Jump to content

James of Avesnes

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

James of Avesnes
Born1152
Died(1191-09-07)7 September 1191
Arsuf, Levant
Noble familyHouse of Avesnes
Spouse(s)Adela of Guise
FatherNicholas d'Oisy, Lord of Avesnes
MotherMatilda de la Roche

James of Avesnes (also Jacques or Jacob; 1152 – 7 September 1191) was a son of Nicholas d'Oisy, Lord of Avesnes and Matilda de la Roche. He was the lord of Avesnes, Condé, and Leuze from 1171. In November 1187, James joined the Third Crusade as leader of a detachment of French, Flemish, and Frisian crusaders arriving by ship on the Palestinian coast near Acre around 10 September 1189. James and his men came as military reinforcements for the Siege of Acre.[1]: 403  While leading his contingent of soldiers, the other main leaders of the siege were Guy of Lusignan and Henry of Champagne, neither of them gaining a dominant position in leading the siege.[2]

At the Battle of Arsuf, James was thrown from his saddle and, after slaying fifteen enemy warriors, was himself cut down. The next day, a search party of Hospitallers and Templars found his body on the battlefield. It was taken back to Arsuf and buried there in a ceremony attended by Richard the Lionheart and Guy of Lusignan.[1]: 474 

He married Adela (died 1185), daughter of Bouchard of Guise, and was the father of:

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Asbridge, Thomas (19 January 2012). The Crusades: The War for the Holy Land. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-84983-770-5.
  2. ^ Asbridge, Thomas (19 January 2012). "Chapter 14". The Crusades: The War for the Holy Land. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-84983-770-5.
  3. ^ a b (FR)Henri Platelle, Présence de l'au-delà: une vision médiévale du monde, (Presses Universitaires du Septentrion, 2004), 296.