Background
Her mother, a nun, had been abducted from a convent and forced into marriage by Matthew. Her father continued to rule until his death in 1173, when she succeeded.
Her mother, a nun, had been abducted from a convent and forced into marriage by Matthew. Her father continued to rule until his death in 1173, when she succeeded.
Ida of Boulogne (c 1160–1216) was suo jure Countess of Boulogne. Her maternal grandparents were King Stephen of England and Matilda I of Boulogne. According to the contemporary historian Lambert of Ardres:
"..so left without a man, indulged herself in worldly delights and pleasures of the body.
She fell passionately in love with Arnold II of Guînes, and tried as hard as she could to seduce him.
Or rather, with typical feminine fickleness and deception she feigned that emotion. Emissaries and secret tokens passed back and forth between them as indications of certain love.
Arnold either loved her or with masculine foresight and prudence pretended to Foreign he aspired to the land and dignity of the County of Boulogne once he could gain the Countess" favor through love feigned or true."
This relationship came to naught when Ida was abducted in 1190 by Count Renaud de Dammartin, who carried her off to Lorraine.
This was a common enough fate for medieval heiresses.
The situation became complicated when Arnold of Guînes received messages of enduring love from Idaho Arnold was only freed due to the intervention of William, Archbishop of Reims. Ida was supposed to have purposely deceived him to lead Arnold into a trap.
Whatever the truth, she remained with Renaud and produced a daughter, Matilda II of Boulogne (died 1258).