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Conon de Béthune (before 1160 in the former region of Artois, today Pas-de-Calais - 17 December 1219, possibly at Adrianople) was a French crusader and "trouvère" poet who became Regent of the Latin Empire. Alternative spellings of his name include Coesnes, Quenes, Conain, and Quenon. ==Life== Probably born before 1160, he was the fifth son of Robert V de Béthune, hereditary Lord of Béthune and Advocate of the Abbey of Saint-Vaast at Arras in today's Pas-de-Calais, who died on the Third Crusade at the siege of Acre in 1191, and his wife Alice, daughter of Hugues III, Count of Saint-Pol.〔 His four elder brothers were : :Robert VI de Béthune, who succeeded his father as Lord of Béthune and Adocate of Arras; :Guillaume II de Béthune, who succeeded his brother as Lord of Béthune and Adocate of Arras; :Baudouin de Béthune, Count of Aumale and companion of King Richard I of England; and :Jean de Béthune, Bishop and secular ruler of Cambrai.〔 Conon was educated by his cousin, the noted poet Hugues III d'Oisy, Castellan of Cambrai, who taught him the art of poetry. It is probable, from comments made in one of his poems, that Conon appeared before the French court at the occasion of the marriage of King Philippe Auguste with Isabelle of Hainaut in 1180 and sang his songs before Marie de Champagne, noted for her connection to the poet Chrétien de Troyes. He was however embarrassed, as he recorded wryly in the poem ''Mout me semont Amors ke je m'envoise'', by his Artesian accent.〔Axel Wallensköld (1921), ''Les Chansons de Conon de Béthune'', Paris, Honoré Champion, https://fr.wikisource.org Accessed 15 November 2015〕 After having taken part in the Third Crusade to Palestine, Conon de Béthune went with his brother Guillaume on the Fourth Crusade in 1203, accompanying the knights of Baldwin, Count of Flanders and Hainaut. At the outset he was chosen as one of six knights to command all transport and supplies and when the army arrived at Constantinople he was appointed its spokesman in negotiations with the Byzantines. His rhetorical ability, wisdom and chivalry were praised by fellow Crusader Geoffroi de Villehardouin, who said of Conon: ''Bon chevalier et sage estoit et bien eloquens'' (A good knight and a wise one he was, and most eloquent).〔 After the diverted Crusade's capture of Constantinople in 1204, Conon held a number of important positions in the Latin Empire, the successor to the Byzantine Empire established by the Crusaders and centered on Constantinople. Created a ''protovestiarius'' by 1205, he played a key role in Baldwin's reconciliation with Boniface of Montferrat before the Battle of Adrianople against the Bulgarians, in which Baldwin was captured and later put to death.〔Shawcross (2012), pp. 195–196〕 Conon then served Baldwin's brother Henry of Flanders until his death in 1217, followed by Baldwin's sister Yolanda of Flanders, during which time he defended the city of Adrianople and was raised to the higher rank of ''sevastokrator''. On the death of Yolanda in 1219, her son Robert of Courtenay became Emperor but was far away in France. In his absence, the barons of the Empire elected Conon to serve as Regent (''baiulus'') but he died shortly after.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Conon de Béthune」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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