Isabella of AngoulÃªme, wife of King John | Magna Carta Trust 800th Anniversary | Celebrating 800 years of democracy Isabella of AngoulÃªme, wife of King John Home » Schools » Biographies » Women of Magna Carta » Isabella of AngoulÃªme, wife of King John By Professor Louise Wilkinson, of Canterbury Christ Church University The reputation of Isabella of AngoulÃªme, the wife of King John, suffered badly at the hands of thirteenth-century writers [i] . Not only were the circumstances of Isabellaâs marriage blamed for harming Johnâs long-term interests on the Continent, but some chroniclers, like the St Albans monk, Roger of Wendover, also attributed the kingâs inadequate defence of Normandy in 1203-4 to Isabellaâs skills in âsorcery or witchcraftâ. According to Wendover, John became so infatuated with Isabella that he remained inactive and adopted a cheerful demeanour in the face of the French invasion [ii] .

Matthew Paris, Wendoverâs successor at St Albans, went so far as to describe Isabella as a woman who was âmore Jezebel than Isabelâ [iii] . Even if Wendoverâs and Parisâs characterizations are a little far fetched, they do, at least, reveal something of the infamy attached to this English queen consort. Although the precise year of Isabellaâs birth is not known, she was probably around twelve years old at the time of her marriage to King John on 24 August 1200. Isabella was the only daughter and heiress of Audemar, count of AngoulÃªme, the lord of a strategically important territory in southwestern France. Her mother was Alice de Courtenay, the daughter of the French lord of Montargis and ChÃ¢teaurenard, and a cousin of the French king Philip Augustus (Philip II). Through her Courtenay connections, Isabella also enjoyed kinship with the kings of Jerusalem, and was a half-sister to Peter, count of Joigny, the child of one of her motherâs earlier marriages [iv] .

King John, Isabellaâs bridegroom, was in his thirties and had already been married once before, to Isabella of Gloucester, whom he had set aside as his wife on the grounds of consanguinity. In 1200, John had sound political reasons for marrying Isabella of AngoulÃªme. He did so in order to prevent her union with another powerful Poitevin neighbour, Hugh (IX), lord of Lusignan and count of La Marche. An AngoulÃªme-Lusignan alliance posed a serious threat to Johnâs dominance in the region, and jeopardized the stability of the borders of Poitou and Gascony. Unfortunately, by taking Isabella for his own wife, John caused grave offence to Hugh (IX), who suffered an embarrassing loss of face. Hugh (IX) rebelled against John and appealed to Philip Augustus, who declared Johnâs continental territories forfeit. Isabellaâs union with John thus helped to trigger the war that culminated in the loss of Normandy, Maine, Anjou and Touraine to the French crown in 1204, along with a significant slice of Poitou.

Isabella of AngoulÃªmeâs status as Johnâs wife was enhanced when she was crowned queen of England by Archbishop Hubert Walter at Westminster Abbey in October 1200 [v] . As queen, however, Isabella did not enjoy anything like the level of personal wealth or political influence of some of her twelfth-century predecessors in England [vi] . Isabella was not, for example, allowed to receive the revenues from her inheritance, her dower (those lands set aside to provide for her in the event of her husbandâs death) or queenâs gold during Johnâs lifetime. In this way, John ensured that Isabella remained personally dependent upon his continued generosity and goodwill for her day-to-day maintenance, and effectively prevented her from playing an active role in court politics [vii] . During her marriage to John, Isabella was at least successful in fulfilling her primary duty as a medieval English queen consort, that of bearing a male heir.

Between 1207 and 1215, Isabella was delivered safely of two sons (the future King Henry III and Richard, earl of Cornwall) and three daughters (the future Joan, queen of Scots, Isabella, wife of Emperor Frederick II of Hohenstaufen, and Eleanor, countess of Pembroke and Leicester) who survived the perils of medieval childhood. Even if the royal couple remained on sufficiently close terms for the king to bestow occasional gifts, including fine cloths and furs, upon the queen, [viii] their personal relationship was undermined by Johnâs preference for royal mistresses and by the awkward presence of Johnâs former wife, Isabella of Gloucester, at royal residences in southern England. [ix] John, for his part, spent time in Isabella of AngoulÃªmeâs company, especially when it was politic to do so. In 1214, John used Isabellaâs position as countess of AngoulÃªme to his advantage in his dealings with the Poitevin nobles, when she accompanied him overseas. It was also during this trip that the coupleâs eldest daughter, Joan (b.

1210), was betrothed to Hugh (X), the son of the count of La Marche whom Isabella of AngoulÃªme had originally expected to marry. When the political situation deteriorated in England in 1214-15, King John took careful measures to ensure Isabellaâs safety by placing her under the armed protection of one of his most trusted servants, Terric the Teuton. The kingâs death at Newark, during the night of 18 to 19 October 1216, however, left Queen Isabella a widow. The new king of England was her nine-year-old son, Henry III. When the queen attended her sonâs coronation at Gloucester on 28 October 1216, she probably leant her son one of her âchapletsâ to use as his crown. [x] Although Isabella was awarded possession of most of her English dower soon after her sonâs accession, her position within the realm remained uncertain.

Johnâs will had made no mention of Isabella – she had not been appointed as one of his thirteen executors – or the role that she might play in English government as Henry grew up. In the weeks and months that followed, new queen dowager found herself excluded from the regency council and thus marginalized from English politics, much as she had been in Johnâs reign. In 1217, Isabella left England for her native AngoulÃªme, ostensibly to escort her eldest daughter, Joan, to her bridegroom, Hugh (X) de Lusignan. In an extraordinary turn of events, however, Isabella usurped Joanâs place as Hugh (X)âs bride. The couple married in 1220, three years after Isabellaâs departure from England. If this was not scandalous enough in its own right, Isabellaâs new marriage threatened the interests of the English crown. Isabellaâs alliance with Hugh (X) had created exactly the same power bloc of lands in southwestern France that John had wished to prevent forming in 1200.

In May 1220, Isabella sought to limit the political repercussions of her new marriage by writing a letter to her young son, King Henry III, in England. In this letter, Isabella justified her actions with a story that Hugh (X)âs âfriendsâ, who were concerned about Joanâs youth, had actively been encouraging him to seek an alternative wife who was old enough to bear him an heir. In order to avert the danger of Hugh (X) taking a French bride, Isabella had decided to marry him herself (âGod knows, [she told Henry] that we did this rather for your benefit rather than our ownâ). [xi] To make matters worse, Isabella and Hugh (X) then refused to return Joan to her brother in England. Instead they effectively kept her as a hostage, and placed pressure on Henryâs government to acknowledge their claim to certain Poitevin estates that had been promised to Isabella as part of her original dower settlement from John in 1200. [xii] Although Joan eventually returned to England in the latter part of 1220, Isabella and Hugh (X) continued to press their claims.

By September 1221, the situation had become so serious that Henry IIIâs minority government confiscated Isabellaâs English dower lands. Although Isabellaâs English dower was later restored to her, Isabella and Hugh (X) became increasingly alienated from the English crown. In 1224, the couple went so far as to ally themselves with the king of France and support a French invasion of Poitou, in return for a substantial pension. Their disloyalty to King Henry IIIâs government was punished, once again, by the confiscation of Isabellaâs English dower, only this time it was never returned. Although Henry III met with Isabella in 1230, when he launched a doomed military initiative to recover the lost Angevin possessions in France, Hugh (X) and Isabella defected again. Ever mindful of their own interests, Hugh (X) and Isabella continued to play off the English and French kings against one another in the early 1240s.

It was, for example, apparently at Isabellaâs instigation that Hugh (X) promised to support Henryâs disastrous Poitevin expedition in 1242, only to abandon his English stepson once more. [xiii] Isabella clearly enjoyed a far greater agree of personal authority within her second marriage than her first. She issued charters jointly with Hugh (X) and gave birth to no fewer than nine children. Like John, however, Hugh (X) did not prove to be a devoted husband. He was unfaithful to Isabella and the couple quarrelled bitterly, at times. It was a reflection of Isabellaâs strong will and determined personality that, according to a French writer, William de Nangis, she was implicated in a plot to poison Louis IX and his brother. [xiv] During the final years of her life, however, Isabella found a refuge from the trials and tribulations of worldly affairs within the great abbey of Fontevrauld, where she died on 4 June 1246. Louise Wilkinson is co-investigator of the Magna Carta Project ( ). For more information, click here.

Footnotes: [i] For a more detailed account of Isabellaâs life, see N. Vincent, âIsabella of AngoulÃªme: Johnâs Jezebelâ, in King John: New Interpretations, ed. S. D. Church (Woodbridge, 1999), pp. 165-219. See also L. J. Wilkinson, Eleanor de Montfort: A Rebel Countess in Medieval England (London, 2012), ch. 1; L. J. Wilkinson, âThe Dower of Isabella of AngoulÃªmeâ, Fine of the Month May 2006, The Henry III Fine Rolls Project, [ii] Rogeri de Wendover liber qui dicitur Flores Historiarum, ed. H. G. Hewlett (Rolls Series, 1886-1889), i. pp. 295, 317. [iii] Matthaei Parisiensis, monachi Sancti Albani, chronica majora, ed. H. R.

Luard (Rolls Series, 1872-1883), iv, p. 253. [iv] Vincent, âIsabella of AngoulÃªmeâ, pp. 175-8. [v] Rogeri de Wendover liber â¦ Flores Historiarum, i, p. 302. [vi] On earlier queens, see L. L. Huneycutt, ââAlianora Regina Anglorumâ: Eleanor of Aquitaine and her Anglo-Norman Predecessors as Queens of Englandâ, in Eleanor of Aquitaine: Lord and Lady, ed. B. Wheeler and J. C. Parsons (Basingstoke, 2002), pp. 115-32. [vii] Vincent, âIsabella of AngoulÃªmeâ, pp. 184-93. Queenâs Gold was a surcharge on voluntary offerings, Jewish amercements and sums owed by moneyers that was traditionally levied by the crown: The Dialogue concerning the Exchequer, book II, ch.

XXVI, in Select Historical Documents of the Middle Ages, ed. E. F. Henderson (London, 1896), available online at #b2p26. [viii] Vincent, âIsabella of AngoulÃªmeâ, p. 194; Wilkinson, Eleanor de Montfort, pp. 4, 6. [ix] Isabella married the earl of Essex in 1214. See R. B. Patterson (2004/5), âIsabella, suo jure countess of Gloucester (c.1160â1217)â, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford, 2004; online edition 2005), available at [x] This is discussed in K. Norgate, The Minority of Henry III (London, 1912), pp. 4-5. [xi] Letters of the Queens of England, 1100-1547, ed. A. Crawford (Stroud, 1994), p.

53; Royal and Other Historical Letters Illustrative of the Reign of Henry III, ed. W. W. Shirley (Rolls Series, 1862-66), i, pp. 114-15 no. xcvi. [xii] One of these, Saintes, had subsequently been promised by King John to Hugh (X) as part of Joanâs marriage portion: Vincent, âIsabella of AngoulÃªmeâ, pp. 207-8. [xiii] Chronica majora, iv, pp. 211, 214-16. [xiv] Vincent, âIsabella of Angoulemeâ, p. 212. Featured Article Isabella of Angouleme Isabella of Angouleme Queen Consort of John of England Isabella of Angoulême, Queen Consort of John, King of England. © 2011 Clipart.com Known for: Queen of England; rather fiery marriage to King John Dates: 1186? or 1188?

- May 31, 1246 Occupation: Countess of Angouleme, queen consort to John, King of England Also known as: Isabella of Angoulême, Isabel of Angoulême Family, Background: Isabella's mother was Alice de Courtenay, granddaughter of France's King Louis VI. Isabella's father was Aymar Taillefer, Count of Angouleme. Marriage to John of England: Betrothed when very young to Hugh IX, Count of Lusignan, Isabella of Angouleme married John Lackland of England, son of Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry II of England. John had put aside his first wife, Isabella of Gloucester , in 1199. Isabella of Angoulême was twelve to fourteen years old at her marriage to John in 1200. In 1202, Isabella's father died, and Isabella became Countess of Angouleme in her own right. The marriage of Isabella and John was not an easy one.

John was infatuated with his young and beautiful wife, but they both were reported to have engaged in adultery, and to have had strong tempers which they used on each other. continue reading below our video 10 Best Universities in the United States When John suspected Isabella of having had an affair, he had her suspected lover hanged and then dangled above her bed. Isabella and John had five children before John died in 1216. At John's death, Isabella's quick action had her son Henry crowned at John's death, in Gloucester where they were at the time. Second Marriage: Isabella of Angouleme returned to her homeland after John's death. There she married Hugh X of Lusignan, son of the man she'd been betrothed to before marrying John, and the man who was betrothed to her eldest daughter by John. Hugh X and Isabella had nine children. In 1244, Isabella was accused of conspiring against the French King to poison him, and she fled to the abbey at Fontevrault and hid for two years. She died in 1246, still hiding in the secret chamber.

Hugh, her second husband, died three years later on crusade. Burial: Isabella had arranged to be buried outside the abbey at Fontevrault as penance, but some years after her death, her son, Henry III, King of England, had her re-interred beside her mother-in-law Eleanor of Aquitaine and father-in-law Henry II, inside the abbey.

Marriages: betrothed to: Hugh le Brun, Count of Lusignan married to: John I of England, August 24, 1200 married to: Hugh X of Lusignan, Count of La Marche Children of Queen Isabella of Angouleme and King John: King Henry III of England, born October 1, 1207 Richard, Earl of Cornwall, King of the Romans Joan, married Alexander II of Scotland Isabella, married Emperor Frederick II Eleanor , married William Marshall and then Simon de Montfort Children of Isabella of Angouleme and Hugh X of Lusignan, Count of La Marche: Hugh XI of Lusignan Aymer de Valence, a bishop Agnes de Lusignan, married William II de Chauvigny Alice le Brun de Lusignan, married John de Warenne Guy de Lusignan Queen Berengaria of Navarre - Queen of England - MedievalQueens.com Queen of England, 1200-1216 "A queen of high ambition and strong passions" At fourteen, already a beauty, Isabella, daughter of the Count of Angoulême, was bet

rothed to Hugh IX de Lusignan, a powerful French noble.

But in a last-minute switch that was probably engineered jointly by her parents and King John of England, she was wed to him instead. She was persuaded that it was far more exciting to be a queen than a countess. Isabella gloried in the trappings and privileges of queenship. At first, she and John were infatuated with each other. Some of his subjects accused him of neglecting his kingly duties in order to lie abed with his wife. But in time Isabella became disillusioned by John's cruelty and infidelities. Love turned to distrust, then accusations of adultery and betrayal. After an increasingly stormy sixteen-year marriage and the birth of five children, John died in 1216. Isabella looked forward to a long and controlling regency during the minority of her nine-year-old son, Henry. But she was far from popular with the English, who blamed her for many of the kingdom’s woes. The king’s council, fed up with her high-handed ways, sent her back to France. At thirty-one, still strikingly beautiful and ever ambitious, she was far from ready to give up her position of power.

She married Hugh X de Lusignan, son of the man she'd turned down twenty years ago. With her Angoulême and his extensive holdings, they controlled more of France than the king of France. The couple became obsessed with their desire to not only keep their joint realms intact, but to enlarge them. With every child born, they felt more secure in the continuity of their line. They went into battle, now against the English, now against the French, always with the aim of consolidating their own power. Isabella was not afraid to take on King Louis of France himself. She induced her husband and her son Henry, now king of England, to join her in a disastrous rebellion against the superior French forces. Ignominy followed.. According to legend if not fact, her next plot was to poison the king. If there was such a plot, it failed. Most of the contemporary chroniclers were highly critical of the countess, who still called herself a queen. More and more unpopular, and with Hugh less and less willing to cooperate in her audacious schemes, Isabella turned against her long-suffering husband. Possibly relieved, he went off to join the Crusade.

Isabella retired to Fontevraud Abbey, often a refuge for highborn ladies who wished to live out their lives in comfort and without worldly cares. One of the few people who remained devoted to her was her son, Henry III of England. And though the English continued to call her "John’s Jezebel," in France she came to be admired for her beauty and spirit. Henry saw to it that she was buried in Fontevraud next to her royal in-laws: King Henry, Queen Eleanor and King Richard the Lionheart. Her effigy wears the crown of a queen of England, just as she would have wished. Learn more about Queen Isabella: Isabelle d'Angoulême, Comtesse-Reine, by Jean François Castaigne. Angoulême, 1836. The Marriage and Coronation of Isabelle of Angoulême, by H. G. Richardson, in The English Historical Review, September 1946. The Lusignans in England, 1247-1258, by Harold Snellgrove, in University of New Mexico Publications in History, #2, 1950.

Isabelle d'Angoulême, Reine d'Angleterre, by Sophie Fougère. Edit-France, 1998. And for an informed and absorbing fictional life of Queen Isabella, see Isabella: Queen Without a Conscience , by Rachel Bard. Arrayed in Gold: Isabella of Angouleme, Queen of England Isabella of Angouleme, Queen of England A Victorian artist's engraving of Isabella. My first post for this month is about an English queen from the Middle Ages: Isabella of Angouleme. Isabella was one of England's least popular queens consort. This was partly attributed to her husband's bad reputation and partly for her own indiscreet and troublesome ways. Her turbulent life perfectly mirrors the struggles between England and France during the 13th century. She was described to be a stunningly beautiful woman and possessed the Middle Ages' ideal of beauty: blonde hair and blue eyes. She was called "The Fair Maid of Angouleme" and the "Helen of the Middle Ages".

Despite her lovely face, Isabella was not a well-liked Queen during and even after her lifetime; she was described to be vain and capricious, and her marriage to the even more unpopular and disliked King John added more fuel to the people's growing hatred and dissatisfaction on his rule. Isabella was the only child of Aymer de Taillefer, Count of Angouleme and Alix de Courteney, a great-granddaughter of King Louis VI of France. Her date of birth was not certain -- historians usually put it around 1183 and 1188. As her parents' only child, she was to inherit her father's title and lands. With her beauty and inheritance, she was thus a very desirable bride. To ward off unwanted suitors, Isabella's father sought the protection of the King of France to keep her daughter's safe. To reunite Angouleme with a powerful county, Isabella's parents betrothed her at a very young age to Hugh de Lusignan, the eldest son of the Count de La Marche, and heir to the neighboring independent county of La Marche at the northern boundary of Aquitaine.

Being a vassal of the French king, the Count was a formidable neighbor to Aquitaine. Little Isabella was sent to her fiance's castle to be raised with him by his parents until they were deemed old enough to get married. Coming from a wealthy family herself, Isabella looked forward to a life of luxury with one of the most powerful and richest nobles in France. Hugh and Isabella's union was greatly anticipated both by them and the people in Angouleme and La Marche, but their hopes -- and that of Hugh and his parents -- were dashed when she suddenly agreed to be the wife of King John of England. Isabella was not even fifteen years old when she met King John on a hunting trip. The English king has just succeeded the throne of England and the dukedom of Aquitaine, and came to France to inspect his French dominions. He was invited in La Marche by Isabella's uncle for a hunting trip. It was said that Isabella was present during one of these hunting trips and John became instantly smitten with the beautiful heiress. He became madly enamoured of her and was overwhelmed with the need to possess her.

Isabella might secretly prefered the handsome and brave Hugh over John, but she was dazed by the prospect of being Queen of England and all the privileges it entails. She and John were married in Bordeux on August 24, 1200 and she was crowned in Westminster Abbey a year later. Once she became Queen of England, Isabella was extremely happy and she started to enjoy and indulge in the trappings of being queen. But she was probably less than happy with her husband who was described to be short and not particularly handsome. John was said to be lazy, cowardly, unprincipled, scheming, greedy and deceitful. His passion for Isabella made him neglect affairs of state, as he often wished to remain in bed with her until the afternoon, when it was customary that the King should rise as early as 4 or 5 in the morning. This made him even more unpopular with the nobles and proved him to be an undesirable ruler. Isabella somehow encouraged her husband's profligate lifestyle; after his marriage, he became more licentious, cruel and neglectful of his duties to his country. John and Isabella were known to have both possessed violent tempers.

As the spoiled children of wealthy parents, they were accustomed to having their own way. They were both calculating, indiscreet and promiscuous. As a result, their marriage was tempestuous and their domestic life dysfunctional. Their relationship was characterized by mutual infidelity, dislike and distrust. John had a string of mistresses while Isabella had many suitors and admirers. When John suspected her of taking a lover, John executed the man and had his body hanged over her bed as a sort of warning for any future behavior. She was vain and ambitious and was viewed by many English people as a foreign harlot that Matthew Paris referred to her as "more Jezebel than Isabel". Nevertheless, John and Isabella's sixteen-year of marriage produced five children who led exemplary family life of their own, among these was the future King Henry III of England. There were huge and fatal consequences for John's passion for Isabella. His marriage to her trigger a chain of unfortunate events that led to the collapse of John's control over his French dominions. Isabella's former fiance, Hugh de Lusignan, was determine to seek redress to the King of France for John's insulting behavior with regards to his and Isabella's marriage contract.

Since John, as Duke of Normandy, was a vassal of the King Philip Augustus of France, he was ordered to appear before Philip Augustus to give explanation to his actions. He refused, and accordingly Philip Augustus, following the rules of the feudal system, reclaimed all the lands ruled by John in France: Normandy, Brittany and Aquitaine. England and France went to war but John had no military capability, unlike his brother King Richard, to save his French territories. He had no choice but to withdraw and flee from the lands that were once part of his father's Angevin Empire. As a peace offering to pacify Hugh de Lusignan, John and Isabella's daughter Joan was promised to him in marriage. But since Joan was still very young, he was sent to Hugh's castle to be brought up there, just as her mother had once done when she was betrothed to him. King John died on October 8, 1216, and he was succeeded by his ten-year-old son as Henry III. Henry inherited a bankrupt nation on the verge of civil war.

Since the royal treasury was greatly exhausted by John's war in France, Isabella had to use her own money to give her son a coronation. Order was restored in England by 1217. With her son safely on the throne of England and under the care of the reliable William Marshal, Isabella left England and returned to Angouleme to take control of her inheritance. She was only thirty years old and still very beautiful when Hugh de Lusignan saw her again. Since Joan was still merely a child, he naturally preferred her mother. He and Isabella were married on May 1217. However, their marriage was conducted without consent from the King's council as was required for a former Queen of England. As a result, the Council confiscated her dower lands and stopped her pension as Queen Dowager of England. Isabella and Hugh reacted furiously to this treatment and retaliated by keeping Joan, who was promised in marriage to the King of Scotland, with them in France. The English court proposed a bargain: they would pay Isabella's pension if they could have Joan back. Terms were made and agreed on and Isabella was able to receive her money and her dower lands.

While in France, Isabella could not give up her past glittering life as Queen of England. She was summoned to the French court with her husband to swear fealty to King Louis IX of France's brother, Alphonse, who was made Count of Poitou. But Isabella was infuriated; she could not accept the fact that she had to give precedence to other women. Isabella insisted that she was a queen and was annoyed to be the "wife of a man who had to kneel to another". Her overwhelming pride was to be her ruin. She encouraged her husband to rebel against the King, but in the end they had no choice but to give in for Hugh had lost almost all of his possession because of a useless war. Isabella retaliated by conspiring against the King and she was accused of attempting to poison him. She fled to the Abbey of Fontevraud and seeked sanctuary in a secret chamber there. During her stay in the Abbey, Isabella lived the remainder of her life in regret about her past actions and on her deathbed she requested to be buried in a common grave as a penance to the sins she had committed in her life. She was around 60 years old when she died.

Hugh survived his wife for three years and he later died during the Crusade. Tomb of Isabella of Angouleme at the Abbey of Fontevraud. When her son King Henry III learned about her mother's common grave, he had her remains transferred on a more suitable and stately tomb in the Fontevraud beside that of his uncle King Richard the Lionheart and his grandparents King Henry II and Queen Eleanor. Isabella's death was little lamented in England. With little prospect in France, most of her children by Hugh set sail to England after their mother's death. Henry II readily welcomed his half-siblings and he became a willing benefactor for them. However, his extravagance and the lavish favors he granted them caused trouble in England and he nearly lost his throne.

Read about the other queens consort of England: Family of John + and Isabella + of ANGOULEME Family of John + and Isabella + of ANGOULEME Husband: Kings Manor House, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England Occupation 19 Oct 1216 (age 49) Newark, Nottinghamshire, England frm 24 Aug 1200 to 19 Oct 1216 (age 11-28) Queen Consort of England frm 6 Jun 1202 to 31 May 1246 (age 13-58) Countess of Angouleme 31 May 1246 (age 57-58) Fontrevrault Abbey, Fontrevrault, Maine-et-Loire, France Burial frm 18 Oct 1216 to 16 Nov 1272 (age 9-65) King of England frm 1216 to 1272 (age 8-65) Lord of Ireland frm 1216 to 1272 (age 8-65) Duke of Aquitane 1

6 Nov 1272 (age 65) Westminster, Middlesex, England Spouse: Simon VI of MONTFORT Name: 1214 Note on Husband: John + John (24 December 1166 – 18/19 October 1216), also known as John Lackland or Softsword, was King of England from 6 April 1199 until his death.

During John's reign, England lost the duchy of Normandy to the French king Philip II, which resulted in the collapse of most of the Angevin Empire and contributed to the subsequent growth in power of the Capetian dynasty during the 13th century. The baronial revolt at the end of John's reign led to the signing of the Magna Carta, a document often considered to be an early step in the evolution of the constitution of the United Kingdom. John, the youngest of five sons of King Henry II of England and Eleanor, Duchess of Aquitaine, was at first not expected to inherit significant lands. Following the failed rebellion of his elder brothers between 1173 and 1174, however, John became Henry's favourite child. He was appointed the Lord of Ireland in 1177 and given lands in England and on the continent. John's elder brothers William, Henry and Geoffrey died young; by the time Richard I became king in 1189, John was a potential heir to the throne. John unsuccessfully attempted a rebellion against Richard's royal administrators whilst his brother was participating in the Third Crusade.

Despite this, after Richard died in 1199, John was proclaimed king of England, and came to an agreement with Philip II of France to recognise John's possession of the continental Angevin lands at the peace treaty of Le Goulet in 1200. When war with France broke out again in 1202, John achieved early victories, but shortages of military resources and his treatment of Norman, Breton and Anjou nobles resulted in the collapse of his empire in northern France in 1204. John spent much of the next decade attempting to regain these lands, raising huge revenues, reforming his armed forces and rebuilding continental alliances. John's judicial reforms had a lasting, positive impact on the English common law system, as well as providing an additional source of revenue. An argument with Pope Innocent III led to John's excommunication in 1209, a dispute finally settled by the king in 1213. John's attempt to defeat Philip in 1214 failed due to the French victory over John's allies at the battle of Bouvines.

When he returned to England, John faced a rebellion by many of his barons, who were unhappy with his fiscal policies and his treatment of many of England's most powerful nobles. Although both John and the barons agreed to the Magna Carta peace treaty in 1215, neither side complied with its conditions. Civil war broke out shortly afterwards, with the barons aided by Louis of France. It soon descended into a stalemate. John died of dysentery contracted whilst on campaign in eastern England during late 1216; supporters of his son Henry III went on to achieve victory over Louis and the rebel barons the following year. Contemporary chroniclers were mostly critical of John's performance as king, and his reign has since been the subject of significant debate and periodic revision by historians from the 16th century onwards.

Historian Jim Bradbury has summarised the contemporary historical opinion of John's positive qualities, observing that John is today usually considered a "hard-working administrator, an able man, an able general".[1] Nonetheless, modern historians agree that he also had many faults as king, including what historian Ralph Turner describes as "distasteful, even dangerous personality traits", such as pettiness, spitefulness and cruelty.[2] These negative qualities provided extensive material for fiction writers in the Victorian era, and John remains a recurring character within Western popular culture, primarily as a villain in films and stories depicting the Robin Hood legends.

John was born to Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine on 24 December 1166.[3] Henry had inherited significant territories along the Atlantic seaboard – Anjou, Normandy and England – and expanded his empire by conquering Brittany.[4] Henry married the powerful Eleanor of Aquitaine, who reigned over the Duchy of Aquitaine and had a tenuous claim to Toulouse and Auvergne in southern France, in addition to being the former wife of Louis VII of France.[4] The result was the Angevin Empire, so called because of the Count of Anjou's traditional seat in the city of Angers.[nb 1] The Angevin Empire of Henry II was inherently fragile: although all the lands owed allegiance to Henry, the disparate parts each had their own histories, traditions and governance structures.[6] As one moved south through Anjou and Aquitaine, the extent of royal power in the provinces diminished considerably, scarcely resembling the modern concept of an empire at all. Some of the traditional ties between parts of the empire such as Normandy and England were slowly dissolving over time.[7] It was unclear what would happen to the empire on Henry's death.

Although the tradition of primogeniture, under which an eldest son would inherit all his father's lands, was slowly becoming more widespread across Europe, it was less popular amongst the Norman kings of England.[8] Most believed that Henry would divide the empire, giving each son a substantial portion, hoping that his children would then continue to work together as allies after his death.[9] To complicate matters, much of the Angevin empire was technically owned by Henry only as a vassal of the King of France of the rival line of the House of Capet.

Henry had often allied himself with the Holy Roman Emperor against France, making the feudal relationship even more challenging.[10] Shortly after his birth, John was passed from Eleanor into the care of a wet nurse, a traditional practice for medieval noble families.[11] Eleanor then left for Poitiers, the capital of Aquitaine, and sent John and his sister Joan north to Fontevrault Abbey.[12] This may have been done with the aim of steering her youngest son, with no obvious inheritance, towards a future ecclesiastical career.[11] Eleanor spent the next few years conspiring against her husband Henry and neither parent played a part in John's very early life.[11] John was probably, like his brothers, assigned a magister whilst he was at Fontevrault, a teacher charged with his early education and with managing the servants of his immediate household; John was later taught by Ranulph Glanville, a leading English administrator.[13] John spent some time as a member of the household of his eldest living brother Henry the Young King, where he probably received instruction in hunting and military skills.[12] John would grow up to be around 5 ft 5 in high (1.62

 m), relatively short for royalty of the day, with a "powerful, barrel-chested body" and dark red hair; he appeared to contemporaries to look like an inhabitant of Poitou.[14] John enjoyed reading and, unusual for the period, built up a travelling library of books.[15] He enjoyed gambling, in particular on backgammon, and was an enthusiastic hunter, even by medieval standards.[16] He liked music, although not songs.[17] John would become a "connoisseur of jewels", building up a large collection, and became famous for his opulent clothes and also, according to French chroniclers, for his fondness for bad wine.[18] As John grew up, he became known for sometimes being "genial, witty, generous and hospitable"; at other moments, he could be jealous, over-sensitive and prone to fits of rage, "biting and gnawing his fingers" in anger.[19][nb 2] During John's early years, Henry attempted to resolve the question of his succession.

Henry the Young King had been crowned King of England in 1170, but without being given any formal powers by his father, and was also promised Normandy and Anjou as part of his future inheritance.

Richard was to be appointed the Count of Poitou and would be given control of Aquitaine, whilst Geoffrey was to become the Duke of Brittany.[20] At this time it seemed unlikely that John would ever inherit substantial lands, and John was jokingly nicknamed "Lackland" by his father.[21] Henry II wanted to secure the southern borders of Aquitaine and decided to betroth his youngest son to Alais, the daughter and heiress of Humbert III of Savoy.[22] As part of this agreement John was promised the future inheritance of Savoy, Piemonte, Maurienne, and the other possessions of Count Humbert.[22] For his part in the potential marriage alliance, Henry II transferred the castles of Chinon, Loudun and Mirebeau into John's name; as John was only five years old his father would continue to control them for practical purposes.[22] Henry the Young King was unimpressed by this; although he had yet to be granted control of any castles in his new kingdom, these were effectively his future property and had been given away without consultation.[22] Alais made the trip over the Alps and joined Henry II's court, but she died

 before marrying John, which left the prince once again without an inheritance.[22] In 1173 John's elder brothers, backed by Eleanor, rose in revolt against Henry in the short-lived rebellion of 1173 to 1174.

Growing irritated with his subordinate position to Henry II and increasingly worried that John might be given additional lands and castles at his expense,[20] Henry the Young King travelled to Paris and allied himself with Louis VII.[23] Eleanor, irritated by her husband's persistent interference in Aquitaine, encouraged Richard and Geoffrey to join their brother Henry in Paris.[23] Henry II triumphed over the coalition of his sons, but was generous to them in the peace settlement agreed at Montlouis.[22] Henry the Young King was allowed to travel widely in Europe with his own household of knights, Richard was given Aquitaine back, and Geoffrey was allowed to return to Brittany; only Eleanor was imprisoned for her role in the revolt.[24] John had spent the conflict travelling alongside his father and was given widespread possessions across the Angevin empire as part of the Montlouis settlement; from then onwards, most observers regarded John as Henry II's favourite child, although he was the furthest removed in terms of the royal succession.[22] Henry II began to find more lands for John, mostly at various nobles' expense.

In 1175 he appropriated the estates of the late Earl of Cornwall and gave them to John.[22] The following year, Henry disinherited the sisters of Isabelle of Gloucester, contrary to legal custom, and betrothed John to the now extremely wealthy Isabelle.[25] In 1177, at the Council of Oxford, Henry dismissed William FitzAldelm as the Lord of Ireland and replaced him with the ten-year-old John.[25] 13th-century depiction of Henry II and John's siblings: (l to r) William, Henry, Richard, Geoffrey, Matilda, Eleanor, Joan and JohnHenry the Young King fought a short war with his brother Richard in 1183 over the status of England, Normandy and Aquitaine.[25] Henry II moved in support of Richard, and Henry the Young King died from dysentery at the end of the campaign.[25] With his primary heir dead, Henry rearranged the plans for the succession: Richard was to be made King of England, albeit without any actual power until the death of his father; Geoffrey would retain Brittany; and John would now become the Duke of Aquitaine in place of Richard.[25

] Richard refused to give up Aquitaine;[25] Henry II was furious and ordered John, with help from Geoffrey, to march south and retake the duchy by force.[25] The two attacked the capital of Poitiers, and Richard responded by attacking Brittany.[25] The war ended in stalemate and a tense family reconciliation in England at the end of 1184.[25] In 1185 John made his first visit to Ireland, accompanied by three hundred knights and a team of administrators.[26] Henry had tried to have John officially proclaimed King of Ireland, but Pope Lucius III would not agree.[26] John's first period of rule in Ireland was not a success.

Ireland had only recently been conquered by Anglo-Norman forces, and tensions were still rife between Henry II, the new settlers and the existing inhabitants.[27] John infamously offended the local Irish rulers by making fun of their unfashionable long beards, failed to make allies amongst the Anglo-Norman settlers, began to lose ground militarily against the Irish and finally returned to England later in the year, blaming the viceroy, Hugh de Lacy, for the fiasco.[27] The problems amongst John's wider family continued to grow.

His elder brother Geoffrey died during a tournament in 1186, leaving a posthumous son, Arthur, and an elder daughter, Eleanor.[28] The duchy of Brittany was given to Arthur rather than John, but Geoffrey's death brought John slightly closer to the throne of England.[28] The uncertainty about what would happen after Henry's death continued to grow; Richard was keen to join a new crusade and remained concerned that whilst he was away Henry would appoint John his formal successor.[29] Richard began discussions about a potential alliance with Philip II in Paris during 1187, and the next year Richard gave homage to Philip in exchange for support for a war against Henry.[30] Richard and Philip fought a joint campaign against Henry, and by the summer of 1189 the king made peace, promising Richard the succession.[31] John initially remained loyal to his father, but changed sides once it appeared that Richard would win.[31] Henry died shortly afterwards.[31] Note on Wife: Isabella + of ANGOULEME Isabella of Angoulême (French: Isabelle d'Angoulême, IPA: [izab?l d?~gul?m]; 

1188 – 31 May 1246) was suo jure Countess of Angoulême and queen consort of England as the second wife of King John.

She was queen from 24 August 1200 until John's death on 19 October 1216. She had five children by the king including his heir Henry who succeeded John as Henry III of England. In 1220, Isabella married secondly Hugh X of Lusignan, Count of La Marche, by whom she had another nine children. Isabella formed a conspiracy against King Louis IX of France in 1241, after being publicly snubbed by his mother, Blanche of Castile for whom she had a deep-seated hatred.[1] In 1244, after the plot had failed, Isabella was accused of attempting to poison the king, and to avoid arrest, sought refuge in Fontevraud Abbey where she died two years later at the age of about 58. She was the only daughter and heir of Aymer Taillefer, Count of Angoulême, by Alice of Courtenay, who was sister of Peter II of Courtenay, Latin Emperor of Constantinople and granddaughter of King Louis VI of France.

Isabella became Countess of Angoulême in her own right on 16 June 1202, by which time she was already queen of England. Her marriage to King John took place on 24 August 1200, at Bordeaux, a year after he annulled his first marriage to Isabel of Gloucester. She was crowned queen in an elaborate ceremony on 9 October at Westminster Abbey in London. Isabella was originally betrothed to Hugh IX le Brun, Count of Lusignan,[2] son of the then Count of La Marche. As a result of John's temerity in taking her as his second wife, King Philip II of France confiscated all of their French lands, and armed conflict ensued. At the time of her marriage to John, the 12-year-old Isabella was already renowned for her beauty[3] and has sometimes been called the Helen of the Middle Ages by historians.[4] However, her marriage to John cannot be said to have been successful, in part because she was much younger than her husband and possessed a volatile temper to match his own.

King John, however, was deeply infatuated with his young, beautiful wife; he neglected his state affairs to spend time with Isabella, often remaining in bed with her until noon, although it was the custom for kings to rise at five o'clock in the morning to commence their duties. The common people began to term her a "siren" or "Messalina", although they were pleased with her beauty.[5] Her mother-in-law, Eleanor of Aquitaine readily accepted her as John's wife.[6] On 1 October 1207 at Winchester Castle, Isabella gave birth to a son and heir who was named Henry after the King's father, Henry II. He was quickly followed by another son, Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall, King of the Romans; and three daughters, Joan, Isabel, and Eleanor. All five children survived into adulthood, and would make illustrious marriages; all but Joan would produce offspring of their own. [edit] Second marriageWhen King John died in October 1216, Isabella's first act was to arrange the speedy coronation of her nine-year-old son at the city of Gloucester on 28 October.

As the royal crown had recently been lost in The Wash, along with the rest of King John's treasure, she supplied her own golden circlet to be used in lieu of a crown.[7] The following July, less than a year after his crowning as King Henry III of England, she left him in the care of his regent, William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke and returned to France to assume control of her inheritance of Angoulême, which had belonged to her suo jure since 1202. In the spring of 1220, she married Hugh X of Lusignan, "le Brun", Seigneur de Luisignan, Count of La Marche, the son of Hugh IX, to whom she had been betrothed before her marriage to King John. It had been previously arranged that her eldest daughter Joan should marry Hugh, and the little girl was being brought up at the Lusignan court in preparation for her marriage. Hugh, however, upon seeing Isabella, whose beauty had not diminished,[8] preferred the girl's mother. Princess Joan was provided with another husband, King Alexander II of Scotland, whom she wed in 1221.

Isabella had married Hugh without waiting to receive the consent of the King's council in England, which was the required procedure for a former Queen of England, as the Council had the power to not only choose the Queen Dowager's second husband, but to decide whether or not she should be allowed to marry at all. Isabella's flouting of this law caused the Council to confiscate her dower lands and stop the payment of her pension.[9] Isabella and her husband retaliated by threatening to keep the Princess Joan in France (she had not yet departed for England); and after furious letters sent by the Council to the Pope, signed by Isabella's son, King Henry, which urged the Pontiff to excommunicate the Count and Countess, the Council, in order to placate the King of Scotland, who was eager to receive his future bride, came to terms with Isabella. She was granted, in compensation for her dower lands in Normandy, the stannaries in Devon and the revenue of Aylesbury for a period of four years. She also received £3000 pounds as payment for arrears in her pension.[10] By Hugh X, Isabella had nine more children.

Their eldest son Hugh XI of Lusignan succeeded his father as Count of La Marche and Count of Angoulême in 1249. [edit] Rebellion and deathDescribed as "vain, capricious, and troublesome",[11] Isabella could not reconcile herself to the necessary loss in rank which resulted after her marriage to the Count of La Marche. Isabella had been a Queen of England and deeply resented having to give precedence to women who were now of higher rank than she, a mere Countess of Angoulême and La Marche.[12] In 1241, when Isabella and Hugh were summoned to the French court to swear fealty to King Louis IX of France's brother, Alphonse, who had been invested as Count of Poitou, their mother, the Queen Dowager Blanche openly snubbed her. This so infuriated Isabella, who had a deep-seated hatred of Blanche due to the latter having fervently supported the French invasion of England during the First Barons' War in May 1216, that she began to actively conspire against King Louis.

Isabella and her husband, along with other disgruntled nobles, including her son-in-law Raymond VII of Toulouse, sought to create an English-backed confederacy which united the provinces of the south and west against the French king.[13] In 1244, after the confederacy had failed and Hugh had made peace with King Louis, two royal cooks were arrested for attempting to poison the King; upon questioning they confessed to having been in Isabella's pay.[14] Before Isabella could be taken into custody, she fled to Fontevraud Abbey, where she died on 31 May 1246. By her own prior arrangement, she was first buried in the Abbey's churchyard, as an act of repentance for her many misdeeds. On a visit to Fontevraud, her son King Henry III of England was shocked to find her buried outside the Abbey and ordered her immediately moved inside. She was finally placed beside Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. Afterwards, most of her many Lusignan children, having few prospects in France, set sail for England and the court of Henry, their half-brother.

[edit] IssueWith King John of England: 5 children, all of whom survived into adulthood, including: 1.King Henry III of England (1 October 1207 – 16 November 1272). Married Eleanor of Provence, by whom he had issue, including his heir, King Edward I of England. 2.Richard, Earl of Cornwall and King of the Romans (5 January 1209 – 2 April 1272). Married firstly Isabel Marshal, secondly Sanchia of Provence, and thirdly Beatrice of Falkenburg. Had issue. 3.Joan (22 July 1210 – 1238), the wife of King Alexander II of Scotland. Her marriage was childless. 4.Isabella (1214 – 1241), the wife of Emperor Frederick II, by whom she had issue. 5.Eleanor (1215 – 1275), who would marry firstly William Marshal, 2nd Earl of Pembroke; and secondly Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester, by whom she had issue.

With Hugh X of Lusignan, Count of La Marche: nine children, all of whom survived into adulthood, including: 1.Hugh XI of Lusignan (1221 – 1250), Count of La Marche and Count of Angoulême. Married Yolande de Dreux, Countess of Penthièvre and of Porhoet, by whom he had issue. 2.Aymer of Lusignan (1222 – 1260), Bishop of Winchester 3.Agnès de Lusignan (1223 – 1269). Married William II de Chauvigny (d.1270), and had issue. 4.Alice of Lusignan (1224 – 9 February 1256). Married John de Warenne, 6th Earl of Surrey, by whom she had issue. 5.Guy of Lusignan (c. 1225 – 1264), killed at the Battle of Lewes.

(Tufton Beamish maintains that he escaped to France after the Battle of Lewes and died there in 1269). 6.Geoffrey of Lusignan (c. 1226 – 1274). Married in 1259 Jeanne, Viscountess of Châtellerault, by whom he had issue. 7.William of Lusignan (c. 1228 – 1296). 1st Earl of Pembroke. Married Joan de Munchensi, by whom he issue. 8.Marguerite de Lusignan (c. 1229 – 1288). Married firstly in 1243 Raymond VII of Toulouse; secondly c. 1246 Aimery IX de Thouars, Viscount of Thouars and had issue 9.Isabella of Lusignan (1234 – 14 January 1299). Married firstly before 1244 Maurice IV, seigneur de Craon (1224–1250), by whom she had issue; she married secondly, Geoffrey de Rancon.

Isabella of Angoul�me (1188 - 1246) - Find A Grave Memorial Departement de Maine-et-Loire Pays de la Loire, France English royalty, Queen consort of King John. She was the only daughter of Aymer Taillefer, count of Angouleme and Alix de Courtenay. Isabelle was renowned for her beauty, and is sometimes called the "Helen" of the middle ages. She was betrothed to Hugh IX de Lusignan when John chose her to be his second wife. They were married on August 24, 1200, at Bordeaux, when she was only about 12. The marriage was probably not a very happy one, as Isabelle had a fiery character to match John's and the age difference was considerable. They had five children, including the heir, the future Henry II. As a result of the marriage, King Philip II of France confiscated all of John's French lands, and an armed conflict ensued. King John died in 1216, and the young widow returned to France. She married Hugh X de Lusignan, count de la March, the son of her former betrothed.

They had 11 children. Isabelle was accused of plotting against the French king in 1244, and fled to Fontevrault Abbey, where she died at the age of about 59. (bio by: Kristen Conrad) isabella of angoulême | Tumblr isabella of angoulême Reblog 4 Léa Seydoux and Oscar Isaac as Isabella of Angoulême and King John I of England in Robin Hood (2010). Isabella of Angoulême (1188 – 1246) was queen consort of England as the second wife of King John from 1200 until John’s death in 1216. She was also reigning Countess of Angoulême from 1202 until 1246. She had five children by the king including his heir, later Henry III. In 1220, Isabella married Hugh X of Lusignan, Count of La Marche, by whom she had another nine children.

Some of her contemporaries, as well as later writers, claim that Isabella formed a conspiracy against King Louis IX of France in 1241, after being publicly snubbed by his mother, Blanche of Castile for whom she had a deep-seated hatred. In 1244, after the plot had failed, Isabella was accused of attempting to poison the king, and to avoid arrest, sought refuge in Fontevraud Abbey where she died two years later, but none of this can be confirmed. Isabella of Angouleme – History… the interesting bits! Sharon Bennett Connolly 15 Comments Joan of England, Queen of Scotland Joan of England was the oldest of daughter of King John and his 2nd wife, Isabella of Angouleme. Born 10th July 1210 she was the 3rd of 5 children; she had 2 older brothers and 2 younger sisters would join the family by 1215. Even before her birth, she was mooted as a possible bride for Alexander of Scotland, son of King William I of Scotland.

A verbal agreement between the 2 kings in 1209 provided for John to arrange the marriages of William’s 2 daughters, with 1 marrying a son of John’s, and Alexander marrying one of John’s daughters. Following the death of William I a further treaty in 1212 agreed to the marriage of 14-year-old Alexander II to 2 year-old Joan. However, the agreement seems to have been made as a way of preventing Alexander from looking to the continent – and especially France – for a potential bride, and by extension allies. It did not stop John from looking further afield, nevertheless, for a more favourable marriage alliance. Nor did it stop Alexander from siding with the Barons against King John; Alexander was one of the Magna Carta signatories. John refused a proposal from King Philip II of France, for his son John, and settled in 1214 for a marriage with his old enemies the de Lusignan’s. In 1214 Joan was betrothed to Hugh X de Lusignan.

Hugh was the son of John’s rival for the hand of Isabella in 1200; Isabella’s engagement to Hugh IX was broken off in order for her to marry John. Following the betrothal Hugh, Lord of Lusignan and Count of La Marche, was given custody of Joan and of Saintes, Saintonge and the Isle of Oleron as pledges for her dowry. Joan was just 4 years old when she travelled to the south of France to live with her future husband’s family. She was away from England at the height of the Baron’s War, and at her father’s death in October 1216. It’s possible she was reunited with her mother in 1217 when Isabella of Angouleme left England, abandoning her 4 other children, in order to govern her own lands in Angouleme. In 1220 in a scandalous about-face Hugh repudiated Joan and married her mother, his father’s former betrothed. And poor 9-year-old Joan’s erstwhile future husband was now her step-father!

Hugh X de Lusignan, Joan’s betrothed and step-father And worse was to come… Instead of being sent back to England, as you would expect, Joan went from being Hugh’s betrothed – to being his prisoner. She was held hostage to ensure Hugh’s continued control of her dower lands, and to ensure the transfer of his new wife’s dower, while England was withholding Queen Isabella’s dower against the return of Joan’s dower lands. Negotiations to resolve the situation were ongoing. In the mean time, Henry III was already looking to arrange a new marriage for Joan. On 15th June 1220, in York, a conference between Alexander II and Henry III saw the Scots king agree to marry Joan, with a provision that he would marry Joan’s younger sister, Isabella , if Joan was not returned to England in time. Negotiations for Joan’s return were long and difficult and not helped by the fact Hugh was threatening war in Poitou. Eventually, after Papal intervention, agreement was reached in October 1220 and Joan was surrendered to the English.

Joan and Alexander II were married on the 19th June 1221, at York Minster. Joan was just weeks from her 11th birthday, while Alexander was 22. The archbishop of York performed the ceremony, which was witnessed Henry III and the great magnates of both realms. Henry III’s Pipe Rolls suggest the wedding was followed by 3 days of celebrations, costing £100. According to the Chronicle of Melrose ‘having celebrated the nuptials most splendidly, as was befitting, with all the natives of either realm rejoicing, [Alexander] conducted [Joan] to Scotland.’ York Minster The day before the wedding Alexander had assigned dower estates to Joan, worth an annual income of £1,000, including Jedburgh, Crail and Kinghorn. However, part of the dower was still held by Alexander’s mother, the dowager Queen Ermengarde, and Joan was not entitled to the income until after her mother-in-law’s death. This left Joan financially dependent on Alexander from the beginning. There is a suggestion that Joan was not enamoured with Scotland and its society.

She was hampered by her youth, her domineering mother-in-law and, eventually, by the fact she failed to produce the desired heir. Her position was further hindered by tensions between her husband and brother from time to time. In this, though, she seems to have found her purpose. Joan regularly acted as intermediary between the 2 kings. Alexander often used Joan’s personal letters to her brother as a way of communicating with Henry, while bypassing the formality of official correspondence between kings. One such letter is a warning, possibly on behalf of Alexander’s constable, Alan of Galloway, of intelligence that Haakon IV of Norway was intending to aid Hugh de Lacy in Ireland. In the same letter she assured Henry that no one from Scotland would be going to Ireland to fight against Henry’s interests. Another letter, this time from Henry, was of a more personal nature, written in February 1235 it informed Joan of the marriage of their “beloved sister” Isabella to the holy Roman Emperor Frederick II, news at which he knew Joan “would greatly rejoice”.

In December 1235 Alexander and Joan were summoned to London, possibly for the coronation of Henry’s new queen, Eleanor of Provence. This would have been a long and arduous journey for the Scots monarchs, especially in the deepest part of winter. Henry’s use of Joan as an intermediary suggests she did have some influence over her husband, this theory is supported by the fact that Joan accompanied Alexander to negotiations with the English king, at Newcastle in September 1236 and again at York in September 1237. In 1234 Henry had granted Joan Fenstanton in Huntingdonshire and during the 1236 negotiations she was granted Driffield in Yorkshire, giving Joan an income independent of Scotland. Many have seen this as an indication that Joan was intending to spend more time in England, especially seeing as the chronicler Matthew Paris hints at an estrangement, although we cannot be certain. Alexander II The 1236 and 1237 councils were attempts at resolving the ongoing claims of Alexander that King John had agreed to gift Northumberland to Alexander as part of the marriage contract between Alexander and Joan. Henry, of course, denied this.

With the mediation of a papal legate, agreement was eventually reached in York at the 1237 council, with both queens present, when Alexander gave up the claim to Northumberland in return for lands in the northern counties with an annual income of £200. Following the 1237 council Joan and her sister-in-law Eleanor of Provence departed on pilgrimage to the shrine of Thomas Becket at Canterbury. Given that Joan was now 27 and Eleanor already married for 2 years, it is possible both women were praying for children, and an heir. Joan stayed in England for the rest of the year; much of the stay seems to have been informal and pleasurable. She spent Christmas at Henry’s court and was given new robes for herself, her clerks and servants, in addition to gifts of does and wine. Her widowed sister Eleanor, Countess of Pembroke, was present, along with the Countess of Chester and Joan’s cousin, the captive Eleanor of Brittany . In late January arrangements were being made for Joan’s return to Scotland, but she fell ill before she could travel north.

Still only 27 years of age Joan died on 4th March 1238 at Havering-atte-Bower in Essex, her brothers, King Henry III and Richard, Earl of Cornwall, were at her side. Henry III According to Matthew Paris ‘her death was grievous, however she merited less mourning, because she refused to return [to Scotland] although often summoned back by her husband’. And even in death Joan elected to stay in England. her will requested that she be buried at the Cistercian nunnery of Tarrant in Dorset. The convent benefited greatly from Henry III’s almsgiving for the soul of his sister; in 1252, over 13 years after her death, the king ordered a marble effigy to be made for her tomb (which unfortunately has not survived). Talking of her wedding day, the Chronicle of Lanercost had described Joan as ‘a girl still of a young age, but when she was an adult of comely beauty.’ Alexander II married again just over a year after Joan’s death, to Marie de Coucy and their son, Alexander III, the longed-for heir, was born in 1241.

Alexander II died of a fever in 1249. * Be the first to read new articles by clicking the ‘Follow’ button, liking our Facebook page or joining me on Twitter . * Pictures courtesy of Wikipedia * Sources: The Oxford Companion to British History Edited by John Cannon; The Plantagenets, the Kings who Made England by Dan Jones; History Today Companion to British History Edited by Juliet Gardiner and Neil Wenborn; Brewer’s British Royalty by David Williamson; Britain’s Royal Families, the Complete Genealogy by Alison Weir; The Plantagenet Chronicles Edited by Elizabeth Hallam; The Mammoth Book of British Kings and Queens by Mike Ashley; The Plantagenets, the Kings that made Britain by Derek Wilson; England Under the Norman and Angevin Kings by Robert Bartlett; ; oxforddnb.com; finerollshenry3.org.uk. Share this: Sharon Bennett Connolly 13 Comments Whilst researching for my post on Ada de Warenne I discovered that 100 years later, a kinswoman of hers also, briefly, made an appearance on the stage of Scottish history.

Isabella de Warenne was the daughter of John de Warenne, 6th Earl of Surrey, and Alice de Lusignan. Alice was the daughter of King John of England’s widow, Isabella of Angouleme, and Hugh X de Lusignan and half-sister to Henry III of England. Isabella was, therefore, Henry’s niece. Through her paternal grandmother, Maud Marshal, Isabella was also a great-granddaughter of the ‘Greatest Knight’ William Marshal, Earl of Pembroke and onetime Regent of England. John Balliol and Isabella de warenne Born around 1253 Isabella married John Balliol, Lord of Bywell, sometime before 7th February 1281. In the early 1290s, John was one of the 13 Competitors for the Scottish throne. He was the great-grandson of Ada de Warenne’s youngest son, David of Huntingdon, by David’s daughter, Margaret. With 13 claimants to the Scottish throne it was Edward I of England who was given the duty of selecting Scotland’s next king.

Isabella’s close family links to the English crown may have helped Edward decide in John’s favour and he was installed as King of Scotland in November 1292. John and Isabella had at least 2, but probably 3, children together. A daughter, Margaret, died unmarried. There is mention of another daughter, Anne; but there is doubt as to whether she ever existed. Their eldest son, Edward, was born around 1283. With English support, Edward made his own bid for the Scottish throne in the 1330s, and was crowned king following his defeat of David II at the Battle of Dupplin Moor in 1332. David and Edward struggled against each other, until David II’s triumph – and Edward’s deposition – in 1336. Edward finally surrendered his claim to the Scottish throne in 1356 whilst living in English exile; he died in Wheatley, Doncaster, probably in 1363 or 1364. Although his final resting place has recently been claimed to be under Doncaster Post Office, the former site of Doncaster Priory, it remains elusive.

John and Isabella’s younger son, Henry, was killed on 16th December 1332 at the Battle of Annan, a resounding victory for supporters of David II against Henry’s brother, Edward. Although Edward was briefly married to Margaret of Taranto, the marriage was annulled. Neither Edward nor Henry had any children. Very little is known of John and Isabella’s life together. Her death date and final resting place are both unknown. It is by no means certain that Isabella was still alive when John became king. She was no longer living, however, when her own father defeated John and the Scottish army at the Battle of Dunbar in April 1296; John abdicated in July of the same year and died in French exile in 1314. * Be the first to read new articles by clicking the ‘Follow’ button, liking our Facebook page or joining me on Twitter . * Picture: John Balliol and Isabella de Warenne from britroyals.com.

Further reading: britroyals.com; royal.gov.uk/HistoryoftheMonarchy/ScottishMonarchs; englishmonarchs.co.uk; Alison Weir, Britain’s Royal Families; David Williamson, Brewer’s British Royalty; Mike Ashley, The Mammoth Book of British Kings and Queens; Nigel Tranter, The Story of Scotland. Share this:

Question: Which English king was married to Isabella of Angouleme?
Answer: KING JOHN