Eustace I Granier, also known as Eustace Grenier or Eustace Garnier, called in Latin ''Eustachius Granarius'' in the charters (born around 1070 and died on 15 June 1123), was a

Flemish Flemish may refer to: * Flemish, adjective for Flanders, Belgium * Flemish region, one of the three regions of Belgium *Flemish Community, one of the three constitutionally defined language communities of Belgium * Flemish dialects, a Dutch dialec ...

crusader Crusader or Crusaders may refer to: Military * Crusader, a participant in one of the Crusades * Convair NB-36H Crusader, an experimental nuclear-powered bomber * Crusader tank, a British cruiser tank of World War II * Crusaders (guerrilla), a C ...

who took part in the

First Crusade The First Crusade (1096–1099) was the first of a series of religious wars, or Crusades, initiated, supported and at times directed by the Latin Church in the Middle Ages. The objective was the recovery of the Holy Land from Muslim conquest ...

. He became

lord of Caesarea The Kingdom of Jerusalem, one of the Crusader states that was created in 1099, was divided into a number of smaller Manorialism, seigneuries. According to the 13th-century jurist John of Ibelin (jurist), John of Ibelin, the four highest crown va ...

in 1101,

lord of Sidon The Lordship of Sidon (), later County of Sidon, was one of the four major fiefdoms of the Kingdom of Jerusalem,According to the 13th-century writer John of Ibelin one of the Crusader States. However, in reality, it appears to have been much sm ...

in 1110, and in April 1123, was elected

constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. ''Constable'' is commonly the rank of an officer within a police service. Other peo ...

and

bailiff A bailiff is a manager, overseer or custodian – a legal officer to whom some degree of authority or jurisdiction is given. There are different kinds, and their offices and scope of duties vary. Another official sometimes referred to as a '' ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

during the captivity of

Baldwin II of Jerusalem Baldwin II, also known as Baldwin of Bourcq (; – 21August 1131), was Count of Edessa from 1100 to 1118, and King of Jerusalem from 1118 until his death. He accompanied Godfrey of Bouillon and Baldwin of Boulogne to the Holy Land during the ...

. Shortly before his death, he defeated a Fatimid army at the Battle of Yibneh near Ibelin. Grenier is a presumed member of the knights of the

diocese of Thérouanne In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associated ...

in the

County of Saint-Pol The county of Saint-Pol (or ''Sint-Pols'') was a county around the French city of Saint-Pol-sur-Ternoise (''Sint-Pols-aan-de-Ternas'') on the border of Artois and Picardy, formerly the county of Ternois. For a long time the county belonged to Fl ...

who accompanied Baldwin of Boulogne to the

Holy Land The term "Holy Land" is used to collectively denote areas of the Southern Levant that hold great significance in the Abrahamic religions, primarily because of their association with people and events featured in the Bible. It is traditionall ...

, as he is quoted in a text written during his life in their honour.

Origins

Eustace Granier's place of origin is given by a poem in Latin, the ''Versus de viris illustribus diocesis Tarvanensis qui in sacra fuere expeditione'' ("verse about illustrious men of the

who took part in the Holy Expedition"), written by an unknown author who was one of his contemporaries : The author writes ''nostris diebus'' ("it happened nowadays").Abbey Daniel Haigneré, ''Les hommes illustres du diocèse de Thérouanne qui après la première croisade furent au nombre des dignitaires de la terre sainte'', in ''Bulletin de la Société des antiquaires de la Morinie'', volume 8, 1892, p. 472.
/ref> In this poem Eustace Grenier is cited among the knights of the

Diocese of Thérouanne In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associated ...

who accompanied Baldwin of Boulogne, the future king of Jerusalem, to the

.Abbey Daniel Haigneré, ''Les hommes illustres du diocèse de Thérouanne qui après la première croisade furent au nombre des dignitaires de la terre sainte'', in ''Bulletin de la Société des antiquaires de la Morinie'', volume 8, 1892, p. 475.
/ref> The author writes :
"''Par Belramensis, fit princeps Caesariensis''
''Eustachius notus miles, cognomine Gernirs''"
(Trad) :
"Peer of Belrem became prince of

Caesarea Caesarea, a city name derived from the Roman title " Caesar", was the name of numerous cities and locations in the Roman Empire: Places In the Levant * Caesarea Maritima, also known as "Caesarea Palaestinae", an ancient Roman city near the modern ...

Eustace famous knight, named Garnier" His name is given in Latin under different forms (''Garnerius'', ''Granerius'', ''Granarius''). He signed as ''Eustachius Garnerius'', in 1110, in a deed of privilege given by

Baldwin I of Jerusalem Baldwin I (1060s – 2 April 1118) was the first count of Edessa from 1098 to 1100 and king of Jerusalem from 1100 to his death in 1118. He was the youngest son of Eustace II, Count of Boulogne, and Ida of Lorraine and married a Norman noblew ...

in favour of the church of Bethlehem; his name is ''Eustachius Granerius'' in a deed dated of May 5, 1116 in the Cartulary of the Holy Sepulchre, and in 1120 his signature is ''Eustachius Granarius'', in a document signed by

.Abbey Daniel Haigneré, ''Les hommes illustres du diocèse de Thérouanne qui après la première Croisade furent au nombre des dignitaires de la terre sainte'', in ''Bulletin de la Société des antiquaires de la Morinie'', volume 8, 1892, page 481.
/ref>

William of Tyre William of Tyre (; 29 September 1186) was a Middle Ages, medieval prelate and chronicler. As Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Tyre, archbishop of Tyre, he is sometimes known as William II to distinguish him from his predecessor, William I of Tyr ...

, who was contemporary of Eustace Grenier, indicates him as one of the barons of Baldwin of Boulogne. In the 16th century, Nicolas Despars (''Chronicles of Flanders'') and Jacques Meyer (''Annals of Flanders'') mention Eustace Garnier or Grenier in their lists of the Flemish knights who took an active part in the First Crusade.
Jacques Meyer in his ''Annals of Flanders'' (1561) mentions that Eustace Grenier was from the

. In the 16th century,

Charles du Fresne, sieur du Cange Charles du Fresne, sieur du Cange (; December 18, 1610 in Amiens – October 23, 1688 in Paris, aged 77), also known simply as Charles Dufresne, was a distinguished French philologist and historian of the Middle Ages and Byzantium. Life Educate ...

writes : « I find several families with this name of Granier or Grenier in France (…) It is difficult to guess whether Eustache was originally from Aquitaine or Picardy, or even from Flanders, as Meyer wants and who gives him the nickname of Beccam, without I know why. He calls him Beccamensis, that is to say native of Beccam, place which was to be in Flanders or in the neighbouring areas, since the author notes that Godefroi of Bouillon, in the distribution of the conquered places made to the crusader barons, did not forget his compatriots. But we can’t find a town or a village called Beccam. Latin verses in honour of the characters from the diocese of Thérouanne who distinguished themselves in the First Crusade, tell us that Eustache, nicknamed Gernirs, became prince or lord of Caesarea ».Charles du Fresne du Cange, Emmanuel Guillaume Rey, ''Les familles d'outre-mer de Du Cange'', Imprimerie Impériale, 1869, page 275.
/ref> In 1865, Paul Edouard Didier Riant, writes that Eustache Grenier is "one of the Flemish vassals" of the king

. In 1892, the abbey and historian Daniel Haigneré in ''Bulletin de la Société des antiquaires de la Morinie'' writes an article about the verse written from the time of Eustace Grenier quoting "Eustace, famous knight, named Garnier, prince of Caesarea" among the knights of the

who accompanied Baldwin of Boulogne to the

. Charles Meller in ''The Flemish of the Ternois'' (1904) writes : "Among the Crusaders of the Ternois, Eustace made a great fortune, he held two of the large fiefs of the kingdom, the Lordship of Cæsarea, of which he was the first holder after its conquest in 1101 and the principality of Sidon (…) If we accept the variant ''Eustachii'' of the manuscript A verse 17, we might believe he was a illegitimate son of Count Eustache (''Eustachii nothus''). In this case, this kinship would explain the great favor of the king, his half brother, towards him, but it is a hazardous assumption". ;Contemporary sources about Eustace Grenier' origins Joseph Ringel in ''Césarée de Palestine: étude historique et archéologique'' (1975) writes : "around 1108, the Flemish knight Eustache Granier received Caesarea in fief".Joseph Ringel, ''Césarée de Palestine: étude historique et archéologique'', Éditions Ophrys, 1975, page 169.
/ref> Jean Richard in ''The Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem'' (1979) writes that Eustace Garnier was from the ) and one of the most loyal companions of

. Steven Tibble in ''Monarchy and Lordships in the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem, 1099-1291'' (1989) writes that Eustace Grenier is "a Flemish knight who had arrived in the Near East some time between 1099 and August 1105".Steven Tibble, ''Monarchy and Lordships in the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem, 1099-1291'', Clarendon Press, 1989, page 103.
/ref> Historian Alan V. Murray in his book ''The Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem: A Dynastic History 1099-1125'' (2000) writes :
"However, his origins can be established with a high degree of certainty. The ''Versus de viris illustribus diocesis Tarvanensis qui in sacra fuere expeditione'' identifies him as a Fleming from the

."Alan V. Murray, ''The Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem: A Dynastic History 1099-1125'', Occasional Publications UPR, 2000, pp. 193-194.
/ref> According to his analysis of the text and his research, Eustace Granier was a military official in the castle of

Beaurainville Beaurainville (; ) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region in northern France. Geography Beaurainville is a small town situated some 6 miles (10 km) southeast of Montreuil-sur-Mer, on the D130 road and o ...

in the

. He was a rear-vassal of

Eustace III of Boulogne Eustace III (c. 1050 – c. 1125) was the count of Boulogne from 1087 succeeding his father, Eustace II. He joined the First Crusade, being present at Nicaea, Dorylaeum, Antioch, and Jerusalem. After fighting in the battle of Ascalon, he returned ...

, because the counts of Saint-Pol held Beaurainville in fief from the

counts of Boulogne Count of Boulogne was a historical title in the Kingdom of France. The city of Boulogne-sur-Mer became the centre of the County of Boulogne during the ninth century. Little is known of the early counts, but the first holder of the title is rec ...

. Eustace's surname implies that either Eustace or one of his ancestors was responsible for the management of a store-house. Alan V. Murray says, Eustace most probably came to the

in the retinue of his lord, Hugh II of Saint-Pol, during the

Jonathan Riley-Smith Jonathan Simon Christopher Riley-Smith (27 June 1938 – 13 September 2016) was a historian of the Crusades, and, between 1994 and 2005, Dixie Professor of Ecclesiastical History at Cambridge. He was a Fellow of Emmanuel College, Cambridge. Ea ...

writes that Eustace arrived to the Kingdom of Jerusalem after 1099. Susan B. Edgington in ''Albert of Aachen'' (2007) agrees with this analysis. She writes that Eustace Grenier probably came from Beaurain-Château in the

.Susan B. Edgington, ''Albert of Aachen: Historia Ierosolimitana, History of the Journey to Jerusalem'', Oxford University Press, 2007, page 707.
/ref>

In the Kingdom of Jerusalem

One of the most important lords of the Kingdom of Jerusalem

Eustace became one of the most trusted officials of the younger brother of Eustace III of Boulogne,

. His participation in the Third Battle of Ramla in August 1105 was the first recorded event of his life in the

Kingdom of Jerusalem The Kingdom of Jerusalem, also known as the Crusader Kingdom, was one of the Crusader states established in the Levant immediately after the First Crusade. It lasted for almost two hundred years, from the accession of Godfrey of Bouillon in 1 ...

. Baldwin appointed him and Pagan of Haifa to start negotiations with

Bertrand of Toulouse Bertrand of Toulouse (or Bertrand of Tripoli) (died 1112) was count of Toulouse, and was the first count of Tripoli to rule in Tripoli itself. Bertrand was the eldest son of Raymond IV, Count of Toulouse, and had ruled Toulouse since Raymond lef ...

, William Jordan of Cerdanya and Tancred, the regent of

Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; , ) "Antioch on Daphne"; or "Antioch the Great"; ; ; ; ; ; ; . was a Hellenistic Greek city founded by Seleucus I Nicator in 300 BC. One of the most important Greek cities of the Hellenistic period, it served as ...

, about the organization of a conference where they could resolve their conflicts. The crusader leaders assembled near

Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis (from , meaning "three cities") may refer to: Places Greece *Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in the Pelasgiotis district, Thessaly, near Larissa ...

and reached a compromise in June 1109. Their reconciliation enabled their united armies to force the defenders of Tripoli to surrender on 26 June. Baldwin I granted

to Eustace before September 1110. Eustace also received

Sidon Sidon ( ) or better known as Saida ( ; ) is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast in the South Governorate, Lebanon, South Governorate, of which it is the capital. Tyre, Lebanon, Tyre, t ...

, which was captured by the united forces of Baldwin I and

Sigurd I of Norway Sigurd the Crusader (; ; 1089 – 26 March 1130), also known as Sigurd Magnusson and Sigurd I, was King of Norway from 1103 to 1130. His rule, together with his half-brother Eystein I of Norway, Øystein (until Øystein died in 1123), has been ...

on 5 December. He participated in Baldwin I's military campaigns against Shaizar in 1111. In the same year, he financed the building of siege machines during the unsuccessful siege of Tyre. The lordships of Caesarea and Sidon and his wife's dowry made Eustace the most powerful noblemen in the entire kingdom. He also had preeminent position in the royal council. He was one of the four secular lords to attend the legislative assembly that Baldwin I's successor,

, and Warmund, Patriarch of Jerusalem held at

Nablus Nablus ( ; , ) is a State of Palestine, Palestinian city in the West Bank, located approximately north of Jerusalem, with a population of 156,906. Located between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, it is the capital of the Nablus Governorate and a ...

on 16 January 1120. The assembly passed decrees that regulated the collection and spending of tithes and ordered the persecution of adultery, procuring, homosexuality, bigamy and sexual relations between Christians and Muslims.

Constable and Bailiff of Jerusalem

After The Artuqid prince

Belek Ghazi Belek Ghazi (''Nuruddevle Belek'' or ''Balak'') was a Turkish bey in the early 12th century. Early life His father was Behram and his grandfather was Artuk Bey, an important figure of the Seljuk Empire in the 11th century. He was a short-term ...

captured Baldwin II on 18 April 1123. Patriarch Warmund convoked an assembly to

Acre The acre ( ) is a Unit of measurement, unit of land area used in the Imperial units, British imperial and the United States customary units#Area, United States customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one Chain (unit), ch ...

where Eustace was elected

Constable of Jerusalem There were six major officers of the Kingdom of Jerusalem: the constable, the marshal, the seneschal, the chamberlain (which were known as the "Grand Offices"), the butler and the chancellor. At certain times there were also bailiffs, viscounts ...

and

Bailiff of Jerusalem There were six major officers of the Kingdom of Jerusalem: the constable, the marshal, the seneschal, the chamberlain (which were known as the "Grand Offices"), the butler and the chancellor. At certain times there were also bailiffs, viscounts ...

to administer the kingdom during the king's captivity. Baldwin took possession of the fortress of Kharpurt where he had been held in captivity. Eustace soon sent reinforcements to Kharpurt to assist the king, but Balak ibn Bahram recaptured the fortress by the time the crusader troops reached it. A

Fatimid The Fatimid Caliphate (; ), also known as the Fatimid Empire, was a caliphate extant from the tenth to the twelfth centuries CE under the rule of the Fatimid dynasty, Fatimids, an Isma'ili Shi'a dynasty. Spanning a large area of North Africa ...

army invaded the kingdom from

Ascalon Ascalon or Ashkelon was an ancient Near East port city on the Mediterranean coast of the southern Levant of high historical and archaeological significance. Its remains are located in the archaeological site of Tel Ashkelon, within the city limi ...

in May 1123. Eustace attacked the invaders near Ibelin and defeated them on 29 May. He did not long survive his victory, because he died on 15 June 1123. He was buried in the Church of Saint Mary of the Latins. According to

he was "a wise and prudent man, with great experience in military matters".William of Tyre, ''A History of Deeds Done Beyond the Sea'', Volume 1, Octagon Books, 1976, p. 541.
/ref>

Family

Eustace married Emma, the niece of

Arnulf of Chocques Arnulf of Chocques (died 1118) was a leading member of the clergy during the First Crusade, being made Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem in 1099 and again from 1112 to 1118. Sometimes referred to as Arnulf of Rœulx, presumably after the village of Rœu ...

, the

Latin patriarch of Jerusalem The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem () is the Latin Catholic ecclesiastical patriarchate in Jerusalem, officially seated in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem is the archbishop of Latin Church Catholics of th ...

. Arnulf gave

Jericho Jericho ( ; , ) is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, and the capital of the Jericho Governorate. Jericho is located in the Jordan Valley, with the Jordan River to the east and Jerusalem to the west. It had a population of 20,907 in 2017. F ...

to Eustace as Emma's dowry, although the town had been the property of the

Church of the Holy Sepulchre The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, also known as the Church of the Resurrection, is a fourth-century church in the Christian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem, Old City of Jerusalem. The church is the seat of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchat ...

. With Emma, Eustace was the father of the twins,

Gerard Gerard is a masculine forename of Proto-Germanic language, Proto-Germanic origin, variations of which exist in many Germanic and Romance languages. Like many other Germanic name, early Germanic names, it is dithematic, consisting of two meaningful ...

(also known as Eustace II) and

Walter Walter may refer to: People and fictional characters * Walter (name), including a list of people and fictional and mythical characters with the given name or surname * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–19 ...

, who succeeded him in Sidon and Caesarea respectively. Emma married

Hugh II of Le Puiset Hugh I (died between 1112 and 1118) was the Lord of Le Puiset (as Hugh II) from 1097 to 1106 and Count of Jaffa from 1110 until his death. He was the son of Hugh I of Le Puiset and Alice of Montlhéry. He is often confused with his son, who was al ...

Count of Jaffa The double County of Jaffa and Ascalon was one of the four major Manorialism, seigneuries comprising the major Crusader state of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, according to 13th-century commentator John of Ibelin (jurist), John of Ibelin. History Jaf ...

. The relationship between her second husband and her sons was tense. His descendant

Julian Grenier Julian Grenier (died 1275) was the count of Sidon from 1239 to 1260, then becoming merely titular. He was the son and successor of Balian Grenier and Ida of Reynel. He did not exhibit the wisdom of his father in his dealings with the Saracens. ...

sold the

Lordship of Sidon The Lordship of Sidon (), later County of Sidon, was one of the four major fiefdoms of the Kingdom of Jerusalem,According to the 13th-century writer John of Ibelin one of the Crusader States. However, in reality, it appears to have been much sm ...

to the

Knights Templar The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, mainly known as the Knights Templar, was a Military order (religious society), military order of the Catholic Church, Catholic faith, and one of the most important military ord ...

after it was destroyed by the Mongols in 1260 after the

Battle of Ain Jalut The Battle of Ain Jalut (), also spelled Ayn Jalut, was fought between the Bahri Mamluks of Egypt and the Ilkhanate on 3 September 1260 (25 Ramadan 658 AH) near the spring of Ain Jalut in southeastern Galilee in the Jezreel Valley. It marks ...

. His descendants continued to rule the Lordship of Caesarea until it became the property of John Aleman by right of his marriage to Margaret Grenier in 1238 or 1243. The Granier or Grenier family became extinct with two brothers : Balian II (who died at Botron in 1277) and John (who died in Armenia in 1289), they were the sons of Julian Grenier (died in 1275), lord of Sidon and his wife Euphemia, daughter of Hethum I, King of Armenia.

Notes

References

Sources

*

*

*

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Garnier, Eustace 12th-century people from the Kingdom of Jerusalem 12th-century regents Medieval French knights Christians of the First Crusade Regents of Jerusalem

Eustace Eustace ( ) is the rendition in English of two phonetically similar Greek given names: *Εὔσταχυς (''Eústachys'') meaning "fruitful", "fecund"; literally "abundant in grain"; its Latin equivalents are ''Fæcundus/Fecundus'' *Εὐστά ...

Lords of Sidon Constables of Jerusalem 1123 deaths Year of birth unknown