Adèle of Champagne
Adela of Champagne (French Adèle de Champagne, * 1145, † June 4, 1206 in Paris), also known as Adele and Alix, was through her marriage to the French king Louis VII 1160-1180 Queen of France. Their son Philippe -Auguste gave her the guardianship of the heir to the throne Louis and instructed them together with her brother William of Blois, Cardinal and Archbishop of Reims, with government affairs for the period of his participation in the Third Crusade.
Family
Adela came around the year 1145 as the fifth daughter and ninth child in order of the Count Palatine Theobald II of Champagne ( as Theobald IV Count of Blois ) and his wife Matilda of Spanheim to the world. Their origin and belonging to the house of Blois -Champagne often certain Adela's actions during her time as Queen of France, because were not always the counts of Blois -Champagne and the French royal house on the same page.
His marriage to Louis VII had three children:
- Philip II Augustus ( * 1165, † 1223 )
- Adelheid (* 1170, † after 1200 ), ⚭ William III, Count of Ponthieu.
- Agnes (* 1171, † 1240)
Life
About Adela's childhood and youth nothing is handed down. History tangible it is only from the November 13, 1160, when she about 20 years old in the Paris Notre Dame Cathedral, the 40 -year-old French King Louis VII and married his third wife. Marriage and marriage of the two are by Suger of Saint- Denis ' chronicle Historia gloriosi regis Ludovici well known. The connection came only six weeks after the death of Louis ' second wife Constance of Castile, on the advice of high spiritual and secular dignitaries of the Empire, because it was feared that the king might die without male heirs. Possibly Adela's brother, Henry I had suggested of Champagne his younger sister as a marriage candidate to cause this way a rapprochement between the Capetians and the house Champagne. For the royal family, the connection was again rewarding in view of a possible coalition against the house of Plantagenet. The marriage took place so quickly that the Capetian could no longer respond to another, a little later made offer of marriage of Constance of Brittany, sister of the Duke of Brittany Conan IV, the part of the Capetians. The wedding ceremony was conducted by the Senser Archbishop Hugo, Adela on the same day also anointed and crowned queen. The marriage of Adela and Louis was not the only connection between the two families: the two daughters from the first marriage of Louis with Eleanor of Aquitaine married two brothers of the new queen. Marie was married to Henry I of Champagne, while Alix Adela's brother Theobald married, who also assumed the office of seneschal of France.
The English King Henry Plantagenet reacted swiftly to which Formative alliance against him: A Pope Alexander III. extorted dispensation allowed the marriage of his son Henry the Younger with him promised Ludwig- daughter Margaret, who was at that time still a toddler. The official engagement of the two took place in November 1160 after the English king immediately took possession of the promised dowry in the form of the Norman Vexin county. In the subsequent wars against the end of spring 1161, the French king benefited first of his family relationship to the house Champagne, because he was supported strongly supported by his brother in law.
On August 21, 1165 Adela brought after nearly five years of marriage at last the long-awaited heir Philippe -Auguste to the world, thereby ensuring the survival of the Capetian dynasty. 1170 and 1171 was followed by two daughters Alix and Agnes.
Because of his weakened by a stroke health state, Louis VII had in 1179 to retire from politics. With her brother William on the side Adela then took over political responsibility and ran with it in competition with the Count Philip I of Flanders, who also tried since 1175 to get more power on the farm, and at the same time was anxious to reduce the influence champagnischen. He enjoyed the confidence of the Crown Prince Philip, who had been crowned by Adela's brother William on November 1, 1179 at the age of 14 years to co-regent, and now claimed the sole regency for himself. Without the consent of his parents he married on May 29, 1180 Isabella of Hainault, who was by her mother Margaret I of Flanders, Count of Flanders members of the house and thus nothing of Philip of Flanders. The house Champagne tried to fight against the loss of his power, and Adela held in this situation to their brethren. She sat the castles which had been conferred as a jointure, in a state of defense and tried to move vassals of the king to fall away from her son. In the fight against the Flemish Count Philip I even tried it, the greatest adversary of the French royal family, Henry II of England to win for an alliance, but what the English king refused. Philip II had to take his mother's castles by his troops and distribute the crews. Adela then fled to her brother Theobald V of Blois. As a reconciliation between France and England came about by the Treaty of Gisors on 28 June 1180 had forced the feuding Hofparteien under the leadership of Adela of Champagne and Philip of Flanders, to resolve their disputes.
At the latest after her husband's death on September 19, 1180 to Adela of Champagne pulled completely from the royal court to her jointure back and took in the subsequent period also no longer active party for her family. At the request of her son, however, she returned after ten years again to the back yard. Philip II gave her 1190 not only reign when he took part in the Third Crusade, but they also entrusted with the guardianship of his infant son nor Louis VIII, whose mother Isabella died on March 15th of the year. Adela's powers, however, were carefully regulated; so it was denied, for example, access to the crown jewels. Adela's reign was quite unspectacular. She was intent on preserving the status quo and put off making decisions on strong political impact until her son returned from the Crusades in December 1191. Their political activity at the French court had thus a definitive end, and the queen - mother returned to her jointure. Your Dotalgüter were mainly in the southeastern part of the French royal domain and extended from today Melun via Corbeil -Essonnes, near which they sponsored the relocation and re-establishment of the monastery Le Jard beginning of the 13th century, until close of Sens.
After her death on June 4, 1206 Adela of Champagne was her desire not buried under the Basilica of Sant Denis, the traditional grave laying of the French royal house, but into the Cistercian abbey Barbeau beside her husband. At the behest of the General Chapter of the Cistercian her body was reburied but only for a short time in the monastery church built by her father Pontigny 15 km northeast of Auxerre later.