James of Avesnes

James I of Avesnes ( fr. Jacques Ier d' Avesnes, * to 1152, † September 7, 1191 at Arsuf ) was from 1171 Lord of Avesnes, Condé and Leuze and an important French nobleman from the noble Avesnes.

He was the son of Nicholas of Oisy, lord of Avesnes and Matilda of La Roche. He married Adela († 1185 ), the heiress of Burchard, the Lords of Guise. This marriage led his family to extensive new possessions. He rose to become a major Knights of Hainaut. He probably also maintained good contacts with the English King Henry II

In 1189 he led an advance party on the sea of the Third Crusade with French, Flemish and Frisian crusaders to Palestine, where he arrived in late summer 1189. He joined the just-started Siege of Acre ( 1189-1191 ). After the conquest of Acre, he moved with the main army of the crusade to that of the English King Richard the Lionheart side the coast towards Jaffa, where Jacob commanded the Flemish crusade contingent. On September 7, 1191, he fell at the Battle of Arsuf.

It is likely that the English king had his fingers in the pie, as Jacob's children succeeded upward social mobility in the high nobility. This needed support in the ranks of the French nobility and provided through the intercession with various high lords for his protege. So Jacob married eldest son, Walter II of Avesnes, an heiress of the house of Champagne and thus became the Count of Blois and Chartres, and Burkhard IV of Avesens married the sister of the Countess of Flanders. But the daughters of Jacob were married on great men. So Mathilde became the Countess of Chiny after she married Louis IV of 1206 Chiny, Ida mistress of Enghien and Ada Countess of Soissons.

Progeny

He and his wife Adela de Guise, he had eight children:

  • Walter II of Avesnes, Lord of Avesnes, Leuze, Conde and Guise, Count of Blois and Chartres
  • Jacob, Lord of Landrecies ( probably identical with the knights of the Fourth Crusade James of Avesnes, † 1209)
  • Wilhelm ( † 1219 )
  • Burkhard († 1244), Bailiff of Hainaut
  • Matilda ∞ I Nicholas IV of Rumigny ∞ II Ludwig IV († 1226 ), Count of Chiny (House Chiny )
  • Adelheid ∞ Roger of Rosoy († 1246 )
  • Ida (* 1180, † 1216) ∞ Engelbert IV of Enghien
  • Ada ( Adela ) ∞ I, Henry III. of Grandpré ∞ II Raoul of Nesle, Count of Soissons
Avesnes-sur-Helpe Leuze-en-Hainaut County of Hainaut Henry II of England Champagne (historical province) Counts of Blois Duke of Chartres County of Flanders Bouchard IV of Avesnes Rumigny (Ardennes) Ralph, Count of Soissons
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