Catherine I of Courtenay
Encyclopedia
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
from 1283 to her death in 1307. In 1301, she became the second wife of Charles of Valois
Charles of Valois
Charles of Valois was the fourth son of Philip III of France and Isabella of Aragon. His mother was a daughter of James I of Aragon and Yolande of Hungary. He was a member of the House of Capet and founded the House of Valois...
, by whom she had one son and three daughters; the eldest of these, Catherine II of Valois, Princess of Achaea
Catherine II of Valois, Princess of Achaea
Catherine of Valois was titular Empress of Constantinople from 1308 to her death as Catherine II, Princess consort of Achaea from 1332 to 1341, and Governor of Cephalonia from 1341 to her death.-Life:...
succeeded her as titular empress.
Life
She was born on 25 November 1274, the only daughter and heir of the titular Emperor of ConstantinopleLatin Empire
The Latin Empire or Latin Empire of Constantinople is the name given by historians to the feudal Crusader state founded by the leaders of the Fourth Crusade on lands captured from the Byzantine Empire. It was established after the capture of Constantinople in 1204 and lasted until 1261...
Philip I of Courtenay
Philip of Courtenay
Philip I of Courtenay was titular Emperor of Constantinople 1273–1283. He was the son of Baldwin II of Constantinople and Marie of Brienne....
by Beatrice of Sicily
Beatrice of Sicily
Beatrice of Sicily was the Empress consort of Philip of Courtenay, titular Latin Emperor of Constantinople.-Family:...
. Her maternal grandparents were King Charles I of Sicily
Charles I of Sicily
Charles I , known also as Charles of Anjou, was the King of Sicily by conquest from 1266, though he had received it as a papal grant in 1262 and was expelled from the island in the aftermath of the Sicilian Vespers of 1282...
and Beatrice of Provence
Beatrice of Provence
Beatrice of Provence , was a countess regnant of Provence. She was also a Queen consort of Sicily by marriage to King Charles I of Sicily....
. The latter was the fourth daughter of Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Provence
Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Provence
Ramon Berenguer IV , Count of Provence and Forcalquier, was the son of Alfonso II of Provence and Garsenda of Sabran, heiress of Forcalquier. After his father's death , Ramon was imprisoned in the castle of Monzón, in Aragon until he was able to escape in 1219 and claim his inheritance. He was a...
and Beatrice of Savoy
Beatrice of Savoy
Beatrice of Savoy was the daughter of Thomas I of Savoy and Margaret of Geneva. She was Countess consort of Provence by her marriage to Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Provence.-Family:...
.
Upon her father's death which occurred on 15 December 1283, Catherine inherited his claims to the Latin throne of Constantinople and was recognized as empress by the Latin states in Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, despite the city having been re-taken by the Empire of Nicaea
Empire of Nicaea
The Empire of Nicaea was the largest of the three Byzantine Greek successor states founded by the aristocracy of the Byzantine Empire that fled after Constantinople was occupied by Western European and Venetian forces during the Fourth Crusade...
in 1261.
Catherine was betrothed three times; however, these betrothals all ended in failure, until finally on 28 February 1301 at the Priory of St. Cloud near Paris, she succeeded in marrying as his second wife, Count Charles of Valois
Charles of Valois
Charles of Valois was the fourth son of Philip III of France and Isabella of Aragon. His mother was a daughter of James I of Aragon and Yolande of Hungary. He was a member of the House of Capet and founded the House of Valois...
, son of King Philip III of France
Philip III of France
Philip III , called the Bold , was the King of France, succeeding his father, Louis IX, and reigning from 1270 to 1285. He was a member of the House of Capet.-Biography:...
and Isabella of Aragon
Isabella of Aragon
Isabella of Aragon , infanta of Aragon, was, by marriage, Queen consort of France in the Middle Ages from 1270 to 1271.-Life:...
. On 23 April 1301, Charles became titular emperor with Catherine until her death in Paris on 11 October 1307 at the age of 32. She was buried at the Egalise des Jacobins the following day, 12 October. Jacques de Molay
Jacques de Molay
Jacques de Molay was the 23rd and last Grand Master of the Knights Templar, leading the Order from 20 April 1292 until it was dissolved by order of Pope Clement V in 1312...
, Grand Master
Grand Masters of the Knights Templar
Each man who held the position of Grand Master of the Knights Templar was the supreme commander of the Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon , starting with founder Hugues de Payens in 1118. While many Grand Masters chose to hold the position for life, abdication was not unknown...
of the Knights Templar
Knights Templar
The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon , commonly known as the Knights Templar, the Order of the Temple or simply as Templars, were among the most famous of the Western Christian military orders...
served as one of her pallbearers.
Issue
By Charles of Valois, Catherine I had four children:- John, Count of Chartres (1302–1308).
- Catherine II of Valois, Princess of AchaeaCatherine II of Valois, Princess of AchaeaCatherine of Valois was titular Empress of Constantinople from 1308 to her death as Catherine II, Princess consort of Achaea from 1332 to 1341, and Governor of Cephalonia from 1341 to her death.-Life:...
, titular Empress of Constantinople (before 15 April 1303 – October 1346). She married Philip I of Anjou, Prince of TarantoPhilip I of TarantoPhilip I of Taranto : of the Angevin house, was titular Emperor of Constantinople , despot of Epirus, King of Albania, Prince of Achaea and Taranto, and Lord of Durazzo....
and had issue. - Joan of ValoisJoan of Valois (1304-1363)Joan of Valois was the daughter of Charles of Valois and his second wife Catherine I of Courtenay, titular empress of Constantinople....
(1304 – 9 July 1363). Married Count Robert III of ArtoisRobert III of ArtoisRobert III of Artois was the son of Philip of Artois and Blanche of Brittany.In 1318 he married Joan of Valois , daughter of Charles of Valois, and had issue:* Louis...
and had issue. - Isabella of Valois (1305 – 11 November 1349), Abbess of Fontevrault.
See also
- Jacques de MolayJacques de MolayJacques de Molay was the 23rd and last Grand Master of the Knights Templar, leading the Order from 20 April 1292 until it was dissolved by order of Pope Clement V in 1312...
, who was in Paris attending her funeral on 12 October 1307, when he was arrested by King Philip IVPhilip IV of FrancePhilip the Fair was, as Philip IV, King of France from 1285 until his death. He was the husband of Joan I of Navarre, by virtue of which he was, as Philip I, King of Navarre and Count of Champagne from 1284 to 1305.-Youth:A member of the House of Capet, Philip was born at the Palace of...
.