Catherine of Austria (german: Katharina von Habsburg; french: Catherine d'Autriche; 9 February 1320 – 28 September 1349) was the daughter of the

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 ...

Duke Leopold I of Austria and the wife successively of the French nobleman

Enguerrand VI, Lord of Coucy Enguerrand VI (–) was a medieval French nobleman who served as the Seigneur Lord of Coucy. He was also Lord Gynes, Sire d'Oisy, in the district of Marle, and the Sire de La Fère. He was the son of his predecessor, Guillaume, Lord of Coucy, Ma ...

and the German Konrad von Hardeck,

Burgrave Burgrave, also rendered as burggrave (from german: Burggraf, la, burgravius, burggravius, burcgravius, burgicomes, also praefectus), was since the medieval period in Europe (mainly Germany) the official title for the ruler of a castle, especial ...

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; nds, label=Low Saxon, Meideborg ) is the capital and second-largest city of the German state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is situated at the Elbe river. Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archdiocese of Magdebur ...

Early life and family

Catherine was the oldest of two daughters born to Leopold I, Duke of Austria and his wife Catherine of Savoy. Her younger sister was

Agnes of Austria Agnes of Austria may also refer to: *Agnes of Austria (1154–1182), daughter of Henry II, Duke of Austria, married firstly Stephen III of Hungary, secondly to Herman II, Duke of Carinthia *Agnes of Austria (1281–1364), daughter of Albert I of Ge ...

, who married

Bolko II the Small Bolko II the Small (c. 1312 – 28 July 1368), was the last independent Duke of the Piast dynasty in Silesia. He was Duke of Świdnica from 1326, Duke of Jawor and Lwówek from 1346, Duke of Lusatia from 1364, Duke over half of Brzeg and Oława ...

, Duke of

Świdnica Świdnica (; german: Schweidnitz; cs, Svídnice; szl, Świdńica) is a city in south-western Poland in the region of Silesia. As of 2019, it has a population of 57,014 inhabitants. It lies in Lower Silesian Voivodeship, being the seventh larges ...

. On their father's side, the two were granddaughters 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 ...

, while their maternal grandparents were

Amadeus V, Count of Savoy Amadeus V (1252/1253 – 16 October 1323) was Count of Savoy from 1285 to 1323. Biography Amadeus was the son of Thomas II of Savoy and Beatrice Fieschi. Through his mother he was a grandnephew of Pope Innocent IV. Following his marriage to Sy ...

and his second wife Maria of Brabant. Her father died when Catherine was 6 years of age, and she and 4-year-old Agnes were placed under the guardianship of their paternal uncles,

Frederick the Fair Frederick the Fair (german: Friedrich der Schöne) or the Handsome (c. 1289 – 13 January 1330), from the House of Habsburg, was the duke of Austria and Styria from 1308 as well as the anti-king of Germany from 1314 until 1325 and then co-king ...

and

Albert II, Duke of Austria Albert II (12 December 1298 – 16 August 1358), known as ''the Wise'' or ''the Lame'', a member of the House of Habsburg, was duke of Austria and Styria from 1330, as well as duke of Carinthia and margrave of Carniola from 1335 until his death ...

Marriages

At the age of 18, Catherine married her first husband

, a French nobleman. The marriage contract was signed at

Vincennes Vincennes (, ) is a commune in the Val-de-Marne department in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. It is next to but does not include the Château de Vincennes and Bois de Vincennes, which are attached ...

on 25 November 1338. The marriage produced one son,

Enguerrand Enguerrand (or Engrand, Ingrand) is a medieval French name, derived from a Germanic name ''Engilram'' (''Engelram'', ''Ingelram''), from ''Angil'', the tribal name of the Angles, and ''hramn'' "raven". The Old Frankish name is recorded in various f ...

. The couple were married for eight years when in 1346, Enguerrand VI was killed in one of a series of battles which ended with the

Battle of Crécy The Battle of Crécy took place on 26 August 1346 in northern France between a French army commanded by King PhilipVI and an English army led by King EdwardIII. The French attacked the English while they were traversing northern France du ...

on 26 August 1346, as part of the

Hundred Years' War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a series of armed conflicts between the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of France, France during the Late Middle Ages. It originated from disputed claims to the French Crown, ...

between France and England. Their son

succeeded his father as Lord of Coucy, and he later married

Isabella Isabella may refer to: People and fictional characters * Isabella (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Isabella (surname), including a list of people Places United States * Isabella, Alabama, an unincorpor ...

, eldest daughter of King

Edward III of England Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring ro ...

. Catherine remarried nearly two years after her first husband's death in February 1348 to Konrad,

. The couple were married for just over a year when Konrad succumbed to the

Black Death The Black Death (also known as the Pestilence, the Great Mortality or the Plague) was a bubonic plague pandemic occurring in Western Eurasia and North Africa from 1346 to 1353. It is the most fatal pandemic recorded in human history, causi ...

on 25 September 1349, Catherine herself dying three days later; she was buried at Königsfelden. She was outlived by her son Enguerrand.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Catherine of Austria, Lady of Coucy 1320 births 1349 deaths 14th-century House of Habsburg 14th-century deaths from plague (disease) 14th-century French people 14th-century French women Daughters of monarchs