BALDWIN
I, Emperor of CONSTANTINOPLE. - Sixth Count
of Hainaut and not Count of Flanders, b. at Valen
ciennes in 1171, d., perhaps at Adrianople, about
1205. In 1185 he married Maria, daughter of Henry of
Champagne. At the death of his mother, Margaret of
Alsace, in 1194, he inherited a large part of Flanders
and, at the death of his father, Baldwin VIII, in 1195, be
came Count of Hainaut. He allied himself with England
in the struggle against Philip Augustus and succeeded in
conquering Tournai, Aire, and Saint-Omer. He joined
the Fourth Crusade: on 26 June 1202, having entrusted
his goods to his brother, the Count of Namur, and to his
uncle William of Flanders, he set out for Venice and took
part in the capture of Zara. He fought valiantly both at
the first and second occupations of Constantinople, and on
16 May 1204 was solemnly crowned in Hagia Sophia as
Latin Emperor of the East. Thus he found himself domi
nating a vast territory, though its effective conquest was
still to be completed. Soon the Latin barons lost interest
in the empire and, considering themselves independent,
began
to wage guerrilla warfare against one another. The Greeks
and Slavs took advantage of this situation, and under the
leadership of the King of Bulgaria, they stirred up a vio
lent revolt in Thrace. The Crusaders besieged Adrianople,
but on 14 April 1205 they suffered a terrible defeat. B.
fought with the utmost bravery, but was wounded and taken
prisoner. Nothing more was heard of him, despite the in
sistent requests made by Innocent III to the King of Bul
garia.