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This page is on Eustace the Black Monk. For another Eustace the Monk, also known as Eustace of Luxeuil, see Eustace of Luxeuil. For other uses see Eustace.
Eustace the Monk (c.
1170 –
August 24,
1217) was a
mercenary and
pirate, in the tradition of
medieval outlaws.
Life
Early life
Eustace was born a younger son of Baudoin Busket, a lord of the county of
Boulogne. According to his biography, he went to
Toledo,
Spain, studied
black magic there, returned home to become a
Benedictine monk at
St Samer Abbey near
Calais, and then left the monastery to avenge his murdered father. Other evidence, however, suggests that his father's death occurred soon after 1190. That evidence proves that by
1202 Eustace was the
seneschal and
bailiff of the
count of Boulogne,
Renaud de Dammartin and that in c. 1204, the two quarrelled and, accused of mishandling his stewardship, Eustace fled and was declared an
outlaw. Renaud confiscated his lands and fields; Eustace burned two
mills in retaliation.
Serving England
He then became a pirate in the
English Channel and the
Strait of Dover, both for his own purposes and as a mercenary of
France and
England.
John of England employed him intermittently from 1205 to 1212, against
Philip II of France. The biography asserts that John gave him command of thirty ships at the start of this assignment. This employment involved Eustace and his brothers raiding the
Normandy coast and establishing bases in the
Channel Islands (he and his men held
Castle Cornet in
Guernsey for a considerable period). When he raided English coastal villages, King John briefly outlawed him, but soon afterwards issued a pardon because he needed his services.
Serving France
However, Eustace switched sides in 1212 (the biography puts it down to Eustace's enemy Renaud de Dammartin allying himself with John and poisoning John's mind against Eustace) and raided
Folkestone when English troops seized his Channel Island bases. When
civil war broke out in England in 1215, he supported the rebel barons and ferried
Prince Louis of
France across the Channel to help them in 1216.
In August 1217, whilst ferrying much-needed reinforcements to Louis, Eustace met an English fleet under
Hubert de Burgh sailing out of
Dover. In the ensuing
Battle of Dover, Eustace wrought havoc among his former allies, until the English blinded the French with powdered
lime. English troops boarded his ships and defeated his men in
mêlée. Eustace, his
flagship and some other ships managed to escape, but his ship was surrounded on
August 24,
1217 in the
Battle of Sandwich by
Philip d'Aubigny's English fleet of
Cinque Ports ships. Eustace was found hiding in the ship's
bilges and offered huge sums for his life, which his captors refused, since he'd made himself so hated by the English crews. Instead, they allowed him merely the choice between the ship's rail or the side of the
trebuchet (carried as deck-cargo to England) as his execution site. (
Matthew Paris includes the beheading but doesn't specify which he chose). His brothers survived, and continued to hold his Channel Islands base.
Aftermath
In September 1217, the
treaty of Lambeth forced Louis not only to give up his claim to the English throne but to eject Eustace's brothers from the Channel Islands.
Biography
A romance biography was written on him between 1223 and 1284 by an unknown poet from
Picardy, mainly interested in his year or so of adventures after leaving Renaud's service. From a forest hideout, this account tells of Eustace duping, ambushing and humiliating Renaud again and again, in different disguises and often stealing his horses. It is linked to the medieval myths of
Robin Hood and the romance "Fouke le Fitz Waryn" on the life of
Fulk FitzWarin.
This account is then supplemented from 1205 onwards by English government records.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Eustace The Monk'.
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