Isabella of France (1 October 1348 – 11 September 1372) was a French

princess Princess is a title used by a female member of a regnant monarch's family or by a female ruler of a principality. The male equivalent is a prince (from Latin '' princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for ...

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 List of French monarchs, French throne, and were the royal house of France from 1328 to 1589. ...

, as well as the wife of

Gian Galeazzo Visconti Gian Galeazzo Visconti (16 October 1351 – 3 September 1402), was the first duke of Duchy of Milan, Milan (1395) and ruled that late-medieval city just before the dawn of the Renaissance. He also ruled Lombardy jointly with his uncle Bernabò V ...

, who after her death became Duke of Milan.

Life

Born in Bois de Vincennes, Isabella was the youngest daughter of King

John II of France John 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 between a thir ...

by his first wife, Bonne of Bohemia. Count Amadeus VI of Savoy arranged her marriage with his nephew

. As her dowry, Isabella received the county of

Sommières Sommières (; ) 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 the edge of t ...

, exchanged later for the county of Vertus. 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. Following her marriage, Isabella brought her collection of French books to Milan. When her daughter, Valentina, traveled to France for her marriage, she brought twelve books of Italian origin. 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 *Carlo, born 1372. Only Valentina lived to adulthood; Isabella died giving birth to Carlo in

Pavia Pavia ( , ; ; ; ; ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, in Northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino (river), Ticino near its confluence with the Po (river), Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was a major polit ...

in 1372 and was buried in the church of San Francesco.

References

Sources

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Isabella of Valois Deaths in childbirth House of Valois 1348 births 1373 deaths French princesses House of Visconti 14th-century French nobility 14th-century French women Daughters of kings