Burkhard of Avesnes

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Burkhard of Avesnes family coat of arms

Burkhard von Avesnes (French: Bouchard d'Avesnes , * around 1182 ; † 1244 in Rupelmonde ) was a French nobleman from the House of Avesnes .

He was the youngest of four sons of Sire Jacob of Avesnes and Adela of Guise. As the youngest of the family, he was scheduled for a spiritual career, became cathedral cantor of Laon and was ordained a subdeacon . In 1211 Burkhard left the clergy and feuded his brother Walter . He entered the service of Count Ferrand of Flanders , who appointed him Bailli des Hainaut .

There he was entrusted with the care of young Margaret , the sister of Countess Johanna von Flanders . Instead, he kidnapped Margarete, who was just ten years old, and married her, hoping to take over her Flemish inheritance. Countess Johanna did not recognize the marriage, as Burkhard, as an ordained subdeacon, was prohibited from marriage. In 1214 Burkhard took part in the battle of Bouvines against the French. Supported by the French King Philip II August , Countess Johanna reached Pope Innocent III in 1216 . the excommunication of Burkhard, who then went into exile with Margarete in Luxembourg . Although every place of exile was threatened with an interdict , Burkhard received hospitable reception not only from secular princes, but also from the dioceses of Laon, Cambrai and Liège .

He was finally captured in a battle around 1220 and was held in Ghent . In order to obtain his release, Margarete agreed to the annulment of her marriage. A few years later she married Wilhelm II von Dampierre . After his release, Burkhard left his homeland and fought for the Holy See in Italy . When he returned to Flanders in 1244, he was beheaded on orders from Countess Johanna in Rupelmonde.

progeny

From his marriage to Margarete, which is not legally legitimate, he had two sons, whose claims to their mother's inheritance led to the outbreak of the War of the Flemish Succession . They were only legitimized by the Pope in 1249.

literature