House Of Courtenay
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The House of Courtenay is a medieval noble house of French origins, with branches in France, England and the Holy Land. One branch of the Capetian dynasty bore the name of Courtenay through mariage to a Courtenay heiress and became a royal house of the dynasty, cousins of the Bourbons and the Valois, and achieved the title of Latin Emperor of
Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...
.


Origin

The house was founded by Athon, the first lord of Courtenay in France. Athon took advantage of the succession crisis in the
Duchy of Burgundy The Duchy of Burgundy (; ; ) was a medieval and early modern feudal polity in north-western regions of historical Burgundy. It was a duchy, ruled by dukes of Burgundy. The Duchy belonged to the Kingdom of France, and was initially bordering th ...
between Otto-William, Duke of Burgundy and King
Robert II of France Robert II ( 972 – 20 July 1031), called the Pious () or the Wise (), was List of French monarchs, King of the Franks from 996 to 1031, the second from the Capetian dynasty. Crowned Junior King in 987, he assisted his father on military matters ...
to capture a piece of land for himself, where he established his own
seigneury A seigneur () or lord is an originally feudal system, feudal title in Ancien Régime, France before the French Revolution, Revolution, in New France and British North America until 1854, and in the Channel Islands to this day. The seigneur owne ...
(lordship), taking his surname from the town he founded and fortified. Athon was succeeded by his son Joscelin, who had three sons: Miles, who was Lord of Courtenay after him; Prince Joscelin, who joined the
First Crusade The First Crusade (1096–1099) was the first of a series of religious wars, or Crusades, initiated, supported and at times directed by the Latin Church in the Middle Ages. The objective was the recovery of the Holy Land from Muslim conquest ...
and became Count of Edessa; and Geoffrey, who also fought in the Holy Land and died there. In the 12th century, Reginald de Courtenay (d.1160), son of Milo de Courtenay (d.1127), quarrelled with King
Louis VII of France Louis VII (1120 – 18 September 1180), called the Younger or the Young () to differentiate him from his father Louis VI, was King of France from 1137 to 1180. His first marriage was to Duchess Eleanor of Aquitaine, one of the wealthiest and ...
and moved to England: His French lands were forfeit, and passed, with his daughter Elizabeth, to Louis' brother
Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...
, who took the name "Peter de Courtenay". His son, Peter II, later became Latin Emperor of
Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...
.


The Crusader house of Courtenay

Joscelin de Courtenay arrived in
Outremer The Crusader states, or Outremer, were four Catholic polities established in the Levant region and southeastern Anatolia from 1098 to 1291. Following the principles of feudalism, the foundation for these polities was laid by the First Crusade ...
with the third wave of the First Crusade and proved himself capable, becoming in turn Lord of Turbessel, Prince of Galilee, and (in 1118) Count of Edessa, succeeding his cousin King
Baldwin II of Jerusalem Baldwin II, also known as Baldwin of Bourcq (; – 21August 1131), was Count of Edessa from 1100 to 1118, and King of Jerusalem from 1118 until his death. He accompanied Godfrey of Bouillon and Baldwin of Boulogne to the Holy Land during the ...
. He was succeeded in 1131 by his son, Joscelin II, but the county was lost in 1144, and Joscelin died in captivity in 1159. His son, Joscelin III, was the titular Count, while his sister, Agnes, became Queen of Jerusalem by marriage to King Amalric. Amalric's second wife, Maria Komnene, Queen of Jerusalem, became the wife of
Balian of Ibelin Balian of Ibelin (; ), also known as Barisan the Younger, was a Crusades, crusader noble of the Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century. He was Vassals of the Kingdom of Jerusalem#Lordship of Ibelin, Lord of Ibelin from 1170 to 1193. As the ...
, of the House of Ibelin. Joscelin III died in the 1190s, succeeded by two daughters; his last property was passed by them to the
Teutonic Order The Teutonic Order is a religious order (Catholic), Catholic religious institution founded as a military order (religious society), military society in Acre, Israel, Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Sa ...
. His sister, Agnes of Courtenay, was mother to two monarchs, King Baldwin the Leper and Queen Sibylla. She later married Hugh of Ibelin, brother of Balian, who surrendered Jerusalem to
Saladin Salah ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub ( – 4 March 1193), commonly known as Saladin, was the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty. Hailing from a Kurdish family, he was the first sultan of both Egypt and Syria. An important figure of the Third Crusade, h ...
in 1187.


The English House of Courtenay

Reginald de Courtenay's grandson, Robert de Courtenay (d.1242), feudal baron of Okehampton, Devon (in right of his mother Hawise de Curcy (d.1219),) married Mary de Redvers, daughter and heiress of William de Redvers, 5th Earl of Devon (d.1217), seated at Tiverton Castle and Plympton Castle in Devon. On the death of Isabel de Forz, ''suo jure'' 8th Countess of Devon in 1293 (the sister and heiress of Baldwin de Redvers, 7th Earl of Devon (1236–1262)) she was succeeded by her cousin Hugh de Courtenay, 1st/9th Earl of Devon (d.1340), feudal baron of Okehampton, the great-grandson of Robert de Courtenay (d.1242). His title of Earl of Devon was not however officially recognised until 1335, and it remains unclear whether it was a new creation or a continuation of the Redvers title, with different modern sources giving him as either 1st or 9th Earl of Devon. The senior line seated at Tiverton, Okehampton and Plympton, died out in 1471 during the Wars of the Roses, but the Earldom was recreated three more times in 1485, 1511 and 1553 for cousins, all descended from the eldest son of the 2nd/10th Earl. William Courtenay, 1st Earl of Devon (1475–1511), would marry Princess
Catherine Katherine (), also spelled Catherine and Catherina, other variations, is a feminine given name. The name and its variants are popular in countries where large Christian populations exist, because of its associations with one of the earliest Ch ...
of the Royal
House of York The House of York was a cadet branch of the English royal House of Plantagenet. Three of its members became kings of England in the late 15th century. The House of York descended in the male line from Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York ...
, a younger daughter of King Edward IV, bringing the Earls of Devon very close to the line of succession to the English throne. On the death of Edward Courtenay, 1st Earl of Devon (1527–1556), unmarried at Padua in 1556, the subject of the final creation of 1553, the title was considered extinct until declared in 1831 by the House of Lords to have been merely dormant,Cokayne, G. E.; Gibbs, Vicary & Doubleday, H. Arthur, eds. (1916). The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, extant, extinct or dormant (Dacre to Dysart). 4 (2nd ed.). London: The St. Catherine Press, p.332 when it was confirmed to William Courtenay, Viscount Courtenay (1768–1835) (of the surviving junior line seated at
Powderham Castle Powderham Castle is a fortified manor house in Exminster, Devon, south of Exeter and mile (0.4 km) north-east of the village of Kenton, where the main public entrance gates are located. It is a Grade I listed building. The park and gar ...
in Devon, descended from the fourth son of the 2nd/10th Earl) who became the 9th Earl of Devon. The family survives in the male line and is headed by Charles Courtenay, 19th Earl of Devon, of Powderham.


The Capetian House of Courtenay

Reginald de Courtenay's daughter, Elizabeth, was given in marriage, together with his forfeited French lands, by the French Capetian King Louis VII with whom he had quarreled, to his youngest brother Peter of France (d.1183), henceforth known as Peter I of Courtenay. Peter and Elizabeth's descendants were members of the Capetian House of Courtenay, a
cadet branch A cadet branch consists of the male-line descendants of a monarch's or patriarch's younger sons ( cadets). In the ruling dynasties and noble families of much of Europe and Asia, the family's major assets (realm, titles, fiefs, property and incom ...
of the
House of Capet The House of Capet () ruled the Kingdom of France from 987 to 1328. It was the most senior line of the Capetian dynasty – itself a derivative dynasty from the Robertians and the Karlings. The direct line of the House of Capet came to an ...
, the French royal house. Their descendants acquired through marriage the
County of Namur The County of Namur () was a county of the Holy Roman Empire with its military and administrative capital at the town of Namur (city), Namur, at the merging of the Sambre and Meuse rivers in what is now Wallonia, French-speaking Belgium. Under t ...
and the
Latin Empire The Latin Empire, also referred to as the Latin Empire of Constantinople, was a feudal Crusader state founded by the leaders of the Fourth Crusade on lands captured from the Byzantine Empire. The Latin Empire was intended to replace the Byzantin ...
of
Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...
. This branch became extinct in the male line in 1733, with the name Courtenay passing on to the Princely House of Bauffremont. Notable members of the Bauffremonts became
Princes of the Holy Roman Empire Prince of the Holy Roman Empire (, , cf. ''Fürst'') was a title attributed to a hereditary ruler, nobleman or prelate recognised by the Holy Roman Emperor. Definition Originally, possessors of the princely title bore it as immediate vassal ...
, Imperial Count by
Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
and Duke by
Louis XVIII Louis XVIII (Louis Stanislas Xavier; 17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824), known as the Desired (), was King of France from 1814 to 1824, except for a brief interruption during the Hundred Days in 1815. Before his reign, he spent 23 y ...
.


Claim to French royal status

The
House of Bourbon The House of Bourbon (, also ; ) is a dynasty that originated in the Kingdom of France as a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Kingdom of Navarre, Navarre in the 16th century. A br ...
, which acquired the French throne with the accession of
Henry IV of France Henry IV (; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry (''le Bon Roi Henri'') or Henry the Great (''Henri le Grand''), was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 16 ...
in 1589, was another cadet branch of the Capetian dynasty. Under the
Salic law The Salic law ( or ; ), also called the was the ancient Frankish Civil law (legal system), civil law code compiled around AD 500 by Clovis I, Clovis, the first Frankish King. The name may refer to the Salii, or "Salian Franks", but this is deba ...
, males descended in male line from
Hugh Capet Hugh Capet (; ; 941 – 24 October 996) was the King of the Franks from 987 to 996. He is the founder of and first king from the House of Capet. The son of the powerful duke Hugh the Great and his wife Hedwige of Saxony, he was elected as t ...
are princes of the blood—i.e., they have the right to succeed to the French throne in the event that the male line of the royal family and of more senior princes die out. Hence, the then-impoverished Capetian House of Courtenay, being
agnatic Patrilineality, also known as the male line, the spear side or agnatic kinship, is a common kinship system in which an individual's family membership derives from and is recorded through their father's lineage. It generally involves the inheritanc ...
descendants of
Louis VI of France Louis VI (1 December 1081 – 1 August 1137), called the Fat () or the Fighter (), was List of French monarchs, King of the Franks from 1108 to 1137. Like his father Philip I of France, Philip I, Louis made a lasting contribution to centralizing ...
, sought to be acknowledged as " princes du sang" (Princes of the Blood Royal) and "cousins to the king", two titles normally reserved for the members of the royal family and prized for the seats at the Royal Council and the
Parlement of Paris The ''Parlement'' of Paris () was the oldest ''parlement'' in the Kingdom of France, formed in the 14th century. Parlements were judicial, rather than legislative, bodies and were composed of magistrates. Though not representative bodies in the p ...
that they conferred upon its holders. Moreover, the Bourbons had difficulty producing surviving male dynasts in quantity until the mid-17th century. The Capetian Courtenays were, after their cousins the Bourbons, the most senior surviving agnatic branch of the House of Capet, and under strict application of Salic law the Crown would pass to them should the Bourbons fall extinct. Three Bourbon kings in a row—Henry IV,
Louis XIII Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown. ...
and
Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...
—turned down their petitions. That the Bourbon monarchs confined the French royalty to the descendants of Louis IX is evidenced by the Treaty of Montmartre (1662) which named the non-Capetian
House of Lorraine The House of Lorraine () originated as a cadet branch of the House of Metz. It inherited the Duchy of Lorraine in 1473 after the death without a male heir of Nicholas I, Duke of Lorraine. By the marriage of Francis of Lorraine to Maria Ther ...
as the next in line to the French throne after the Bourbons, thus bypassing the Courtenay branch, a Capetian family. Although the Courtenays protested against this clause, their claims to the princely title were never acknowledged by the Paris Court of Accounts. The last male member of the French Courtenays died in 1733. His niece married the marquis de
Bauffremont The House of Bauffremont is the name of a French princely family which derived its name from a village in the Vosges, outside of Neufchâteau, Vosges, Neufchâteau, now spelt Beaufremont. The family traces itself to Liébaud, sire de Bauffremon ...
, and their descendants assumed the title of "Prince de Courtenay" with dubious validity, which they bear to this day. The marquis de Bauffremont was made on 8 June 1757 Prince of the
Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...
(inheritable by all male-line descendants); this title was recognised in France. Bauffremont-Courtenay are also princes of Carency and dukes of Bauffremont.


Genealogy

*Athon ** Joscelin I of Courtenay, married 1. Hildegarde de Gâtinais (sister of Geoffrey III of Anjou), 2. Isabel de Montlhéry, daughter of
Guy I of Montlhéry Guy I (died 1095) was the second lord of Bray-sur-Seine, Bray and the second lord of Montlhéry (Latin: ''Monte Leterico''). He was the son of Milo of Montlhéry. He married Hodierna of Gometz, sister of William, lord of Gometz-le-Châtel, Gometz. ...
***Hodierna, married ***Miles of Courtenay (d.1127), married Ermengarde of Nevers ****William de Courtenay ****Joscelin de Courtenay **** Reginald de Courtenay (d. 1160), married firstly, Hélène du Donjon, and secondly, after his move to England, Maud du Sap, d.1219, daughter of Robert FitzEdith (d.1172) (illegitimate son of King
Henry I of England Henry I ( – 1 December 1135), also known as Henry Beauclerc, was King of England from 1100 to his death in 1135. He was the fourth son of William the Conqueror and was educated in Latin and the liberal arts. On William's death in 1087, Henr ...
by Edith FitzForne). ***** Renaud de Courtenay (d. 1194), married Hawise de Curcy, heiress to the English feudal barony of Okehampton, Devon. ******Robert de Courtenay (d.1242)
feudal baron A feudal baron is a vassal holding a heritable fief called a ''barony'', comprising a specific portion of land, granted by an overlord in return for allegiance and service. Following the end of European feudalism, feudal baronies have largely be ...
of Okehampton, married Lady Mary de Redvers, d. of William de Redvers, 5th Earl of Devon (d.1217) *******John de Courtenay (d.1274) ******** Hugh de Courtenay (d.1292) ********* Hugh de Courtenay, 9th Earl of Devon (d.1340) **********( Earls of Devon) *****Elizabeth de Courtenay, married Peter I of Courtenay (d.1183), son of King
Louis VI of France Louis VI (1 December 1081 – 1 August 1137), called the Fat () or the Fighter (), was List of French monarchs, King of the Franks from 1108 to 1137. Like his father Philip I of France, Philip I, Louis made a lasting contribution to centralizing ...
. ****** ( Capetian branch) ***
Joscelin I, Count of Edessa Joscelin I (died 1131) was a Frankish nobleman of the House of Courtenay who ruled as the lord of Turbessel, prince of Galilee (1112–1119) and count of Edessa (1118–1131). The County of Edessa reached its zenith during his rule. Captured ...
, married 1. Beatrice (daughter of Constantine I of Armenia), 2. Maria of Salerno (sister of Roger of Salerno) **** Joscelin II, Count of Edessa, married Beatrice ***** Joscelin III of Edessa, married Alice of Milly ****** Beatrix de Courtenay, married Otto von Botenlauben ( Count of Henneberg) ******Agnes, married William of La Mandelie ***** Agnes of Courtenay, married 1. Reginald of Marash, 2. King
Amalric of Jerusalem Amalric (; 113611 July 1174), formerly known in historiography as , was the king of Jerusalem from 1163 until his death. He was, in the opinion of his Muslim adversaries, the bravest and cleverest of the crusader kings. Amalric was the younger ...
, 3. Hugh of Ibelin, 4.
Reginald of Sidon Reginald Grenier (1130s – 1202; also Reynald or Renaud) was lord of Sidon and an important noble in the late-12th century Kingdom of Jerusalem. Rise to fame Reginald was the son of Gerard Grenier and Agnes of Bures, and a grandson of Eust ...
*****Isabella of Courtenay, married Prince Thoros II of Armenia ***Geoffrey of Champlay


References


Bibliography

* Runciman, Steven (1951) '' A History of the Crusades: Vols. I-II''. Cambridge University Press * Sanders, I.J. (1960) ''English Baronies''. Oxford * Kenneth Setton (1969) ''A History of the Crusades''. Univ. Wisconsin


External links


Cleaveland, Ezra. A Genealogical History of the Noble and Illustrious Family of Courtenay, Exeter, 1735
{{DEFAULTSORT:House Of Courtenay Courtenay Courtenay Courtenay