Baldwin of Avesnes

Baldwin of Avesnes
Spouse(s)	Felicitas of Coucy
Noble family	House of Avesnes
Father	Bouchard IV of Avesnes
Mother	Margaret II of Flanders
Born	September 1219 Oizy (today part of Bièvre)
Died	Avesnes

Baldwin of Avesnes (September 1219 in Oizy – 10 April 1295 in Avesnes) was a son of Bouchard IV of Avesnes and his wife, Margaret II of Flanders. His parents' marriage was later declared illegal, because his father had already received minor orders. Baldwin was later declared legitimate by the pope, at the instigation of King Louis IX of France. In 1246, Baldwin received Beaumont as an apanage.

He fought his whole life, together with his brother John I, against his half-brothers from his mother's second marriage with William II of Dampierre. He was said to be responsible for the accident that killed his half-brother William III of Dampierre during a tournament in Trazegnies. After the Edict of Péronne and the death of his brother John, he reconciled with his mother, who sent him to Namur on a revenge expedition.

In 1287, Baldwin sold Dunkirk and Warneton to Guy, Count of Flanders. He is also known as a chronicler; he wrote the Chronique Universelle.

Marriage and issue

In 1243, Baldwin married Felicitas (1220-1307), the daughter of Thomas II of Coucy, Lord of Vervins, a son of Ralph I, Lord of Coucy. Baldwin was the father of:

• John (d. 1283), married Agnes of Valence, the daughter of William de Valence, 1st Earl of Pembroke. She was the widow of Hugh de Balliol, the son of John de Balliol
• Beatrice (d. 1321), married in 1281 Henry (d. 1288), the son of Henry V, Count of Luxembourg.

Ancestry

Family of Baldwin of Avesnes

16. Walter I, Lord of Avesnes               8. Nicholas d'Oisy, Lord of Avesnes                       17. Ada of Tournai               4. James of Avesnes                             18. Henry I of la Roche               9. Matilda de la Roche                       19. Matilda of Limburg               2. Bouchard IV of Avesnes                                   20. Guy of Guise               10. Bouchard of Guise                       21. Adeline of Montmorency               5. Adela of Guise                             11. Adelaide                       1. Baldwin of Avesnes                                         24. Baldwin IV of Hainaut               12. Baldwin V of Hainaut                       25. Alice of Namur               6. Baldwin I of Constantinople                             26. Thierry, Count of Flanders               13. Margaret I of Flanders                       27. Sibylla of Anjou               3. Margaret II of Flanders                                   28. Theobald II of Champagne               14. Henry I of Champagne                       29. Matilda of Carinthia               7. Marie of Champagne                             30. Louis VII of France               15. Marie of France, Countess of Champagne                       31. Eleanor of Aquitaine