Coat of arms of the Kingdom of Thessalonica

Beatrice of Montferrat (c.1210 – 1274) was an Italian noblewoman, the eldest daughter of

William VI, Marquess of Montferrat William VI (c. 1173 – 17 September 1225) was the tenth Marquis of Montferrat from 1203 and titular King of Thessalonica from 1207. Biography Youth Boniface I's eldest son, and his only son by his first wife, Helena del Bosco, William stood o ...

, and the third wife of

Guigues VI of Viennois Andrew Guigues VI (1184 – 14 March 1237), known as André de Bourgogne, Dauphin of Viennois, was the Count of Albon, Briançon, Grenoble, and Oisans from 1228 until his death. He was the son of Hugh III of Burgundy and Béatrice of Albon. ...

, by whom she had two sons. According to the vida of the troubadour

Gauseran de Saint-Leidier Gauceran or Gauseran de Saint-Leidier was an Auvergnat castellan and troubadour from Saint-Didier-la-Séauve in the Bishopric of Velay. He was the son of a daughter of the troubadour Guilhem de Saint Leidier. According to his '' vida'' he fell i ...

, Beatrice was the ''domna'' (lady), whom he allegedly loved. He celebrated his idealised devotion to her in his ''

cansos The ''canso'' or ''canson'' or ''canzo'' () was a song style used by the troubadours. It was, by far, the most common genre used, especially by early troubadours, and only in the second half of the 13th century was its dominance challenged by a ...

''.

Family

Beatrice was born in about 1210, the eldest daughter and second child of William VI, Marquess of Montferrat and Berta of Clavesana. Her brother was

Boniface II, Marquess of Montferrat Boniface II (July 1202 – 12 June 1253), called the Giant, was the eleventh Marquis of Montferrat from 1225 until his death. He became the titular King of Thessalonica in 1239. Boniface was the son of William VI and his second wife, Berta d ...

, and her younger sister Alix married King

Henry I of Cyprus Henry I of Cyprus, nicknamed the Fat (french: Henri de Lusignan; 3 May 1217 – 18 January 1253 at Nicosia) was King of Cyprus from 1218 to 1253. He was the son of Hugh I of Cyprus and Alice of Champagne. When his father Hugh I died on January 10 ...

. Beatrice's paternal grandparents were

Boniface I, Marquess of Montferrat Boniface I, usually known as Boniface of Montferrat ( it, Bonifacio del Monferrato, link=no; el, Βονιφάτιος Μομφερρατικός, ''Vonifatios Momferratikos'') (c. 1150 – 4 September 1207), was the ninth Marquis of Montferrat ( ...

and his first wife Helena del Bosco; her maternal grandparents were Marquess Boniface of Clavesana, Count of Cortemiglia and his wife who is unnamed.

Marriages and issue

On 21 November 1219, at the age of about nine (or possibly younger), Beatrice married Guigues VI of Viennois. Their marriage was recorded in ''Aymari Rivalli De Allobrogibus''. He was over twenty years her senior and she was his third wife. From 1228 until Guigues' death in 1237, as his wife, she was the Dauphine consort of Viennois as well as the Countess of Albon, Briançon, Grenoble and Oisans. Together they had two sons: *

Guigues VII of Viennois Guigues VII (1225–1269), of the House of Burgundy, was the dauphin of Vienne and count of Albon, Grenoble, Oisans, Briançon, Embrun, and Gap from 1237 to his death. He was the son of Andrew Guigues VI and Beatrice of Montferrat. When ...

(1225–1269), married Beatrice of Savoy, by whom he had issue * John of Viennois (1227–1239) When her husband died in 1237, she help guide their eldest son during his early years as Dauphin. Beatrice was immortalised as the ''domna'' of the

troubadour A troubadour (, ; oc, trobador ) was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100–1350). Since the word ''troubadour'' is etymologically masculine, a female troubadour is usually called a ''trobairi ...

Gauseran de Saint-Leidier, who extolled his idealised and unconsummated love for Beatrice in his ''cansos'', of which only two are extant.

Death

Beatrice died on an unrecorded date in 1274.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Beatrice Of Montferrat 1210 births 1274 deaths 13th-century Italian nobility Aleramici Dauphines of Viennois 13th-century French people 13th-century Italian women 13th-century French women