Hugh of Fauquembergues

Hugh of Fauquembergues, also known as Hugh of St Omer, Hugh of Falkenberg, or Hugh of Falchenberg (Template:Langx; died in 1105 or 1106) was Prince of Galilee from 1101 to his death. He was Lord of Fauquembergues before joining the First Crusade. Baldwin I of Jerusalem granted him Galilee after its first prince, Tancred, who was Baldwin's opponent, had voluntarily renounced it. Hugh assisted Baldwin against the Fatimids and made raids into Seljuk territories. He established the castles of Toron and Chastel Neuf (at present-day Tebnine and Hunin, respectively). He died fighting against Toghtekin, Atabeg of Damascus.

Early life

Hugh's parentage is unknown, but William of Tyre called him "Hugo de Sancto Aldemaro", suggesting that he was descended from the powerful family of the hereditary castellans of Saint-Omer.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn He was the lord of the nearby Fauquembergues.Template:Sfn A contemporary poem written by an unknown author listed Hugh among the first crusaders from the Diocese of Thérouanne.Template:Sfn Though no primary sources recorded in whose retinue he reached the Holy Land,Template:Sfn it is thought that he accompanied either Baldwin of BoulogneTemplate:Sfn or Robert II of Flanders.Template:Sfn Baldwin and his elder brother, Godfrey of Bouillon, Duke of Lower Lorraine, departed for the crusade on 15August 1096, and RobertII of Flanders about a month later.Template:Sfn

After Baldwin seized Edessa on 9 March 1098,Template:Sfn Hugh settled in the county that developed around the town.Template:Sfn He was one of Baldwin's most trusted retainers.Template:Sfn After Godfrey of Bouillon, who had become the ruler of Jerusalem, died on 18July 1100,Template:Sfn Baldwin sent Hugh to Jerusalem to secure his claim to Godfrey's inheritance.Template:Sfn Hugh and Robert, Bishop of Lydda and Ramla took control of the Tower of David, enabling Baldwin to enter JerusalemTemplate:Sfn on 9November.Template:Sfn

Baldwin was crowned king on 25 December 1100.Template:Sfn Tancred, Prince of Galilee, did not recognize Baldwin as king, but their conflict was soon resolved.Template:Sfn Noblemen came from the Principality of Antioch and asked Tancred to assume the administration of the principality on behalf of his relative, Bohemond I of Antioch, who had been captured by Turkish troops.Template:Sfn Tancred accepted the offer and renounced Galilee in March 1101, but he also stipulated that the king should grant the same land "as a fief" to him if he returned to the kingdom within fifteen months.Template:Sfn

Prince of Galilee

Ruins of the tower and the walls of a fortress made of stone on a hill covered with snow

The fortress at Toron, which was built by Hugh

King Baldwin divided Tancred's large fief in two, granting Tiberias and its region to Hugh, but giving Haifa to Geldemar Carpenel, who had already claimed it from Tancred.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn An Egyptian army invaded the Kingdom of Jerusalem from the south in early September 1101.Template:Sfn The king decided to attack the invaders near Ramla at dawn on 7September.Template:Sfn He divided his troops into five corps, appointing Hugh to command the third corps.Template:Sfn The Egyptians annihilated the first two corps of the crusader army and also defeated Hugh and his troops.Template:Sfn Thinking that the battle was lost, Hugh fled from the battlefield and hurried to Jaffa to inform the queen, traditionally called Arda, about the catastrophe.Template:Sfn However, the battle was not lost, because the king made a surprise attack against the Egyptians and defeated them.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

The Egyptians launched a new invasion against the kingdom in May 1102.Template:Sfn Hugh and his 80 knights hurried from Galilee to assist the royal army, but by the time they reached Arsuf on 19May, the Egyptians had defeated the crusaders at Ramla.Template:Sfn At Arsuf, they met the king who had escaped before the battle to muster new troops.Template:Sfn The Egyptians laid siege to Jaffa where the queen was staying.Template:Sfn The king sailed from Arsuf to Jaffa on the ship of an English adventurer, while Hugh and his troops rode on the coastline.Template:Sfn The Egyptians could not prevent the king from entering the town, and he helped Hugh and retainers to also break through the Egyptian troops around Jaffa.Template:Sfn The arrival of hundreds of English, French, and Italian pilgrims enabled Baldwin to make a counter-attack, forcing the Egyptians to lift the siege on 27May.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

Hugh pursued an aggressive policy against the Muslim rulers.Template:Sfn He ordered the erection of the fortresses of Toron and Chastel Neuf to control the road between Damascus and Tyre.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn The two castles were finished in the autumn of 1105.Template:Sfn Before long, Hugh made a plundering raid against the territories over Chastel Neuf.Template:Sfn When he was returning to Galilee, taking much booty with him, Toghtekin, Atabeg of Damascus, ambushed him.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn During the skirmish, an arrow killed Hugh,Template:Sfn and Toghtekin soon captured Chastel Neuf.Template:Sfn Hugh's brother, Gerard, did not long survive him.Template:Sfn Hugh fathered two daughters, according to the Lignages d'Outremer, but Galilee was granted to Gervase of Bazoches, a knight from Northern France.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Hugh was buried in Nazareth.Template:Sfn

Sources

• Template:Setton-A History of the Crusades
• Template:Runciman-A History of the Crusades

External links

• Thomas Delvaux, Le sang des Saint-Omer des Croisades à la quenouille, Tatinghem, 2007