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Eustace IV of Boulogne

 

 
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Eustace IV (c. 1130 – 17 August 1153) was a Count of Boulogne
Count of Boulogne

The county of Boulogne was a historical region in the Low Countries. It consisted of a part of the present-day France d?partement of the Nord , in parts of which there is still a Flemish-speaking minority....
 and the son and heir of King Stephen of England
Stephen of England

Stephen often known as Stephen of Blois was a grandson of William I of England. He was the last Norman dynasty King of England, from 1135 to his death, and also the Count of Boulogne jure uxoris....
. He became the Heir Apparent
Heir apparent

An heir apparent is an heir who cannot be displaced from inheriting; the term is used in contrast to heir presumptive, the term for a conditional heir who is currently in line to inherit but could be displaced at any time in the future....
 to his father's lands by the death of an elder brother before 1135, and inherited Boulogne through his mother, Matilda of Boulogne
Matilda of Boulogne

Matilda I or Maud , was suo jure Count of Boulogne. She was also wife of Stephen of England and thus queen consort of Kingdom of England....
.

In 1137, he did homage for Normandy
Normandy

Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is situated along the coast of France south of the English Channel between Brittany and Picardy and comprises territory in northern France and the Channel Islands....
 to Louis VII of France
Louis VII of France

Louis VII, called the Younger or the Young, , was List of French monarchs, the son and successor of Louis VI of France . He ruled from 1137 until his death....
, whose sister, Constance, he subsequently married in 1140 (as a widow she remarried to Count Raymond V of Toulouse
Raymond V of Toulouse

Raymond V was Counts of Toulouse from 1148 until his death in 1194.He was the son of Alphonse I of Toulouse. When Alphonse died in the Holy Land in 1148, the county of Toulouse passed to his son Raymond, at the time 14 years old....
). Eustace was knighted in 1147, at which date he was probably from sixteen to eighteen years of age.






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Eustace IV (c. 1130 – 17 August 1153) was a Count of Boulogne
Count of Boulogne

The county of Boulogne was a historical region in the Low Countries. It consisted of a part of the present-day France d?partement of the Nord , in parts of which there is still a Flemish-speaking minority....
 and the son and heir of King Stephen of England
Stephen of England

Stephen often known as Stephen of Blois was a grandson of William I of England. He was the last Norman dynasty King of England, from 1135 to his death, and also the Count of Boulogne jure uxoris....
. He became the Heir Apparent
Heir apparent

An heir apparent is an heir who cannot be displaced from inheriting; the term is used in contrast to heir presumptive, the term for a conditional heir who is currently in line to inherit but could be displaced at any time in the future....
 to his father's lands by the death of an elder brother before 1135, and inherited Boulogne through his mother, Matilda of Boulogne
Matilda of Boulogne

Matilda I or Maud , was suo jure Count of Boulogne. She was also wife of Stephen of England and thus queen consort of Kingdom of England....
.

In 1137, he did homage for Normandy
Normandy

Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is situated along the coast of France south of the English Channel between Brittany and Picardy and comprises territory in northern France and the Channel Islands....
 to Louis VII of France
Louis VII of France

Louis VII, called the Younger or the Young, , was List of French monarchs, the son and successor of Louis VI of France . He ruled from 1137 until his death....
, whose sister, Constance, he subsequently married in 1140 (as a widow she remarried to Count Raymond V of Toulouse
Raymond V of Toulouse

Raymond V was Counts of Toulouse from 1148 until his death in 1194.He was the son of Alphonse I of Toulouse. When Alphonse died in the Holy Land in 1148, the county of Toulouse passed to his son Raymond, at the time 14 years old....
). Eustace was knighted in 1147, at which date he was probably from sixteen to eighteen years of age. In 1151 he joined Louis in an abortive raid upon Normandy, which had accepted the title of the Empress Matilda
Empress Matilda

Empress Matilda, also known as Matilda of England or Maude was the daughter and heir of King Henry I of England. Matilda and her younger brother, William Adelin, were the only legitimate children of King Henry....
 (another of many Matildas of the era), and was now defended by her husband, Geoffrey of Anjou.

At a council held in London
London

London is the capital of both England and the United Kingdom, and the most populous municipality in the European Union. An important settlement for two millennia, History of London goes back to its founding by the Roman Empire....
 on 6 April 1152, Stephen induced a small number of baron
Baron

Baron is a specific title of nobility. The word baron comes from Old French baron, itself from Old High German and latin baro meaning " man, warrior"; it merged with cognate Old English language beorn meaning "nobleman."...
s to pay homage to Eustace as their future king; but the primate
Primate (religion)

Primate is a title or rank bestowed on some bishops in certain Christianity churches. Depending on the particular tradition, it can denote either jurisdictional authority or ceremonial precedence ....
, Theobald
Theobald of Bec

Theobald was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1139 to 1161. He was a Normans by birth, but his exact birth date is unknown. King Stephen of England chose him to be Archbishop of Canterbury in 1138....
, and the other bishops declined to perform the coronation
Coronation

A coronation is a ceremony marking the investiture of a monarch with regal power, specifically involving the placement of a coronation crown upon his or her head, and the presentation of other items of regalia....
 ceremony on the grounds that the Roman curia
Roman Curia

The Roman Curia is the administrative apparatus of the Holy See and the central governing body of the entire Roman Catholic Church, together with the Pope....
 had declared against the claim of Eustace.

Eustace died suddenly the next year, in early August 1153 struck down (so it was said) by the wrath of God while plundering church lands near Bury St. Edmunds
Bury St. Edmunds

Bury St Edmunds is a market town in the county of Suffolk, England and formerly the county town of West Suffolk. It is the main town in the borough of St....
. The death of Eustace was hailed with general satisfaction as opening the possibility of a peaceful settlement between Stephen and his rival, the young Henry of Anjou
Henry II of England

Henry II, called Curtmantle ruled as King of England , Count of Anjou, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France....
. According to William of Newburgh
William of Newburgh

William of Newburgh or Newbury , also known as William Parvus, was a English historians in the Middle Ages and Augustinian canon from Bridlington, Yorkshire....
, King Stephen was "grieved beyond measure by the death of the son who he hoped would succeed him; he pursued warlike preparations less vigorously, and listened more patiently than usual to the voices of those urging peace."

The Peterborough Chronicle
Peterborough Chronicle

The Peterborough Chronicle , one of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, contains unique information about the history of England after the Norman Conquest....
, not content with voicing this sentiment, gives Eustace a bad character. "He was an evil man and did more harm than good wherever he went; he spoiled the lands and laid thereon heavy taxes." He had used threats against the recalcitrant bishops, and in the war against the Angevin
Angevin

Angevin is the name applied to the residents of Anjou, a former province of the Ancien R?gime in France, as well as to the residents of Angers....
 party had demanded contributions from religious houses; these facts perhaps suffice to account for the verdict of the chronicler.

He was buried in Faversham Abbey
Faversham Abbey

Faversham Abbey was a Cluny style monastery immediately to the north-east of the town of Faversham, England.It was founded by King Stephen_of_England and his queen Matilda of Boulogne in 1148....
, which was founded by his parents.