Margaret of Nully (french: Marguerite de Nully) also known as Margaret of Passavant, was the hereditary Lady of Passavant, Akova and Mitopoli in the

Principality of Achaea The Principality of Achaea () or Principality of Morea was one of the three vassal states of the Latin Empire, which replaced the Byzantine Empire after the capture of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade. It became a vassal of the Kingdom ...

, in

Frankish Greece The ''Frankokratia'' ( el, Φραγκοκρατία, la, Francocratia, sometimes anglicized as Francocracy, "rule of the Franks"), also known as ''Latinokratia'' ( el, Λατινοκρατία, la, Latinocratia, "rule of the Latins") and ...

Life

Margaret, born some time before 1240, was a daughter of

John of Nully John of Nully (french: Jean de Neuilly or ''Nully'') was a French knight from Nully became the first Baron of Passavant in the Principality of Achaea. The date of his death is unknown. Life John of Nully is generally supposed to have been the ...

, Baron of Passavant and Marshal of Achaea, and of a sister of Walter of Rosières, the Baron of Akova. Since Walter of Rosières was childless, she was the joint heiress of both baronies. Her first marriage was to Guibert of Cors, who was killed at the Battle of Karydi in 1258. In 1261 she was sent as a hostage to the

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

court of

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

, in exchange for the release of 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 ...

and the majority of his nobles, who had been captured at the Battle of Pelagonia in 1259. Margaret remained in the

court until ca. 1275, during which time Passavant was lost to the Byzantines, and her uncle Walter died (ca. 1273). On her return to the Principality, she tried to claim her uncle's inheritance but was denied, since by Achaean feudal law, any heir had to bring his claim within at least two years and two days from the death of the last holder, or the claim was forfeit. As Margaret had delayed her arrival, Prince William had already confiscated the Barony of Akova. Margaret's claims became the subject of a celebrated legal dispute, which was abjudicated in a parliament held at Glarentsa, probably in 1276. Following the counsel of her supporters, she married John of Saint Omer, the younger brother of the very influential lord of Thebes,

Nicholas II of Saint Omer Nicholas II of Saint Omer was the lord of half of Thebes in Frankish Greece from 1258 to his death in 1294. From his two marriages he became one of the richest and most powerful barons of his time, building a splendid castle at Thebes as well as t ...

, to promote her claims. In the event, the parliament found in favour of the Prince, but William nevertheless ceded a third of the barony (eight knight's fiefs) to Margaret and John, while the remainder, along with the fortress of Akova itself, became a fief of William's youngest daughter, Margaret.

References

Sources

* {{Authority control Women of the Principality of Achaea 13th-century women rulers Prisoners and detainees of the Byzantine Empire 13th-century births Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown 13th-century people of the Principality of Achaea