Alys of France, (or Alice) Countess of

Vexin Vexin () is an historical county of northwestern France. It covers a verdant plateau on the right bank (north) of the Seine running roughly east to west between Pontoise and Romilly-sur-Andelle (about 20 km from Rouen), and north to south ...

(4 October 1160 – c. 1220) was a French princess, the daughter of Louis VII, King of France and his second wife,

Constance of Castile Constance of Castile (1136 or 1140 – 4 October 1160) was Queen of France as the second wife of Louis VII, who married her following the annulment of his marriage to Eleanor of Aquitaine. She was a daughter of Alfonso VII of León and Berengari ...

Life

Alys was the half-sister of

Marie Marie may refer to: People Name * Marie (given name) * Marie (Japanese given name) * Marie (murder victim), girl who was killed in Florida after being pushed in front of a moving vehicle in 1973 * Marie (died 1759), an enslaved Cree person in Tro ...

and

Alix of France Alice of France (french: Alix; July/August 1150 – 1197/1198) was countess consort of Blois by marriage to Theobald V, Count of Blois. She was regent of Blois during the absence of her spouse in 1190-1191, and regent during the minority of Loui ...

, Louis's children by

Eleanor of Aquitaine Eleanor ( – 1 April 1204; french: Aliénor d'Aquitaine, ) was Queen of France from 1137 to 1152 as the wife of King Louis VII, Queen of England from 1154 to 1189 as the wife of King Henry II, and Duchess of Aquitaine in her own right from ...

, and the younger sister of Margaret of France. Just five weeks after Constance died giving birth to Alys, Louis married

Adèle of Champagne Adela of Champagne (french: Adèle; c. 1140 – 4 June 1206), also known as Adelaide, Alix and Adela of Blois, was Queen of France as the third wife of Louis VII. She was regent of France from 1190 to 1191 while her son Philip II participate ...

, by whom he had two further children, including the future King Philip II of France. In January 1169, Louis and

King Henry II of England Henry II (5 March 1133 – 6 July 1189), also known as Henry Curtmantle (french: link=no, Court-manteau), Henry FitzEmpress, or Henry Plantagenet, was King of England from 1154 until his death in 1189, and as such, was the first Angevin king ...

signed a contract for the marriage between Alys and Henry's son

Richard the Lionheart Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199) was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine and Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, and Count of Poitiers, Anjou, Maine, and Nantes, and was overl ...

. The 8-year-old Alys was then sent to England as Henry's ward. In 1177, Cardinal Peter of Saint Chrysogonus, on behalf of

Pope Alexander III Pope Alexander III (c. 1100/1105 – 30 August 1181), born Roland ( it, Rolando), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 September 1159 until his death in 1181. A native of Siena, Alexander became pope after a con ...

, threatened to place England's continental possessions under an

interdict In Catholic canon law, an interdict () is an ecclesiastical censure, or ban that prohibits persons, certain active Church individuals or groups from participating in certain rites, or that the rites and services of the church are banished from ...

if Henry did not proceed with the marriage. There were widespread rumors that Henry had not only made Alys his mistress, but that she had a child with him. Henry died in 1189. King Richard married

Berengaria of Navarre Berengaria of Navarre ( eu, Berengela, es, Berenguela, french: Bérengère; 1165–1170 – 23 December 1230) was Queen of England as the wife of Richard I of England. She was the eldest daughter of Sancho VI of Navarre and Sancha of Ca ...

on 12 May 1191, while still officially engaged to Alys. Philip had offered Alys to Prince John, but Eleanor prevented the match.W.L. Warren, ''King John'', 43. Alys married William IV Talvas,

Count of Ponthieu The County of Ponthieu (, ), centered on the mouth of the Somme, became a member of the Norman group of vassal states when Count Guy submitted to William of Normandy after the battle of Mortemer.Dunbabin.France in the Making. Ch.4. The Principa ...

, on 20 August 1195. They had two daughters:

Marie, Countess of Ponthieu Marie of Ponthieu (17 April 1199 – 21 September 1250) was ''suo jure'' Countess of Ponthieu and Countess of Montreuil, ruling from 1221 to 1250. Biography Marie was the daughter of William IV of Ponthieu and Alys, Countess of the Vexin, and gra ...

, and Isabelle; and a

stillborn Stillbirth is typically defined as fetal death at or after 20 or 28 weeks of pregnancy, depending on the source. It results in a baby born without signs of life. A stillbirth can result in the feeling of guilt or grief in the mother. The term i ...

son named Jean.

References

Sources

*Churchill, Winston. ''A History of the English Speaking People''. * Poole, A.L. ''Domesday Book to Magna Carta''. *

Ralph of Diceto Ralph de Diceto (or Ralph of Diss; c. 1120c. 1202) was archdeacon of Middlesex, dean of St Paul's Cathedral (from c. 1180), and author of two chronicles, the ''Abbreviationes chronicorum'' and the ''Ymagines historiarum''. Early career Ralph is ...

Roger of Hovedon Roger of Howden or Hoveden (died 1202) was a 12th-century English chronicler, diplomat and head of the minster of Howden in the East Riding of Yorkshire. Roger and Howden minster Roger was born to a clerical family linked to the ancient minste ...

Benedict of Peterborough Benedict, sometimes known as Benedictus Abbas (Latin for "Benedict the Abbot"; died 29 September 1193), was abbot of Peterborough. His name was formerly erroneously associated with the ''Gesta Henrici Regis Secundi'' and ''Gesta Regis Ricardi'', Eng ...

Gerald of Wales Gerald of Wales ( la, Giraldus Cambrensis; cy, Gerallt Gymro; french: Gerald de Barri; ) was a Cambro-Norman priest and English historians in the Middle Ages, historian. As a royal clerk to the king and two archbishops, he travelled widely and w ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alys, Countess of Vexin Vexin, Alys, Countess of Mistresses of Henry II of England House of Capet Vexin, Alys, Countess of Vexin, Alys, Countess of Year of death uncertain 12th-century English women 12th-century English people 12th-century French women 12th-century French people 13th-century French women 13th-century English women 13th-century English people Daughters of kings

Life

See also

References

Sources