Introduction

This chapter focusses on the history of the house of Ardennes-Bouillon, Godfrey of Bouillon’s maternal dynasty, in the eleventh century. It pays particular attention to the careers of Godfrey the Bearded (d.1069) and his son Godfrey the Hunchback (d.1076), Godfrey of Bouillon’s grandfather and uncle, respectively. The family played a prominent role in the region of Lotharingia, with its members holding the ducal office of Lower Lotharingia for much of the eleventh century. The family held ties to the local bishop – that of Liège – and the monks of St Hubert, a prominent monastery within the diocese. The chapter shows that from the mid-1050s to the early 1070s, the family maintained close ties with the reform papacy, and discusses the nature and significance of those ties. The last part of the chapter examines the lives of Godfrey of Bouillon’s parents, Ida of Boulogne (the daughter of Godfrey the Hunchback) and Count Eustace II of Boulogne.