In the early 13th century, the most feared man to sail the waters of the English channel was a former monk named Eustace - a talented and storied adventurer.

Here is a brief list of some of the unique job positions held by a single, remarkable man during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries:

• A monk (but only for a short while)
• An assistant to a medieval Count
• A privateer
• A pirate
• A Mercenary
• A medieval outlaw
• A man feared by all other men

Think such men only exist in movies and books? Well, think again. Such a man did exist, once. Indeed, it was from A.D. 1205 – 1217 that Eustace the Monk, the most feared of all religious men, lived out his reign of terror throughout the English channel.

Early Life

The first part of the life of Eustace the Monk is quite dull and dreary (at least, when compared to the latter parts of his life).

He was born in 1170 and for a time during his childhood (though it is not quite certain just how long), Eustace lived in a monastery. While this didn’t last very long, and it doesn’t seem that he really “took” to the religion, it at least explains where his later moniker rose from.

After this, between the years of 1202 and 1204 (he was already 32 years old at this point, so clearly much of his early history is lost), Eustace the Monk went to work in the household of the Count of Boulogne (the city in France in which he had been born).

As the legend goes, it is here that he got his start in some of the shadier aspects of life.

Eustace the Outlaw

Eustace was accused by the Count, for one reason or another, of improper stewardship of his possessions. Having been accused (and most likely guilty), Eustace fled the city as an outlaw. He would never again live a proper or legal life.

So what did Eustace the Monk do in this sticky situation? Why, just what any rational man would do.

He became a pirate.

Somehow, Eustace gained control of a ship and a crew. He was so good at what he did, sailing as a mercenary for hire throughout the British Channel, that eventually he was commanding an entire fleet.

This is how things would remain for the rest of Eustace the Monk's life, which was surely full of many great stories and legends which have long since been lost and forgotten.

The Most Feared of All Men

At this point, Eustace and his fleet acted on behalf of the highest bidder. For a considerable period of time (the 8 years between 1205 to 1212), the highest bidder for the fleet was King John of England (that same King John whom the villain in most modern adaptations of the tales of Robin Hood, usually called Prince John, are based – the brother of King Richard the Lionheart), who was at the time in a war against King Phillip II of France (Eustace’s home country).

Eustace's fleet performed many duties during this war, pillaging and plundering French coastal towns and destroying French ships. King John felt he needed Eustace's ships enough that when the pirate’s ships began to raid English towns as well, King John went so far as to issue him a full pardon.

But, like any good pirate, Eustace the Monk's relationship with England didn't last long. In 1212, after the British began to seize several of the island assets he had claimed in the English Channel, Eustace decided to side with the French instead. In 1215, a Civil War broke out in England, which France took as their opportunity to invade, with Eustace the Monk's help.

And this is how Eustace the Monk made enemies of both England and France and became the most feared and despised of men.

The Fall of Eustace

In early 1217, as Eustace and his fleet were transporting French troops to England for an invasion, they were attacked by British ships. While Eustace's ships and men were at last bested (so great was the British fleet), he himself escaped, though only temporarily.

In August of that same year, Eustace was finally captured by the British during the Battle of Sandwich (one of two Battles of Sandwich during the medieval period).

Under the command of William d'Aubigney, 3rd Earl of Arundel, Eustace the Monk was finally captured and there, just off the coast of Sandwich, England (hence the name of the battle), he was beheaded.

Not a surprising end to this important, yet mostly unknown, character from the history of the middle ages.

References:

“The Battle of Sandwich and Eustace the Monk.”