William I, Marquis of Namur

William I, Marquis of Namur
Spouse(s)	Jeanne of Hainault Catherine of Savoy
Noble family	House of Dampierre
Father	John I, Marquis of Namur
Mother	Mary of Artois
Born	1324
Died	1 October 1391(1391-10-01)

William I, Marquis of Namur, the Rich, (1324 – 1 October 1391) was Count of Namur from 1337 until his death.

Life

He was the fifth son of John I and Mary of Artois. Because his four elder brothers all died childless between 1333 and 1337, he still became Marquis of Namur.

William participated in the Hundred Years' War on the side of the English. Despite this, Namur itself remained at peace, except for a revolt of the weavers in 1351. He was defeated and taken prisoner in the Battle of Baesweiler in 1371.

Thanks to the fortune, first of his mother and then of his wife, William was able to buy several territories which enlarged the Marquisate. In 1362 he obtained from Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor that Namur depended directly from the Holy Roman Empire and ceased to be a vassal of the County of Hainaut. He also developed the mining and forging industries, as well as commerce.

Marriage and children

He first married on 13 February 1348 with Jeanne of Hainault, daughter of John of Beaumont and Margaret of Soissons. Jeanne died 2 years later form the Black Death without children.

William remarried in March 1352 with Catherine of Savoy, daughter of Louis II of Savoy, baron of Vaud, and Isabella of Châlon. They had 3 children :

William II (1355-1418), Marquis of Namur
John III (?-1429), last Marquis of Namur
Marie (?-1412), married in 1370 Guy II de Blois-Châtillon and in 1405 Pierre de Brabant, Admiral of France.

William also had several illegitimate children.

Ancestors

Ancestors of William I, Marquis of Namur

16. Guy II of Dampierre

8. William II of Dampierre

17. Mathilde of Bourbon

4. Guy, Count of Flanders

18. Baldwin I of Constantinople

9. Margaret II, Countess of Flanders

19. Marie of Champagne

2. John I, Marquis of Namur

20. Waleran III of Limburg

10. Henry V, Count of Luxembourg

21. Ermesinda of Luxembourg

5. Isabelle of Luxembourg

22. Henry II of Bar

11. Margaret of Bar

23. Philippa of Dreux

1. William I, Marquis of Namur

24. Robert I of Artois

12. Robert II, Count of Artois

25. Matilda of Brabant

6. Philip of Artois

26. Peter of Courtenay

13. Amicie de Courtenay

27. Pétronille of Joigny

3. Mary of Artois

28. John I, Duke of Brittany

14. John II, Duke of Brittany

29. Blanche of Navarre

7. Blanche of Brittany

30. Henry III of England

15. Beatrice of England

31. Eleanor of Provence

William I, Marquis of Namur House of Dampierre Born: 1324 Died: 1 October 1391
Preceded by Philip III	Marquis of Namur 1337–1391	Succeeded by William II

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