Isabella of Hainaut

Isabella von Hainaut (French: Isabelle de Hainaut ; Latin: Elizabeth ) (* probably on April 23, 1170 in Lille ; † March 15, 1190 in Paris ) was a Queen of France from the House of Flanders as the first wife of King Philip II August . She was the oldest child of Count Baldwin V of Hainaut († 1195) and Countess Margaret I of Flanders († 1194).

Life

Isabella of Hainaut

Isabella was first betrothed to the future Count Heinrich II of Champagne in 1171 . On the mediation of her uncle, Count Philip of Flanders , she was betrothed to the newly crowned King Philip II of France in 1179 . Through this connection with the House of Flanders, the uncle had wanted to break the ties between the young king and the faction that had previously dominated the royal court around the Queen Mother Adela of Champagne and thus wanted to strengthen his own influence. But Isabella's father had initially resisted this marriage, as the French crown had made the status of the entire Artois as a condition of the bride's dowry, which the father did not want to renounce as the designated heir of Count Philip. It was only after Count Philip's urging that Baldwin V gave his consent to the marriage, so that on April 28, 1180, ten-year-old Isabella and fifteen-year-old King Philip II could marry in the abbey of Sainte Trinité in Bapaume . Her coronation as queen took place in Saint-Denis on May 29, 1180 .

Back in Paris, Philip II announced that he was newly married. Queen Adela resisted with her Champagne party and even called the English King Henry II , albeit in vain, for support, but finally had to accept her son's decision. Baldwin V emphasized, in order to underline the classiness of his daughter Isabella, that he was a descendant of Charlemagne ; thus the historians of his time saw in this marriage a union of the Carolingians and the Capetians . For France it was also important that the Flemish count was childless and thus without an heir.

On Ascension Day (May 29) 1180, the Archbishop of Sens crowned Isabella in the basilica of Saint-Denis . When Louis VII died on September 19, 1180, she became Queen of France. Her hair was blonde and she had fine features. Allegedly, she admired her husband, but could not win his affection. His main ambition was politics. Troubadours from Champagne and Provence , such as Helimont, sang songs in honor of the young queen and organized "courts of love" for her. In Paris she often visited churches and donated a lot for the poor.

Since Philip August wanted to govern more and more self-confidently, the Champagne party and the Flemish count allied against him in 1180; there were acts of war. But the French king was gradually able to break up the opposing coalition. In 1183, Philip of Flanders was essentially the only enemy left, although he was still supported by Baldwin V of Hainaut. His father-in-law now threatened Philipp August to cast his wife out. Isabella had to leave the royal palace and spend some time in Senlis . A synod convened there was supposed to annul the marriage (March 1184). The pretext was that the king had not yet consummated Isabella. The Queen frequently visited the churches of Senlis and walked the streets as a penitent, invoking God's grace. As a result, she was able to increase her popularity with the subjects so that her husband, under pressure from his paternal uncle, Robert von Dreux , refrained from divorce. Isabella worked on her father, whom she met in Pontoise, in the interests of her husband. Soon afterwards Baldwin also visited his son-in-law in Berthily Castle. The Flemish count, who had been militarily beaten several times, accepted in the Treaty of Boves (July 1185) that the French king would retain the right to the Artois and take possession of Amiens and areas in the Vermandois .

Isabella's first child was born on September 5, 1187, and later as Louis VIII, King of France. Isabella, who was only 19 years old, died on March 15, 1190, one day after the birth of twin sons (who also only survived four days). Dressed in a gold-embroidered chasuble, she was buried with great pomp in Notre Dame de Paris in a ceremony presided over by Maurice de Sully , who represented the absent French king .

literature

• A. d'Esneval: Isabelle de Hainaut. In: Dictionnaire de Biographie française . Volume 18. 1994, Col. 197-198.
• E. Lalou: Elisabeth 8) . In: Lexicon of the Middle Ages . Volume 3. Col. 1834-1835.
• Gerd Hit: The French queens. From Bertrada to Marie Antoinette (8th – 18th centuries). Pustet, Regensburg 1996, ISBN 3-7917-1530-5 , pp. 109-112.

Remarks

1. ↑ Cf. Gislebert von Mons , Chronicon Hanoniense, in: MGH SS 21, p. 519.

Web links

Commons : Isabella von Hainaut  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

predecessor	Office	Successor
Adela of Champagne	Queen of France 1180–1190	Ingeborg of Denmark