Ralph I of Vermandois
| Ralph I | |
|---|---|
 Image of Ralph taken from his seal | |
| Count of Vermandois and Valois | |
| Reign | 1102–1152 |
| Predecessor | Adelaide and Hugh I |
| Successor | Ralph II |
| Died | 14 October 1152 |
| Spouses |
|
| Issue | |
| House | Capet |
| Father | Hugh I |
| Mother | Adelaide |
Ralph I (French: Raoul Ier) (d. 14 October 1152) was the count of Vermandois from 1102 to 1152. He was a son of Count Hugh and Countess Adelaide.[1] Ralph was a grandson of King Henry I of France on his father's side and of Herbert IV of Vermandois on his mother's.
Ralph served as the seneschal of France during the reign of his cousin King Louis VI.[2] Under pressure from the queen, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Louis allowed Ralph to repudiate his wife, Eleanor, sister of Count Theobald II of Champagne, in favor of the queen's sister, Petronilla.[3] This led to a war with Theobald, which lasted two years (1142–44) and ended with the occupation of Champagne by the royal army.
Ralph and Petronilla were excommunicated by Pope Innocent II for a marriage deemed illegitimate, overriding three bishops who had already annulled Ralph's prior marriage.[3] With Eleanor's death in 1147, the following year Pope Eugene III, legitimized the marriage at the Council of Reims.[4]
Family and children
Ralph was married three times:
1. in 1125 to Eleanor, daughter of Stephen, Count of Blois. Their marriage ended in divorce in 1140[3] and she died in 1147.
2. in 1140 to Petronilla of Aquitaine;[3] they had three children, each of whom would eventually marry a child of Count Thierry of Flanders:
- Elizabeth (or Isabelle) Mabile, countess of Vermandois and Valois (1143–1183), married Philip I, Count of Flanders; no issue.[5]
- Ralph II, count of Vermandois and Valois (1145–1167),[6] was the first husband of Margaret of Lorraine, who later became suo jure countess of Flanders. He died of leprosy in 1167 without issue.
- Eleanor, countess of Vermandois and Valois (b. 1148? – d. 1213/1214).[7] She married four times as follows, but had no issue:
- 1. Godfrey of Hainaut, Count of Ostervant (d. 1163).[8]
- 2. before 1167 William IV, Count of Nevers.[9]
- 3. ca 1170 Matthew of Alsace.[9]
- 4. ca 1175 Count Matthew III of Beaumont-sur-Oise.[10]
3. in 1152 with Laurette of Flanders,[11] daughter of Thierry, Count of Flanders and Swanhilde. They had no children.
References
- ↑ Bardot & Marvin 2018, p. ix.
- ↑ Livingstone 2018, p. 151.
- 1 2 3 4 Bradbury 2007, p. 152.
- ↑ Duval-Arnould 1984, p. 82.
- ↑ Baldwin 1986, p. 15.
- ↑ Duval-Arnould 1984, p. 68.
- ↑ Duval-Arnould 1984, p. 67.
- ↑ Gislebertus (of Mons) 2005, p. 40.
- 1 2 Dyggve 1935, p. 67-68.
- ↑ Baldwin 1986, p. 81.
- ↑ Stewart 1979, p. 110.
Sources
- Baldwin, John W. (1986). The Government of Philip Augustus: Foundations of French Royal Power in the Middle Ages. University of California Press.
- Bardot, Michael L.; Marvin, Laurence W., eds. (2018). Louis VII and his World. Brill.
- Bradbury, Jim (2007). The Capetians: Kings of France 987-1328. Hambledon Continuum.
- Duval-Arnould, Louis (1984). "Les dernières années du comte lépreux Raoul de Vermandois (v. 1147–1167...) et la dévolution de ses provinces à Philippe d'Alsace". Bibliothèque de l'École des chartes (in French). 142–1.
- Dyggve, Holger Petersen (1935). "Personnages historiques figurant dans la poésie lyrique française des XII e et XIII e siècles. III: Les dames du »Tournoiement» de Huon d'Oisi". Neuphilologische Mitteilungen (in French). 36 (2): 65–91.
- Gislebertus (of Mons) (2005). Chronicle of Hainaut. The Boydell Press.
- Livingstone, Amy (2018). "Revealing the Extraordinary: The Lives of Unremarkable Men in the Age of Louis VII". In Bardot, Michael L.; Marvin, Laurence W. (eds.). Louis VII and His World. Brill.
- Stewart, Gregory (1979). "The Twelfth Century Psalter Commentary in French for Laurette d'Alsace". In Lourdaux, W.; Verhelst, D. (eds.). The Bible and Medieval Culture. Leuven University Press.