Thomas de Coucy

Thomas of Coucy Family Crest

Thomas de Coucy , also Thomas de Marle , (* around 1073; † 1130 in Coucy ) was a gentleman (sire) of Coucy , Boves , La Fère , Vervins , Crépy , Pinon and Marle . Until 1118 he was the heir of his father, Count of Amiens . In the chronicles he is described as a brave but brutal feud man and robber baron. Because of this character he was also called " the raging wolf " ( le loup enragé ).

He was a son of Enguerrand I de Coucy ( Enguerrand de Boves ; † around 1118), Count of Amiens , and Ada of Marle, a niece of Count Ebles I of Roucy .

Thomas and his father took part in the First Crusade from 1096 to 1100 , where he made a name for himself with his outstanding courage , especially during the victorious sieges of Nicaea and Jerusalem . Together with his father he was in constant dispute with the citizens, the Vidame and the Bishop of Amiens over the rights to rule over the city. In 1112 he was involved in the Laon uprising and granted protection to the murderers of Bishop Gaudry . For this Thomas was at the urging of King Ludwig VI. des Dicken excommunicated in December 1114 at a council in Beauvais and declared forfeited all his offices and knighthood. Thomas holed up in Castillon Castle, but had to submit to the king in 1115 and was only punished with a fine.

Thomas resumed his opposition to the king after his father's death, as the king had refused to give him the inheritance of the county of Amiens and instead awarded it to the House of Vermandois . Thomas allied himself with the Counts of Hainaut and St. Pol and killed the brother of Count Rudolf I of Vermandois in 1130 , who thereupon besieged Thomas in Coucy Castle with royal approval and killed him in battle.

Marriage and offspring

Thomas was married three times. His first wife was Ida von Hennegau (∞ around 1100; divorced), daughter of Count Balduin II von Hennegau . Your children were:

• Ida, ∞ Alard de Chimay
• Beatrix († after 1156), ∞ with Count Érard III. of Breteuil († 1148 on the Second Crusade )

His second wife was a daughter of Count Roger de Montaigu. The marriage was divorced in 1104 because of too close relatives.

The third wife was Melisende von Crécy († 1114), a daughter of Guido von Crécy-sur-Serre . Your children were:

• Mélisende (* around 1107)
• Enguerrand II (around 1110; † 1147/49), lord of Coucy, Marle, Vervins, La Fère, Pinon and Crépy
• Robert I († 1191, died during the siege of Acre ), Lord of Boves, later Count of Amiens

See also House Boves

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Guibert von Nogent : Gesta Dei per Francos
2. ↑ Chanson de Jerusalem
3. ^ Suger von Saint-Denis : Vita Ludovici Grossi

literature

• Jacques Chaurand : Thomas de Marle, Sire de Coucy. Sire de Marle, Seigneur de La Fère, Vervins, Boves, Pinon et autres lieux. Édition du Syndicat d'initiative de Marle, Marle 1963.