Stephen du Perche

Stephen du Perche (died 14/17 April 1205) was a French nobleman and crusader. He was a partisan of the Plantagenets in their conflict with the French crown and held fiefs from them. A younger son, he governed the County of Perche on behalf of his father and brother during their absence on crusade. He himself joined the Fourth Crusade in 1202 and travelled to the Holy Land. Afterwards, he went to the Latin Empire and was appointed duke of Philadelphia in Asia Minor in 1204. He died in battle against the Bulgars. Early life Born before 1173, Stephen was the second of five sons of Count Rotrou IV of Perche and his wife Matilda, daughter of Theobald, count of Blois and Chartres. He was named after his uncle, Stephen, archbishop of Palermo. His younger brothers entered the church. His father and older brother, Geoffrey III, joined the Third Crusade in 1189. During their absence, Stephen shared the administration of the county with the seneschal Warin of Lonray. After Geoffrey's return in 1192 or 1193, Stephen accompanied him to England. It has sometimes been thought that Stephen and Geoffrey divided the Perche between themselves, but this is based on a misreading of a document of 1202. Around 1200, Stephen gave land he possessed at Arponnel and in the forested gâtines (wasteland) between Chartres and Thiron-Gardais to the Knights Templar.