Eustach II (Boulogne)

Depiction of Eustach of Boulogne on the Bayeux Tapestry

Eustach II (French: Eustache II de Boulogne ; * around 1020, † around 1085 ), also written Eustace, was Count of Boulogne .

He was the son of Count Eustach I of Boulogne ( House of Boulogne ) and Countess Matilda of Leuven . After his father's death, he inherited the county of Boulogne. In 1054, when his brother Lambert died , he also inherited the county of Lens .

As a companion of William the Conqueror, he took part in the Norman conquest of England and commanded the Flemish group in the Battle of Hastings (October 14, 1066) (perhaps together with Roger II de Montgommery , whose participation in the battle is not beyond any doubt) and French fighters existing right wing of the invading army.

Some scientists in Eustace II. The patron of the Bayeux tapestry and the tapestry itself as a gift for Odo of Bayeux , the Bishop of Bayeux and half brother of William the Conqueror , as a possible reparations for the attacks Eustach at Dover , which after the conquest of England to Odo's sphere of influence belonged (1067). This thesis is supported by the emphasis on Eustach and Odos in the carpet.

Eustach II was first married to Goda of England († before 1049), a daughter of King Æthelred II and widow of Drogo von Mantes and Vexin († 1035). In his second marriage he married Ida von Lorraine († April 13, 1113), daughter of Duke Gottfried III. from Lower Lorraine , who got bouillon as a trousseau .

progeny

• Eustach III. († 1125), Count of Boulogne ⚭ Mary of Scotland, daughter of King Malcolm III. ;
• Godfrey of Bouillon (* around 1060, † 1100), Duke of Lower Lorraine 1089, first regent of the Kingdom of Jerusalem 1099;
• Baldwin I (* after 1060; † 1118), Count of Verdun, Count of Edessa 1098, King of Jerusalem 1100, ⚭ (1) Godevere (Godhild) of Tosni († 1097), ⚭ (2) Orianta, daughter of the Armenian Prince Taphnuz, ⚭ (3) 1113 Adelheid von Savona (* 1072; † 1118);
• Ida, ⚭ (1) Count Hermann I. von Malsen- Cuyk († around 1080), ⚭ (2) Count Kuno von Montaigu, Seigneur de Rochefort;
• (uncertain / illegitimate) William Fitzeustace († 1094), 1093 1st Earl of Gloucester .

Literature and web links

• Eustace . In: Encyclopædia Britannica . 11th edition. tape 9 : Edwardes - Evangelical Association . London 1910, p. 956–957 (English, full text [ Wikisource ]).
• Eustache (II) "Gernobadatus" de Boulogne at fmg.ac (English)
• Eustach II. Count of Boulogne (1049–1092) at Mittelalter-genealogie.de

Individual evidence

1. ^ Andrew Bridgeford: What Count Eustace II of Boulogne the patron of the Bayeux Tapestry? In: Journal of Medieval History. Volume 26, No. 2, June 2000, pp. 155-185.

predecessor	Office	successor
Eustach I.	Count of Boulogne 1049-1088	Eustach III.
Lambert	Earl of Lens 1054-1088	Eustach III.