Catherine of Alençon
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Catherine d'Alençon (bef.1396 – 22 June 1462 in Paris) was the Duchess consort of Bavaria as the second spouse of
Louis VII, Duke of Bavaria Louis VII (c. 1368 – 1 May 1447), called the Bearded (German: ''Ludwig der Bärtige'') was the Duke of Bavaria-Ingolstadt from 1413 until 1443. He was a son of Duke Stephen III and Taddea Visconti. Biography As brother of Isabella of Bavari ...
. She was a younger daughter of Peter II of Alençon and his wife Marie Chamaillart, Viscountess of Beaumont-au-Maine. Catherine was also
maid of honour A maid of honour is a junior attendant of a queen in royal households. The position was and is junior to the lady-in-waiting. The equivalent title and office has historically been used in most European royal courts. Role Traditionally, a queen ...
to Louis' sister,
Isabeau of Bavaria Isabeau of Bavaria (or Isabelle; also Elisabeth of Bavaria-Ingolstadt; c. 1370 – September 1435) was Queen of France from 1385 to 1422. She was born into the House of Wittelsbach as the only daughter of Duke Stephen III of Bavaria-Ingols ...
.


Life

Catherine came from a branch of the French royal family, the
House of Valois The Capetian house of Valois ( , also , ) was a cadet branch of the Capetian dynasty. They succeeded the House of Capet (or "Direct Capetians") to the French throne, and were the royal house of France from 1328 to 1589. Junior members of the f ...
; her family was known as The House of Valois-Alençon. Her brother
John I, Duke of Alençon John I of Alençon, known as the Wise (1385 – 25 October 1415), was a French nobleman, killed at the Battle of Agincourt. John was born in Château d'Essay, the son of Peter II of Alençon and Marie de Chamaillard. In 1404, he succeede ...
was killed at the Battle of Agincourt against Henry V of England. Catherine married in 1411 to the 30-year-old Peter of Évreux, Count of Mortain. Peter was a brother of
Charles III of Navarre Charles III (1361 – 8 September 1425), called the Noble, was King of Navarre from 1387 to his death and Count of Évreux from 1387 to 1404, when he exchanged it for the title Duke of Nemours. He spent his reign improving the infrastructure of ...
. After only one year of marriage, Peter died, the marriage produced no children. One year after Peter's death, Catherine was betrothed again to
Louis VII, Duke of Bavaria Louis VII (c. 1368 – 1 May 1447), called the Bearded (German: ''Ludwig der Bärtige'') was the Duke of Bavaria-Ingolstadt from 1413 until 1443. He was a son of Duke Stephen III and Taddea Visconti. Biography As brother of Isabella of Bavari ...
, brother of Isabeau, Queen of France. The wedding, however, had to be postponed, as Catherine's future husband was taken prisoner. The wedding took place on Louis' release in early October 1413. Catherine's Dowry covered not only the county of Mortain, 60,000 francs but it also created connections between
Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
and France. Louis travelled in early 1415 as head of the French embassy to the Council of Constance. Catherine's husband gave the County of Mortain, from Catherine's dowry to
John the Fearless John I (french: Jean sans Peur; nl, Jan zonder Vrees; 28 May 137110 September 1419) was a scion of the French royal family who ruled the Burgundian State from 1404 until his death in 1419. He played a key role in French national affairs durin ...
,
Duke of Burgundy Duke of Burgundy (french: duc de Bourgogne) was a title used by the rulers of the Duchy of Burgundy, from its establishment in 843 to its annexation by France in 1477, and later by Holy Roman Emperors and Kings of Spain from the House of Habsburg ...
, to free his wife, during the Armagnac-Burgundian Civil War in 1417, she had been taken prisoner by
Bernard VII of Armagnac Bernard VII, Count of Armagnac (1360 – 12 June 1418) was Count of Armagnac and Constable of France. He was the son of John II, Count of Armagnac, and Jeanne de Périgord. He succeeded in Armagnac at the death of his brother, John III, in ...
and did not care for their financial supply. Catherine lost all of their income by
Henry V Henry V may refer to: People * Henry V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1026) * Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1081/86–1125) * Henry V, Duke of Carinthia (died 1161) * Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (c. 1173–1227) * Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (1 ...
's successful invasion. Henry took the county of Mortain and occupied their heritages in
Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
. Even precious utensils, documents and account books were taken by the English. Help finally came not from her husband, but from the English king, who made an agreement with the French King, the
Treaty of Troyes The Treaty of Troyes was an agreement that King Henry V of England and his heirs would inherit the French throne upon the death of King Charles VI of France. It was formally signed in the French city of Troyes on 21 May 1420 in the aftermath of ...
, which gave Catherine 2000 francs per year as compensation for her losses. In 1421 Catherine even travelled to England, as lady-in-waiting to the wife of the King Henry,
Catherine of Valois Catherine of Valois or Catherine of France (27 October 1401 – 3 January 1437) was Queen of England from 1420 until 1422. A daughter of Charles VI of France, she was married to Henry V of England and gave birth to his heir Henry VI of Englan ...
, who was Catherine's niece. Catherine even assisted in the birth of their child, Henry VI of England. Catherine's second husband,
Louis VII, Duke of Bavaria Louis VII (c. 1368 – 1 May 1447), called the Bearded (German: ''Ludwig der Bärtige'') was the Duke of Bavaria-Ingolstadt from 1413 until 1443. He was a son of Duke Stephen III and Taddea Visconti. Biography As brother of Isabella of Bavari ...
, died on 1 May 1447 at Burghausen. Catherine joined the household of her sister-in-law, Isabeau. Catherine died 1462 in Paris and was buried in the Abbey of Sainte-Geneviève. She is now buried next to her first husband, Peter.


Children

Louis and Catherine had two children: *John of Bavaria (b. 6 February 1415), died young *unnamed daughter, died young Catherine left no surviving children.


Ancestry


Literature

*Claudia Märtl: Frankreich. Herzog Ludwig VII. von Bayern-Ingolstadt (1368–1447) und seine Schwester Isabeau am französischen Königshof. In: Alois Schmid, Katharina Weigand (eds.): Bayern mitten in Europa. Vom Frühmittelalter bis ins 20. Jahrhundert. C. H. Beck, Munich 2005, , P. 107-120, especially p. 116-117. *Beatrix Schönewald: Die Herzoginnen von Bayern-Ingolstadt. In: Sammelblatt des Historischen Vereins Ingolstadt. Volume 113, 2004, p. 35-54, especially p. 48-52. *Theodor Straub: Bayern im Zeichen der Teilungen und Teilherzogtümer. In: Max Spindler, Andreas Kraus (eds.): Handbuch der bayerischen Geschichte. 2nd edition. Vol. 2, C. H. Beck, Munich 1988, , p. 196-287, especially p. 245. *Theodor Straub: Die fünf Ingolstädter Herzoginnen. In: Bayern-Ingolstadt, Bayern-Landshut. 1392–1506. Glanz und Elend einer Teilung. Stadtarchiv Ingolstadt 1992, , P. 43-50, especially p. 47-49.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Catherine Of Alencon 14th-century births 1462 deaths House of Valois-Alençon People of the Hundred Years' War Year of birth uncertain 14th-century French people 14th-century French women 15th-century French people 15th-century French women French ladies-in-waiting