- John I of Avesnes
John I of Avesnes (
May 1 1218 –December 24 1257 ) was thecount of Hainaut from1246 to his death. Born inHouffalize , he was the eldest son ofMargaret II of Flanders by her first husband,Bouchard IV of Avesnes . As the marriage of Margaret and Bouchard was papally dissolved, he was considered illegitimate.His mother remarried to
William II of Dampierre and bore more children who could claim her inheritance. Thus, John and his brother Baldwin undertook to receive imperial recognition of their legitimacy and did so from theEmperor Frederick II in March1243 . On5 December 1244 , Margaret inheritedFlanders and Hainaut and designated her eldest son by her second husband,William III of Dampierre , as her heir. Immediately a war, called theWar of the Succession of Flanders and Hainault , was set off over the rights of inheritance, pitting John against William.After two years of fighting, in
1246 ,Louis IX of France intervened to settle the conflict. He granted Hainaut to John and Flanders to William. However, Margaret refused to hand Hainaut over to John. On6 June 1251 , William of Flanders was assassinated and it was shown that the Avesnes family had financed the crime. On4 July 1253 , John defeated the armies of Margaret and her second Dampierre son, Guy, at theBattle of West-Capelle . Guy was imprisoned and Margaret agreed to sell her rights to Hainaut toCharles of Anjou if he would reconquer it from John. John's brother-in-lawWilliam II, Count of Holland , who had been elected German King (or "King of the Romans "), was convinced to grant Hainaut (an imperial fief) and those Flemish lands within the Empire to John. Charles was defeated and King Louis, returning from theSeventh Crusade , ordered his brother to abide by his arbitration of 1246. On22 November 1257 , Guy finally relinquished Hainaut, but John died onChristmas Eve inValenciennes .Family and children
He married
Adelaide of Holland in 1246 and had the following issue:
*John II, Count of Hainaut and Holland (1247-1304)
*Joanna, Abbess of Flines (died 1304)
*Bouchard,Bishop of Metz (1251-1296)
*Guy,Bishop of Utrecht (1253-1317)
*William,Bishop of Cambrai (1254-1296)
*Floris,stadholder of Zeeland and Prince of Achaeaee also
*
Counts of Hainaut family tree
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