Other Events and Attributes:

• FSID: G8DF-N5R
• Occupation: Byzantine Politican

Notes:

Stylianos Zaoutzes was a high Byzantine official of Armenian origin

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stylianos_Zaoutzes

Stylianos Zaoutzes (Greek: Στυλιανὸς Ζαούτζης, but Ζαουντζᾶς in Skylitzes)[1] was a high Byzantine official of Armenian origin. Rising to high rank under Byzantine emperor Basil I (reigned 867–886), he then rose further to prominence under Basil's successor Emperor Leo VI the Wise (r. 886–912), who had a close friendship and possibly an affair with Stylianos's daughter Zoe Zaoutzaina. Stylianos Zaoutzes was Leo's leading minister during the first half of his reign, and was awarded the unique title of basileopator. His standing and influence declined after 895, but in 898, he became Leo's father-in-law when the Byzantine emperor married Zoe. He died in 899, in the same year as Zoe. Following an attempted coup by his relatives, the Zaoutzes clan was deprived of the considerable power it had amassed under Stylianos's tutelage.
Biography
Origins and early career[edit]
Zaoutzes was of Armenian descent, and was born in the thema of Macedonia. It has been theorized by the historian Nicholas Adontz that Zaoutzes might be the son of a contemporary strategos of Macedonia named Tzantzes, the name also of Zaoutzes's son, but the connection is ultimately impossible to prove.[1][2] According to Steven Runciman, the surname Zaoutzes derives from the Armenian word Zaoutch, "negro", reflecting Zaoutzes's particularly dark complexion. In the same vein, Zaoutzes was known among Byzantines as "the Ethiopian".[3] Whatever his exact ancestry, he shared ethnic and geographical origin with the Emperor Basil I the Macedonian, a factor that probably played an important role in his ascent to high office during the latter's reign.[2]
In late 882, the young Leo, Basil's second son and heir after the death of his elder brother Constantine in 879, was wedded to Theophano, a member of the Martinakes family. The bride was the choice of empress Eudokia Ingerina, and did not please Leo, who instead preferred the company of Zoe Zaoutzaina, the beautiful daughter of Stylianos Zaoutzes. Whether Zoe was actually his mistress is uncertain; Leo himself strenuously denied this in later accounts.[4] At that point, Zaoutzes held the post of mikros hetaireiarches, i.e. commander of the junior regiment of the Byzantine emperor's mercenary bodyguard, the hetaireia.[5] Leo's relations with his father Basil were always strained, and when Theophano informed him of this affair, Basil reportedly became enraged, beat Leo until he bled, and married Zoe off to one Theodore Gouzouniates.[6] Furthermore, in 883, Leo was denounced as plotting against Basil and was imprisoned; it was only through the intervention of patriarch Photios and Stylianos Zaoutzes that he was not also blinded.[7] This affair does not seem to have hurt Zaoutzes's own standing with Basil or his career, for by the end of Basil's reign he was protospatharios and megas hetaireiarches (senior commander of the hetaireia).[1]
Rise to prominence
Leo spent three years in prison, until released and restored to his rank in late July 886. Here too Zaoutzes played a major role, as he personally pleaded with the Byzantine emperor to secure Leo's release.[8] By that time, Basil was ailing, and on August 12, 886, he was gravely wounded during a hunt. Zaoutzes's participation in the hunt raised suspicions of a conspiracy, but his complicity is generally rejected, as Basil survived for nine days, during which he did not punish Zaoutzes.[9] Upon Basil's death, Leo was crowned emperor, but Zaoutzes, who was awarded the titles of patrikios and magistros and the office of logothetes tou dromou, effectively assumed control of the government, directing state policy.[1] One tradition, based on the Vita Euthymii (the hagiography of Patriarch Euthymios I), holds that Basil himself appointed Zaoutzes as regent (epitropos), but other sources indicate that his ascent to power was more gradual.[10] It is indicative of his authority that most of Leo's ordinances (novels) are directed to him in person, and in 893, he succeeded in getting his protégé, Antony Kauleas, elected as Patriarch of Constantinople.[11] In the same period (between 886 and 893), Emperor Leo VI himself delivered a homily on a church built on Zaoutzes's orders in Constantinople.[12]
Zaoutzes's rise to prominence was consolidated in 891–893, when he was given the newly created title of basileopator ("father of the emperor").[13] His promotion to this new and enigmatic title has been a subject of controversy, as neither the reasons for the creation of the title nor its exact functions are known. The early date of his elevation precludes a relation to the eventual rise of his daughter Zoe to the imperial throne as Leo's empress. Gratitude for Zaoutzes's support against Basil may have played a role, and a common theory is that the office implied some form of tutorship over the emperor.[14] The office certainly confirmed Zaoutzes as the senior secular official of the Byzantine Empire. However, although Zaoutzes has traditionally been regarded as an all-powerful regent over a weak emperor, in no small part due to the account provided in the Vita Euthymii, the actual relationship between the two may have been quite different. A more careful evaluation of the source material has led modern scholarship to conclude that Leo was actively involved in government, and that Zaoutzes as chief minister was loyal and obsequious to his master.[15]
An assessment of his record as the Byzantine Empire's first minister is difficult. Of the few available sources on his career, the Vita Euthymii, compiled years after Zaoutzes's death, is extremely hostile, seeking to pin the responsibility for several of the reign's failures or unpopular decisions on him, and thus preserve Leo from blame.[16] The account of the Vita is further colored by the fierce rivalry between Zaoutzes and Euthymios, then a synkellos and Leo's spiritual father, over influence on the Byzantine emperor.[17] Thus the Vita accuses Zaoutzes of being responsible for the sacking of the successful general Nikephoros Phokas the Elder from the army, as well as for the outbreak of hostilities with Bulgaria in 893: allegedly, two of his protégés moved the main market for Bulgarian goods from Constantinopleto Thessalonica and then proceeded to extract exorbitant fees from the Bulgarian merchants. When Leo, at the behest of Zaoutzes, rejected the merchants' protests, the Bulgarian Tsar Simeon I found a pretext to attack Byzantium.[1][18] It has, however, been recently suggested by the scholar Paul Magdalino that the transfer was in fact Leo's initiative, aiming to enrich Thessalonica, whose patron saint, Saint Demetrius, he showed special favor to.[19]
Fall from favor and death[edit]
Nevertheless, all this has led to the enduring image of an ineffectual leadership in foreign and military affairs under Zaoutzes.[20] This may explain why, despite the resumption of Leo's affair with Zoe, the relationship between Zaoutzes and the emperor became strained: tales of an alleged plot by Zaoutzes's son to murder Leo in 894/895 indicate a rift between the two, and although Zaoutzes himself was not involved, a major quarrel between them ensued shortly after.[21] Although they were reconciled, Zaoutzes's standing seems to have declined further thereafter, as two of his protégés, found guilty of accepting bribes, were punished by Leo.[22] Nevertheless, in late summer 898, following the death of Theophano on 10 November 897, and of Zoe's first husband Gouzouniates in early 898, Leo at last married Zoe, raising her to Augusta. In the next year, however, both Zoe and Stylianos died.[23] Following their deaths, Leo proposed to marry yet again, choosing Eudokia Baïana as his wife. Zaoutzes's numerous relatives, who had benefited from his patronage, were fearful of losing their positions to the new Empress's relations, and conspired to overthrow Leo. Chief among them was Basil, Zoe's nephew. The plot, however, was betrayed by the eunuch servant Samonas, and the conspiracy suppressed. The Zaoutzes relatives were exiled or confined to monasteries, and the clan's power broken.[1][24] Samonas himself was richly rewarded: he was taken into the imperial service and rapidly promoted, becoming parakoimomenos by 908, before he too fell from favor.[25]
Stylianos's daughter Zoe Zaoutzaina. Stylianos Zaoutzes was Leo's leading minister during the first half of his reign, and was awarded the unique title of basileopator. His standing and influence declined after 895, but in 898, he became Leo's father-in-law when the Byzantine emperor married Zoe. He died in 899, in the same year as Zoe. Following an attempted coup by his relatives, the Zaoutzes clan was deprived of the considerable power it had amassed under Stylianos's tutelage.
Origins and early career
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Basil%26leo.jpg

Basil I and Leo. Illumination from the Madrid Skylitzes manuscript.
Zaoutzes was of Armenian descent, and was born in the thema of Macedonia. It has been theorized by the historian Nicholas Adontz that Zaoutzes might be the son of a contemporary strategos of Macedonia named Tzantzes, the name also of Zaoutzes's son, but the connection is ultimately impossible to prove.[1][2] According to Steven Runciman, the surname Zaoutzes derives from the Armenian word Zaoutch, "negro", reflecting Zaoutzes's particularly dark complexion. In the same vein, Zaoutzes was known among Byzantines as "the Ethiopian".[3] Whatever his exact ancestry, he shared ethnic and geographical origin with the Emperor Basil I the Macedonian, a factor that probably played an important role in his ascent to high office during the latter's reign.[2]
In late 882, the young Leo, Basil's second son and heir after the death of his elder brother Constantine in 879, was wedded to Theophano, a member of the Martinakes family. The bride was the choice of empress Eudokia Ingerina, and did not please Leo, who instead preferred the company of Zoe Zaoutzaina, the beautiful daughter of Stylianos Zaoutzes. Whether Zoe was actually his mistress is uncertain; Leo himself strenuously denied this in later accounts.[4] At that point, Zaoutzes held the post of mikros hetaireiarches, i.e. commander of the junior regiment of the Byzantine emperor's mercenary bodyguard, the hetaireia.[5] Leo's relations with his father Basil were always strained, and when Theophano informed him of this affair, Basil reportedly became enraged, beat Leo until he bled, and married Zoe off to one Theodore Gouzouniates.[6] Furthermore, in 883, Leo was denounced as plotting against Basil and was imprisoned; it was only through the intervention of patriarch Photios and Stylianos Zaoutzes that he was not also blinded.[7] This affair does not seem to have hurt Zaoutzes's own standing with Basil or his career, for by the end of Basil's reign he was protospatharios and megas hetaireiarches (senior commander of the hetaireia).[1]
Rise to prominence[edit]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Follis-Leo_VI-sb1729.jpg

Bronze follis of Emperor Leo VI (r. 886–912).
Leo spent three years in prison, until released and restored to his rank in late July 886. Here too Zaoutzes played a major role, as he personally pleaded with the Byzantine emperor to secure Leo's release.[8] By that time, Basil was ailing, and on August 12, 886, he was gravely wounded during a hunt. Zaoutzes's participation in the hunt raised suspicions of a conspiracy, but his complicity is generally rejected, as Basil survived for nine days, during which he did not punish Zaoutzes.[9] Upon Basil's death, Leo was crowned emperor, but Zaoutzes, who was awarded the titles of patrikios and magistros and the office of logothetes tou dromou, effectively assumed control of the government, directing state policy.[1] One tradition, based on the Vita Euthymii (the hagiography of Patriarch Euthymios I), holds that Basil himself appointed Zaoutzes as regent (epitropos), but other sources indicate that his ascent to power was more gradual.[10] It is indicative of his authority that most of Leo's ordinances (novels) are directed to him in person, and in 893, he succeeded in getting his protégé, Antony Kauleas, elected as Patriarch of Constantinople.[11] In the same period (between 886 and 893), Emperor Leo VI himself delivered a homily on a church built on Zaoutzes's orders in Constantinople.[12]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:LeonVIDomestikosKatakalonBGhistory.jpg

From the Madrid Skylitzes: Emperor Leo VI receives a Bulgarian embassy (top); the Bulgarian victory at Bulgarophygon in 896 (bottom). The account of the Vita Euthymii holds Zaoutzes and his corrupt clients responsible for the outbreak of the war, which saw several heavy Byzantine defeats.
Zaoutzes's rise to prominence was consolidated in 891–893, when he was given the newly created title of basileopator ("father of the emperor").[13] His promotion to this new and enigmatic title has been a subject of controversy, as neither the reasons for the creation of the title nor its exact functions are known. The early date of his elevation precludes a relation to the eventual rise of his daughter Zoe to the imperial throne as Leo's empress. Gratitude for Zaoutzes's support against Basil may have played a role, and a common theory is that the office implied some form of tutorship over the emperor.[14] The office certainly confirmed Zaoutzes as the senior secular official of the Byzantine Empire. However, although Zaoutzes has traditionally been regarded as an all-powerful regent over a weak emperor, in no small part due to the account provided in the Vita Euthymii, the actual relationship between the two may have been quite different. A more careful evaluation of the source material has led modern scholarship to conclude that Leo was actively involved in government, and that Zaoutzes as chief minister was loyal and obsequious to his master.[15]
An assessment of his record as the Byzantine Empire's first minister is difficult. Of the few available sources on his career, the Vita Euthymii, compiled years after Zaoutzes's death, is extremely hostile, seeking to pin the responsibility for several of the reign's failures or unpopular decisions on him, and thus preserve Leo from blame.[16] The account of the Vita is further colored by the fierce rivalry between Zaoutzes and Euthymios, then a synkellos and Leo's spiritual father, over influence on the Byzantine emperor.[17] Thus the Vita accuses Zaoutzes of being responsible for the sacking of the successful general Nikephoros Phokas the Elder from the army, as well as for the outbreak of hostilities with Bulgaria in 893: allegedly, two of his protégés moved the main market for Bulgarian goods from Constantinople to Thessalonica and then proceeded to extract exorbitant fees from the Bulgarian merchants. When Leo, at the behest of Zaoutzes, rejected the merchants' protests, the Bulgarian Tsar Simeon I found a pretext to attack Byzantium.[1][18] It has, however, been recently suggested by the scholar Paul Magdalino that the transfer was in fact Leo's initiative, aiming to enrich Thessalonica, whose patron saint, Saint Demetrius, he showed special favor to.[19]
Fall from favor and death[edit]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Samonas_informs_the_Emperor_Leo_of_a_plot_to_kill_him.jpg

Samonas revealing Basil's plot against Leo VI. Miniature from the Madrid Skylitzes
Nevertheless, all this has led to the enduring image of an ineffectual leadership in foreign and military affairs under Zaoutzes.[20] This may explain why, despite the resumption of Leo's affair with Zoe, the relationship between Zaoutzes and the emperor became strained: tales of an alleged plot by Zaoutzes's son to murder Leo in 894/895 indicate a rift between the two, and although Zaoutzes himself was not involved, a major quarrel between them ensued shortly after.[21] Although they were reconciled, Zaoutzes's standing seems to have declined further thereafter, as two of his protégés, found guilty of accepting bribes, were punished by Leo.[22] Nevertheless, in late summer 898, following the death of Theophano on 10 November 897, and of Zoe's first husband Gouzouniates in early 898, Leo at last married Zoe, raising her to Augusta. In the next year, however, both Zoe and Stylianos died.[23] Following their deaths, Leo proposed to marry yet again, choosing Eudokia Baïana as his wife. Zaoutzes's numerous relatives, who had benefited from his patronage, were fearful of losing their positions to the new Empress's relations, and conspired to overthrow Leo. Chief among them was Basil, Zoe's nephew. The plot, however, was betrayed by the eunuch servant Samonas, and the conspiracy suppressed. The Zaoutzes relatives were exiled or confined to monasteries, and the clan's power broken.[1][24] Samonas himself was richly rewarded: he was taken into the imperial service and rapidly promoted, becoming parakoimomenos by 908, before he too fell from favor.[25]

Family/Spouse: Pordayrogenitus, Anna. Anna (daughter of Pordayrogenitus, Leon VI and Zaoutzes, Stylianos) was born in 852 in Istanbul, Istanbul, Turkey; died in DECEASED in Byzantine Empire (Historical). [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Burial: Istanbul, Turkey
• Appointments / Titles: Istanbul, Istanbul, Turkey
• Nickname: With Coal Black Eyes
• FSID: L5VF-CSX

Notes:

Zoe Karbonopsina, also Karvounopsina or Carbonopsina, lit. 'with the Coal-Black Eyes' (Greek: Ζωὴ Καρβωνοψίνα, romanized: Zōē Karbōnopsina), was a Byzantine Greek empress consort and regent of the Byzantine empire. She was the fourth spouse of the Byzantine Emperor  Leo VI the Wise and the mother of Constantine VII, serving as his regent from 914 until 919.[1]

Contents
Zoe Karbonopsina was born into a Greek family. She was a relative of the chronicler Theophanes the Confessor and a niece of the admiral Himerios.
Empress

Desperate to sire a son, Leo VI married his mistress Zoe on 9 January 906, only after she had given birth to the future Constantine VII at the end of 905. However, this constituted his fourth marriage and was therefore un-canonical in the eyes of the Eastern Orthodox Church,[2] which had already been reluctant to accept his third marriage to Eudokia Baïana, who died in childbirth in 901.

Although the Patriarch Nicholas Mystikos reluctantly baptized Constantine, he forbade the emperor from marrying for the fourth time. Leo VI married Zoe with the assistance of a cooperative priest, Thomas, but Nicholas' continued opposition to the marriage led to his removal from office and replacement by Euthymios in 907. The new patriarch attempted a compromise by defrocking the offending priest but recognizing the marriage.

When Leo died in 912, he was succeeded by his younger brother Alexander, who recalled Nicholas Mystikos and expelled Zoe from the palace. Shortly before his death, Alexander provoked a war with Bulgaria. She returned upon Alexander's death in 913, but Nicholas forced her to enter the convent of St. Euphemia in Constantinople after obtaining the promise of the senate and the clergy not to accept her as empress. However, Nicholas' unpopular concessions to the Bulgarians later in the same year weakened his position and in 914 Zoe was able to overthrow Nicholas and replace him as regent.[3] Nicholas was allowed to remain patriarch after reluctantly recognizing her as empress.

Zoe governed with the support of imperial bureaucrats and the influential general Leo Phokas the Elder, who was her favorite. Zoe's first order of business was to revoke the concessions to Simeon I of Bulgaria, including the recognition of his imperial title and the arranged marriage between his daughter and Constantine VII. This renewed the war with Bulgaria, which began badly for the Byzantines who were distracted by military operations in Southern Italy and on the eastern frontier. In 915 Zoe's troops defeated an Arab invasion of Armenia, and made peace with the Arabs. This freed her hands to organize a major expedition against the Bulgarians, who had raided deep into Byzantine Thrace and captured Adrianople. The campaign was planned on a grand scale and intended the bribing and transportation of Pechenegs into Bulgaria by the imperial fleet from the north.

However, the Pecheneg alliance failed, and Leo Phokas was crushingly defeated in the Battle of Anchialus and again at Katasyrtai in 917. Zoe tried to ally with Serbia and the Magyarsagainst Simeon. This also failed to produce any concrete results, and the Arabs, encouraged by the empire's weakness, renewed their raids. A humiliating treaty with the Arabs of Sicily, who were asked to help subdue revolts in Italy, did little to improve the position of Zoe and her supporters.
Later life[

In 919, there was a coup involving various factions, but the opposition to Zoe and Leo Phokas prevailed; in the end the admiral Romanos Lekapenos took power, married his daughter Helena Lekapene to Constantine VII, and forced Zoe back into the convent of Saint Euphemia.

Zoe married Macedonicos, Emperor Leo VI on 9 Jan 906 in Istanbul, Istanbul, Turkey. Leo (son of Macedonicos, Emperor Basileos I and Ingerina, Eudoxia) was born on 19 Sep 866 in Istanbul, Istanbul, Turkey; died on 11 May 912 in Istanbul, Istanbul, Turkey; was buried after 11 May 912 in Istanbul, Istanbul, Turkey. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• House: Macedonian
• FSID: LRQD-FS2
• Appointments / Titles: Between 913 and 959, Byzantine Empire (Historical); Emperor

Notes:

Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus, Emperor of Constantinople was the son of Leo VI 'the Wise', Emperor of Constantinople.1 He married Helen Lecapenus, daughter of Romanus I Lecapenus, Emperor of Constantinople, in 919.2 He died in 959.1
He held the office of Co-regent of Constantinople in 908.1 He succeeded as the Emperor Constantine VII of Constantinople in 913.1
Child of Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus, Emperor of Constantinople
Romanus II, Emperor of Constantinople+1 d. 15 Mar 963
Citations
[S38] John Morby, Dynasties of the World: a chronological and genealogical handbook (Oxford, Oxfordshire, U.K.: Oxford University Press, 1989), page 52. Hereinafter cited as Dynasties of the World.

Wikipedia

Constantine VII Flavius Porphyrogenitus (Byzantine Greek: Κωνσταντῖνος Ζ΄ Φλάβιος Πορφυρογέννητος, romanized: Kōnstantinos VII Flāvios Porphyrogennētos; 17/18 May 905 – 9 November 959) was the fourth Emperor of the Macedonian dynasty of the Byzantine Empire, reigning from 6 June 913 to 9 November 959. He was the son of Emperor Leo VI and his fourth wife, Zoe Karbonopsina, and the nephew of his predecessor Emperor Alexander.

Most of his reign was dominated by co-regents: from 913 until 919 he was under the regency of his mother, while from 920 until 945 he shared the throne with Romanos Lekapenos, whose daughter Helena he married, and his sons. Constantine VII is best known for the Geoponika (τά γεοπονικά), an important agronomic treatise compiled during his reign, and his four books, De Administrando Imperio (bearing in Greek the heading Πρὸς τὸν ἴδιον υἱὸν Ῥωμανόν),[2] De Ceremoniis (Περὶ τῆς Βασιλείου Τάξεως), De Thematibus (Περὶ θεμάτων Άνατολῆς καὶ Δύσεως), and Vita Basilii (Βίος Βασιλείου).[3][4]

The epithet porphyrogenitus alludes to the Purple chamber of the imperial palace, decorated with porphyry, where legitimate children of reigning emperors were normally born. Constantine was also born in this room, although his mother Zoe had not been married to Leo at that time. Nevertheless, the epithet allowed him to underline his position as the legitimate son, as opposed to all others, who claimed the throne during his lifetime. Sons born to a reigning Emperor held precedence in the Eastern Roman line of succession over elder sons not born "in the purple".

Birth:
Born in the Purple

Constantine married Lekapenos, Princess Eleni on 27 Apr 919 in Istanbul, Turkey. Eleni (daughter of Lecapenus, Emperor Romanos I and Lekapenos, Theodora) was born in 906 in Istanbul, Turkey; died on 24 Sep 961 in Istanbul, Turkey; was buried on 19 Sep 961 in Istanbul, Turkey. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Appointments / Titles: Istanbul, Istanbul, Turkey; Princess of The Byzantine Empire
• FSID: L8YR-PKK

Family/Spouse: d'Aveugle, Louis III. Louis (son of de Provence, Boson and de Italy, Queen of Burgundy Ermengarde) was born in 880 in France; died on 5 Jun 928 in France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• FSID: LBGF-H83
• Occupation: Emperor

Notes:

Romanus II, Emperor of Constantinople was the son of Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus, Emperor of Constantinople.1
He married, firstly, Bertha of Italy, daughter of Hugh d'Arles, King of Italy.2
He married, secondly, Theophano (?) circa 956.2 He died on 15 March 963.1,2

He held the office of Co-regent of Constantinople in 945.1 He succeeded as the Emperor Romanus II of Constantinople in 959.1
Children of Romanus II, Emperor of Constantinople and Theophano (?)
Basil II Bulgaroctonus, Emperor of Constantinople+1 d. 1025
Constantine VIII, Emperor of Constantinople+1 d. 1028
Anna (?)+3
Citations
[S38] John Morby, Dynasties of the World: a chronological and genealogical handbook (Oxford, Oxfordshire, U.K.: Oxford University Press, 1989), page 52. Hereinafter cited as Dynasties of the World.
[S130] Wikipedia, online http;//www.wikipedia.org. Hereinafter cited as Wikipedia.

Romanos II was a son of Emperor Constantine VII and Helena Lekapene, the daughter of Emperor Romanos I Lekapenos and his wife Theodora.[1] Named after his maternal grandfather, Romanos was married, as a child, to Bertha, the illegitimate daughter of Hugh of Arles, King of Italy to bond an alliance. She had changed her name to Eudokia after their marriage, but died an early death in 949 before producing an heir, thus never becoming a real marriage, and dissolving the alliance.[2] On January 27, 945, Constantine VII succeeded in removing his brothers-in-law, the sons of Romanos I, assuming the throne alone. On April 6, 945, Constantine crowned his son Romanos co-emperor. With Hugh out of power in Italy and dead by 947, Romanos secured the promise from his father that he would be allowed to select his own bride. Romanos chose an innkeeper's daughter named Anastaso, whom he married in 956 and renamed Theophano.

In November 959, Romanos II succeeded his father on the throne amidst rumors that he or his wife had poisoned him.[3] Romanos purged his father's courtiers of his enemies and replaced them with friends. To appease his bespelling wife, he excused his mother, Empress Helena, from court and forced his five sisters into convents. Nevertheless, many of Romanos' appointees were able men, including his chief adviser, the eunuch Joseph Bringas.

The pleasure-loving sovereign could also leave military matters in the adept hands of his generals, in particular the brothers Leo and Nikephoros Phokas. In 960 Nikephoros Phokas was sent with a fleet of 1,000 dromons, 2,000 chelandia, and 308 transports (the entire fleet was manned by 27,000 oarsmen and marines) carrying 50,000 men to recover Crete from the Muslims.[4] After a difficult campaign and nine-month Siege of Chandax, Nikephoros successfully re-established Byzantine control over the entire island in 961. Following a triumph celebrated at Constantinople, Nikephoros was sent to the eastern frontier, where the Emir of Aleppo Sayf al-Dawla was engaged in annual raids into Byzantine Anatolia. Nikephoros liberated Cilicia and even Aleppo in 962, sacking the palace of the Emir and taking possession of 390,000 silver dinars, 2,000 camels, and 1,400 mules. In the meantime Leo Phokas and Marianos Argyros had countered Magyar incursions into the Byzantine Balkans.

Death of Romanos II

After a lengthy hunting expedition Romanos II took ill and died on March 15, 963. Rumor attributed his death to poison administered by his wife Theophano, but there is no evidence of this, and Theophano would have been risking much by exchanging the secure status of a crowned Augusta with the precarious one of a widowed Regent of her very young children. Romanos II's reliance on his wife and on bureaucrats like Joseph Bringas had resulted in a relatively capable administration, but this built up resentment among the nobility, which was associated with the military. In the wake of Romanos' death, his Empress Dowager, now Regent to the two co-emperors, her underage sons, was quick to marry the general Nikephoros Phokas and to acquire another general, John Tzimiskes, as her lover, having them both elevated to the imperial throne in succession. The rights of her sons were safeguarded, however, and eventually, when Tzimiskes died at war, her eldest son Basil II became senior emperor

Romanos married Phocus, Empress of Byzantine Theophano in 956 in Istanbul, Turkey. Theophano (daughter of Phocas, Emperor Nicephoros II) was born in 932 in Byzantine Empire (Historical); died on 15 Jun 991 in Istanbul, Turkey; was buried after 15 Jun 991 in Byzantine Empire (Historical). [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Appointments / Titles: Comte de Vienne
• FSID: G8XV-QXF
• Appointments / Titles: Between 928 and 930; Count

Notes:

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles-Constantin_de_Vienne

Charles-Constantin de Vienne est un comte de Viennois. Charles Constantin est le fils de Louis III l'Aveugle et d'Anne de Constantinople.

Family/Spouse: de Troyes, Teutberga. Teutberga (daughter of Sens, Garnier and Bosonid, Thietburge) was born in 903 in Troyes, Aube, Champagne-Ardenne, France; died on 14 Feb 961 in Troyes, Aube, Champagne-Ardenne, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• House: House of Macedon, Macedonian dynasty
• FSID: 94BP-X4Z
• Appointments / Titles: 964; Princess of The Byzantine Empire
• Appointments / Titles: 977; Grand Princess of Kievan Rus
• Burial: 1011, Church of the Tithes, Kiev, Kiev, Ukraine

Notes:

Anna Porphyrogenita (Анна Византийская in Russian) (March 13, 963 – 1011) was a Grand Princess consort of Kiev; she was married to Grand Prince Vladimir the Great.[1]
Anna was the daughter of Byzantine Emperor Romanos II and the Empress Theophano. She was also the sister of Emperors Basil II Bulgaroktonos (The Bulgar-Slayer) and Constantine VIII. Anna was a Porphyrogenita, a legitimate daughter born in the special purple chamber of the Byzantine Emperor's Palace. Anna's hand was considered such a prize that Vladimir became Christian just to marry her.[2]
Anna did not wish to marry Vladimir and expressed deep distress on her way to her wedding. Grand Prince Vladimir was impressed by Byzantine religious practices, this factor, along with his marriage to Anna led to his decision to convert to Eastern Christianity. Due to these two factors, Grand Prince Vladimir also began Christianizing his kingdom. By marriage to Grand Prince Vladimir, Anna became Grand Princess of Kiev, but in practice, she was referred to as Queen or Czarina, probably as a sign of her membership of the Imperial Byzantine House. Anna participated actively in the Christianization of Rus: she acted as the religious adviser of Vladimir and founded a few convents and churches herself. It is not known whether she was the biological mother of any of Vladimir's children, although some scholars have pointed to evidence that she and Vladimir may have had as many as three children together

a granddaughter of Otto the Great (possibly Rechlinda Otona (Regel

Birth:
Byzantine Emperor's Palace

Anna married Svyatoslavich, Vladimir I in 977. Vladimir (son of Igorevich, Svyatoslav I and of Lyubech, Malusha Malkovna) was born in 960 in Budyatychi, Volyn', Ukraine; was christened in 988 in Korsun'-Shevchenkivs'kyy, Cherkasy, Ukraine; died on 15 Jul 1015 in Chortitza, Zaporizʹkyy Rayon, Zaporizhzhya, Ukraine; was buried after 15 Jul 1015 in Church of the Tithes, Kiev, Kiev, Ukraine. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• FSID: LYB4-75S
• Alternate Birth: 935, Arles, Bouches-du-Rhône, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France
• Alternate Birth: 935, Arles, Bouches-du-Rhône, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France

Notes:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Constantine_of_Vienne

Charles-Constantine (died 962) was the Count of Vienne and son of Louis the Blind, the latter of whom was King of Provence and Holy Roman Emperor.

Life[edit]
When Charles' father Louis died in 929, Hugh of Arles, who was already king of Italy, took over Provence and gave it, in 933, to King Rudolf II of Burgundy.[1] Charles-Constantine for whatever reason, did not inherit the imperial throne or Provence.[2] This has led many to believe he was, in fact, illegitimate.[3] He was awarded the county of the Viennois in 931, by Rudolph of France.[4]
He was married to Thiberge de Troyes.[4] They had two sons:
• Richard[4]
• Hubert[4]
and possibly a daughter:
• Constance of Vienne, married to Boson II count of Arles.
Name and ancestry[edit]
This count appears simply as "Carolus" (Charles) in his own charters.[5] Flodoard, writing his annals during the count's lifetime, called him Karolo Constantino Ludovici orbi filii (Charles Constantine, son of Louis the Blind), and this added byname also appears in the writings of 10th-century historian Richerus, who used Flodoard as a source.[5][6] The implications of this byname, Constantine, have been subject to debate. Poole considered it a toponymic name of Flodoard's devising, reference to Arles (sometimes called Constantina urbs),[5] but Previté-Orton sees in it a reference to his parentage.[7] A surviving letter by Patriarch Nicholas I Mystikos testifies that Emperor Leo VI the Wise of Byzantium, father of Constantine VII, had betrothed his daughter to a Frank prince, a cousin of Bertha (of Tuscany), to whom came later a great misfortune. That unfortunate prince could only be Louis III, whose mother Ermengard of Italy was a first cousin of Bertha, and who was blinded on 21 July 905, while the prospective bride would have been Emperor Leo's only surviving daughter at that time, Anna, born to his second wife Zoe Zaoutzaina.[7] Charles Constantine would thus have been given names reflecting his paternal and maternal imperial heritage.[8] However, it is still questioned whether the planned marriage ever took place,[9] and there are chronological difficulties (not insurmountable in the opinion of Previté-Orton) in making Anna the mother of Charles Constantine.[7]  Richerus suggested that the ancestry of Charles Constantine was tainted by illegitimacy back to five generations,[7] although the meaning of this is disputed.

Constance married d'Arles, Boson II in 953 in France. Boson was born in 920 in Rhône, Rhône-Alpes, France; died in Jul 965 in Rhône, Rhône-Alpes, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• House: Rurikids
• Nickname: The Wise
• FSID: LDMT-HMZ
• Appointments / Titles: Between 978 and 1054, Novgorod, Russia; Prince of Novgorod
• Appointments / Titles: 1019, Kievian Rus' Empire (Historical); Grand Prince
• Life Event: 1025, Novgorod, Russia; Codified Russian Law

Notes:

Yaroslav I, Grand Prince of Rus', known as Yaroslav the Wise or Iaroslav the Wise (Old East Slavic: Ꙗрославъ Володимѣровичъ Мѫдрꙑи; Ukrainian: Ярослав Мудрий; Russian: Ярослав Мудрый, [jɪrɐˈslaf ˈmudrɨj]; Old Norse: Jarizleifr Valdamarsson; Latin: Iaroslaus Sapiens; c. 978 – 20 February 1054) was thrice grand prince of Veliky Novgorod and Kiev, uniting the two principalities for a time under his rule. Yaroslav's baptismal name was George (Yuri) after Saint George (Old East Slavic: Гюрьгi, Gjurĭgì).

A son of Vladimir the Great, the first Christian Prince of Kiev, Yaroslav acted as vice-regent of Novgorod at the time of his father's death in 1015. Subsequently, his eldest surviving brother, Sviatopolk I of Kiev, killed three of his other brothers and seized power in Kiev. Yaroslav, with the active support of the Novgorodians and the help of Varangian mercenaries, defeated Svyatopolk and became the Grand Prince of Kiev in 1019. Under Yaroslav the codification of legal customs and princely enactments began, and this work served as the basis for a law code called the Russkaya Pravda ("Rus Truth [Law]"). During Yaroslav's lengthy reign, Kievan Rus' reached the zenith of its cultural flowering and military power.

The early years of Yaroslav's life are mostly unknown. He was one of the numerous sons of Vladimir the Great, presumably his second by Rogneda of Polotsk, although his actual age (as stated in the Primary Chronicle and corroborated by the examination of his skeleton in the 1930s) would place him among the youngest children of Vladimir. It has been suggested that he was a child begotten out of wedlock after Vladimir's divorce from Rogneda and marriage to Anna Porphyrogenita, or even that he was a child of Anna Porphyrogenita herself. Yaroslav figures prominently in the Norse sagas under the name Jarisleif the Lame; his legendary lameness (probably resulting from an arrow wound) was corroborated by the scientists who examined his remains.

In his youth, Yaroslav was sent by his father to rule the northern lands around Rostov but was transferred to Veliky Novgorod, as befitted a senior heir to the throne, in 1010. While living there, he founded the town of Yaroslavl (literally, "Yaroslav's") on the Volga River. His relations with his father were apparently strained, and grew only worse on the news that Vladimir bequeathed the Kyivan throne to his younger son, Boris. In 1014 Yaroslav refused to pay tribute to Kyiv and only Vladimir's death, in July 1015, prevented a war.

During the next four years Yaroslav waged a complicated and bloody war for Kyiv against his half-brother Sviatopolk I of Kyiv, who was supported by his father-in-law, Duke Bolesław I Chrobry (King of Poland from 1025). During the course of this struggle, several other brothers (Boris, Gleb, and Svyatoslav) were brutally murdered. The Primary Chronicle accused Svyatopolk of planning those murders, while the saga Eymundar þáttr hrings is often interpreted as recounting the story of Boris' assassination by the Varangians in the service of Yaroslav. However, the victim's name is given there as Burizaf, which is also a name of Boleslaus I in the Scandinavian sources. It is thus possible that the Saga tells the story of Yaroslav's struggle against Svyatopolk (whose troops were commanded by the Polish duke), and not against Boris.
Yaroslav defeated Svyatopolk in their first battle, in 1016, and Svyatopolk fled to Poland. But Svyatopolk returned in 1018 with Polish troops furnished by his father-in-law, seized Kyiv and pushed Yaroslav back into Novgorod. Yaroslav, at last, prevailed over Svyatopolk, and in 1019 firmly established his rule over Kyiv. One of his first actions as a grand prince was to confer on the loyal Novgorodians (who had helped him to gain the Kyivan throne), numerous freedoms, and privileges. Thus, the foundation of the Novgorod Republic was laid. For their part, the Novgorodians respected Yaroslav more than they did other Kyivan princes; and the princely residence in their city, next to the marketplace (and where the veche often convened) was named Yaroslav's Court after him. It probably was during this period that Yaroslav promulgated the first code of laws in the lands of the East Slavs, the Russkaya Pravda.

Power struggles between siblings
Leaving aside the legitimacy of Yaroslav's claims to the Kievan throne and his postulated guilt in the murder of his brothers, Nestor the Chronicler and later Russian historians often presented him as a model of virtue, styling him "the Wise". A less appealing side of his personality is revealed by his having imprisoned his youngest brother Sudislav for life. Yet another brother, Mstislav of Chernigov, whose distant realm bordered the North Caucasus and the Black Sea, hastened to Kiev and, despite reinforcements led by Yaroslav's brother-in-law King Anund Jacob of Sweden (as Jakun - "blind and dressed in a gold suit"), inflicted a heavy defeat on Yaroslav in 1024. Yaroslav and Mstislav then divided Kievan Rus' between them: the area stretching left from the Dnieper River, with the capital at Chernihiv, was ceded to Mstislav until his death in 1036.

Allies along the Baltic coast
In his foreign policy, Yaroslav relied on a Scandinavian alliance and attempted to weaken the Byzantine influence on Kiev. In 1030, he conquered Cherven Cities from the Poles followed by the construction of Sutiejsk to guard the newly acquired lands. Yaroslav concluded an alliance with Polish King Casimir I the Restorer, sealed by the latter's marriage to Yaroslav's sister, Maria. In another successful military raid the same year, he captured Tartu, Estonia and renamed it Yuryev (named after Yury, Yaroslav's patron saint) and forced the surrounding Ugandi County to pay annual tribute.

Campaign against Byzantium
Yaroslav presented his second direct challenge to Constantinople in 1043, when Rus' flotilla headed by one of his sons appeared near Constantinople and demanded money, threatening to attack the city otherwise. Whatever the reason, the Greeks refused to pay and preferred to fight. The Rus' flotilla defeated the Byzantine fleet but was almost destroyed by a storm and came back to Kyiv empty-handed.

Protecting the inhabitants of the Dnieper from the Pechenegs
To defend his state from the Pechenegs and other nomadic tribes threatening it from the south he constructed a line of forts, composed of Yuriev, Bohuslav, Kaniv, Korsun, and Pereyaslavl. To celebrate his decisive victory over the Pechenegs in 1036 (who thereafter were never a threat to Kiev) he sponsored the construction of the Saint Sophia Cathedral in 1037. That same year there were built monasteries of Saint George and Saint Irene. Some mentioned and other celebrated monuments of his reign such as the Golden Gate of Kiev perished during the Mongol invasion of Rus', but later restored.

Establishment of law
Yaroslav was a notable patron of book culture and learning. In 1051, he had a Slavic monk, Hilarion of Kiev, proclaimed the metropolitan bishop of Kiev, thus challenging the Byzantine tradition of placing Greeks on the episcopal sees. Hilarion's discourse on Yaroslav and his father Vladimir is frequently cited as the first work of Old East Slavic literature.

Family life and posterity
In 1019, Yaroslav married Ingegerd Olofsdotter, daughter of the king of Sweden, and gave Staraya Ladoga to her as a marriage gift.

Saint Sophia's Cathedral in Kiev houses a fresco representing the whole family: Yaroslav, Irene (as Ingegerd was known in Rus), their four daughters and six sons. Yaroslav had at least three of his daughters married to foreign princes who lived in exile at his court:

Elisiv of Kiev to Harald Harðráði (who attained her hand by his military exploits in the Byzantine Empire);
Anastasia of Kiev to the future Andrew I of Hungary;
Anne of Kiev married Henry I of France and was the regent of France during their son's minority (she was Yaroslav the Wise's most beloved daughter);
(possibly) Agatha, wife of Edward the Exile, of the royal family of England, the mother of Edgar the Ætheling and Saint Margaret of Scotland.
Yaroslav had one son from the first marriage (his Christian name being Ilya (?-1020)), and six sons from the second marriage. Apprehending the danger that could ensue from divisions between brothers, he exhorted them to live in peace with each other. The eldest of these, Vladimir of Novgorod, best remembered for building the Cathedral of St. Sophia, Novgorod, predeceased his father. Three other sons—Iziaslav I, Sviatoslav II, and Vsevolod I—reigned in Kiev one after another. The youngest children of Yaroslav were Igor Yaroslavich (1036–1060) of Volhynia and Vyacheslav Yaroslavich (1036–1057) of the Principality of Smolensk. About Vyacheslav, there is almost no information. Some documents point out the fact of him having a son, Boris Vyacheslavich, who challenged Vsevolod I sometime in 1077-1078.

Following his death, the body of Yaroslav the Wise was entombed in a white marble sarcophagus within Saint Sophia's Cathedral. In 1936, the sarcophagus was opened and found to contain the skeletal remains of two individuals, one male and one female. The male was determined to be Yaroslav, however, the identity of the female was never established. The sarcophagus was again opened in 1939 and the remains removed for research, not being documented as returned until 1964. Then, in 2009, the sarcophagus was opened and surprisingly found to contain only one skeleton, that of a female. It seems the documents detailing the 1964 reinterment of the remains were falsified to hide the fact that Yaroslav's remains had been lost. Subsequent questioning of individuals involved in the research and reinterment of the remains seems to point to the idea that Yaroslav's remains were purposely hidden prior to the German occupation of Ukraine and then either lost completely or stolen.

Yaroslav married Olafsdotter, Saint Ingrid in 1019 in Uppsala, Uppsala, Sweden. Ingrid (daughter of Ericksson, King of Sweden Olaf III and of the Obodrites, Queen Estrid) was born in 1000 in Uppsala, Uppsala, Sweden; died in Feb 1050 in Novgorod, Russia; was buried in Feb 1050 in Saint Sophia's Cathedral, Kiev, Ukraine. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Appointments / Titles: Count of Arles
• Appointments / Titles: Count of Provence
• Nickname: The Liberator
• FSID: L133-HLP

Notes:

Wikipedia -transalation of the French site

Guillaume I er de Provence said the Liberator, born around 955 and died at Avignon in 994 , after August 29[1], was a Provencal nobleman, famous for having defeated and driven out the
Saracens of Provence in 973.

William I of Provence
Title of nobility
Count of Provence
Biography
Birth
Toward 955
Death
After 29 Aug 993
Avignon
Activity
Monarch
Family
Bosonids
Father
Boson II of Arles
Mother
Constance
Siblings
Rotboald I of Provence
Spouses
Adélaïde d'Anjou
Arsinde de Comminges
Children
Constance d'Arles
Odile de Provence
Guillaume II de Provence
Toda, countess of Besalú

Son of Boson II , Count of Arles and Constance de Provence , he was successively Count of Avignon (962), Count of Provence (972), Marquis of Arles Provence (979) and Prince of all Provence (991) [2] . Due to an uncle also called William [3] , he is sometimes referred to as William II of Provence.

Biography

His early years
Guillaume and his older brother Roubaud (aka Rotbold II), succeeded their father Boson and uncle also called Guillaume between 962 and 966 . The county of Provence belongs to them in joint possession, Guillaume becoming count of Avignon and Roubaud count of Arles following the division in the previous generation between their father and uncle. He married between 968 and April 970 [4] , Arsinde de Comminges [ 5 ] , daughter of Arnaud, count of Comminges and d'Arsinde de Carcassonne. Arsinde, his first wife, has sometimes been confused with Adelaide, his second, but that controversy is now over[6] . From this first union would be born:

Odile de Provence known as Odile de Nice (c. 976-c. 1032)
Arsinde
Ermengarde

The liberation of Provence and its consequences
Following the removal of the Abbot Mayeul in July 972 by bands of Saracens installed in the Maures mountain range since the end of the IXth century, Count William and his brother Roubaud took the lead in reinforcing Provencal lost by the troops of Ardouin, count of Turin.

They track down the Moors whom they crush at the battle of Tourtour in 973, then drive them out of Provence [7] . In September 983[8], Guillaume annihilated the Saracens on their return from a campaign in the Alps and his brother
Roubaud retired from Freinet with the help of Ardouin Marquis of Turin [ 9 ] . This military campaign against the Saracens, conducted without Conrad's troops, is in fact coupled with a feudalization of Provence, of the local aristocracy and of the urban and peasant communities who had until then always refused the feudal mutation and the count's power. . This allowed William to obtain the de facto suzerainty of Provence and with the royal consent, to control the tax authorities of Provence. He distributed the reconquered lands to his vassals, such as the territory of Hyères to to the lords of Fos, arbitrated the differences of various
individuals and created Provençal feudalism [10]. With Isarn, bishop of Grenoble , he undertook to repopulate the Dauphiné and authorized an Italian count named Ugo Blavia to settle near Fréjus in the early 970s to put the land back into cultivation.

His government and his fame
Like his father Boson, Guillaume was advised by a viscount who, from 977, accompanied him on all these trips [11] and he relied on a large group of judges to dispense justice [12] . Having become Marquis of Provence in 979 , he moved to Arles in the early 980s . When his first wife Arsinde de Comminges (c. 950-983) died, he married in 984 in this city, against the advice of the pope, Adelaide of Anjou who had just separated from her husband, the future king of France, Louis V. The couple had at least two children:

William II of Provence (c.981-av.May 30, 1018) [ 13 ]
Constance d'Arles ( 986 - 1032 ) queen of France by her marriage to Robert II around the year 1000 ,

Adelaide
and another Ermengarde daughter of Arles , whose parentage is more disputed [14] ; Ermengarde Arles wife later Robert I st Auvergne .

For all this, he is an important character in the chronicles of Raoul Glaber who treats him as a duke and he appears in a charter of 992 with the name of pater patriae .

The end of his life
At the end of his life, Guillaume became very pious and returned many goods to the Church's temporal. Already in 991 [15] , at the request of the bishop of Fréjus , Riculf [16], who implored the prince to make restitution of the former domains of the bishopric, Guillaume acceded to this petition and granted him in addition the half of Fréjus and the village of Puget [17]. In 992 , he also returned important estates in the Camargue to the Saint-Jean d'Arles monastery. In 993, near the end of his life, in the city of Avignon of which he was the count, he took the habit of a monk and appealed to the Abbot Mayeul to relieve his soul. He made restitutions and offerings to the abbey of Cluny [2], and was surrounded by a multitude of his subjects when Guillaume de Provence died, shortly after the 29 Aug 993. Before dying, he expressed the wish to be buried in Sarrians, near Carpentras, in the priory under construction on the villa offered to the Burgundian abbey [ 18 ] .

WIlliam married d'Anjou, Adélaïde in 984 in Anjou, Isère, Rhône-Alpes, France. Adélaïde (daughter of d'Anjou, Count Fulk II and du Gatinais, Gerberge) was born in 947 in Anjou, Isère, Rhône-Alpes, France; died on 29 May 1026 in Arles, Bouches-du-Rhône, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France; was buried after 29 May 1026 in Arles, Bouches-du-Rhône, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• FSID: LDW5-623

Anne married de France, King Henri I on 29 Jan 1051 in Reims, Marne, Champagne-Ardenne, France. Henri (son of de France, King Robert II and d'Arles, Constance) was born on 4 May 1008 in Reims, Marne, Champagne-Ardenne, France; was christened on 4 May 1008 in Bourgogne, France; died on 4 Aug 1060 in Vitry, Loiret, Centre, France; was buried on 10 Aug 1060 in Basilica of St Denis, Paris, Île-de-France, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• FSID: LDSS-6H5

Constance married de France, King Robert II in 1003 in France. Robert (son of Capet, Hugues and d'Aquitaine, Adélaïde) was born on 23 Mar 972 in Orléans, Loiret, Centre, France; was christened on 27 Apr 972 in Paris, Île-de-France, France; died on 20 Jul 1031 in Melun, Seine-et-Marne, Île-de-France, France; was buried after 20 Jul 1031 in Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis, Île-de-France, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• House: House of Capet
• Nickname: "The Fair"
• FSID: L8WB-MRH
• Appointments / Titles: 23 May 1059, Marne, Champagne-Ardenne, France
• Appointments / Titles: 1060, Paris, Paris, Île-de-France, France; Count
• Appointments / Titles: 1060, Bourges, Cher, Centre, France; Count
• Appointments / Titles: Between 1060 and 1108; King Of The Franks

Notes:

Philip I (23 May 1052-29 July 1108), called the Amorous, was King of the Franks from 1060 to his death. His reign, like that of most of the early Capetians, was extraordinarily long for the time. The monarchy began a modest recovery from the low it reached in the reign of his father and he added to the royal demesne the Vexin and Bourges.

«b»Biography«/b»
Philip was born 23 May 1052 at Champagne-et-Fontaine, the son of Henry I and his wife Anne of Kiev. Unusual at the time for Western Europe, his name was of Greek origin, being bestowed upon him by his mother. Although he was crowned king at the age of seven, until age fourteen (1066) his mother acted as regent, the first queen of France ever to do so. Baldwin V of Flanders also acted as co-regent.

Following the death of Baldwin VI of Flanders, Robert the Frisian seized Flanders. Baldwin's wife, Richilda requested aid from Philip, who defeated Robert at the battle of Cassel in 1071.

Philip first married Bertha in 1072. Although the marriage produced the necessary heir, Philip fell in love with Bertrade de Montfort, the wife of Fulk IV, Count of Anjou. He repudiated Bertha (claiming she was too fat) and married Bertrade on 15 May 1092. In 1094, he was excommunicated by Hugh of Die, for the first time; after a long silence, Pope Urban II repeated the excommunication at the Council of Clermont in November 1095. Several times the ban was lifted as Philip promised to part with Bertrade, but he always returned to her, but in 1104 Philip made a public penance and must have kept his involvement with Bertrade discreet. In France, the king was opposed by Bishop Ivo of Chartres, a famous jurist.

Philip appointed Alberic first Constable of France in 1060. A great part of his reign, like his father's, was spent putting down revolts by his power-hungry vassals. In 1077, he made peace with William the Conqueror, who gave up attempting the conquest of Brittany. In 1082, Philip I expanded his demesne with the annexation of the Vexin. Then in 1100, he took control of Bourges.

It was at the aforementioned Council of Clermont that the First Crusade was launched. Philip at first did not personally support it because of his conflict with Urban II. Philip's brother Hugh of Vermandois, however, was a major participant.

Philip died in the castle of Melun and was buried per request at the monastery of Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire and not in St Denis among his forefathers. He was succeeded by his son, Louis VI, whose succession was, however, not uncontested. According to Abbot Suger:

"… King Philip daily grew feebler. For after he had abducted the Countess of Anjou, he could achieve nothing worthy of the royal dignity; consumed by desire for the lady he had seized, he gave himself up entirely to the satisfaction of his passion. So he lost interest in the affairs of state and, relaxing too much, took no care for his body, well-made and handsome though it was. The only thing that maintained the strength of the state was the fear and love felt for his son and successor. When he was almost sixty, he ceased to be king, breathing his last breath at the castle of Melun-sur-Seine, in the presence of the future king Louis... They carried the body in a great procession to the noble monastery of St-Benoît-sur-Loire, where King Philip wished to be buried; there are those who say they heard from his own mouth that he deliberately chose not to be buried among his royal ancestors in the church of St. Denis because he had not treated that church as well as they had, and because among so many noble kings his own tomb would not have counted for much."

«b»Issue«/b»
Philip's children with Bertha were:

1.) Constance (1078-14 September 1126), married Hugh I of Champagne before 1097 and then, after her divorce, to Bohemund I of Antioch in 1106.

2.) Louis VI of France (1 December 1081-1 August 1137).

3.) Henry (1083-died young).

Philip's children with Bertrade were:

1.) Philip, Count of Mantes (1093-1123), married Elizabeth, daughter of Guy III of Montlhéry

2.) Fleury, Seigneur of Nangis (1095-July 1119)

3.) Cecile (1097-1145), married Tancred, Prince of Galilee and then, after his death, to Pons of Tripoli.

Philippe married von Holland, Queen Bertha in 1072. Bertha was born in 1055 in Vlaardingen, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands; was christened in 1054; died on 30 Jul 1093 in Montreuil-sur-Loir, Maine-et-Loire, Pays de la Loire, France; was buried after 30 Jul 1093 in Priory of Haute-Bruyère, Yvelines, Île-de-France, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• House: Capet
• FSID: LDW5-66P
• Appointments / Titles: Between 14 May 1027 and 20 Jul 1081, Reims, Marne, Champagne-Ardenne, France; King of France

Notes:

Henry I (4 May 1008-4 August 1060) was King of the Franks from 1031 to his death. The royal demesne of France reached its smallest size during his reign, and for this reason he is often seen as emblematic of the weakness of the early Capetians. This is not entirely agreed upon, however, as other historians regard him as a strong but realistic king, who was forced to conduct a policy mindful of the limitations of the French monarchy.

Reign-
A member of the House of Capet, Henry was born in Reims, the son of King Robert II (972-1031) and Constance of Arles (986-1034). He was crowned King of France at the Cathedral of Reims on 14 May 1027, in the Capetian tradition, while his father still lived. He had little influence and power until he became sole ruler on his father's death.

The reign of Henry I, like those of his predecessors, was marked by territorial struggles. Initially, he joined his brother Robert, with the support of their mother, in a revolt against his father (1025). His mother, however, supported Robert as heir to the old king, on whose death Henry was left to deal with his rebel sibling. In 1032, he placated his brother by giving him the duchy of Burgundy which his father had given him in 1016.

In an early strategic move, Henry came to the rescue of his very young nephew-in-law, the newly appointed Duke William of Normandy (who would go on to become William the Conqueror), to suppress a revolt by William's vassals. In 1047, Henry secured the dukedom for William in their decisive victory over the vassals at the Battle of Val-ès-Dunes near Caen; however, Henry would later support the barons against William until the former's death in 1060.

In 1051, William married Matilda, the daughter of the count of Flanders, which Henry saw as a threat to his throne. In 1054, and again in 1057, Henry invaded Normandy, but on both occasions he was defeated.

Henry had three meetings with Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor-all at Ivois. In early 1043, he met him to discuss the marriage of the emperor with Agnes of Poitou, the daughter of Henry's vassal. In October 1048, the two Henries met again and signed a treaty of friendship. The final meeting took place in May 1056 and concerned disputes over Theobald III and County of Blois. The debate over the duchy became so heated that Henry accused the emperor of breach of contract and subsequently left. In 1058, Henry was selling bishoprics and abbacies, ignoring the accusations of simony and tyranny by the Papal legate Cardinal Humbert. Despite his efforts, Henry I's twenty-nine-year reign saw feudal power in France reach its pinnacle.

King Henry I died on 4 August 1060 in Vitry-en-Brie, France, and was interred in Basilica of St Denis. He was succeeded by his son, Philip I of France, who was 7 at the time of his death; for six years Henry's queen Anne of Kiev ruled as regent. At the time of his death, he was besieging Thimert, which had been occupied by the Normans since 1058.

Marriages-
Henry I was betrothed to Matilda, the daughter of Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor, but she died prematurely in 1034. Henry then married Matilda of Frisia, but she died in 1044, following a Caesarean section. Casting further afield in search of a third wife, Henry married Anne of Kiev on 19 May 1051. They had four children:

1.) Philip I (23 May 1052-30 July 1108).

2.) Emma (1054-1109).

3.) Robert (c. 1055-1060).

4.) Hugh "the Great" of Vermandois (1057-1102).

Henri married Yaroslavna, Anne on 29 Jan 1051 in Reims, Marne, Champagne-Ardenne, France. Anne (daughter of of Kievian Rus', Grand Prince Yaroslav I and Olafsdotter, Saint Ingrid) was born in 1030 in Kievian Rus' Empire (Historical); died on 5 Sep 1075 in La Forêt, Essonne, Île-de-France, France; was buried after 5 Sep 1075 in La Forêt, Essonne, Île-de-France, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• House: Capet
• Nickname: The Far
• FSID: MBMH-FJ9
• Appointments / Titles: 30 Jul 1108, Orléans, Loiret, Centre, France

Louis married de Savoie, Adélaïde on 3 Aug 1115 in Paris, Île-de-France, France. Adélaïde was born in 1100 in Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne, Savoie, Rhône-Alpes, France; died on 18 Nov 1154 in Abbey of Saint-Pierre of Montmartre, Paris, Île-de-France, France; was buried in 1154 in Paris, Île-de-France, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• House: House of Capet
• Nickname: "The Fair"
• FSID: L8WB-MRH
• Appointments / Titles: 23 May 1059, Marne, Champagne-Ardenne, France
• Appointments / Titles: 1060, Paris, Paris, Île-de-France, France; Count
• Appointments / Titles: 1060, Bourges, Cher, Centre, France; Count
• Appointments / Titles: Between 1060 and 1108; King Of The Franks

Notes:

Philip I (23 May 1052-29 July 1108), called the Amorous, was King of the Franks from 1060 to his death. His reign, like that of most of the early Capetians, was extraordinarily long for the time. The monarchy began a modest recovery from the low it reached in the reign of his father and he added to the royal demesne the Vexin and Bourges.

«b»Biography«/b»
Philip was born 23 May 1052 at Champagne-et-Fontaine, the son of Henry I and his wife Anne of Kiev. Unusual at the time for Western Europe, his name was of Greek origin, being bestowed upon him by his mother. Although he was crowned king at the age of seven, until age fourteen (1066) his mother acted as regent, the first queen of France ever to do so. Baldwin V of Flanders also acted as co-regent.

Following the death of Baldwin VI of Flanders, Robert the Frisian seized Flanders. Baldwin's wife, Richilda requested aid from Philip, who defeated Robert at the battle of Cassel in 1071.

Philip first married Bertha in 1072. Although the marriage produced the necessary heir, Philip fell in love with Bertrade de Montfort, the wife of Fulk IV, Count of Anjou. He repudiated Bertha (claiming she was too fat) and married Bertrade on 15 May 1092. In 1094, he was excommunicated by Hugh of Die, for the first time; after a long silence, Pope Urban II repeated the excommunication at the Council of Clermont in November 1095. Several times the ban was lifted as Philip promised to part with Bertrade, but he always returned to her, but in 1104 Philip made a public penance and must have kept his involvement with Bertrade discreet. In France, the king was opposed by Bishop Ivo of Chartres, a famous jurist.

Philip appointed Alberic first Constable of France in 1060. A great part of his reign, like his father's, was spent putting down revolts by his power-hungry vassals. In 1077, he made peace with William the Conqueror, who gave up attempting the conquest of Brittany. In 1082, Philip I expanded his demesne with the annexation of the Vexin. Then in 1100, he took control of Bourges.

It was at the aforementioned Council of Clermont that the First Crusade was launched. Philip at first did not personally support it because of his conflict with Urban II. Philip's brother Hugh of Vermandois, however, was a major participant.

Philip died in the castle of Melun and was buried per request at the monastery of Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire and not in St Denis among his forefathers. He was succeeded by his son, Louis VI, whose succession was, however, not uncontested. According to Abbot Suger:

"… King Philip daily grew feebler. For after he had abducted the Countess of Anjou, he could achieve nothing worthy of the royal dignity; consumed by desire for the lady he had seized, he gave himself up entirely to the satisfaction of his passion. So he lost interest in the affairs of state and, relaxing too much, took no care for his body, well-made and handsome though it was. The only thing that maintained the strength of the state was the fear and love felt for his son and successor. When he was almost sixty, he ceased to be king, breathing his last breath at the castle of Melun-sur-Seine, in the presence of the future king Louis... They carried the body in a great procession to the noble monastery of St-Benoît-sur-Loire, where King Philip wished to be buried; there are those who say they heard from his own mouth that he deliberately chose not to be buried among his royal ancestors in the church of St. Denis because he had not treated that church as well as they had, and because among so many noble kings his own tomb would not have counted for much."

«b»Issue«/b»
Philip's children with Bertha were:

1.) Constance (1078-14 September 1126), married Hugh I of Champagne before 1097 and then, after her divorce, to Bohemund I of Antioch in 1106.

2.) Louis VI of France (1 December 1081-1 August 1137).

3.) Henry (1083-died young).

Philip's children with Bertrade were:

1.) Philip, Count of Mantes (1093-1123), married Elizabeth, daughter of Guy III of Montlhéry

2.) Fleury, Seigneur of Nangis (1095-July 1119)

3.) Cecile (1097-1145), married Tancred, Prince of Galilee and then, after his death, to Pons of Tripoli.

Philippe married von Holland, Queen Bertha in 1072. Bertha was born in 1055 in Vlaardingen, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands; was christened in 1054; died on 30 Jul 1093 in Montreuil-sur-Loir, Maine-et-Loire, Pays de la Loire, France; was buried after 30 Jul 1093 in Priory of Haute-Bruyère, Yvelines, Île-de-France, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Appointments / Titles: Istanbul, Istanbul, Turkey; Empereur de Constantinople
• Appointments / Titles: Montargis, Loiret, Centre, France; Seigneur (Lord)
• Appointments / Titles: Courtenay, Loiret, Centre, France; Seigneur (Lord)
• Appointments / Titles: Châteaurenard, Loiret, Centre, France; Seigneur (Lord)
• House: Capet
• FSID: GSWG-DB2
• Military: 1147, Acre, Yerushalayim, Israel; Crusade

Notes:

Foundation for Medieval Genealogy

He was the son of Louis VII of France who took the name of his wife "de Courtenay"-

PIERRE de France ([1126]-Palestine 10 Mar [1180/10 Apr 1183]). William of Tyre names him as brother of Louis VII King of France, when recording his arrival in Palestine in 1179[406]. He succeeded as Seigneur de Courtenay, by right of his wife. "Petrus regis frater et Curtiniacensis dominus" donated property to the abbey of Fontaine-Jean by charter dated 1170, with the support of "uxor mea Isabel et primogenitus meus Petrus"[407]. The necrology of La Cour-Dieu records the death “VI Id Mar” of “Petrus de Curtiniaco”[408].

m (before 24 Nov 1160) ELISABETH de Courtenay, daughter and heiress of RENAUD Seigneur de Courtenay & his first wife Helvis de Donjon ([1140/45]-14 Sep after 1205). A Historia Regum Francorum records that "Petrus", son of Louis VI King of France, married "filiam Rainaldi de Curtiniaco cum…terra illius"[249].

The Continuator of Aimon of Fleury names “Petrus” as sixth son of “rex Ludovicus” and his wife “Adalaidem filiam Humberti comitis de Mauriana”, adding that he married “filiam Rainaldi de Corteniaco” and had his land as there was no other surviving heir (“et terram ipsius habuit cum ea, quia non erat alius hæres superstes”)[250]. The Chronicle of Alberic de Trois-Fontaines names "domina de Monte-Argisi fuit soror vel neptis illius [=Guilelmus…archiepiscopus Bituricensis]" as the wife of "Petro de Cortenaio regis Philippi patruo", "Monte-Argisi" being identified as "Montargis, département Loiret" by the editor of the MGH edition[251].

“Petrus dominus Curtiniaci et uxor mea Elisabeth” confirmed donations made by “antecessorum nostrorum...dominus Milo et filii eius” to Fontaine-Jean abbey by charter dated 24 Nov 1160, witnessed by “Willelmus de Cortiniaco...”[252].

The 1166/67 Pipe Roll records “filie Regin de Crtinni” in London/Middlesex[253]. As discussed above in the introduction to section showing Elisabeth’s father, it is possible that this entry relates to Elisabeth. “Petrus...Ludovici Francorum regis frater” granted privileges to Montargis, with the consent of “uxoris suæ Helisabeth et Petri filii sui”, by charter dated 1170[254].

“Petrus regis frater et Curtiniacensis dominus” confirmed donations to Fontaine-Jean abbey, with the consent of “uxor mea Ysabel et primogenitus meus Petrus”, by charter dated 1170, witnessed by “Ex parte domini et pueri...”[255].

“Petrus de Curtiniaco frater regis” confirmed donations made to Fontaine-Jean abbey by “Guillelmus de Curtiniaco” on leaving for Jerusalem, with the consent of “uxoris mei Elisabeth”, by undated charter[256].

“Petrus frater regis dominus de Monteargi et de Curtiniaco” donated property to Fontaine-Jean abbey on leaving for Jerusalem, with the consent of “uxor mea Ysabel et filius meus Petrus”, by charter dated 1179[257].

“Elisabeth domina de Curteneto mater Petri comitis Nivernensis” donated money to Paris Notre-Dame, for the anniversary of “Petri mariti meio”, and a further donation to the Knights Hospitallers after she died, by charter dated 1189[258]. Bouchet states that Elisabeth confirmed donations to “l’ abbaye des Escharlis” in 1205 “qui est le dernier Acte qu’on touve d’elle”[259]. The necrology of the Eglise Cathédrale de Paris records the death "XVIII Kal Oct" of "Helysabeth mater Petri comitis Autisiodorensis"[260].

Pierre [I] & his wife had eleven children:

1. PIERRE [II] de Courtenay ([after 1158]-Epirus after Jun 1219).
2. daughter .
3. ALIX de Courtenay ([1160/65]-12 Feb 1218).
4. EUSTACHIE de Courtenay (-6 Apr after 1235).
5. CLEMENCE de Courtenay .
6. ROBERT de Courtenay (-Palestine 5 Oct 1239).
7. PHILIPPE de Courtenay (-[before Apr 1183]).
8. --- de Courtenay .
9. CONSTANCE de Courtenay ([1168]-after 1231).
10. GUILLAUME de Courtenay (-[Apr 1233/1248], bur Abbaye de Quincey near Langres).
11. AGNES de Courtenay .

Peter married de Courtenay, Elizabeth in 1150 in Okehampton, Devon, England. Elizabeth was born in Jul 1127 in Courtenay, Yonne, Bourgogne, France; died on 14 Sep 1205 in France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• House: Capet
• Nickname: The Far
• FSID: MBMH-FJ9
• Appointments / Titles: 30 Jul 1108, Orléans, Loiret, Centre, France

Louis married de Savoie, Adélaïde on 3 Aug 1115 in Paris, Île-de-France, France. Adélaïde was born in 1100 in Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne, Savoie, Rhône-Alpes, France; died on 18 Nov 1154 in Abbey of Saint-Pierre of Montmartre, Paris, Île-de-France, France; was buried in 1154 in Paris, Île-de-France, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• FSID: LZ1V-VQ4
• Occupation: Countess of Angoloume

Notes:

Alice was born in 1160, the second eldest daughter and one of the ten children of Peter I of Courtenay and Elisabeth of Courtenay, daughter of Renauld de Courtenay and Hawise du Donjon. Her family was one of the most illustrious in France; and her paternal grandparents were King Louis VI of France and Adélaide de Maurienne.

In 1178, she married her first husband, Guillaume I, Count of Joigny. The marriage did not produce any children, and they were divorced in 1186.

Alice married her second husband, Aymer Taillefer in 1186, the same year he succeeded his father, William IV as Count of Angoulême. Sometime in 1188, Alice gave birth to her only child, Isabella of Angoulême, wife of King John of England and later Hugh X of Lusignan, Count of La Marche.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_of_Courtenay

Alice married de Taillefer, Aymar in 1186 in Angoulême, Charente, Poitou-Charentes, France. Aymar (son of de Taillefer, WIlliam VI and de Limoges, Emma) was born on 23 Aug 1160 in Angoulême, Charente, Poitou-Charentes, France; died on 16 Jun 1202 in Limoges, Haute-Vienne, Limousin, France; was buried on 16 Jun 1202 in Abbey of Notre-Dame de La Couronne, La Couronne, Charente, Poitou-Charentes, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Appointments / Titles: Istanbul, Istanbul, Turkey; Empereur de Constantinople
• Appointments / Titles: Montargis, Loiret, Centre, France; Seigneur (Lord)
• Appointments / Titles: Courtenay, Loiret, Centre, France; Seigneur (Lord)
• Appointments / Titles: Châteaurenard, Loiret, Centre, France; Seigneur (Lord)
• House: Capet
• FSID: GSWG-DB2
• Military: 1147, Acre, Yerushalayim, Israel; Crusade

Notes:

Foundation for Medieval Genealogy

He was the son of Louis VII of France who took the name of his wife "de Courtenay"-

PIERRE de France ([1126]-Palestine 10 Mar [1180/10 Apr 1183]). William of Tyre names him as brother of Louis VII King of France, when recording his arrival in Palestine in 1179[406]. He succeeded as Seigneur de Courtenay, by right of his wife. "Petrus regis frater et Curtiniacensis dominus" donated property to the abbey of Fontaine-Jean by charter dated 1170, with the support of "uxor mea Isabel et primogenitus meus Petrus"[407]. The necrology of La Cour-Dieu records the death “VI Id Mar” of “Petrus de Curtiniaco”[408].

m (before 24 Nov 1160) ELISABETH de Courtenay, daughter and heiress of RENAUD Seigneur de Courtenay & his first wife Helvis de Donjon ([1140/45]-14 Sep after 1205). A Historia Regum Francorum records that "Petrus", son of Louis VI King of France, married "filiam Rainaldi de Curtiniaco cum…terra illius"[249].

The Continuator of Aimon of Fleury names “Petrus” as sixth son of “rex Ludovicus” and his wife “Adalaidem filiam Humberti comitis de Mauriana”, adding that he married “filiam Rainaldi de Corteniaco” and had his land as there was no other surviving heir (“et terram ipsius habuit cum ea, quia non erat alius hæres superstes”)[250]. The Chronicle of Alberic de Trois-Fontaines names "domina de Monte-Argisi fuit soror vel neptis illius [=Guilelmus…archiepiscopus Bituricensis]" as the wife of "Petro de Cortenaio regis Philippi patruo", "Monte-Argisi" being identified as "Montargis, département Loiret" by the editor of the MGH edition[251].

“Petrus dominus Curtiniaci et uxor mea Elisabeth” confirmed donations made by “antecessorum nostrorum...dominus Milo et filii eius” to Fontaine-Jean abbey by charter dated 24 Nov 1160, witnessed by “Willelmus de Cortiniaco...”[252].

The 1166/67 Pipe Roll records “filie Regin de Crtinni” in London/Middlesex[253]. As discussed above in the introduction to section showing Elisabeth’s father, it is possible that this entry relates to Elisabeth. “Petrus...Ludovici Francorum regis frater” granted privileges to Montargis, with the consent of “uxoris suæ Helisabeth et Petri filii sui”, by charter dated 1170[254].

“Petrus regis frater et Curtiniacensis dominus” confirmed donations to Fontaine-Jean abbey, with the consent of “uxor mea Ysabel et primogenitus meus Petrus”, by charter dated 1170, witnessed by “Ex parte domini et pueri...”[255].

“Petrus de Curtiniaco frater regis” confirmed donations made to Fontaine-Jean abbey by “Guillelmus de Curtiniaco” on leaving for Jerusalem, with the consent of “uxoris mei Elisabeth”, by undated charter[256].

“Petrus frater regis dominus de Monteargi et de Curtiniaco” donated property to Fontaine-Jean abbey on leaving for Jerusalem, with the consent of “uxor mea Ysabel et filius meus Petrus”, by charter dated 1179[257].

“Elisabeth domina de Curteneto mater Petri comitis Nivernensis” donated money to Paris Notre-Dame, for the anniversary of “Petri mariti meio”, and a further donation to the Knights Hospitallers after she died, by charter dated 1189[258]. Bouchet states that Elisabeth confirmed donations to “l’ abbaye des Escharlis” in 1205 “qui est le dernier Acte qu’on touve d’elle”[259]. The necrology of the Eglise Cathédrale de Paris records the death "XVIII Kal Oct" of "Helysabeth mater Petri comitis Autisiodorensis"[260].

Pierre [I] & his wife had eleven children:

1. PIERRE [II] de Courtenay ([after 1158]-Epirus after Jun 1219).
2. daughter .
3. ALIX de Courtenay ([1160/65]-12 Feb 1218).
4. EUSTACHIE de Courtenay (-6 Apr after 1235).
5. CLEMENCE de Courtenay .
6. ROBERT de Courtenay (-Palestine 5 Oct 1239).
7. PHILIPPE de Courtenay (-[before Apr 1183]).
8. --- de Courtenay .
9. CONSTANCE de Courtenay ([1168]-after 1231).
10. GUILLAUME de Courtenay (-[Apr 1233/1248], bur Abbaye de Quincey near Langres).
11. AGNES de Courtenay .

Peter married de Courtenay, Elizabeth in 1150 in Okehampton, Devon, England. Elizabeth was born in Jul 1127 in Courtenay, Yonne, Bourgogne, France; died on 14 Sep 1205 in France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Burial: Fontevrault Abbey, Fontevrault, Maine-et-Loire, Pays de la Loire, France
• FSID: MF7F-HQF
• Life Event: 6 Oct 1200, Westminster Abbey, Westminster, London, England; Crowed Queen Consort of England
• Appointments / Titles: 18 Jun 1202; Countess of Angoulême
• Appointments / Titles: Between 1229 and 1246; Countess of La Marche
• Death: 4 Jun 1246, Fontevrault, Maine-et-Loire, Pays de la Loire, France
• Burial: Aft 4 Jun 1246, Fontevrault Abbey, Fontevrault, Maine-et-Loire, Pays de la Loire, France

Notes:

Wikipedia -

Isabella Taillifer of Angoulême (French: Isabelle d'Angoulême, IPA; c. 1188-4 June 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.

She had five children by the king, including his heir, later Henry III. In 1220, Isabella married Hugh X of Lusignan, Count of La Marche, by whom she had another nine children.

Some of her 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 had a deep-seated hatred. In 1244, after the plot had failed, Isabella was accused of attempting to poison the king. To avoid arrest, she sought refuge in Fontevraud Abbey, where she died two years later, but none of this can be confirmed.

Queen of England
She 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 16 June 1202, by which time she was already queen of England. Her marriage to King John took place on 24 August 1200, in Angoulême, a year after he annulled his first marriage to Isabel of Gloucester. She was crowned queen in an elaborate ceremony on 8 October 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 Philip II of France confiscated all of their French lands, and armed conflict ensued.

At the time of her marriage to John, the blonde and blue-eyed 12-year-old 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. 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 Philip 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.

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

Second marriage
When King John died in October 1216, Isabella's first act was to arrange the speedy coronation of her nine-year-old son at the city of Gloucester on 28 October. 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, she 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 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 Lusignan succeeded 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
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 her 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 (1 October 1207-16 November 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 (5 January 1209-2 April 1272). Married firstly Isabel Marshal, secondly Sanchia of Provence, and thirdly Beatrice of Falkenburg. Had issue.

3.) Joan (22 July 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

Isabelle married de Lusignan, Count Hugh X on 10 May 1220 in France. Hugh was born in Jan 1183 in Lusignan, Vienne, Poitou-Charentes, France; died on 5 Jun 1249 in Damietta, Egypt; was buried after 5 Jun 1249 in Abbey of Valence, Angoulême, Charente, Poitou-Charentes, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Isabelle married Plantagenet, King John Lackland of England on 24 Aug 1200 in Bordeaux, Gironde, Aquitaine, France. John (son of Plantagenet, King of England Henry II and of Aquitaine, Queen Eleanor) was born on 31 Dec 1166 in Kings Manor House (Historical), Oxford, Oxfordshire, England; died on 18 Oct 1216 in Newark Castle, Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire, England; was buried on 19 Oct 1216 in Worcester Cathedral, Worcester, Worcestershire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• FSID: LZ1V-VQ4
• Occupation: Countess of Angoloume

Notes:

Alice was born in 1160, the second eldest daughter and one of the ten children of Peter I of Courtenay and Elisabeth of Courtenay, daughter of Renauld de Courtenay and Hawise du Donjon. Her family was one of the most illustrious in France; and her paternal grandparents were King Louis VI of France and Adélaide de Maurienne.

In 1178, she married her first husband, Guillaume I, Count of Joigny. The marriage did not produce any children, and they were divorced in 1186.

Alice married her second husband, Aymer Taillefer in 1186, the same year he succeeded his father, William IV as Count of Angoulême. Sometime in 1188, Alice gave birth to her only child, Isabella of Angoulême, wife of King John of England and later Hugh X of Lusignan, Count of La Marche.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_of_Courtenay

Alice married de Taillefer, Aymar in 1186 in Angoulême, Charente, Poitou-Charentes, France. Aymar (son of de Taillefer, WIlliam VI and de Limoges, Emma) was born on 23 Aug 1160 in Angoulême, Charente, Poitou-Charentes, France; died on 16 Jun 1202 in Limoges, Haute-Vienne, Limousin, France; was buried on 16 Jun 1202 in Abbey of Notre-Dame de La Couronne, La Couronne, Charente, Poitou-Charentes, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]