Philip I of Namur

Philip I (1175 – 9 October 1212), called the Noble, was the margrave of Namur from 1195 until his death. He was the second son of Baldwin V, Count of Hainault, and Margaret I, Countess of Flanders. His paternal grandmother was Alice, Countess of Namur.

Baldwin V had fought a war with his uncle, Henry IV of Luxembourg, to establish Namur as independent from Luxembourg in 1190 and in 1194, the Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI declared Namur to be a margraviate. Baldwin's will left Namur to Philip, but as a fief of Hainault. However, Theobald I of Bar, who had married Henry of Luxembourg's heiress, Ermesinda, refused to relinquish Namur and attacked Philip. The war lasted for three years until the Treaty of Dinant, signed on 26 July 1199, recognised Philip as holder of Namur.

Philip was left as regent of Hainault while his elder brother, Baldwin VI, went on the Fourth Crusade and acted as guardian to the young heiresses Joanna and Margaret.

During a war with France, Philip was subsequently imprisoned and only bought his freedom by marrying Marie, daughter of King Philip Augustus and Agnes of Merania, and sending his nieces as envoys to the royal court of France. This insulted the barons of Flanders and Hainault and they revolted and forced him to give up the regency.

In Namur, Philip reigned as a peaceful and pious promoter of social development. He intervened as the mediator between many feuding lords. He died of dysentery on 9 October 1212, in Valenciennes. He had designated his twin sister Yolande as heir.

Ancestry

Ancestors of Philip I of Namur

16. Baldwin II, Count of Hainaut               8. Baldwin III, Count of Hainaut                       17. Ida of Leuven               4. Baldwin IV, Count of Hainaut                             18. Gerhard Flaminius de Wassenberg               9. Yolande de Wassenberg                       19. Clemence of Poitou               2. Baldwin V, Count of Hainaut                                   20. Albert III, Count of Namur               10. Godfrey I, Count of Namur                       21. Ida of Saxony               5. Alice of Namur                             22. Conrad I, Count of Luxembourg               11. Ermesinda of Luxembourg                       23. Clementia of Aquitaine               1. Philip I of Namur                                         24. Gerard, Duke of Lorraine               12. Theodoric II, Duke of Lorraine                       25. Hedwige de Namur               6. Thierry, Count of Flanders                             26. Robert I, Count of Flanders               13. Gertrude of Flanders                       27. Gertrude of Saxony               3. Margaret I, Countess of Flanders                                   28. Fulk IV, Count of Anjou               14. Fulk V of Anjou                       29. Bertrade de Montfort               7. Sibylla of Anjou                             30. Elias I, Count of Maine               15. Ermengarde, Countess of Maine                       31. Mathilda of Château-du-Loire