Marie of France, Countess of Champagne
Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox royalty Marie of France (1145 – 11 March 1198) was a Capetian princess who became Countess of Champagne by her marriage to Henry I of Champagne. She ruled the County of Champagne as regent during Henry I's absence from 1179 to 1181; during the minority of their son Henry II from 1181 to 1187; and during Henry II's absence from 1190 to 1197. She was the daughter of Eleanor of Aquitaine and Louis VII of France.
Early life
Marie's birth was hailed as a "miracle" by Bernard of Clairvaux,Template:Sfn an answer to his prayer to bless the marriage between Eleanor of Aquitaine and Louis VII.Template:Sfn Marie was just two years old when her parents joined the Second Crusade to the Holy Land. With the birth of her sister Alice in 1150 instead of the desperately needed son and heir the couple hoped for, the marriage broke down and was annulled on 21 March 1152; Marie was seven and Alice was not yet two.Template:Sfn Custody of the girls was awarded to their father as they were at that time the only heirs to the French throne. Eleanor quickly moved on, marrying Duke Henry II of Normandy on 18 May. Louis married Constance of Castile in 1154. Just five weeks after Constance died while giving birth to their second child and daughter, he married Adele of Champagne on 13 November 1160, who gave birth to Philip Augustus in 1165.
Marriage
In 1153, Marie was betrothed to Count Henry I of Champagne by her father Louis.Template:Sfn These betrothals were arranged based on the intervention of Bernard of Clairvaux, as reported in the contemporary chronicle of Radulfus Niger. After her betrothal, Marie was sent to live with the Viscountess Elizabeth of Mareuil-sy-Aÿ and then to the abbey of Avenay in Champagne for her Latin-based education. In 1159, Marie married the count of Champagne.Template:EfnTemplate:Sfn
Regencies
Marie became regent for Champagne when her husband Henry I went on pilgrimage to the Holy Land from 1179 until 1181. While her husband was away, Marie's father died and her half-brother, Philip Augustus, became king of France. He confiscated his mother's dower lands and married Isabelle of Hainaut, who was previously betrothed to Marie's eldest son. This prompted Marie to join a party of disgruntled nobles—including the queen mother Adela of Champagne and the archbishop of Reims—in plotting unsuccessfully against Philip. Eventually, relations between Marie and her royal brother improved. Marie's husband died soon after his return from the Holy Land in 1181, leaving her again as regent for their young son Henry.
Marie, who had retired to the nunnery of Château de Fontaines-les-Nonnes near Meaux (1187–1190), served again as regent for Champagne as her son Henry II joined the Third Crusade from 1190 to 1197. He remained in the Levant, marrying Queen Isabella I of Jerusalem in 1192. Over the course of her regencies, Champagne was transformed from a patchwork of territories into a significant principality.Template:Sfn
Literary patronage
Marie was a patron of literature and her court became a sphere of influence on authors and poetsTemplate:Sfn such as Andreas Capellanus, who served in her court and referred to her several times in his writing, Chrétien de Troyes, who credits her with the idea for his Lancelot: The Knight of the Cart, the troubadours Bertran de Born and Bernart de Ventadorn, Gautier d'Arras and Conon de Bétune.Template:Sfn
Being literate in both French and Latin, she amassed and maintained her own extensive library.Template:Sfn Marie's half-brother King Richard, mentions her in a stanza from his celebrated poem J'a nuns hons pris, lamenting his captivity in Austria, was addressed to her.Template:Sfn
Death
Marie died on 11 March 1198, not long after hearing the news of her son's death.Template:Sfn She was buried in Meaux Cathedral.
On 25 June 1562, rioting Huguenots devastated many edifices, including the Cathedral of Meaux; it was on this occasion that the tomb of Marie of Champagne, located in the choir, was destroyed.Template:Efn
Issue
Marie and her husband Henri I of Champagne had:
- Henry II of Champagne (1166–1197),Template:Sfn married Isabelle of Jerusalem in 1192Template:Sfn
- Scholastique of Champagne (1172–1219), married William IV of MaconTemplate:Sfn
- Marie of Champagne (c. 1174 – 1204), married Baldwin I of ConstantinopleTemplate:Sfn
- Theobald III of Champagne (1179–1201), married Blanche of NavarreTemplate:Sfn
Genealogical table
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