ABSTRACT
This contribution is about two women from the eleventh century, who spent most of their lives in the Flemish coastal area. Godelieve of Gistel was born near Boulogne; when she married, she moved north to Gistel. Ida of Boulogne, daughter of the Duke of Lorraine, married Eustace II who was Count of Boulogne. Both women were to become saints: Godelieve (c. 1052–1070) as a result of her short and tragic life, and Ida (c. 1040–1113) more as a result of her long and successful one. To this day, Godelieve of Gistel is worshipped in Belgium, with the Abbey of Saint Godelieve in Gistel as its center. Ida of Boulogne was never venerated to such an extent; her worship remained centred around the priory of Waast, where she found her last resting place. As the mother of the two most famous leaders of the first crusade and the first Christian rulers of Jerusalem (Godfrey of Bouillon and Baldwin of Boulogne) she was, however, well-known throughout the Middle Ages. In his study of medieval marriage, the French historian Duby presents the marriages of the two women as opposites, that is to say as examples of a good and a bad eleventh-century marriage. 1 It is well worthwhile elaborating on this comparison of two women who led such different lives, and looking for answers to the kinds of questions which are presented in this collection of studies.
