Spouse(s) Adela of Guise Name James Avesnes | Mother Matilda de la Roche Children Bouchard IV of Avesnes Noble family House of Avesnes Died September 7, 1191, Arsuf | |
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Parents Nicholas d'Oisy, Lord of Avesnes Grandchildren John I, Count of Hainaut, Baldwin of Avesnes | ||
Great-grandparents Fastre II d'Oisy Grandparents Walter I, Lord of Avesnes | ||
Honoring a Fallen Knight - James of Avesnes, 1191
James (also Jacques or Jacob; 1152 – 7 September 1191) was a son of Nicholas d'Oisy, Lord of Avesnes and Matilda de la Roche. He was the lord of Avesnes, Condé, and Leuze from 1171. In November 1187, James joined the Third Crusade as leader of a detachment of French, Flemish, and Frisian crusaders arriving by ship on the Israeli coast near Acre around 10 September 1189. James and his men came as military reinforcements for the Siege of Acre. At the Battle of Arsuf, James was thrown from his saddle and, after slaying fifteen enemy warriors, was himself cut down. The next day, a search party of Hospitallers and Templars found his body on the battlefield. It was taken back to Arsuf and buried there in a ceremony attended by Richard the Lionheart and Guy of Lusignan.
He married Adela (died 1185), daughter of Bouchard of Guise, and was the father of: