Eustace Ii

Related Category: British and Irish History: Biographies

(y´stĭs), d. 1093, count of Boulogne. He was the brother-in-law of Edward the Confessor of England. Visiting England in 1051, he and his followers became involved in a brawl with the citizens of Dover. Earl Godwin refused to obey Edward's order to punish the people of the town and broke with the king as a result. Eustace took part in the Norman invasion of England in 1066, but the following year led an unsuccessful revolt against William I. They were subsequently reconciled. Eustace was the father of Eustace III, who was in turn father of Matilda, wife of King Stephen of England. Stephen and Matilda's son, Eustace IV, d. 1153, count of Boulogne, fought unsuccessfully against Geoffrey IV of Anjou, husband of Henry I's daughter Matilda, in Normandy. In 1152 Eustace was recognized as Stephen's successor by some of the English barons, but Theobald, archbishop of Canterbury, fled the country rather than crown him. Eustace's death cleared the way for the accession of Henry II to the English throne.