| Peter II of Courtenay | |
|---|---|
| Emperor and Autocrat of the Romans | |
 | |
| Latin Emperor of Constantinople Claimant Roman Emperor | |
| Reign | 1216 – 1217 (de facto) or 1219 (de jure) |
| Coronation | 9 April 1217 |
| Predecessor | Henry |
| Successor | Yolanda |
| Died | 1219 |
| Spouse | |
| Issue more... | |
| House | Courtenay |
| Father | Peter I of Courtenay |
| Mother | Elizabeth de Courtenay |
Peter, also Peter II of Courtenay (French : Pierre de Courtenay; died 1219), was emperor of the Latin Empire of Constantinople from 1216 to 1217.
Peter II was a son of Peter I of Courtenay (died 1183), a younger son of Louis VI of France and his second wife, Adélaide de Maurienne. [1] His mother was Elisabeth de Courtenay, daughter of Renaud de Courtenay (died 1194) and Hawise du Donjon. [2]
Peter first married Agnes I, via whom he obtained the three counties of Nevers, Auxerre, and Tonnerre. [3] In 1193 he married secondly to Yolanda, [3] a sister of Baldwin and Henry of Flanders, who were afterwards the first and second emperors of the Latin Empire of Constantinople. Peter accompanied his cousin, King Philip Augustus, on the third Crusade in 1190, returning to France in 1193. He fought (alongside his brother Robert) in the Albigensian Crusade in 1209 and 1211, when he took part in the siege of Lavaur. He was present at the Battle of Bouvines in 1214.
When his brother-in-law, the emperor Henry, died without issue in 1216, Peter was chosen as his successor, and with a small army he left his residence of château de Druyes in France to take possession of his throne. He was consecrated emperor at the Basilica of Saint Lawrence outside the Walls in Rome by Pope Honorius III on 9 April 1217. He then borrowed some ships from the Venetians, promising in return to conquer Durazzo for them, but he failed in this enterprise and sought to make his way to Constantinople by land. [4] On the journey he was seized by the despot of Epirus, Theodore Komnenos Doukas, and, after an imprisonment of two years, died, [4] probably by foul means. Peter thus never governed his empire, which, however, was ruled for a time by his wife, Yolanda, who had succeeded in reaching Constantinople. Two of his sons, Robert and Baldwin, reigned in turn as emperors of the Latin Empire of Constantinople.
By his first wife Agnes I, Countess of Nevers he had:
By his second wife Yolanda of Flanders, of the House of Flanders [6] he had:
Baldwin II, also known as Baldwin of Courtenay, was the last Latin Emperor ruling from Constantinople. He was the only Latin Emperor born in Constantinople.
Robert I, also known as Robert of Courtenay, was Latin Emperor of Constantinople from 1221 until his death in 1228. He was a younger son of the emperor Peter II of Courtenay, and Yolanda of Flanders.
Henry was Latin emperor of Constantinople from 1205 until his death in 1216. He was one of the leaders of the Fourth Crusade in which the Byzantine Empire was conquered and Latin Empire formed.
The Latin Empire, also referred to as the Latin Empire of Constantinople, was a feudal Crusader state founded by the leaders of the Fourth Crusade on lands captured from the Byzantine Empire. The Latin Empire was intended to replace the Byzantine Empire as the Western-recognized Roman Empire in the east, with a Catholic emperor enthroned in place of the Eastern Orthodox Roman emperors. The main objective to form a Latin Empire was planned over the course of the Fourth Crusade, promoted by crusade leaders such as Boniface of Montferrat, as well as the Republic of Venice.
Yolanda, often called Yolanda of Flanders, was Empress of the Latin Empire in Constantinople, first as the wife of Emperor Peter from 1216 to 1217 and thereafter as regent until her death in 1219. Peter was captured and imprisoned before he could reach Constantinople, so Yolanda assumed the duties of governing the Empire. She was ruling Marchioness of Namur from 1212 until 1217.
Margaret I was the countess of Flanders suo jure from 1191 to her death.
Baldwin V of Hainaut was count of Hainaut (1171–1195), margrave of Namur as Baldwin I (1189–1195) and count of Flanders as Baldwin VIII (1191–1195).
The House of Courtenay is a medieval noble house, with branches in France, England and the Holy Land. One branch of the Courtenays became a royal house of the Capetian dynasty, cousins of the Bourbons and the Valois, and achieved the title of Latin Emperor of Constantinople.
Conon de Béthune was a French crusader and trouvère poet who became a senior official and finally regent of the Latin Empire of Constantinople. Alternative spellings of his name include Cono, Coesnes, Quenes, Conain, and Quenon.
Philip II (1195–1226), called à la lèvre, was the Marquis of Namur from 1216 to his death. He was the eldest son of Peter II of Courtenay and Yolanda of Flanders. On the death of his maternal uncle Philip the Noble in 1212, his mother Yolanda temporarily ruled Namur and passed the county to Philip in 1216.
Hervé IV of Donzy was a French nobleman and participant in the Fifth Crusade. By marriage in 1200 to Mahaut de Courtenay (1188–1257), daughter of Peter II of Courtenay, he became Count of Nevers.
Marie de Courtenay was Empress consort of Nicaea from 1219 until 1221. She was a daughter of Peter II of Courtenay and Yolanda of Flanders. She married Emperor Theodore I Laskaris of Nicaea. Marie served as regent for her younger brother, Baldwin II, Latin Emperor, in 1228, and styled herself "Empress of Constantinople."
Marie of Brienne was Latin Empress as the wife of Baldwin II of Courtenay. She served as regent during the absence of Baldwin II twice: in 1237–1239, and in 1243–1257.
The Capetian House of Courtenay, also known simply as the House of Courtenay, was a royal house and cadet branch of the Capetian dynasty. Founded by Peter I of Courtenay, a son of King Louis VI of France, the family drew its name from the lordship of Courtenay, to which Peter's wife was heiress.
The House of Flanders, also called the Baldwins, was a medieval ruling family of Frankish origin that was founded by Baldwin Iron Arm, son-in-law of Charles the Bald. The House of Flanders was the first dynasty to transform a county function of the Carolingian Empire into a hereditary fiefdom, the County of Flanders, falling under West Francia and the subsequent Kingdom of France, following the empire's partition acted by the Treaty of Verdun in 843.
The House of Dampierre played an important role during the Middle Ages. Named after Dampierre, in the Champagne region, where members first became prominent, members of the family were later Count of Flanders, Count of Nevers, Counts and Dukes of Rethel, Count of Artois and Count of Franche-Comté.
Margaret, Marchioness of Namur was ruling Marchioness of Namur, from 1229 to 1237. She was the daughter of Peter of Courtenay, Latin Emperor of Constantinople (1216-1219) and Yolanda of Flanders. By marriage to Henry I, Count of Vianden, she was Countess-consort of Vianden.
Henry II (1206–1229) was the margrave of Namur from 1226 until his death.
The struggle for Constantinople was a complex series of conflicts following the dissolution of the Byzantine Empire by the Fourth Crusade in 1204, fought between the Latin Empire established by the Crusaders, various Byzantine successor states, and foreign powers such as the Second Bulgarian Empire and Sultanate of Rum, for control of Constantinople and supremacy in the former empire's territory.
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