| Isabella of Aragon | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Queen consort of France | |
| Tenure | 25 August 1270 – 28 January 1271 |
| Born | 1248 |
| Died | 28 January 1271 (aged 22–23) Cosenza, Kingdom of Sicily |
| Burial | |
| Spouse | |
| Issue | |
| House | Barcelona |
| Father | James I of Aragon |
| Mother | Violant of Hungary |
Isabella of Aragon (c. 1247 – 28 January 1271), was Queen of France [1] from 1270 to 1271 by marriage to Philip III of France. [2]
Isabella was the eighth child and youngest daughter of King James I of Aragon [3] and his second wife, Violant of Hungary. [4] Her exact date of birth was not recorded, but she certainly was born in late 1247 or early 1248 since her father, who financially supported the Monastery of Santa María de Sigena, stipulated in his will in January 1248 that if he had another son, he should become a knight Templar and if the child was a daughter, she should enter Santa María de Sigena as a nun. The will was certainly abandoned before Isabella's birth because she was married. [5] [6]
On 11 May 1258, the Treaty of Corbeil was concluded between Isabella's father and King Louis IX of France. As part of the agreement a betrothal was arranged between Louis's second son, Philip, and Isabella, the youngest daughter of James I. [7] The formal wedding took place on 28 May 1262 at the city of Clairmont (currently Clermont-Ferrand); by that time, Philip was already the heir apparent to the French throne due to the death of his older brother, Louis, in 1260.
Having accompanied her husband and father-in-law on the Eighth Crusade against Tunis in July 1270, Isabella became queen of France the following month on the death of King Louis IX. On their way home, while crossing the Savuto river near Martirano in Calabria, on 11 January 1271 she suffered a fall from her horse: six months pregnant with her fifth child, she gave birth prematurely to a son, who died soon after. First transported to Martirano Castle and then to Cosenza, exhausted and feverish, Isabella died there on 28 January 1271 aged 24. Her death was a devastating emotional blow to her husband, especially since she had been pregnant.
Because she died far from her homeland, the funeral technique of Mos Teutonicus was practiced upon Isabella. [8] Firstly, she was buried at Cosenza Cathedral alongside her newborn son, [9] and then in the royal necropolis in the Basilica of St Denis. [8] Isabella's tomb, like many others, was desecrated during the French Revolution in August 1793.
The tragic end of Isabella is recalled in the Laudi of the poet Gabriele D'Annunzio.
Louis IX, 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 VIII, he was crowned in Reims at the age of 12. His mother, Blanche of Castile, effectively ruled the kingdom as regent until he came of age and continued to serve as his trusted adviser until her death. During his formative years, Blanche successfully confronted rebellious vassals and championed the Capetian cause in the Albigensian Crusade, which had been ongoing for the past two decades.
Philip IV, called Philip the Fair, was King of France from 1285 to 1314. By virtue of his marriage with Joan I of Navarre, he was also King of Navarre and Count of Champagne as Philip I from 1284 to 1305. Although Philip was known to be handsome, hence the epithet le Bel, his rigid, autocratic, imposing, and inflexible personality gained him other nicknames, such as the Iron King. His fierce opponent Bernard Saisset, bishop of Pamiers, said of him: "He is neither man nor beast. He is a statue."
Philip III, called the Bold, was King of France from 1270 until his death in 1285. His father, Louis IX, died in Tunis during the Eighth Crusade. Philip, who was accompanying him, returned to France and was anointed king at Reims in 1271.
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 any significant fighting as Louis died of dysentery shortly after arriving on the shores of Tunisia. The Treaty of Tunis was negotiated between the Crusaders and the Hafsids. No changes in territory occurred, though there were commercial and some political rights granted to the Christians. The Crusaders withdrew back to Europe soon after.
Blanche of Castile was Queen of France by marriage to Louis VIII. She acted as regent twice during the reign of her son, Louis IX: during his minority from 1226 until 1234, and during his absence from 1248 until 1252.
Margaret of Provence was Queen of France by marriage to King Louis IX.
Charles of Valois, the fourth son of King Philip III of France and Isabella of Aragon, was a member of the House of Capet and founder of the House of Valois, which ruled over France from 1328.
Margaret of Burgundy was Queen of France and Navarre as the first wife of King Louis X; however, she was locked in prison during her whole French queenship.
Blanche of Artois was Queen of Navarre and Countess of Champagne and Brie during her marriage to Henry I of Navarre. After his death she became regent in the name of their infant daughter, Joan I. She passed on the regency of Navarre to Philip III of France, her cousin and her daughter's prospective father-in-law, but retained the administration of Champagne. She later shared the government of Champagne with her second husband, Edmund, until her daughter reached the age of majority.
The Accursed Kings is a series of seven historical novels by French author Maurice Druon about the French monarchy in the 14th century. Published between 1955 and 1977, the series has been adapted as a miniseries twice for television in France.
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.
Violant of Hungary was the queen of Aragon from 1235 until 1251 as the second wife of King James I of Aragon. A member of the Hungarian House of Árpád, Queen Violant was a valuable and influential advisor of her husband. She remains in folk memory in Catalonia and Valencia.
Joan II, Countess of Burgundy, was Queen of France by marriage to Philip V of France; she was also ruling Countess of Burgundy from 1303 to 1330 and ruling Countess of Artois in 1329–1330.
Clementia of Hungary was Queen of France and Navarre as the second wife of King Louis X.
Beatrice of Provence, was the ruling Countess of Provence and Forcalquier from 1245 until her death, as well as Countess of Anjou and Maine, Queen of Sicily and Naples by marriage to Charles I of Naples.
Joan was Countess of Toulouse from 1249 until her death. She was the only child of Raymond VII, Count of Toulouse by his first wife Sancha of Aragon.
Margaret Yolande of Savoy was Princess of Savoy from birth and later Duchess consort of Parma. A proposed bride for her first cousin Louis XIV of France, she later married Ranuccio Farnese, son of the late Odoardo Farnese and Margherita de' Medici. She died in childbirth in 1663.
Matthew of Vendôme was the abbot of Saint-Denis from 1258 until 1286 and one of the regents of France from 1270 until 1271.
William of Chartres was a royal chaplain under King Louis IX of France from 1254 and then a Dominican friar from 1264. He took part in two crusades in 1248 and 1270 and wrote a biography of Louis. This last work contains the earliest surviving collection of miracles attributed to Louis after his death in 1270. William died between 1277 and 1282.
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