Brief lives of women who reigned or ruled in their own right or by marriage by providing their a) proprietary titles, b) parents/pedigree, c) patrimony and properties, d) persona or personality, e) powers exercised, f) patronages and g) progeny or posterity.
ADELAIS DE NORMANDY (1029-1087/90)
Adeliza, Countess of Aumale, Adelaide of Aumale
Proprietary Title: Countess of Aumale, c1082
Notes: "Adeliza, Countess of Aumale was born illegitimately in 1029. She was the daughter of Robert I, 6th Duc de Normandie and Herleva de Falaise. She married, firstly, Enguerrand III d'Aumale, Comte de Ponthieu, son of Hugues d'Aumale, Comte de Ponthieu and Berthe (?), before 1053. She married, secondly, Lambert II de Boulogne, Comte de Lens, son of Eustace I, Comte de Boulogne and Maud de Louvain, circa 1053. She married, thirdly, Odo II, Comte de Champagne, son of Stephen II, Comte de Champagne and Adele (?), circa 1060. She died between 1087 and 1090.
ADELAIS DE VENISY (d.1221)
Proprietary Title: Lady of Venisy
Parents/Pedigree: Daughter of Anseau, Lord of Venisy
Posterity/Progeny: Married in 1167 (1) Andre de Brienne, Lord of Ramerupt, with whom she had issue; married after 1180 (2) Gaucher de Jaoigny, Lord of Chateau-Renard. Her son Erard de Brienne inherited Venisy from her and Ramerupt from his father.
Adelasia di Torres (1207-1259)
Proprietary Titles: Judge of Logudoro, 1236-1259; Judge of Torres, 1236-1259; Judge of Gallura, 1238-1259
Notes: "Adelasia of Torres, queen of Sardinia in the earlier half of the thirteenth century. She was the daughter of Mariano, judge or lord of Torres...and of Agnes, daughter of Guglielmo, marquis of Massa and judge of Cagliari...By the death of Mariano and that of his son and successor Barisone, who was killed in a rebellion in 1236, and also by a solemn election made according to the customary forms by the clergy and the people, the sovereignty of Torres passed to Adelasia..." (Society for the Diffusion..., pp. 334-335)
Notes: "...In 1259 Adelasia, mistress of Torres, died without heirs; her judgeship ceased to exist, with the majority falling under the lordship of the Genoese signori on the island, while Sassari remained independent and moved in the orbit of Pisa, which sent it a podesta each year...." (Abulafia, p. 457)
Notes: "Frederick dismissed his army, being only anxious to keep the Germans; he marched by way of Soncino to Cremona. At this time he knighted his gallant son Enzio, who thenceforward became his right-hand. A brilliant career of little more than ten years was now opening for this ill-fated youth. Enzio was sent into Sardinia with a body of knights, there to marry Adelasia, the heiress of that Kingdom. Her former husband, Ubaldo, Judge of Gallura, had done homage to Rome, acknowledging that he held his rights, and those of his wife, from the Apostolic See...." (Kington-Oliphant, p. 80)
ADELE D'ANJOU
Proprietary Title: Co-Ruler of Vendome, c1017-1031
Parents/Pedigree: Daughter of Foulques III of Anjou and Elisabeth, eventual heiress of Bouchard I the Venerable, Count of Vendome.
Progeny/Posterity: She married around 1005 Bodon of Nevers who became Count of Vendome, 1017-1023, in her right. Their son was Bouchard II the Bald, Count of Vendome, 1023-1028.
Notes: "...Since Adele's mother was Elizabeth, daughter of Count Burchard the Venerable of Vendome, Bodo's wife was the heiress of the county of Vendome. When Burchard's son and heir, Bishop Rainald of Paris, died sometime between 1016 and 1020, Adele became the sole heir to the country. Instead of Bodo receiving any rights to Vendome, however, Adele transferred the whole honor of Vendome to her father, Fulk, during the minority of Bodo's eldest son, Burchard II the Bald. In 1031, supposedly at the will of the 'boy' Burchard, his mother adele, and King Henry of France, the honor of Vendome was given to Fulk Nerra's son, Geoffrey Manrtel. Burchard and his mother henceforth held the county from Geoffrey. Shortly thereafter first Burchard and then his father Bodo died, leaving he second son, Fulk l'Oison, to hold Vendome from Geoffrey Martel. Fulk l'Oison would eventually become count of Vendome. (Jessee, p. 23)
ADELE DE SELVESSE
a.k.a. Adele de Furnes
[Fam1]
a.k.a. Adele de Furnes
[Fam1]
Proprietary Title: Lady of Ardres
Parents/Pedigree: Daughter of Everard de Furnes
Partner/Progeny: Married about 1050 Eustache, Lord of Fiennes, with whom she had Conan.
Notes: "The ancient fortress (i.e., Selvesse), together with the wide domain surrounding it, had, through the death ofher relations, come into the possession of a young demoiselle, named Adela, a descendant from the Seigneurs of Bourbourg, and niece at the time to De Framery, Bishop of Terouane. Eustache, count of Guisnes, the Lord Paramount of Artois and Picardy, demanded the hand of the young heiress of Selvesse in marriage; but she, by the advice of her wily uncle, who deemed the interests of even his niece, as a matter of no moment, when compared to those of his church, was induced to keep him in dalliance and suspense...and, finally, to assign all her possessions to the church of Terouane, without reserve,she herself being placed under its special protection...." (Calton, 1852, pp. 137-138)
ADELINE DE MEULAN (1014/20-1081)
Proprietary Title: Countess of Meulan, Viscountess of Vitry & Lady of Norton, 1069-1081, succeeding her brother Hugues II of Meuand.
Parents/Pedigree: Daughter of Galeran III of Meulan (d.1069), and of Oda de Conteville. "...She was heiress of Meulan after the death of her brother Hugues Comte de Meulan...." (FMG)
Posterity/Progeny: She married, c1048, Roger de Beaumont (d.1094), a.k.a. Roger de Vieilles, or Roger the Bearded., Lord of Beaumont-le-Roger and of Pont-Audemer.
Notesle-Roger after him), established himself and, about 1088, founded a collegiate church there. He took no part in the conquest of England, being one of those left by William to watch over the security of the duchy; though by the time of Domesday he had possessions -- not of any great extent -- in Dorset and Gloucestershire. Besides fastening his control upon the valley of the Risle, his great contribution to the family's fortune was his marriage to Adeline, daughter and heiress of the count of Meulan. Since Meulan was in the Vexin Francais---a district then in dispute between te duke of Normandy and the king of France, though the king was winning---this marriage soon gave him an interest outside Normandy towards Paris; and his father-in-law is said to have had some connection with the ducal family of Normandy. It was thus, in all respects, a most profitable match...." (Patourel, pp. 12-14)
Notes: "Roger de Beaumont entered into a marriage...with Adeline, sister and eventual heiress of Count Hugh of Meulan. On Hugh's childless death in late 1880, Robert acquired by right of his mother the county of Meulan, which may not have been particularly extensive, but which made up for it by being a strategic object of desire for both Normans and Capetians. Meulan, with its bridge and island fortress in the Seine between Mantes and Poissy, and its sprawling hillside town on the right bank of the great river, was an independent power which in 1080 had already proved itself dangerous to the Capetians...." (Fleming and Pope, p. 92)
ADELISA DE SOISSONS
[Gen1]
Proprietary Title: Countess of Soissons
Parents/Pedigree: Daughter of Gui, Count of Soissons.
Partner/Progeny: Nocher II, Count of Bar-sur-Aube, with whom she had Renaud I (d.1057), Count of Soissons.
ADRIENNE D'ESTOUTEVILLE (1512-1560)
a. k. a. Adrienne de Bourbon
Proprietary Titles: Duchess of Estouteville, Lady of Hambye, of Gace and of Briquebec. ["The family of Stuteville, or d'Estuteville, takes its name from the lordship of Stouteville, near Yvetot, in the Pays de Caux...."]
Progeny/Posterity: Married, in 1534, to Francis de Bourbon, a prince of the blood royal, whose son was created 'Duc et Pair,' under the title of Duc d'Etouteville...." (Gurney, pp. 94-95)
ADVISA DE SABLE (1035-1067)
a.k.a. Advisa the White, Hedwige de Sable, Blanche du Maine, Blanche de Beaumont-le-Vicomte
Properietary Title: Lady of Sable.
Parents/Pedigree: Only daughter and eventual heiress of Geoffroy de Sable 988-1063), Sire de Sable and Vicomte du Mans, and of Berthe (de Craon?) Montmorency.
Partner/Progeny: Married in 1040-1050 Robert de Nevers, Seigneur de Craon, and Seigneur de Sable, in right of his wife.
Notes: "In some unexplained fashion Robert's wife Advisa came to be the only surviving heir to Sable. Her father Geoffrey and his wife Adelais had several sons, the eldest of whom, Drogo, authorized the donation to Solesmes. Two other brothers, Buchard and Lisiard, were with Drogo to witness the count of Maine's confirmation of the donation. Robert and Advisa later made a major donation for the soul of her brother Geoffrey. Aside from this last son Geoffrey, whom Angot identified as a monk of Marmoutier, it is not known what became of the male heirs of Sable. Considering the heavy fighting in Maine in the late 1040s and early 1050s it is quite possible that Drogo fell in combat. It is certain, however, that when Robert married Advisa he became the uncontested dominus of Sable by virtue of his wife's hereditary claim." (Jessee, p. 45)
Notes: "Robert's continued devotion to Geoffrey Martel was splendidly rewarded with the gift of Sable. The fortress, so crucial to Angevin defense on the northwestern march, came into Robert's possession when he married the castle's heiress, Advisa, called Blanca, 'the White.' This was probably done around 1052, but certainly before 29 December 1069...." (Jessee, p. 43)
AENOR DE MONTFAUCON (d.1250)
Proprietary Title: Lady of Erry
AENOR DE SULLY
Proprietary Title: Lady of La Motte
AELFGIFU OF NORTHUMBRIA
Power Exercised: Queen Regent of Norway, c1029-1035; Queen Regent of England, 1035-1040.
AELFWYN OF MERCIA
Power Exercised: Queen of Mercia, 918-919
Aethelflaed of Mercia (d.918)
Proprietary Title: Lady of the Mercians, 911-918
Parents/Pedigree: "Eldest daughter of Alfred the Great, sister of Edward the Elder, and aunt and fosterer of Aethelstan, Aethelflaed of Mercia (d.918) led troops against the Vikings, built forts, endowed churches, issued charters, dealt with Irish-Norwegian pressures, and received the submission of the men of York. When her husband Aethelred died (911), she became the sole political and military authority in Mercia... (In fact, given Aethelred's apparent illness and incapacity, Aethelflaed was de facto in power beginning c.902.)...." (Schaus, p. 10)
AGATHE DE PIERREFONDS
Proprietary Title: Lady of Pierrefonds
AGNES DE BAUDEMONT (d.c1219)
Proprietary Title: Lady of Braine
Parents/Pedigree: Daughter of Guy de Baudemont, Lord of Braine, and Alice
Progeny/Posterity: Married (1) c1151 Milon III of Bar, with whom she Walter of Bar, William of Bar, and Perenolle (d.1189), Countess of Bar; (2) Robert I of France, Count of Dreux, with whom she had Robert II of Dreux and Alice of Dreux.
Notes: "...Agnes, daughter of Andrew de Baudemont, was lady in her own right of Braine-le-Comte (near Soissons); like Dreux, it indirectly acquired the status of a county through Agnes' first marriage to the count of Bar-sur-Seine." (Power, p. 214)
AGNES DE BEAUMONT-AU-MAINE (1225-1301)
Proprietary Titles: Viscountess of Beaumont-au-Maine, Lady of La Fleche, Fresnay, Sainte-Suzanne and Chateau-Gontier
AGNES DE COURTENAY (1133-1185)
Proprietary Title: Lady of Toron
Parents/Pedigree: Daughter of Joscelin II de Courtenay, Count of Edessa
Progeny/Posterity: Hugues d'Ibelin (d.1171), Lord of Ramlah.
AGNES DE GARLANDE (c1100-1143)
Proprietary Title: Countess of Rochefort
Parents/Pedigree: Anselme de Garlande, and of the daughter of Guy de Rochefort
Progeny/Posterity: Married in 1127 Amaury III (c1070-1136-37), Count of Montfort and of Evreux, with whom she had 1) Agnes (d.1181), Lady of Gournay; and 2) Simon III de Montfort (d. c1188).
Notes: "...Through his third marriage, to Agnes de Garlande, Amaury III de Montfort (d. 1137-38) had acquired Rochefort-en-Yvelines, whose previous lord Hugh de Crecy had sometimes been designated 'count'; by inheritance he also became Count Amaury I of Evreux. At the death of his son Count Simon in 1181, the cadet branch received the French lands including, so Robert of Torigni tells us, the 'county' of Rochefort, and thereafter this branch often appeared as 'counts of Montfort'...." (Power, p. 216)
Notes: "...Amaury's own marriages reflected his established French position... [H]is third wife was Agnes de Garlande, niece of Stephen de Garlande, chancellor and seneschal of France, and this match brought him Gournay-sur-Marne and Rochefort-en-Yvelines." (Power, p. 229)
AGNES DE SULLY
Proprietary Title: Lady of Jars
AGNES DE CHALON (c1130-?)
Proprietary Title: Lady of Montpensier
Personal/Family Background: Agnes was the daughter of Archambaud IX of Bourbon and of Yolande I, Comtesse de Nevers, Auxerre and Tonnerre.
Proprietary Title: Lady of Bourbon, 1262-1287
Proprietary Title: Lady of Bourbon, 1262-1287
Partner/Progeny: She married, in 1247, Jean de Burgundy, Sire de Charolais (1231-1268) with whom she had an only childBeatrixde Bourbon.
"The male line of the ruling house of Bourbon-Dampierre came to an end in 1249 with the death of Archambaud IX, who was succeeded by his older sister Mahaut and then a younger sister, Agnes. The latter's daughter Beatrix married Robert, count of Clermont-en-Beauvaisis, the sixth son of Louis IX and Marguerite of Provence. The couple inherited the Bourbonnais at the death of Agnes in 1283. Their son Louis I (1280-1342) inherited the Bourbonnais from Beatrix in 1310 and Clermont from Robert in 1318...."
"The male line of the ruling house of Bourbon-Dampierre came to an end in 1249 with the death of Archambaud IX, who was succeeded by his older sister Mahaut and then a younger sister, Agnes. The latter's daughter Beatrix married Robert, count of Clermont-en-Beauvaisis, the sixth son of Louis IX and Marguerite of Provence. The couple inherited the Bourbonnais at the death of Agnes in 1283. Their son Louis I (1280-1342) inherited the Bourbonnais from Beatrix in 1310 and Clermont from Robert in 1318...."
AGNES DE DONZY (1199-1225)
Proprietary Title: Lady of Donzy, 1222-1225
Property:
Parents/Pedigree: Daughter of Herve IV of Donzy and Mahaut de Courtenay
Partner/Progeny: Married (1) Philippe of France, son of Louis VIII of France and Blanche of Castile; married (2) Guy de Chatillon, son of Gaucher III de Chatillon and Elisabeth d'Avesnes, Countess of Saint-Pol, with who, she had a daughter Yolande de Chatillon, who inherited Donzy.
AGNES OF DUNBAR
a.k.a. Black Agnes
Proprietary Title: Countess of March, c1338
AGNES DE FAUCIGNY
Notes: "...Peter married Agnes, heiress of the barony of Faucigny which province ultimately became annexed to the dominions of the counts of Savoy...." (SDUK, Vol. 1-2, pp. 385-386)
Notes: "...Peter II, son of Thomas I had, in 1233, married Agnes, heiress of Faucigny, so that there was good hope that her estates, which were encompassed on all sides by Savoy, should be added to the possession of the latter house. Peter however had no other issue than a daughter, named Beatrix; and this, in an evil hour, he gave to the Dauphin, Guigues VII. The latter had a son, John, who died in 1281; and a daughter, Anne, who had married Humbert, Lord of La Tour du Pin. The heritage of Faucigny not only thus escaped from the grasp of Savoy, but was added to the estates of an hereditary foe...." (Gallenga, p. 258)
AGNES DE POITOU (1024-1077)
Parents/Pedigree: Guillaume V the Pious, Duke of Aquitaine and Count of Poitou, and Agnes of Burgundy
Power Exercised: Duchess of Bavaria, Duchess of Swabia, Queen of Burgundy, Queen of Germany, Holy Roman Empress, 1043-1056, as the wife of Emperor Heinrich III (called the Black or the Pious); Duchess of Bavaria, 1056-1061; Regent for her son the Holy Roman Emperor Heinrich IV, 1056-1062
AGNES VON VELDENZ (1258-?)
Proprietary Title: Countess of Veldenz, 1260-1277. She inherited the County of Veldenz when the male-line died out with her father, Gerlach V of Veldenz, in 1260.
Progeny/Posterity: She married Heinrich of Geroldseck with whom she founded the second line of the Counts of Veldenz known as Veldenz-Geroldseck.
AGNES I DE NEVERS (1170-1192)
[Bio1]
Proprietary Titles: Countess of Nevers, of Auxerre and of Tonnerre, 1181-1192.
Parents/Pedigree: Guy, Count of Nevers, of Auxere and of Tonnerre, and of Mathilde de Bourgogne.
Partner/Progeny: Married 1184 Pierre II de Courtenay.
Notes: "...When the male line of the counts of Nevers died out in 1181, the king exercised wardship over the county and took the young heiress, Agnes, into his custody at the royal court. In 1184 he married her to his cousin, Pierre de Courtenay, taking as his recompense the fief of Montargis in the Gatinais...." (Baldwin, pp. 26-27)
AGNES II DE DONZY
(1199-1225)
Proprietary Title: Lady of Donzy, 1222-1225; Countess of Nevers, Auxerre and Tonnerre.
REFERENCES
Freeman, Edward (1869). The History of the Norman Conquest of England, Its Causes and Its Results (Vol. III). Oxford: Clarendon Press.
