. 1305-1330
- John II
, son of John I, r. 1330-1335
- Guy II
, brother of John II, r. 1335-1336
- Philip III
, brother of Guy II, r. 1336-1337
- William I
, brother of Philip III, r. 1337-1391
- William II
, son of William I, r. 1391-1418
- John III
, son of William II, r. 1418-1421
Other members
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See also
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