County of Boulogne

Last updated
County of Boulogne
Comté de Boulogne (French)
896–1477
Blason comte fr Boulogne.svg
Coat of arms
Burgundian northern France 1465-1477.png
County of Boulogne (upper left on map) in 1465–1477
StatusFief of the Kingdom of France
Capital Boulogne
Historical era Middle Ages
 acquisition by the House of Flanders
896
 incorporation into the crown lands of France
1477
Succeeded by
Kingdom of France Blank.png

The County of Boulogne was a county within the Kingdom of France during the 9th to 15th centuries, centred on the city of Boulogne-sur-Mer. It was ruled by the counts of Flanders in the 10th century, but a separate House of Boulogne emerged during the 11th century. [1] It was merged into the County of Artois by Philip II of France in 1212 and eventually annexed to the royal domain itself in 1477.

Contents

History

Boulogne was already a pagus within the kingdom of the Franks (pagus Bononiensis), but there are few records prior to the 11th century. A proverbially wicked count named Herrequin is recorded for the 9th century, but he may be legendary (see Herla, Erlking). It seems to have come under the rule of the counts of Flanders in the late 9th or early 10th century. In 886, bishop Gauzlin of Paris asked count Erkenger of Boulogne to solicit German help against the Viking raids. Erkenger lost all his possessions in 896, as he remained loyal to Charles the Simple. It may have been at this point that Baldwin II, Count of Flanders, gained control over Boulogne.

Eustace II of Boulogne accompanied William the Conqueror's invasion in 1066. Boulogne was also a major participant in the First Crusade; Eustace III of Boulogne's brothers, Godfrey of Bouillon and Baldwin of Bouillon, both became kings of Jerusalem, and Eustace himself was offered but declined the title.

Count Renaud of Boulogne joined the imperial side at the Battle of Bouvines in 1214, and he was defeated by Philip II of France.

Boulogne passed under nominal royal control in 1223 when it was given to Philip II's son Philip Hurepel. [2] Hurepel revolted against Blanche of Castile when Louis VIII of France died in 1226. When Philip Hurepel died in 1235, Matilda continued to reign and in 1238 was married to Alphonse, second son of King Alfonso II of Portugal, and younger brother of King Sancho II of Portugal. Having become Afonso III of Portugal in 1248 and renounced his title of Count of Boulogne, Alfonse divorced her in 1253 due to her barrenness in favour of Beatrice of Castile.

Nevertheless, Matilda and Philip did have a son Alberic, and a daughter Joan who both survived. Alberic reportedly renounced his rights and went to England, for unknown reasons. Apparently he survived his mother and died in 1284, but presumably did not leave issue. Joan was married in 1236 to Gaucher de Châtillon, Count of Mortain (d. 1251). She predeceased her mother in 1252, and presumably left no surviving issue.

Consequently, after Matilda, her county of Boulogne then passed to Matilda's niece, Adelaide of Brabant and her husband William X of Auvergne.

Bertrand V de la Tour succeeded to the counties of Auvergne and of Boulogne in 1437. Through his son Bertrand VI de la Tour the County of Boulogne passed to his grandson, the last medieval count of Boulogne: Jean III de la Tour d'Auvergne. By his marriage to Jeanne of Bourbon-Vendôme, he left two daughters:

The representatives of the County joined in the Netherlands the Estates General of 1464 in Bruges. At the death of Charles the Bold the King of France claimed the end of the dependency of Boulogne from the County of Artois, causing new struggles against the Habsburg. The treaty of Senlis closed the problem: France lost Artois to the Empire, while the Habsburg renounced to Boulogne. [3]

In 1477, Bertrand II dealt with Louis XI, exchanging the county of Boulogne with the county of Lauragais. Boulogne, so became part of the royal domain. [4] [5] [6]

List of counts

See also

Related Research Articles

Eustace I, Count of Boulogne, was a nobleman and founder of the Boulogne branch of the House of Flanders. He held the county of Boulogne from 1024 until his death in 1047.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duchy of Burgundy</span> Vassal territory of France, 918–1482

The Duchy of Burgundy emerged in the 9th century as one of the successors of the ancient Kingdom of the Burgundians, which after its conquest in 532 had formed a constituent part of the Frankish Empire. Upon the 9th-century partitions, the French remnants of the Burgundian kingdom were reduced to a ducal rank by King Robert II of France in 1004. Robert II's son and heir, King Henry I of France, inherited the duchy but ceded it to his younger brother Robert in 1032.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philip I, Duke of Burgundy</span> Duke of Burgundy

Philip of Rouvres was the Count of Burgundy and Count of Artois from 1347, Duke of Burgundy from 1349, and Count of Auvergne and Boulogne from 1360. He was the only son of Philip, heir to the Duchy of Burgundy, and Joan I, heiress of Auvergne and Boulogne.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">County of Hainaut</span> Medieval region in current Belgium and France

The County of Hainaut, sometimes spelled Hainault, was a territorial lordship within the medieval Holy Roman Empire that straddled the present-day border of Belgium and France. Its most important towns included Mons, now in Belgium, and Valenciennes, now in France.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Margaret III, Countess of Flanders</span> Countess of Flanders from 1384 to 1405

Margaret III was a ruling Countess of Flanders, Countess of Artois, and Countess of Auvergne and Boulogne between 1384 and 1405. She was the last Countess of Flanders of the House of Dampierre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">County of Artois</span> Historic province of the Kingdom of France

The County of Artois was a historic province of the Kingdom of France, held by the Dukes of Burgundy from 1384 until 1477/82, and a state of the Holy Roman Empire from 1493 until 1659.

The count of Artois was the ruler over the County of Artois from the 9th century until the abolition of the countship by the French revolutionaries in 1790.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matilda II, Countess of Boulogne</span> Queen of Portugal from 1248 to 1253

Mahaut or Matilda II of Boulogne was Countess of Boulogne in her own right and Queen of Portugal by marriage to King Afonso III from 1248 until their divorce in 1253. She was the daughter of Ida, Countess of Boulogne and her husband and co-ruler Renaud, Count of Dammartin. She succeeded her mother as Countess of Boulogne in 1216. She was the great-granddaughter of King Stephen of England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">La Tour d'Auvergne</span> French noble family

The House of La Tour d'Auvergne was an important French noble dynasty. Its senior branch, extinct in 1501, held two of the last large fiefs acquired by the French crown, the counties of Auvergne and Boulogne, for about half a century. Its cadet branch, extinct in 1802, ruled the duchy of Bouillon in the Southern Netherlands from 1594, and held the dukedoms of Albret and Château-Thierry in the peerage of France since 1660. The name was also borne by Philippe d'Auvergne, an alleged collateral of the original Counts of Auvergne, and was adopted by the famous soldier Théophile Corret de la Tour d'Auvergne, who descended from an illegitimate line of the family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philip I, Count of Boulogne</span> Jure uxoris Count of Boulogne

Philip I of Boulogne (1200–1235) was a French prince, Count of Clermont-en-Beauvaisis in his own right, and Count of Boulogne, Mortain, Aumale, and Dammartin-en-Goële jure uxoris.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Renaud I, Count of Dammartin</span> French count

Renaud de Dammartin was Count of Boulogne from 1190, Count of Dammartin from 1200 to 1214 and Count of Aumale from 1204 to 1214. He was son of Alberic III of Dammartin and Mathilde of Clermont.

The crown lands, crown estate, royal domain or domaine royal of France were the lands, fiefs and rights directly possessed by the kings of France. While the term eventually came to refer to a territorial unit, the royal domain originally referred to the network of "castles, villages and estates, forests, towns, religious houses and bishoprics, and the rights of justice, tolls and taxes" effectively held by the king or under his domination. In terms of territory, before the reign of Henry IV, the domaine royal did not encompass the entirety of the territory of the kingdom of France and for much of the Middle Ages significant portions of the kingdom were the direct possessions of other feudal lords.

Marie I of Auvergne was suo jureCountess of Auvergne and Countess of Boulogne from 1424 to her death in 1437, having inherited the titles from her cousin Joan II, Countess of Auvergne. She was also styled Dame of Montgascon. She was the wife of Bertrand IV de La Tour, and the mother of Bertrand V de La Tour who succeeded her as Count of Auvergne and Boulogne.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">House of Flanders</span> Noble family

The House of Flanders, also called the Baldwins, was a medieval ruling family of Frankish origin that was founded by Baldwin Iron Arm, son-in-law of Charles the Bald. The House of Flanders was the first dynasty to transform a county function of the Carolingian Empire into a hereditary fiefdom, the County of Flanders, falling under West Francia, created by the Treaty of Verdun in 843.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Count of Boulogne</span> Historical title in the Kingdom of France

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 recorded in the 11th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">County of Flanders</span> Historical territory in present-day Belgium, France, and the Netherlands

The County of Flanders was one of the most powerful political entities in the medieval Low Countries, located on the North Sea coast of what is now Belgium. Unlike its neighbours, such as the counties of Brabant and Hainaut, it was within the territory of the Kingdom of France. The counts of Flanders held the most northerly part of the kingdom, and were among the original twelve peers of France. For centuries, the economic activity of the Flemish cities, such as Ghent, Bruges and Ypres, made Flanders one of the most affluent regions in Europe, and also gave them strong international connections to trading partners.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert V of Auvergne</span> Count of Auvergne

Robert V of Auvergne was count of Auvergne from 1247 and Boulogne from 1265 until his death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert VI of Auvergne</span>

Robert VI of Auvergne was count of Auvergne and Boulogne from 1277 until his death.

Bertrand V was lord of La Tour from 1423 and count of Auvergne and Boulogne from 1437 until his death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bertrand VI of La Tour</span> Lord of La Tour

Bertrand VI was lord of La Tour and count of Auvergne from 1461 until his death. He was also count of Boulogne from 1461 to 1477, when he exchanged that title for the county of Lauragais, which he held for the remainder of his life.

References

  1. Heather J. Tanner, The Expansion of the Power and Influence of the Counts of Boulogne under Eustace II', Anglo-Norman Studies XIV: Proceedings of the Battle Conference 1991, Ed. Marjorie Chibnall (The Boydell Press, Woodbridge, UK, 1992), p. 251
  2. "Boulogne-sur-Mer (Municipality, Pas-de-Calais, France)". Flagspot.net. Retrieved 2013-03-27.
  3. Bolonien under King Maximilian
  4. "Joseph Vaesen e Étienne Charavay, Lettere di Luigi XI , vol. 6, Parigi, Biblioteca Renouard,1898, P. 159-160".
  5. Fortanier, Jean Ramière de (January 1932). Les droits seigneuriaux dans la sénéchaussée et comté de Lauragais (1553-1789) : étude juridique et historique. FeniXX. ISBN   978-2-307-61430-2.
  6. "Histoire généalogique de la maison d'Auvergne, Livre troisième, page 91 et seq".