Guy II de la Roche, also known as Guyot or Guidotto (1280 – 5 October 1308), was the

Duke of Athens The Duchy of Athens ( Greek: Δουκᾶτον Ἀθηνῶν, ''Doukaton Athinon''; Catalan: ''Ducat d'Atenes'') was one of the Crusader states set up in Greece after the conquest of the Byzantine Empire during the Fourth Crusade as part of ...

from 1287, the last duke of

his family ''His Family'' is a novel by Ernest Poole published in 1917 about the life of a New York widower and his three daughters in the 1910s. It received the first Pulitzer Prize for the Novel in 1918. Plot introduction ''His Family'' tells the story of ...

.''The Latins in Greece and the Aegean from the Fourth Crusade to the End of the Middle Ages'', K. M. Setton, ''The Cambridge Medieval History:Vol IV, The Byzantine Empire'', ed. J.M Hussey, D.M. Nicol and G. Cowan, (Cambridge University Press, 1966), 410-411. He succeeded as a minor on the death of his father,

William I William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 10 ...

, at a time when the duchy of Athens had exceeded the

Principality of Achaea The Principality of Achaea () or Principality of Morea was one of the three vassal states of the Latin Empire, which replaced the Byzantine Empire after the capture of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade. It became a vassal of the Kingdom ...

in wealth, power, and importance.

Early life

Guy was the only son of

William I de la Roche William I de la Roche (died 1287) succeeded his brother, John I, as Duke of Athens in 1280. He was the son of Guy I de la Roche. William reversed the territorial losses of his brother's reign, extending his control over Lamia and Gardiki. He m ...

and Helena Angelina Komnene. William was the younger brother of the childless John I, whom he succeeded in 1280. His marriage to Helena, a daughter of ''

sebastokrator ''Sebastokrator'' ( grc-byz, Σεβαστοκράτωρ, Sevastokrátor, August Ruler, ; bg, севастократор, sevastokrator; sh, sebastokrator), was a senior court title in the late Byzantine Empire. It was also used by other rulers wh ...

John I Doukas John I Doukas ( gr, Ἰωάννης Δούκας, Iōánnēs Doúkas), Latinized as Ducas, was an illegitimate son of Michael II Komnenos Doukas, Despot of Epirus in –1268. After his father's death, he became ruler of Thessaly from to his own ...

, the Greek ruler of

Thessaly Thessaly ( el, Θεσσαλία, translit=Thessalía, ; ancient Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic and modern administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, The ...

, brought about an anti-

Byzantine 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 ...

alliance between Athens and Thessaly around 1274. William acknowledged the suzerainty of the

Angevin Angevin or House of Anjou may refer to: *County of Anjou or Duchy of Anjou, a historical county, and later Duchy, in France **Angevin (language), the traditional langue d'oïl spoken in Anjou **Counts and Dukes of Anjou * House of Ingelger, a Frank ...

monarchs of the Kingdom of Sicily, who also ruled the

to the south of Athens. Guy was still a minor when his father died in 1287. During the first years of his reign, his mother exercised the guardianship for him. She swore fealty to King Charles II of Naples, but after Charles II granted Achaea to

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 and of his third wife, Anna Komnene Doukaina, the second daughter of Michael II ...

and her husband,

Florent of Hainaut Florent of Hainaut (also ''Floris'' or ''Florence''; Hainaut, also spelled "Hainault") (c. 1255 – 23 January 1297) was Prince of Achaea from 1289 to his death, in right of his wife, Isabella of Villehardouin. He was the son of John I of Avesnes ...

, she ignored the King's commands to render homage to them. In late 1291, she married

Hugh of Brienne Hugh, Count of Brienne and Lecce ( 1240 – 9 August 1296) was the second surviving son of Count Walter IV of Brienne and Marie de Lusignan of Cyprus. Life His father, Count of Jaffa and Ascalon in Palestine, was murdered in 1244 in Cairo, a ...

who held important fiefs in the Kingdom of Naples. Hugh asserted the regency for Guy and did not pay homage to the Achaean princes.

Reign

Guy reached the age of majority in June 1294.

Boniface of Verona Boniface of Verona ( it, Bonifacio da Verona, died late 1317 or early 1318) was a Lombard Crusader lord in Frankish Greece during the late 13th and early 14th century. A third son from a junior branch of his family, he sold his castle to equip ...

knighted him at an assembly of the bishops and barons on 24 June. About two weeks later, Charles II appointed two deputies to receive Guy's homage. The King changed his mind before the end of July: he announced that Guy owed obedience to Isabella and Florent, because they were Guy's direct lords. Charles II also prohibited Guy's vassals to swear fealty to Guy before Guy rendered homage to the princes of Achaea. Charles II made new arrangements when he ceded his claim to suzerainty over Achaea, Athens and other Balkan territories to his younger son,

Philip I of Taranto Philip I of Taranto (10 November 1278 – 26 December 1331), of the Angevin house, was titular Latin Emperor of Constantinople (as Philip II) by right of his wife Catherine of Valois–Courtenay, Despot of Romania, King of Albania, Prince of A ...

on 13 August 1294. When listing both Achaea and Athens in his letter of grant to his son, the King implicitly acknowledged that Guy was to render homage directly to Philip. Isabella and Florent protested, but Hugh of Brienne swear fealty to Philip on Guy's behalf. Guy's maternal uncles, Constantine Doukas and

Theodore Angelos Theodore Angelos ( gr, Θεόδωρος Ἄγγελος, Theodōros Angelos) was co-ruler of Thessaly from to his death in . Theodore was the third son of John I Doukas, ruler of Thessaly by his wife, who is only known by her monastic name Hypomo ...

invaded their western neighbour, the Despotate of Epirus in the spring of 1295. Since the Epirote rule,

Thomas I Komnenos Doukas Thomas I Komnenos Doukas ( Latinized as Comnenus Ducas) ( el, Θωμάς Α΄ Κομνηνός Δούκας, translit=Thōmas I Komnēnos Doukas) (c. 1285–1318) ruler of Epirus from c. 1297 until his death in 1318. Thomas was the son of N ...

, was Philip of Taranto's brother-in-law, Charles II ordered Florent and Guy to launch a joint military campaign against Thessaly, but they could not prevent Constantine and Theodore from seizing Epirote lands. Hugh of Brienne was Guy's sound protector in Charles II's court, but he died unexpectedly on 9 August 1296. Isabella, who was staying in southern Italy, persuaded Charles II to again order Guy to swear fealty to her and her husband. The King threatened Guy of confiscating his duchy if he failed to obey his command on 1 October 1296. Guy's relationship with his mother also became tense and he seized parts of her dower. Philip of Taranto ordered Guy to return his mother's property to her, but he ignored Philip's orders. Florent died in early 1297, and an influential Achaean lord,

Nicholas III of Saint Omer Nicholas III of Saint Omer (died 30 January 1314) was one of the most powerful and influential lords of Frankish Greece. He was hereditary Marshal of the Principality of Achaea, lord of one third of Akova and of one half of Thebes. He also serv ...

, convinced the widowed Isabella to propose the hand of her only daughter, Mahaut, to Guy. The three-year-old Mahaut was sent to Athens, but Charles II protested against the marriage. On 3 July 1299, he reminded Guy that the heiress to Achaea could not marry without his consent, and ordered Guy to return her to her mother. Charles II also intervened in Guy's conflict with his mother, ordering him to restore her dower on 31 July. Isabella and Guy had already approached Pope Boniface VIII to sanction Guy's marriage, because Guy and his bride's mothers were cousins. The Pope granted the necessary dispensation on 9 August. Being the Pope's vassal, Charles II had to accept the Pope's decision and gave consent to the marriage on 20 April 1300. At Guy's request, the King had already forbidden Guy's mother to sell two towns which were part of her dowry without his consent. Constantine Doukas and Theodore Angelos died in 1302 or 1303 and Constantine's minor son,

John II Doukas John II Doukas, also Angelos Doukas ( Latinized as Angelus Ducas) ( gr, Ἰωάννης Ἄγγελος Δούκας, Iōannēs Angelos Doukas), was ruler of Thessaly from 1303 to his death in 1318. John II Angelos Doukas was the son of Constanti ...

, inherited Thessaly. Constantine had made Guy regent for John, and Guy appointed a Greek named Boutomites to rule Thessaly. The Epirotes invaded Thessaly and captured the border castle of Phanari. Guy gathered the Athenian and Thessalian troops and also persuaded Nicholas III of Saint Omer to join the military campaign against Epirus. Their united armies marched as far as

Kalambaka Kalabaka ( el, Καλαμπάκα, ''Kalabáka'', alternative transliterations are ''Kalambaka'' and ''Kalampaka'') is a town and seat of the municipality of Meteora in the Trikala regional unit, part of Thessaly in Greece. The population was ...

Anna Palaiologina Kantakouzene Anna Palaiologina Kantakouzene ( el, Άννα Καντακουζηνή) (died after 1313) was the niece of the Byzantine emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos, second wife of Nikephoros I Komnenos Doukas of Epirus and regent of Epirus upon his death arou ...

, who ruled Epirus on behalf of her underage son, offered 7,000 '' hyperpyra'' to Guy and 3,000 ''hyperpyra'' to Saint Omer if they abandoned the campaign. Since she also promised to renounce Phanari, the Thessalian lords convinced Guy to accept her offer. However, Guy and Saint Omer did not dissolve the army, because the Thessalian lords persuaded them to invade the Byzantine territories in Macedonia instead. Shortly after their army crossed the frontier and the advance guard approached

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...

, the Byzantine empress Eirene of Montferrat sent envoys to them and persuaded them to turn back without battle. The Empress wanted to seize Epirus and Thessaly and give them to her sons,

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

and

Theodore Theodore may refer to: Places * Theodore, Alabama, United States * Theodore, Australian Capital Territory * Theodore, Queensland, a town in the Shire of Banana, Australia * Theodore, Saskatchewan, Canada * Theodore Reservoir, a lake in Sask ...

, but Guy refused to make an alliance with her. In 1307, Guy was made ''

bailli A bailiff (french: bailli, ) was the king's administrative representative during the ''ancien régime'' in northern France, where the bailiff was responsible for the application of justice and control of the administration and local finances in h ...

'' of Achaea by its new prince,

. He governed well, but for barely a year. He died, 5 October 1308, at the age of twenty-eight, but was respected and renowned for his chivalry and manners, typical of the Frankish courts kept in Greece. He was buried in Daphni Monastery alongside his ancestors. He left no heirs and the De la Roche line of dukes came to an end; Athens was disputed among rival claimants until the parliament of the duchy elected

Walter V of Brienne Walter V of Brienne (french: Gautier; – 15 March 1311) was Duke of Athens from 1308 until his death. Being the only son of Hugh of Brienne and Isabella de la Roche, Walter was the heir to large estates in France, the Kingdom of Naples, and the ...

Family

References

Sources

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Guy 02 De La Roche 1280 births 1308 deaths Christians of the Crusades Dukes of Athens Baillis of the Principality of Achaea Guy 02 Lords of Argos and Nauplia 13th-century rulers in Europe 14th-century rulers in Europe 13th-century French people 14th-century people of the Principality of Achaea French people of Greek descent