- Queen consort of France
Isabelle de Hainaut was born 23 April 1170 in Lille to Baudouin V de Hainaut (1150-1195) and Margaret I of Flanders (c1143-1194) and died 15 March 1190 Paris of unspecified causes. She married Philip II of France (1165-1223) 28 April 1180 JL .
Biography
Isabella of Hainault (5 April 1170 – 15 March 1190) (Also spelled: Ysabella de Hainault, Ysabelle de Hainaut or Ysabeau de Hainaut) was a Queen of France as the first wife of King Philip II. She was also formally ruling Countess of Artois de jure between 1180 and 1190.
Early life
Isabella was born in Valenciennes on 5 April 1170, the daughter of Baldwin V, Count of Hainaut, and Margaret I, Countess of Flanders.[1] When she was just one year old, her father had her betrothed to Henry, the future Count of Champagne.[2] He was the nephew of Adèle of Champagne, the queen of France. In 1179, both their fathers swore that they would proceed with the marriage, but her father later agreed to her marrying King Philip II.
Queen of France
Isabella married Philip on 28 April 1180 at Bapaume, and brought as her dowry the county of Artois.[3] The marriage was arranged by her maternal uncle Philip, Count of Flanders, who was advisor to the King.[4] The wedding did not please the queen dowager, for it meant the rejection of her nephew and the lessening of her brothers' influence.
She was crowned Queen of France at Saint Denis on 28 May 1180. As Baldwin V rightly claimed his daughter to be a descendant of Charlemagne, the chroniclers of the time saw in this marriage a union of the Carolingian and Capetian dynasties.
Though Isabella received extravagant praise from certain annalists, she initially failed to win Philip's affections owing to her inability to provide him with an heir, although she was only 14 years old at the time.[5] Meanwhile, in 1184, Philip was waging war against Flanders; angered at seeing his wife's father Baldwin support his enemies, he called a council at Sens for the purpose of repudiating her. According to Gislebert of Mons, Isabella then appeared barefooted and dressed as a penitent in the town's churches, thus gaining the sympathy of the people. Her appeals angered them so much that they went to the palace and started shouting loud enough to be heard inside.[6] Robert, the king's uncle, successfully interposed; no repudiation followed, for repudiating her would also have meant the loss of Artois.[7]
Finally, on 5 September 1187, she gave birth to the desired son, Louis.
Death
Isabella's second pregnancy was extremely difficult. On 14 March 1190, she gave birth to twin boys named Robert (who died the same day) and Philip (who died 3 days afterwards, on 17 March). Owing to complications in childbirth, she died in Paris the next day (15 March), aged not quite 20, and was buried in the cathedral of Notre-Dame.[8] She was mourned greatly in the capital, having been a popular queen. Her husband was not with her when she died, nor did he attend the funeral, as he was away in Normandy campaigning against Richard I of England. When Philip learnt of her death, he hastily signed a truce with Richard and returned to Paris, where he confirmed the placement of her tomb and spent several days in mourning before returning to Normandy the following week. In a letter to Pope Clement III, he wrote that he greatly missed his late wife.
Isabella's son Louis succeeded her as Count of Artois. Her dowry of Artois eventually returned to the French crown following the death of her husband, when her son Louis became king.
Family
After the early death of Isabella of Hainaut in childbirth with twins in 1190, Philip decided to marry again.
- Louis VIII Capet (1187-1226) - future king of France
- Robert(twin) (born and died 14 March 1190)[lower-alpha 1]
- Philip(twin) (14 March 1190 – 17 March 1190)[lower-alpha 2]
Children
Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
Louis VIII Capet (1187-1226) | 5 September 1187 Paris, Île-de-France, France | 8 November 1226 Château de Montpensier-en-Auvergne, Montpensier, Puy-de-Dôme, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France | Blanca of Castile (1188-1252) |
Robert Capet (1190-1190) | |||
Philip Capet (1190-1190) |
Siblings
Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
Isabelle de Hainaut (1170-1190) | 23 April 1170 Lille | 15 March 1190 Paris | Philip II of France (1165-1223) |
Baudouin VI de Hainaut (1171-1205) | July 1172 | 11 June 1205 Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria | Marie de Champagne (c1174-1204) |
Yolande de Hainaut (1175-1219) | 1175 | 1219 | Pierre II de Courtenay (c1155-1219) |
Philippe de Namur (1174-1212) | |||
Henri de Hainaut (1176-1216) | 1176 | 1216 | Agnes de Montferrat (c1187-c1207) Maria of Bulgaria (-aft1216) |
Sybille de Hainaut (1179-1217) | 1179 | 1217 Paris | Guichard IV "le Grand" de Beaujeu (-1216) |
Eustache de Hainaut (?-1219) |
Appearance
"Queen Isabelle, she of noble form and lovely eyes."[10] In 1858, Isabelle's body was exhumed and measured at the cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris. At 90 cm from pelvis to feet, she would have stood about 1.72-1.75 m, (5'8"-5'9") tall. It was during this exhumation that a silver seal (now in the British Museum) was discovered in the queen's coffin. Little used during her lifetime, it is one of the few medieval seals with a royal connection to survive from the Middle Ages.
See Also
- Charlemagne Family Ancestry
- Capetian dynasty
- wikipedia:en:Isabella of Hainault
- Isabella of Hainault at thePeerage
- Capetian Kings - Foundation for Medieval Genealogy
- Isabella of Hainault - Geni.com
- Bouchard, Constance Brittain (1987). Sword, Miter, and Cloister: Nobility and the Church in Burgundy, 980-1198. Cornell University Press.
- Bouyer, Christian (1992). Les reines de France. Perrin.
- Bradbury, Jim (1997). Philip Augustus: King of France 1180-1223. Routledge.
- Hornaday, Aline G. (2003). "A Capetian Queen as Street Demonstrator: Isabelle of Hainaut". In Nolan, Kathleen D.. Capetian Women. Palgrave Macmillan.
- Shadis, Miriam (2003). "Blache of Castile and Facinger's "Medieval Queen": Reassessing the Argument". In Nolan, Kathleen D.. Capetian Women. Palgrave Macmillan.
- Perkinson, Stephen (2009). The Likeness of the King: A Prehistory of Portraiture in Late Medieval France. University of Chicago Press.
- Attribution
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. "Isabella of Hainaut". Encyclopædia Britannica. 14. Cambridge University Press. p. 860.
References
- ^ Bouchard 1987, p. 294.
- ^ Hornaday 2003, p. 79.
- ^ Shadis 2003, p. 147.
- ^ Bradbury 1997, p. 55-56.
- ^ Bradbury 1997, p. 58-59.
- ^ Hornaday 2003, p. 83.
- ^ Bouyer 1992.
- ^ Perkinson 2009, p. 100.
- ^ a b Hanley 2022, p. xxi.
- ^ From the Chronique rimee of Philippe Mouskes
French nobility | ||
---|---|---|
New title | Countess of Artois 28 April 1180 – 15 March 1190 |
Succeeded by Louis |
French royalty | ||
Preceded by Adele of Champagne |
Queen consort of France 1180–1190 |
Succeeded by Ingeborg of Denmark |
Footnotes (including sources)
Rtol, Phlox, Thurstan, MainTour
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