Bronze statue in the Hofkirche of Innsbruck. Innsbruck is the capital city of the federal state of Tyrol in western Austria.

Godfrey of Bouillon (c. 1060, Boulogne-sur-Mer – 18 July 1100, Jerusalem) was a medieval knight who was a leader of the First Crusade from 1096 until his death. Boulogne-sur-Mer ( Bonen in Dutch is a City in Northern France. Events 390 BC - Roman - Gaulish Wars Battle of the Allia - a Roman army is defeated by raiding Gauls, Jerusalem (יְרוּשָׁלַיִם, he-Latn Yerushaláyim; Arabic: ar القُدس, ar-Latn al-Quds) is the The First Crusade was launched in 1095 by Pope Urban II with the dual goals of conquering the sacred city of Jerusalem and the Holy Land and freeing He was the Lord of Bouillon, from which he took his byname, from 1076 and the Duke of Lower Lorraine from 1087. lordship of Bouillon was in the 10th and 11th century one of the core holdings of the Ardennes-Bouillon dynasty, and appears to have been their original patrimonial possession The rulers of Lorraine have held different posts under different governments over different regions After the fall of Jerusalem in 1099, Godfrey became the first ruler of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, although he did not use the title "king. The Siege of Jerusalem took place from June 7 to July 15, 1099 during the First Crusade. This article is about the Christian kingdom For the history of the city see History of Jerusalem The Kingdom of Jerusalem was a Christian "

He was the second son of Eustace II, Count of Boulogne, and Ida of Lorraine (daughter of Godfrey III, Duke of Lower Lorraine). Eustace II, (c 1015-1020 &ndash 1087 was Count of Boulogne from 1049-1093 fought on the Norman side at the Battle of Hastings, and afterwards received a The county of Boulogne (Dutch Bonen) was a historical region in the Low Countries. Ida of Lorraine (also referred to as Blessed Ida of Boulogne (c Godfrey III (c 997&ndash1069 called the Bearded, was the eldest son of Gothelo I, duke of Upper and Lower Lorraine.

Early life

Godfrey of Bouillon was born around 1060 in either Boulogne-sur-Mer in France or Baisy, a city in the region of Brabant (part of present-day Belgium). Boulogne-sur-Mer ( Bonen in Dutch is a City in Northern France. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. The Kingdom of Belgium is a Country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters as well as those During Godfrey's lifetime this region was part of the Holy Roman Empire, a loose collection of principalities, or small royal states. The Holy Roman Empire ( HRE; German Heiliges Römisches Reich (HRR, Latin Sacrum Romanum Imperium (SRI was a union of territories in Godfrey was the second son of Count Eustace II of Boulogne and Ida of Lorraine. Eustace II, (c 1015-1020 &ndash 1087 was Count of Boulogne from 1049-1093 fought on the Norman side at the Battle of Hastings, and afterwards received a Ida of Lorraine (also referred to as Blessed Ida of Boulogne (c As second son, he had fewer opportunities than his older brother and seemed destined to become just one more minor knight in service to a rich landed nobleman. However, his uncle on his mother's side, Godfrey the Hunchback, Duke of Lower of Lorraine, died childless and named his nephew, Godfrey of Bouillon, as his heir and next in line to his duchy of Lower Lorraine. Godfrey IV (died 27 or 26 February 1076 known as the Hunchback, was a son of Godfrey the Bearded, whom he succeeded as Duke of Lower Lorraine in 1069 A duchy is a territory fief, or domain ruled by a Duke or Duchess. The Duchy of Lower Lorraine or Lower Lotharingia encompassed part of modern-day Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany west of the Rhine This duchy was an important one at the time, serving as a buffer between the kingdom of France and the German lands.

In fact, Lower Lorraine was so important to the German kingdom and the Holy Roman Empire that Henry IV, the German king and future emperor (ruled 1084-1105), decided in 1076 that he would place it in the hands of his own son and give Godfrey only Bouillon and the Mark of Antwerp, as a test of Godfrey's abilities and loyalty. Henry IV ( November 11, 1050 &ndash August 7, 1106) was King of Germany from 1056 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1084 until Bouillon is a Municipality of Belgium. It lies in the country's Walloon Region and Luxembourg Province. Antwerp ( Antwerpen) is the northernmost province both of the Flemish Region, also called Flanders and of Belgium. Godfrey served Henry IV loyally, supporting him even when Pope Gregory VII was battling the German king in the Investiture Controversy. Pope The Investiture Controversy or Investiture Contest was an 11th century dispute between Henry IV Holy Roman Emperor and Pope Gregory VII over Godfrey fought with Henry and his forces against the rival forces of Rudolf of Swabia and also took part in battles in Italy when Henry IV actually took Rome away from the pope. Rudolf of Rheinfelden (Rudolf von Rheinfelden c 1025 &ndash 15 October 1080) was Duke of Swabia (1057&ndash1079 and German Antiking Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Rome ( Roma ˈroma Roma is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city with more than 2

At the same time, Godfrey was struggling to maintain control over the lands that Henry IV had not taken away from him. Matilda of Tuscany, the widow of his uncle, said that these lands should have come to her. Matilda of Canossa ( Italian: Matilde, Latin: Mathilde; 1046 &ndash 24 July 1115) called la Gran Contessa Another enemy outside the family also tried to take away other bits of his land, and Godfrey's brothers, Eustace and Baldwin, both came to his aid. Eustace III, was a Count of Boulogne, successor to his father Count Eustace II of Boulogne. Baldwin I of Jerusalem, formerly Baldwin I of Edessa, born Baldwin of Boulogne (French Baudouin de Boulogne 1058? - April 2, 1118, was Following long struggles, and after proving that he was a loyal subject to Henry IV, Godfrey finally won back his duchy of Lower Lorraine in 1087. Still, Godfrey would never have had much power in the German kingdom or in Europe if it had not been for the coming of the Crusades.

Family in England

Marjorie Chibnall^[1] has pointed out the oft-ignored fact that the young Godfrey married Beatrice, daughter of Geoffrey de Mandeville and aunt of the first Earl of Essex, and that he left behind in England a son, William de Boulogne (adult by 1106, d. Geoffrey de Mandeville is the name of several important medieval English barons ca. 1169). William would have a son, Faramus de Boulogne, Lord of Tingry, whose daughter Sibylle would marry Enguerrand I de Fiennes. Their descendants would marry into the Arden family of Warwickshire, making Godfrey de Bouillon 15th great-grandfather of William Shakespeare. The Arden family is according to an article by James Lees-Milne in the 18th edition of Burke's Peerage or Burke's Landed Gentry, volume 1 one of three Geography Warwickshire is bounded to the northwest by the West Midlands Metropolitan county and Staffordshire, by Leicestershire to William Shakespeare ( baptised Chibnall is quoted at length in the 8th ed. of "Ancestral Roots". ^[2]

First Crusade

Godfrey of Bouillon, from a fresco depicting the Nine Worthies, painted by Giacomo Jaquerio c. The Nine Worthies ( les neuf preux) were nine historical scriptural mythological or semi-legendary figures who in The Middle Ages, were believed to personify the 1420

In 1095 Urban II, the new Pope, called for a Crusade to liberate Jerusalem from Muslim forces and also to aid the Byzantine Empire. Pope The Crusades were a series of military campaigns of a religious character waged by much of Christian Europe against external and internal opponents Jerusalem (יְרוּשָׁלַיִם, he-Latn Yerushaláyim; Arabic: ar القُدس, ar-Latn al-Quds) is the Godfrey took out loans on most of his lands, or sold them, to the bishop of Liège and the bishop of Verdun. The Bishopric of Liège or Prince-Bishopric of Liège was a state of the Holy Roman Empire in the Low Countries in present Belgium The Bishopric of Verdun was also a state of the Holy Roman Empire; it was located at the western edge of the Empire and was bordered by France the Duchy of Luxembourg With this money he gathered thousands of knights to fight in the Holy Land. The Holy Land ( Arabic: الأرض المقدسة al-Arḍ ul-Muqaddasah;Ancient Aramaic: ארעא קדישא Ar'a Qaddisha; Hebrew: ארץ_הקודש In this he was joined by his older brother, Eustace, and his younger brother, Baldwin, who had no lands in Europe. He was not the only major nobleman to gather such an army. Raymond of Saint-Gilles, also known as Raymond of Toulouse, created the largest army. Raymond IV of Toulouse sometimes called Raymond of St Gilles (c At age fifty-five Raymond was also the oldest and perhaps the best known of the Crusader nobles. Because of his age and fame, Raymond expected to be the leader of the entire First Crusade. Adhemar, the papal legate and bishop of Le Puy, travelled with him. Adhemar (also known as Adémar, Aimar, or Aelarz) de Monteil (died August 1, 1098) one of the principal personages A Papal Legate – from the Latin authentic Roman title Legatus – is a personal representative of the Pope to Foreign nations or to some part of the Catholic There was also the fiery Bohemond, a Norman knight who had formed a small kingdom in southern Italy, and a fourth group under Robert of Flanders. Bohemond I (also spelled Bohemund or Boamund; c 1058&ndash 3 March 1111) Prince of Taranto and Prince of Antioch The Normans were the people who gave their names to Normandy, a region in northern France. Robert II (c 1065 &ndash October 5, 1111) was Count of Flanders from 1093 to 1111

Each of these armies traveled separately, some going southeast across Europe through Hungary and others sailing by water across the Adriatic Sea from southern Italy. Hungary (Magyarország 'mɔɟɔrorsaːg) officially in English the Republic of Hungary ( Magyar Köztársaság, literally Magyar (Hungarian Republic Godfrey, along with his two brothers, started in August 1096 at the head of an army from Lorraine (some say 40,000 strong) along "Charlemagne's road," as Urban II seems to have called it (according to the chronicler Robert the Monk)—the road to Jerusalem. Charlemagne (ˈʃɑrlɨmeɪn Carolus Magnus or Karolus Magnus meaning Charles the Great) (747 – 28 January 814 was King of the Franks from 768 to his Robert was a chronicler of the First Crusade. He did not participate in the expedition but rewrote the Gesta Francorum at the request of his abbot who After some difficulties in Hungary, where he was unable to stop his men from pillaging fellow Christians, he arrived in Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire, in November. A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth Constantinople (Κωνσταντινούπολις Konstantinoúpolis, or gr ἡ Πόλις hē Polis, Latin: la CONSTANTINOPOLIS The Pope had, in fact, called the Crusade in order the help the Byzantine emperor Alexius I fight the Islamic Turks who were invading his lands from Central Asia and Persia. This is a list of the Emperors of the Eastern Roman Empire, commonly known as the Byzantine Empire by modern historians

Godfrey and his troops were the second to arrive (after Hugh of Vermandois) in Constantinople. During the next several months the other Crusader armies arrived. Suddenly the Byzantine emperor had an army of about 4000 mounted knights and 25,000 infantry camped on his doorstep. But Godfrey and Alexius I had different goals. The Byzantine emperor wanted the help of the Crusader soldiers to recapture lands that the Seljuk Turks had taken. The Seljuq (also Seljuq Turks, Seldjuks, Seldjuqs, Seljuks; in Turkish Selçuklular; in Ṣaljūqīyān; in The Crusaders however had the main aim of taking the Holy Land in Palestine from the Muslims and reinstating Christian rule there. For them, Alexius I and his Turks were only a sideshow. Worse, the Byzantine emperor expected the Crusaders to take an oath of loyalty to him. Godfrey and the other knights agreed to a modified version of this oath, promising to help return some lands to Alexius I. By the spring of 1097 the Crusaders were ready to march into battle.

Their first major victory, with Byzantine soldiers at their side, was at the city of Nicaea, close to Constantinople, which the Seljuk Turks had taken some years earlier. Godfrey and his knights of Lorraine played a minor role in the siege of Nicaea, with Bohemond successfully commanding much of the action. The Siege of Nicaea took place from May 14 to June 19, 1097, during the First Crusade. Just as the Crusaders were about to storm the city, they suddenly noticed the Byzantine flag flying from atop the city walls. Alexius I had made a separate peace with the Turks and now claimed the city for the Byzantine Empire. These secret dealings were a sign of things to come in terms of relations between Crusaders and Byzantines.

Godfrey continued to play a minor but important role in the battles against the Muslims until the Crusaders finally reached Jerusalem in 1099. Before that time, he helped to relieve the vanguard at the Battle of Dorylaeum after it had been pinned down by the Seljuk Turks under Kilij Arslan I, with the help of the other crusader princes in the main force and went on to sack the Seljuk camp. The Battle of Dorylaeum took place during the First Crusade on July 1, 1097, between the Crusaders and the Seljuk Turks, near Kilij Arslan (قلج أرسلان Qilij Arslān I Kılıç Arslan was the Seljuq Sultan of Rum from 1092 until his death in 1107 In 1098 Godfrey took part in the capture of Antioch, which fell in June of that year after long and bitter fighting. For other uses please see Siege of Antioch (disambiguation The Siege of Antioch took place during the First Crusade in 1097 During the siege some of the Crusaders felt that the battle was hopeless and left the Crusade to return to Europe. Alexius I, hearing of the desperate situation, thought that all was lost at Antioch and did not come to help the Crusaders as promised. When the Crusaders finally took the city, they decided that their oaths to Alexius I were no longer in effect. Bohemond, the first to enter the city gates, claimed the prize for himself. A Muslim force under Kerbogha, from the city of Mosul, arrived and battled the Crusaders, but the Christians finally defeated these Turkish Islamic troops. Kerbogha ( Arabic: كربغا, Turkish: Kürboğa) was Atabeg of Mosul during the First Crusade and was renowned For the village in Azerbaijan see Mosul Azerbaijan. Mosul (الموصل Al Mūṣul, Kurdish: Mosul/Ninawa, Musul

After this victory the Crusaders were divided over their next course of action. The bishop of Le Puy had died at Antioch. Bohemond decided to remain behind in order to secure his new kingdom and Godfrey’s younger brother, Baldwin, also decided to stay in the north at the Crusader state he had established at Edessa. The County of Edessa was one of the Crusader states in the 12th century, based around a city with an ancient history and an early tradition of Christianity Most of the foot soldiers wanted to continue south to Jerusalem, but Raymond IV of Toulouse, by this time the most powerful of the princes, having taken others into his employ, such as Tancred, hesitated to continue the march. Tancred ( 1072 - December 5 or December 12, 1112) was a Norman leader of the First Crusade who later became Prince After months of waiting, the common people on the crusade forced Raymond to march on to Jerusalem, and Godfrey quickly joined him. As they traveled south into Palestine, the Crusaders faced a new enemy. No longer were the Seljuk Turks the rulers of these lands. Now the Christian army had to deal with armies of North African Muslims called Fatimids, who had adopted the name of the ruling family in Cairo, Egypt. Cairo () which means "the Vanquisher" or "the Triumphant" is the capital and largest city of Egypt. This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics. The Fatimids had taken Jerusalem in August 1098. The Crusaders would be battling them for the final prize of the First Crusade in the siege of Jerusalem. The Siege of Jerusalem took place from June 7 to July 15, 1099 during the First Crusade.

It was in Jerusalem that the legend of Godfrey of Bouillon was born. The army reached the city in June 1099 and built wooden ladders to climb over the walls. The major attack took place on July 14 and 15, 1099. Events 1223 - Louis VIII becomes King of France upon the death of his father Philip II of France. Events 1099 - First Crusade: Christian soldiers take the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem after the final Godfrey and some of his knights were the first to get over the walls and enter the city. Once inside, the Crusaders killed many of the city's inhabitants; at the time, it was common practice with any captured city. It was an end to three years of fighting by the Crusaders, but they had finally done what they had set out to do in 1096—namely, to recapture the Holy Land and, in particular, the city of Jerusalem and its holy sites, such as the Holy Sepulchre, the tomb of Jesus Christ. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre (Sanctum Sepulchrum also called the Church of the Resurrection, ( Greek: Ναός της Αναστάσεως Naos tis Anastaseos Jesus of Nazareth (7–2 BC / BCE —26–36 AD / CE)

Once the city was captured, some form of government had to be set up. On July 22, a council was held in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Events 1099 - First Crusade: Godfrey of Bouillon is elected the first Defender of the Holy Sepulchre of The Kingdom of Raymond of Toulouse at first refused to become king, perhaps attempting to show his piety but probably hoping that the other nobles would insist upon his election anyway. Godfrey, who had become the more popular of the two after Raymond's actions at the siege of Antioch, did no damage to his own piety by accepting a position as secular leader, but with an unknown or ill-defined title. Raymond was incensed at this development and took his army out into the countryside.

Kingdom of Jerusalem

Coat of arms of the kingdom of Jerusalem

However, perhaps considering the controversy which had surrounded Tancred's seizure of Bethlehem, Godfrey refused to be crowned king in the city where Christ had died. Christ is the English term for the Greek ( Khristós) meaning "the anointed " The exact nature and meaning of his title is thus somewhat of a controversy. Although it is widely claimed that he took the title Advocatus Sancti Sepulchri ("advocate" or "defender" of the Holy Sepulchre), this title is only used in a letter which was not written by the Godfrey. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre (Sanctum Sepulchrum also called the Church of the Resurrection, ( Greek: Ναός της Αναστάσεως Naos tis Anastaseos Instead, Godfrey himself seems to have used the more ambiguous term Princeps, or simply retained his title of dux from back home in Lower Lorraine. Robert the Monk is the only chronicler of the crusade to report that Godfrey took the title "king". Robert was a chronicler of the First Crusade. He did not participate in the expedition but rewrote the Gesta Francorum at the request of his abbot who ^[3] During his short reign, Godfrey had to defend the new Kingdom of Jerusalem against Fatimids of Egypt, who were defeated at the Battle of Ascalon in August. This article is about the Christian kingdom For the history of the city see History of Jerusalem The Kingdom of Jerusalem was a Christian This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics. The Battle of Ascalon took place on August 12, 1099, and is often considered the last action of the First Crusade. He also faced opposition from Dagobert of Pisa, the Patriarch of Jerusalem, who was allied with Tancred. Dagobert (died 1107 was the first Archbishop of Pisa and the first Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem after it was captured in the First Crusade. The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem is the title given to the Latin Rite Catholic Archbishop of Jerusalem Although the Latins came close to capturing Ascalon, Godfrey's attempts to prevent Raymond of St. Gilles from securing the city for himself meant that the town remained in Muslim hands, destined to be a thorn in the new kingdom's side for years to come.

In 1100 Godfrey was unable to directly expand his new territories through conquest. However, his impressive victory in 1099 and his subsequent campaigning in 1100 meant that he was able to force Acre, Ascalon, Arsuf, Jaffa, and Caesarea to become tributaries. Ashkelon (אַשְׁקְלוֹן ٲشكلون also عسقلان; Latin: Ascalon; Akkadian: Isqalluna is a coastal city in southern ArsufJPG|right|thumbnail|450px|Remains of the stronghold]] Arsuf (אַרְסוּף ארשוף أرصف also known as Arsur or Apollonia, was an ancient city Jaffa يَافَا;(יָפוֹ Yafo; also Japho, Joppa) is an ancient Port city believed to be one of the oldest in the world Caesarea Maritima (Greek παράλιος Καισάρεια called Caesarea Palaestina from 133 CE onwards was a city and Harbor built by Herod the Great Meanwhile, the struggle with Dagobert continued; although the terms of the conflict are difficult to trace. Dagobert may well have visualised turning Jerusalem into a fiefdom of the pope, however his full intentions are not clear. Under the system of Feudalism, a fiefdom, fief, feud, feoff, or fee, often consisted of inheritable lands or revenue-producing History See also History of the Papacy Catholics recognize the Pope as a successor to Saint Peter, who Jesus named as the "shepherd" and Much of the evidence for this comes from William of Tyre, whose account of these events is troublesome - It is only William who tells us that Dagobert forced Godfrey to concede Jerusalem and Jaffa, while other writers such as Albert of Aachen and Ralph of Caen suggest that both Dagobert and his ally Tancred had sworn an oath to Godfrey to accept only one of his brothers or blood relations as his successor. This article is about the Archbishop/historian from the 1100s Whatever Dagobert's schemes, they were destined to come to nought. Being at Haifa at the time of Godfrey's death, he could do nothing to stop Godfrey's supporters from seizing Jerusalem and demanded that Godefrey's brother Baldwin should succeed to the rule. Dagobert was subsequently forced to crown Baldwin as the first Latin king of Jerusalem on December 25, 1100. Events 274 - Roman Emperor Aurelian

Death

"While he was besieging the city of Acre, Godfrey, the ruler of Jerusalem, was struck by an arrow, which killed him," reports the Arab chronicler Ibn al-Qalanisi. Hamza ibn Asad abu Ya'la ibn al-Qalanisi (c 1070 - March 18, 1160) was an Arab politician and chronicler in Damascus in the 12th century Christian chronicles make no mention of this; instead, Albert of Aix and Ekkehard of Aura report that Godfrey contracted an illness in Caesarea in June, 1100. Albert of Aix-la-Chapelle or Albert of Aachen (floruit circa AD 1100) Historian of the First Crusade, was born during the later part of the Ekkehard of Aura (died 1126 was the Abbot of Aura (a monastery founded by Otto Bishop of Bamberg, on the Franconian Saale river near Bad It was later believed that the emir of Caesarea had poisoned him, but there seems to be no basis for this rumour; William of Tyre does not mention it. This article is about the Archbishop/historian from the 1100s It is also said that he died after eating a poisoned apple. In any event, he died in Jerusalem after suffering from a prolonged illness.

Godfrey in history and legend

According to William of Tyre, the later 12th-century chronicler of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, Godfrey was "tall of stature, not extremely so, but still taller than the average man. He was strong beyond compare, with solidly-built limbs and a stalwart chest. His features were pleasing, his beard and hair of medium blond. "

Because he had been the first ruler in Jerusalem Godfrey of Bouillon was idealized in later accounts. He was depicted as the leader of the crusades, the king of Jerusalem, and the legislator who laid down the assizes of Jerusalem, and he was included among the ideal knights known as the Nine Worthies. This article is about the Christian kingdom For the history of the city see History of Jerusalem The Kingdom of Jerusalem was a Christian The Assizes of Jerusalem are a collection of numerous medieval legal treatises containing the law of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem and Kingdom of Cyprus The Nine Worthies ( les neuf preux) were nine historical scriptural mythological or semi-legendary figures who in The Middle Ages, were believed to personify the In reality he was only one of several leaders of the crusade, which also included Raymond IV of Toulouse, Bohemund of Taranto, Robert of Flanders, Stephen of Blois and Baldwin of Boulogne to name a few, along with papal legate Adhémar of Montiel, Bishop of Le Puy. Raymond IV of Toulouse sometimes called Raymond of St Gilles (c Bohemond I (also spelled Bohemund or Boamund; c 1058&ndash 3 March 1111) Prince of Taranto and Prince of Antioch Robert II (c 1065 &ndash October 5, 1111) was Count of Flanders from 1093 to 1111 Stephen II Henry (c 1045 &ndash 19 May 1102) (in French, Étienne Henri) Count of Blois and Count of Chartres, Baldwin I of Jerusalem, formerly Baldwin I of Edessa, born Baldwin of Boulogne (French Baudouin de Boulogne 1058? - April 2, 1118, was Adhemar (also known as Adémar, Aimar, or Aelarz) de Monteil (died August 1, 1098) one of the principal personages Baldwin I of Jerusalem, Godfrey's younger brother, became the first titled king when he succeeded Godfrey in 1100. Baldwin I of Jerusalem, formerly Baldwin I of Edessa, born Baldwin of Boulogne (French Baudouin de Boulogne 1058? - April 2, 1118, was The assizes were the result of a gradual development.

Godfrey's role in the crusade was described by Albert of Aix, the anonymous author of the Gesta Francorum, and Raymond of Aguilers amongst others. Albert of Aix-la-Chapelle or Albert of Aachen (floruit circa AD 1100) Historian of the First Crusade, was born during the later part of the The so-called Gesta Francorum ("The Deeds of the Franks" or in full De Gesta Francorum et aliorum Hierosolimitanorum ("The deeds of the Franks and the other pilgrims Raymond of Aguilers ( Raimundus de Aguilers or de Agiles) was a Chronicler of the First Crusade (1096-1099 In fictional literature, Godfrey was the hero of numerous French chansons de geste dealing with the crusade, the "Crusade cycle". Fiction is the telling of stories which are not real More specifically fiction is an imaginative form of Narrative, one of the four basic Rhetorical modes. The chansons de geste, Old French for "songs of Heroic deeds lineages" are the epic poems that appear at the dawn of French literature The Crusade cycle is an Old French cycle of Chansons de geste concerning the First Crusade and its aftermath This cycle connected his ancestors to the legend of the Knight of the Swan,^[4] most famous today as the storyline of Wagner's opera Lohengrin. The story of the Knight of the Swan, or Swan Knight, is a Medieval tale about a mysterious rescuer who comes in a Swan -drawn boat to defend a damsel Lohengrin is a character in some German Arthurian literature The son of Parzival (Percival he is a knight of the Holy Grail sent in a

By William of Tyre's time later in the twelfth century, Godfrey was already a legend among the descendants of the original crusaders. Godfrey was believed to have possessed immense physical strength; it was said that in Cilicia he wrestled a bear and won, and that he once beheaded a camel with one blow of his sword. Geography Cilicia extended along the Aegean coast east from Pamphylia, to Mount Amanus ( Gavurdağı Mount) which separated it from Syria

Torquato Tasso made Godfrey the hero of his epic poem Gerusalemme Liberata. Torquato Tasso ( 11 March 1544 &ndash 25 April 1595) was an Italian Poet of the 16th century best known for his poem Jerusalem Delivered ( La Gerusalemme liberata) (first published 1581 is an Epic poem by the Italian poet Torquato Tasso which tells

In The Divine Comedy Dante sees the spirit of Godfrey in the Heaven of Mars with the other "warriors of the faith. The Divine Comedy "

Godfrey is depicted in Handel's first opera "Rinaldo" (1711) as Goffredo.

Since the mid-19th century, an equestrian statue of Godfrey of Bouillon has stood in the center of the Royal Square in Brussels, Belgium. An equestrian statue is a Statue of a Horse -mounted rider The term is from the Latin " eques," meaning " Knight Brussels (Bruxelles pronounced; Brussel pronounced) officially the Brussels Capital-Region, is The Kingdom of Belgium is a Country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters as well as those The statue was made by Eugène Simonis, and inaugurated on August 24, 1848. Events 49 BC - Julius Caesar 's General Gaius Scribonius Curio is defeated in the Second Battle of the Bagradas River Year 1848 ( MDCCCXLVIII) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap

Godfrey plays a key figure in the pseudohistorical theories put forth in the books The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail and The Da Vinci Code. Pseudohistory is a term applied to texts which purport to be historical in nature but which depart from standard historiographical conventions in a way which undermines The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail (retitled Holy Blood Holy Grail in the United States) is a controversial book by Michael Baigent The Da Vinci Code is a controversial mystery / detective Novel by US author Dan Brown, published in 2003 by Doubleday

In 2005 he came in 17th place in the Walloon version of De Grootste Belg (the Greatest Belgian). Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. De Grootste Belg ( The Greatest Belgian) was a 2005 vote conducted by Belgian public TV broadcaster Canvas, to determine who is the Greatest Belgian of all

Godfrey also plays a key role in the book The Iron Lance by Stephen R. Lawhead, and in an historical novel Godfrey de Bouillon, Defender of the Holy Sepulchre, by Tom Tozer. Stephen R Lawhead (born July 2, 1950) is a best-selling American Writer known for his works of Fantasy, Science fiction

References

Sources

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain. The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911 is a 29-volume reference work that marked the beginning of the Encyclopædia Britannica The public domain is a range of abstract materials &ndash commonly referred to as Intellectual property &ndash which are not owned or controlled by anyone
• William of Tyre
• Maalouf, Amin. This article is about the Archbishop/historian from the 1100s The Crusades Through Arab Eyes, 1984.
• Andressohn, John C. The Ancestry and Life of Godfrey of Bouillon, 1947.
• Godfrey of Bouillon. New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia article. New Advent is an Online Catholic Encyclopedia. It contains Documents and Links to Catholic Doctrines and Apologetics Retrieved on 2007-04-29. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 1429 - Joan of Arc arrives to relieve the Siege of Orleans.
• Godfrey of Bouillon. Internet Medieval Sourcebook: The Crusaders at Constantinople: Collected Accounts. Retrieved on 2007-04-29. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 1429 - Joan of Arc arrives to relieve the Siege of Orleans.
• Holböck, Ferdinand; Michael J. Miller, translator (2002). Married Saints and Blesseds. Ignatius Press, p. 147. ISBN 0898708435.  

Preceded by (none)	Defender of the Holy Sepulchre 1099–1100	Succeeded by Baldwin I (as King of Jerusalem)
Preceded by Conrad	Duke of Lower Lotharingia 1087–1096	Succeeded by Henry of Limburg
Preceded by Godfrey III	Lord of Bouillon 1076–1096	Succeeded by sold to the Bishopric of Liège