Alys, Countess of the Vexin
Alix of France (* 1160 or probably 1170 † after 1218 ) was a French princess from the House of Capet; it was intended as the wife of Richard the Lionheart, rumored but the mistress of Richard's father, the English King Henry II.
She is also known as Alais, Adélaïde, Adèle, Alais or Alys - but not to be confused with her half - sister Alix of France, later Countess of Blois, the daughter of King Louis VII with the first wife Eleanor of Aquitaine.
Origin
Was Alix, the representation of Père Anselme, Runciman and Schwennicke (see below) following, who was born probably in 1170 daughter of King Louis VII of France (* 1120, † 1180) from his third marriage to Adela of Champagne ( * probably 1140 † 1206), daughter of Count Theobald II, and thus the younger sister of the future King Philip II.
According to Lappenberg / Pauli and Upper Meier, however, it was a much earlier -born daughter of Louis VII After Père Anselme and Schwennicke would ensure only one born in 1160 Alix or Adelheid from Louis second marriage, to Constance of Castile (* probably 1140 † 1160 ), daughter of King Alfonso VII, was in question, of which, however, both report that they died young and shortly after her mother or born in the year 1160 and the end of the year not experienced.
The years in England ( according to Père Anselme et al )
On September 30, 1174 and her father, King Henry II of England agreed ( * 1133, † 1189 ) a marriage to Richard ( * 1157, † 1199 ), the third ( and second surviving ) son of an Englishman, after her older half- sister Margaret (* 1158, † 1197 ) since 1172 already older with Richards brother, the Crown Prince Heinrich ( * 1155, † 1183 ) was married. After the death of her father ( 1180) and the Crown Prince Heinrich ( 1183 ) came Alix probably 1185 and thus 15 years old at the English Court ( her half-sister Margaret, Henry's widow, marries late 1186 the Hungarian king Béla III. ). Richard, who was already in the resistance to his father, but refused to marry Alix, so that marriage contrary to the agreements could not be closed. And when the king had also not return the rejected bride in her home, " ran around all sorts of ugly rumors that [ King] Henry care even with their all too familiar intercourse. "
1189 affirm Henry II and Philip II, to marry their intention to Richard and Alix since 1180 the successor Louis VII, in the Treaty of Colomiers (Haute -Garonne). But Richard's military victory over his father and his death in the same year, his throne, and the liberation of Eleanor of Aquitaine (c. 1122 † 1204), who for many years set mother of the new king, the tide turned definitively to the detriment of the young Frenchwoman. Eleanor wanted " now that Henry's death she got rid of all restraint, not connected to a member of a family to see her favorite son, whom she hated, and one that has a woman of whom she believed that she had been the mistress of her husband. You were the interests of their native Guyenne at heart; she had therefore decided to marry him to a princess of Navarre ... ". And Richard acquiesced.
Middle of 1190 broke Richard and Philip II of France together on the Third Crusade. They met in Messina, where they discussed the next steps on 8 October. When Philip on this occasion " once again the question of Alice's marriage raised the issue leaned Richard it off to pull them at all into consideration, and gave as a reason Alice's bad reputation on ." In the spring of 1191, after wintering in Messina, Philip was ready to " put aside all his quarrels with Richard, and told him in due form for free to marry whomever he wanted. So Philip went in a mood of universal benevolence on March 30, 1191 with all its troops from Messina to sea. As soon as he had left the harbor, met Queen Eleanor and Princess Berengaria [ of Navarre ] where a. "Marriage between Richard and Berengaria was closed on May 12, 1191 Limassol, Cyprus.
Alix sat still firmly in distant England. Only when Richard returned to England after the crusade and his imprisonment on Trifels 1194, she was allowed to return to France in early 1195.
Another youth
After cloth Castle (p. 152 ) Alice and Richard were engaged with each other in the year 1167, however, he decided not to mention the birth of the princess. With recourse to Père Anselme would now be assumed that the fiancée with that Alix (or Adelaide ) is the same that was born in 1160 as the younger daughter of Louis marriage to Constance of Castile - if one ignores the fact that Père Anselme indicates for this daughter that they ( † 1160 ) died shortly after her mother.
For the year 1177, ten years later, writes cloth castle that Alice " in Henry's hat for a long time " was "without this seriousness made to marry her to the son ," and: " For some time, namely he had [ Henry II ] can negotiate the dowry by envoys, who were to receive by marriage with the daughters of Louis his sons Henry and Richard. For some he took the Vexin to complete and for Richard ... the city of Bourges me the county Berry ". To give the implementation of the agreement Reproduction, Ludwig assured of the assistance of the papal legate Peter of St. Grisogono, former Bishop of Meaux (1172-1174) and Cardinal, " the threatened suddenly the lands of the king of England under an interdict if he would not at once give his consent to the marriage. "
" On September 11, Henry met with the Cardinal to Rouen, of postponing the execution of his threat until a negotiation with the King of France would have taken had. It came about because even on 21 September between Ivry and Nonancourt. Henry promised again to try to fulfill the desire of his Lehnherrn, and concluded with him a treaty of friendship ... "
About the affirmation of engagement by Henry II shortly before his death ( 1189 ), ie in particular the non-fulfillment of the agreement for another 12 years and the eventual termination of the agreement by Richard in it prevails in the literature consensus.
The years in France
After the return of his (half) sister of Philip II found her quite quickly a husband. On August 20, 1195 she married Count William of Ponthieu, son and heir of Count Jean I ( † 1191 ) from the House Montgomery and Beatrice de Saint- Pol. 1197 she was appointed to the Countess of Vexin and mentioned on April 17, 1199 as the mother of a girl: Your daughter is Marie and William de Ponthieu, which will be the only child and heiress of Ponthieu (but not of Vexin ).
Alix in the contemporary sources
- Robert of Torigni († 1186 ) 1160 dies " Constantia regina Franciæ " in childbirth.
- Alberic of Trois- Fontaines ( † after 1252) calls " reginam Margaretam Anglie et comitissam Aaliz " as children of Louis VII and his second wife, and adds that Alix was married to " Guilelmus comes de Pontivo "
- Rodericus Ximenes († 1247 ) calls " Adelodis " as daughter of " Ludovico Regi Francorum " and his wife " Elizabeth " ( falsely Constantia ), with the note that she married the " Comitis de Pontivo "
- Roger of Hoveden († probably 1201) reported that the engagement of Richard and the daughter of Louis was first proposed in 1161, as Richard's older brother Henry was engaged to her sister Margaret
- Gervase mentions the engagement of " Ricardus filius regis ... Anglæ " and " filiam registered Franciæ quam habuit de filia regis Hispanorum " for the year 1169
- Benedict of Peterborough († 1194) mentioned for the " XI Kal Oct 1177 " the betrothal of " rex Anglie ... Ricardus comes Pictaviæ filius eius " and " regi Franciæ ... filiam " as part of the same closed peace treaty (I 1177, p. 191); In addition, he reported that the engagement of " Alesia soror eius [ Philippi regis Franciæ ] " and Richard was renewed in 1189