Lady of Neuville
Encyclopedia
Lady of Neuville (died 1228) was the Empress consort of Robert of Courtenay
, Latin Emperor
of Constantinople
. Her first name is unknown, though a number of genealogies have assigned her the name Eudoxie (Eudoxia
). The name is possibly a confusion with Eudokia Laskarina, a lady previously betrothed to Robert, whose name is Latinized to Eudoxia.
, the Lady was a daughter of Baldwin of Neuville
in Artois
. Her mother is mentioned but not named. Her further ancestry is unknown, though presumed to be French
.
and Anna Angelina
. Eudokia was also a younger sister to both Irene Lascarina
, wife of John III Doukas Vatatzes
and Maria Laskarina
, wife of Béla IV of Hungary
. However the marriage was opposed by Patriarch Manuel I of Constantinople
on grounds of consanguinity
. Though not actually closely related by blood, Eudokia was a stepdaughter of Marie de Courtenay
who was third wife of Theodore I and sister to Robert. Eudokia was already present in Constantinople. She had been taken there by her paternal uncles Alexios Laskaris and Isaac Laslaris who had left the Empire of Nicaea
following the death of Theodore I. Both uncles joined the military service of the Latin Empire. According to Acropolites, they co-led a Latin force into Bithynia
during 1224. They were defeated by their kinsman John III Doukas Vatatzes, captured and blinded.
For some reason the marriage contract with Eudokia was never completed. According to Alberic of Trois-Fontaines
, Eudokia was betrothed (or married) to Frederick II, Duke of Austria
in 1226. The marriage contract was broken or the marriage annulled by 1229, when Frederick married Agnes of Merania, a daughter of Otto I, Duke of Merania
and Beatrice II, Countess of Burgundy
. Eudokia went on to marry Anseau de Cayeux, Chamberlain
of the Latin Empire.
Robert remained unmarried until about 1227. According to William of Tyre Continuator, Robert and the Lady of Neuville were secretly married, despite her already being the fiancée of a Burgundian gentleman. Both the new wife of the Emperor and her mother were placed in a manor house
owned by Robert. The unnamed Burgundian gentleman somehow found out and reportedly organized a conspiracy against Robert and his new wife. The knight
s of Constantinople partaking in the conspiracy procceeded to capture the Empress and her mother. The lip
s and nostril
s of both women were cut off and then thrown to sea.
Robert left Constantinople following the attack, seeking the assistance of Pope Gregory IX
in re-establishing his authority. On his return journey from Rome
, Robert visited the court of Geoffrey II of Villehardouin
of the Principality of Achaea
. There he fell sick and died. He never returned to Constantinople. Their marriage was childless, whether the Lady survived her mutilation
is uncertain. However she does not resurface in sources.
Robert of Courtenay
Robert of Courtenay , emperor of the Latin Empire, or of Constantinople, was a younger son of the emperor Peter II of Courtenay, and a descendant of the French king, Louis VI, while his mother Yolanda of Flanders was a sister of Baldwin and Henry of Flanders, the first and second emperors of the...
, Latin Emperor
Latin Empire
The Latin Empire or Latin Empire of Constantinople is the name given by historians to the feudal Crusader state founded by the leaders of the Fourth Crusade on lands captured from the Byzantine Empire. It was established after the capture of Constantinople in 1204 and lasted until 1261...
of Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
. Her first name is unknown, though a number of genealogies have assigned her the name Eudoxie (Eudoxia
Eudoxia
Eudoxia, or Eudokia is the English language transliteration of the Greek feminine personal name Ευδοκία...
). The name is possibly a confusion with Eudokia Laskarina, a lady previously betrothed to Robert, whose name is Latinized to Eudoxia.
Family
According to William of Tyre Continuator, a 13th-century continuation of the chronicle of William of TyreWilliam of Tyre
William of Tyre was a medieval prelate and chronicler. As archbishop of Tyre, he is sometimes known as William II to distinguish him from a predecessor, William of Malines...
, the Lady was a daughter of Baldwin of Neuville
Neuville
-Communes in France:*Neuville, Corrèze, in the Corrèze département*Neuville, Puy-de-Dôme, in the Puy-de-Dôme département*Neuville-au-Bois, in the Somme département*Neuville-au-Cornet, in the Pas-de-Calais département...
in Artois
Artois
Artois is a former province of northern France. Its territory has an area of around 4000 km² and a population of about one million. Its principal cities are Arras , Saint-Omer, Lens and Béthune.-Location:...
. Her mother is mentioned but not named. Her further ancestry is unknown, though presumed to be French
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
.
Empress
Robert of Curtenay had been crowned emperor on 25 March 1221. According to George Acropolites he was betrothed to Eudokia Laskarina in 1222. She was a daughter of Theodore I LaskarisTheodore I Laskaris
Theodoros I Komnenos Laskaris was emperor of Nicaea .-Family:Theodore Laskaris was born to the Laskaris, a noble but not particularly renowned Byzantine family of Constantinople. He was the son of Manuel Laskaris and wife Ioanna Karatzaina . He had four older brothers: Manuel Laskaris Theodoros...
and Anna Angelina
Anna Angelina
Anna Komnene Angelina or Comnena Angelina was a daughter of the Byzantine Emperor Alexios III Angelos and of Euphrosyne Doukaina Kamatera....
. Eudokia was also a younger sister to both Irene Lascarina
Irene Lascarina
Irene Lascarina was a daughter of Theodore I Laskaris, emperor of Nicaea and Anna Angelina. Her maternal grandparents were Emperor Alexios III Angelos and Euphrosyne Doukaina Kamaterina...
, wife of John III Doukas Vatatzes
John III Doukas Vatatzes
John III Doukas Vatatzes, Latinized as Ducas Vatatzes |Nymphaion]]) was emperor of Nicaea 1221–1254.-Life:John Doukas Vatatzes was probably the son of the general Basileios Vatatzes, Duke of Thrace, who died in 1193, and his wife, an unnamed daughter of Isaakios Angelos and cousin of the Emperors...
and Maria Laskarina
Maria Laskarina
Maria Laskarina was a daughter of Theodore I Laskaris and his first wife Anna Angelina.-Life:She was a younger sister of Irene Lascarina, first Empress consort of John III Doukas Vatatzes. Theodore married his eldest daughter to his designated heir in 1212...
, wife of Béla IV of Hungary
Béla IV of Hungary
Béla IV , King of Hungary and of Croatia , duke of Styria 1254–58. One of the most famous kings of Hungary, he distinguished himself through his policy of strengthening of the royal power following the example of his grandfather Bela III, and by the rebuilding Hungary after the catastrophe of the...
. However the marriage was opposed by Patriarch Manuel I of Constantinople
Patriarch Manuel I of Constantinople
Manuel I, surnamed Sarantenos or Charitopoulos , was Patriarch of Constantinople from December 1216 or January [1217] to [1222. He seems to have been called "the Philosopher": George Akropolites says he was "a philosopher, it seems, in deed, and so named by the people." Manuel was...
on grounds of consanguinity
Consanguinity
Consanguinity refers to the property of being from the same kinship as another person. In that respect, consanguinity is the quality of being descended from the same ancestor as another person...
. Though not actually closely related by blood, Eudokia was a stepdaughter of Marie de Courtenay
Marie de Courtenay
Marie de Courtenay was a daughter of Peter II of Courtenay and Yolanda of Flanders. She married Theodore I of Nicaea. Marie served as regent for her younger brother Baldwin II of Courtenay and styled herself as the Empress of Constantinople.-Family and background:Her parents were successive rulers...
who was third wife of Theodore I and sister to Robert. Eudokia was already present in Constantinople. She had been taken there by her paternal uncles Alexios Laskaris and Isaac Laslaris who had left the Empire of Nicaea
Empire of Nicaea
The Empire of Nicaea was the largest of the three Byzantine Greek successor states founded by the aristocracy of the Byzantine Empire that fled after Constantinople was occupied by Western European and Venetian forces during the Fourth Crusade...
following the death of Theodore I. Both uncles joined the military service of the Latin Empire. According to Acropolites, they co-led a Latin force into Bithynia
Bithynia
Bithynia was an ancient region, kingdom and Roman province in the northwest of Asia Minor, adjoining the Propontis, the Thracian Bosporus and the Euxine .-Description:...
during 1224. They were defeated by their kinsman John III Doukas Vatatzes, captured and blinded.
For some reason the marriage contract with Eudokia was never completed. According to Alberic of Trois-Fontaines
Alberic of Trois-Fontaines
Alberic of Trois-Fontaines was a medieval Cistercian chronicler who wrote in Latin. He was a monk of Trois-Fontaines Abbey . In 1232 he began his Chronica Albrici Monachi Trium Fontium, which describes world events from the Creation to the year 1241...
, Eudokia was betrothed (or married) to Frederick II, Duke of Austria
Frederick II, Duke of Austria
Frederick II, known as the Quarrelsome or the Warlike , from the House of Babenberg, was the duke of Austria and Styria from 1230 to 1246....
in 1226. The marriage contract was broken or the marriage annulled by 1229, when Frederick married Agnes of Merania, a daughter of Otto I, Duke of Merania
Otto I, Duke of Merania
Otto I was Duke of Andechs and Merania and was born, in 1180, to Berthold IV von Dießen, Duke of Andechs and Merania, and Agnes of Rochlitz. He was also Otto II, Count Palatine of Burgundy by his marriage to Beatrice II of Burgundy....
and Beatrice II, Countess of Burgundy
Beatrice II, Countess of Burgundy
Beatrice II, Countess of Burgundy was Countess of Burgundy and Duchess consort of Merania. She was a member of the Swabian Hohenstaufen dynasty, the daughter of Count Otto I of Burgundy and Margaret of Blois, thereby a granddaughter of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa.She was born in 1191, younger...
. Eudokia went on to marry Anseau de Cayeux, Chamberlain
Chamberlain (office)
A chamberlain is an officer in charge of managing a household. In many countries there are ceremonial posts associated with the household of the sovereign....
of the Latin Empire.
Robert remained unmarried until about 1227. According to William of Tyre Continuator, Robert and the Lady of Neuville were secretly married, despite her already being the fiancée of a Burgundian gentleman. Both the new wife of the Emperor and her mother were placed in a manor house
Manor house
A manor house is a country house that historically formed the administrative centre of a manor, the lowest unit of territorial organisation in the feudal system in Europe. The term is applied to country houses that belonged to the gentry and other grand stately homes...
owned by Robert. The unnamed Burgundian gentleman somehow found out and reportedly organized a conspiracy against Robert and his new wife. The knight
Knight
A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....
s of Constantinople partaking in the conspiracy procceeded to capture the Empress and her mother. The lip
Lip
Lips are a visible body part at the mouth of humans and many animals. Lips are soft, movable, and serve as the opening for food intake and in the articulation of sound and speech...
s and nostril
Nostril
A nostril is one of the two channels of the nose, from the point where they bifurcate to the external opening. In birds and mammals, they contain branched bones or cartilages called turbinates, whose function is to warm air on inhalation and remove moisture on exhalation...
s of both women were cut off and then thrown to sea.
Robert left Constantinople following the attack, seeking the assistance of Pope Gregory IX
Pope Gregory IX
Pope Gregory IX, born Ugolino di Conti, was pope from March 19, 1227 to August 22, 1241.The successor of Pope Honorius III , he fully inherited the traditions of Pope Gregory VII and of his uncle Pope Innocent III , and zealously continued their policy of Papal supremacy.-Early life:Ugolino was...
in re-establishing his authority. On his return journey from Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, Robert visited the court of Geoffrey II of Villehardouin
Geoffrey II of Villehardouin
Geoffrey II of Villehardouin was the third prince of Achaea . From his accession to the princely throne, he was a powerful and respected person, and even from France knights came to the principality to enter his service...
of the Principality of Achaea
Principality of Achaea
The Principality of Achaea or of the Morea was one of the three vassal states of the Latin Empire which replaced the Byzantine Empire after the capture of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade. It became a vassal of the Kingdom of Thessalonica, along with the Duchy of Athens, until Thessalonica...
. There he fell sick and died. He never returned to Constantinople. Their marriage was childless, whether the Lady survived her mutilation
Mutilation
Mutilation or maiming is an act of physical injury that degrades the appearance or function of any living body, usually without causing death.- Usage :...
is uncertain. However she does not resurface in sources.