Richilde (Hainaut)

Richilde († March 15, 1087 in Mesen ) was a countess of Hainaut and regent of Flanders . Her family origins were unclear for a long time: she was probably a daughter of Reginar von Hasnon, Margrave of Valenciennes from 1045 to 1049 from the Reginare family .

Richilde was the wife of Count Hermann von Hainaut , who died around 1051 and left her with their underage son Roger in the rulership of Hainaut. In order to secure this, she married Baldwin the Guten in the same year , the heir to the powerful Count of Flanders, for whom she ousted her son from her first marriage from the line of succession. Baldwin was the new Count of Hainaut, Richilde's son Roger († 1093), who had been passed over, was later raised to the rank of Bishop of Chalons.

In 1067 Baldwin also became Count of Flanders, but died in 1070. Richilde thus took over the reign of her oldest but still underage son Arnulf III./I. which led to discrepancies among the Flemish vassals, which their brother-in-law Robert the Friesian , who had previously ruled in Holland, took advantage of and invaded Flanders. Robert was soon captured, but at the same time Richilde fell into the captivity of his followers. After both were released in an exchange, Richilde successfully asked King Philip I of France , the overlord of Flanders, for military support. Her sister-in-law Mathilde also assisted her, even though only ten knights from Normandy moved to Flanders under the leadership of William FitzOsbern . The King of France immediately brokered Richilde's marriage with William FitzOsbern, who was to be won over as a protector for her sons. But in the decisive battle of Cassel on February 22, 1071, Richilde's troops were defeated. Her eldest son and third husband were killed in action.

After the battle with her second son, Baldwin II , Richilde fled to her native Hainaut. Chances of a possible recovery of Flanders quickly vanished after the victorious Robert the Frisian was recognized by King Philip I as Count of Flanders. In order to preserve Hainaut for her son, Richilde sold the county in Fosses in April 1071 with the consent of Emperor Henry IV , the liege lord of Hainaut, to Dietwin , the bishop of Liège . He gave the Hainaut to Duke Gottfried the Hunchback of Lower Lorraine , from whom Richilde took him as a fief. After the Duke was assassinated by Robert the Frisian in 1076, Hainaut became a direct fiefdom of the Bishop of Liège.

Richilde retired to Messines Abbey in her final years , where she also died.

literature

• W. Mohr: Richilde vom Hennegau and Robert der Friese: Theses for a re-evaluation of the sources , in: Revue belge de philosophie et d'histoire lviii (1980), pp. 265-292.
• FJ Van Droogenbroeck: De markenruil Ename - Valenciennes en de investituur van de graaf van Vlaanderen in de mark Ename , Handelingen van de Geschied- en Oudheidkundige Kring van Oudenaarde 55 (2018) pp. 47-127 .

Web links

• Richilde von Hennegau at genealogie-mittelalter.de

predecessor	Office	successor
Hermann	Countess of Hainaut 1051–1070 with Baldwin I the good 1070–1071 with Arnulf I the unfortunate 1071–1087 with Baldwin II. 1051–1087	Baldwin II