Florent of Hainaut (also ''Floris'' or ''Florence''; Hainaut, also spelled "Hainault") (c. 1255 – 23 January 1297) was

Prince of Achaea The Prince of Achaea was the ruler of the Principality of Achaea, one of the crusader states founded in Greece in the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade (1202–1204). Though more or less autonomous, the principality was never a fully independent s ...

from 1289 to his death, in right of his 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 ...

. He was the son of

John I of Avesnes John of Avesnes (1 May 1218 – 24 December 1257) was the count of Hainaut from 1246 to his death. Life Born in Houffalize, John was the eldest son of Margaret II of Flanders by her first husband, Bouchard IV of Avesnes. As the marriage of Marg ...

and

Adelaide of Holland Adelaide of Holland ( nl, Aleide (Aleidis) ; – buried 9 April 1284), Countess of Hainaut, was a Dutch regent. She was a daughter of Floris IV, Count of Holland and Matilda of Brabant. She was also a sister of William II, Count of Holland and K ...

. From his father he received the

stadholder In the Low Countries, ''stadtholder'' ( nl, stadhouder ) was an office of steward, designated a medieval official and then a national leader. The ''stadtholder'' was the replacement of the duke or count of a province during the Burgundian and H ...

ship (government) of

Zeeland , nl, Ik worstel en kom boven("I struggle and emerge") , anthem = "Zeeuws volkslied"("Zeelandic Anthem") , image_map = Zeeland in the Netherlands.svg , map_alt = , m ...

. After he left Zeeland, he took up service with

Charles II of Naples Charles II, also known as Charles the Lame (french: Charles le Boiteux; it, Carlo lo Zoppo; 1254 – 5 May 1309), was King of Naples, Count of Provence and Forcalquier (1285–1309), Prince of Achaea (1285–1289), and Count of Anjou and Maine ( ...

, who made him

constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in criminal law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. A constable is commonly the rank of an officer within the police. Other peop ...

of the

Kingdom of Naples The Kingdom of Naples ( la, Regnum Neapolitanum; it, Regno di Napoli; nap, Regno 'e Napule), also known as the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was ...

. After his marriage with Isabella on 16 September 1289, they had one daughter,

Matilda Matilda or Mathilda may refer to: Animals * Matilda (chicken) (1990–2006), World's Oldest Living Chicken record holder * Matilda (horse) (1824–1846), British Thoroughbred racehorse * Matilda, a dog of the professional wrestling tag-team The ...

. She succeeded him and her mother as princess. Florent settled with his wife in

Morea The Morea ( el, Μορέας or ) was the name of the Peloponnese peninsula in southern Greece during the Middle Ages and the early modern period. The name was used for the Byzantine province known as the Despotate of the Morea, by the Ottoman ...

. He negotiated the

Treaty of Glarentsa A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations, individuals, business entities, and other legal perso ...

with the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

in 1290. The situation for the

Franks The Franks ( la, Franci or ) were a group of Germanic peoples whose name was first mentioned in 3rd-century Roman sources, and associated with tribes between the Lower Rhine and the Ems River, on the edge of the Roman Empire.H. Schutz: Tools, ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

was hopeless by this time, however. The fall of the Angevins in

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

meant that they were preoccupied with recouping territory there and few Western governments would send troops to defend Morea. Florent thus made peace and maintained it until 1293, when the Greeks retook

Kalamata Kalamáta ( el, Καλαμάτα ) is the second most populous city of the Peloponnese peninsula, after Patras, in southern Greece and the largest city of the homonymous administrative region. As the capital and chief port of the Messenia reg ...

. Florent did not despair and did not reopen the war which had been ongoing until his succession: he instead sent an embassy in protest to

Andronikos II Palaiologos , image = Andronikos II Palaiologos2.jpg , caption = Miniature from the manuscript of George Pachymeres' ''Historia'' , succession = Byzantine emperor , reign = 11 December 1282 –24 May 1328 , coronation = 8 Novembe ...

, and the emperor returned Kalamata. In 1296, the Greeks retook the

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

of Saint George in

Arcadia Arcadia may refer to: Places Australia * Arcadia, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney * Arcadia, Queensland * Arcadia, Victoria Greece * Arcadia (region), a region in the central Peloponnese * Arcadia (regional unit), a modern administrative un ...

. Florent besieged the castle, but died before it could be taken.

Sources

* *Grousset, René. ''L'Empire du Levant: Histoire de la Question d'Orient''. * 1297 deaths Avesnes family Princes of Achaea Year of birth unknown 13th-century people of the Principality of Achaea {{Europe-noble-stub