House of Nesle

The House of Nesle was a feudal family that spawned a long line of Counts of Soissons and eventually merged with the House of Clermont. Nesle is a commune in northern France near Saint-Quentin, Aisne.
The founder of the House of Nesle is Yves de Nesle of unknown parentage. Yves had two children by an unknown wife:

Dreux de Nesle, a crusader who took part in the siege of Nicaea in 1097. He had one son from an unknown wife:
* Raoul I, Seigneur of Nesle, married Raintrude of Soissons, a daughter of William Busac, Count of Eu and Soissons, and had five children:
** Yves II, Count of Soissons
** Dreux de Nesle
** Raoul II de Nesle, Châtelain of Bruges
** Renaud de Nesle
** Thierry de Nesle, Thesaurius at Noyon, Archdeacon at Cambrai

Yves II, the first Count of Soissons from the House of Nesle had no children and the lineage passed through his brother Raoul II, who married Gertrude of Monaigu, daughter of Lambert, Count of Montaigu and Clermont. Raoul II and Gertrude had four children:

Conon was without issue and the lineage of Counts and Countesses of Soissons continued through his brother Raoul as follows:

Conon's brother John de Nesle married Elizabeth van Peteghem, daughter of Jan I van Peteghem. John and Elizabeth had five children:

, married to Eustache of Saint-Pol, daughter of Hugh IV, Count of Saint-Pol, and his wife Yolande, daughter of Baldwin IV, Count of Hainaut.
Ives de Nesle
Raoul de Nesle, Seigneur de Falvy
Gertrude de Nesle, married first Rainaud de Mello, and second Raoul de Clermont, Seigneur d’Ailly, son of Simon de Clermont and his wife Mathilde de Breteuil
Ada, married Enguerrand II de Coucy, Seigneur de Boves, uncle of Robert de Coucy

With the marriage of Gertrude and Raoul, the houses of Nesle and Clermont were united, and sometimes referred to as the House of Clermont-Nesle.
In addition to the Clermont lineage, the son of John and Elizabeth, Raoul de Nesle, also achieved fame. Raoul married Alix de Roye, widow of John III, Count of Alençon. Their son was John I de Nesle, who married Joan, Countess of Ponthieu, widow of Ferdinand III, King of Castile. The youngest daughter of Raoul and Alix, Marie, married John II, Seigneur d’Agimont, son of John I, Count of Looz and Chiny, and his second wife Isabelle de Condé. Drogo of Nesle and Ralph, Lord of Soissons, are likely related to the house but precise relationships are unknown.