Geoffrey de Boulogne

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Name:
As his father was excommunicated, Geoffrey was considered illegitimate.

Family/Spouse: Beatrice de Mandeville. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• General Information: Aux Gernons translates to with moustaches.
• Military: 1047; He joined Godfrey II, duke of Lotharingia, in an unsuccessful rebellion against Emperor Henry III in 1047.
• Religion: 1049; As a consequence of his revolt against the Emperor, Pope Leo IX, a close ally of the emperor, excommunicated Eustace at the Council of Rheims in 1049. "Excommunicavit etiam Comites Angelrai et Eustacium propter incestum, et Hugonem de Braina, quia legitimam uxorem dimiserat, et aliam sibi in matrimonio sociaverat”. The reason given for the excommunication was incest. Pope Leo IX had been attempting to reform the papacy by condemning marriages within seven degrees of consanguinity. Although neither wife is mentioned by name both were related to Eustace within the prohibited degree.
• Title(s): 1049; Eustace succeeded his father in 1049 as Count of Boulogne.
• Travel: 1051, England; Eustace visited England in 1051, and was received with honor at the court of Edward the Confessor. Edward and Eustace were former brothers-in-law and remained political allies.
• Title(s): 1054; In 1054 he became the Count of Lens.
• Military: 14 Oct 1066, Hastings, Sussex, England; He fought at the Battle of Hastings and is one of the few proven companions of William the Conqueror. Sources vary regarding the details of his conduct during the battle. The contemporary chronicler William of Poitiers wrote concerning him: With a harsh voice he (Duke William) called to Eustace of Boulogne, who with 50 knights was turning in flight and was about to give the signal for retreat. This man came up to the Duke and said in his ear that he ought to retire since he would court death if he went forward. But at the very moment when he uttered the words Eustace was struck between the shoulders with such force that blood gushed out from his mouth and nose and half dead he only made his escape with the aid of his followers. The depiction in the Bayeux Tapestry shows a knight carrying a banner who rides up to Duke William and points excitedly with his finger towards the rear of the Norman advance. William turns his head and lifts up his visor to show his knights following him that he is still alive and determined to fight on. This conforms therefore with Eustace having somewhat lost his nerve and having urged the Duke to retreat while the Battle was at its height with the outcome still uncertain. Other sources suggest that Eustace was present with William at the Malfosse incident in the immediate aftermath of the battle, where a Saxon feigning death leapt up and attacked him, and was presumably cut down before he could reach William.
• Military: 1067; After playing a prominent part in the battle of Hastings, Eustace supported an uprising by the townsfolk of Dover against William’s half-brother, Bishop Odo in 1067. The attack was unsuccessful; Eustace escaped but left his nepos, probably Geoffrey, behind in captivity. Eustace was exiled from England following the disaster in Dover, and his English estates were forfeited. But clearly he was more useful to William I as an ally than as an enemy, and the two were reconciled in the early 1070s. William I, who could have been holding the nepos to ensure Eustace’s compliance as a future ally, may have released him during this time. Eustace received a generous new allocation of estates.
• Last Full Review: 9 Dec 2020

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Eustace married Godgifu, Princess of England after 1035. Godgifu (daughter of Æthelred II "the Unrede", King of England and Emma of Normandy) was born about 1010 in England; died in by 1049. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• General Information: Her name was also spelt Goda.
• Last Full Review: 9 Dec 2020

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Other Events and Attributes:

• Charter/Grant/Gift: 1038; He is named in a charter of 1038 as Baron of Flanders.

Eustace married Matilda of Louvain on Yes, date unknown. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• General Information: She was also called Maud.

Other Events and Attributes:

• History: birth to death
• Reign: From 979 to 1016; King of England

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History:
The name Æthelred means "noble council", but a cynical 13th century pun suggested his name should have been "evil council" or "unrede" because he said to have participated in a plot to murder his half brother St. Edward the Martyr. However, he was only about 10 years old at the time, and it is difficult to imagine how a child could have been a participant in such a heinous crime. Regardless, Æthelred's name "the Unrede" stuck. The name "the Unready" was coined centuries later and is mistaken.

On 14 April 979, he became the King of England.

Æthelred may have married to Ælthelgife, a daughter of Egbert who is not shown in all genealogies.

In 1013, he was temporarily deposed by King Sweyn Forkbeard of Denmark, who was never actually crowned King of England. When Sweyn died on February 3, 1014, the Witan recalled Æthelred who then reigned until his death.

Buried:
When St. Paul's was destroyed by the Great London Fire in 1666, and rebuilt, his tomb was lost.

Æthelred married Emma of Normandy on 5 Apr 1002. Emma (daughter of Richard I "the Fearless", Duke of Normandy and Gunnor of Crêpon) was born about 986; died on 14 Mar 1052. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Baldwin married Aleida. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

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Died:
He was killed in battle.

Lambert married Gerberga of Lower Lorraine about 990. Gerberga (daughter of Charles of Laon, Duke of Lower Lorraine and Bonne d'Ardennes) was born about 975; died after 1017; was buried in Collegiate Church of Saint Gertrude, Nivelles, Wallonia, Belguim. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Reign: From 959 to 975; King of England

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History:
In 959, he became the King of England. [see picture below]

Edgar allowed his Danish subjects to retain Danish laws, he promoted a monastic revival and he encouraged trade by reforming the currency. He improved defense by organizing coastal naval patrols and a system for manning warships.

He had a liaison with St. Wulfryth, Abbess of Wilton (circa 945 - 1000) from which they had a daughter, St. Eadgyth, Abbess of Barking, (962 - 984)

Edgar married Ælfthryth in 965 in England. Ælfthryth (daughter of Ordgar, Earldorman of Devonshire and Wulfrith) was born in 945 in Devonshire, England; died about 1000 in England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• History: birth to death

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History:
Ælfthryth 's name was also spelt Elfrida.

Later in life, she became a nun.

Other Events and Attributes:

• Title(s): 942; In 942, he succeeded as the Duke of Normandy.

Richard married Gunnor of Crêpon about 978. Gunnor (daughter of Herfast de Crépon) was born about 936; died on 1027 or 1031 in France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• General Information: She was also known as Gunora of Denmark.