Margaret of Hungary
| Margaret of Hungary | |
|---|---|
House of Árpád | |
| Father | Béla III of Hungary |
| Mother | Agnes of Antioch |
Margaret of Hungary (Margit in Hungarian; 1175 – after 1223) was a Byzantine Empress by marriage to
Early life
Margaret was the eldest daughter of Béla III of Hungary and his first wife Agnes of Antioch.[1] She was a younger sister of Emeric, King of Hungary. Her younger siblings were Andrew II of Hungary and Constance of Hungary. Two other siblings, Solomon and Stephen, are mentioned in the standard reference work on the genealogy of medieval European aristocracy, "Europäische Stammtafeln" (1978–1995) by Detlev Schwennicke. They reportedly died young.[2]
Empress
 |
In January 1186, Margaret married the
With Isaac, she had two sons:
- Manuel Angelos (died 1212), he was evidently the elder son, being contemplated in 1205 to ascend the Byzantine throne[3]
- Bács(1227–42) as a vassal of king Béla IV of Hungary.
Isaac had been deposed and blinded in 1195 by his brother Alexios III Angelos who then assumed the throne. Isaac was imprisoned, but it's not yet clear if Margaret was also. Her step-son Alexios IV Angelos had escaped and went to join the military discussions which were shortly to launch the Fourth Crusade. There, he and others convinced the Crusaders to besiege Constantinople in order to depose his uncle and restore his imprisoned father and himself to the throne. This was done, but his restored reign was short-lived, as the Crusaders took over the empire for themselves in 1204.
Queen of Thessalonica
Margaret's husband Isaac died in February 1204, "whose end was accelerated by the fate of his son", who was "strangled in his dungeon after poison had failed to do its work".
Evidently in this same year of 1204, but after his new marriage, Boniface requested that he be allowed to exchange his lands in
With Boniface, Margaret had a son:
- Demetrius of Montferrat in 1207, he wed a sister of the Lord of Athens but they had no children
Regency
Boniface left a will designating Demetrius as his successor in Thessalonica under the regency of his mother. His son
In 1207, on his father's death, Demetrius became king of Thessalonica, at least in title. The Emperor visited Thessalonica to receive the homage in the infant's name, but was barred from the city by the bailiff Biandrate until he would agree to outrageous demands.[9] Margaret, now in the Emperor's presence, put herself in his hands and revealed the plot against the infant. The Emperor then crowned the new infant King of Thessalonica.[10] Margaret thereby secured the position of regent, as was stipulated in her spouse's will.
Biandrate fled, but conspiring at a distance, returned once more in 1216 to claim the Regency. The regent Margaret asked the emperor for assistance: "In response to Queen Margaret's appeal the Emperor hurried to her assistance, but arrived on the scene only to die with mysterious suddenness in the flower of his age."[11]
Later life
Margaret fled to Hungary apparently leaving her son Demetrius in Thessalonica. She married thirdly
With Nicholas, Margaret was apparently the mother of his two known sons:
- Bela of Saint Omer
- William of Saint Omer, who married but died childless.
On 30 March 1223, Pope
Death
Margaret was still living in 1223. Her exact death date and place, and burial location are apparently unknown.
References
- ^ Stephenson, Paul (2000). Byzantium's Balkan Frontier: A Political Study of the Northern Balkans, 900–1204. Cambridge University Press. p.283.
- ^ Makk, Ferenc (1994). "III. Béla". In Kristó, Gyula; Engel, Pál; Makk, Ferenc. Korai magyar történeti lexikon (9–14. század) [Encyclopedia of the Early Hungarian History (9th–14th centuries)] (in Hungarian). Akadémiai Kiadó. pp. 91–92.
- ^ Rodd, Rennell (1907). p. 78
- ^ Rodd, Rennell (1907). p. 51
- ^ Rodd, Rennell (1907). p. 56
- ^ Rodd, Rennell (1907). p. 61
- ^ Rodd, Rennell (1907). p. 64
- ^ Rodd, Rennell (1907). p. 82
- ^ Rodd, Rennell (1907). p. 85
- ^ Rodd, Rennell (1907). p. 86
- ^ Rodd, Rennell (1907). p. 89
- ^ Rodd, Rennell (1907). p. 153
- ISBN 9789004325012, series: East Central and Eastern Europe in the Middle Ages 450-1450 (Book 41)
Sources
- McDaniel, Gordon L. (1984). "On Hungarian-Serbian Relations in the Thirteenth Century: John Angelos and Queen Jelena" (PDF). Ungarn-Jahrbuch. 12 (1982-1983): München, 1984: 43–50.
- Rodd, Rennell (1907). The Princes of Achaia and the Chronicles of Morea: A Study of Greece in the Middle Ages. Vol. 1. E. Arnold. pp. 51, 56, 61, 64, 78, 82, 85, 86, 89, 153. Retrieved 2017-02-17.