Baudouin of Boulogne

Before the Crusade

It had two older brothers:

Eustace III, count de Boulogne, intended to collect the paternal heritage,
Godefroy de Bouillon, duke of Low-Lorraine, intended to collect the maternal heritage (his/her uncle Godefroy III Uneven the did not have children and had named it like its heir).

In fact, Baudouin was intended to follow an ecclesiastical career, even episcopal in order to support the policies of his two brothers. But for badly known reasons, it gave up this way for that of the weapons. When Godefroy puts the seat in front of Stenay to conquer the fields of his/her uncle, him and his/her Eustace brother organizes the reinforcements in order to help it.

Having left the orders definitively, he marries Godehilde (+ 1097), girl of the Anglo-Norman lord Raoul II of Tosny. It seems that Godefroy de Bouillon then regarded it as its heir, as lets it suppose the presence of Baudouin and the absence of Eustace to many acts of Godefroy.

But, at the time to leave in crusade, Baudouin, taking into account the difficulties which his/her brother had had to return in possessions of the goods of his uncle, preferred to take share with the First crusade and to try his chance in the East.

Count d' Édesse

It accompanied his two brothers in the Crusade, until the arrival of this one in front of Antioche (October 1097). It is at this time that Thoros, lord of Edesse, required of the assistance of the Crusaders to deal with the Turkish attacks. Baudouin of Boulogne, the brother of Godefroy de Bouillon answered the call. It was essential gradually, threatened to leave to join the Crusaders and obliged Thoros to adopt it like successor. Thoros found shortly after (March 9th 1098) death during a riot, perhaps with the complicity of Baudouin who then became count d' Edesse.

Godehilde de Tosny having died in 1097, it married Arda, Armenian, which made it better accept by the Armenian population more especially as it pushed back the Turks effectively of them, increasing its fields to banks of Euphrate. He thought of extending towards Dyarbekir, when the news came to him from dead from his/her Godefroy brother. He left to collect the succession of Jerusalem, entrusting the County of Edesse to his cousin Baudouin of the Borough.

King de Jérusalem

The new state did not have whereas only one port, Jaffa, whereas the other wearing of Palestine were held by the Fatimides of Egypt. It was a serious problem for a colony which could communicate with the remainder of Christendom only by the sea. The first task of Baudouin was thus to make sure control of the littoral and it took successively the ports of Arsouf, Césarée (1101), Saint-Jean-D' Acre (1104), Beirut and Sidon (1110). At the same time, it had to face several counter-attacks Fatimides and Abbassides.

Baudouin repudiated his Arda wife by throwing it in a convent to marry (1113) Adélaïde of Soaps, widow of the count Roger Ier of Sicily. This marriage brought a considerable dowry to him to fill the Treasury, and the support of the sicilian fleet which was invaluable for him. But under the pressure of the the Holy See, it had to separate from Adelaide. He died shortly after.

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