William of Tyre names "Balduinus cognominatus de Burgo, domini Hugonis comitis de Retest filius" and records him as "consanguineus" of Godefroi Duke of Lower Lotharingia and his brothers Baudouin and Eustache. In a later passage, William of Tyre names his mother and records that he was "primogenitus", although the inheritance by his brothers of the paternal county seems to indicate that this is incorrect, unless he was passed over by family agreement either because of his absence in Palestine or his already superior position as Count of Edessa. His birth date range is estimated assuming that he was an adolescent or young adult when he joined the First Crusade.
He was known as "BAUDOUIN du Bourg". Albert of Aix records that "Godefridus dux regni Lotharingiæ…fraterque eius uterinus Baldewinus, Warnerus de Greis cognatus ipsius Ducis, Baldewinus pariter de Burch, Reinhardus comes de Tul, Petrus…frater ipsius, Dodo de Cons, Henricus de Ascha ac frater illius Godefridus" left for Jerusalem in Aug 1096. Albert of Aix records that "Cononem comitem de Monte Acuto, Baldwinum de Burch, Godefridum de Ascha" were sent by Godefroi de Bouillon for the first meeting with the emperor after the arrival of the crusading army in Constantinople, dated to end 1096.
He joined the crusading contingent of Godefroi IV Duke of Lower Lotharingia in Cilicia. After completing his pilgrimage, he returned to Edessa to rejoin Baudouin I Count of Edessa [Boulogne]. When the latter succeeded his brother in 1100 as Baudouin I King of Jerusalem, he invested Baudouin du Bourg as BAUDOUIN II Count of Edessa, as vassal of the kingdom of Jerusalem. Albert of Aix records that "Baldewinus dux civitatis Rohas" installed "Baldewino de Burg…sui generis, filio comitis Hugonis de Rortest" at Edessa on succeeding to the kingdom of Jerusalem, dated to 1100 from the context. Count Baudouin married the daughter of Gabriel, Armenian Lord of Melitene, in order to consolidate his position in Edessa. He was captured with Joscelin de Courtenay by Soqman, Ortokid Prince of Mardin, after the battle of Harran in 1104, but was released in 1107 in exchange for Joscelin de Courtenay who had allowed himself to be recaptured to ensure Baudouin's freedom. During his imprisonment Tancred was appointed regent of Edessa, followed by Richard of the Principate [Sicily] after Tancred assumed the role of regent of Antioch. Baudouin had to evict Richard forcibly to regain Edessa in 1108 following his release. He captured more territory in Cilician Armenia by expelling the Armenian lords Vasil Dgha from Rabun and Kaisun in 1116 and Constantine from Gargar in 1117. Albert of Aix records that Baudouin appointed "fratri Eustachio" as his successor on his deathbed if he would come to Jerusalem, or if he failed to come "Baldewinus de Burg".
Despite being the fallback choice of his predecessor, he was unanimously elected by the council to succeed and was crowned 14 Apr 1118 as BAUDOUIN II King of Jerusalem by Arnoul Patriarch of Jerusalem. In Aug 1119, Baudouin marched to relieve Antioch after the defeat of Roger Prince of Antioch by Najm al-Din Ilghazi ibn Artuk, Turkish emir in north Syria, at the "Ager Sanguinis" and was victorious at Zerdana. He assumed the position of regent of Antioch for the rightful prince Bohémond II who was still in Toulouse and who did not arrive in Palestine until 1126. King Baudouin II returned to Jerusalem to be crowned 25 Dec 1119. He was obliged to increase his time spent in the north to defend Antioch which was attacked in 1120 and 1122. This was unpopular in Jerusalem, where unrest increased after Pons Count of Tripoli renounced his allegiance to King Baudouin in 1122. The king was captured 18 Apr 1123 by Artukid forces and imprisoned in the fortress of Khartpert. The Frankish prisoners seized control of the fortress in Aug 1123, but it was recaptured by Balak and King Baudouin was moved to Harran. He was released 29 Aug 1124 on payment of a ransom, but did not return to Jerusalem until Apr 1125. During his absence, Eustache Granarius Lord of Sidon and Caesarea was appointed Constable of the kingdom, and was succeeded in 1123 by Guillaume de Bures. King Baudouin's armies defeated a Fatimid invasion, preventing the recapture of Jaffa in May 1123, and captured Tyre 7 Jul 1124 after a five month siege. While King Baudouin II was held captive, a faction in Jerusalem which was hostile to the king offered the throne of Jerusalem to Charles "the Good" Count of Flanders [Denmark], who refused the offer. King Baudouin's forces made a major push northwards in 1129 to capture more territory, but failed to capture Damascus. When dying, he became a monk and was admitted as a canon of the Holy Sepulchre. 2
Research Notes: