Godfrey of Bouillon

(god'fre boo-yăn(g',) [Fr. GODEFROI DE BOUILLON,] the chief leader of the First Crusade, B. near Nivelle, Brabant, 1058, was a son of Eustace,second Count of Boulogne, and received the title ofDuke of Bouillon for his martial exploits in behalf of Henry IV., emperor of Germany. In 1096 he headed the French force sent out against the Infidels for the recovery of the Holy Sepulchre, and two years later took the city of Antioch, followed by the capture of Jerusalem. His army thereupon offered him the sovereignty of that city, which Godfrey refused, saying, "he would never accept a crown of gold in a city where his Saviour had worn a crown of thorns." After estab li shing a code of laws called the A ize of Jerusalem, based upon the feudal system of Europe, G. D. in 1100. His memory is embalmed in the " Jerusalem Delivered" of Ta o's Italian verse. [s. 413]