Alys, Countess of the Vexin
Encyclopedia
Alys, Countess of the Vexin
(4 October 1160 – c. 1220) was the daughter of King Louis VII of France
and his second wife Constance of Castile.
and Alix of France
, Louis's children by Eleanor of Aquitaine
, and the younger sister of Marguerite of France
. Just five weeks after Constance died giving birth to Alys, Louis married Adèle of Champagne
, by whom he had two further children, including the future Philip II of France
.
In January 1169, Louis and Henry II of England
signed a contract for the marriage between Alys and Henry's son Richard
. The 8 year-old Alys was then sent to England as Henry's ward.
In 1177, Cardinal Peter of Saint Chrysogonus
, on behalf of Pope Alexander III
, threatened to place England's continental possessions under an interdict
if Henry did not proceed with the marriage. There were widespread rumors that Henry had not only made Alys his mistress, but that she had borne him a child. Henry died in 1189. Richard married Berengaria of Navarre
on 12 May 1191, while still officially engaged to Alys.
Philip had offered Alys to Prince John
, but Eleanor prevented the match. Alys married William IV Talvas
, Count of Ponthieu
, on 20 August 1195, and had three daughters: Jean (stillborn
), Marie, Countess of Ponthieu
, and Isabelle. Marie was the grandmother of Eleanor of Castile
, queen of Edward I of England
and so ultimately Alys became ancestor of the English royal family.
's 1822 epic poem Cœur de Lion. In it, Alys joins the army of Saladin
during the Third Crusade
to avenge herself on Richard
for rejecting her.
Alys has a minor role in Sharon Kay Penman
's novels, Time and Chance and Devil's Brood. In Judith Koll Healey's novel The Canterbury Papers, Alys is sent on a mission to England to retrieve some letters from Canterbury Cathedral
for Eleanor of Aquitaine. In Healey’s second novel, “The Rebel Princess,” Princess Alys confronts corrupt court officials and religious fanatics in the pursuit of her disappeared illegitimate son Francis, whose very existence could unsettle the thrones of England and France. In Christy English's novel "The Queen's Pawn," Alais comes to England to marry Prince Richard only to become the mistress of King Henry II.
Alys (spelt "Alais" in the play) is Henry's lover in James Goldman
's play The Lion in Winter
. She was played by Jane Merrow
in the 1968 film adaptation
, by Yuliya Vysotskaya in the 2003 TV adaptation
and by Sonya Cassidy in the 2011 London theatre production.
She was played by Katherine DeMille
in The Crusades
; by Susan Shaw
in the 1963 British children's TV series Richard the Lionheart; and by Lorna Charles
and Lucy Gutteridge
in The Devil's Crown
.
Vexin
The Vexin is a historical county of northwestern France. It covers a verdant plateau on the right bank of the Seine comprising an area east-to-west between Pontoise and Romilly-sur-Andelle , and north-to-south between Auneuil and the Seine near Vernon...
(4 October 1160 – c. 1220) was the daughter of King Louis VII of France
Louis VII of France
Louis VII was King of France, the son and successor of Louis VI . He ruled from 1137 until his death. He was a member of the House of Capet. His reign was dominated by feudal struggles , and saw the beginning of the long rivalry between France and England...
and his second wife Constance of Castile.
Life
Alys was the half-sister of Marie de ChampagneMarie de Champagne
Marie of France , Countess of Champagne was the elder daughter of Louis VII of France and his first wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine.- Family :Marie's younger sister was Alix of France....
and Alix of France
Alix of France
Alix of France was the second daughter born to King Louis VII of France and Duchess Eleanor of Aquitaine.- Childhood :...
, Louis's children by Eleanor of Aquitaine
Eleanor of Aquitaine
Eleanor of Aquitaine was one of the wealthiest and most powerful women in Western Europe during the High Middle Ages. As well as being Duchess of Aquitaine in her own right, she was queen consort of France and of England...
, and the younger sister of Marguerite of France
Marguerite of France (born 1158)
Margaret of France was the eldest daughter of Louis VII of France by his second wife Constance of Castile....
. Just five weeks after Constance died giving birth to Alys, Louis married Adèle of Champagne
Adèle of Champagne
Adèle of Champagne , also known as Adelaide and Alix, was the third wife of Louis VII of France and the mother of his only male heir, the future Philip II...
, by whom he had two further children, including the future Philip II of France
Philip II of France
Philip II Augustus was the King of France from 1180 until his death. A member of the House of Capet, Philip Augustus was born at Gonesse in the Val-d'Oise, the son of Louis VII and his third wife, Adela of Champagne...
.
In January 1169, Louis and Henry II of England
Henry II of England
Henry II ruled as King of England , Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France. Henry, the great-grandson of William the Conqueror, was the...
signed a contract for the marriage between Alys and Henry's son Richard
Richard I of England
Richard I was King of England from 6 July 1189 until his death. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Count of Nantes, and Overlord of Brittany at various times during the same period...
. The 8 year-old Alys was then sent to England as Henry's ward.
In 1177, Cardinal Peter of Saint Chrysogonus
Saint Chrysogonus
Saint Chrysogonus is a saint and martyr of ancient Rome venerated by the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church.-Life:Chrysogonus was martyred at Aquileia, probably during the Persecution of Diocletian, was buried there, and publicly venerated by the faithful of that region. He is the...
, on behalf of Pope Alexander III
Pope Alexander III
Pope Alexander III , born Rolando of Siena, was Pope from 1159 to 1181. He is noted in history for laying the foundation stone for the Notre Dame de Paris.-Church career:...
, threatened to place England's continental possessions under an interdict
Interdict
The term Interdict may refer to:* Court order enforcing or prohibiting a certain action* Injunction, such as a restraining order...
if Henry did not proceed with the marriage. There were widespread rumors that Henry had not only made Alys his mistress, but that she had borne him a child. Henry died in 1189. Richard married Berengaria of Navarre
Berengaria of Navarre
Berengaria of Navarre was Queen of the English as the wife of King Richard I of England. She was the eldest daughter of King Sancho VI of Navarre and Sancha of Castile. As is the case with many of the medieval queens consort of the Kingdom of England, relatively little is known of her life...
on 12 May 1191, while still officially engaged to Alys.
Philip had offered Alys to Prince John
John of England
John , also known as John Lackland , was King of England from 6 April 1199 until his death...
, but Eleanor prevented the match. Alys married William IV Talvas
William IV of Ponthieu
William III Talvas was William III, Count of Ponthieu and William IV . He was Count of Ponthieu, ruler of a small province in northern France that fell under the suzerainty of the dukes of Normandy since at least the mid 11th century...
, Count of Ponthieu
Count of Ponthieu
The County of Ponthieu , centered on the mouth of the Somme, became a member of the Norman group of vassal states when Count Guy submitted to William of Normandy after the battle of Mortemer.....
, on 20 August 1195, and had three daughters: Jean (stillborn
Stillbirth
A stillbirth occurs when a fetus has died in the uterus. The Australian definition specifies that fetal death is termed a stillbirth after 20 weeks gestation or the fetus weighs more than . Once the fetus has died the mother still has contractions and remains undelivered. The term is often used in...
), Marie, Countess of Ponthieu
Marie, Countess of Ponthieu
Marie of Ponthieu was the Countess of Ponthieu and Countess of Montreuil, ruling from 1221 to 1251.-Biography:Marie was the daughter of William IV of Ponthieu and Alys, Countess of the Vexin, and granddaughter of King Louis VII of France by his second wife Constance of Castile...
, and Isabelle. Marie was the grandmother of Eleanor of Castile
Eleanor of Castile
Eleanor of Castile was the first queen consort of Edward I of England. She was also Countess of Ponthieu in her own right from 1279 until her death in 1290, succeeding her mother and ruling together with her husband.-Birth:...
, queen of Edward I of England
Edward I of England
Edward I , also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England from 1272 to 1307. The first son of Henry III, Edward was involved early in the political intrigues of his father's reign, which included an outright rebellion by the English barons...
and so ultimately Alys became ancestor of the English royal family.
Portrayals in fiction
As "Alasia of France", she appears in Eleanor Anne PordenEleanor Anne Porden
Eleanor Anne Porden was a British Romantic poet and the first wife of the explorer John Franklin.She was born in London, the younger surviving daughter of the architect William Porden and his wife Mary Plowman...
's 1822 epic poem Cœur de Lion. In it, Alys joins the army of Saladin
Saladin
Ṣalāḥ ad-Dīn Yūsuf ibn Ayyūb , better known in the Western world as Saladin, was an Arabized Kurdish Muslim, who became the first Sultan of Egypt and Syria, and founded the Ayyubid dynasty. He led Muslim and Arab opposition to the Franks and other European Crusaders in the Levant...
during the Third Crusade
Third Crusade
The Third Crusade , also known as the Kings' Crusade, was an attempt by European leaders to reconquer the Holy Land from Saladin...
to avenge herself on Richard
Richard I of England
Richard I was King of England from 6 July 1189 until his death. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Count of Nantes, and Overlord of Brittany at various times during the same period...
for rejecting her.
Alys has a minor role in Sharon Kay Penman
Sharon Kay Penman
Sharon Kay Penman is an American historical novelist, published in the UK as Sharon Penman. She is best known for the Welsh Princes trilogy and the Plantagenet series. In addition, she has written four medieval mysteries, the first of which, The Queen's Man, was a finalist in 1996 for the Best...
's novels, Time and Chance and Devil's Brood. In Judith Koll Healey's novel The Canterbury Papers, Alys is sent on a mission to England to retrieve some letters from Canterbury Cathedral
Canterbury Cathedral
Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England and forms part of a World Heritage Site....
for Eleanor of Aquitaine. In Healey’s second novel, “The Rebel Princess,” Princess Alys confronts corrupt court officials and religious fanatics in the pursuit of her disappeared illegitimate son Francis, whose very existence could unsettle the thrones of England and France. In Christy English's novel "The Queen's Pawn," Alais comes to England to marry Prince Richard only to become the mistress of King Henry II.
Alys (spelt "Alais" in the play) is Henry's lover in James Goldman
James Goldman
James Goldman was an American screenwriter and playwright, and the brother of screenwriter and novelist William Goldman.He was born in Chicago, Illinois, and grew up primarily in Highland Park, Illinois, a Chicago suburb...
's play The Lion in Winter
The Lion in Winter
-Synopsis:Set during Christmas 1183 at Henry II of England's château in Chinon, Anjou, Angevin Empire, the play opens with the arrival of Henry's wife Eleanor of Aquitaine, whom he has had imprisoned since 1173...
. She was played by Jane Merrow
Jane Merrow
Jane Merrow is a British actress, born in London to an English mother and German refugee, who was active in the 1960s and 1970s in England and the US. She is a graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art...
in the 1968 film adaptation
The Lion in Winter (1968 film)
The Lion in Winter is a 1968 historical drama made by Avco Embassy Pictures, based on the Broadway play by James Goldman. It was directed by Anthony Harvey and produced by Joseph E...
, by Yuliya Vysotskaya in the 2003 TV adaptation
The Lion in Winter (2003 film)
The Lion in Winter is a 2003 made-for-television remake of the 1968 film of the same name.A television production of The Lion in Winter was first shown on December 26, 2003 in the U.K.. It starred Patrick Stewart and Glenn Close, and was directed by Andrei Konchalovsky...
and by Sonya Cassidy in the 2011 London theatre production.
She was played by Katherine DeMille
Katherine DeMille
Katherine DeMille was a Canadian-born American film actress.She was born Katherine Lester in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. She was orphaned as a child by the death of her father, an officer in the Canadian Army who died in World War I combat and loss of her mother to tuberculosis in 1920...
in The Crusades
The Crusades (film)
- Plot :Mostly taking elements from the Third Crusade, King Richard is enlisted in a crusade to bring Jerusalem back into Christian hands in order to get out of a betrothal with Alice, the Princess of France. En route, Richard meets Berengaria the Princess of Navarre and marries her in exchange...
; by Susan Shaw
Susan Shaw
Susan Shaw was an English actress.Shaw began her film career in 1946 when she was signed to a contract by the J. Arthur Rank Organisation...
in the 1963 British children's TV series Richard the Lionheart; and by Lorna Charles
Lorna Yabsley
Lorna Yabsley is a British former actress and photographer who pioneered the "reportage" style of wedding photography during the early 1990s and founded the photographic company known as "bangwallop"....
and Lucy Gutteridge
Lucy Gutteridge
Lucy Karima Gutteridge is an English actress.Gutteridge was born in London, the eldest daughter of Bernard Hugh Gutteridge by his marriage to Nabila Farah Karima Halim, the daughter of Prince Muhammad Said Bey Halim of Egypt and his British second wife, Nabila Malika...
in The Devil's Crown
The Devil's Crown
The Devil's Crown was a BBC television series which dramatised the reigns of three medieval Kings of England: Henry II and his sons Richard I and John....
.
Sources
- Churchill, Winston. A History of the English Speaking People.
- Poole, A.L.Austin Lane PooleAustin Lane Poole was a British mediaevalist.Poole came from an academic lineage, being the son of Reginald Lane Poole , the nephew of Stanley Lane Poole , and the grandson of Reginald Stuart Poole .Austin Poole...
Domesday Book to Magna Carta. - Ralph of Diceto
- Roger of Hovedon
- Benedict of Peterborough
- Gerald of Wales