Constance of France ( – ) was a French princess of the

House of Capet The House of Capet () ruled the Kingdom of France from 987 to 1328. It was the most senior line of the Capetian dynasty – itself a derivative dynasty from the Robertians and the Karlings. The direct line of the House of Capet came to an ...

, the only daughter of

Louis VI of France Louis VI (1 December 1081 – 1 August 1137), called the Fat () or the Fighter (), was List of French monarchs, King of the Franks from 1108 to 1137. Like his father Philip I of France, Philip I, Louis made a lasting contribution to centralizing ...

and his wife

Adélaide de Maurienne Adelaide of Maurienne, also called Alix or Adele (1092 – 18 November 1154) was Queen of France as the second wife of King Louis VI (1115–1137). Family Adelaide was the daughter of Count Humbert II of Savoy and Gisela of Burgundy. Adelaide' ...

. Amongst her siblings was

Louis VII Louis VII (1120 – 18 September 1180), called the Younger or the Young () to differentiate him from his father Louis VI, was King of France from 1137 to 1180. His first marriage was to Duchess Eleanor of Aquitaine, one of the wealthiest and ...

, who succeeded their father in 1137.

Life

In 1140, Constance married

Eustace IV, Count of Boulogne Eustace IV (c. 1129/1131 17 August 1153) ruled the County of Boulogne from 1146 until his death. He was the eldest son of King Stephen of England and Countess Matilda I of Boulogne. When his father seized the English throne on Henry I's death in ...

, son of

Stephen, King of England Stephen (1092 or 1096 – 25 October 1154), often referred to as Stephen of Blois, was King of England from 22 December 1135 to his death in 1154. He was Count of Boulogne ''jure uxoris'' from 1125 until 1147 and Duke of Normandy from 1135 ...

. The couple were married for thirteen years until Eustace's death, they had no children. The following year, Constance was married to

Raymond V, Count of Toulouse Raymond V (; c. 1134 – c. 1194) was Count of Toulouse from 1148 until his death in 1194. He was the son of Alphonse I of Toulouse and Faydida of Provence. Alphonse took his son with him on the Second Crusade in 1147. When Alphonse died i ...

. The marriage was arranged by her brother, who was in need of allies against

Henry II of England Henry II () was King of England The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the form of government used by the United Kingdom by which a hereditary monarch reigns as the head of state, with the ...

, particularly after the latter bolstered his presence in France by marrying Louis's former wife,

Eleanor, Duchess of Aquitaine Eleanor of Aquitaine ( or ; ; , or ; – 1 April 1204) was Duchess of Aquitaine from 1137 to 1204, Queen of France from 1137 to 1152 as the wife of King Louis VII, and Queen of England from 1154 to 1189 as the wife of King Henry II. As ...

. The marriage was an unhappy one, a factor that can explain the tense relationship between Raymond and Louis. After a decade of marriage, Raymond broke from Louis and moved towards a partnership with

Frederick Barbarossa Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (; ), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death in 1190. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aachen on 9 March 115 ...

. Constance wrote to Louis, complaining that she was isolated in Toulouse; the courtiers ignored her and her servants did not obey her orders. In addition, Constance was displeased by her husband taking mistresses. In 1165, she fled from Toulouse and returned to Paris. In 1166, with the support of

Antipope Paschal III Antipope Paschal III (Latin: ''Paschalis III''; ) was a 12th-century clergyman who, from 1164 to 1168, was the second antipope to challenge the reign of Pope Alexander III. He had previously served as Cardinal of St. Maria. Biography Born Gu ...

and Frederick, Raymond repudiated Constance. Having lost the favour of Louis, Raymond was forced to perform homage to Henry for Toulouse at

Limoges Limoges ( , , ; , locally ) is a city and Communes of France, commune, and the prefecture of the Haute-Vienne Departments of France, department in west-central France. It was the administrative capital of the former Limousin region. Situated o ...

in 1173.C. Taylor, ''Heresy in Medieval France: Dualism in Aquitaine and the Agenais, 1000-1249'' (Boydell & Brewer, 2005), p.148

Issue

Raymond and Constance had four children together, they were: #

Raymond VI Raymond VI (; 27 October 1156 – 2 August 1222) was Count of Toulouse and Marquis of Provence from 1194 to 1222. He was also Count of Melgueil (as Raymond IV) from 1173 to 1190. Early life Raymond was born at Saint-Gilles, Gard, the son of ...

, who succeeded his father # William Taillefer # Adelaide or Adelais # Baldwin of Toulouse, born 1165, executed on the orders of Raymond VI in 1214

References

Sources

*Bom, M. M., ''Constance of France. Womanhood and Agency in Twelfth-Century Europe'' (Palgrave MacMillan, 2022) *Cheyette, F. L., ''Ermengard of Narbonne and the World of the Troubadours'' (Cornell University Press, 2001) *Costen, M. D., ''The Cathars and the Albigensian Crusade'' (Manchester University Press, 1997) *James, G. P. R., ''A History of the Life of Richard Cœur-de-Lion, King of England, Volume 1'' (Saunders and Otley, 1841) *Reddy, W. M., ''The Making of Romantic Love: Longing and Sexuality in Europe, South Asia, and Japan, 900-1200 CE'' (University of Chicago Press, 2012) *Seward, D., ''Eleanor of Aquitaine: The Mother Queen of the Middle Ages'' (Pegasus Books, 2014) *Taylor, C., ''Heresy in Medieval France: Dualism in Aquitaine and the Agenais, 1000-1249'' (Boydell & Brewer, 2005) {{DEFAULTSORT:Constance Of France, Countess Of Toulouse 1120s births 1190 deaths 12th-century French people 12th-century French women French princesses

Constance Constance may refer to: Places * Constance, Kentucky, United States, an unincorporated community * Constance, Minnesota, United States, an unincorporated community * Mount Constance, Washington State, United States * Lake Constance (disambiguat ...

Countesses of Toulouse Countesses of Boulogne Eustace IV, Count of Boulogne Daughters of kings