December 1, 1241: Death of Isabella of England, Holy Roman Empress

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Emperor Friedrich II, Gloucester Castle, Holy Roman Empire, Holy Roman Empress, Isabella of Angouleme, Isabella of England, King Alexander II of Scotland, King Henry III of England, King John of England, Pierre II of Courtenay

Isabella of England (1214 – December 1, 1241) was an English princess of the House of Plantagenet. She became Holy Roman Empress, Queen of Sicily, Italy and Germany from 1235 until her death as the third wife of Emperor Friedrich II.

Birth and early years

Isabella was born around 1214 as the fourth child and second daughter of John, King of England and his second wife Isabella of Angoulême. Isabella of Angoulême was the only daughter and heir of Aymer Taillefer, Count of Angoulême, by Alice of Courtenay, who was a sister of Pierre II of Courtenay, Latin Emperor of Constantinople.

Alice and Pierre II were grandchildren of King Louis VI of France through their father Pierre I of Courtenay.

Isabella’s exact date of birth is unknown, and the year is calculated based on the fact that Matthew Paris reported that the princess got married at the age of 21. By the time Isabella was born, her parents’ marriage had already started to unravel, and the princess spent most of the time with her mother.

After the death of King John in 1216, Isabella remained in the full care of her mother and was with her until 1220, when Isabella of Angouleme remarried Count Hugh X of Lusignan and left the English court.

The princess was raised from an early age by the “nurse and governess” Margaret Biset, who received for her services from 1219, by order of her brother King Henry III, one penny a day “from the hands of the Viscount Hereford”; she remained within Isabella’s household and accompanied her to Germany sixteen years later, when the princess married.

The services of the rest of the princess’s servants (cook, stableman and others) were also paid by her brother, and by his order, when some of Isabella’s servants retired from her service, they were assigned a generous pension.

The first years of Isabella’s life were spent in Gloucester Castle. Later, when the problems that accompanied the early years of the her brother’s reign ended, she was transported to the court, at first located in Woodstock and then in Westminster. From time to time, the princess with her family visited other royal residences: Winchester, Marlborough, Northampton, York and others.

Youth

In June 1220 or 1221 Isabella’s older sister, Joan, was betrothed to King Alexander II of Scotland, and according to the marriage contract, if Joan did not have time to return to England by Michael’s Day (September 29), within two weeks after that, the Scottish King was to marry Isabella.

Twice over the next ten years, King Henry III tried to marry off his sister (probably Isabella): first, in 1225, were negotiations for a marriage with King Heinrich (VII) of Germany (who ten years later became Isabella’s stepson) and then to King Louis IX of France.

Once the princess got older, the more she loved privacy. In November 1229, with the permission of her brother, she departed for Marlborough Castle, which became her residence; at this time, reconstruction was being completed in the castle, and King Henry III ordered the constable of the castle to allow his sister to choose any quarters she wanted.

The relationship between brother and sister was very warm, and the King visited Isabella several times: he visited Marlborough during the celebration of the wedding of “the maiden Catherine” who served Isabella, and also visited his sister in 1231 and 1232 at Gloucester Castle.

On November 13, 1232, King Henry III sent his personal tailor to his sister to make her a new full wardrobe. The King also celebrated Christmas with Isabella that year; he sent her three of the best dishes from his table and presented many gifts, and then for several months he sent her the items needed to equip the princess’s own chapel.

Provisions for Isabella and her guests were provided by “two or three worthy men” from Gloucester, while wine and venison were regularly sent to his sister by the King, who also provided one of his fish suppliers for use by Isabella. The royal chaplain, Warin, who served Isabella, was also granted to his sister by the King. In the summer of 1232, Isabella returned to Marlborough Castle.

In 1234, Isabella left seclusion and settled in the Tower of London. In November, the twice-widowed Friedrich II, Holy Roman Emperor at a friendly meeting at Rieti, received the advice of Pope Gregory IX to ask Isabella’s hand, and in February 1235 he sent an embassy to King Henry III headed by his chancellor Pietro della Vigna.

The marriage of Isabella and Emperor Friedrich II was designed to strengthen the political alliance of England and the Holy Roman Empire against France. After three days of discussion, King Henry III agreed to the marriage; Isabella was brought from her quarters in the Tower to the Palace of Westminster, where she met with the ambassadors, who “declared her the most worthy of the imperial brides”, put a wedding ring on her finger and greeted her as their Empress.

On February 23, 1235, an agreement was signed, according to which King Henry III provided his sister with a dowry of 30,000 marks (an amount sought by the Emperor in order to fund his wars in northern Italy), which was to be paid within two years, and as a wedding gift he gave her all the necessary utensils, jewelry, horses and rich clothes, all made according to the latest German fashion; also, the princess received patent letters from the Emperor, giving Isabella, as Queen of Sicily and Holy Roman Empress the possession of the lands due to her.

On 27 February both parties signed the marriage contract: the marriage of the English princess with the Holy Roman Emperor was greeted with enthusiasm by both King Henry III and by the common people, although the latter was greatly disappointed by the enormous “help” required of him on this occasion: the King had to levy an unpopular tax of two marks of silver per hide in order to afford Isabella’s dowry.

In early May 1235, Archbishop Heinrich I of Cologne and Duke Heinrch I of Brabant arrived in England to fetch the bride to her new homeland; Isabella departed from London on May 7 under the care and tutelage of the Bishop of Exeter, William Briwere.

The princess’s brothers accompanied her from Canterbury to Sandwich, from where Isabella sailed on May 11; four days later they landed at Antwerp. Before Isabella’s departure from England, the Emperor’s ambassadors swore to King Henry III that if the Emperor died before marriage to the princess could be completed, she would return home without hindrance and in complete safety.

It was rumored that on the way, the Emperor’s enemies, allied with the French king, tried to kidnap Isabella, but the escort provided by Emperor Friedrich II was able to protect the princess. On May 22 or 24, Isabella arrived in Cologne and stayed at the house of provost of St. Gereon, where the princess had to spend six weeks, while the Emperor was at war with his own son.

Empress

After a six-week wait, Emperor Friedrich II summoned his bride to Worms, where their official wedding took place and Isabella was crowned at Worms Cathedral by Archbishop Siegfried III of Mainz. Researchers disagree on the date of this double event: Alison Weir and Mary Anne Everett Green date it July 20, 1235; Kate Norgate, author of the article on Isabella in the Dictionary of National Biography, writes about Sunday 15 July, while James Panton lists both dates as possible.

Wedding celebrations lasted for four days, and, as they say, they attended “four kings, eleven dukes, counts and margraves, thirty or fewer prelates and minor nobles”. On 14 August, Emperor Friedrich II called an assembly to which representatives from all over the Empire were invited; they met the new empress and brought her their congratulations.

Isabella (or Elizabeth, as some of her husband’s subjects called her) seems to have been a very dignified and beautiful woman. Emperor Friedrich II was delighted with his new wife, but immediately after the wedding he got rid of the Isabella’s English entourage “of both sexes”, leaving only her nurse Margaret Biset and one maid with her, and transferred her to seclusion in Hagenau, where the couple spent most of the winter.

Earlier, the English embassy, which arrived with Isabella, left for their homeland; they brought gifts to their king from the emperor, among whom were three living leopards —animals depicted on the coat of arms of the English king.

Soon after the wedding, Emperor Friedrich II was forced to leave and leave his wife in the care of his son Conrad. In early 1236, Isabella and her husband visited Ravenna; part of the year the imperial couple spent in Italy, after which they returned to Germany.

Already being married, Isabella continued to maintain a relationship with her brother King Henry III: they maintained a regular correspondence, in which they communicated as warmly as strict etiquette allowed. Warm correspondence with the English king was conducted by the Emperor himself, but the name of his wife was mentioned in these letters occasionally and only regarding political issues.

In July, Emperor Friedrich II was preparing for a military campaign and was forced to leave his wife in Germany for almost a year.

By Michael’s Day, Emperor Friedrich II returned to Lombardy, where he summoned his wife and where he spent the winter with her. In September 1238, the emperor sent his wife to Andria, where Isabella remained until December, when the archbishop of Palermo escorted her back to Lombardy.

In early 1239, Isabella spent some time in Noventa Padovana while her husband was in Padua; in February 1240 she returned to southern Italy, where the emperor soon arrived. Emperor Friedrich II, it seems, respected and loved his wife, but in a quite strange manner: taking care of her safety and surrounding her with luxury and splendor, but keeping at a distance from himself and in company of his “harem”, which included women from Arabia; in addition, James Panton writes that the empress was forbidden to communicate with all men, except for the black eunuchs around her.

Isabella’s brother King Henry III complained that his sister was never allowed to “wear her crown” publicly or appear as empress at public meetings. In 1241, when her second brother, Richard of Cornwall, went to visit Friedrich on his way back from the Holy Land, only “after a few days” he was able “with the permission of the emperor and of his own free will” to visit his sister’s chambers. Friedrich did not allow Isabella to meet her brother at court.

Isabella died in childbirth at Foggia near Naples in 1241. Alison Weir dated Isabella’s death between December 1–6. While Kate Norgate and Mary Anne Everett Green believe that she died on December 1.

Friedrich II at the time of his wife’s death was in Faenza, and Isabella’s dying words were a request to her husband to continue to maintain friendly relations with her brother King Henry III. Isabella was buried with full honors at Andria Cathedral near Bari beside Friedrich II’s previous wife, Queen Isabella II of Jerusalem.

King Henry III was deeply saddened and shocked by his sister’s death. He ordered his almoner to distribute, “for the soul of the empress, our late sister,” over £200 in alms at Oxford and Ospringe; the same amount was distributed in London and Windsor. Matthew Paris lamented the death of Isabella, calling her “the glory and hope of England”.

August 24, 1200: King John of England marries Isabella, Countess of Angoulême

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Arthur of Brittany, Count of La Marche, Henry III of England, Hugh IX of Lusignan, Hugh X of Lusignan, Isabella of Angouleme, Isabella of Gloucester, King John of England, King Philippe II of France, Richard I of England

Isabella (c. 1186/ 1188 – June 4, 1246) was Queen of England, as the second wife of King John of England, from 1200 to 1216, and Countess of Angoulême in her own right from 1202 until her death in 1246.

Isabella was the only daughter and heir of Aymer Taillefer, Count of Angoulême, by Alice of Courtenay, who was a sister of Peter II of Courtenay, Latin Emperor of Constantinople. Alice and Peter II were grandchildren of King Louis VI of France through their father Peter I of Courtenay.

Isabella became Countess of Angoulême in her own right on June 16, 1202, by which time she was already queen of England.

When King Richard I of England died, his younger brother John, claimed the throne as the son of King Henry II of England. The other to claim the throne of England was Arthur I, Duke of Brittany, nephew of John and the son of John’s older brother. Geoffrey, Duke of Brittany.

Neither side was keen to continue the conflict, and following a papal truce the two leaders met in January 1200 to negotiate possible terms for peace. From John’s perspective, what then followed represented an opportunity to stabilize control over his continental possessions and produce a lasting peace with Philippe II of France in Paris.

John and Philippe II negotiated the May 1200 Treaty of Le Goulet; by this treaty, Philippe II recognized John as the rightful heir to Richard in respect to his French possessions, temporarily abandoning the wider claims of his client, Arthur of Brittany.

John, in turn, abandoned Richard’s former policy of containing Philippe II through alliances with Flanders and Boulogne, and accepted Philippe II’s right as the legitimate feudal overlord of John’s lands in France. John’s policy earned him the disrespectful title of “John Softsword” from some English chroniclers, who contrasted his behaviour with his more aggressive brother, Richard.

In order to remarry, John first needed to abandon his wife Isabella, Countess of Gloucester; the King accomplished this by arguing that he had failed to get the necessary papal dispensation to marry the Countess in the first place—as a cousin, John could not have legally wedded her without this.

It remains unclear why John chose to marry Isabella of Angoulême. Contemporary chroniclers argued that John had fallen deeply in love with her, and John may have been motivated by desire for an apparently beautiful, if rather young, girl.

On the other hand, the Angoumois lands that came with her were strategically vital to John: by marrying Isabella, John was acquiring a key land route between Poitou and Gascony, which significantly strengthened his grip on Aquitaine.

Isabella, however, was already engaged to Hugh IX of Lusignan, an important member of a key Poitou noble family and brother of Raoul I, Count of Eu, who possessed lands along the sensitive eastern Normandy border.

Just as John stood to benefit strategically from marrying Isabella, so the marriage threatened the interests of the Lusignans, whose own lands currently provided the key route for royal goods and troops across Aquitaine. Rather than negotiating some form of compensation, John treated Hugh “with contempt”; this resulted in a Lusignan uprising that was promptly crushed by John, who also intervened to suppress Raoul in Normandy.

King John officially married Isabella, Countess of Angoulême on August 24, 1200.

As a result of John’s temerity in taking her as his second wife, King Philippe II of France confiscated all of their French lands. War recommenced in the aftermath of John’s decision to marry Isabella of Angoulême.

At the time of her marriage to John, the blonde-haired blue-eyed Isabella was already renowned by some for her beauty and has sometimes been called the Helen of the Middle Ages by historians. Isabella was much younger than her husband and possessed a volatile temper similar to his own.

King John was infatuated with his young, beautiful wife; however, his acquisition of her had at least as much to do with spiting his enemies as romantic love.

It was said that he neglected his state affairs to spend time with Isabella, often remaining in bed with her until noon. However, these were rumors spread by John’s enemies to discredit him as a weak and grossly irresponsible ruler, given that at the time John was engaging in a desperate war against King Philippe II of France to hold on to the remaining Plantagenet duchies. The common people began to term her a “siren” or “Messalina” for her allure. Her mother-in-law, Eleanor of Aquitaine, readily accepted her as John’s wife.

On October 1, 1207, at Winchester Castle, Isabella gave birth to a son and heir, the future King Henry III of England, who was named after his grandfather King Henry II. He was quickly followed by another son, Richard, and three daughters: Joan, Isabella and Eleanor. All five children survived into adulthood and made illustrious marriages; all but Joan produced offspring of their own.

Isabella had five children by the king, including his heir, later Henry III.

Second marriage

When King John died on October 19, 1216, Isabella’s first act was to arrange the speedy coronation of her nine-year-old son at the city of Gloucester on October 28. As the royal crown had recently been lost in the Wash, along with the rest of King John’s treasure, she supplied her own golden circlet to be used in lieu of a crown.

The following July, less than a year after his crowning as King Henry III of England, she left him in the care of his regent, William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke, and returned to France to assume control of her inheritance of Angoulême.

In the spring of 1220, Isabella married Hugh X of Lusignan, “le Brun”, Seigneur de Luisignan, Count of La Marche, the son of her former fiancé, Hugh IX, to whom she had been betrothed before her marriage to King John. It had been previously arranged that her eldest daughter Joan should marry Hugh, and the little girl was being brought up at the Lusignan court in preparation for her marriage.

Hugh, however, upon seeing Isabella, whose beauty had not diminished, preferred the girl’s mother. Joan was provided with another husband, King Alexander II of Scotland, whom she wed in 1221.

Isabella and Hugh X of Lusignan, Count of La Marche, had another nine children.

Isabella encouraged her son, King Henry III in his invasion of Normandy in 1230, but then did not provide him the support she had promised.

Some of Isabella’s contemporaries, as well as later writers, claim that Isabella formed a conspiracy against King Louis IX of France in 1241, after being publicly snubbed by his mother, Blanche of Castile, for whom she harbored a deep-seated hatred.

In 1244 two royal cooks were arrested for attempting to poison the King Louis IX; upon questioning they confessed to having been in Isabella’s pay.

After the plot had failed, Isabella was accused of attempting to poison the king. Before Isabella could be taken into custody, she sought refuge in Fontevraud Abbey, where she died two years later, on June 4, 1246. However, none of this can be confirmed.

By Isabella’s own prior arrangement, she was first buried in the abbey’s churchyard as an act of repentance for her many misdeeds. On a visit to Fontevraud, her son King Henry III of England was shocked to find her buried outside the abbey and ordered her immediately moved inside. She was finally placed beside Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. Afterwards, most of her many Lusignan children, having few prospects in France, set sail for England and the court of Henry, their half-brother.

Second Marriage of Isabella of Angoulême.

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England, Henry III of England, Hugh X of Lusignan, Isabella of Angouleme, John Lackland, Kings and Queens of England, Léa Seydoux, Queen Mother, Raymond VII of Toulouse

On the 19th of October I posted about the life of King John of England. In that entry I included information on his marriage to Isabella of Angoulême (c. 1186/1188 – June 4, 1246). What I found interesting was her second marriage and her life after King John.

Second Marriage

Isabella was the only daughter and heir of Aymer Taillefer, Count of Angoulême, by Alice of Courtenay, who was sister of Peter II of Courtenay, Latin Emperor of Constantinople and granddaughter of King Louis VI of France.

When King John died on October 19, 1216, Isabella was 28/30 years of age and her first act was to arrange the speedy coronation of her nine-year-old son as King Henry III at the city of Gloucester on October 28. As the royal crown had recently been lost in The Wash, along with the rest of King John’s treasure, she supplied her own golden circlet to be used in lieu of a crown. The following July, less than a year after his crowning as King Henry III of England, she left him in the care of his regent, William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke and returned to France to assume control of her inheritance of
Angoulême.

Isabella of Angoulême

In the spring of 1220, Isabella married Hugh X of Lusignan, “le Brun”, Seigneur de Luisignan, Count of La Marche, the son of her former fiancé, Hugh IX, to whom she had been betrothed before her marriage to King John. It had been previously arranged that her eldest daughter Joan should marry Hugh, and the little girl was being brought up at the Lusignan court in preparation for her marriage. Hugh, however, upon seeing Isabella, whose beauty had not diminished, preferred the girl’s mother. Joan was provided with another husband, King Alexander II of Scotland, whom she wed in 1221.

Isabella had married Hugh without the consent of the king’s council in England, as was required of a queen dowager. That council had the power not only to assign to her any subsequent husband, but to decide whether she should be allowed to remarry at all. That Isabella flouted its authority moved the council to confiscate her dower lands and to stop the payment of her pension.

Isabella of Angoulême

Isabella and her husband retaliated by threatening to keep Joan, who had been promised in marriage to the King of Scotland, in France. The council first responded by sending furious letters to the Pope, signed in the name of young King Henry, urging him to excommunicate Isabella and her husband, but then decided to come to terms with Isabella, to avoid conflict with the Scottish king, who was eager to receive his bride. Isabella was granted the stannaries in Devon, and the revenue of Aylesbury for a period of four years, in compensation for her confiscated dower lands in Normandy, as well as the £3,000 arrears for her pension.

Isabella had nine more children by Hugh X. Their eldest son Hugh XI of Lusignansucceeded his father as Count of La Marche and Count of Angoulême in 1249.

Isabella’s children from her royal marriage did not join her in Angoulême, remaining in England with their eldest brother Henry III.

Rebellion and death

Isabella of Angoulême portrayed by actress Léa Seydoux in the 2010 film Robin Hood.

Described by some contemporaries as “vain, capricious, and troublesome,” Isabella could not reconcile herself with her less prominent position in France. Though Queen mother of England, Isabella was now mostly regarded as a mere Countess of La Marche and had to give precedence to other women. In 1241, when Isabella and Hugh were summoned to the French court to swear fealty to King Louis IX of France’s brother, Alphonse, who had been invested as Count of Poitou, their mother, the Queen Dowager Blanche openly snubbed her.

This so infuriated Isabella, who had a deep-seated hatred of Blanche for having fervently supported the French invasion of England during the First Barons’ War in May 1216, that she began to actively conspire against King Louis. Isabella and her husband, along with other disgruntled nobles, including her son-in-law Raymond VII of Toulouse, sought to create an English-backed confederacy which united the provinces of the south and west against the French King. She encouraged her son Henry in his invasion of Normandy in 1230, but then did not provide him the support she had promised.

In 1244, after the confederacy had failed and Hugh had made peace with King Louis, two royal cooks were arrested for attempting to poison the King; upon questioning they confessed to having been in Isabella’s pay. Before Isabella could be taken into custody, she fled to Fontevraud Abbey, where she died on 4 June 1246.

By Isabella’s own prior arrangement, she was first buried in the Abbey’s churchyard, as an act of repentance for her many misdeeds. On a visit to Fontevraud, her son King Henry III of England was shocked to find her buried outside the Abbey and ordered her immediately moved inside. She was finally placed beside Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. Afterwards, most of her many Lusignan children, having few prospects in France, set sail for England and the court of Henry, their half-brother.

Issue

* With King John of England: 5 children, all of whom survived into adulthood, including:
*
1. King Henry III of England (October 1, 1207 – November 16, 1272). Married Eleanor of Provence, by whom he had issue, including his heir, King Edward I of England.
2. Richard, Earl of Cornwall and King of the Romans (January 5, 1209 – April 2 1272). Married firstly Isabel Marshal, secondly Sanchia of Provence, and thirdly Beatrice of Falkenburg. Had issue.
3. Joan (July 22, 1210 – 1238), the wife of King Alexander II of Scotland. Her marriage was childless.
4. Isabella (1214–1241), the wife of Emperor Frederick II, by whom she had issue.
5. Eleanor (1215–1275), who would marry firstly William Marshal, 2nd Earl of Pembroke; and secondly Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester, by whom she had issue.

* With Hugh X of Lusignan, Count of La Marche: nine children, all of whom survived into adulthood, including:
*
1. Hugh XI of Lusignan (1221–1250), Count of La Marche and Count of Angoulême. Married Yolande de Dreux, Countess of Penthièvre and of Porhoet, by whom he had issue.
2. Aymer of Lusignan (1222–1260), Bishop of Winchester
3. Agnès de Lusignan (1223–1269). Married William II de Chauvigny (d. 1270), and had issue.
4. Alice of Lusignan (1224 – 9 February 1256). Married John de Warenne, 6th Earl of Surrey, by whom she had issue.
5. Guy of Lusignan (c. 1225 – 1264), killed at the Battle of Lewes. (Tufton Beamish maintains that he escaped to France after the Battle of Lewes and died there in 1269).
6. Geoffrey of Lusignan (c. 1226 – 1274). Married in 1259 Jeanne, Viscountess of Châtellerault, by whom he had issue.
7. Isabella of Lusignan (c.1226/1227 – 14 January 1299). Married firstly before 1244 Maurice IV, seigneur de Craon (1224–1250), by whom she had issue; she married secondly, Geoffrey de Rancon.
8. William of Lusignan (c. 1228 – 1296). 1st Earl of Pembroke. Married Joan de Munchensi, by whom he had issue.
9. Marguerite de Lusignan (c. 1229 – 1288). Married firstly in 1243 Raymond VII of Toulouse; secondly c. 1246 Aimery IX de Thouars, Viscount of Thouars and had issue

This date in History. Death of King John of England, Lord of Ireland and Duke of Aquitaine: October 19, 1216.

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Isabella of Angouleme, John of England, King Henry II of England, Kings and Queens of England, Louis VIII of France, Philip II of France, The Magna Carta

I cannot possibly cover the entirety of King John’s reign in this one post, therefore I will cover more personal issues along with issues regarding the succession.

John (December 24, 1166 – October 19, 1216) was King of England from 1199 until his death in 1216. He lost the Duchy of Normandy and most of his other French lands to King Philippe II of France, resulting in the collapse of the Angevin Empire and contributing to the subsequent growth in power of the French Capetian dynasty during the 13th century. The baronial revolt at the end of John’s reign led to the sealing of Magna Carta, a document sometimes considered an early step in the evolution of the constitution of the United Kingdom.

King Henry II of England and Duchess Eleanor of Aquitaine had five sons: William IX, Count of Poitiers, who died before John’s birth; Henry the Young King; Richard I, King of England & Count of Poitiers (Lionheart); Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany; and John.

Nicknamed John Lackland because he was not expected to inherit significant lands, John became King Henry II’s favourite child following his surviving brothers failed revolt of 1173–74. He was appointed the Lord of Ireland in 1177 and given lands in England and on the continent. When Henry II died in 1189, having been predeceased by Henry the Young King and Geoffrey of Brittany, Richard became king with Geoffrey’s son, Arthur, as heir presumptive.

King John of England, Lord of Ireland and Duke of Aquitaine

John grew up to be around 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m) tall, relatively short, with a “powerful, barrel-chested body” and dark red hair; he looked to contemporaries like an inhabitant of Poitou. John enjoyed reading and, unusual for the period, built up a travelling library of books. He enjoyed gambling, in particular at backgammon, and was an enthusiastic hunter, even by medieval standards. He liked music, although not songs. John would become a “connoisseur of jewels”, building up a large collection, and became famous for his opulent clothes and also, according to French chroniclers, for his fondness for bad wine. As John grew up, he became known for sometimes being “genial, witty, generous and hospitable”; at other moments, he could be jealous, over-sensitive and prone to fits of rage, “biting and gnawing his fingers” in anger.

First Marriage

Isabella, Countess of Gloucester (c. 1173 – October 14, 1217). Isabella was the daughter of William Fitz Robert, 2nd Earl of Gloucester, and his wife Hawise de Beaumont. Her paternal grandfather, Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester, was the illegitimate son of King Henry I. Her father died in 1183, at which time she became Countess of Gloucester suo jure.

On September 28, 1176, King Henry II betrothed Isabella to his youngest son, John Lacklannd. John and Isabella were half-second cousins as great-grandchildren of Henry I, and thus within the prohibited degrees of consanguinity. But in the marriage agreement, the King agreed to find the best husband possible for Isabella should the Pope refuse to grant a dispensation for the marriage. Henry also declared Isabella the sole heir to Gloucester, disinheriting her two sisters.

On August 29, 1189, John and Isabella were married at Marlborough Castle in Wiltshire, and John assumed the Earldom of Gloucester in her right. Baldwin, Archbishop of Canterbury, declared the marriage null by reason of consanguinity and placed their lands under interdict. The interdict was lifted by Pope Clement III. The Pope granted a dispensation to marry but forbade the couple from having sexual relations.

After John became king he sought an annulment in order to marry Isabella of Angoulême. The annulment was granted on the grounds of consanguinity, by the bishops of Lisieux, Bayeux, and Avranches, sitting in Normandy. John, however, kept her lands, and Isabella did not contest the annulment.

Philippe II, King of France.

After King Richard I’s death on April 6, 1199 there were two potential claimants to the Angevin throne: John, whose claim rested on being the sole surviving son of Henry II, and young Arthur I, Duke of Brittany, who held a claim as the son of John’s elder brother Geoffrey. Richard appears to have started to recognise John as his heir presumptive in the final years before his death, but the matter was not clear-cut and medieval law gave little guidance as to how the competing claims should be decided. With Norman law favouring John as the only surviving son of Henry II and Angevin law favouring Arthur as the only son of Henry’s elder son, the matter rapidly became an open conflict. John was supported by the bulk of the English and Norman nobility and was crowned at Westminster Abbey, backed by his mother, Eleanor. Arthur was supported by the majority of the Breton, Maine and Anjou nobles and received the support of Philippe II, who remained committed to breaking up the Angevin territories on the continent. With Arthur’s army pressing up the Loire valley towards Angers and Philippe II’s forces moving down the valley towards Tours, John’s continental empire was in danger of being cut in two.

John and Philippe II negotiated the May 1200 Treaty of Le Goulet; by this treaty, Philippe recognised John as the rightful heir to Richard in respect to his French possessions, temporarily abandoning the wider claims of his client, Arthur. John, in turn, abandoned Richard’s former policy of containing Philippe through alliances with Flanders and Boulogne, and accepted Philippe’s right as the legitimate feudal overlord of John’s lands in France. John’s policy earned him the disrespectful title of “John Softsword” from some English chroniclers, who contrasted his behaviour with his more aggressive brother, Richard.

Isabella of Angoulême, Queen Consort of England and Lady of Ireland.

Second Marriage

Isabella of Angoulême (c. 1186/1188 – June 4, 1246) was queen consort of England as the second wife of King John from 1200 until John’s death in 1216. She was also suo jure Countess of Angoulême from 1202 until 1246.

Isabella was the only daughter and heir of Aymer Taillefer, Count of Angoulême, by Alice of Courtenay, who was sister of Peter II of Courtenay, Latin Emperor of Constantinople and granddaughter of King Louis VI of France.

Isabella became Countess of Angoulême in her own right on June 26, 1202, by which time she was already Queen of England. Her marriage to King John took place on August 24, 1200 in Angoulême, a year after he annulled his first marriage to Isabel of Gloucester. She was crowned queen in an elaborate ceremony on October 8, at Westminster Abbey in London. Isabella was originally betrothed to Hugh IX le Brun, Count of Lusignan, son of the Count of La Marche. As a result of John’s temerity in taking her as his second wife, King Philippe II of France confiscated all of their French lands, and armed conflict ensued.

At the time of her marriage to John, the blonde-haired blue-eyed Isabella was already renowned by some for her beauty and has sometimes been called the Helen of the Middle Ages by historians. Isabella was much younger than her husband and possessed a volatile temper similar to his own. King John was infatuated with his young, beautiful wife; however, his acquisition of her had at least as much to do with splitting his enemies between one another as romantic love.

She was already engaged to Hugh IX le Brun when she was taken by John. It was said that he neglected his state affairs to spend time with Isabella, often remaining in bed with her until noon. However, these were rumors spread by John’s enemies to discredit him as a weak and grossly irresponsible ruler, given that at the time John was engaging in a desperate war against King Philippe II of France to hold on to the remaining Plantagenet duchies. The common people began to term her a “siren” or “Messalina”, which spoke volumes as to popular opinion. Her mother-in-law, Eleanor of Aquitaine, readily accepted her as John’s wife.

Personal Life

John’s personal life greatly affected his reign. Contemporary chroniclers state that John was sinfully lustful and lacking in piety. John’s lack of religious conviction has been noted by contemporary chroniclers and later historians, with some suspecting that John was at best impious, or even atheistic, a very serious issue at the time.

It was common for kings and nobles of the period to keep mistresses, but chroniclers complained that John’s mistresses were married noblewomen, which was considered unacceptable. John had at least five children with mistresses during his first marriage to Isabella of Gloucester, and two of those mistresses are known to have been noblewomen. John’s behaviour after his second marriage to Isabella of Angoulême is less clear, however.

None of John’s known illegitimate children were born after he remarried, and there is no actual documentary proof of adultery after that point, although John certainly had female friends amongst the court throughout the period. The specific accusations made against John during the baronial revolts are now generally considered to have been invented for the purposes of justifying the revolt; nonetheless, most of John’s contemporaries seem to have held a poor opinion of his sexual behaviour.

The character of John’s relationship with his second wife, Isabella of Angoulême, is unclear. John married Isabella whilst she was relatively young – her exact date of birth is uncertain, and estimates place her between at most 15 and more probably towards nine years old at the time of her marriage. Even by the standards of the time, Isabella was married whilst very young. King John was 34 at the time of his marriage.

On October 1, 1207 at Winchester Castle, Isabella gave birth to a son and heir, named Henry after the King’s father, Henry II. If Isabella was 9 at the time of her marriage to King John, then she would have been 15 at the time she gave birth to the future Henry III. If Isabella was 15 at the time of her marriage, then she would have been 22 at the birth of her son.

Young Prince Henry was quickly followed by another son, Richard, and three daughters, Joan, Isabella, and Eleanor. All five children survived into adulthood and made illustrious marriages; all but Joan produced offspring of their own.

John did not provide a great deal of money for his wife’s household and did not pass on much of the revenue from her lands, to the extent that historian Nicholas Vincent has described him as being “downright mean” towards Isabella. Vincent concluded that the marriage was not a particularly “amicable” one. Other aspects of their marriage suggest a closer, more positive relationship. Chroniclers recorded that John had a “mad infatuation” with Isabella, and certainly John had conjugal relationships with Isabella between at least 1207 and 1215; they had five children. In contrast to Vincent, historian William Chester Jordan concludes that the pair were a “companionable couple” who had a successful marriage by the standards of the day.

Death

In September 1216, John began a fresh, vigorous attack against the rebellious Barons. He marched from the Cotswolds, feigned an offensive to relieve the besieged Windsor Castle, and attacked eastwards around London to Cambridge to separate the rebel-held areas of Lincolnshire and East Anglia. From there he travelled north to relieve the rebel siege at Lincoln and back east to King’s Lynn, probably to order further supplies from the continent.

In King’s Lynn, John contracted dysentery, which would ultimately prove fatal. Meanwhile, King Alexander II of Scotland invaded northern England again, taking Carlisle in August and then marching south to give homage to Prince Louis (future Louis VIII) for his English possessions; John narrowly missed intercepting Alexander along the way. Tensions between Louis and the English barons began to increase, prompting a wave of desertions, including William Marshal’s son William and William Longespée, who both returned to John’s faction.

King Louis VIII the Lion invaded southern England and was proclaimed “King of England” by rebellious barons in London on June 2, 1216 a few months before the death of King John. Tensions between Louis VIII and the English barons began to increase, prompting a wave of desertions, including William Marshal’s son William and William Longespée, who both returned to John’s faction. Louis VIII was never crowned as king of England, however, and renounced his claim after being excommunicated and repelled by English forces.

The king returned west but is said to have lost a significant part of his baggage train along the way. Roger of Wendover provides the most graphic account of this, suggesting that the king’s belongings, including the Crown Jewels, were lost as he crossed one of the tidal estuaries which empties into the Wash, being sucked in by quicksand and whirlpools. Accounts of the incident vary considerably between the various chroniclers and the exact location of the incident has never been confirmed; the losses may have involved only a few of his pack-horse. Modern historians assert that by October 1216 John faced a “stalemate”, “a military situation uncompromised by defeat.”

John’s illness grew worse and by the time he reached Newark Castle he was unable to travel any farther; John died on the night of 18/19 October. Numerous – probably fictitious – accounts circulated soon after his death that he had been killed by poisoned ale, poisoned plums or a “surfeit of peachees.” His body was escorted south by a company of mercenaries and he was buried in Worcester Cathedral in front of the altar of St Wulfstan. A new sarcophagus with an effigy was made for him in 1232, in which his remains now rest.

With the death of King John he was succeeded by his 9 year old son as King Henry III of England, Lord of Ireland. On his deathbed, John had appointed a council of thirteen executors to help Henry reclaim the kingdom. The dying King John further requested that his son be placed into the guardianship of William Marshal, one of the most famous knights in England. The loyalist leaders decided to crown Henry immediately to reinforce his claim to the throne.