Louis of Brienne, also known as Louis of Acre (died in 1297), was viscount of

Beaumont-sur-Sarthe Beaumont-sur-Sarthe (, literally ''Beaumont on Sarthe''; pre- revolutionary name: ''Beaumont-le-Vicomte'') is a commune in the Sarthe department and Pays de la Loire region of north-western France. The residents of Beaumont are known in French ...

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and ...

, France.

Early life

Louis was the second son of

John of Brienne John of Brienne ( 1170 – 19–23 March 1237), also known as John I, was King of Jerusalem from 1210 to 1225 and Latin Emperor of Constantinople from 1229 to 1237. He was the youngest son of Erard II of Brienne, a wealthy nobleman in Champag ...

and his third wife,

Berengaria of León Berengaria of León (1204 – 12 April 1237) was the third wife but only empress consort of John of Brienne, Latin Emperor of Constantinople. She was a daughter of Alfonso IX of León and Berengaria of Castile. She was a younger sister of Ferdinan ...

. Louis and his two brothers,

Alfonso Alphons (Latinized ''Alphonsus'', ''Adelphonsus'', or ''Adefonsus'') is a male given name recorded from the 8th century (Alfonso I of Asturias, r. 739–757) in the Christian successor states of the Visigothic kingdom in the Iberian peninsula. ...

and

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 ...

, were commonly labelled as "of Acre" for the capital of the

Kingdom of Jerusalem The Kingdom of Jerusalem ( la, Regnum Hierosolymitanum; fro, Roiaume de Jherusalem), officially known as the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem or the Frankish Kingdom of Palestine,Example (title of works): was a Crusader state that was establish ...

, although they were born years after their father had ruled the kingdom. The barons of the

Latin Empire of Constantinople The Latin Empire, also referred to as the Latin Empire of Constantinople, was a feudal Crusader state founded by the leaders of the Fourth Crusade on lands captured from the Byzantine Empire. The Latin Empire was intended to replace the Byzant ...

offered to elect John of Brienne co-ruler of their minor emperor, Baldwin II, in 1229. John accepted the offer and the terms of his election were included in a treaty in

Perugia Perugia (, , ; lat, Perusia) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber, and of the province of Perugia. The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and pa ...

in April 1229. The treaty stipulated that John's three sons were entitled to rule

Epirus sq, Epiri rup, Epiru , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = Historical region , image_map = Epirus antiquus tabula.jpg , map_alt = , map_caption = Map of ancient Epirus by Heinri ...

and Macedonia if he could occupy the two regions from the Greek ruler,

Theodore Komnenos Doukas Theodore Komnenos Doukas ( el, Θεόδωρος Κομνηνὸς Δούκας, ''Theodōros Komnēnos Doukas'', Latinized as Theodore Comnenus Ducas, died 1253) was ruler of Epirus and Thessaly from 1215 to 1230 and of Thessalonica and most ...

. John and his family moved to Constantinople where Baldwin II married John's daughter,

Marie Marie may refer to: People Name * Marie (given name) * Marie (Japanese given name) * Marie (murder victim), girl who was killed in Florida after being pushed in front of a moving vehicle in 1973 * Marie (died 1759), an enslaved Cree person in Tr ...

, and John was crowned co-emperor in July 1231. Louis and his two brothers left Constantinople in the retinue of Baldwin II who went on a tour in Europe to seek military assistance against the enemies of the Latin Empire in 1236. The French chronicler

Guillaume de Nangis Guillaume de Nangis (died 1300), also known as William of Nangis, was a French chronicler. William was a monk in the Abbey of St.-Denis to the north of Paris. About 1285 he was placed in charge of the abbey library as ''custos cartarum'', and he d ...

noted that the three brothers were still "very young". The chronicler also recorded that King Louis IX of France, who was the three brothers' cousin, received them "honorably and graciously". They grew up in the French royal court in Paris. They participated in the King's crusade against Egypt.

Viscount of Beaumont

Louis married an heiress, Agnes of Beaumont. Through his marriage Louis became the viscount of Beaumont-sur-Sarthe in Maine and a vassal of Louis IX's brother,

Charles of Anjou Charles I (early 1226/12277 January 1285), commonly called Charles of Anjou, was a member of the royal Capetian dynasty and the founder of the second House of Anjou. He was Count of Provence (1246–85) and Forcalquier (1246–48, 1256–85) ...

. Being closely related to King

Alfonso X of Castile Alfonso X (also known as the Wise, es, el Sabio; 23 November 1221 – 4 April 1284) was King of Castile, León and Galicia from 30 May 1252 until his death in 1284. During the election of 1257, a dissident faction chose him to be king of Ger ...

, Louis and his brothers often visited the Castilian royal court where they witnessed a series of royal charters between around 1250 and 1270.

Marriage and children

With his wife Agnes of Beaumont, they had: *John, d. early 1300s, married (1)Jeanne of Guerche, (2)Matilda of Mechelen * Louis, Bishop of Durham *

Henry Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) * Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

, d. 1340, married Alice Comyn heiress of Buchan *Margaret, Countess of Tripoli, d.1328, married Bohemond VII of Antioch *

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 ...

, married John of Vescy *Joan d.1323, married Guy VIII of Laval *Mary married Henry III d'Avaugour

References

Sources

* * * {{Refend House of Brienne Christians of the Seventh Crusade 1297 deaths Sons of emperors