Marie de Bourbon, Princess of Achaea
Marie of Bourbon (c. 1315–1387) was the sovereign baroness of Vostitsa in 1359-1370. She was princess consort of Achaea and titular Latin empress consort by marriage to
Life
She was a daughter of Louis I, Duke of Bourbon and Mary of Avesnes.[1] She was a younger sister of Peter I, Duke of Bourbon and an older sister of James I, Count of La Marche.
First marriage
On 29 November 1328, Marie was betrothed to
Hugh of Lusignan, their only known son, was born in about 1335. Her husband was appointed Constable of Cyprus between 1336 and 1338. He died in 1343 from unstated causes. The correspondence of Pope Clement VI includes a letter of condolences for the demise of Guy, dated to 24 September 1343. The actual death likely occurred in the months preceding the letter. The widowed Marie was not allowed to leave Cyprus until 1346 by orders of her father-in-law.[3]
Second marriage
In 1346, Marie and her son left Cyprus in exile. By 1347, they had settled in
They were soon separated for a number of years. Joan was a main suspect for orchestrating the assassination of her first husband
In 1353, Robert initiated a campaign in the
Reign
Marie benefited by the brief campaign as Robert transferred to her lands in Corfu, Kefalonia and the
On 10 September 1364, Robert of Taranto died. His marriage with Marie had been childless and his legal heir was his younger brother
On 17 January 1369, Peter I of Cyprus was assassinated by three of his own knights, in his own bed at the Palace of La Cava, Nicosia. He was succeeded by his son Peter II of Cyprus. However Hugh saw another opportunity to claim the throne of Cyprus and left the Peloponnese to travel to Nicosia, effectively abandoning his campaign. Marie continued the civil war until 1370.
Unable to secure victory, Marie sold her rights to Philip II, Prince of Taranto for 6,000 gold pieces.[5][6] Her fiefdoms of Vostitsa and Nivelets were sold to Nerio I Acciaioli, later Duke of Athens.[4] She only retained her fiefdom of Kalamata.
Hugh of Lusignan married Marie de Morphou, a daughter of Jean de Morphou, Count of Roucha, but seems to have died childless. He predeceased his mother c. 1385. The last will and testament of Marie names her nephew Louis II, Duke of Bourbon as her sole heir.[7]
References
- ^ Topping 1975, p. 132.
- ^ a b Edbury 1991, p. 143.
- ^ Edbury 1991, p. 148.
- ^ a b Women in Power 1350 - 1400: "1359-63 Sovereign Countess Marie I de Bourbon of Vestitza"
- ^ Sturdza 1983, p. 500.
- ^ Kerrebrouck, Patrick van, "Les Capétiens" (2000), pages 287-289.
- ^ Louis, Count of Mas Latrie, A History of Cyprus (1865), page 407
Sources
- Edbury, Peter W. (1991). The Kingdom of Cyprus and the Crusades, 1191–1374. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-26876-1.
- Sturdza, Mihail-Dimitri (1983). Dictionnaire historique et Généalogique des grandes familles de Grèce, d'Albanie et de Constantinople (in French). Mihail-Dimitri Sturdza.
- Topping, Peter (1975). "The Morea, 1311–1364". In Hazard, Harry W. (ed.). A History of the Crusades, Vol. III: The Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press. ISBN 978-0299066703.