Matthew of Alsace

Matthew of Alsace (* around 1137; † July 25, 1173 in Normandy ) was Count of Boulogne from 1159 to 1173. He was the second son of Dietrich of Alsace and Sibylle of Anjou , the younger brother of Philip of Alsace , Count of Flanders . He is the founder of the city of Calais .

Life

After the death of Count William of Boulogne in 1159, Matthew and King Henry II of England agreed to marry the dead Count's sister, Maria . Although this abbess was of Romsey Abbey , Matthew kidnapped her from there to marry her, making him Count of Boulogne himself. Since this marriage was illegitimate under canon law, it was not recognized as legitimate by the clergy of the time, but they lived together as a couple for ten years and had two daughters:

• Ida of Alsace (* 1160/61; † April 21, 1216), 1173 Countess of Boulogne
  • ⚭ 1181 with Count Gerhard III. von Geldern († 1181)
  • ⚭ 1183 with Duke Berthold IV of Zähringen († 1186)
  • ⚭ 1190 with Count Rainald von Dammartin († 1217)
• Mathilda of Alsace (* 1170, † October 16, 1210)
  • ⚭ 1179 with Duke Heinrich I of Brabant († 1235)

In December 1169, Pope Alexander III obtained the annulment of the marriage, after which Maria retired to the Abbey of Montreuil-sur-Mer . Matthew remained in the possession of the County of Boulogne and around 1170 married Eleonore von Vermandois (* 1152, † after 1221), daughter of Count Rudolf I of Vermandois and sister of his brother's wife, Mabile von Vermandois. Together with his brother and King Ludwig VII , Matthew allied himself with the young King Henry in 1173 in order to fight against his father, Henry II of England. During the siege of Driencourt in Normandy, he was hit in the knee by an arrow and died of his wound a few days after taking the castle. As Radulfus de Diceto wrote, Matthew died on the day of St. James . A few years earlier he had sworn his loyalty to Henry II of England on a hand relic of this saint.

Count Philip of Flanders, who himself had no direct heirs, hoped through his brother's marriage to Eleanor of Vermandois to preserve the Flanders and Vermandois family that he had joined. But since Matthew had no children with Eleonore, these plans fell apart.

Individual proof

1. ^ Raoul de Diceto: Ymagines Historiarum . In: William Stubbs (Ed.): The Historical Works of Ralph of Diss (Rolls Series; Vol. 68, Part 2). Longmans, London 1876, p. 373.
   According to KVK : Ralph de Diceto († 1202)

Web links

• material collection

predecessor	Office	successor
William of Blois	Count of Boulogne (1159–1160 de iure uxoris with Maria) 1159–1173	Ida