Catherine of Austria (1295,

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

– 18 January 1323,

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

) was a daughter of

Albert I of Germany Albert I of Habsburg (german: Albrecht I.) (July 12551 May 1308) was a Duke of Austria and Styria from 1282 and King of Germany from 1298 until his assassination. He was the eldest son of King Rudolf I of Germany and his first wife Gertrude o ...

and his wife Elisabeth of Tirol. She was a member of the powerful

House of Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

. She was

Duchess of Calabria Duchess of Calabria was the traditional title of the wife of the heir apparent of the Kingdom of Naples after the accession of Robert of Naples. It was also adopted by the heads of certain Houses that had once claimed the Kingdom of Naples in lieu ...

by her marriage.

Life

Catherine was betrothed twice before she was married. Her first betrothal is referred to in the Turin State Archives to

Philip I of Piedmont Philip I, known as Philip of Savoy (, ) (1278 – 25 September 1334) was the lord of Piedmont from 1282 until his death and prince of Achaea between 1301 and 1307. He was the son of Thomas III of Piedmont and Guyonne de Châlon. Philip's first ...

. Philip's first wife

Isabella of Villehardouin Isabella of Villehardouin (1260/1263 – 23 January 1312) was reigning Princess of Achaea from 1289 to 1307. She was the elder daughter of Prince William II of Achaea William of Villehardouin (french: Guillaume de Villehardouin; Kalamata, 1211 ...

had separated from him due to political reasons so Philip was free to remarry. However, the union between Catherine and Philip was dissolved. Philip instead married Catherine de la Tour du Pin. Catherine may have been betrothed to someone from the

Duchy of Brabant The Duchy of Brabant was a State of the Holy Roman Empire established in 1183. It developed from the Landgraviate of Brabant and formed the heart of the historic Low Countries, part of the Burgundian Netherlands from 1430 and of the Habsburg Neth ...

, possibly

John II, Duke of Brabant John II (27 September 1275 – 27 October 1312), also called John the Peaceful, was Duke of Brabant, Lothier and Limburg (1294–1312). He was the son of John I of Brabant and Margaret of Flanders. John II succeeded his father in 1294 ...

. If this betrothal did take place, it was quickly dissolved by Catherine's brothers because their father had been murdered and had been succeeded by Henry of Luxembourg as

Henry VII, Holy Roman Emperor Henry VII (German: ''Heinrich''; c. 1273 – 24 August 1313),Kleinhenz, pg. 494 also known as Henry of Luxembourg, was Count of Luxembourg, King of Germany (or '' Rex Romanorum'') from 1308 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1312. He was the first empe ...

. The brothers' plan was to marry off their sister to the Emperor in order to create an alliance with him. However, only one year after becoming emperor, Henry died without marrying Catherine.Austria, Medieval Lands
/ref> Catherine was finally married aged twenty-one in 1316 to

Charles, Duke of Calabria Charles, Duke of Calabria (1298 – 9 November 1328), was the son of King Robert of Naples and Yolanda of Aragon. Charles was born in Naples in 1298, during the reign of his paternal grandfather, King Charles II, the second king of the Angevin ...

. However the marriage that Catherine and her family had waited for did not last for very long. The couple were married for seven childless years before Catherine died in

on 18 January 1323. She was buried in the church of

San Lorenzo Maggiore, Naples San Lorenzo Maggiore is a church in Naples, Italy. It is located at the precise geographic center of the historic center of the ancient Greek-Roman city, at the intersection of ''via San Gregorio Armeno'' and ''via dei Tribunali''. The name "San ...

. After Catherine's death, Charles remarried to Marie of Valois, who became mother of

Joanna I of Naples Joanna I, also known as Johanna I ( it, Giovanna I; December 1325 – 27 July 1382), was Queen of Naples, and Countess of Provence and Forcalquier from 1343 to 1382; she was also Princess of Achaea from 1373 to 1381. Joanna was the eldest daug ...

Ancestry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Catherine Of Austria 1295 births 1323 deaths 14th-century Italian women 13th-century German women 14th-century House of Habsburg Duchesses of Calabria Daughters of kings