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Birth:          1165 of Brabant, Holy Roman Empire
Death:          5 Sep 1235 Cologne
Burial:         St. Peter's Church, Loucain

Notes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_I,_Duke_of_Brabant
Henry I of Brabant (French: Henri I de Brabant, Dutch: Hendrik I van Brabant; 1165 – 
5 September 1235), named "The Courageous", was a member of the House of Reginar 
and first Duke of Brabant from 1183/84 until his death.
Biography[edit]

He was possibly born in Leuven (Louvain), the son of Count Godfrey III of Louvain 
and his wife Margaret, daughter of Duke Henry II of Limburg. His father also held the 
title of a Landgrave of Brabant, Duke of Lower Lorraine and margrave of Antwerp. 
Henry early appeared as a co-ruler of his father. In 1179 he married Matilda of 
Boulogne (Matilda of Flanders), daughter of Marie of Boulogne and Matthew of Alsace 
and on this occasion received the County of Brussels from his father. He acted as a 
regent while Count Godfrey III went on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem from 1182 to 1184.

In 1183 Henry took the title of a Duke of Brabant. Upon the death of his father in 
1190, King Henry VI confirmed the elevation of Brabant, while he de facto abolished 
the Duchy of Lower Lorraine by creating the empty title of a Duke of Lothier. Duke 
Henry sought to expand his power and soon picked several quarrels with the Count 
Baldwin V of Hainaut. He also was in opposition to the German king (Emperor from 
1191) when his brother Albert of Louvain was elected Bishop of Liège and murdered 
shortly afterwards.

Further conflicts with Duke Henry III of Limburg and Count Otto I of Guelders followed, 
before in mid-1197 Henry of Brabant joined the Crusade of Henry VI as one of the 
leaders. In October of the same year he took part in the recapture of Beirut and, then 
moved to Jaffa with the Crusaders: however, before reaching the city he got news of 
the death of the King of Jerusalem, Henry II of Champagne, and he returned to Acre. 
Here he acted as regent until the arrival of the new King, Amalric II.

Back in Germany after the emperor's death in September 1197, Duke Henry supported 
the election of the Welf candidate Otto IV, the fiancé of his daughter Marie, who 
rivalled with the Hohenstaufen scion Philip of Swabia. He fought against Philip's 
seconders Count Dirk VII of Holland and Count Otto of Guelders, however, he 
switched sides in 1204, when he and King Philip II of France backed Philip against 
Otto. In 1208, after the assassination of Philip, Henry was proposed as successor by 
King Philip II. In the war which followed, he finally reached a reconciliation with 
Emperor Otto IV. Together they fought against King Philip in the 1214 Battle of 
Bouvines, but the two were defeated.

In 1213, Duke Henry also suffered a heavy defeat against the Bishopric of Liège in 
the Battle of Steppes. From 1217 to 1218 he joined the Fifth Crusade to Egypt.

Under Henry I, there was town policy and town planning. His attention went out to 
those regions that lent themselves to the extension of his sovereignty and in some 
locations he used the creation of a new town as an instrument in the political 
organisation of the area. Among the towns to which the duke gave city rights and 
trade privileges was 's-Hertogenbosch.

In 1235 the Hohenstaufen emperor Frederick II appointed Henry to travel to England 
to bring him his fiancée Isabella Plantagenet, daughter of King John Lackland. 
Unfortunately, Henry fell ill on his way back and died at Cologne. He was buried in St. 
Peter's Church at Leuven where his Late Romanesque effigy can still be seen.

Marriages[edit]

Henry had six children by his first marriage with Mathilde of Boulogne:
1.Marie (c. 1190 – May 1260), married in Maastricht after May 19, 1214 Otto IV, Holy 
Roman Emperor, married July 1220 Count William I of Holland
2.Adelaide (b. c. 1190), married 1206 Arnold III, Count of Looz, married February 3, 
1225 William X of Auvergne (c. 1195–1247), married before April 21, 1251 Arnold van 
Wesemaele (d. aft. 1288), ancestor of Joan of Boulogne, second wife of John, Duke 
of Berry
3.Margaret (1192–1231), married January 1206 Gerhard III, Count of Guelders (d. 
October 22, 1229)
4.Mathilde (c. 1200 – December 22, 1267), married in Aachen in 1212 Henry II, Count 
Palatine of the Rhine (d. 1214), married on December 6, 1214 Floris IV, Count of 
Holland
5.Henry II of Brabant (1207–1248)
6.Godfrey (1209 – January 21, 1254), Lord of Gaesbeek, married Marie van 
Oudenaarde

His second marriage was at April 22, 1213 in Soissons to Marie, princess of France, 
daughter of King Philip II of France. They had two children:
1.Ysabeau (Elizabeth) (d. October 23, 1272), married in Leuven March 19, 1233 Count 
Dietrich of Cleves, Lord of Dinslaken (c. 1214–1244), married 1246 Gerhard II, Count 
of Wassenberg (d. 1255)
2.Marie, died young

Parents
____ Godfrey III (1142 - 10 Aug 1190)
VON LIMBURG Margaret (1135 - 1173)

Siblings
____ Henry I (1165 - 5 Sep 1235)

Marriage To D'ALSACE AND FLANDERS Matilda (Maud) (1170 - 16 Oct 1210)
    m. 1179 his 1st

Notes

Parents
D'ALSACE Matthew (Matthieu) (ABT 1137 - 25 Jul 1173)
OF BLOIS Marie (Mary) (1136 - 25 Jul 1182)

Children by D'ALSACE AND FLANDERS Matilda (Maud) 1170 - 16 Oct 1210
OF BRABANT Matilda (Mathilde) (ABT 1200 - 22 Dec 1267)
____ Henry (Henri) II "the Courageous" "the Magnanimous" (1207 - 1 Feb 1248)

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