Isabella of France (1 October 1348 – 11 September 1372) was a French

princess Princess is a regal rank and the feminine equivalent of prince (from Latin '' princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or for the daughter of a king or prince. Princess as a subs ...

and member of 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 ...

, as well as the wife of

Gian Galeazzo Visconti Gian Galeazzo Visconti (16 October 1351 – 3 September 1402), was the first duke of Milan (1395) and ruled the late-medieval city just before the dawn of the Renaissance. He also ruled Lombardy jointly with his uncle Bernabò. He was the found ...

, who after her death became

Duke of Milan The following is a list of rulers of Milan from the 13th century to 1814, after which it was incorporated into the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia by the Congress of Vienna. Before elevation to duchy Until 1259, Milan was a free commune that ele ...

Life

Born in

Bois de Vincennes The Bois de Vincennes (), located on the eastern edge of Paris, is the largest public park in the city. It was created between 1855 and 1866 by Emperor Napoleon III. The park is next to the Château de Vincennes, a former residence of the King ...

, Isabella was the youngest daughter of King

John II of France John II (french: Jean II; 26 April 1319 – 8 April 1364), called John the Good (French: ''Jean le Bon''), was King of France from 1350 until his death in 1364. When he came to power, France faced several disasters: the Black Death, which killed ...

by his first wife,

Bonne of Bohemia Bonne of Luxemburg or Jutta of Luxemburg (20 May 131511 September 1349), was born Jutta (Judith), the second daughter of King John of Bohemia, and his first wife, Elisabeth of Bohemia. She was the first wife of King John II of France; however, as ...

. Her maternal uncle Count

Amadeus VI of Savoy Amadeus VI (4 January 1334 – 1 March 1383), nicknamed the Green Count ( it, Il Conte Verde) was Count of Savoy from 1343 to 1383. He was the eldest son of Aymon, Count of Savoy, and Yolande Palaeologina of Montferrat. Though he started under ...

arranged her marriage with

. As her dowry, Isabella received the county of Sommières, exchanged later for the county of

Vertus Vertus () is a former commune in the Marne department in north-eastern France. On 1 January 2018, it was merged into the new commune of Blancs-Coteaux. The Encyclopédiste Antoine-Claude-Pierre Masson de La Motte-Conflans (1727–1801) was born ...

. On 8 October 1360, Isabella and Gian Galeazzo were married in Milan, and six months later, in April 1361, she was declared sovereign Countess of Vertus. The couple had four children: *Gian Galeazzo, born 1366 *Azzone, 1368–1380 * Valentina (b. Pavia, 1371 – d. Château de Blois, Loir-et-Cher, 14 December 1408), married on 17 August 1389 to Louis I, Duke of Orléans *Carlo, born 1372. Only Valentina lived to adulthood; Isabella died giving birth to Carlo in

Pavia Pavia (, , , ; la, Ticinum; Medieval Latin: ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy in northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was the ...

in 1372 and was buried in the church of San Francesco.

Family tree of Isabella of Vertus

References

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Isabella of Valois Deaths in childbirth House of Valois 1348 births 1373 deaths French princesses House of Visconti 14th-century French people 14th-century French women Daughters of kings