Biography of Otto Welf IV Holy Roman Emperor 1175-1218

Paternal Family Tree: Obertenghi aka Welf

Maternal Family Tree: Dangereuse Ile Bouchard Viscountess Chatellerault 1079-1151

Otto Welf IV Holy Roman Emperor was appointed IV Holy Roman Emperor.

Otto Welf IV Holy Roman Emperor was appointed IV Duke Swabia.

In 1147 [his father] Henry "Lion" Welf XII Duke Saxony III Duke Bavaria [aged 18] and Clementia Zähringen Duchess Saxony Duchess Bavaria were married. They divorceddd in 1162. She the daughter of Conrad Zähringen 1st Duke Zähringen. He the son of [his grandfather] Henry "Proud" Welf X Duke Bavaria and [his grandmother] Gertrude Süpplingenburg Duchess Bavaria.

On 1st February 1168 [his father] Henry "Lion" Welf XII Duke Saxony III Duke Bavaria [aged 39] and [his mother] Matilda Plantagenet Duchess Saxony [aged 12] were married. She by marriage Duchess Bavaria, Duchess Saxony. The difference in their ages was 27 years. She the daughter of [his grandfather] King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England [aged 34] and [his grandmother] Eleanor of Aquitaine Queen Consort Franks and England [aged 46]. He the son of Henry "Proud" Welf X Duke Bavaria and Gertrude Süpplingenburg Duchess Bavaria. They were half third cousin twice removed.

Around 1175 Otto Welf IV Holy Roman Emperor was born to [his father] Henry "Lion" Welf XII Duke Saxony III Duke Bavaria [aged 46] and [his mother] Matilda Plantagenet Duchess Saxony [aged 18]. He a grandson of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England.

In 1189 [his brother-in-law] Geoffrey Chateaudun III Count Perche and [his sister] Matilda Welf Countess Perche [aged 17] were married at Rouen, France [Map]. She by marriage Countess Perche. She the daughter of [his father] Henry "Lion" Welf XII Duke Saxony III Duke Bavaria [aged 60] and [his mother] Matilda Plantagenet Duchess Saxony [aged 32]. He the son of Routrou Chateaudun IV Count Perche [aged 54] and Matilda Blois Countess Perche. They were third cousin once removed. He a great x 2 grandson of King William "Conqueror" I of England. She a granddaughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England.

On 28th June 1189 [his mother] Matilda Plantagenet Duchess Saxony [aged 33] died. She was buried at Brunswick Cathedral [Map].

On 6th August 1195 [his father] Henry "Lion" Welf XII Duke Saxony III Duke Bavaria [aged 66] died at Ravensburg. Otto Wittelsbach I Duke Bavaria succeeded I Duke Bavaria.

In 1204 [his sister] Matilda Welf Countess Perche [aged 32] died.

Memoires of Jacques du Clercq

This is a translation of the 'Memoires of Jacques du Clercq', published in 1823 in two volumes, edited by Frederic, Baron de Reissenberg. In his introduction Reissenberg writes: 'Jacques du Clercq tells us that he was born in 1424, and that he was a licentiate in law and a counsellor to Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, in the castellany of Douai, Lille, and Orchies. It appears that he established his residence at Arras. In 1446, he married the daughter of Baldwin de la Lacherie, a gentleman who lived in Lille. We read in the fifth book of his Memoirs that his father, also named Jacques du Clercq, had married a lady of the Le Camelin family, from Compiègne. His ancestors, always attached to the counts of Flanders, had constantly served them, whether in their councils or in their armies.' The Memoires cover a period of nineteen years beginning in in 1448, ending in in 1467. It appears that the author had intended to extend the Memoirs beyond that date; no doubt illness or death prevented him from carrying out this plan. As Reissenberg writes the 'merit of this work lies in the simplicity of its narrative, in its tone of good faith, and in a certain air of frankness which naturally wins the reader’s confidence.' Du Clercq ranges from events of national and international importance, including events of the Wars of the Roses in England, to simple, everyday local events such as marriages, robberies, murders, trials and deaths, including that of his own father in Book 5; one of his last entries.

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In 1204 [his brother-in-law] Enguerrand Coucy III Lord Coucy [aged 22] and [his sister] Matilda Welf Countess Perche [aged 32] were married. She by marriage Lord Coucy. She the daughter of [his father] Henry "Lion" Welf XII Duke Saxony III Duke Bavaria and [his mother] Matilda Plantagenet Duchess Saxony. They were half fifth cousins. She a granddaughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England.