Burchard IV or Bouchard IV (1182–1244) was the

lord of Avesnes The Avesnes family played an important role during the Middle Ages. The family has its roots in the small village Avesnes-sur-Helpe, in the north of France. One branch produced a number of Counts of Holland during the 13th century. The family di ...

and Étrœungt. He was the son of James of Avesnes and Adela of Guise and brother of Walter, Count of Blois.(FR)Henri Platelle, ''Présence de l'au-delà: une vision médiévale du monde'', (Presses Universitaires du Septentrion, 2004), 296. Bouchard began his career as a cantor and subdeacon in the church of

Laon Laon () is a city in the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. History Early history The holy district of Laon, which rises a hundred metres above the otherwise flat Picardy plain, has always held strategic importance. ...

. In 1212, he was named bailiff of Hainaut. In this capacity, he served as tutor and guardian of the young Margaret, sister of Joanna, Countess of Flanders and Hainault. He later married Margaret in 1212,(FR)Henri Platelle, ''Présence de l'au-delà: une vision médiévale du monde'', 284.Jim Bradbury, ''Philip Augustus: King of France 1180-1223'', (Taylor & Francis, 1998), 324–325. though she was only ten years old and the marriage could not be consummated. Neither Joanna nor Count Ferdinand gave their consent, and tried to have the marriage stopped, they failed. Bouchard lived a war-like life. He invaded the territory of his brother Walter, who had received most of their patrimony. He then invaded Flanders and forced Joanna and Ferdinand to recognise his marriage to Margaret. He then fought at the

Battle of Bouvines The Battle of Bouvines was fought on 27 July 1214 near the town of Bouvines in the County of Flanders. It was the concluding battle of the Anglo-French War of 1213–1214. Although estimates on the number of troops vary considerably among mod ...

in 1214, under the (losing) Flemish banner. Philip Augustus, the

king of France France was ruled by monarchs from the establishment of the Kingdom of West Francia in 843 until the end of the Second French Empire in 1870, with several interruptions. Classical French historiography usually regards Clovis I () as the fir ...

and victor of Bouvines, then counselled the

pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

Innocent III Pope Innocent III ( la, Innocentius III; 1160 or 1161 – 16 July 1216), born Lotario dei Conti di Segni (anglicized as Lothar of Segni), was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1198 to his death in 16 ...

, to declare the marriage of Bouchard and Margaret illegal. Innocent eventually excommunicated Bouchard on 19 January 1216. They took refuge in

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

. In 1219, Bouchard was captured in battle and would be imprisoned in

Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded i ...

for two years. To obtain his release, Margaret accepted the dissolution of the marriage and Bouchard left for

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

to fight for the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...

. Upon his return, he was decapitated at Rupelmonde on the orders of Joanna. Bouchard and Margaret had three children, who played an important part in the

War of the Succession of Flanders and Hainault {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = {{PAGENAME , width = , partof = , image = Carte des comtés de Flandre et de Hainaut sous la comtesse Jeanne de Constantinople (1200-1244).png , image_size = 300px , alt ...

: * Baldwin (1217–1219), took refuge with his parents in Luxembourg *

John I John I may refer to: People * John I (bishop of Jerusalem) * John Chrysostom (349 – c. 407), Patriarch of Constantinople * John of Antioch (died 441) * Pope John I, Pope from 523 to 526 * John I (exarch) (died 615), Exarch of Ravenna * John I ...

(1218–1257), later Count of Hainault * Baldwin (1219–1295), Lord of Beaumont

References

Avesnes family Lords of Avesnes People excommunicated by the Catholic Church 1182 births 1244 deaths {{France-noble-stub