History - OnThisDay - 17 July 1119 - Death of Baldwin VII, Count of Flanders

On 17 July 1119, Baldwin VII, Count of Flanders died, when he
returned to Wijnendale Castle (nowadays at Torhout in
West-Flanders, Belgium)




Family

Baldwin VII of Flanders was the son of Robert II, count of
Flanders and Clementia of Burgundy.

His uncles were Pope Callixtus II and Raymond of Burgundy, the
husband of the future Queen Urraca of León and Castile.

Baldwin VII of Flanders and King Alfonso VII of León and Castile
were thus cousins.

Baldwin VII had other important first cousins:

- Amadeus III, count of Savoy;
- William V, Marquess of Montferrat



Duty

On 5 October 1111, Baldwin succeeded his father as Count of Flanders.
He was then only 18 years old.

In 1118 Baldwin arranged the marriage of Charles the Good to
Margaret of Clermont, the heiress of the County of Amiens.

Love and Marriage

In 1105, Baldwin married Hawise of Brittany, daughter of Alan IV,
duke of Brittany. The groom was twelve, the bride only nine years old!
They were divorced in 1110. Baldwin never remarried.



Death


Baldwin VII of Flanders died after being wounded in September 1118
at the Battle of Bures-en-Brai. There he was fighting against King
Henry I of England on behalf of Louis VI of France.

In 1119 he declared his cousin Charles his heir. Charles became the
new Count of Flanders after his death.



Source pictures: Wikipedia

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