Philip of Courtenay

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Coat of arms of the Latin Empire of Constantinople.
Coat of arms of the Latin Empire of Constantinople.

Philip I of Courtenay (1243, Constantinople1283, Viterbo) was titular Emperor of Constantinople 1273–1283. He was the son of Baldwin II of Constantinople and Marie of Brienne.

In his youth, his father was forced to mortgage him to Venetian merchants to raise money for the support of his empire, which was lost to the Empire of Nicaea in 1261.

By the Treaty of Viterbo in 1267, his father agreed to marry him to Beatrice of Sicily, daughter of Charles I of Sicily and Beatrice of Provence. Her maternal grandparents were Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Provence and Beatrice of Savoy.

The marriage was performed in October 1273 at Foggia; shortly thereafter, Baldwin died, and Philip inherited his claims on Constantinople. Although Philip was recognized as emperor by the Latin possessions in Greece, much of the actual authority devolved on the Angevin kings of Naples and Sicily. Philip and Beatrice had a daughter, Catherine (1274 – January 2, 1307 or 1308, Paris). Philip died in 1283.

Preceded by
Baldwin II
titular Emperor of Constantinople
1273–1283
Succeeded by
Catherine I of Courtenay

[edit] References

  • Peter Lock, The Franks in the Aegean 1204–1500, New York, 1995.