Yolanda of Flanders
Encyclopedia
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 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:...
for her husband Peter II of Courtenay from 1217 to 1219.
She was the daughter of Baldwin V, Count of Hainault, and Countess Margaret I of Flanders. Two of her brothers, Baldwin I
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...
and then Henry
Henry of Flanders
Henry was the second emperor of the Latin Empire of Constantinople. He was a younger son of Baldwin V, Count of Hainaut , and Margaret I of Flanders, sister of Philip of Alsace, count of Flanders....
, were emperors in Constantinople. After the death of the latter in 1216 there was a brief period without an emperor, before Peter was elected. Peter sent Yolanda to Constantinople while he fought the Despotate of Epirus
Despotate of Epirus
The Despotate or Principality of Epirus was one of the Byzantine Greek successor states of the Byzantine Empire that emerged in the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade in 1204. It claimed to be the legitimate successor of the Byzantine Empire, along with the Empire of Nicaea, and the Empire of Trebizond...
, during which he was captured. Because his fate was unknown (although he was probably killed), Yolanda ruled as regent. She allied with the Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
ns against the various Byzantine successor states, and was able to make peace with Theodore I Lascaris of 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...
, who married her daughter. However, she soon died, in 1219.
Her second son, Robert of Courtenay
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...
, became emperor because her first son did not want the throne. As Robert was still in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
at the time, there was technically no emperor until he arrived in 1221.
Yolanda was, in her own right, Marchioness of Namur
Marquis of Namur
Namur was a county of the Carolingian and later Holy Roman Empire in the Low Countries. Its territories largely correspond with the present-day Belgian arrondissement Namur plus the northwestern part of the arrondissement Dinant....
, which she inherited from her uncle, Marquis Philip I, in 1212 and left to her eldest son, Marquis Philip II, when she went to Constantinople in 1216.
By Peter of Courtenay she had 10 children:
- Philip (d. 1226), Marquis of Namur, who declined the offer of the crown of the Latin Empire
- Robert of CourtenayRobert of CourtenayRobert 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...
(d. 1228), Latin Emperor - Henry (d. 1229), Marquis of Namur
- Baldwin II of ConstantinopleBaldwin II of ConstantinopleBaldwin II of Courtenay was the last emperor of the Latin Empire of Constantinople.He was a younger son of Yolanda of Flanders, sister of the first two emperors, Baldwin I and Henry of Flanders...
(d. 1273) - MargaretMargaret, Marchioness of NamurMargaret, Marchioness of Namur was the daughter of Peter II of Courtenay and Yolanda of Flanders.Margaret married Raoul lord of Issoudun in 1210. She succeeded her husband as Lady of Châteauneuf-sur-Cher and Mareuil-en-Berry in 1216. Soon after the death of her first husband she married Henry I,...
, Marchioness of Namur, who married first Raoul d'Issoudun and then Henry count of Vianden - ElizabethElisabeth of CourtenayElizabeth of Courtenay ) was the daughter of Peter II of Courtenay and Yolanda of Flanders.The Chronicle of Alberic de Trois-Fontaines mentions that Elisabeth married Walter Count of Bar-sur-Seine and then Eudes I Lord of Montaigu.Elizabeth and Eudes had several known children:* Alexandre of...
, who married Walter count of Bar and then Eudes sire of Montagu - Yolanda de CourtenayYolanda de CourtenayYolanda de Courtenay , Queen Consort of Hungary was the second wife of King Andrew II of Hungary.Yolanda was the daughter of Count Peter II of Courtenay and his second wife, Yolanda of Flanders, the sister of Baldwin I and Henry I, the Emperors of Constantinople...
, who married Andrew II of HungaryAndrew II of HungaryAndrew II the Jerosolimitan was King of Hungary and Croatia . He was the younger son of King Béla III of Hungary, who invested him with the government of the Principality of Halych... - Eleanor, who married Philip of Montfort, Lord of TyrePhilip of Montfort, Lord of TyrePhilip of Montfort, was Lord of La Ferté-Alais and Castres-en-Albigeois 1228–1270, Lord of Tyre 1246–1270, and Lord of Toron aft. 1240–1270...
- Marie de CourtenayMarie de CourtenayMarie 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 married Theodore I Lascaris of the Empire of NicaeaEmpire of NicaeaThe 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... - Agnes, who married Geoffrey II Villehardouin, Prince of AchaeaPrincipality of AchaeaThe 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...