Garsenda of Sabran

Notes:

Also called Garsenda of Forcalquier, Gersenda of Sabran, Garsenda de Proensa, Garsenda de Proença.

From Wikipedia (accessed 25 July 2021): She "was the Countess of Provence as the wife of Alfonso II from 1193 and the Countess of Forcalquier in her own right from 1209. She brought Forcalquier to the House of Barcelona and united it to Provence. She was also a patron of Occitan literature, especially the troubadours, and herself wrote some lyric poetry and is counted among the trobairitz as Garsenda de Proensa. She was, in the words of her most recent editors, 'one of the most powerful women in Occitan history'."

She retired to the monastery of La Celle in the mid-1220s, but in 1242 she visited her newborn great-granddaughter Beatrice of England and Beatrice's parents, granddaughter Eleanor of Provence and her husband King Henry III of England, in Bordeaux. Henry was pursuing a war in France at that time and Garsenda brought 60 knights to his service. Her date of death is unknown, but she may have lived as late as 1257.

Matt Baker of usefulcharts.com has pointed out that if this Garsenda were to be regarded as the founder of a matrilineal dynasty, and if that dynasty operated by rules paralleling that of patrilineal dynasties (i.e., male descendants are only considered members of the House if their mother was a member; having a grandmother as a member doesn't convey membership in the House), then the putative "House of Garsenda" would be the greatest royal dynasty in the history of Europe, containing within itself:

6 Queens Regnant
38 Queens Consort
27 Kings
7 Holy Roman Emperors
5 Holy Roman Empresses
3 Empresses Consort
1 Prince Consort (Prince Philip of Great Britain)
1 Kaiser (Wilhelm II)
1 Empress Regnant (Catherine the Great)
1 queen mother (Helene of Romania)

Video: Europe's Hidden Matrilineal Dynasty: House of Garsenda. Chart here.

Garsenda married Alfonso II in 1193. Alfonso (son of Alfonso II, King of Aragón, Sobrarbe, and Ribagorza and Sancha of Castile) was born about 1180; died in Feb 1209 in Palermo, Sicily. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate birth: 1198

Notes:

Count of Provence & Forcalquier, 1209-45.

Raymond married Beatrice of Savoy on 5 Dec 1220. Beatrice (daughter of Tomaso I and Margaret of Geneva) died in Dec 1266. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate death: 25 Jun 1291, Amesbury Priory, Wiltshire, England

Notes:

"She was buried on 11 September 1291 in the Abbey of St Mary and St Melor, Amesbury on 9 December. The exact site of her grave at the abbey is unknown making her the only English queen without a marked grave. Her heart was taken to London where it was buried at the Franciscan priory." [Wikipedia]

Eleanor married Henry III, King of England on 14 Jan 1236 in Canterbury Cathedral, Canterbury, Kent, England. Henry (son of John, King of England and Isabel of Angoulême, Queen Consort of England) was born on 1 Oct 1207 in Winchester Castle, Hampshire, England; died on 16 Nov 1272 in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, England; was buried in Westminster Abbey, Westminster, Middlesex, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate death: 9 Nov 1262, Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, England

Notes:

Also called Sancha de Provence.

Sancie married Richard of Cornwall, King of the Romans on 23 Nov 1243 in Westminster Abbey, Westminster, Middlesex, England. Richard (son of John, King of England and Isabel of Angoulême, Queen Consort of England) was born on 5 Jan 1209 in Winchester Castle, Hampshire, England; died on 2 Apr 1272 in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, England; was buried in Hailes Abbey, Gloucestershire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Margaret married St. Louis IX, King of France on 27 May 1234 in Sens, Yonne, France. Louis (son of Louis VIII, King of France and Blanche of Castile, Queen Consort of France) was born on 25 Apr 1214 in Castle of Poissy, Yvelines, Île-de-France, France; died on 25 Aug 1270 in near Tunis, Africa; was buried in Abbey of Saint-Denis, Saint-Denis, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Beatrice married Charles I Etienne, King of Naples and Sicily on 31 Jan 1246. Charles (son of Louis VIII, King of France and Blanche of Castile, Queen Consort of France) was born in Mar 1226; died on 7 Jan 1285. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate birth: 18 Jun 1239, Westminster Palace, Westminster, Middlesex, England
• Alternate death: 8 Jul 1307, Burgh-by-Sands, Carlisle, Cumberland, England

Notes:

Edward Longshanks, Hammer of the Scots, conqueror of Wales. Although he is acclaimed for his many administrative accomplishments and for establishing Parliament as a permanent institution, he also expelled the Jews from England; significant numbers of them returned only 350 years later. He was tall (6' 4"), personally intimidating, and rigid in personal morality, in marked contrast to most earlier post-Conquest English rulers.

Edward married Eleanor of Castile, Queen Consort of England on 18 Oct 1254 in Abbey of Santa María la Real de Las Huelgas, Burgos, Castile, Spain. Eleanor (daughter of St. Fernando III, King Of Castile, León, Galicia, Toledo, Córdoba, Jaén, and Seville and Jeanne de Dammartin) was born in 1240; died on 28 Nov 1290 in Hardby, Nottinghamshire, England; was buried in Westminster Abbey, Westminster, Middlesex, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Edward married Marguerite of France, Queen Consort of England on 8 Sep 1299 in Canterbury, Kent, England. Marguerite (daughter of Philippe III, King of France and Marie of Brabant, Queen Consort of France) was born in 1279; died on 14 Feb 1317 in Marlborough Castle, Wiltshire, Engand; was buried in Christ Church Greyfriars, Newgate, London, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Beatrice married Jean II on 22 Jan 1260 in St.-Denis, Paris, France. Jean (son of Jean I and Blanche de Champagne) was born on 4 Jan 1239; died on 18 Nov 1309 in Lyons, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Earl of Leicester; Earl of Lancaster; Earl of Derby. Steward of England 1265; Keeper of the Isle of Lundy 1266; Warden of Sherborne Castle 1267; Lieutenant of Pothieu 1291; Lieutenant of Gascony 1296.

Nearly King of Sicily.

Summoned to Parliament by writ 24 Jun 1295; definitely far from the most interesting thing that ever happened to him.

From Wikipedia (as of 5 Dec 2023):

Edmund, 1st Earl of Lancaster (16 January 1245 – 5 June 1296), also known by his epithet Edmund Crouchback, was a member of the royal Plantagenet Dynasty and the founder of the first House of Lancaster. He was Earl of Leicester (1265–1296), Lancaster (1267–1296) and Derby (1269–1296) in England, and Count Palatine of Champagne (1276–1284) in France.

Named after the 9th-century saint, Edmund was the second surviving son of King Henry III of England and Eleanor of Provence and the younger brother of King Edward I of England, to whom he was loyal as a diplomat and warrior. In 1254, the 9-year-old Edmund became involved in the "Sicilian business", in which his father accepted a papal offer granting the Kingdom of Sicily to Edmund, who made preparations to become king. However, Henry III could not provide funds for the operation, prompting the Papacy to withdraw the grant and give it to Edmund's uncle, Charles I of Anjou. The "Sicilian business" outraged the barons led by the Earl of Leicester and Edmund's uncle, Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester, and was cited as one of the reasons for limiting Henry's power. Deterioration of relations between the barons and the king resulted in the Second Barons' War, in which the royal government, supported by Edmund, triumphed over the baronage following the death of Montfort in the Battle of Evesham in 1265.

Edmund received the lands and titles of Montfort and the defeated barons Nicholas Segrave, 1st Baron Segrave and Robert de Ferrers, 6th Earl of Derby, and became Earl of Lancaster, Leicester and Derby. Primarily known as the earl of the first county, he eventually became the most powerful baron of England. Later, Edmund accompanied his elder brother Edward on his crusade in the Holy Land, where his epithet "Crouchback" originated from a corruption of 'cross back', referring to him wearing a stitched cross on his garments. Following the death of his first wife, Aveline de Forz, Edmund's aunt and Dowager Queen of France Margaret of Provence arranged his second marriage to Blanche of Artois, the recently widowed Queen Dowager of Navarre and the Countess of Champagne. With his second wife Blanche, Edmund governed Champagne as count palatine in the name of his stepdaughter Joan until she came of age. Edmund was active in supporting his family members, such as assisting Edward in conquering Wales, advocating for the claims of his aunt Margaret against his uncle Charles I of Anjou in his mother and aunt's homeland of Provence and managing Ponthieu on behalf of his sister-in-law, Eleanor of Castile.

When Edmund's stepson-in-law, King Philip IV of France, demanded Edward, who was also his vassal through Gascony, to come to Paris to answer charges of damages caused by English mariners in 1293, Edward sent Edmund to mediate the crisis to avert war. Edmund negotiated an agreement with Philip where France would occupy Gascony for 40 days, and Edward would marry Philip's half-sister, Margaret. When the 40 days were over, Philip tricked Edward and Edmund by refusing to relinquish control over Gascony, calling Edward to again answer for his charges. Edmund and Edward then renounced their homages to Philip and prepared for war against France. Edmund sailed for Gascony with his army and besieged the city of Bordeaux. Unable to pay his troops, Edmund was deserted by his army and retreated to Bayonne, where he died from illness in 1296. Edmund's body was brought back to England, where he was buried in Westminster Abbey in 1301.

Edmund married Blanche of Artois on 18 Jan 1276 in Paris, France. Blanche (daughter of Robert of France and Mahaut of Brabant) was born about 1248; died on 2 May 1302 in Paris, France; was buried in Church of the Cordeliers, Paris, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate birth: 30 Apr 1245

Notes:

Nicknamed "The Bold".

Philippe married Isabella of Aragon, Queen Consort of France on 28 May 1262 in Clermont-Ferrand, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France. Isabella (daughter of James I, King of Aragón and Violant of Hungary) was born between 1243 and 1247; died on 28 Jan 1271 in Cosenza, Calabria, Italy; was buried in Abbey of Saint-Denis, Saint-Denis, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Philippe married Marie of Brabant, Queen Consort of France on 21 Aug 1274. Marie (daughter of Henri III of Brabant and Alix of Burgundy) was born about 1256 in Leuven, Vlaams-Brabant, Flanders; died on 12 Jan 1322 in Les Mureaux, Yvelines, Île-de-France, France; was buried in Church of the Franciscans, Paris, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Count of Clermont.

Robert married Beatrix of Burgundy in 1272 in Clermont-en-Beauvaisis, Oise, France. Beatrix (daughter of Jean of Burgundy and Agnès de Dampierre) was born about 1257; died on 1 Oct 1310 in Château de Murat, Cantal, Auvergne, France; was buried in Cordeliers de Champaigue, Bourbonnais, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Agnes married Robert II of Burgundy in 1279. Robert (son of Hugh IV of Burgundy and Yolande of Dreux) was born about 1248; died on 21 Mar 1306 in Vernon-sur-Seine, Eure, Normandy, France; was buried in Abbey of Cîteaux, Dijon, Côte-d'Or, Burgundy, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate death: 6 May 1309

Notes:

Also count of Anjou.

Charles married Maria I, Queen of Hungary in 1270. Maria (daughter of Istvan V, King of Hungary and Erszebet of Kumania) was born about 1257; died on 25 Mar 1323 in Naples, Campania, Italy; was buried in Santa Maria Donna Regina, Naples, Campania, Italy. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]