Marie of Champagne
Encyclopedia
Marie of Champagne was the Empress consort of Baldwin I of Constantinople
.
and Eleanor of Aquitaine
.
Her brothers were Henry II of Champagne
and Theobald III, Count of Champagne. Her sister Scholastique of Champagne married William V of Macon. Both sisters are mentioned by name in the chronicle of Alberic of Trois-Fontaines
.
, Marie was bethrothed to "Theobald", son of the count of Flanders and Hainaut in 1179. Gislebert is presumed to have misrecorded the name of Baldwin. Her betrothed was Baldwin VI
, son of Baldwin V, Count of Hainaut
and Margaret I, Countess of Flanders
.
On 6 January, 1186, Marie and Baldwin were married. They had two known children:
. This Crusade was diverted to Constantinople
, capital of the Byzantine Empire
. The crusaders captured and sacked the city. Then they decided to set up a Latin Empire
in place of the fallen Greek one. On 9 May, 1204, Baldwin was elected its first emperor making Marie the empress consort.
Marie herself left Flanders to join her husband but decided to visit Outremer
first. According to Geoffrey of Villehardouin
she could not join him in the crusade before because of being pregnant. Having given birth to Margaret
and sufficiently recovered, she set forth to join him.
She set sail from the port of Marseille
and landed in Acre
. According to A History of the Crusades: Volume 3, The Kingdom of Acre and the Later Crusades (1954) by Steven Runciman
, she there received tribute by Bohemond IV of Antioch. In Acre news reached her of the fall of Constantinople and the proclamation of Baldwin as the new emperor. She wanted to set sail for Constantinople but fell sick and died in the Holy Land
.
News of her death reached Constantinople through Crusading reinforcements from Syria
. Baldwin was reportedly afflicted by the death of his wife. Villehardouin reports that Marie "was a gracious and virtuous lady and greatly honoured".
Baldwin I of Constantinople
Baldwin I , the first emperor of the Latin Empire of Constantinople, as Baldwin IX Count of Flanders and as Baldwin VI Count of Hainaut, was one of the most prominent leaders of the Fourth Crusade, which resulted in the capture of Constantinople, the conquest of the greater part of the Byzantine...
.
Family
She was a daughter of Henry I, Count of Champagne and Marie of France, Countess of Champagne. Her maternal grandparents were Louis VII of FranceLouis 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 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...
.
Her brothers were Henry II of Champagne
Henry II of Champagne
Henry II of Champagne was count of Champagne from 1181 to 1197, and King of Jerusalem from 1192 to 1197, although he never used the title of king.- Early Life and Family :...
and Theobald III, Count of Champagne. Her sister Scholastique of Champagne married William V of Macon. Both sisters are mentioned by name in the chronicle of 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...
.
Marriage
According to the chronicle of Gislebert of MonsGislebert of Mons
Gislebert of Mons was the Flemish chronicler whose Chronicon Hanoniense is an essential eyewitness source for events affecting his patron Baldwin V, Count of Hainaut....
, Marie was bethrothed to "Theobald", son of the count of Flanders and Hainaut in 1179. Gislebert is presumed to have misrecorded the name of Baldwin. Her betrothed was Baldwin VI
Baldwin I of Constantinople
Baldwin I , the first emperor of the Latin Empire of Constantinople, as Baldwin IX Count of Flanders and as Baldwin VI Count of Hainaut, was one of the most prominent leaders of the Fourth Crusade, which resulted in the capture of Constantinople, the conquest of the greater part of the Byzantine...
, son of Baldwin V, Count of Hainaut
Baldwin V, Count of Hainaut
Baldwin V of Hainaut was count of Hainaut , count of Flanders as Baldwin VIII and margrave of Namur as Baldwin I .-History:...
and Margaret I, Countess of Flanders
Margaret I, Countess of Flanders
Margaret I of Flanders was countess of Flanders from 1191 to her death.-History:She was the daughter of Thierry, Count of Flanders and Sibylla of Anjou, and the heiress of her childless brother, Philip of Flanders.-Family:...
.
On 6 January, 1186, Marie and Baldwin were married. They had two known children:
- Joan, Countess of Flanders (1199/1200 – 5 December 1244).
- Margaret II, Countess of FlandersMargaret II, Countess of FlandersMargaret, called of Constantinople was countess of Flanders from 1244 to 1278 and also, countess of Hainaut from 1244 to 1253 and again from 1257 until her death.-History and Family:...
(2 June 1202 – 10 February 1280).
Empress consort
On 14 April 1202 her husband left Flanders to join the Fourth CrusadeFourth Crusade
The Fourth Crusade was originally intended to conquer Muslim-controlled Jerusalem by means of an invasion through Egypt. Instead, in April 1204, the Crusaders of Western Europe invaded and conquered the Christian city of Constantinople, capital of the Eastern Roman Empire...
. This Crusade was diverted to 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:...
, capital of the Byzantine Empire
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
. The crusaders captured and sacked the city. Then they decided to set up a Latin Empire
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...
in place of the fallen Greek one. On 9 May, 1204, Baldwin was elected its first emperor making Marie the empress consort.
Marie herself left Flanders to join her husband but decided to visit Outremer
Outremer
Outremer, French for "overseas", was a general name given to the Crusader states established after the First Crusade: the County of Edessa, the Principality of Antioch, the County of Tripoli and especially the Kingdom of Jerusalem...
first. According to Geoffrey of Villehardouin
Geoffrey of Villehardouin
Geoffrey of Villehardouin was a knight and historian who participated in and chronicled the Fourth Crusade...
she could not join him in the crusade before because of being pregnant. Having given birth to Margaret
Margaret II, Countess of Flanders
Margaret, called of Constantinople was countess of Flanders from 1244 to 1278 and also, countess of Hainaut from 1244 to 1253 and again from 1257 until her death.-History and Family:...
and sufficiently recovered, she set forth to join him.
She set sail from the port of Marseille
Marseille
Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...
and landed in Acre
Acre, Israel
Acre , is a city in the Western Galilee region of northern Israel at the northern extremity of Haifa Bay. Acre is one of the oldest continuously inhabited sites in the country....
. According to A History of the Crusades: Volume 3, The Kingdom of Acre and the Later Crusades (1954) by Steven Runciman
Steven Runciman
The Hon. Sir James Cochran Stevenson Runciman CH — known as Steven Runciman — was a British historian known for his work on the Middle Ages...
, she there received tribute by Bohemond IV of Antioch. In Acre news reached her of the fall of Constantinople and the proclamation of Baldwin as the new emperor. She wanted to set sail for Constantinople but fell sick and died in the Holy Land
Holy Land
The Holy Land is a term which in Judaism refers to the Kingdom of Israel as defined in the Tanakh. For Jews, the Land's identifiction of being Holy is defined in Judaism by its differentiation from other lands by virtue of the practice of Judaism often possible only in the Land of Israel...
.
News of her death reached Constantinople through Crusading reinforcements from Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
. Baldwin was reportedly afflicted by the death of his wife. Villehardouin reports that Marie "was a gracious and virtuous lady and greatly honoured".
Sources
- Alberic of Trois-FontainesAlberic of Trois-FontainesAlberic 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...
, Chronica Alberici Monachi Trium Fontium. - Gislebert of MonsGislebert of MonsGislebert of Mons was the Flemish chronicler whose Chronicon Hanoniense is an essential eyewitness source for events affecting his patron Baldwin V, Count of Hainaut....
, Chronicon Hanoniense (Chronicle of Hainaut). - Geoffrey of VillehardouinGeoffrey of VillehardouinGeoffrey of Villehardouin was a knight and historian who participated in and chronicled the Fourth Crusade...
, De la Conquête de Constantinople - Steven RuncimanSteven RuncimanThe Hon. Sir James Cochran Stevenson Runciman CH — known as Steven Runciman — was a British historian known for his work on the Middle Ages...
, A History of the Crusades: Volume 3, The Kingdom of Acre and the Later Crusades (Cambridge University Press 1954).