Margaret of France (1158–1197)

Margaret of France

Margaret of France , Marguerite Capet (* approx. 1158 ; † 1197 in Tire ), Princess of France, was the wife of Henry the Younger , co-king of England and later of King Béla III. of Hungary . She was the eldest daughter of King Louis VII of France from his 2nd marriage to Konstanze , daughter of King Alfonso VII.

history

While she was still a baby, Marguerite was betrothed to Prince Heinrich von Anjou-Plantagenet (February 28, 1155, † June 11, 1183), then almost three years old, in August 1158 . Henry's father, King Henry II of England , secured the promised dowry, the Vexin and its border castles. The engagement was the result of a policy of reconciliation between the French king and Henry, who was also a vassal of the French king because of his French territories. Heinrich was married to Eleanor of Aquitaine , who was Ludwig's first wife. The marriage had lasted 15 years, but no male heir to the throne had emerged from it, which is why it was finally annulled in 1152 because of too close blood relatives. Eleonore then married without the consent of her ex-husband Heinrich, at that time only a candidate for the English throne. Ludwig initially refused to recognize Heinrich's claims to Aquitaine. However, there were no formal provisions in feudal law that Heinrich would have violated by his marriage to Eleonore so clearly that he could have been punished for it with the confiscation of his territorial possessions. Nevertheless, it took a few military and diplomatic interactions before Ludwig, who had meanwhile been remarried, officially renounced the title of Duke of Aquitaine in August 1154.

Margaret of France was handed over to her future father-in-law, who was to take over her upbringing. However, Ludwig prevailed with the demand that the child should not grow up at the court of the Plantagenets, where from his point of view there was a risk that it would end up in the household of his ex-wife Eleonore.

In order to preserve the strategically extremely important castle and the surrounding area as quickly as possible, the two children were married to each other very early. The wedding ceremony took place in Le Neubourg at the beginning of November 1160 , although the bride and groom were two and five years old, respectively, too young to give their consent, as would have been required under canon law . In addition, through this marriage, the English royal couple could hope to see the crowns of England and France united on the head of their son, should Marguerite's father, King Louis VII , no longer father a son. For Louis VII, the scheduled wedding meant that the Norman Vexin would become the property of the Plantagenets at least a decade earlier than he had expected.

As usual, Henry the Younger was crowned during his father's lifetime. It is not clear why Margaret was not crowned at this ceremony. It seems that Margarete stayed with her mother-in-law in Caen . It is not clear whether this was intended to possibly snub her father. Margaret of France was finally crowned on August 27, 1172 in Winchester Cathedral. Heinrich the Younger was also crowned a second time at this ceremony. Marguerite gave birth to a son, Wilhelm (June 19, 1177 - June 22, 1177). In 1183 Heinrich fell ill with dysentery and died on June 11, 1183.

Three years later, Margaret married King Béla III. of Hungary . After his death in 1196, she went on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land . Shortly after her arrival in Tire , Margaret of France died at the age of 39 and found her final resting place in the choir of the Church of Tire.

Marriages and offspring

Margarete was married twice and had a son:

• 1. ∞ Henry the Younger (1160)
  • Wilhelm (June 19, 1177 - June 22, 1177)
• 2. ∞ King Béla III. of Hungary (1186)

literature

• Ralph V. Turner: Eleanor of Aquitaine - Queen of the Middle Ages , CH Beck, Munich 2012, ISBN 978-3-406-63199-3

Single receipts

1. ^ Turner, p. 180
2. ^ Turner, p. 145
3. ^ Turner, p. 181
4. ^ Turner, p. 184
5. ^ Turner, p. 250

predecessor	Office	Successor
Agnes de Châtillon	Queen of Hungary 1186–1197	Constance of Aragon