Low Countries

From 1096 up until the Burgundian era, the Low Countries were a constant provider of crusaders. At the beginning of the period the southern Low Countries were divided between the kingdom of France and the Holy Roman Empire. To France belonged the greater part of the county of Flanders and smaller counties in Artois (Boulogne, Saint-Pol, and Guines). To the empire belonged the duchy of Lower Lotharingia, the ecclesiastical principality of Liege, the duchy of Limburg, the counties of Hainaut, Namur, Luxembourg, and Loon, and part of the county of Flanders. The northern Low Countries, which were part of the empire, consisted of the county of Holland, the ecclesiastical principality of Utrecht, and various smaller territories.

The Southern Low Countries

During the First Crusade (1096-1099), important contingents were led by Godfrey of Bouillon, duke of Lower Lotharingia, and Robert II, count of Flanders. These armies included crusaders from neighboring territories such as Hainaut, Boulogne, Artois, Liege, and Namur. Among their ranks were Baldwin II of Mons, count of Hainaut, Hugh II, count of Saint-Pol, and Baldwin I, count of Guines, together with his four sons

The Low Countries provided the first two sovereigns of the kingdom of Jerusalem: Godfrey of Bouillon, defender of the Holy Sepulchre (1099-1100), and his brother Baldwin I (of Boulogne), king of Jerusalem (1100-1118). Their elder brother, Count Eustace III of Boulogne, had been designated as Baldwin’s successor. However, in 1118 the crown went to Baldwin II (of Bourcq), count of Edessa, who had dynastic links with the Bouillon-Boulogne family, though he was originally from northern France. Yet in 1124 opponents of Baldwin II tried unsuccessfully to replace him with Charles the Good, count of Flanders and cousin of Robert II.

New crusades to the East were preached in 1106-1107, 1120, 1128, and 1139, but a regular and consistent response to these appeals was to be found only in Flanders and in central France. The First Crusade must clearly have set a standard for a crusading tradition in these areas, and Flemings always seem to have been present: in 1107 with the campaign of Bohemund I of Antioch; and in the crusades of 1122-1124 and 1129 with Lotharingians.

During the Second Crusade (1147-1149), one of the largest contingents was that of Thierry of Alsace, count of Flanders. Count Thierry went to the Holy Land on a total of four occasions and was married to Sibyl, daughter of King Fulk of Jerusalem. Hainaut was represented by some prominent individuals, such as Simon, bishop of Tournai-Noyon; Herman, abbot of St. Martin of Tournai; and Goswin, advocate of Tournai. Flemings and Lotharingians took part in the conquest of Lisbon in 1147 and also, with Frisians and crusaders from Holland, in the expeditions against the pagan Slavs beyond the river Elbe.

Thierry’s son Philip of Alsace went three times to the Holy Land, once as a participant in the Third Crusade (1189-1192). He died at Acre (mod. ‘Akko, Israel) in 1191. He might have taken a place among the ruling elite of the Holy Land if he had not refused the regency of the kingdom of Jerusalem when it was offered to him by King Baldwin IV. There was a considerable number of crusaders from Flan-

Chapel of the counts of Flanders, Ghent. The cruciform window may commemorate the crusade participation of Count Robert II of Flanders. (Courtesy Alfred Andrea)

Ders and Hainaut in the Third Crusade, including the notorious James of Avesnes, lord of Mons and Valenciennes, and numerous other lords. The Flemish-Hainaut contribution to the Third Crusade was threefold: a first group took part in an expedition against the infidels in Portugal and reached the Holy Land by sea; a group with the greatest number of Flemish and Hainaut nobility reached Outremer by land; and a third group, led by Count Philip, brought war engines and considerable financial resources. Even after the count’s death, a large Flemish and Hainaut contingent followed King Richard I of England during the campaigns of 1191-1192.

Even the unfortunate Baldwin IX, count of Flanders and Hainaut, had clear intentions to march against Egypt. He ended up, however, as ruler of the Latin Empire of Constantinople, which had been created in 1204 as a consequence of the Fourth Crusade (1202-1204). His brother

Henry I succeeded him (1206-1216) and became the only strong ruler among the Latin emperors. Subsequent emperors or regents were dynastically linked to Flanders or Hainaut. Peter of Courtenay was Henry’s brother-in-law and successor (1216-1217); Henry’s sister Yolande became regent of the empire (1217-1219) and was succeeded by Conon of Bethune. Then Robert of Courtenay, Yolande’s son, became emperor, followed by his sister Mary as regent and Baldwin II as emperor (1228-1229). Every ruler of Frankish Constantinople from 1204 to 1229 had clear connections with the Low Countries.

Enthusiasm for crusades diminished thereafter in the Low Countries, with the exception of the crusades of King Louis IX of France to the East (1248-1254) and to Tunis (1270), which saw numbers of participants similar to those of the earliest crusades. The earlier prominence of crusaders from the Low Countries, in terms of both numbers and quality, seems to have been attained once again. William of Dampierre, titular count of Flanders and son of Margaret of Constantinople; his brother Guy of Dampierre, count of Flanders (1278-1305); and Guy’s son William all took part, together with a large Flemish delegation. Knights from Flanders, Hainaut, Brabant, and Holland also took part in the numerous campaigns of the Teutonic Order against pagan Lithuania in the fourteenth century.

Crusaders from the Low Countries not only participated in most or all of the major campaigns but were also prepared to settle in the newly conquered territories. Following the First Crusade, crusaders from the Low Countries became lords of Tiberias (Hugh of Fauquembergues), Hebron (Gerard of Avesnes and Hugh of Rebecques), Ramla (the Fleming Baldwin), Jaffa (Lithard of Cambrai, later Albert of Namur), Nablus (Warner of Grez), Beirut (Fulk of Guines), and Sidon and Caesarea (Eustace Granarius). Among the prominent clerics in the crusader states were Arnulf and Evremar of Choques and William of Mesen, patriarchs of Jerusalem; Baldwin of Jehosaphat, first archbishop of Caesarea; Achard of Arrouaise, prior of the Templum Domini; and Baldwin of Boulogne, bishop of Beirut.

After the foundation of the Latin Empire of Constantinople, a significant part of the nobility of Frankish Romania had its roots in the Low Countries, especially in the early period under Emperor Henry. In the main, those nobles who were not Venetian came from Flanders, Burgundy, Champagne, or Lombardy. The Saint-Omer family was one of the most prominent noble families in the Aegean, holding the lordships of Thebes and Passava until 1314. Other Flemings were Thierry of Dendermonde, constable of the empire (1204); Antoine le Flamenc, lord of Karditza (1311); Engilbert of Liedekerke, constable of the Morea in the 1270s; and important clerics such as Warin, archbishop of Thessa-lonica (1208) and chancellor of the Latin Empire (1216-1222); and William of Moerbeke, archbishop of Corinth (1278-1286). From Hainaut came James of Avesnes, lord of Negroponte (1205); and Florent, prince of Achaia (1289-1297), and his daughter Mathilda, princess of Achaia (1313-1318).

It is thus clear that in the first 100 years of the crusades the greatest number of crusaders from the Low Countries originated in Flanders and Hainaut. Crusaders from the duchy of Lower Lotharingia, a combination of lands covering present-day southern Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts of northern France (the Ardennes), were also a distinct component of the First Crusade. The duchy of Lower Lotharingia effectively disintegrated in the following years. The duchy of Brabant, created in 1106, contributed to most of the twelfth-century crusades. Duke Godfrey III of Brabant and his counselors Arnold III of Aarschot and Arnold I of Wezemael were present in the Second Crusade, and Henry I, duke of Brabant, was a participant in the Third Crusade. Duke Henry II took part in the crusade against the Stedinger heretics of northwestern Germany (1234).

Next to these greater lordships in terms of numbers were the county of Namur, the bishopric of Liege, the county of Loon, the duchy of Limburg, and the county of Luxemburg. It is difficult to tell whether the response to papal appeals here was significant, but it can be established at least for some lordships. Neither the count nor the higher nobility of Namur took the cross, although a member of the comital family, Frederick of La Roche, became bishop of Acre, archbishop of Tyre, and chaplain to the royal court of Jerusalem. Nicholas II and Nicholas III of Rumigny were also participants in the Second Crusade. From the bishopric of Liege, Manasses of Hierges became constable of Jerusalem between the Second and Third Crusades. Present in the latter expedition were Rudolf of Zahringen, prince-bishop of Liege; Heribrand of Latour, viscount of Bouillon; and Thierry of Hochstade, count of Daalhem, assisted by numerous vassals. The last time a prince-bishop (Henry) took the cross was during the Crusade of Louis IX of France to Tunis. Count Henry III of Luxemburg took the cross at the same time.

Apart from these participants, there was also Walram III, duke of Limburg and count of Luxemburg and La Roche, who took part in the Third Crusade. A successor of Walram, Duke Henry IV of Limburg, participated in the Crusade of Emperor Frederick II (1227-1229).

The Northern Low Countries

Compared to its southern neighbors, the participation of crusaders from the county of Holland was rather modest, especially in the period of the First and Second Crusades, despite their participation in the crusades against the Slavs. This had to do with the wider political and economic situation in the northern Low Countries, the absence of a strong central authority, and territorial and dynastic disputes between the county and its neighbors.

A more prominent participation in the crusades came with Count Floris III (1157-1190) and his son William I (1203-1222). In the Third Crusade, Floris and William, along with a major part of the nobility, served with the army of Frederick I Barbarossa, Holy Roman Emperor. Political loyalty as well as dynastic habits must have determined this participation: Floris’s father, Count Dirk VI, had been a pilgrim to Jerusalem in 1139, and his mother, Sophia of Rei-neck, made the journey three times (1139, 1173, and 1176), once accompanied by another son, Otto. She died in Jerusalem and was buried there. William also took part in the Fifth Crusade (1217-1221), in which he distinguished himself during the siege of Damietta in September 1219.

The Fifth Crusade was the most important event for participation from the northern Low Countries. Bishop Otto II of Utrecht was present along with many of the nobility of Holland. This participation was almost equaled during the crusade against the Stedinger heretics, with the presence of Count Floris IV of Holland and Gerard IV, count of Gelre. Between the pilgrimage of Dirk VI (1139) and that of William II (1248), all the counts of Holland took the cross with the exception of the successor of Floris III, Dirk VII. Knights from Holland were also active in the campaigns against the pagan Slavs beyond the river Elbe in the second half of the thirteenth century.

Military Orders

The Templars were granted property in western Europe following their foundation around 1119. Templar brethren were active (perhaps itinerant at first) in Flanders possibly from 1125. Many of the earliest Templars came from a limited area of the kingdom of France and were connected to one another by birth or other ties. Among the earliest was Godfrey of Saint-Omer. In 1127 Hugh of Payns, master of the Templars, was sent by Baldwin II of Jerusalem to the West to mount a new crusade. He can be found in witness lists to grants of land and rights to the Templars in Anjou, Flanders, and Champagne. It is clear that Hugh’s presence in Flanders stimulated the crusading spirit there. The Temple had some early houses in Flanders: Ypres (1131), La Haie les Lilles (1134/1136), and Slijpe (1137), but the greatest expansion of the order in Flanders took place around 1200 with the acquisition of properties in Caestre (1183-1201), Cobrieux (1192), Ghent (1200), and Bruges (1202). In Flanders and Tournai the Templars were stronger than in the other territories of the Low Countries. It is difficult to establish an organizational structure for the Templars in the Low Countries. During the twelfth and thirteenth centuries four bailiwicks were created for Flanders,

Hainaut, Brabant, and Haspengouw (grouping houses in Liege, Namur, Loon, and Luxembourg).

The earliest donations to the Order of the Hospital in the southern Low Countries were made by the counts of Flanders and Hainaut and the duke of Brabant around 1130. During the twelfth and thirteenth centuries there were five bailiwicks on which commanderies or houses in the Low Countries depended. In the northern Low Countries and belonging to the Germanic linguistic region was the convent of Utrecht, which was one of the few in the Holy Roman Empire to have a hospital. The convent at Utrecht had been established possibly as early as 1122 and became a bailiwick at the beginning of the fourteenth century. In the southern Low Countries there were four bailiwicks belonging to the French linguistic region: the chambre magistrale (magisterial chamber) was Hainaut-Cambresis, which had properties in Hainaut, Cambrai, and Brabant; the oldest houses were Le Fresnoy (1155) and Ecuelin (1167). Then there were the bailiwicks of Flanders (with the large commandery of Slijpe), Avalterre (which comprised Brabant, Liege, Namur, and Luxembourg), and Haute-Avesnes.

Most of the property of the Teutonic Order was situated within Germany, and most of its members were Germans, but there were two bailiwicks (out of a total of twelve) situated fully in the Low Countries (Biesen and Utrecht) and one partially so (Lotharingia). The Partes Inferiores (literally, “Lower Territories,” or Low Countries) were an independent circumscription with their own master (Lat. magister in partibus inferioribus), who administered the Biesen and Utrecht bailiwicks until the fourteenth century. It was not until around 1300 that Utrecht and Biesen received a clear and efficient structure, although the first donations were made as early as 1220 and the two bailiwicks were in existence as early as 1228, thus predating many of the German bailiwicks of the order. Each bailiwick was composed of commanderies, which were dispersed, in the case of Biesen, over the territories of Brabant, Limburg, Liege, Aachen, and Cologne. By 1400 there were commanderies in the south at Alden-Biesen, Nieuwen-Biesen, Aachen, Remersdorf, Siersdorf, Sint-Pieters-Voeren, Mechelen, Bekkevoort, Bernissem, Liege, and Antwerp, and in the north at Utrecht, Dieren, Gemert, Schelluinen, Leiden, Maasland, Doesburg, Tiel, Katwijk, Nes, Schoten, Ootmarsum, Rhenen, and Mid-delburg. The foundations in the northern Low Countries, notably Utrecht (1231), also predated the German ones, but there never was a single bailiwick grouping the houses and commanderies in the Low Countries, largely owing to the usurpation politics of the Koblenz bailiwick. The counts of Holland were important benefactors of the Teutonic Order, which functioned as an outlet for some of the bastards of the Holland dynasty. In Bruges, the Flemish trading center with international connections, the order had a commercial branch, which was largely responsible for the financing of the crusade against the Lithuanians in the fourteenth century. It has been established that in around 1400 up to 35 percent of the commerce of the Teutonic Order in Prussia was with Flanders, which made this region its most prominent trading partner [Henryk Samsonowicz, “De handel van de Pruissische Ordestaat met West-Europa, in Crux et Arma, ed. Jozef Mertens (Bilzen: Historisch Studiecentrum Alden Biesen, 1997), pp. 139-153].

Generally speaking, it can be said that from the thirteenth century onward, Flanders, together with northern France, formed the heartland of support for the military orders. Families with a crusading tradition, such as the lords of Saint-Omer in Flanders, were among their greatest patrons.

-Jan Anckaer

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