Catherine I, Latin Empress

Catherine I, also Catherine of Courtenay (25 November 1274 – 11 October 1307), was the recognized Latin Empress of Constantinople from 1283 to 1307, although she lived in exile and only held authority over Crusader States in Greece. In 1301, she became the second wife of Charles of Valois, by whom she had one son and three daughters; the eldest of these, Catherine II of Valois, Princess of Achaea succeeded her as titular empress.

Catherine I
Marchioness of Namur Lady of Courteney, Mortargis and Balcon
Latin Empress of Constantinople
Reign	15 December 1283 – 11 October 1307
Predecessor	Philip I
Successor	Catherine II
Co-ruler	Charles (1301–1307)
Born	25 November 1274
Died	11 October 1307 (aged 32) Paris, France
Burial	Maubuisson Abbey, Paris
Spouse	Charles, Count of Valois
Issue	John, Count of Chartres Catherine II, Latin Empress Joanna, Countess of Beaumont Isabella of Valois
House	Courtenay
Father	Philip I, Latin Emperor
Mother	Beatrice of Sicily

Life

Seal of Catherine of Courtenay

She was born on 25 November 1274, the only daughter and heir of the titular Emperor of Constantinople Philip I of Courtenay by Beatrice of Sicily.

Upon her father's death 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, despite the city having been re-taken by the Empire of Nicaea in 1261.

Catherine was betrothed three times before her marriage:

—Firstly, in 1288, with Michael IX Palaiologos, co-Byzantine Emperor; this union was proposed by the intended groom's father Emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos in the hope of reducing the threat of restoring the power of the Latins in the Byzantine Empire and reconciling with both the Holy See and the European monarchs, who frightened Constantinople with a new Crusade; however, after several years of fruitless negotiations and the decisive objection from the French king, the purposed union was abandoned by 1295, when Michael IX was already married.

—Secondly, in June 1295, with Infante Frederick of Aragon, son of King Peter III. As a condition of this betrothal, the intended groom promised to renounce his rights to the Kingdom of Sicily and give help to reconquer the Latin Empire of Constantinople, but this proposal was opposed by the French king and the betrothal was terminated.

—Thirdly, on 24 January 1299 to Infante James of Majorca, son of King James II. Since the couple were too closely related, the condition for the marriage was dispensation from Pope Boniface VIII, which was never granted. Instead, James decided to remove himself from the line of succession of the Kingdom of Majorca and take the habit.

Finally, on 28 February 1301 at the Priory of St. Cloud near Paris, Catherine became in the second wife of Count Charles of Valois, son of King Philip III of France. On 23 April 1301, Charles became titular Latin Emperor with Catherine until her death in Paris on 11 October 1307 at the age of 32. She was buried at the abbey of Maubuisson the following day, 12 October. Jacques de Molay, Grand Master of the Knights Templar 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 Achaea, titular Empress of Constantinople (before 15 April 1303 – October 1346). She married Philip I of Anjou, Prince of Taranto and had issue.
• Joan of Valois (1304 – 9 July 1363), married Count Robert III of Artois
• Isabella of Valois (1305 – 11 November 1349), Abbess of Fontevrault.

See also

• Jacques de Molay was arrested by King Philip IV the day after attending her funeral on 12 October 1307 in Paris.

Sources

• Lock, Peter (2013). The Franks in the Aegean: 1204-1500. Routledge.
• Michel, André (1907). "Nouvelles Archéologiques et Correspondance". Revue Archéologique: Quatrième Série (in French). 10 (Juillet-Décembre). Presses Universitaires de France: 445–457.
• Warner, Kathryn (2019). Philippa of Hainault: Mother of the English Nation. Amberley.

Ancestry

Ancestors of Catherine I, Latin Empress

16. Peter I of Courtenay 8. Peter II of Courtenay 17. Elizabeth de Courtenay 4. Baldwin II of Constantinople 18. Baldwin V, Count of Hainaut 9. Yolanda of Flanders 19. Margaret I, Countess of Flanders 2. Philip of Courtenay 20. Erard II, Count of Brienne 10. John of Brienne 21. Agnes of Montfaucon 5. Marie of Brienne 22. Alfonso IX of León 11. Berengaria of León 23. Berengaria of Castile 1. Catherine of Courtenay 24. Philip II of France 12. Louis VIII of France 25. Isabella of Hainault 6. Charles I of Naples 26. Alfonso VIII of Castile 13. Blanche of Castile 27. Eleanor of England 3. Beatrice of Sicily 28. Alfonso II, Count of Provence 14. Ramon Berenguer IV of Provence 29. Garsenda, Countess of Forcalquier 7. Beatrice of Provence 30. Thomas I, Count of Savoy 15. Beatrice of Savoy 31. Margaret of Geneva

External links

Media related to Catherine of Courtenay at Wikimedia Commons