Warner of Grez

Who is Warner of Grez?

Warner of Grez was a French nobleman from Grez-Doiceau, currently in Walloon Brabant in Belgium. He was one of the participants of the First Crusade, and died in Jerusalem a year after the crusade ended.

In 1096 or 1097, Warner sold some of his land to a nearby church in return for a gold chalice worth 20¼ marks, which helped finance his expenses on the crusade.

According to Albert of Aix, he was a relative of Godfrey of Bouillon, and accompanied him on the journey. He went with Godfrey to meet King Coloman of Hungary, and also to meet Byzantine emperor Alexius I Comnenus when they arrived at Constantinople.

He was mentioned by Albert at the Siege of Nicaea in 1097 and at the Siege of Antioch in 1098. William of Tyre says that when Fatimid envoys arrived from Egypt to meet the crusaders, Warner helped escort them back to the coast on their way home. However, Warner and the other escorts were ambushed by the inhabitants of the territory around Antioch when they were returning to the crusader camp. After the crusaders captured Antioch, they were in turn besieged by Kerbogha of Mosul, and Warner was part of the fifth division of the army that marched out to attack Kerbogha.