Sir Wydo de Croun & ‬Isabella Basset

 19989994. Sir Wydo de Croun & 19989995. Isabella Basset

~1162, Isabella born in England, d/o 94555976. Thomas Basset & 94555977. Alice de Dunstanville.

1170, Wydo [Guy] born in France, s/o 39979516. Seigneur Maurice II de Craon & 39979517. Isabel de Meulan.

[––Isabel––]

Isabel 1^st married to Albert de Grelley.

1180, Albert died, leaving a son by Isabel: Robert de Grelley (d.1230).

[––Wydo & Isabel––]

~1188, Wydo married Isabella.

1189, Wydo de Croun and his father accompanied King Richard I on crusade.

12/12/1189, Richard departed on the 3rd Crusade. Richard commandeered ships and ordered them to Dover to move some of his forces to France. The fleet was then to move to Marsailles to meet up with the combined English and French troops.

7/1190, The English and French armies met at Lyons; where they learned that the German Emperor, leading his forces to the crusade, had died in an accident.

1191, Richard captured the city of Messina, Sicily, after they had refused to let the English ships land. Richard was reunited with his sister Joanna. Queen Eleanor arrived with Richard’s future bride.

4/1191, 24 ships sank in a storm on the way to Cyprus.

5/12/1191 at Limassol on Cyprus. Richard captured Cyprus, which he would use as a supply base for his forces.

6/5/1191, Richard set sail for Acre on the galley Trenchmere. [The French forces were already besieging the city. Seige engines were launching objects at walls, troops were trying to fill in the moat, and other troops were tunneling under the walls; but the various national groups were acting independently. Both Richard and Philip developed a disease that caused their hair and nails to fall out. Richard had his bed moved to the front where he could fire a crossbow at the city.]

7/1191, Richard captured Acre. Saladin’s city commander agreed to surrender for a ransom of 200,000 gold pieces, the release of 1500 christians, and the Muslim garrison to be given safe conduct.

1191, Many of the forces, especially the Germans, returned home. Duke Leopold V of Austria, their leader, had been insulted by Richard over the flying of Leopold’s flag.

7/31/1191, Due to the death of Count of Flanders, Philip of Alsace and Philip’s own illness, Philip left his 10,000 men under the control of Hugh III, Duke of Burgundy, and returned to France.

8/20/1191, Richard ordered the slaughter of the Muslim prisoners, about 2600, outside the city in view of Saladin’s army. [Their stomach’s were cut open incase they had swallowed precious stones, then their bodies were burned.]

9/5/1191, Richard defeated Saladin at the battle of Arsuf. Richard led two charges of knights “carving a wide path for himself, cutting them down like a reaper with a sickle.” Richard suffered a non-serious wound.

9/8/1191, Richard’s forces arrived a Jaffa to find it’s fortifications destroyed. [Richard spent 3 months repairing the fortifications at Jaffa and along the road back to Acre.]

1191, Richard and Saladin, at the suggestion of Richard, began to exchange gifts through emissaries. Richard became friends with Saladin’s brother.

11/8/1191, Richard was entertained at the tent of al-Adil, Saladin’s brother.

12/1191, Richard arrived at Beit Nuba, 12 miles from Jerusalem.

1/1192, Richard decided to return to Jaffa when they decided they could not begin a siege.

1192, Richard moved to Ascalon, on the coast south of Acre, and spent 4 months rebuilding its fortifications.

4/1192, Richard held an election for King of Jerusalem – won by Conrad de Montferrat. [Conrad was murdered soon afterwards in Tyre by members of the original Muslim “Assassins”, who had also attempted to kill Saladin.] Richard also named Guy de Lusignan as Lord of Cyprus.

8/1/1192, Richard conducted a sea assault on Jaffa, which had been recaptured by Saladin. An emir wrote, “We did out best to sieze him, but in vain, for no one escaped his sword.”

8/4/1192, Saladin’s army attacked Richard’s 80 knights, 400 archers, and a small force of lancers, camped outside the city walls. Richard lost his horse at the height of the battle. Saladin, watching from a hill, sent Richard 2 fresh horses.

9/2/1192, Richard made a 3-year truce with Saladin when he agreed to let Christians have access to the holy places. Richard agreed to raze the fortifications built at Ascalon.

9/9/1192, Richard turned over command of the crusaders to Henry of Champagne.

10/9/1192, Richard secretly left by ship for home in the dead of night, expecting to be protected as a crusader. He stopped initially in Cyprus, then at Rhodes. From there they traveled up the western coast of Greece.

Bef. 1196, Wydo died before his father, his daughter Petronilla his heir, his brother Amaury (19989758) succeeding.

By 1211, Isabel died.

(S) Hist. and Antiquities of Boston, Thompson, 1856, P504ff. (S) Bassets of High Wycombe, Stewart-Parker, King’s College, Thesis, 2013.

Family notes:

·         ‘Guy de Croun (fl.1085) came to England with William the Conqueror [1066]. His son named Alan. Alan de Croun, the founder of the priory of Freiston in the time of the first king of Henrici [1100-35], became the father of a son, whose name was Maurice (39979516). Maurice the father of Guy, who was of the time of King Stephen [1135-54]. Guy de Croun II (19989994), contemporary of King Richard [1189-99], had a daughter Pertonilla (9994997) that first married William de Longchamp, a relative [nephew] of William de Longchamp, Bishop of Ely. Then Petronilla married [Henry] de la Mare. Then married Oliver de Valibus.’ (S) The Hist. & Antiq’s of Croyland-abbey, 1856, P39.

Child of Wydo and Isabella:

i. Petronill de Croun (9994997), born ~1190 in England.