Godefroy de Bouillon

Godefroy de Bouillon was born circa 1060, linked by tradition to Baisy-Thy in Brabant and Boulogne. In 1087, he was appointed Duke of Lower Lorraine by Emperor Henry IV. Mortgaging his ancestral castle of Bouillon to the Bishop of Liège, Godefroy led a massive army of Lorrainers and Walloons on the First Crusade in 1096.

Breaching the walls of Jerusalem on July 15, 1099, Godefroy was offered the royal crown of the new kingdom. Refusing to wear a golden crown where Christ had worn a crown of thorns, he adopted the title Advocatus Sancti Sepulchri ('Advocate of the Holy Sepulchre'). He established the legal and feudal institutions of the crusader state before dying in July 1100. A celebrated equestrian statue by Eugène Simonis stands in the Place Royale in Brussels.