Isabella de la Roche (died before 1291) was a daughter of

Guy I de la Roche Guy I de la Roche (1205–1263) was the Duke of Athens (from 1225/34), the son and successor of the first duke Othon. After the conquest of Thebes, Othon gave half the city in lordship to Guy. Life Guy's early life is obscure. Since the 18th cen ...

. She was married twice, firstly to

Geoffrey of Briel Geoffrey of Briel, in older literature Geoffrey of Bruyères, was a French knight and the third lord of the Barony of Karytaina in the Principality of Achaea, in Frankish Greece. He led a colourful and turbulent life, narrated in detail in the ''C ...

, Lord of Karytaina and then secondly to Hugh, Count of Brienne, having children only with her second husband.

Life

Isabella's date of birth is unknown. She was the fifth of six children, her siblings included:

John I de la Roche John I de la Roche (died 1280) succeeded his father, Guy I, as Duke of Athens in 1263. He was cultured and chivalrous, spoke fluent Greek, and read Herodotus. In 1275, John, with 300 knights, relieved Neopatras, which had been blockaded by a Byz ...

, William de la Roche and Alice de la Roche, who was regent of

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

. Her father Guy was created Duke of Athens in 1260 by King Louis IX of France. Isabella was married firstly in 1256 to Geoffrey of Briel, Lord of Karytaina. The couple were married for thirteen years however, no children were born in this time. In 1269, Geoffrey died of fever while commanding the garrison at

Skorta Skorta ( el, τὰ Σκορτὰ, french: Escorta) was a name used in the 13th and 14th centuries, during the period of Frankish rule in the Peloponnese, to designate the mountainous western half of the region of Arcadia, which separated the coa ...

. Upon Geoffrey's death, Isabella received the half of the barony as her dower, the other half going to the prince

William II of Villehardouin William of Villehardouin (french: Guillaume de Villehardouin; Kalamata, 1211 – 1 May 1278) was the fourth prince of Achaea in Frankish Greece, from 1246 to 1278. The younger son of Prince Geoffrey I, he held the Barony of Kalamat ...

as suzerain of the barony. In 1277, Isabella was married a second time, this time to Hugh, Count of Brienne,

Lignages d'Outremer The ''Lignages d'Outremer'' ("Lineages of Outremer") describe the pedigrees of the most important Crusader families. A first version was written in 1270 and is available in two manuscripts of the 14th century. A later version was produced in 130 ...

, Le Vaticanus Latinus 4789, CCC.XXXIII, p. 90. a claimant to the thrones of

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...

and

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. Their children became part of the Brienne claim to the Kingdom of Jerusalem. The couple had two children: *

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 ...

(d. 1311), Duke of Athens, Hugh's heir. * Agnes of Brienne, married John, Count of Joigny Isabella's date of death is unknown however, she did not outlive Hugh as he remarried in 1291 to Helena Komnena Dukaina, meaning Isabella must have died before 1291. Hugh and Helena had another daughter named Joanna. Through Isabella, her son Walter was able to claim Duchy of Athens in 1308 upon the death of his cousin

Guy II de la Roche Guy II de la Roche, also known as Guyot or Guidotto (1280 – 5 October 1308), was the Duke of Athens from 1287, the last duke of his family.''The Latins in Greece and the Aegean from the Fourth Crusade to the End of the Middle Ages'', K. M. S ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Isabella de la Roche 13th-century births 13th-century deaths 13th-century women Women of the Duchy of Athens

Isabella Isabella may refer to: People and fictional characters * Isabella (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Isabella (surname), including a list of people Places United States * Isabella, Alabama, an unincorpor ...

Women of the Principality of Achaea