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Birth:          1057 
Death:          18 Oct 1101 Tarsus, Asia Minor

Notes
Duke of France
Duke of Burgundy
Marquis of Orleans
Count of Amiens, Clermont, Paris. Valois
leader of the First Crusade
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh,_Count_of_Vermandois
Hugh (1057 – October 18, 1101),[1][2] called the Great (Latin Hugo Magnus), was a 
younger son of Henry I of France and Anne of Kiev and younger brother of Philip I.[3] 
He was Count of Vermandois in right of his wife (jure uxoris). His nickname Magnus 
(greater or elder) is probably a bad translation into Latin of a French nickname, le 
Maisné, meaning "the younger", referring to Hugh as younger brother of the King of 
France.[4]
Biography[edit]

In 1085 Hugh helped William the Conqueror repel a Danish invasion of England.[5]

Early 1096 Hugh and Philip began discussing the First Crusade after news of the 
Council of Clermont reached them in Paris.[6] Although Philip could not participate, as 
he had been excommunicated,[3] Hugh was said to have been influenced to join the 
Crusade after an eclipse of the moon on February 11, 1096.[7][8]

Late August 1096 Hugh and a small army left France and travelled via the Alps and 
Rome to Bari, where he would cross the Adriatic Sea into territory of the Byzantine 
Empire, unlike most crusaders who travelled over land.[9] His armada was possibly 
commanded by Arnout II, Count of Aarschot. According to Anna Comnena's chronicle 
the Alexiad Hugh sent an 'absurd' message to her father, Eastern Roman Emperor 
Alexius I Comnenus, demanding a proper welcome:

'Know, Emperor, that I am the King of Kings, the greatest of all beneath the heavens. 
It is fitting that I should be met on my arrival and received with the pomp and 
ceremony appropriate to my noble birth.'[10]

In response to this message the emperor sent 'urgent instructions' to his nephew John 
Komnenos, the Doux (governor) of Dyrrhachium and Nicholas Maurokatakalon, 
commander of the Byzantine fleet, to look out for Hugh and to inform him immediately 
when he arrived.[11]

Meanwhile Hugh had reached the coast of Longobardi and dispatched twenty-four 
envoys to the Doux of Dyrrhachium with the following message: 'Be it known to you, 
Doux, that our Lord Hugh is almost here. He brings with him from Rome the golden 
standard of St Peter. Understand, moreover, that he is supreme commander of the 
Frankish army. See to it then that he is accorded a reception worthy of his rank and 
yourself prepare to meet him.'[12] Whilst sailing the Adriatic Sea from Bari towards 
Illyricum, Hugh's fleet was overtaken by a heavy storm and most ships were lost. His 
own ship was thrown upon the shore near Epirus. When Hugh was found and brought 
to Dyrrhachium John Komnenos treated him to a banquet and he was allowed to rest. 
By order of the emperor Hugh was closely escorted by Manuel Boutoumites. Eventually 
Hugh was given an audience by the emperor, who persuaded him to become his 
liegeman.[13][14]

The German historian Hans Eberhard Mayer argued that Alexius was fortunate that the 
first contingent of the crusader army to arrive in Constantinople, led by Hugh, was 
very small and easy to control. Alexius 'discreetly but unmistakably' restricted Hugh's 
freedom of movement 'until he was ready to swear that all territories which had 
belonged to Byzantium before the Turkish invasions would be restored. Moreover any 
conquests made to the east [...] would be held as fiefs.'[15]

Anna Comnena recorded a conversation between Hugh and Godfrey of Bouillon, 
wherein Hugh tried to persuade Godfrey to pledge allegiance to Alexius. Godfrey 
however refused, saying: 'you left your own country as a ruler [...] with all that wealth 
and a strong army; now from the heights you've brought yourself to the level of a 
slave. And then, as if you had won some great success, have you come here to tell 
me to do the same?' Hugh replied: 'we ought to have stayed in our own countries and 
kept our hands off other people's [...] but since we've come thus far and need the 
emperor's protection, no good will come of it unless we obey his orders.'[16]

After the Crusaders had successfully made their way across Seljuk territory and, in 
1098, captured Antioch, Hugh was sent back to Constantinople to appeal for 
reinforcements from Alexius. The emperor was uninterested,[17] however, and Hugh, 
instead of returning to Antioch to help plan the siege of Jerusalem, went back to 
France. There he was scorned for not having fulfilled his vow as a Crusader to 
complete a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and Pope Paschal II threatened to 
excommunicate him. He joined the minor Crusade of 1101, but was wounded in battle 
with the Turks in September, and died of his wounds in October in Tarsus.

Family and children[edit]

He married Adelaide of Vermandois,[18] the daughter of Herbert IV, Count of 
Vermandois and Adele of Valois. They had nine children:
Mathilde, married Raoul I of Beaugency[18]
Elizabeth of Vermandois, Countess of Leicester (d. 1131)
Beatrice (fl. 1144), married Hugh IV of Gournay
Ralph I (d. 1152)
Constance (date of death unknown), married Godfrey de la Ferté-Gaucher
Agnes (living 1125), married Boniface del Vasto
Henry (d 1130), seigneur of Chaumont en Vexin
Simon (d 1148)
William (d.c. 1096)

Parents
____ Henry I (4 May 1008 - 4 Aug 1060)
YAROSLAVNA Anna Agnesa (1036 - 1075)

Siblings
____ Philip (Philippe) I (BEF 23 May 1053 - 29 Jul 1108)
DE FRANCE Hugh Magnus "le Grand" (1057 - 18 Oct 1101)

Marriage To VERMANDOIS Adelaide (Adelle) (ABT 1060 - ABT 1122)
    m. ABT 1075 

Notes

Parents
____ Herbert IV (1028 - 1080)
DE VEXIN [DE VALOIS] Adele (ABT 1040 - 1080)

Children by VERMANDOIS Adelaide (Adelle) ABT 1060 - ABT 1122
DE VERMANDOIS Agnes (ABT 1077 - )
DE VERMANDOIS Maud (Matilda) (ABT 1080 - 1130)
DE VERMANDOIS Elizabeth (Isabel) (1081 - Jul 1147)

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