Stephan III. (Auxonne)

Stephan III. (* around 1172 , † March 16, 1241 in Marnay ) was a count of Auxonne and Chalon-sur-Saône ( iure uxoris ) from the House of Burgundy-Ivrea . He was a son of Count Stephan II of Auxonne († 1173) and Judith of Lothringen, a daughter of Duke Matthew I of Lorraine .

Life

Stephan led a feud against the Hohenstaufen Count Palatine Otto I of Burgundy . Stephan himself had claimed the Palatine County of Burgundy after the line of the House of Burgundy-Ivrea there died out. To this end, he allied himself with his French neighbor, Duke Odo III. of Burgundy , under whose suzerainty he placed himself in 1197.

After the death of Palatine Otto, Stephan tried to bring the Palatinate to his house through a marriage alliance, by marrying his son with Otto's heir, Beatrix . However, negotiations with the heiress' uncle, King Philip of Swabia , failed at a meeting in Strasbourg in 1207 . Instead she was married a year later in Bamberg to Otto I von Andechs-Meranien (Count Palatine Otto II). At this wedding, King Philip fell victim to an assassination attempt, as a result of which the new Count Palatine lost his most important support. Stephan took advantage of this and opened a war against his rival, whose country he devastated. After the mediation of the Duke of Burgundy, Stephan was able to take advantage of a peace agreement of October 18, 1211. Otto von Andechs waived compensation and agreed not to pledge, sell or bequeath the Palatinate County without Stephen's consent.

When the Hohenstaufen Friedrich II began to establish himself in the empire after 1213 , the situation turned for Stephan. Otto von Andechs returned to Burgundy and reopened the war, which again resulted in long-term devastation. In 1226, Stephan took part in the Albigensian Crusade of King Louis VIII of France and fought in the siege of Avignon . The war against Otto von Andechs, however, tended to his disadvantage after his enemy had already concluded an alliance with Count Theobald IV of Champagne in January 1226 , which forced Stephan to surrender. In the peace negotiated in Bèze in 1227 , Stephan not only had to drop his claims to the Palatinate, but was also forced to recognize Otto as his liege lord.

Stephan withdrew to Marnay in 1237 , the widow of his daughter Beatrix, and left Auxonne and Châlon-sur-Saône to his son. He immediately exchanged the inheritance with Duke Hugo IV of Burgundy for the rule of Salin , Stephan and his second wife gave their consent.

Stephan was first married to Beatrix de Thiern († 1227), the heir to Count Wilhelm II of Chalon from the Thiern family . The marriage was divorced around 1200, their children were:

• Agnes († 1223), abbess of Baume-les-Dames ; ⚭ with Richard III. de Montfaucon, Count of Montbéliard
• Clementia (* around 1190; † after 1235), 1212 ⚭ with Duke Berthold V. von Zähringen
• John the Wise (* 1190; † August 30, 1267), descendants of the Chalon family
• Beatrix († March 20, 1261), 1. ⚭ 1210 with Aimon II. De Faucigny; 2. ⚭ 1224 with Simon de Joinville

His second wife was Agnes von Dreux († 1258), a daughter of Count Robert II von Dreux .

literature

• Michel Roquebert: L'épopée cathare. L'Inquisition. Perrin, Paris 2001, ISBN 2-262-01829-4 .

predecessor	Office	successor
Stephan II	Count of Auxonne 1173–1237	Johann I.
Wilhelm II.	Count of Chalon-sur-Saône (de iure uxoris ) 1203–1213	Johann I.