Isabel de Warenne, 4th Countess of Surrey

Isabel de Warenne, 4th Countess of Surrey (* 1136 ; † July 12, 1203 , buried in Lewes Priory near Lewes ) was an English noblewoman. She was the only surviving heir to William de Warenne, 3rd Earl of Surrey and his wife Adela, daughter of Count Wilhelm III. from Ponthieu .

In 1148 she inherited her father's property and became the Countess of Surrey in her own right. In the same year she married Wilhelm von Blois , the younger son of King Stephen of England . The marriage was concluded at a critical time during the English Civil War and was part of Stephen's attempt to get control of the Warenne family's holdings . The marriage remained childless and Wilhelm died in 1159.

In 1162/63, William FitzEmpress asked for her hand, the third son of Count Gottfried Plantagenet of Anjou and the "Empress" Matilda of England - for the same reason as Wilhelm von Blois at the time. However, Thomas Becket refused the dispensation due to consanguinity . In April 1164, Isabel married Hamelin , the half-brother Williams, which also made him Earl of Surrey from the right of his wife ( iure uxoris ). The couple had four children who outlived their parents:

• William (1166-1240), 1203 Earl of Surrey
• Adela (* around 1170), she was the mistress of King Johann Ohneland .

1. ∞ Robert of Naburn;
2. ∞ William FitzWilliam;

• Isabel († November 30, 1234),

1. ∞ Robert de Lacy;
2. ∞ Gilbert de l'Aigle, Lord of Pevensey ( house l'Aigle )

• Matilda,

1. ∞ Heinrich II., Count of Eu ;
2. ∞ Henri d'Estouteville (Henry de Stouteville).

Hamelin died in 1202, Isabel the following year. Both were buried in the chapter house of Lewes Priory .

literature

• Susan M. Johns: Warenne, Isabel de, suo jure countess of Surrey (d.1203), magnate. In: Henry Colin Gray Matthew, Brian Harrison (Eds.): Oxford Dictionary of National Biography , from the earliest times to the year 2000 (ODNB). Oxford University Press, Oxford 2004, ISBN 0-19-861411-X , ( oxforddnb.com license required ), as of 2004

predecessor	Office	successor
William de Warenne	Countess of Surrey 1148-1203	William de Warenne