Godfrey of Bouillon - Brusell, Belgium
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vraatja
N 50° 50.538 E 004° 21.570
31U E 595716 N 5633168
Bronze equestrian statue of a medieval Frankish knight, Godfrey of Bouillon, at the center of Koningsplein (place Royale) in Brussels.
Waymark Code: WMJ6CD
Location: Brussels, Belgium
Date Posted: 10/01/2013
Views: 27
The monument that presides over Royal Square (Place Royale/Koningsplein) was the first equestrian statue in Brussels. It depicts Godfried of Bouillon, a local hero who participated in the Crusades to release the Holy Tomb from the unfaithful domination in the Middle Ages. It is from this very hill that he is said to have gathered his army and departed towards the Holy Land. The horse raises one of its hooves, which, according to the etiquette of equestrian statues, means that the hero sadly died in the battle.
This bronze equestrian statue, designed by Louis-Eugène Simonis (1810-1882), stands on a high, elliptical-shaped pedestal made of blue Arquennes stone, designed by architect Tilman-François Suys. The hero is represented as he left for the First Crusade, waving a banner and shouting, “God willing!” In 1897, two bronze bas-reliefs by sculptor William De Groot were added to the pedestal. One represents the assault of Jerusalem led by Godfrey of Bouillon on 15th July 1099. The other represents the Assizes of Jerusalem, a collection of laws written 200 years after Godefroid.
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Godfrey of Bouillon (c. 1060 – 18 July 1100) was a medieval Frankish knight who was one of the leaders of the First Crusade from 1096 until his death. He was the Lord of Bouillon, from which he took his byname, from 1076 and the Duke of Lower Lorraine from 1087. After the successful siege of Jerusalem in 1099, Godfrey became the first ruler of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, although he refused the title "King"; as he believed that the true King of Jerusalem was Christ.
Cited from Wikipedie