A renowned Crusader, eldest son of Eustace II., Count of Boulogne; he served with distinction under the Emperor Henry II., being present at the storming of Rome in 1084; his main title to fame rests on the gallantry and devotion he displayed in the first Crusade, of which he was a principal leader; a series of victories led up to the capture of Jerusalem in 1099, and he was proclaimed "Defender and Baron of the Holy Sepulchre," but declined to wear a king's crown in the city where his Saviour had borne a crown of thorns; his defeat of the sultan of Egypt at Ascalon in the same year confirmed him in the possession of Palestine (1061-1100).