Margaret I (c. 1145 - died 15 November 1194) was the
countess of Flanders
The count of Flanders was the ruler or sub-ruler of the county of Flanders, beginning in the 9th century. Later, the title would be held for a time, by the rulers of the Holy Roman Empire and Spain. During the French Revolution, in 1790, the co ...
''
suo jure'' from 1191 to her death.
Early life
Margaret was the daughter of Count
Thierry of Flanders
Theoderic ( nl, Diederik, french: Thierry, german: Dietrich; – 17 January 1168), commonly known as Thierry of Alsace, was the fifteenth count of Flanders from 1128 to 1168. With a record of four campaigns in the Levant and Africa (including pa ...
and
Sibylla of Anjou. In 1160 she married Count
Ralph II of Vermandois
Ralph (pronounced ; or ,) is a male given name of English, Scottish and Irish origin, derived from the Old English ''Rædwulf'' and Radulf, cognate with the Old Norse ''Raðulfr'' (''rað'' "counsel" and ''ulfr'' "wolf").
The most common forms ...
(son of
Ralph I). Due to his leprosy, the marriage could not be consummated and remained childless. He died of leprosy in 1167 without issue. In 1169 she married Count
Baldwin V of Hainaut, a scion of the
House of Flanders.
Countship
In 1191, Margaret's brother Count
Philip I of Flanders
Philip I (1143 – 1 August 1191), commonly known as Philip of Alsace, was count of Flanders from 1168 to 1191. During his rule Flanders prospered economically. He took part in two crusades and died of disease in the Holy Land.
Count of Flanders
...
died childless, and she as his heir claimed the county of Flanders with the support of her husband. Her claims was questioned by the king of France who, with support of Ghent, declared Flanders escheated to the crown due to the lack of male heirs, a problem that was not solved until the Treaty of Arras by the mediation of the archbishop of Reims. They met some unrest among the nobility of the area, foremost by her brother's widow,
Theresa of Portugal, who was given extensive
dower lands in the coastal and southern Flanders where she provoked considerable unrest by high taxation.
The right of Margaret and her husband to the County of Flanders was not finally acknowledged until 1 March 1192. As countess, she objected to all foreign legal independence in her lands, and accordingly, she prevented the Hanse merchants living in Bruges from acquiring a separate quarter and rights for themselves in the port of Damme.
[Classen, Albrecht (ed.) ]
Handbook of Medieval Culture, Volym 2
', 2015
Margaret died on 15 November 1194; as her husband had become count of Flanders only by marriage, he could not remain sole count, and Margaret was succeeded by their son
Baldwin IX.
Issue
Margaret and Baldwin had:
*
Isabella
Isabella may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Isabella (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters
* Isabella (surname), including a list of people
Places
United States
* Isabella, Alabama, an unincorpora ...
, married
Philip II of France
*
Baldwin IX of Flanders (1171–1205), also count of Flanders and
Latin Emperor
*
Yolanda (1175–1219), married
Peter of Courtenay,
Latin Emperor
*
Philip I of Namur (1175–1212)
*
Henry of Flanders (1176–1216),
Latin emperor of Constantinople
The Latin Emperor was the ruler of the Latin Empire, the historiographical convention for the Crusades, Crusader realm, established in Constantinople after the Fourth Crusade (1204) and lasting until the city was recovered by the Byzantine Greek ...
*Sybille (1179–9 January 1217), married c. 1197 Guichard IV, Sire de
Beaujeu. They had a daughter,
Agnes of Beaujeu
Agnes of Beaujeu (''Agnès de Beaujeu''; ? – 11 July 1231) was a French noblewoman, the daughter of Guichard IV of Beaujeu and his wife Sybil of Hainaut. Agnes was Countess of Champagne by her marriage to Theobald I of Navarre
Theobald I (french ...
.
* Eustace (d. 1219), regent of the
Kingdom of Thessalonica
* Godfrey
References
Sources
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*
External link
*
{{Use dmy dates, date=March 2015
Flanders, Margaret I of
Flanders, Margaret I of
House of Metz
Countesses of Flanders
Countesses of Hainaut
Flanders, Countess of, Margaret I
Year of birth uncertain
12th-century women rulers
12th-century women from the county of Flanders