Enguerrand I, Count of Ponthieu

Last updated January 05, 2025

Enguerrand I, Count of Ponthieu, was recognized as count by 1026-7, having endorsed a royal charter. Protecting Vimeu, he inflicted losses on an invasion by Gilbert, Count of Brionne. Enguerrand was quite influential, being at Duke Robert of Normandy's court before the latter left on crusade. He was instrumental in his son, Hugh's marriage to Bertha of Aumale, which expanded the family's territory. Enguerrand died in 1045 and was succeeded by his son Hugh II of Ponthieu.

Life

Enguerrand was the son of Hugh I of Ponthieu and Gisela, daughter of Hugh Capet.^[1] In 1026–7, Enguerrand, using the title of count, endorsed a charter in the presence of King Robert II.^[2] He had holdings at Conteville, near Doullens, east of Abbeville, which might have been remnants of a Carolingian county.^[2] He held authority in Vimeu, having repelled an attack by Gilbert, Count of Brionne, inflicting significant losses on the Brionne forces.^[2]

By the 1030s, Enguerrand had become a key figure among his influential neighbors, whose backing Duke Robert of Normandy was keen to gain before embarking on his pilgrimage to the Holy Land.^[3] His presence at Duke Robert’s court just before Robert's departure indicates his significant influence.^[3] By 1043, Enguerrand had invested time to groom and prepare his son, Hugh, as his successor.^[3] It is likely that Enguerrand also orchestrated Hugh's marriage to Bertha, the daughter of Guerinfridus, the castellan of Aumale, located on the upper River Bresle between Normandy and the Beauvaisis, thereby expanding the family's territorial holdings further south.^[3]

Enguerrand died around 1045^[4] and buried at Saint-Riquier France.

Marriages and children

Enguerrand married Adelaide, widow of Baudouin de Boulogne, daughter of Arnulf, Count of Holland, they had:

Hugh II ^[5]
Guy, Bishop of Amiens ^[4]
Fulk (later abbot of Forest l'Abbaye)^[a]^[4]

Notes

↑ Heather Tanner lists Fulk as the son of Enguerrand and his third wife Berta^[4]

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References

↑ Douglas 1946, p. 149.
1 2 3 Thompson 2022, p. 24.
1 2 3 4 Thompson 2022, p. 26.
1 2 3 4 Tanner 2004, p. 295.
↑ Power 2007, p. 484.

Sources

Douglas, David (1946). "The Earliest Norman Counts". The English Historical Review. 61 (240 May).
Power, Daniel (2007). The Norman Frontier in the Twelfth and Early Thirteenth Centuries. Cambridge University Press.
Tanner, Heather (2004). Families, Friends and Allies: Boulogne and Politics in Northern France and England, c.879-1160. Brill.
Thompson, Kathleen (2022). "The Perspective from Ponthieu: Count Guy and his Norman Neighbour". In Church, Stephen D. (ed.). Anglo-Norman Studies XLIV: Proceedings of the Battle Conference 2021. The Boydell Press. pp. 19–34. doi:10.1017/9781800106314. ISBN 978-1-80010-631-4.