Robert I, also Robert of Courtenay (died 1228),

Latin Emperor of Constantinople The Latin Emperor was the ruler of the Latin Empire, the historiographical convention for the Crusader realm, established in Constantinople after the Fourth Crusade (1204) and lasting until the city was recovered by the Byzantine Greeks in 1261 ...

, was a younger son of the emperor

Peter II of Courtenay Peter, also Peter II of Courtenay (french: Pierre de Courtenay; died 1219), was emperor of the Latin Empire of Constantinople from 1216 to 1217. Biography Peter II was a son of Peter I of Courtenay (died 1183), a younger son of Louis VI of Fr ...

, and

Yolanda of Flanders Yolanda (french: Yolande de Hainault; 1175 – August 1219), often called Yolanda of Flanders, was Empress of the Latin Empire in Constantinople, first as the wife of Emperor Peter from 1216 to 1217 and thereafter as regent until her death in ...

. When it became known in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

that Peter of Courtenay was dead, his eldest son,

Philip Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who populariz ...

, Marquis of Namur, renounced the succession to the Latin empire of Constantinople in favor of his brother Robert, who set out to take possession of his distracted inheritance. On the way to his new homeland, Robert stayed in

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croa ...

from autumn 1220 to early 1221, enjoying the hospitality of his brother-in-law

Andrew II of Hungary Andrew II ( hu, II. András, hr, Andrija II., sk, Ondrej II., uk, Андрій II; 117721 September 1235), also known as Andrew of Jerusalem, was King of Hungary and Croatia between 1205 and 1235. He ruled the Principality of Halych from 11 ...

. It is possible that

Villard de Honnecourt Villard de Honnecourt (''Wilars dehonecort'', ''Vilars de Honecourt'') was a 13th-century artist from Picardy in northern France. He is known to history only through a surviving portfolio or "sketchbook" containing about 250 drawings and designs ...

also belonged to his entourage. Robert and Andrew made political alliance against

Theodore Komnenos Doukas Theodore Komnenos Doukas ( el, Θεόδωρος Κομνηνὸς Δούκας, ''Theodōros Komnēnos Doukas'', Latinized as Theodore Comnenus Ducas, died 1253) was ruler of Epirus and Thessaly from 1215 to 1230 and of Thessalonica and most of ...

, Despot of Epirus. Andrew II and his heir Béla escorted Robert until the Bulgarian border. There Robert mediated the wedding between Tsar

Ivan Asen II Ivan Asen II, also known as John Asen II ( bg, Иван Асен II, ; 1190s – May/June 1241), was Emperor ( Tsar) of Bulgaria from 1218 to 1241. He was still a child when his father Ivan Asen I one of the founders of the Second Bulgarian Em ...

and Andrew's daughter, Anna Maria. Crowned emperor on 25 March 1221, Robert's first loss was Thessalonica in 1224 to Theodore Doukas of Epirus. Worried about the situation of the Catholic Latin Empire, pope

Honorius III Pope Honorius III (c. 1150 – 18 March 1227), born Cencio Savelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 18 July 1216 to his death. A canon at the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, he came to hold a number of import ...

called for a crusade for the defense of Thessalonica, but the response was ineffective. In the same year, Robert's empire would suffer another defeat to John Ducas Vatatzes at the Battle of Poimanenos. Following this defeat Robert was compelled to make peace with his chief foe, John III Ducas Vatatzes, emperor of Nicaea, who was confirmed in all his conquests. Robert promised to marry Eudokia, daughter of the late emperor of Nicaea, Theodore I LascarisA Chronology of the Byzantine Empire, editor T. Venning, Palgrave Macmillan, 2006, 567 and

Anna Angelina Anna Komnene Angelina or Comnena Angelina (c. 1176 – 1212) was an Empress of Nicaea. She was the daughter of the Byzantine Emperor Alexios III Angelos and of Euphrosyne Doukaina Kamatera. Life Her first marriage was to the '' sebastokratōr'' ...

. He had been betrothed to Eudokia on a former occasion; the circumstances surrounding the failed negotiations are unclear, but

George Akropolites George Akropolites ( Latinized as Acropolites or Acropolita; el, , ''Georgios Akropolites''; 1217 or 1220 – 1282) was a Byzantine Greek historian and statesman born at Constantinople. Life In his sixteenth year he was sent by his father, the ...

states that the arrangement was blocked on religious grounds by the Orthodox Patriarch Manuel Sarantenos: Robert's sister

Marie de Courtenay Marie de Courtenay (c. 1204 – September 1228) was an Empress of Nicaea. She was a daughter of Peter II of Courtenay and Yolanda of Flanders. She married Theodore I of Nicaea. Marie served as regent for her younger brother Baldwin II of Courte ...

was married to Emperor

Theodore I Laskaris Theodore I Laskaris or Lascaris ( gr, Θεόδωρος Κομνηνὸς Λάσκαρις, Theodōros Komnēnos Laskaris; 1175November 1221) was the first emperor of Nicaea—a successor state of the Byzantine Empire—from 1205 to his de ...

. Accordingly, Robert, already Theodore's brother-in-law, could not also be his son-in-law. Regardless, Robert soon repudiated this engagement, and married the

Lady of Neuville Lady of Neuville (french: Madame de Neuville-en-Artois) (died 1228) was the empress consort of Robert of Courtenay, Latin Emperor of Constantinople. Her first name is unknown, though a number of genealogies have assigned her the name Eudoxie ( Eudox ...

, already the fiancée of a Burgundian gentleman. Heading a conspiracy, the Burgundian drove Robert from Constantinople, he fled to Rome to seek redress from the pope who convinced him to return to Constantinople, but on his return trip, in early in 1228, the emperor died in

Morea The Morea ( el, Μορέας or ) was the name of the Peloponnese peninsula in southern Greece during the Middle Ages and the early modern period. The name was used for the Byzantine province known as the Despotate of the Morea, by the Ott ...

Notes

References

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Robert Of Courtenay Year of birth missing 1228 deaths 13th-century Latin Emperors of Constantinople Christians of the Crusades Capetian House of Courtenay