Isabella of France (1 October 1348 – 11 September 1372) was a French
princess
Princess is a regal rank and the feminine equivalent of prince (from Latin '' princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or for the daughter of a king or prince.
Princess as a subs ...
and member of the
House of Valois
The Capetian house of Valois ( , also , ) was a cadet branch of the Capetian dynasty. They succeeded the House of Capet (or "Direct Capetians") to the French throne, and were the royal house of France from 1328 to 1589. Junior members of the f ...
, as well as the wife of
Gian Galeazzo Visconti, who after her death became
Duke of Milan.
Life
Born in
Bois de Vincennes
The Bois de Vincennes (), located on the eastern edge of Paris, is the largest public park in the city. It was created between 1855 and 1866 by Emperor Napoleon III.
The park is next to the Château de Vincennes, a former residence of the King ...
, Isabella was the youngest daughter of King
John II of France
John II (french: Jean II; 26 April 1319 – 8 April 1364), called John the Good (French: ''Jean le Bon''), was King of France from 1350 until his death in 1364. When he came to power, France faced several disasters: the Black Death, which killed ...
by his first wife,
Bonne of Bohemia
Bonne of Luxemburg or Jutta of Luxemburg (20 May 131511 September 1349), was born Jutta (Judith), the second daughter of King John of Bohemia, and his first wife, Elisabeth of Bohemia. She was the first wife of King John II of France; however, as ...
.
Her maternal uncle Count
Amadeus VI of Savoy arranged her marriage with
Gian Galeazzo Visconti. As her dowry, Isabella received the county of
Sommières
Sommières (; oc, Someire) is a commune in the Gard department in southern France, located at the border with the Hérault department.
It lies from Nîmes, from Montpellier.
Geography
Sommières is to the south of the garrigues and on th ...
, exchanged later for the county of
Vertus
Vertus () is a former commune in the Marne department in north-eastern France. On 1 January 2018, it was merged into the new commune of Blancs-Coteaux. The Encyclopédiste Antoine-Claude-Pierre Masson de La Motte-Conflans (1727–1801) was born ...
. On 8 October 1360, Isabella and Gian Galeazzo were married in Milan, and six months later, in April 1361, she was declared sovereign Countess of Vertus. The couple had four children:
*Gian Galeazzo, born 1366
*Azzone, 1368–1380
*
Valentina (b. Pavia, 1371 – d. Château de Blois, Loir-et-Cher, 14 December 1408), married on 17 August 1389 to
Louis I, Duke of Orléans
Louis I of Orléans (13 March 1372 – 23 November 1407) was Duke of Orléans from 1392 to his death. He was also Duke of Touraine (1386–1392), Count of Valois (1386?–1406) Blois (1397–1407), Angoulême (1404–1407 ...
*Carlo, born 1372.
Only Valentina lived to adulthood; Isabella died giving birth to Carlo in
Pavia
Pavia (, , , ; la, Ticinum; Medieval Latin: ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy in northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was the cap ...
in 1372 and was buried in the
church of San Francesco.
Family tree of Isabella of Vertus
References
Sources
*
*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Isabella of Valois
Deaths in childbirth
House of Valois
1348 births
1373 deaths
French princesses
House of Visconti
14th-century French people
14th-century French women
Daughters of kings