As much as I would like to agree with Geni regarding the parentage of Catherine de Cysoing, there is no primary evidence to support it.
Warlop in his The Flemish Nobility before 1300 makes a very strong case for the descendants of Inglebert of Petegem and his spouse Gilsmonde, but he limits the discussion to information from primary sources about which a daughter Catherine there is nothing mentioned. (Warlop, vol. 1, pg. 46-50).
If one considered the dates above, it does not appear likely that Catherine was a sibling of the three famous brothers. The best dates I’ve seen so far that work with a presumed marriage to Rasse I (1062-1096) are b. 1068, married 1087 and d. Before 1150 with her son Rasse II (1088-1149). Warlop does however leave open the possibility of a position in a later generation in the house of Petegem-Cysoing.
It should be noted that in addition to Warlop, C. Poplimont, 1866, B. d'Ursel, 2010 and C. Sars de Solmont, 1846, and both counts G. De Liedekercke (1961) and R. De Liedekercke (1968) identify simply Catherine de Cysoing as wife of Rasse I.
Warlop does make an enticing statement in the chapter on the crises caused by the Erembalds in 1127. Warlop stats in the part on “the main cause of their destruction” that the “Flemish nobels themselves put the fuse to the fire”. The first to march on Bruges was Gilbert of Praet on March 7, 1127...”on March 14/15 Razo II of Gavere arrived”...”the clan of Petegem was represented by the Eine group, the group Ghent-Aalst-Dendermonde was complete. Thierry of Diksmuide and his brother Richard of Woumen were descended from the house of Menes and Razo II of Gavere made the link between Ghent and Petegem.” (Warlop, vol. 1, pg. 206)
Doesn’t this say then that the wife of Razo de Gavere was of the house of Petegem? Therefore Catherine van Petegem de Cysoing was, given what we know of her dates 1062-1150, possibly daughter of Ingelbert III van Peteghem fl 1046 or of his son Ingelbert IV seigneur de Petegem de Cysoing. But she doesn’t show there in any sources I’ve seen.
There is a second equally prevalent descendency in mostly tertiary sources, that being daughter of Wauthier de Chièvres d’Ath aka Gauthier de Roux born about 1045 - Chièvres, 7950, Hainaut, Belgique, deceased in 1098 aged about 53 years old, Chevalier, seigneur de Roeulx et Chiévres, chatelain d'Ath, pair de Hainaut, Married before 1065 to Ada de Roucy de Montdidier, born in 1049 - Montdidier, 80561, Somme, Picardie, France, deceased in 1114 - Avesnes-sur-Helpe, 59036, Nord, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France aged 65 years old, buried - Liessies, 59347, Nord, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France. Ada married secondly Thierry d’Avesnes after 1098. Catherine married in 1087 to Rasse 1er de Gavre born in 1062 - Gavere, 9890, Oost-Vlaanderen, Belgique, deceased in 1096 aged 34 years old, Seigneur de Gavre, baron de Flandre.
What is interesting about this possibility is her siblings, who would be
- Adelinda de Chièvres ca 1065-1100/ Married about 1085 to Dierick 1er van Audenaerde ca 1065-1096/
- Béatrice du Roeulx d’Ath ca 1070-1135 who married firstly Godefroid de Guise, secondly Thierry de Avesnes, thirdly Arnould de Hainaut and fourthly Gilles de Trazegnies
- Ade d’Ath ca 1090-1138 who married firstly Guy de Chièvres ca 1090-1127 and secondly Gossuin II de Mons ca 1080-1126
This Ada d’Ath is aka Ide de Chièvres and would be the mother of Ide/Eve “dite Domison” de Chièvres who’s second husband was Raase III van Gavere. But again, she doesn’t show there in any sources I’ve seen.
A third scenario, and I mention it only because it’s source is Gaillard I’ve frequently used, and for him to be totally at odds with the other historians of his time is unusual. “Pour Gailliard, la femme de Rasse fut la fille de Arnould, châtelain de Gand et seigneur de Borneghem et de Mathilde fille du châtelain de Saint-Omer.”
So...:
1. For Catherine to have the patronymic name de Petegem would mean that she descended from that family, and for this there is no evidence.
2. For her to have the names Chievers, d’Ath, Reoulx would mean the same.
3. She is know in almost every source as simply Catherine de Cysoing, which therefore seems to make it safe to concluded is a toponymic, her parentage and surname could be anything, but it seems to be unknown.
4. So I recommend for now keeping her as spouse of Rasse based on a preponderance of evidence for this fact only, but not using a coat of arms for her identification, we simply don’t know what to use, pending further research on the matter.
5. I would also recommend that she be detached from her parents in the Geni tree since we can’t yet prove who they are.
(Curator dvb Note): this person is not to be confused with
Catherine ou Katherine dite de Cysoing, dame de Genech Peteghem born in 1214 - Petegem-Aan-de-Schelde, 9790, Flandre Orientale, Flandre, Belgique married to Gerard, sire de Schelderode
