Marie I, Countess of Boulogne
Marie I | |
---|---|
Matthew | |
Born | 1136 |
Died | 25 July 1182 (aged c. 46) St Austrebert, Montreuil |
Burial | St Austrebert |
Spouse |
Matthew of Alsace (m. 1160; div. 1170) |
Matilda, Duchess of Brabant | |
House | House of Blois |
Father | Stephen, King of England |
Mother | Matilda I, Countess of Boulogne |
Marie I or Mary (1136 – 25 July 1182 in St Austrebert, Montreuil, France) was the suo jure Countess of Boulogne from 1159 to 1170. She also held the post of Abbess of Romsey for five years until her abduction by Matthew of Alsace, who forced her to marry him. She is one of several possible identities of the author Marie de France.[1]
Early years
Marie was the younger daughter of King
Abbess
Marie became a novice at the Priory of Lillechurch in Kent, but later transferred to Romsey Abbey in Hampshire.[2] The abbey had been rebuilt by her uncle Henry of Blois, Bishop of Winchester. It was at Romsey that she became a nun sometime between 1148 and 1155. She was elected Abbess of Romsey in 1155,[2] the year following her father's death and the subsequent ascension to the English throne of Empress Matilda's son Henry II.
About four years later, on 11 October 1159, her brother William died in Toulouse. As his marriage to Isabel de Warenne, Countess of Surrey had been childless, Marie, his only surviving sibling, succeeded as the suo jure Countess of Boulogne.
Countess of Boulogne
Marie's marriage to Matthew was annulled in 1170. This was the same year that she gave birth to their younger daughter, Mathilde, in Louvain.
Later life
Following the annulment, Marie re-entered the religious life as a
Issue
- Matilda II of Boulogne, who succeeded her as countess.
References
- ^ de France, Marie (1999). Burgess, Glynn S. (ed.). The Lais of Marie de France (Second ed.). London: Penguin. p. 19.
- ^ a b c d e Burgess & Busby 1986, p. 19.
- ^ Commire 2000, p. 396.
- ^ a b c McDougall 2017, p. 204.
- ^ Pollock 2015, p. 10.
Sources
- Burgess, Glyn Sheridan; Busby, Keith (1986). The Lais of Marie de France. Penguin Classics. ISBN 978-0-14-044476-6.
- Commire, Anne, ed. (2000). Women in World History. Vol. 10. Gale.
- Pollock, M.A. (2015). Scotland, England and France after the Loss of Normandy, 1204–1296. The Boydell Press.
- McDougall, Sara (2017). Royal Bastards: The Birth of Illegitimacy, 800–1230. Oxford University Press.