Margaret, often called Margaret of Constantinople (1202 – 10 February 1280), ruled as
Countess of Flanders
The count of Flanders was the ruler or sub-ruler of the county of Flanders, beginning in the 9th century. Later, the title would be held for a time, by the rulers of the Holy Roman Empire and Spain. During the French Revolution, in 1790, the co ...
during 1244–1278 and
Countess of Hainaut during 1244–1253 and 1257–1280. She was the younger daughter of
Baldwin IX
Baldwin I ( nl, Boudewijn; french: Baudouin; July 1172 – ) was the first Emperor of the Latin Empire of Constantinople; Count of Flanders (as Baldwin IX) from 1194 to 1205 and Count of Hainaut (as Baldwin VI) from 1195-1205. Baldwin was on ...
, Count of Flanders and Hainaut, and
Marie of Champagne
Marie of Champagne ( – 29 August 1204) was the first Latin Empress of Constantinople by marriage to Emperor Baldwin I. She acted as regent of Flanders during the absence of her spouse from 1202 until 1204.
Life
Marie was a daughter of Hen ...
.
[''Female Founders: Exercising authority in Thirteenth-century Flanders and Hainaut'', Erin L. Jordan, ''Church History and Religious Culture''. Vol. 88, No. 4, Secular Women in the Documents for Late Medieval Religious Women (2008), 538-539.]
Called ''the Black'' (la Noire) due to her scandalous life, the children of both her marriages disputed the inheritance of her counties in the
War of the Succession of Flanders and Hainault
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = {{PAGENAME
, width =
, partof =
, image = Carte des comtés de Flandre et de Hainaut sous la comtesse Jeanne de Constantinople (1200-1244).png
, image_size = 300px
, alt ...
.
Life
Childhood
Her father left on the
Fourth Crusade
The Fourth Crusade (1202–1204) was a Latin Christian armed expedition called by Pope Innocent III. The stated intent of the expedition was to recapture the Muslim-controlled city of Jerusalem, by first defeating the powerful Egyptian Ayyubid S ...
before she was born, and her mother left two years later, leaving Margaret and her older sister
Joan Joan may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Joan (given name), including a list of women, men and fictional characters
*:Joan of Arc, a French military heroine
* Joan (surname)
Weather events
*Tropical Storm Joan (disambiguation), multip ...
in the guardianship of their uncle
Philip of Namur.
After her mother died in 1204, and her father the next year,
the now-orphaned Margaret and her sister remained under Philip of Namur's guardianship until he gave their wardship to King
Philip II of France
Philip II (21 August 1165 – 14 July 1223), byname Philip Augustus (french: Philippe Auguste), was King of France from 1180 to 1223. His predecessors had been known as kings of the Franks, but from 1190 onward, Philip became the first French ...
. During her time in Paris, she and her sister became familiar with the
Cisterian Order, probably under influence of
Blanche of Castile
Blanche of Castile ( es, Blanca de Castilla; 4 March 1188 – 27 November 1252) was Queen of France by marriage to Louis VIII. She acted as regent twice during the reign of her son, Louis IX: during his minority from 1226 until 1234, and during ...
, the future
Queen consort of France
This is a list of the women who were queen consort, queens or Emperor, empresses as wives of List of French monarchs, French monarchs from the 843 Treaty of Verdun, which gave rise to West Francia, until 1870, when the French Third Republic, Th ...
.
In 1211
Enguerrand III of Coucy offered the King the sum of 50,000
livres
The (; ; abbreviation: ₶.) was one of numerous currencies used in medieval France, and a unit of account (i.e., a monetary unit used in accounting) used in Early Modern France.
The 1262 monetary reform established the as 20 , or 80.88 gr ...
to marry Joan, while his brother Thomas would marry Margaret. However, the Flemish nobility was hostile to the project, which was finally dropped.
First Marriage
After her sister's marriage with
Infante Ferdinand of Portugal, Margaret was placed under the care of
Bouchard of Avesnes
Burchard IV or Bouchard IV (1182–1244) was the lord of Avesnes and Étrœungt. He was the son of James of Avesnes and Adela of Guise and brother of Walter, Count of Blois.(FR)Henri Platelle, ''Présence de l'au-delà: une vision médiévale ...
, Lord of Etroen and a prominent
Hainaut nobleman, who was knighted by Baldwin IX before he parted to the Crusades. In the middle of the war against France for the possession of the Artois and the forced territorial concession made by the
Treaty of Pont-à-Vendin, Joan and Ferdinand wanted to marry Margaret with
William II Longespée
William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...
, heir of the Earldom of Salisbury, in order to reinforce the bonds of Flanders with England; however Bouchard of Avesnes, with the consent of the King of France, prevented the union.
Despite the considerable age difference between them, Bouchard gained Margaret's affection, and in the presence of a significant number of bourgeois of Hainaut, she declared she did not want another husband than him, and before 23 July 1212 they were married.
[Jim Bradbury: ''Philip Augustus: King of France 1180-1223'', (Taylor & Francis, 1998), 324-325.]
After the capture of Ferdinand of Portugal at the
Battle of Bouvines
The Battle of Bouvines was fought on 27 July 1214 near the town of Bouvines in the County of Flanders. It was the concluding battle of the Anglo-French War of 1213–1214. Although estimates on the number of troops vary considerably among mo ...
(27 July 1214), Bouchard of Avesnes claimed to Joan in the name of his wife her share of their inheritance, which led Joan to attempt to get Margaret's marriage dissolved; in addition, the French King began to see Bouchard with suspicion because he fought in the Flemish army.
Philip II informed
Pope Innocent III
Pope Innocent III ( la, Innocentius III; 1160 or 1161 – 16 July 1216), born Lotario dei Conti di Segni (anglicized as Lothar of Segni), was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1198 to his death in 16 J ...
that before his wedding, Bouchard of Avesnes had already received
holy orders as
sub-deacon, so technically his union was illegal. In 1215, at the
Fourth Council of the Lateran
The Fourth Council of the Lateran or Lateran IV was convoked by Pope Innocent III in April 1213 and opened at the Lateran Palace in Rome on 11 November 1215. Due to the great length of time between the Council's convocation and meeting, many bi ...
, the Pope annulled the marriage on this ground; however, Margaret and Bouchard refused to submit and they took refuge at the Castle of
Houffalize
Houffalize (; german: Hohenfels; wa, Oufalijhe) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Luxembourg, Belgium.Sven Vrielinck: De territoriale indeling van België 1795-1963 Volume 1. Universitaire Pers Leuven 2000. page 48 ...
in the
Ardennes under the protection of
Waleran, Count of Luxembourg. In the following four years, they had three sons:
* Baldwin of Avesnes (1217 – 1219), who died in infancy.
*
John of Avesnes (1 May 1218 – 24 December 1257)
*
Baldwin of Avesnes (September 1219 – 10 April 1295)
Second Marriage
In 1219, in a battle against Joan, Bouchard of Avesnes was captured and imprisoned for two years, until 1221, when he was released on the condition that he separate from his wife and made a trip to Rome to get the absolution from the Pope. While he was in Rome in order to obtain not only the forgiveness but also the release of the holy orders to make his union legitimate, Joan took advantage of this to convince Margaret (who after Bouchard's capture came to live at her court, leaving her two sons in France under custody
[Nicholas 1992, p. 157.]) to contract a new wedding. Finally Margaret gave in to her sister's pressures, and between 18 August and 15 November 1223, she married
William II of Dampierre, Lord of Dampierre, a nobleman from
Champagne
Champagne (, ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, that demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, spe ...
. They had five children:
*
William II, Count of Flanders
William III (1224 – 6 June 1251) was the lord of Dampierre from 1231 and count of Flanders from 1247 until his death. He was the son of William II of Dampierre and Margaret II of Flanders.
Margaret inherited Flanders and Hainault in 124 ...
(1224 – 6 June 1251).
*
Joan of Dampierre (c. 1225 – 1245/1246), married in 1239 to Hugh III of Rethel,
[Theodore Evergates, ''The Aristocracy in the County of Champagne, 1100-1300'', 181.] then in 1243 to
Theobald II of Bar
Theobald II (1221– October 1291) was a count of Bar. He was the son of Henry II of Bar and Philippa of Dreux. He became count of Bar when his father was killed during the Barons' Crusade in 1239, but news of Henry's death did not reach him ...
.
*
Guy of Dampierre
Guy of Dampierre (french: Gui de Dampierre; nl, Gwijde van Dampierre) ( – 7 March 1305, Compiègne) was the Count of Flanders (1251–1305) and Marquis of Namur (1264–1305). He was a prisoner of the French when his Flemings defeated the ...
(c. 1226 – 7 March 1305).
* John of Dampierre (c. 1228 – 1258), Lord of Dampierre-sur-l'Aube, Sompuis and Saint-Dizier, Viscount of Troyes and Constable of Champagne.
* Marie of Dampierre (c. 1230 – 21 December 1302), Abbess of Flines, near Douai.
This situation caused something of a scandal, for the marriage was possibly
bigamous
In cultures where monogamy is mandated, bigamy is the act of entering into a marriage with one person while still legally married to another. A legal or de facto separation of the couple does not alter their marital status as married persons. I ...
, and violated the church's strictures on
consanguinity
Consanguinity ("blood relation", from Latin '' consanguinitas'') is the characteristic of having a kinship with another person (being descended from a common ancestor).
Many jurisdictions have laws prohibiting people who are related by blood fr ...
as well. The disputes regarding the validity of the two marriages and the legitimacy of Margaret's children by each husband continued for decades, becoming entangled in the politics of the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...
and resulting in the long
War of the Succession of Flanders and Hainault
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = {{PAGENAME
, width =
, partof =
, image = Carte des comtés de Flandre et de Hainaut sous la comtesse Jeanne de Constantinople (1200-1244).png
, image_size = 300px
, alt ...
.
Countess of Flanders and Hainaut
At the death of her sister Joan in 1244, Margaret succeeded her as Countess of Flanders and Hainaut. Almost immediately, her sons from both marriages began the fight for the inheritance of the Counties, with the question of the validity of her first marriage to Bouchard of Avesnes was then raised, as if it was indeed illegitimate the inheritance of Flanders and Hainaut was passed only to the children from her second marriage, already favored by Margaret in 1245 when she paid homage to King
Louis IX of France
Louis IX (25 April 1214 – 25 August 1270), commonly known as Saint Louis or Louis the Saint, was King of France from 1226 to 1270, and the most illustrious of the Direct Capetians. He was crowned in Reims at the age of 12, following the ...
: at that point, she tried to obtain from the French King the recognition of William of Dampierre, the eldest son of her second marriage, as sole heir, arguing that
Pope Gregory IX
Pope Gregory IX ( la, Gregorius IX; born Ugolino di Conti; c. 1145 or before 1170 – 22 August 1241) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 March 1227 until his death in 1241. He is known for issuing the '' Decre ...
declared her first marriage invalid on 31 March 1237 and thus her sons from this union were illegitimate.
In 1246 Louis IX, acting as an arbitrator, gave the right to inherit Flanders to the Dampierre children, and the rights to Hainaut to the Avesnes children.
[Van Hasselt, p. 33.] This would seem to have settled the matter, but neither party accepted the solomonic decision of the French King, while responding to the spirit of fairness of the monarch, it had a political effect clearly advantageous for the interests of France, to dislocate the county, and served to avoid war.
[Lottin, p. 105.] However, in 1248 John of Avesnes took advantage of the departure of Louis IX and William of Dampierre for the Crusades, to initiate war against his mother, taking Hainaut and Alost with other surrounding Flemish lands.
Margaret, thinking that the inheritance disputes were finally over after her son William of Dampierre paid homage for Flanders as her co-ruler to both Louis IX (in October 1246) and
Emperor Frederick II (in 1248), made the political mistake of obtaining from the Pope, in 1251, the legitimation of both John and Baldwin of Avesnes; this gave them rights of birth over the Counties.
The unexpected death of William of Dampierre (6 June 1251) –who reportedly died from injuries received during a tournament, although his mother suspected that the allies of Avesnes were responsible–
[C. C. Bayley: ''The Formation of the German College of Electors in the mid-Thirteenth Century'', Toronto 1949, p. 39.] caused the renewal of the hostilities when John of Avesnes, who was uneasy about his rights, convinced
William II of Holland
William II (February 1227 – 28 January 1256) was the Count of Holland and Zeeland from 1234 until his death. He was elected anti-king of Germany in 1248 and ruled as sole king from 1254 onwards.
Early life
William was the eldest son and heir ...
, the German King recognized by the pro-papal forces, to seize Hainaut and the parts of Flanders which were within the bounds of the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...
. William II was theoretically, as King, overlord of these territories, and also John's brother-in-law. A civil war followed, which ended when the Avesnes forces defeated and imprisoned Guy of Dampierre (who had succeeded his brother as co-ruler of Flanders) at Westkappel, on the island of Walcheren, in July 1253.
Margaret offered the County of Hainaut to
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) i ...
(brother of Louis IX) in order to obtain his military intervention against William II.
Charles besieged
Valenciennes
Valenciennes (, also , , ; nl, label=also Dutch, Valencijn; pcd, Valincyinnes or ; la, Valentianae) is a commune in the Nord department, Hauts-de-France, France.
It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced a s ...
, but a truce was negotiated between all parties on 26 July 1254, which included an agreement to submit the dispute to Louis IX for adjudication.
Guy of Dampierre was ransomed in 1256 and Louis IX confirmed his 1246 decision regarding the Hainaut-Flanders split between the Avesnes and Dampierre children, while Charles of Anjou renounced to all his claims over Hainaut. The death of John of Avesnes in 1257 put a temporary halt over the already costly internecine quarrel.
The chronicler
Matthew Paris
Matthew Paris, also known as Matthew of Paris ( la, Matthæus Parisiensis, lit=Matthew the Parisian; c. 1200 – 1259), was an English Benedictine monk, chronicler, artist in illuminated manuscripts and cartographer, based at St Albans Abbey ...
called Margaret "''...a new Medea guilty of the death of many honest knights''". He related that after the capture of Guy and John of Dampierre at Westkappel, John of Avesnes sought to use them as hostages to force his mother to negotiate peace; supposedly, the harsh response of the Countess was:
Because the Avesnes heir, her grandson
John II John II may refer to:
People
* John Cicero, Elector of Brandenburg (1455–1499)
* John II Casimir Vasa of Poland (1609–1672)
* John II Comyn, Lord of Badenoch (died 1302)
* John II Doukas of Thessaly (1303–1318)
* John II Komnenos (1087–1 ...
was still under-age, Margaret managed to recover the government of Hainaut, while in Flanders she remained co-ruler with her son Guy of Dampierre until 29 December 1278, when she abdicated in his favor. She administered Hainaut as solely ruling countess until May 1279, when she appointed John II as her co-ruler in Hainaut. She died nine months later, in February 1280.
[Karen Nicholas: ''Countesses as Rulers in Flanders'' in: ''Aristocratic Women in Medieval France'', ed. Theodore Evergates (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania, 1999).] John II of Avesnes succeeded her as sole Count of Hainaut.
Margaret's death ended the personal union between Flanders and Hainaut, which had lasted for nearly a century. The two counties were reunited again only in 1432 when
Jacqueline of Bavaria, the Avesnes heiress, surrendered her domains to
Philip III, Duke of Burgundy
Philip III (french: Philippe le Bon; nl, Filips de Goede; 31 July 1396 – 15 June 1467) was Duke of Burgundy from 1419 until his death. He was a member of a cadet line of the Valois dynasty, to which all 15th-century kings of France belonged ...
, the Dampierre heir.
Political role
Economy
Like her sister, Margaret conducted an economic policy designed to encourage international commerce. She removed restrictions on foreigner traders, despite pressures from local traders, who wanted to maintain monopolies. She also issued a new coinage. The huge debts that she contracted due to the War of Succession, however, forced Margaret to make concessions to the main Flemish cities, which became autonomous entities.
Her policies also helped to turn
Bruges
Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country, and the sixth-largest city of the countr ...
into an international port, granting privileges to the merchants of
Poitou
Poitou (, , ; ; Poitevin: ''Poetou'') was a province of west-central France whose capital city was Poitiers. Both Poitou and Poitiers are named after the Pictones Gallic tribe.
Geography
The main historical cities are Poitiers (historical c ...
,
Gascony
Gascony (; french: Gascogne ; oc, Gasconha ; eu, Gaskoinia) was a province of the southwestern Kingdom of France that succeeded the Duchy of Gascony (602–1453). From the 17th century until the French Revolution (1789–1799), it was part o ...
and
Castile, in addition to improvements in the water gates. During 1270-1275 she became involved in a trade war with England, probably the first time that the economy was openly used as a weapon in a conflict between states with unfavorable outcome. Margaret demanded from England payments for her support during the revolt of
Simon de Montfort
Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester ( – 4 August 1265), later sometimes referred to as Simon V de Montfort to distinguish him from his namesake relatives, was a nobleman of French origin and a member of the English peerage, who led the ...
. King
Henry III claimed that because he recruited mercenary soldiers, he did not see any reason to make payments.
In retaliation, Margaret seized the possessions of English merchants in Flanders. Henry III and later his son and successor
Edward I seized those of Flemish merchants in England and also stopped the exports of wool to Flanders. Townspeople who depended on the textile trade pressured the Countess and her son Guy to enter into negotiations with the English; henceforth the Flemish no longer dominated the transport of goods between the continent and England.
Religion
Like her sister, Margaret supported and founded religious houses.
In 1245, she founded the
Béguinage
A beguinage, from the French term ''béguinage'', is an architectural complex which was created to house beguines: lay religious women who lived in community without taking vows or retiring from the world.
Originally the beguine institution was ...
in Bruges. She also had an interest in architecture and patronized writers and poets. In 1260 she founded the Abbey of Saint Elizabeth du Quesnoy, now destroyed.
Eugène François Joseph Tailliar: ''Recueil d a̕ctes des XIIe et XIIIe siècles en langue romane wallonne du Nord de la France''- A. d'A̕ubers ed., 1849
Closely related to the Dominican Order
The Order of Preachers ( la, Ordo Praedicatorum) abbreviated OP, also known as the Dominicans, is a Catholic mendicant order of Pontifical Right for men founded in Toulouse, France, by the Spanish priest, saint and mystic Dominic of Cal ...
during her stay in Valenciennes
Valenciennes (, also , , ; nl, label=also Dutch, Valencijn; pcd, Valincyinnes or ; la, Valentianae) is a commune in the Nord department, Hauts-de-France, France.
It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced a s ...
after her marital separation, Margaret founded convents of this order in Ypres
Ypres ( , ; nl, Ieper ; vls, Yper; german: Ypern ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though
the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality co ...
and Douai
Douai (, , ,; pcd, Doï; nl, Dowaai; formerly spelled Douay or Doway in English) is a city in the Nord département in northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. Located on the river Scarpe some from Lille and from Arras, D ...
.
Ancestry
Notes
Sources
*
*
*
*
*
*
* Lottin, Alain. ''Histoire des provinces françaises du nord'', Westhoek-Editions, 1989, .
* Van Hasselt, André and Van Hasselt, M
''Historia de Béljica y Holanda'' (in Spanish)
Barcelona, Imprenta del Imparcial, 1884.
* Wade Labarge, Margaret. ''La mujer en la Edad Media'' (in Spanish), Madrid, Ed. Nerea, 1988, .
* Kerrebrouck, P. Van. ''Les Capétiens 987-1328'', Villeneuve d'Asq, 2000.
External links
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20050305044526/http://www.briantimms.com/rolls/WalfordsC1.html Coat of Arms in the Walford Roll
{{DEFAULTSORT:Margaret II, Countess Of Flanders
1202 births
1280 deaths
Margaret II
Margaret II
French countesses
French suo jure nobility
People excommunicated by the Catholic Church
13th-century French people
13th-century French women
13th-century women rulers
Nobility from Ghent
13th-century women from the county of Flanders