He fought his whole life, together with his brother John I, against his half-brothers from his mother's second marriage with William II of Dampierre. He was said to be responsible for the accident that killed his half-brother William III of Dampierre during a tournament in Trazegnies. After the Edict of Péronne and the death of his brother John, he reconciled with his mother, who sent him to Namur on a revenge expedition.
