The Wrong Side of the Knight: Who is Nicholas de Brabant as a Historical Figure?
By April French

The only tangible date given for Nicholas de Brabant/Nick Knight is that of 1228 C.E., or the year he was brought across. It is accepted that at the time of his conversion, Nicholas was approximately thirty-four or thirty-five years of age, i.e. the age he gives in his police records in 1992 (and coincidentally, the age of actor Geraint Wyn Davies at the beginning of the series' run), meaning that he was born sometime in 1193. In the first season episode "Hunters," Nick gives his actual date of birth as New Year's Day, intimating that he was born either on December 31st or January 1st. However, in the Middle Ages, the changing of years was celebrated in early spring, during Lent, with New Year's Day being March 25th, allowing firmer establishment of his birthday as March 25th, 1193. His sister Fleur is assumed to be between eighteen and twenty years old in the flashbacks of "Be My Valentine," which is posited to take place in either late 1228 or sometime in 1229, meaning she was born approximately between 1208 and 1211.

It is assumed, but not actually known, that Nicholas is a member of the nobility, as his family does appear to be comfortably off, and to live in a large and well-appointed home. The name "de Brabant" is significant. The duchy of Brabant came into existance in 1190, when the counts of Leuven acquired the duchy of Lower Lorraine, after the death of Godfrey of Bouillon. Nicholas has always carried himself as a nobleman, and in the Wales flashbacks in "Queen of Harps," gives the impression of a privileged and educated man for the times. That Nicholas was a member of Lord Delabarre's mission to Wales as the elder man's attache is also suggestive of a claim to minor nobility.

Once this is established, the major problem becomes that of Nicholas's parentage. The first Duke of Brabant, known as Henry I, lived from 1165 to 1235, and therefore is the most logical candidate for the father of Nicholas de Brabant. Henry was married twice, to Mathilda of Boulogne from 1179 to 1210, and to Mary of France, daughter of King Phillip II of France, from 1213 to 1224. Given that Nicholas's birth is most likely in the year of 1193, it is logical to assume that his mother is Mathilda of Boulogne. Henry I had five children by Mathilda: Adelaide (b. 1190), Mary (b. 1190, who, incidentally, went on to marry Holy Roman Emperor Otto IV), Mathilda (b. 1200), Henry II of Brabant(b. 1207), and Godfrey (b. 1209). According to this, Nicholas would have to have been born between sisters Mary and Mathilda, and, taking into consideration the years that the mother was alive, Fleur either came between Henry II and Godfrey, or is the baby of the family, born at the very latest in 1210.

However, there is a problem with this thesis. In the flashbacks of "Be My Valentine," which is the only time that Nicholas's mortal family is ever shown on screen, there is an older mortal woman whom Nick clearly addresses, several times, as 'Mother.' The problem is that by late 1228 or 1229, Mathilda of Boulogne has been dead for at least eighteen years (possibly dying in childbed with the birth of Fleur). The woman Nicholas addresses as Mother could theoretically be a stepmother; however, she could not be Mary of France, who died in 1224, while Nick was away on Crusade. She could be Henry I's third wife; however, they would have had to have married while Nicholas was gone, and he would not be so friendly with a stepmother he has never met.

Therefore, although there is enough evidence to support Mathilda of Boulogne being the mother of both Nicholas and Fleur, the question of who the woman in the castle is remains. It now apparently becomes necessary to look outside the immediate family of the Duke of Brabant for other possible antecedents. Was Nicholas the nephew of the Duke of Brabant, rather than his son? It would not have been impossible for a widowed sister-in-law to seek the protection of her husband's brother, and therefore give him control over her children.

Henry I of Brabant had one brother, Adelbert, and one half-brother, William of Louvain, lord of Perwez. As Adelbert was not only Bishop of Lieges, but also died the year before Nicholas is believed to have been born, the possibility of his having sired not only Nicholas but also Fleur is unlikely. He may have been only Nicholas's father, leaving the mother to have Fleur by a different man, but as Fleur is the only one of Nicholas's siblings ever shown on screen, and that their closeness is obvious, this theory is unlikely. The half-brother, William of Louvain, would have been, at the most, thirteen years old in 1193.

There is the possibility of looking further back, but it sheds no light on the situation. Nicholas was not the nephew of Henry I of Brabant. But does that mean he was not the duke's son?

In the Middle Ages, illegitimacy did not carry the immense social stigma that is commonly supposed, at least in the upper classes. If Nicholas and Fleur were bastards, it would mean simply that they would not be able to inherit their father's estate; it would not necessarily mean that they and their mother would be denied his support. Nick is, at the very outside, a second son, since he nowhere is he described as having lost the duchy of Brabant due to becoming a vampire, and since he was attached to Lord Delabarre's mission to Wales as a lowly attache. Clearly, he was attempting to make a place for himself in the world, a place denied him by the circumstances of his birth. In Fleur's case, she is a remarkably well-read and intelligent young woman, and the way Nicholas treats her seems to indicate that she has been somewhat spoiled, by her brother as 'my little sister' and possibly by her father as a favorite love-child.

If Nicholas were the illegitimate son of the first duke of Brabant, not only would it give immense depth to an already well-formed character, it would also give additional meaning to LaCroix's choice of Nicholas as a fledgling, given his own experiences with having fathered an illegitimate child.

Sources:

Wikipedia: The Dukes of Brabant
Wikipedia: Henry I, Duke of Brabant
Wikipedia: Dukes of Brabant Family Tree

~Finis--February 4th, 2005~

Copyright April French, 2005. All Rights Reserved.