At the turn of the 13th century, Eustace Busket fought, raided, killed, embezzled, betrayed,
revenged, impersonated and prayed his way across France, Spain and England.
Although better known as Eustace the Monk, this younger son of a county lord spent little
time in a monastery, choosing instead to live the life of a steward, mercenary and pirate.
Born in 1170 near Boulogne, France, Eustace’s story really begins in Toledo, Spain where
he is rumored to have studied black magic and, according to the contemporary work Histoire
des Ducs de Normandie, “No one would believe the marvels he accomplished, nor those which
happened to him many times.”
Ultimately giving up his parlor tricks, he soon decided to join the Benedictine monastery
at St. Samer Abbey (near Calais).
At some point around 1190, Eustace’s father was murdered, and Eustace left the Benedictines
to seek revenge against Hainfrois de Heresinghen, the supposed killer.
Agreeing to duel through surrogates, Heresinghen’s champion won, and, thus, the trial by combat
acquitted Heresinghen of the charges.
With his failed revenge, and now preferring life outside of the monastery, Eustace next
went to work for Count Renaud de Dammartin of Boulogne as his seneschal (steward), peer
and bailiff.
Most important for the future life of Eustace, his duties included oversight of the Count’s
property.
After Heresinghen instituted a plot to discredit him, the Count asked for an accounting and
Eustace fled into the Forest of Boulonnais, circa 1204.
Taking his flight as a sign of guilt, the Count seized Eustace’s property and burned
his land.
Not one to take such a slight lying down, Eustace then launched a series of raids against
the Count’s property, including burning down two mills that the Count had recently
built.
Whether or not he was really guilty of embezzling, as the Count came to believe, after destroying
the Count’s property, he was officially an outlaw, and one with a very powerful enemy.
Having at this point been a supposed sorcerer, a monk, and an administrator, Eustace decided
to take up a new career- piracy.
Sailing in the English Channel and the Strait of Dover, Eustace sometimes worked for himself
and at other times as a mercenary between 1205 and 1212.
Making something of a name for himself, together with his brothers, Eustace ultimately commanded
as many as 30 ships under the flag of King John of England.
Raiding along the coast of Normandy and the Channel Islands, he and his brothers established
several bases on the islands, including the Castle Cornet in Guernsey.
Not satisfied with the tremendous spoils he’d accumulated thus far, around 1212, Eustace
began playing both sides, raiding along the English coast as well; at this same time,
the Count de Dammartin struck an alliance with King John.
Officially switching sides at this point, Eustace took his skills back to France, where
he found work with Prince Louis.
Together, they supported the English rebellion in 1215-1216 (when King John refused to honor
the negotiations that culminated in the Magna Carta) with the idea that Louis would eventually
take the English throne.
King John died, however, and with the rise of Henry III, the rebellion lost support.
Undeterred, in August 1217, France sent its fleet across the Channel, led by Robert de
Courtenai with Eustace as admiral of its 70-plus ships, some of which were heavily overloaded,
bearing weapons, men and horses.
The English were prepared and met the French fleet at Sandwich.
Seizing control of the fleet from Eustace, de Courtenai ordered the ships into an ill-advised
attack; losing the wind, the French fleet suffered serious losses, due in no small part
to the English releasing lime into the wind, which blinded the French troops.
Eventually, de Courtenai and the knights were taken for ransom, and the regular soldiers
were slaughtered.
As for Eustace, he was found hiding in the bilge of his ship.
As with the other notables captured in the battle, he offered to pay a fortune in ransom
for his release, but the irritated English, whom Eustace had betrayed only a few years
before, decided not to take the money in his case.
Instead, they tied him down and had a man by the name of Stephen Crabbe lop off his
head.
In the (largely fictional) 1284 work covering Eustace’ life, The Romance of Eustace the
Monk, it concluded of his death (translated), “No man can live long who spends his days
doing ill.”
In the aftermath, Louis ultimately relinquished his claim to the throne of England, and Eustace’s
brothers were dispossessed of their Channel Islands lands.