302 Godfrey of Bouillon
Knowing the Unknowable God: Ibn-Sina, Maimonides,
Aquinas(Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press,
1986); Herbert A. Davidson, Proofs for Eternity, Creation,
and the Existence of God in Medieval Islamic and Jewish
Philosophy(New York: Oxford University Press, 1987);
Louis Gardet, “Alla ̄h,” Encyclopedia of Islam,1.406–417;
Alister E. McGrath, A Brief History of God(Oxford: Black-
well, 2003).
Godfrey of Bouillon(Godfrey IV, Godefroi de Bouil-
lon)(ca. 1060–1100)leader of the First Crusade, ruler of
Jerusalem
Godfrey of Bouillon was born at Boulogne or nearby
Baisy in BRABANTaround 1060, the second son of Count
Eustace II of Boulogne and his wife, Ida, daughter of
Godfrey II the Bearded (r. 1065–69) duke of Lower Lor-
raine. Accounts of the life of his mother stress her piety
and care in the upbringing of her three sons, Eustace III,
Godfrey, and BALDWINI, the future king of JERUSALEM.
Godfrey’s father was probably away for much of his son’s
youth. Count Eustace participated at the side of WILLIAM
I the Conqueror in the Norman Conquest of ENGLAND;
he therefore held substantial lands on both sides of the
channel, in England as well as in the county of Boulogne
in modern BELGIUMand northern FRANCE.
Godfrey probably received a good education in let-
ters from his mother and clerics. Because of the location
of Boulogne between France and GERMANY, he was fluent
in German and French. He certainly was trained in mili-
tary skills. His later accomplishments in feudal warfare in
the service of the German emperor, in protection of his
own territories, and finally as a leader in the First CRU-
SADEdemonstrated his abilities. As a second son, he had
slim prospects. However, his childless uncle designated
him as his heir and he became one of the key leaders in
the First Crusade.
TERRITORIAL CONFLICTIn 1076, when Godfrey was about 15 years of age,
his mother’s brother, Godfrey III the Hunchback,
(r. 1069–76), was killed, probably by an assassin, while
campaigning against Robert I the Frisian (r. 1071–93)
of Flanders. In his early 30s at the time of his death,
Godfrey the Hunchback had already named his nephew
and namesake, Godfrey of Bouillon, as his heir to the
duchy of Lower Lorraine.
This inheritance propelled the adolescent Godfrey
into the turbulent affairs, both political and religious, of
the German Empire. Lorraine was important because of
its strategic location as a buffer between German and
French lands. Lower Lorraine was located between FLAN-
DERSand Holland on the west and SAXONYon the east.
Because both the German emperors and the powerful
ecclesiastical leaders wanted to exert firm control in this
key area, the emperor Henry IV (r. 1056–1106) did not
automatically accept Godfrey the Hunchback’s wishes by
investing his inexperienced nephew with the important
duchy of Lower Lorraine. Instead, to maintain control of
this strategic province, Henry IV named his two-year-old
son, Conrad (d. 1101), to the duchy and conferred on
Godfrey the region around Antwerp. In addition, Godfrey
succeeded to a few smaller territories.
For the next decade and more, as Godfrey grew up,
he was occupied with protecting his territorial posses-
sions by serving Henry IV. Henry IV battled both the
PAPACY and an insurrection within Germany. Godfrey,
eager to prove his loyalty to Henry IV and his worthiness
to be duke of Lower Lorraine, supported the German
emperor with military service.
After securing control over Germany, Henry IV pur-
sued his chief adversary, Pope GREGORYVII, by leading
troops into Italy between 1081 and 1084 and finally cap-
turing ROME. Godfrey probably was part of the imperial
forces at the siege of Rome from 1083 to 1084 and when
Henry IV was crowned Holy Roman Emperor by an
antipope.
Godfrey was finally invested as duke of Lower Lor-
raine. Although his elevation may have enhanced his
prestige, it did not much increase his local political influ-
ence and power. In the investiture disputes, Godfrey had
wavered between support of the emperor Henry IV and
sympathy for local bishops and abbots who represented a
growing movement for church reform in Lower Lorraine.THE FIRST CRUSADE
The historical event that changed Godfrey’s life com-
pletely was the First CRUSADE. In November 1095, Pope
URBANII preached a call for the First Crusade at the
council in CLERMONT. Godfrey’s willingness to participate
in the First Crusade probably arose from a pious belief in
the enterprise, perhaps a desire to atone for his vacilla-
tion on support for the papacy, and an awareness of the
vulnerability of his position in the duchy of Lorraine. He
sold or mortgaged most of his territorial possessions to
the bishops of Liège and Verdun and was able to equip
one of the largest and best contingents of knights to
undertake the Crusade.
Godfrey and his followers left on crusade around
August 1096. Their route took them overland from Ger-
many along the Danube River through the kingdom of
HUNGARYand into the BYZANTINEEMPIREvia modern
BULGARIA. For the most part, Godfrey’s troops were
orderly, and negotiations with the king of Hungary, and
ALEXIOS I KOMNENOS, the Byzantine emperor, enabled
them to obtain provisions. Just before Christmas 1096,
they arrived at CONSTANTINOPLE, and in late April of
1097, Godfrey of Bouillon and BOHEMONDof Taranto led
their troops from Constantinople into ANATOLIA.
Traveling through Anatolia and SYRIA, the crusaders
did not reach their goal, JERUSALEM, for more than two
years. Despite many difficulties, including the dangerous