Isabel of Conches, (fl. 1090) wife of Ralph of Tosny, rode armed like a

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

during a conflict in northern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

during the late 11th century and was born in Montfort sur Risle, Eure, Normandy, in 1057.

Early life

She was the daughter of

Simon I de Montfort Simon I de Montfort ( 1025 – 25 September 1087) was a French nobleman. He was born in Montfort l'Amaury, in the Duchy of Normandy, and became its lord. He was the son of Amaury I de Montfort and Bertrade. At his death he was buried about away ...

Marriage and issue

Isabel married Raoul II of Tosny, they had: *Roger, died young. * Raoul IV de Conches, married

Alice of Huntingdon Alice may refer to: * Alice (name), most often a feminine given name, but also used as a surname Literature * Alice (''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''), a character in books by Lewis Carroll * ''Alice'' series, children's and teen books by ...

, daughter of

Waltheof, Earl of Northumbria Waltheof, Earl of Northumbria ( enm, Wallef, on, Valþjóf) (died 31 May 1076) was the last of the Anglo-Saxon earls and the only English aristocrat to be executed during the reign of William I. Early life Waltheof was the second son of Siw ...

, and

Judith of Lens Judith of Lens (born in Normandy between 1054 and 1055, died c1090) was a niece of William the Conqueror. She was a daughter of his sister Adelaide of Normandy, Countess of Aumale and Lambert II, Count of Lens. Life In 1070, Judith married Ea ...

. *Godehilde married

Baldwin I of Jerusalem Baldwin I, also known as Baldwin of Boulogne (1060s – 2April 1118), was the first count of Edessa from 1098 to 1100, and king of Jerusalem from 1100 to his death in 1118. He was the youngest son of Eustace II, Count of Boulogne, and Ida of Lor ...

The legend

The chronicler Orderic Vitalis in the Ecclesiastical history describes Isabel in some detail. Orderic describes Isabel "joyful, generous, daring and well loved by all." He describes her in the hall of Conches, listening to knights talk about their dreams. Isabel unfortunately also had a conflictual relationship with her sister-in-law, Helewise of Evreux. The disagreement reached a point that her husband took up arms against

William, Count of Évreux William, Count of Évreux (died 16 April 1118) was a powerful member of the Norman aristocracy during the period following the Norman conquest of England. He is one of the few documented to have been with William the Conqueror at the Battle of Ha ...

.Hicks Leonie V., A Short History of the Normans Both families came to open war in 1091–92, when William attacked Conches. During the ensueing conflict, Isabel is said to have worn armor, joined her knights on the battlefield. The chronicler describes her in the following manner: “ In war she rode armed as a knight among the knights; and she showed no less courage among the knights in hauberks and sergeants-at-arms than did the maid Camilla, the pride of Italy, among the troops of Turnus. She deserved comparison with Lampeto and Marpesia, Hippolyta and Penthesilea and the other warlike Amazon queens” He gives no further description of her role in the battle. Isabel may have encouraged the knights or she perhaps fought actively, as the comparisons to these warlike heroines seem to suggest. A settlement was finally reached between the warring families.

Later life and death

According to the chronicle, Isabel ended up in a nunnery where she “worthily reformed her life”. Isabel died on 24 April 1102, in Saint-Rémy-l'Honoré, Yvelines, Île-de-France, France, at the age of 44, and was buried in Rambouillet, Seine-et-Oise, Île-de-France, France.

References

Bibliography

* Johns, Susan M
''Noblewomen, aristocracy and power in the twelfth-century Anglo-Norman realm''
Manchester University Press, 2003, p. 14. * Isabel de Conches is mistress of Walter Tirel in historical novel The Paladin and its successor The Wolf Time by British writer George Shipway. She fights in battles alongside her husband Ralph de Conches and lover Walter Tirel. Medieval French knights Women in medieval European warfare Women in war in France 11th-century French women 11th-century French people Women in 11th-century warfare {{France-mil-bio-stub