Damaged face on the tomb of Guy van Avesnes in Utrecht cathedral
(also spelt as
Guy van Avesnes; Dutch
Gwijde van Avesnes) (c.
1253 -
23 May 1317,
Utrecht) was
Bishop of Utrecht from 1301 to 1317.
Family
He was descended from an important
Hainaut family, the
House of Avesnes. He was the brother of
John II,
Count of Hainaut and
Count of Holland, and their parents were
John I of Avesnes and
Adelaide of Holland.
Life
It was John II who ensured Guy's appointment as bishop of Utrecht in 1301, instead of
Adolf II van Waldeck, and he was consecrated bishop by the
archbishop of Cologne during
the following year. He brought about a reconciliation between the Lichtenbergers and the Fresingen. However, in 1304 he weakened his brother John's position by leading an offensive of Flemish troops which then occupied Holland and
the Sticht. Guy was then captured at the
Battle of Duiveland on 20 March 1304. In Guy's absence, the Fresingen seized power in Utrecht with the support of the guilds, whose privileges they fixed in the "Gildenbrief" of 9 May 1304. On 14 September 1305, the guilds regime had to capitulate to bishop Guy (who had been released), but from then on the city retained a high degree of autonomy. However, it took until 1309 before the king fully recognised the bishop as Utrecht's secular lord.
In 1311, Guy took his place at the first
Council of Vienne, and from that date on he was frequently abroad. He knew well that a compromise had to be made between the various parties in the Sticht and in Utrecht itself, and so took up a middle-of-the-road position. He personally managed the possessions of the lordships of
Aemstel and of
Woerden, and as such granted
town privileges to
Amsterdam in 1306. After his death these lordships definitively devolved to the count of Holland. He was buried in
Utrecht Cathedral and his tomb, damaged during the iconoclasm in the 16th century, still survives.
Children
He had two daughters:
Bibliography
- G.C. van Nieuwenhuizen: Gwijde van Avesnes, Bisschop van Utrecht 1301-1317; scriptie RUU (1976)
- G. van der Zee: Vaderlandsche Kerkgeschiedenis; Kampen (1936)
Category:House of AvesnesCategory:Bishops of UtrechtCategory:1253 birthsCategory:1317 deathsCategory:Burials at the Cathedral of Saint Martin, UtrechtCategory:14th-century Roman Catholic bishopsnl:Gwijde van Avesnes
