Peter I of Alençon (c. 1251 – 6 April 1284) was the son of

Louis IX of France Louis IX (25 April 1214 – 25 August 1270), also known as Saint Louis, was King of France from 1226 until his death in 1270. He is widely recognized as the most distinguished of the Direct Capetians. Following the death of his father, Louis VI ...

and

Margaret of Provence Margaret of Provence (; 1221 – 20 December 1295) was Queen of France by marriage to Louis IX of France, King Louis IX. Early life Margaret was born in the spring of 1221 in Forcalquier. She was the eldest of four daughters of Ramon Berenguer ...

. He became

Count of Alençon Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility.L. G. Pine, Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty'' ...

in 1269 and in 1284, Count of

Blois Blois ( ; ) is a commune and the capital city of Loir-et-Cher Departments of France, department, in Centre-Val de Loire, France, on the banks of the lower Loire river between Orléans and Tours. With 45,898 inhabitants by 2019, Blois is the mos ...

and

Chartres Chartres () is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Eure-et-Loir Departments of France, department in the Centre-Val de Loire Regions of France, region in France. It is located about southwest of Paris. At the 2019 census, there were 1 ...

, and Seigneur de Guise in 1272 and 1284. He was also

Count of Perche The county of Perche was a medieval county lying between Normandy and Maine (province), Maine. It was held by a continuous line of counts until 1226. One of these, Geoffroy III, would have been a leader of the Fourth Crusade had he not died before ...

Life

Peter was born at

Atlit Atlit or Athlit may refer to: Places * Atlit, an historical fortified town in Israel, also known as Château Pèlerin * Atlit (modern town), a nearby town in Israel Media *Athlit (album), ''Athlit'' (album), an ambient music album by Oöphoi *Atli ...

, Kingdom of Jerusalem, while his father led the

Seventh Crusade The Seventh Crusade (1248–1254) was the first of the two Crusades led by Louis IX of France. Also known as the Crusade of Louis IX to the Holy Land, it aimed to reclaim the Holy Land by attacking Egypt, the main seat of Muslim power in the Nea ...

. Back in France, he lived in Paris until 1269 when his father gave him in appanage the County of Alençon. He accompanied his father to Tunis during

Eighth Crusade The Eighth Crusade was the second Crusade launched by Louis IX of France, this one against the Hafsid dynasty in Tunisia in 1270. It is also known as the Crusade of Louis IX Against Tunis or the Second Crusade of Louis. The Crusade did not see an ...

(1270), but this expedition was a fiasco, because of the

dysentery Dysentery ( , ), historically known as the bloody flux, is a type of gastroenteritis that results in bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. Complications may include dehyd ...

epidemic that decimated the army of crusaders. His father and his brother Jean Tristan succumbed to the disease. Following the death of his father in 1270, Louis IX, Peter's brother

Philip Philip, also Phillip, is a male name derived from the Macedonian Old Koine language, Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominen ...

became king of France. One of Philip III's first acts was to name Peter as regent in the event of his death. Around that time, the chaplain Andrew of Hungary became attached to Peter's court. He wrote a history of the Charles of Anjou's conquest of Sicily and dedicated it to Peter. In December 1282, during the

Sicilian Vespers The Sicilian Vespers (; ) was a successful rebellion on the island of Sicily that broke out at Easter 1282 against the rule of the French-born king Charles I of Anjou. Since taking control of the Kingdom of Sicily in 1266, the Capetian House ...

, Peter marched his army to Naples to assist his uncle

Charles I of Sicily Charles I (early 1226/12277 January 1285), commonly called Charles of Anjou or Charles d'Anjou, was King of Sicily from 1266 to 1285. He was a member of the royal Capetian dynasty and the founder of the House of Anjou-Sicily. Between 1246 and ...

, stopping at

Reggio Calabria Reggio di Calabria (; ), commonly and officially referred to as Reggio Calabria, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, is the List of cities in Italy, largest city in Calabria as well as the seat of the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria. As ...

. By January 1283, he was at Catona, a suburb of Reggio, when he was attacked by Aragonese mercenaries and killed. His body was taken to Paris, where he was buried, with his heart interred at the now-demolished church of the Couvent des Jacobins. After his death without surviving sons, his portion of Alençon returned to the Crown. His widow did not remarry and sold Chartres in 1286 to King Philip IV the Fair. On her death Guise and Blois passed to her cousin

Hugh Hugh is the English-language variant of the masculine given name , itself the Old French variant of '' Hugo (name)">Hugo'', a short form of Continental Germanic Germanic name">given names beginning in the element "mind, spirit" (Old English ). ...

of the House of Châtillon.

Marriage

Peter married in 1272 to Joan of Châtillon, which brought him the lands Blois, Chartres and Guise. They had two sons, namely: * Louis (1276–1277) * Philip (1278–1279)

References

Sources

* * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Peter 01, Count of Alencon 1250s births 1284 deaths 13th-century French nobility People from Haifa District Sons of kings Counts of Alençon Counts of Perche Counts of Blois Counts of Chartres Children of Louis IX of France French military personnel killed in action Christians of the Eighth Crusade