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Biography of Isabella Plantagenet Holy Roman Empress 1214-1241

Paternal Family Tree: Anjou aka Plantagenet

Maternal Family Tree: Helene du Donjon 1095-1189

On 29 Aug 1189 [her father] King John of England (age 22) and [her step-mother] Isabella Fitzrobert 3rd Countess Gloucester and Essex (age 16) were married at Marlborough Castle [Map]. He by marriage Earl Gloucester. She the daughter of William Fitzrobert 2nd Earl Gloucester and Hawise Beaumont Countess Gloucester. He the son of [her grandfather] King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England and [her grandmother] Eleanor of Aquitaine Queen Consort Franks and England (age 67). They were half second cousins. She a great granddaughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England.

Before 06 Apr 1199 [her father] King John of England (age 32) and [her step-mother] Isabella Fitzrobert 3rd Countess Gloucester and Essex (age 26) marriage annulled due to consanuinity but more likely because John's new status as heir to the English throne mean't he had better prospects. He may have already decided to marry [her mother] Isabella of Angoulême Queen Consort England (age 11) who he married on 24 Aug 1200.

On 24 Aug 1200 [her father] King John of England (age 33) and [her mother] Isabella of Angoulême Queen Consort England (age 12) were married. She had been engaged to Hugh Lusignan IX Count Lusignan (age 37) who subsequently appealed to King Philip II of France (age 35), their feudal overlord, who used the position to justify a war against John. The difference in their ages was 21 years. She the daughter of [her grandfather] Aymer Angoulême I Count Angoulême (age 40) and [her grandmother] Alice Courtenay Countess Angoulême. He the son of [her grandfather] King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England and [her grandmother] Eleanor of Aquitaine Queen Consort Franks and England (age 78).

In 1214 Isabella Plantagenet Holy Roman Empress was born to King John of England (age 47) and Isabella of Angoulême Queen Consort England (age 26).

Death of King John

On 19 Oct 1216 [her father] King John of England (age 49) died at Newark Castle, Nottinghamshire [Map]. His son [her brother] King Henry III of England (age 9) succeeded III King of England.

John Monmouth (age 34) was present.

On his deathbed, John appointed a council of thirteen executors to help Henry reclaim the kingdom and requested that his son be placed into the guardianship of William Marshal 1st Earl Pembroke (age 70).

King John's will is the earliest English royal will to survive in its original form. The document is quite small, roughly the size of a postcard and the seals of those who were present at the time would have been attached to it. Translation of the will taken from an article by Professor S.D. Church in the English Historical Review, June 2010:

I, John, by the grace of God king of England, lord of Ireland, duke of Normandy and Aquitaine, count of Anjou, hindered by grave infirmity and not being able at this time of my infirmity to itemize all my things so that I may make a testament, commit the arbitration and administration of my testament to the trust and to the legitimate administration of my faithful men whose names are written below, without whose counsel, even in good health, I would have by no means arranged my testament in their presence, so that what they will faithfully arrange and determine concerning my things as much as in making satisfaction to God and to holy Church for damages and injuries done to them as in sending succour to the land of Jerusalem and in providing support to my sons towards obtaining and defending their inheritance and in making reward to those who have served us faithfully and in making distribution to the poor and to religious houses for the salvation of my soul, be right and sure. I ask, furthermore, that whoever shall give them counsel and assistance in the arranging of my testament shall receive the grace and favour of God. Whoever shall infringe their arrangement and disposition, may he incur the curse and indignation of almighty God and the blessed Mary and all the saints.

In the first place, therefore, I desire that my body be buried in the church of St Mary and St Wulfstan at Worcester. I appoint, moreover, the following arbiters and administrators: the lord Guala, by the grace of God, cardinal-priest of the title of St Martin and legate of the apostolic see; the lord Peter bishop of Winchester; the lord Richard bishop of Chichester; the lord Silvester bishop of Worcester; Brother Aimery de St-Maur; William Marshal earl of Pembroke; Ranulf earl of Chester; William earl Ferrers; William Brewer; Walter de Lacy and John of Monmouth; Savaric de Mauléon; Falkes de Bréauté.

The signatories were:

Guala Bicchieri (ca 1150 - 1227) Papal Legate.

Bishop Peter de Roches, Bishop of Winchester.

Richard le Poer (? - 1237), Bishop of Chichester.

Sylvester of Worcester, Bishop of Worcester.

Aimery de St-Maur (? -?1219), Master of the English Templars.

William Marshal 1st Earl Pembroke.

Ranulf de Blondeville Gernon 6th Earl Chester 1st Earl Lincoln (age 46).

William Ferrers 4th Earl of Derby (age 48).

William Brewer (? - 1226), 1st Baron Brewer.

Walter de Lacy (ca 1172-1241) Lord of Meath.

John: (1182 - 1248) Lord of Monmouth.

Savaric de Mauléon (? - 1236) Seneschal of Poitou from 1205.

Falkes de Bréauté (? - 1226) Seneschal of Cardiff Castle.

On 10 May 1220 [her step-father] Hugh Lusignan X Count Lusignan V Count La Marche (age 37) and [her mother] Isabella of Angoulême Queen Consort England (age 32) were married. She by marriage Countess Lusignan, Countess La Marche. She the daughter of [her grandfather] Aymer Angoulême I Count Angoulême and [her grandmother] Alice Courtenay Countess Angoulême. He the son of Hugh Lusignan IX Count Lusignan.

On 22 Nov 1220 [her future husband] Frederick I King Jerusalem II Holy Roman Emperor (age 25) was crowned II Holy Roman Emperor. Isabella Plantagenet Holy Roman Empress (age 6) by marriage Holy Roman Empress.

On 09 Nov 1225 [her future husband] Frederick I King Jerusalem II Holy Roman Emperor (age 30) and Isabella Brienne II Queen Jerusalem (age 13) were married. He by marriage John I King Jerusalem. She the daughter of John de Brienne I King Jerusalem (age 55) and Maria the Marquise Unknown. He the son of Henry Hohenstaufen VI Holy Roman Emperor.

On 20 Jul 1235 Frederick I King Jerusalem II Holy Roman Emperor (age 40) and Isabella Plantagenet Holy Roman Empress (age 21) were married at Worms Cathedral [Map]. She the daughter of King John of England and Isabella of Angoulême Queen Consort England (age 47). He the son of Henry Hohenstaufen VI Holy Roman Emperor.

In Apr 1236 [her son] Jordan Hohenstaufen was born to [her husband] Frederick I King Jerusalem II Holy Roman Emperor (age 41) and Isabella Plantagenet Holy Roman Empress (age 22). He a grandson of King John of England.

In 1237 [her daughter] Agnes Hohenstaufen was born to [her husband] Frederick I King Jerusalem II Holy Roman Emperor (age 42) and Isabella Plantagenet Holy Roman Empress (age 23). She a granddaughter of King John of England.

Chronica Majora. 05 Jan 1237. In the year of our Lord 1237 which was the twentieth of the reign of King Henry the Third, he held his court at Christmas, at Winchester, whence he forthwith sent royal warrants throughout all the English territories, ordering all nobles belonging to the kingdom of England, namely, archbishops, bishops, abbats, installed priors, earls, and barons, all to assemble without fail in the octaves of the Epiphany at London, to arrange the royal business and matters concerning the whole kingdom. The nobles on hearing this immediately obeyed the king's summons, and accordingly on the day of St. Hilary, a countless multitude of nobles, namely, the whole community of the kingdom, came to London, and proceeded to the royal palace at Westminster to hear the king's pleasure. When they had all taken their seats, there stood up in the midst of them, one William de Kaele, a clerk and familiar of the king's, a discreet man and well skilled in the laws of the land, who, acting as a sort of mediator between the king and the nobles, disclosed to them the king's pleasure and intentions. "My lord the king," he said, "informs you that, whatever he may have done heretofore, he now and henceforth will, without hesitation, submit himself to the advice of all of you, as his faithful and natural subjects. But those men who have till now, in the management of his affairs, been in charge of his treasury, have rendered him an incorrect account of the moneys received by them, and owing to this the king is now destitute of money, without which any king is indeed destitute; he therefore humbly demands assistance from you in money, on the understanding that the money which may be raised by your good will shall be kept to be expended for the necessary uses of the kingdom, at the discretion of any of you elected for the purpose. "When the assembled nobles heard this speech, they each and all, not expecting anything of this sort, murmured greatly, and "Alter in alterius jactantes lumina vultus". [Each hearer lost in dire amaze, Turned on his neighbour's face his gaze.]

And they said to one another, Fuderunt partum montes: en ridiculus mus. [The labouring mountains shook the earth, And to a paltry mouse gave birth. This is a quote from Aesop's Fable "The Mountain in Labour". It refers to speech acts which promise much but deliver little].

They then replied with indignation that they were oppressed on all sides, so often promising and paying now the twentieth, now the thirtieth, and now the fiftieth part of their property, and they declared that it would be unworthy of them, and injurious to them, to allow a king so easily led awav, who had never repelled or even frightened one of the enemies of the kingdom, even the least of them, and who had never increased his territories but rather lessened them, and placed them under foreign yoke, to extort so much money, so often, and by so many arguments, from his natural subjects, as if they were slaves of the lowest condition, to their injury and for the benefit of foreigners. "When the king heard this, he wished to calm the general discontent, and promised on oath that he would never again provoke or annoy the nobles of the kingdom by injuring them in that way, provided that the thirtieth part of all moveable property in England was granted and paid to him for his present use; because the large sum of money which he had a little while before sent to the [her husband] emperor (age 42) (as he stated) for the marriage of his sister (age 23), and also what he had spent at his own marriage, had in a great degree exhausted his money. To this they openly replied that he, the king, had done all this without the advice of his liege subjects, and they ought not to share the punishment as they were innocent of the crime. They however withdrew to a private place to consult about obeying the king's demand, and supplying his necessities, and to discuss the kind and quantity of assistance which was demanded. As they were withdrawing for this purpose, Gilbert Bassett (age 49) said to the king in the hearing of all. and with less circimispection of speech than he ought, - "My lord king, send some one of your friends to be present at the conference of your barons." He was, when he said this, sitting on one side of the king, with only a few persons between them, and in reply to his speech, Richard Percy (age 67), who had been at the conference of the nobles, and was, not without cause, angry at it, said, "What is it, friend Gilbert, that you said? are we too foreigners, and are we not amongst the number of the king's friends? "And Gilbert felt himself rebuked by this unpleasant and sudden speech. And thus by a multipHcity of arguments the conference was protracted for four days.

On 18 Feb 1238 [her son] Henry Otto Hohenstaufen was born to [her husband] Frederick I King Jerusalem II Holy Roman Emperor (age 43) and Isabella Plantagenet Holy Roman Empress (age 24). He a grandson of King John of England.

After 1240 [her step-son] Frederick Hohenstaufen (deceased) died.

On 01 Dec 1241 [her daughter] Margaret Hohenstaufen was born to [her husband] Frederick I King Jerusalem II Holy Roman Emperor (age 46) and Isabella Plantagenet Holy Roman Empress (age 27). She a granddaughter of King John of England.

On 01 Dec 1241 Isabella Plantagenet Holy Roman Empress (age 27) died at Foggia [Map]. She was buried at Andria Cathedral, Andria.

On 13 Dec 1250 [her former husband] Frederick I King Jerusalem II Holy Roman Emperor (age 55) died. [her former step-son] Henry VII King Germany was appointed VII King Germany.

Isabella Plantagenet Holy Roman Empress 1214-1241 appears on the following Descendants Family Trees:

King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England 1133-1189

King John of England 1166-1216

Eleanor of Aquitaine Queen Consort Franks and England 1122-1204

King William "Conqueror" I of England 1028-1087

King Malcolm III of Scotland 1031-1093

Royal Ancestors of Isabella Plantagenet Holy Roman Empress 1214-1241

Kings Wessex: Great x 5 Grand Daughter of King Edmund "Ironside" I of England

Kings England: Daughter of King John of England

Kings Scotland: Great x 4 Grand Daughter of King Duncan I of Scotland

Kings Franks: Great x 11 Grand Daughter of Louis "Pious" King Aquitaine I King Franks

Kings France: Great x 5 Grand Daughter of Robert "Pious" II King France

Kings Duke Aquitaine: Great x 9 Grand Daughter of Ranulf I Duke Aquitaine

Ancestors of Isabella Plantagenet Holy Roman Empress 1214-1241

Great x 2 Grandfather: Fulk "Young" King Jerusalem

Great x 4 Grandfather: Simon Montfort

Great x 3 Grandmother: Bertrade Montfort Queen Consort France

Great x 4 Grandmother: Agnès of Normandy

Great x 1 Grandfather: Geoffrey Plantagenet Duke Normandy

Great x 4 Grandfather: Jean de la Flèche La Flèche De Baugency

Great x 3 Grandfather: Elias La Flèche De Baugency I Count Maine

Great x 4 Grandmother: Paula Maine

Great x 2 Grandmother: Ermengarde La Flèche De Baugency Countess Anjou

Great x 4 Grandfather: Gervais II Lord Chateau Du Loir

Great x 3 Grandmother: Matilda Chateau Du Loir Countess Maine

GrandFather: King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England Grand Son of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England

Great x 3 Grandfather: King William "Conqueror" I of England -2 x Great Grand Son of King William "Conqueror" I of England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Herleva Falaise

Great x 2 Grandfather: King Henry I "Beauclerc" England Son of King William "Conqueror" I of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: Baldwin "The Good" V Count Flanders

Great x 3 Grandmother: Matilda Flanders Queen Consort England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Adela Capet Duchess Normandy

Great x 1 Grandmother: Empress Matilda Daughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England

Great x 4 Grandfather: King Duncan I of Scotland

Great x 3 Grandfather: King Malcolm III of Scotland

Great x 2 Grandmother: Edith aka Matilda Dunkeld Queen Consort England

Great x 4 Grandfather: Edward "The Exile" Wessex

Great x 3 Grandmother: Margaret Wessex Queen Consort Scotland

Great x 4 Grandmother: Agatha

Father: King John of England Son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: William "Great" V Duke Aquitaine

Great x 3 Grandfather: Guy William Poitiers VIII Duke Aquitaine

Great x 4 Grandmother: Agnes Ivrea Duchess Aquitaine

Great x 2 Grandfather: William "Troubadour" Poitiers IX Duke Aquitaine

Great x 4 Grandfather: Robert I Duke Burgundy

Great x 3 Grandmother: Hildegarde Burgundy Duchess Aquitaine

Great x 1 Grandfather: William "Saint" Poitiers X Duke Aquitaine

Great x 4 Grandfather: Pons Rouerge Margrave Provence

Great x 3 Grandfather: William Rouerge Duke Narbonne

Great x 4 Grandmother: Almodis La Marche Margrave Provence

Great x 2 Grandmother: Philippa Rouerge Duchess Aquitaine

Great x 3 Grandmother: Emma Mortain Duchess Narbonne

Great x 4 Grandmother: Matilda or Maud Montgomery

GrandMother: Eleanor of Aquitaine Queen Consort Franks and England

Great x 2 Grandfather: Aimery Chatellerault Viscount Châtellerault

Great x 1 Grandmother: Aenor Chatellerault Duchess Aquitaine

Great x 3 Grandfather: Bartholomew Île Bouchard

Great x 2 Grandmother: Dangereuse Ile Bouchard Viscountess Chatellerault

Isabella Plantagenet Holy Roman Empress Daughter of King John of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: Fulk Angoulême I Count Angoulême

Great x 3 Grandfather: William Angoulême V Count Angoulême

Great x 2 Grandfather: Wulfgrin Angoulême II Count Angoulême

Great x 3 Grandmother: Vitapoy Benauges Countess Angoulême

Great x 1 Grandfather: William "Taillefer" Angoulême VI Count Angoulême

Great x 2 Grandmother: Pontia La Marche Countess Angoulême

Great x 4 Grandfather: Aldebert La Marche II Count La Marche

Great x 3 Grandmother: Almodis La Marche

GrandFather: Aymer Angoulême I Count Angoulême

Mother: Isabella of Angoulême Queen Consort England

Great x 4 Grandfather: King Henry I of France

Great x 3 Grandfather: King Philip I of France

Great x 4 Grandmother: Anne Rurik Queen Consort France

Great x 2 Grandfather: King Louis VI of France

Great x 4 Grandfather: Floris Gerulfing I Count Holland

Great x 3 Grandmother: Bertha Gerulfing Queen Consort France

Great x 4 Grandmother: Gertrude Billung Countess Holland

Great x 1 Grandfather: Peter Courtenay

Great x 4 Grandfather: Amadeus Savoy II Count Savoy

Great x 3 Grandfather: Humbert "Fat" Savoy II Count Savoy

Great x 2 Grandmother: Adelaide Savoy Queen Consort France

Great x 4 Grandfather: William Ivrea I Count Burgundy

Great x 3 Grandmother: Gisela Ivrea Countess Savoy

Great x 4 Grandmother: Ettiennette Countess Burgundy

GrandMother: Alice Courtenay Countess Angoulême

Great x 4 Grandfather: Joscelin Courtenay

Great x 3 Grandfather: Miles Courtenay

Great x 4 Grandmother: Elisabeth Montlhéry

Great x 2 Grandfather: Renaud Courtenay

Great x 3 Grandmother: Ermengarde of Nevers

Great x 4 Grandmother: Ida of Forez

Great x 1 Grandmother: Elizabeth Courtenay

Great x 2 Grandmother: Helene du Donjon