Baldwin IV (Hainaut)

Balduin IV. The builder (* 1108 ; † November 8, 1171 ) from the House of Flanders was Count of Hainaut from 1120 to 1171. He was the son of Count Balduin III. and Jolande von Wassenberg .

Life

Since he was still a minor when his father died, his mother took over the reign for him until 1127, during which she also arranged his marriage to Alix (Alice), the daughter of Gottfried , Count of Namur . The marriage contract also contains a provision on the County of Namur, which, as a result of these agreements, after the extinction of the House of Namur, was not inherited like the County of Luxembourg, but came into the possession of the Count of Hainaut.

A little later, in the same year, Charles the Good , Count of Flanders , was murdered, whereupon several pretenders came forward to succeed him, including Baldwin. The French King Louis VI. decided in favor of Wilhelm Clito , which prompted Baldwin to devastate the land around Aalst , whereupon he withdrew - knowing that he could not assert himself here - and burned Oudenaarde down in the process. After Wilhelm's death the following year, he tried his luck again, but was repulsed by Dietrich von Elsass , the new count.

In 1147 he used Dietrich's departure for the Second Crusade to invade Flanders again, although he risked excommunication through this attack on the property of a crusader . Sibylle von Anjou , Dietrich's wife, managed to defend the country until Dietrich hurriedly returned from Constantinople . The war that followed devastated both counties. In 1151 a peace treaty was finally signed, which also included the engagement of their children - the ensuing marriage led to the unification of the two counties 40 years later.

Balduin's brother-in-law Heinrich the Blind , Count of Luxembourg , had married Lauretta of Alsace in 1157, the daughter of Dietrich of Alsace, Count of Flanders, and Sybille of Anjou. The marriage broke up childless in 1163, which is why Heinrich appointed his brother-in-law Baldwin as his heir, but this no longer led to any consequences during Baldwin's lifetime.

Baldwin acquired the nickname of the builder through his work in fortification and church building in most cities of Hainaut. In 1169, when his son Baldwin married Margaret of Alsace, he showed the new palace in Le Quesnoy , which was still under construction, to several barons. They committed the carelessness of climbing on poorly fastened scaffolding, which collapsed under them. Some were only slightly injured, but Baldwin broke both thighs and spine. He died two years later.

progeny

He married in 1130 Alix von Namur (1115–1169), the youngest daughter of Gottfried , Count of Namur , and Ermesinde of Luxembourg . Alix was buried in the Sainte-Waudru church in Mons . Your children were:

• Baldwin († young), buried in Binche ,
• Gottfried, Count von Ostervant († April 6, 1159 or 1161) in Mons, 16 years old, ⚭ 15 years old with Eleonore von Vermandois , no descendants
• Balduin V (1150–1195), Count of Hainaut .
• Wilhelm, Lord of Château-Thierry in the county of Namur, ⚭ I Mahaud of Lalain, ⚭ II Avoye of Saint-Sauve,
• Heinrich, Lord of Sebourg , Angre and Le Fay , ⚭ Johanna von Cysoing,
• Jolande, ⚭ Ives II. , Lord of Nesle and Falvy , Count of Soissons († 1157) without descendants ( House Nesle ); ⚭ II Hugo IV , Count of Saint-Pol ,
• Agnes, called the limping one (la Boîteuse), first wife of Raoul , lord of Coucy , Marle , La Fère , Crécy , Vervins , Landousies and Pinon († before 1173) ( House Boves ),
• Laurence ( Laurette ) († August 9, 1181); ⚭ Dietrich von Gent, last lord of Aalst and Waës († 1165), childless ( House Gent ); ⚭ shortly after 1171 Bouchard IV. De Montmorency ( list of the Montmorency tribe ).
• Eustach, Provost v. St. Waltraut in Mons († after 1198)

literature

• Académie royale de Belgique, Biographie Nationale de Belgique , Volume 1, Brussels, 1886

predecessor	Office	successor
Balduin III.	Count of Hainaut 1120–1171	Balduin V.