Lady of Neuville

Lady of Neuville (French:Madame de Neuville-en-Artois, d. 1228) was the Empress consort of Robert of Courtenay, Latin Emperor of Constantinople. Her first name is unknown, though a number of genealogies have assigned her the name Eudoxie (Eudoxia). [ [http://gilles.maillet.free.fr/histoire/famille_france/capetiens_courtenay.htm The Capetians-Courtenay] ] The name is possibly a confusion with Eudokia Laskarina, a lady previously betrothed to Robert, whose name is Latinized to Eudoxia.

Family

According to William of Tyre Continuator, a 13th-century continuation of the chronicle of William of Tyre, the Lady was a daughter of Baldwin of Neuville in Artois. Her mother is mentioned but not named. Her further ancestry is unknown, though presumed to be French.

Empress

Robert of Curtenay had been crowned emperor on 25 March, 1221. According to George Acropolites he was betrothed to Eudokia Laskarina in 1222. She was a daughter of Theodore I Laskaris and Anna Angelina. Eudokia was also a younger sister to both Irene Lascarina, wife of John III Doukas Vatatzes and Maria Laskarina, wife of Béla IV of Hungary. However the marriage was opposed by Patriarch Manuel I of Constantinople on grounds of consanguinity. Though not actually closely related by blood, Eudokia was a stepdaughter of Marie de Courtenay who was third wife of Theodore I and sister to Robert. [George Acropolites, "Chronicle", chapters 18-22] Eudokia was already present in Constantinople. She had been taken there by her paternal uncles Alexios Laskaris and Isaac Laslaris who had left the Empire of Nicaea following the death of Theodore I. [George Acropolites, "Chronicle", chapters 18-22] Both uncles joined the military service of the Latin Empire. According to Acropolites, they co-led a Latin force into Bithynia during 1224. They were defeated by their kinsman John III Doukas Vatatzes, captured and blinded. [George Acropolites, "Chronicle", chapters 22]

For some reason the marriage contract with Eudokia was never completed. According to Alberic of Trois-Fontaines, Eudokia was betrothed (or married) to Frederick II, Duke of Austria in 1226. [Alberic of Trois-Fontaines, "Chronica Alberici Monachi Trium Fontium", MGH SS XXIII] The marriage contract was broken or the marriage annuled by 1229, when Frederick married Agnes of Merania, a daughter of Otto I, Duke of Merania and Beatrice II, Countess of Burgundy. [ "Annales Mellicenses 1229", MGH SS IX,] Eudokia went on to marry Anseau de Cayeux, Chamberlain of the Latin Empire.

Robert remained unmarried until about 1227. According to William of Tyre Continuator, Robert and the Lady of Neuville were secretly married, despite her already being the fiancée of a Burgundian gentleman. Both the new wife of the Emperor and her mother were placed in a manor house owned by Robert. The unnamed Burgundian gentleman somehow found out and reportedly organized a conspiracy against Robert and his new wife. The knights of Constantinople partaking in the conspiracy procceeded to capture the Empress and her mother. The lips and nostrils of both women were cut off and then thrown to sea. [ William of Tyre Continuator, Chapters 18-19]

Robert left Constantinople following the attack, seeking the assistance of Pope Gregory IX in re-establishing his authority. On his return journey from Rome, Robert visited the court of Geoffrey II of Villehardouin of the Principality of Achaea. There he fell sick and died. He never returned to Constantinople. [ William of Tyre Continuator, Chapters 18-19] Their marriage was childless, whether the Lady survived her mutilation is uncertain. However she does not resurface in sources.

References

External links

* [http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/LATIN%20EMPERORS.htm#RobertEmpdied1228 Her profile, along with her husband, in "Medieval Lands" by Charles Cawley]