Isabella of Angoulême

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Isabella of Angoulême
Queen consort of England
Tenure 24 August 1200 – 19 October 1216
Coronation 9 October 1200
Countess of Angoulême
Tenure 16 June 1202 – 4 June 1246
Predecessor Aymer
Successor Hugh I
Spouse John, King of England
Hugh X of Lusignan
Issue
Henry III, King of England
Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall
Joan, Queen of Scots
Isabella, Holy Roman Empress
Eleanor, Countess of Pembroke
Hugh XI of Lusignan
Aymer of Lusignan
Agnes de Chauvigny
Alice, Countess of Surrey
Guy de Lusignan
Geoffrey de Lusignan
William of Lusignan, 1st Earl of Pembroke
Marguerite, Countess of Toulouse
Isabella de Rancon
House House of Taillefer
Father Aymer, Count of Angoulême
Mother Alice of Courtenay
Born c.1188
Died 4 June 1246(1246-06-04) (aged c. 57–58)
Fontevraud Abbey, France
Burial Fontevraud Abbey
Seal of Isabella of Angoulême (Municipal Archives, Angoulême)

Isabella of Angoulême (French: Isabelle d'Angoulême, IPA: [izabɛl dɑ̃ɡulɛm]; c.1188 – 4 June 1246) was queen consort of England as the second wife of King John from 1200 until John's death in 1216. She was also reigning Countess of Angoulême from 1202 until 1246.

She had five children by the king including his heir, later Henry III. In 1220, Isabella married Hugh X of Lusignan, Count of La Marche, by whom she had another nine children.

Some of her contemporaries, as well as later writers, claim that Isabella formed a conspiracy against King Louis IX of France in 1241, after being publicly snubbed by his mother, Blanche of Castile for whom she had a deep-seated hatred.[1] In 1244, after the plot had failed, Isabella was accused of attempting to poison the king, and to avoid arrest, sought refuge in Fontevraud Abbey where she died two years later, but none of this can be confirmed.

Queen of England

She was the only daughter and heir of Aymer Taillefer, Count of Angoulême, by Alice of Courtenay, who was sister of Peter II of Courtenay, Latin Emperor of Constantinople and granddaughter of King Louis VI of France.

Isabella became Countess of Angoulême in her own right on 16 June 1202, by which time she was already queen of England. Her marriage to King John took place on 24 August 1200, at Bordeaux, a year after he annulled his first marriage to Isabel of Gloucester. She was crowned queen in an elaborate ceremony on 9 October at Westminster Abbey in London. Isabella was originally betrothed to Hugh IX le Brun, Count of Lusignan,[2] son of the then Count of La Marche. As a result of John's temerity in taking her as his second wife, King Philip II of France confiscated all of their French lands, and armed conflict ensued.

At the time of her marriage to John, the blonde and blue-eyed 12-year-old Isabella was already renowned for her beauty[3] and has sometimes been called the Helen of the Middle Ages by historians.[4] Isabella was much younger than her husband and possessed a volatile temper to match his own. King John, however, was deeply infatuated with his young, beautiful wife; he neglected his state affairs to spend time with Isabella, often remaining in bed with her until noon, although it was the custom for kings to rise at five o'clock in the morning to commence their duties. The common people began to term her a "siren" or "Messalina", although they were pleased with her beauty.[5] Her mother-in-law, Eleanor of Aquitaine readily accepted her as John's wife.[6]

On 1 October 1207 at Winchester Castle, Isabella gave birth to a son and heir who was named Henry after the King's father, Henry II. He was quickly followed by another son, Richard, and three daughters, Joan, Isabel, and Eleanor. All five children survived into adulthood, and would make illustrious marriages; all but Joan would produce offspring of their own.

Second marriage

When King John died in October 1216, Isabella's first act was to arrange the speedy coronation of her nine-year-old son at the city of Gloucester on 28 October. As the royal crown had recently been lost in The Wash, along with the rest of King John's treasure, she supplied her own golden circlet to be used in lieu of a crown.[7] The following July, less than a year after his crowning as King Henry III of England, she left him in the care of his regent, William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke and returned to France to assume control of her inheritance of Angoulême.

In the spring of 1220, she married Hugh X of Lusignan, "le Brun", Seigneur de Luisignan, Count of La Marche, the son of Hugh IX, to whom she had been betrothed before her marriage to King John. It had been previously arranged that her eldest daughter Joan should marry Hugh, and the little girl was being brought up at the Lusignan court in preparation for her marriage. Hugh, however, upon seeing Isabella, whose beauty had not diminished,[8] preferred the girl's mother. Princess Joan was provided with another husband, King Alexander II of Scotland, whom she wed in 1221.

Isabella had married Hugh without waiting to receive the consent of the King's council in England, which was the required procedure for a former Queen of England, as the Council had the power to not only choose the Queen Dowager's second husband, but to decide whether or not she should be allowed to marry at all. Isabella's flouting of this law caused the Council to confiscate her dower lands and stop the payment of her pension.[9] Isabella and her husband retaliated by threatening to keep Princess Joan, who had been promised in marriage to the King of Scotland, in France. The council first responded by sending furious letters, signed in the name of young King Henry, to the Pope, urging him to excommunicate Isabella and her husband, but then decided to come to terms with Isabella, as to avoid conflict with the Scottish king, who was eager to receive his bride. Isabella was granted, in compensation for her dower lands in Normandy, the stannaries in Devon and the revenue of Aylesbury for a period of four years. She also received £3000 as payment for arrears in her pension.[10]

By Hugh X, Isabella had nine more children. Their eldest son Hugh XI of Lusignan succeeded his father as Count of La Marche and Count of Angoulême in 1249.

Isabella's children from her past marriage continued their lives in England.

Rebellion and death

Described by some contemporaries as "vain, capricious, and troublesome,"[11] Isabella could not reconcile herself with her less prominent position in France. Though Queen dowager of England, Isabella was now mostly regarded as a mere Countess of La Marche and had to give precedence to other women.[12] In 1241, when Isabella and Hugh were summoned to the French court to swear fealty to King Louis IX of France's brother, Alphonse, who had been invested as Count of Poitou, their mother, the Queen Dowager Blanche openly snubbed her. This so infuriated Isabella, who had a deep-seated hatred of Blanche due to the latter having fervently supported the French invasion of England during the First Barons' War in May 1216, that she began to actively conspire against King Louis. Isabella and her husband, along with other disgruntled nobles, including her son-in-law Raymond VII of Toulouse, sought to create an English-backed confederacy which united the provinces of the south and west against the French king.[13] In 1244, after the confederacy had failed and Hugh had made peace with King Louis, two royal cooks were arrested for attempting to poison the King; upon questioning they confessed to having been in Isabella's pay.[14] Before Isabella could be taken into custody, she fled to Fontevraud Abbey, where she died on 4 June 1246.[15]

By her own prior arrangement, she was first buried in the Abbey's churchyard, as an act of repentance for her many misdeeds. On a visit to Fontevraud, her son King Henry III of England was shocked to find her buried outside the Abbey and ordered her immediately moved inside. She was finally placed beside Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. Afterwards, most of her many Lusignan children, having few prospects in France, set sail for England and the court of Henry, their half-brother.

Issue

  • With King John of England: 5 children, all of whom survived into adulthood, including:
  1. King Henry III of England (1 October 1207 – 16 November 1272). Married Eleanor of Provence, by whom he had issue, including his heir, King Edward I of England.
  2. Richard, Earl of Cornwall and King of the Romans (5 January 1209 – 2 April 1272). Married firstly Isabel Marshal, secondly Sanchia of Provence, and thirdly Beatrice of Falkenburg. Had issue.
  3. Joan (22 July 1210 – 1238), the wife of King Alexander II of Scotland. Her marriage was childless.
  4. Isabella (1214–1241), the wife of Emperor Frederick II, by whom she had issue.
  5. Eleanor (1215–1275), who would marry firstly William Marshal, 2nd Earl of Pembroke; and secondly Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester, by whom she had issue.
  • With Hugh X of Lusignan, Count of La Marche: nine children, all of whom survived into adulthood, including:
  1. Hugh XI of Lusignan (1221–1250), Count of La Marche and Count of Angoulême. Married Yolande de Dreux, Countess of Penthièvre and of Porhoet, by whom he had issue.
  2. Aymer of Lusignan (1222–1260), Bishop of Winchester
  3. Agnès de Lusignan (1223–1269). Married William II de Chauvigny (d. 1270), and had issue.
  4. Alice of Lusignan (1224 – 9 February 1256). Married John de Warenne, 6th Earl of Surrey, by whom she had issue.
  5. Guy of Lusignan (c. 1225 – 1264), killed at the Battle of Lewes. (Tufton Beamish maintains that he escaped to France after the Battle of Lewes and died there in 1269).
  6. Geoffrey of Lusignan (c. 1226 – 1274). Married in 1259 Jeanne, Viscountess of Châtellerault, by whom he had issue.
  7. Isabella of Lusignan (c.1226/1227 14 January 1299). Married firstly before 1244 Maurice IV, seigneur de Craon (1224–1250),[16] by whom she had issue; she married secondly, Geoffrey de Rancon.[17]
  8. William of Lusignan (c. 1228 – 1296). 1st Earl of Pembroke. Married Joan de Munchensi, by whom he had issue.
  9. Marguerite de Lusignan (c. 1229 – 1288). Married firstly in 1243 Raymond VII of Toulouse; secondly c. 1246 Aimery IX de Thouars, Viscount of Thouars and had issue

Ancestry

In popular culture

She was played by actress Zena Walker in the TV series The Adventures of Robin Hood episode "Isabella" (1956), before her marriage to John, but not as a 12-year-old.

She was portrayed by actress Victoria Abril in the 1976 film Robin and Marian.

She was played by actress Cory Pulman in the episode "The Pretender" (1986) of the TV series Robin of Sherwood.

She was portrayed by actress Léa Seydoux in the 2010 film Robin Hood.

Sources

  • Fougère, Sophie. Isabelle d'Angoulême, Reine d'Angleterre, Edit-France, 1998.
  • Costain, Thomas B. The Conquering Family, Doubleday and Company, Inc., Graden City, New York, 1949, 1962
  • Costain, Thomas B. The Magnificent Century, Doubleday and Company, Inc., Garden City, New York, 1959
  • Pertz Chronica ævi Suevici (Monumenta Germaniæ Historica, Scriptores 23) (1874): 874 (Chron. of Alberic de Trois-Fontaines: “… que domna Petro de Cortenaio, regis Philippi patruo, peperit comitem Petrum Comitem Autissiodorensem et Robertum de Cortenaio et quendam Guilelmum et sorores eorum. Una Alaydis comiti Guilelmo Ioviniaci peperit comitem Petrum, et post Engolismensi comiti peperit Isabellam modernam Anglie reginam …”).

Further reading

  • Castaigne, Jean François. Isabelle d’Angoulême, Comtesse-Reine, Angoulême, 1836.
  • Richardson, H.G. The Marriage and Coronation of Isabelle of Angoulême, in The English Historical Review, September 1946.
  • Snellgrove, Harold. The Lusignans in England, 1247–1258, in University of New Mexico Publications in History, #2, 1950.
  • Bard, Rachel. Isabella: Queen Without a Conscience. (A historical romance)

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Isabella of Angoulême.
  1. ↑ Thomas B. Costain, The Magnificent Century, pp. 144-45, Doubleday and Company, Inc., Garden City, New York, 1959
  2. ↑ Isabella of Angouleme:John's Jezebel, Nicholas Vincent, King John: New Interpretations, ed. S.D. Church, (Boydell Press, 1999), 171, 177.
  3. ↑ Thomas B. Costain, The Conquering Family, pp.251-52, Doubleday and Company, Inc., Garden City, New York, 1949, 1962
  4. ↑ Costain, The Conquering Family, p.306
  5. ↑ Costain, The Conquering Family, pp.253-54
  6. ↑ Thomas B. Costain, The Conquering Family, p.246
  7. ↑ Costain, The Magnificent Century, p.11
  8. ↑ Costain, The Conquering Family, p.341
  9. ↑ Costain, The Magnificent Century, p.38-39
  10. ↑ Costain, The Magnificent Century, pp.38-39
  11. ↑ Costain, The Magnificent Century, p. 149.
  12. ↑ Costain, The Magnificent Century, p. 144.
  13. ↑ Costain,The Magnificent Century, p. 145-146.
  14. ↑ Costain, The Magnificent Century, p.149
  15. ↑ Nicholas Vincent, « Isabella , suo jure countess of Angoulême (c.1188–1246) », Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 2006.
  16. ↑ Thomas Frederick Tout, The Place of the Reign of Edward II in English History, (Manchester University Press, 2009), 395 n1.
  17. ↑ Adrian Jobson, The First English Revolution: Simon de Montfort, Henry III and the Barons' War, (Bloomsbury Academic, 2012), xxv.

External links

Royal titles
Vacant
Title last held by
Berengaria of Navarre		 Queen consort of England
24 August 1200 – 18 October 1216 		Vacant
Title next held by
Eleanor of Provence
French nobility
Preceded by
Aymer		 Countess of Angoulême
16 June 1202 – 4 June 1246 		Succeeded by
Hugh I
Authority control
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike; additional terms may apply for the media files.