Statue of Isabella of Angoulême, in front of the city hall of Angoulême
Isabella of Angoulême (Fr. Isabelle d'Angoulême ; c.
1187 – May 31, 1246) was
countess of Angoulême and queen
consort of England.
She was the only daughter and heir of Aymer Taillifer, Count of
Angoulême, by Alix de Courtenay; her maternal great-grandfather was King
Louis VI of France. She became Countess of Angoulême in her own right in 1202, by which time she was already queen of
England. Her marriage to King John took place on August
24, 1200, at Bordeaux, a year after he annulled his first marriage. At the time of this marriage Isabella was aged about thirteen, and her beauty was
renowned; she is sometimes called the "Helen" of the Middle
Ages by historians.
It could not be said to have been a successful marriage, as Isabella was much younger than her husband and had a fiery
character to match his. Before their marriage, she had been betrothed to Hugh X of
Lusignan[1], 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 his French lands, and armed conflict ensued.
When John died in 1216, Isabella was still in her twenties. She returned to France and in 1220 proceeded to marry Hugh X of Lusignan, now Count of La Marche,
her former fiancé.
Isabella was accused of plotting against the French king in 1244; she fled to Fontevrault Abbey, where she died on May 31, 1246, and was buried there. Afterwards most of her many children, having few prospects in France, set sail for
England and the court of their half-brother King Henry III.
Issue
- With King John of England: 5 children, all of whom survived into adulthood, including:
- the eldest, who became King Henry III of England on his father's death
- Richard, Earl of Cornwall and King of the Romans
- Joan, the wife of King Alexander II of Scotland
- Isabella, the wife of Emperor
Frederick II
- the youngest daughter, Eleanor, who would marry William Marshal, 2nd Earl of Pembroke
- With Hugh X of Lusignan, the Count of La
Marche: 9 children, all of whom survived into adulthood, including:
- Hugh XI of Lusignan, Count of La
Marche and Count of Angoulême (1221–1250)
- Aymer de Valence, Bishop of
Winchester (1222–1260)
- Agnès de Lusignan (1223–1269), married William II de
Chauvigny
- Alice de Lusignan (1224 – February 9, 1256), married John de Warenne, 7th Earl of
Surrey
- Guy de Lusignan (d. 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)
- Geoffrey de Lusignan (d. 1274), married in 1259 Jeanne,
Viscountess of Châtellerault and had issue
- William de Valence, 1st Earl of Pembroke (d.
1296)
- Marguerite de Lusignan (d. 1288), married 1243 Raymond VII of Toulouse, married c. 1246 Aimery IX de Thouars,
Viscount of Thouars
- Isabelle de Lusignan (1234 – January 14, 1299), married Geoffrey de Rancon
Notes
- ^ Hugues X of Lusignan
External links
References
- Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists Who Came to America Before 1700 by Frederick Lewis Weis, Lines: 1-25, 80-29,
117-27, 153A-28, 154-28, 258-27, 260-29, 275-27
- Isabelle d'Angoulême, Reine d'Angleterre, by Sophie Fougère
- Isabella: Queen Without a Conscience, by Rachel Bard (historical novel)
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
