Geoffrey II of Villehardouin Geoffrey II of Villehardouin ( ) ( " c . " 1194 - after May 6 , 1246 ) was the third prince of Achaea ( " c . " 1229 - 1246 ) . From his accession to the princely throne , he was a powerful and respected person , and even from France knight s came to the principality to enter his service . Geoffrey II emerged as the most powerful vassal of the Latin Empire of Constantinople , the person around whom the crusader s ' states in modern Greece gradually regrouped themselves . He came to the rescue of the imperial capital three times . As a reward of his services to the Latin Empire , he was granted suzerainty over the island of Euboea by his brother - in - law , Emperor Baldwin II of Constantinople ( 1228 – 1261 ) . He was also a humane prince , benevolent and just , solicitous for the condition of the common people . Early years . Geoffrey was born as the eldest son of Geoffrey of Villehardouin , a French knight from Champagne and his wife , Elisabeth of Chappes . His father joined the Fourth Crusade in 1199 , later conquered a significant part of the Peloponnese and seized the throne of the Principality of Achaea following the death of its first prince , William I ( 1205 – 1209 ) . The new prince summoned his wife from Champagne during the early period of his residence in the Peloponnese . She came with their young son , Geoffrey and the family took up its residence in the castles of La Crémonie ( now Sparta , Greece ) and Kalamata . In 1217 the young Geoffrey married Agnes , the daughter of Emperor Peter I of Constantinople ( 1217 ) . His reign . Geoffrey II succeeded his father at the age of about 35 . He lived in a noble style , keeping always at his court 80 knights with golden spurs , supported on his bounty . He began his reign during a very critical period in the history of the Latin Empire of Constantinople , because the fall of the Kingdom of Thessalonica in 1224 had interposed formidable enemies between the capital of the empire on the one hand and the crusaders ’ states in the Peloponnese on the other . But the defeat of Emperor Theodore Komnenos Doukas of Thessalonica ( " c . " 1225 - 1230 ) by Tzar John Asen II of Bulgaria ( 1218 – 1241 ) at Klokotnitza in April , 1230 freed them from the dangers inherent in the great concentration of power in the hand of Theodore Komnenos Doukas . Living on good terms with his Greek neighbors , Geoffrey II assured the peace and prosperity of his principality . He frequently sent investigators to the courts of the barons to inform him of their way of life and of the manner in which they treated their vassals . His resources permitted him to send financial aid to his liege lord Emperor John I of Constantinople ( 1231 – 1237 ) . In 1236 he intervened in person to succor Constantinople , besieged by the forces of the Greek Emperor John III Vatatzes of Nicaea ( 1222 – 1254 ) . With a fleet manned by 100 knights , 300 crossbow - men , and 500 archers , he forced the blockade and then , in conjunction with the Venetians , Pisans , and Genoese , repulsed the Greek fleet and delivered the capital . In the same year , Count Maio I Orsini of Cephalonia ( 1194 – 1238 ) placed himself under Geoffrey II ’ s suzerainty . In July 1237 he gave the Teutonic Knights a hospital in Andravida . In 1238 , uniting his ships with those of Venice , he again came to the rescue of Constantinople , once more besieged by the emperor of Nicaea . In the following year , Geoffrey II wished to take part in the crusade of his overlord of France , Count Theobald IV of Champagne ( 1201 – 1253 ) , but Pope Gregory IX ordered him to turn his forces against the Greek emperor in order to ensure the safety of Constantinople . On February 9 , 1240 , the pope granted him an indulgence to the effect that the vow he had made of going as a crusader to the Holy Land might be fulfilled , with all benefits , by rendering continued assistance to the beleaguered Latin Empire . In 1243 , upon the false rumor of the death of his brother - in - law , Emperor Baldwin II of Constantinople ( 1228 – 1261 ) , Geoffrey II returned to the capital of the empire in order to secure the regency during the minority of his wife ’ s nephew , Philip . Geoffrey II died in 1246 and was buried in his capital , Andravida , in the church of the monastery of St . Jacob .