GODFREY OF BOUILLON, king of Jerusalem: b. Baisy, in the Walloon Brabant, near Nivelles, about 1058; d. Jerusa lem, 15 July 1100. In 1076 he succeeded his uncle in the duchy of Bouillon. He distin guished himself by his heroic courage at the siege of Rome, and the fame of his exploits procured him, in 1095, the command of one of the armies of the first Crusade. In 1096 God frey, with his brothers Baldwin and Eustace, commenced his march to Constantinople, the meeting-place of the crusading armies. So great had been the difficulties of the way that it was only a short time before Christmas when he reached Constantinople. Here new delays occurred. The Emperor Alexius Commenus would not consent to allow the Crusaders to cross into Asia Minor until the leaders had sworn to give up to him all the lands which they should conquer which had previously belonged to the Roman Empire, and to remain his faith ful vassals for all time coming. This Godfrey at first indignantly refused to do, but after a long course of hostilities finally yielded to the demands of Alexius. On 1 May 1097 they crossed the Bosporus, and before the end of the year the Crusaders encamped before Antioch. The town fell into their hands on 3
June 1098, but the citadel held out much longer. In the following year (15 July 1099) Godfrey took Jerusalem itself, after a five weeks' siege. The infidels were indiscriminately massacred, notwithstanding the endeavors of Godfrey to put a stop to the slaughter. Eight days after the capture of Jerusalem the leaders of the army elected him king of the city and the territory; but Godfrey declined the kingly title on the ground that it would not be becoming for him to "wear a crown of gold where his Saviour had worn one of thorns," assuming that of baron and guardian of the holy sepulchre. The sultan of Egypt now raised an army of 400,000 men for the purpose of expelling the Crusaders, but Godfrey decisively defeated him in the plain of Ascalon. This victory placed him in pos session of nearly all the Holy Land. Godfrey now turned his attention to the organization of his newly established government, dying just a year after the capture of Jerusalem. He was buried in the church of the Holy Sepulchre.