William IV, Count of Nevers
Encyclopedia
William IV, Count of Nevers
, (c. 1130 – Acre
, 24 October 1168) Count of Nevers, Auxerre
and Tonnerre
(1161–1168).
and Ida of Sponheim
, and the older brother of his successor Guy, Count of Nevers. Their paternal grandparents were William II of Nevers and his wife Adelais. Their maternal grandparents were Engelbert, Duke of Carinthia
and Uta of Passau
.
A younger brother named Renaud of Nevers joined the Third Crusade
and died in Acre on 5 August 1191. Their sister Adelaide of Nevers, married Renaud IV, Count of Joigny. Ermengarde of Nevers, another sister, is only mentioned in documents recording her donations to the Benedictine
monastery of Molesme
.
and his third wife Laurette of Flanders. Her maternal grandparents were Thierry, Count of Flanders
and his first wife Suanhilde.. There is however a theory that Eléonore could be a daughter of Raoul and his second wife Petronilla of Aquitaine
, who was a daughter of William X of Aquitaine
and Aenor of Châtellerault. The theory makes Eléonore a niece of Eleanor of Aquitaine
..
His wife was previously married to Godfrey of Hainaut, Count of Ostervant, son of Baldwin IV, Count of Hainaut
and Alice of Namur
, who died on 7 April 1163, while preparing for a journey to Palestine
.. Eléonore went on to marry Matthew of Alsace
, Mathieu III of Beaumont-sur-Oise and (possibly) Etienne II of Blois. She never had children and her designated heir to her realms was Philip II of France
, a paternal second cousin, once removed.
This coat of arms of the counts of Nevers is the present day coat of arms
of the Town of Clamecy
in the Nièvre, France.
, Burgundy
, France). The next nearest town to the East of Clamecy is Vezelay
, which, in the early medieval period, was the marshalling point for the start of several crusades
to the holy land
.
According to the Catholic Encyclopedia
, Vézelay Abbey
was often in conflict with the counts of Nevers. William IV had his provost
Léthard force the monks to take flight and abandon the abbey. In 1166, Louis VII of France
arranged a reconciliation between William IV and Guillaume de Mello, abbot
of Vézelay. On 6 January 1167 (Epiphany), Louis VII attended the celebration over the reconciliation. In atonement
for his supposed crimes against the church, William set out for the Crusader states
. In 1168, William of Tyre
records the arrival of the Count of Nevers in Jerusalem. He died shortly afterwards, and he was buried in Bethlehem
.
of Bethlehem
that if Bethlehem should ever fall into Muslim hands, he would welcome him or his successors in Clamecy
. After the capture of Bethlehem by Saladin
in 1187, the bequest of the now deceased count was honoured and the Bishop of Bethlehem duly took up residence in the hospital of Panthenor, Clamecy, which remained the continuous in partibus infidelium seat of the Bishopric
of Bethlehem for almost 600 years until the French Revolution
in 1789.
Nevers
Nevers is a commune in – and the administrative capital of – the Nièvre department in the Bourgogne region in central France...
, (c. 1130 – Acre
Acre, Israel
Acre , is a city in the Western Galilee region of northern Israel at the northern extremity of Haifa Bay. Acre is one of the oldest continuously inhabited sites in the country....
, 24 October 1168) Count of Nevers, Auxerre
County of Auxerre
The County of Auxerre is a former state of current central France, with capital in Auxerre.-History:The first count attested by the sources is one Ermenaud, a companion of Charlemagne who reigned around 770. In 859 Charles the Bald handed over the county to his cousin Conrad II of Burgundy. When he...
and Tonnerre
Tonnerre
Tonnerre is a commune in the Yonne department in Burgundy in north-central France.-Twin town:* Nenagh, North Tipperary, Ireland-References:*...
(1161–1168).
Family
William was a son of William III, Count of NeversWilliam III, Count of Nevers
William III, Count of Nevers was Count of Nevers, Auxerre and Tonnerre . He was born in Auxerre.- Family :He was a son of William II of Nevers and his wife Adelaide. The ancestry of his mother is unknown....
and Ida of Sponheim
House of Sponheim
The House of Sponheim or Spanheim was a noble family of the Holy Roman Empire in the High Middle Ages. They were Dukes of Carinthia from 1122 until 1269 and Counts of Sponheim until 1437...
, and the older brother of his successor Guy, Count of Nevers. Their paternal grandparents were William II of Nevers and his wife Adelais. Their maternal grandparents were Engelbert, Duke of Carinthia
Engelbert, Duke of Carinthia
Engelbert II from the House of Sponheim was Margrave of Istria and Carniola from sometime between 1101 and 1107 until 1124...
and Uta of Passau
Passau
Passau is a town in Lower Bavaria, Germany. It is also known as the Dreiflüssestadt or "City of Three Rivers," because the Danube is joined at Passau by the Inn from the south and the Ilz from the north....
.
A younger brother named Renaud of Nevers joined the Third Crusade
Third Crusade
The Third Crusade , also known as the Kings' Crusade, was an attempt by European leaders to reconquer the Holy Land from Saladin...
and died in Acre on 5 August 1191. Their sister Adelaide of Nevers, married Renaud IV, Count of Joigny. Ermengarde of Nevers, another sister, is only mentioned in documents recording her donations to the Benedictine
Order of Saint Benedict
The Order of Saint Benedict is a Roman Catholic religious order of independent monastic communities that observe the Rule of St. Benedict. Within the order, each individual community maintains its own autonomy, while the organization as a whole exists to represent their mutual interests...
monastery of Molesme
Molesme
-References:*...
.
Marriage
In 1164, William married Eléonore de Vermandois, later Eléonore, Countess of Vermandois in her own right from 1183 to 1214. His wife was a daughter of Raoul I, Count of VermandoisRaoul I, Count of Vermandois
Ralph I of Vermandois , Count of Vermandois. He was son of Hugh I, Count of Vermandois, and Adelaide, Countess of Vermandois and paternal grandson of Henry I of France and while his mother had been heiress to Herbert IV of Vermandois.His only paternal uncle was Philip I of France...
and his third wife Laurette of Flanders. Her maternal grandparents were Thierry, Count of Flanders
Thierry, Count of Flanders
Thierry of Alsace , in Flanders known as Diederik van den Elzas, was count of Flanders from 1128 to 1168. He was the youngest son of Duke Thierry II of Lorraine and Gertrude of Flanders...
and his first wife Suanhilde.. There is however a theory that Eléonore could be a daughter of Raoul and his second wife Petronilla of Aquitaine
Petronilla of Aquitaine
Petronilla of Aquitaine was the daughter of William X of Aquitaine and Aenor of Châtellerault. She was the sister of Eleanor of Aquitaine, who was Queen consort of England...
, who was a daughter of William X of Aquitaine
William X of Aquitaine
William X , called the Saint, was Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, and Count of Poitou between 1126 and 1137. He was the son of William IX by his second wife, Philippa of Toulouse....
and Aenor of Châtellerault. The theory makes Eléonore a niece of Eleanor of Aquitaine
Eleanor of Aquitaine
Eleanor of Aquitaine was one of the wealthiest and most powerful women in Western Europe during the High Middle Ages. As well as being Duchess of Aquitaine in her own right, she was queen consort of France and of England...
..
His wife was previously married to Godfrey of Hainaut, Count of Ostervant, son of Baldwin IV, Count of Hainaut
Baldwin IV, Count of Hainaut
Baldwin IV was count of Hainaut from 1120 to his death. He was the son of Baldwin III, Count of Hainaut, and Yolande de Wassenberg.-History:...
and Alice of Namur
Alice of Namur
Alice of Namur was the heiress of Namur when her brother Henry IV of Luxembourg died childless in 1196. She was the wife of Baldwin IV Count of Hainault...
, who died on 7 April 1163, while preparing for a journey to Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
.. Eléonore went on to marry Matthew of Alsace
Matthew of Alsace
Matthew of Alsace was the second son of Thierry, Count of Flanders and Sibylla of Anjou. By marriage to Marie de Boulogne, he became Count of Boulogne, in 1160. They were divorced in 1170, but he continued as Count until his death....
, Mathieu III of Beaumont-sur-Oise and (possibly) Etienne II of Blois. She never had children and her designated heir to her realms was Philip II of France
Philip II of France
Philip II Augustus was the King of France from 1180 until his death. A member of the House of Capet, Philip Augustus was born at Gonesse in the Val-d'Oise, the son of Louis VII and his third wife, Adela of Champagne...
, a paternal second cousin, once removed.
Coat of arms
Coat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
of the Town of Clamecy
Clamecy, Nièvre
Clamecy is a commune in the Nièvre department in central France.Clamecy is the capital of an arrondissement in the department of Nièvre, at the confluence of the Yonne and Beuvron and on the Canal du Nivernais, 46 m. N.N.E...
in the Nièvre, France.
Crusades
William was knighted in 1159, only two years prior to the death of his father. He and his brothers are considered to have been quite young at the time of William III's death. His younger brother Guy was still mentioned as underage in 1164. William IV, Count of Nevers, resided in the chateaux of Nevers and of Clamecy (present day department of the NièvreNièvre
Nièvre is a department in the centre of France named after the Nièvre River.-History:Nièvre is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790...
, Burgundy
Bourgogne
Burgundy is one of the 27 regions of France.The name comes from the Burgundians, an ancient Germanic people who settled in the area in early Middle-age. The region of Burgundy is both larger than the old Duchy of Burgundy and smaller than the area ruled by the Dukes of Burgundy, from the modern...
, France). The next nearest town to the East of Clamecy is Vezelay
Vézelay
Vézelay is a commune in the Yonne department in Burgundy in north-central France. It is a defendable hill town famous for Vézelay Abbey. The town and the Basilica of St Magdelene are designated UNESCO World Heritage sites....
, which, in the early medieval period, was the marshalling point for the start of several crusades
Crusades
The Crusades were a series of religious wars, blessed by the Pope and the Catholic Church with the main goal of restoring Christian access to the holy places in and near Jerusalem...
to the holy land
Holy Land
The Holy Land is a term which in Judaism refers to the Kingdom of Israel as defined in the Tanakh. For Jews, the Land's identifiction of being Holy is defined in Judaism by its differentiation from other lands by virtue of the practice of Judaism often possible only in the Land of Israel...
.
According to the Catholic Encyclopedia
Catholic Encyclopedia
The Catholic Encyclopedia, also referred to as the Old Catholic Encyclopedia and the Original Catholic Encyclopedia, is an English-language encyclopedia published in the United States. The first volume appeared in March 1907 and the last three volumes appeared in 1912, followed by a master index...
, Vézelay Abbey
Vézelay Abbey
Vézelay Abbey was a Benedictine and Cluniac monastery in Vézelay in the Yonne département in Burgundy, France. The Benedictine abbey church of Ste-Marie-Madeleine Vézelay Abbey (now known as Basilique Sainte-Marie-Madeleine) was a Benedictine and Cluniac monastery in Vézelay in the Yonne...
was often in conflict with the counts of Nevers. William IV had his provost
Provost (religion)
A provost is a senior official in a number of Christian churches.-Historical Development:The word praepositus was originally applied to any ecclesiastical ruler or dignitary...
Léthard force the monks to take flight and abandon the abbey. In 1166, Louis VII of France
Louis VII of France
Louis VII was King of France, the son and successor of Louis VI . He ruled from 1137 until his death. He was a member of the House of Capet. His reign was dominated by feudal struggles , and saw the beginning of the long rivalry between France and England...
arranged a reconciliation between William IV and Guillaume de Mello, abbot
Abbot
The word abbot, meaning father, is a title given to the head of a monastery in various traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not actually the head of a monastery...
of Vézelay. On 6 January 1167 (Epiphany), Louis VII attended the celebration over the reconciliation. In atonement
Atonement
Atonement is a doctrine that describes how human beings can be reconciled to God. In Christian theology the atonement refers to the forgiving or pardoning of sin through the death of Jesus Christ by crucifixion, which made possible the reconciliation between God and creation...
for his supposed crimes against the church, William set out for the Crusader states
Crusader states
The Crusader states were a number of mostly 12th- and 13th-century feudal states created by Western European crusaders in Asia Minor, Greece and the Holy Land , and during the Northern Crusades in the eastern Baltic area...
. In 1168, William of Tyre
William of Tyre
William of Tyre was a medieval prelate and chronicler. As archbishop of Tyre, he is sometimes known as William II to distinguish him from a predecessor, William of Malines...
records the arrival of the Count of Nevers in Jerusalem. He died shortly afterwards, and he was buried in Bethlehem
Bethlehem
Bethlehem is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank of the Jordan River, near Israel and approximately south of Jerusalem, with a population of about 30,000 people. It is the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate of the Palestinian National Authority and a hub of Palestinian culture and tourism...
.
Bishopric of Bethlehem
Before his death in 1168, he promised the bishopBishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
of Bethlehem
Bethlehem
Bethlehem is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank of the Jordan River, near Israel and approximately south of Jerusalem, with a population of about 30,000 people. It is the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate of the Palestinian National Authority and a hub of Palestinian culture and tourism...
that if Bethlehem should ever fall into Muslim hands, he would welcome him or his successors in Clamecy
Clamecy, Nièvre
Clamecy is a commune in the Nièvre department in central France.Clamecy is the capital of an arrondissement in the department of Nièvre, at the confluence of the Yonne and Beuvron and on the Canal du Nivernais, 46 m. N.N.E...
. After the capture of Bethlehem by Saladin
Saladin
Ṣalāḥ ad-Dīn Yūsuf ibn Ayyūb , better known in the Western world as Saladin, was an Arabized Kurdish Muslim, who became the first Sultan of Egypt and Syria, and founded the Ayyubid dynasty. He led Muslim and Arab opposition to the Franks and other European Crusaders in the Levant...
in 1187, the bequest of the now deceased count was honoured and the Bishop of Bethlehem duly took up residence in the hospital of Panthenor, Clamecy, which remained the continuous in partibus infidelium seat of the Bishopric
Diocese
A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...
of Bethlehem for almost 600 years until the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
in 1789.