Constance of France (1078 – 14 September 1125) was Countess of
Troyes from her first marriage and Princess of
Antioch
Antioch on the Orontes (; grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου, ''Antiókheia hē epì Oróntou'', Learned ; also Syrian Antioch) grc-koi, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου; or Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπ ...
from her second marriage. She was regent during the minority of her son. Constance was the eldest of five children and was the only daughter from her father's first marriage. Her brother was
Louis VI of France.
First marriage
Constance was the daughter of King
Philip I of France
Philip I (23 May 1052 – 29 July 1108), called the Amorous, was King of the Franks from 1060 to 1108. His reign, like that of most of the early Capetians, was extraordinarily long for the time. The monarchy began a modest recovery from the low i ...
and
Bertha of Holland. Between 1093 and 1095, Phillip I arranged for his daughter, Constance, to marry Hugh, Count of Troyes and Champagne. Philip hoped to influence Hugh's family, the powerful
House of Blois, and counter the opposition of
Fulk IV, Count of Anjou Fulk is an old European personal name, probably deriving from the Germanic ''folk'' ("people" or "chieftain"). It is cognate with the French Foulques, the German Volk, the Italian Fulco and the Swedish Folke, along with other variants such as F ...
, after he had kidnapped Fulk's wife,
Bertrade. But the union between Constance and Hugh was too late to achieve the desired result, since
Stephen II, Count of Blois
Stephen Henry (in French, ''Étienne Henri'', in Medieval French, ''Estienne Henri''; – 19 May 1102) was the Count of Blois and Count of Chartres. He led an army during the First Crusade, was at the surrender of the city of Nicaea, and direct ...
, Hugh's half-brother, was married and controlled most of the county. As wedding gifts, Constance received from her father,
Attigny and the chapel of Saint-Vaubourg.
After ten years of marriage and without any surviving issue (their only known son, Manasses, died young in 1102), Constance demanded an annulment. She obtained a divorce, with the assistance of Ivo of Chartres, at
Soissons
Soissons () is a commune in the northern French department of Aisne, in the region of Hauts-de-France. Located on the river Aisne, about northeast of Paris, it is one of the most ancient towns of France, and is probably the ancient capital o ...
on 25 December 1104.
Second marriage
While at the court of Adela, wife of Stephen, who was acting as
regent
A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...
, Constance was courted by
Bohemond I of Antioch. He had just returned to
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
to obtain relief for the Crusaders in the Holy Land and seeking a wife. He impressed audiences across France with gifts of relics from the Holy Land and tales of heroism while fighting the Saracens, gathering a large army in the process. His new-found status won him the hand of Constance. Of this marriage wrote Abbot Suger:
Bohemond came to France to seek by any means he could gain the hand of the Lord Louis' sister Constance, a young lady of excellent breeding, elegant appearance and beautiful face. So great was the reputation for valour of the French kingdom and of the Lord Louis that even the Saracens were terrified by the prospect of that marriage. She was not engaged since she had broken off her agreement to wed Hugh, count of Troyes, and wished to avoid another unsuitable match. The prince of Antioch was experienced and rich both in gifts and promises; he fully deserved the marriage, which was celebrated with great pomp by the bishop of Chartres in the presence of the king, the Lord Louis, and many archbishops, bishops and noblemen of the realm.
The marriage was celebrated in the cathedral of
Chartres between 25 March and 26 May 1106, and the festivities were held at the court of Adela, who also took part in negotiations. The groom took the opportunity to encourage the nobility to fight in the Holy Land, and also negotiated for a marriage between Bohemond's nephew
Tancred, Prince of Galilee
Tancred (1075 – December 5 or December 12, 1112) was an Italo- Norman leader of the First Crusade who later became Prince of Galilee and regent of the Principality of Antioch. Tancred came from the house of Hauteville and was the great-grandson ...
and Constance's half-sister
Cecile of France
Cecile of France (1097 – 1145) was a daughter of Philip I of France and Bertrade de Montfort.
Marriages
Her first marriage was arranged while Bohemond I of Antioch was visiting the French court seeking support against Alexios I Komnenos. Sh ...
.
After her marriage, Constance accompanied her husband to
Apulia, where she gave birth to their first son,
Bohemond, future Prince of Antioch, between 1107 and 1108. A second son, John, was also born in Apulia between 1108 and 1111, but died in childhood.
Widowhood
Constance acted as regent on behalf of her son and took the title of Queen as a daughter of the King of France, but she was imprisoned by
Grimoald Alferanites
Grimoald Alferanites was the prince of Bari from 1121 to 1132.
After a civil war broke out in Bari, Risone, the archbishop of the city, was murdered (1117) and the princess of Taranto, Constance of France, was imprisoned at Giovinazzo (1119) by ...
, who proclaimed himself
Lord of Bari. Constance was released in 1120 on the intervention of King
Roger II of Sicily and the
Pope
The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...
, but in exchange for her release, Constance had to give up the regency over her son. She died on 14 September 1125.
Ancestors
References
Sources
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*{{cite book , title=The deeds of Louis the Fat , last=Suger , year=1992 , publisher=Catholic University of America Press , translator-first1=Richard C. , translator-last1=Cusimano , translator-first2=John , translator-last2=Moorhead
French princesses
1078 births
House of Capet
1120s deaths
Princesses of Antioch
Countesses of Champagne
Regents of Antioch
Year of death unknown
12th-century women rulers
Princesses of Taranto
11th-century French people
11th-century French women
12th-century French people
12th-century French women
French people of Ukrainian descent
Daughters of kings