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Thomas, Count of Flanders
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Thomas II (c. 1199 – 7 February 1259) was the Lord of Piedmont from 1233 to his death, Count of Flanders jure uxoris from 1237 to 1244, and regent of the County of Savoy from 1253 to his death, while his nephew Boniface was fighting abroad. He was the son of Thomas I of Savoy and Margaret of Geneva.[1]
Key Information
Career
[edit]Thomas was born in Montmélian. He started his career in the church as a canon at Lausanne and became prévôt of Valence by 1226. In 1233, when Thomas I of Savoy died, Thomas, being a younger son, inherited only the lordship of Piedmont, which he later raised to the status of a county.
In 1235, when Thomas left his ecclesiastical career, he sought to fully divide his lands from the County of Savoy. His elder brother, Amadeus IV, negotiated with him to grant Thomas additional lands within the county, but that all lands would stay part of the county. Further, Thomas was encouraged like his other brothers to expand his holdings outside of Savoy.[2]
In 1234, Thomas and his brother William escorted his niece, Margaret of Provence to her wedding with Louis IX of France. While Thomas hoped to stay with her at the French court, the king's mother, Blanche of Castile, wanted greater control over the new queen, and so dismissed all who came with her before the couple even reached Paris.
Count of Flanders
[edit]At the urging of Louis IX of France, Thomas married Joanna, Countess of Flanders and Hainaut, widow of Ferdinand, Count of Flanders and daughter of the Latin Emperor Baldwin I, in 1237.[3]
His loyalties as Count of Flanders were divided between the kings of France and England. In 1239, Thomas travelled to England to pay homage to Henry III, King of England. While there, his niece, Eleanor of Provence, gave birth to Edward. After recognizing Henry as his suzerain, Thomas received an annual stipend of 500 marks. He returned to visit the family around Easter of 1240 and was given a gift which Henry III of England extracted from the lands of Simon de Montfort.[4]
The count and countess were very generous toward local churches, and Thomas often followed his wife's lead on such matters. Thomas also understood the needs of the emerging merchant class, and worked to provide better rights for them. This included granting new charters and restructuring the governance in key cities such as Damme and Bruges.[5]
In July 1243, Thomas and his brother Amadeus were ordered by Enzo of Sardinia to join in a siege of Vercelli, which had recently switched allegiances from the Empire to the Pope. Not only was the attack on the city unsuccessful, but the brothers were excommunicated for it.[6] When the brothers wrote to the new Pope Innocent IV to appeal, he granted their request, and further indicated that Thomas would be protected from excommunication without papal authorization.[7]
Thomas and Joanna had no issue and she died in 1244.
Later years
[edit]In 1255, Thomas was protecting his territories in the Piedmont region against the town of Asti. In a battle at Moncalieri, he was taken prisoner and held in Turin. The two cities were seeking to force Thomas to acknowledge their independence from Savoy control. In response, Pope Alexander IV placed an interdict against Turin and Asti, and King Henry III of England imprisoned all Lombards in his kingdom. Louis IX of France arrested 150 Asti merchants at the urging of his wife (and Thomas's niece) Margaret. Beatrice of Savoy did the same in her territories in Provence. Thomas's brothers, Peter and Philip led an army down from Savoy in 1256, and were able to force a negotiated settlement by the end of the year. In that settlement, the cities were recognized as independent, though they did not achieve the territorial or economic benefits they were originally seeking.[8]
Although he was the next brother of Amadeus IV, he never became the Count of Savoy because he predeceased his nephew, Boniface, who himself died without sons to succeed him. Thomas did act as regent for Boniface during the early years of his reign. Although Thomas left sons, upon Boniface's death the remaining uncles, younger brothers of Thomas, ruled the County of Savoy. Thomas's eldest son and heir Thomas III thought it to be an injustice and unsuccessfully claimed Savoy. However, it so happened that Philip I, the last surviving brother of Thomas, made Thomas' younger son Amadeus his heir in Savoy, leaving the elder son, Thomas, and the genealogically senior line descending from him out of the Savoy succession.
Issue
[edit]In 1252, Thomas married Beatrice Fieschi, who died on 15 July 1283, only daughter of Tedisio Fieschi, Count of Lavagna, by first wife Vigolan di Capo Corso, half-sister of Pope Adrian V and paternal niece of Pope Innocent IV.[9] Thomas and Beatrice had six children:
- Thomas,[1] his successor and pretender to the County of Savoy
- Amadeus,[1] who later inherited Savoy
- Louis Ι (1250 – after 10 January 1302),[1] Baron of Vaud
- Eleanor (died 6 December 1296), married (1270) Louis I of Beaujeu
- Margaret (died May 1292), married first Baldwin de Redvers, 7th Earl of Devon[1] and after his death Sir Robert II Aguillon
- Alice (died 1 August 1277)
He also had at least three illegitimate children꞉
- Lancelot
- Nicolas
- Francis, married and had꞉
- Peret, living in 1269
Notes
[edit]References
[edit]- Cognasso, Francesco (1940). Tommaso I ed Amedeo IV. Turin.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Cox, Eugene L. (1974). The Eagles of Savoy. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0691052166.
- Jobson, Adrian (2012). The First English Revolution: Simon de Montfort, Henry III and the Barons' War. Bloomsbury Academic.
- Williams, George L. (1998). Papal Genealogy: The Families and Descendants of the Popes. McFarland & Company, Inc.
Thomas, Count of Flanders
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Origins and Early Career
Birth, Family, and Inheritance in Savoy
Thomas II of Savoy, later Count of Flanders, was born around 1200 as the second son of Thomas I, Count of Savoy (c. 1178–1233), and his wife Margaret of Geneva (c. 1180–1252).[1] His father had ascended to the countship in 1189 following the death of Humbert III, and through diplomatic marriages, military campaigns, and imperial favor from Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II, Thomas I significantly expanded Savoyard territories, acquiring regions such as Vaud (1218), the Tarentaise (via marriage), and influence over Geneva and Chablais.[1] Margaret, daughter of William I, Count of Geneva, brought strategic alliances, though relations with Geneva remained tense due to border disputes.[1] The couple married in 1195, and Thomas II was among their numerous offspring, including elder brother Amadeus IV (b. 1197), who succeeded as Count of Savoy; younger brothers Aymon, Peter II (later Count of Savoy), Philip I, and William (an ecclesiastic); and sisters such as Beatrice (Queen of Sardinia via marriage to Henry I Del Carretto) and Margaret (married to Hartmann I of Kiburg).[1][3] Little is documented of Thomas II's early years, likely spent in the fortified Château de Montmélian in the Maurienne valley, a key Savoyard stronghold central to family administration and defense against Alpine rivals.[1] As a younger son in a dynasty emphasizing primogeniture tempered by appanages, Thomas received clerical education initially, holding benefices before resigning them around 1233 to pursue secular ambitions, reflecting the Savoyards' pragmatic blend of piety and realpolitik.[1] Upon Thomas I's death on 1 March 1233 at Montmélian, the core County of Savoy—encompassing Savoy proper, Maurienne, and Valais—passed to Amadeus IV under feudal custom, while Thomas II, as second son, inherited the southern appanage known as the lordship (later marquisate and county) of Piedmont.[1] This Italian foothold, acquired piecemeal by his father through purchases and imperial grants (e.g., Turin and Susa regions from 1216 onward), included strategic passes, trade routes via the Mont Cenis, and cities like Pinerolo and Asti, granting Thomas semi-autonomous rule under nominal Savoyard overlordship.[1] Emperor Frederick II confirmed his holdings in 1234, elevating his status and enabling further consolidation, though it positioned him as a junior branch amid fraternal rivalries; Amadeus IV's childless death in 1253 later drew Thomas into regency over Savoy, but his Piedmont inheritance laid the foundation for a distinct line enduring until the 18th century.[1] This division exemplified Thomas I's policy of partitioning territories to secure loyalty and buffer against French and imperial pressures, prioritizing dynastic continuity over undivided rule.[1]Acquisition of Piedmont
Upon the death of his father, Thomas I, Count of Savoy, on 1 March 1233, Thomas II inherited the lordship of Piedmont as part of the partition of the family's extensive territories among the surviving sons.[1] Amedeo IV succeeded to the County of Savoy proper, while Thomas II received the marcher territories in Piedmont, encompassing strategic areas such as Turin and surrounding castles that Thomas I had previously consolidated through diplomacy and conquest. This division formalized Thomas II's role as the primary Savoyard authority in the region, though initial control required active enforcement amid competing local powers and imperial influences.[1] To secure his inheritance, Thomas II launched military campaigns in Piedmont shortly after 1233, capturing several cities and castles that had resisted full integration under Savoy rule. These efforts aimed to subdue communal autonomies and feudal rivals, building on his father's expansions but facing heightened resistance from urban centers wary of monarchical overreach. However, setbacks ensued; Thomas II lost many of these gains to rebellious forces, culminating in his capture by the citizens of Turin, a key Piedmontese stronghold, after which his brothers negotiated his ransom. Formal recognition of his title came in 1247 when Amedeo IV appointed Thomas II as Marquis of Piedmont, reserving ultimate sovereignty for the Count of Savoy while granting administrative autonomy.[1] This arrangement underscored the cadet branch's dependent status but enabled Thomas II to maintain influence, later reinforced by imperial grants such as Moncalieri and other properties in 1248 from Emperor Frederick II.[1] Despite ongoing conflicts, including a 1255 defeat near Moncalieri against Asti forces leading to temporary imprisonment in Turin, these early acquisitions laid the foundation for the Piedmont branch of Savoy, which persisted until reunification in 1418.[1]Rule as Count of Flanders
Marriage to Joan of Constantinople
Thomas II of Savoy, already Lord of Piedmont, married Joan, Countess of Flanders and Hainaut, on 2 April 1237, becoming count jure uxoris following the death of her first husband, Ferrand of Portugal, in 1233. The union occurred amid ongoing instability in Flanders, where Joan had struggled to assert authority after Ferrand's long captivity from the Battle of Bouvines in 1214 and his subsequent release via ransom in 1227; the marriage likely aimed to bolster governance through Thomas's administrative experience and Savoyard connections, though primary motivations centered on dynastic security for the childless countess.[1] The couple wed without papal dispensation, despite their consanguinity falling within prohibited degrees of kinship, a procedural irregularity that underscored the urgency of stabilizing Joan's rule against French royal pressures and internal Flemish factions.[1] Shortly after, in December 1237, they traveled to Compiègne to perform homage to King Louis IX of France, affirming the county's feudal obligations.[4] The marriage produced no children, remaining barren until Joan's death on 5 December 1244 at the Abbey of Marquette near Lille, after which Thomas relinquished claims to Flanders and returned to Savoyard affairs.[1]Governance, Diplomacy, and Challenges
Thomas assumed joint rule over Flanders and Hainaut with his wife Joan following their marriage on 2 April 1237, leveraging Savoyard administrative expertise to address the counties' fiscal strains from prior conflicts, including Joan's defeats against French forces in the 1220s. He appointed officials from Savoy to oversee key fiscal and judicial functions, aiming to enhance central oversight amid entrenched urban privileges. In 1241, Thomas issued a charter to the city of Bruges—whose port of Damme served as a vital economic hub—granting or confirming commercial and jurisdictional rights, part of broader efforts to secure urban loyalty while reorganizing courts and offering targeted tax exemptions.[5][6] Diplomatically, Thomas reaffirmed Flanders' feudal obligations to France shortly after accession, with he and Joan tendering homage to King Louis IX in 1237 for the county's French fiefs, perpetuating the subordination established after Joan's 1224 capitulation at Peronne. This alignment countered Hainaut's imperial ties, though Thomas navigated Savoy's alpine straddling of French and Holy Roman spheres by maintaining nominal deference to both, avoiding escalation amid his Italian Piedmontese holdings. Familial connections, including his brother Peter's role as uncle to Queen Eleanor of Provence (consort to England's Henry III), facilitated tentative English overtures, but primary focus remained on stabilizing Franco-Flemish relations to fund reconstruction.[7] Challenges arose from entrenched resistance by Flemish communes and nobility to Thomas's centralizing impulses, which clashed with chartered autonomies in prosperous cloth-trading centers like Ghent and Bruges, where guilds wielded de facto veto over impositions. Efforts to impose uniform taxation and Savoyard personnel—viewed as alien interlopers—exacerbated perceptions of overreach, fueling urban grievances documented in later "plaintes" echoing 1240s tensions. Lacking native alliances or heirs, Thomas's authority eroded by 1244, prompting his withdrawal to Savoy amid mounting opposition, after which Joan governed solo until her death on 5 December 1244; historians attribute this to systemic urban power dynamics prioritizing local liberties over monarchical consolidation.[8][5][9]Deposition and Return to Italy
Thomas's authority as count of Flanders derived solely from his marriage to Joan, who held the county in her own right, and the union produced no children.[1] Joan died on 5 December 1244 at the Abbey of Marquette near Lille, after dictating her will in Thomas's presence the previous day.[4] With no heir from the marriage, Thomas's position ended immediately upon her death, as the county passed to her sister Margaret II rather than remaining under Savoyard influence. Thomas promptly returned to his patrimonial lands in Piedmont, the Italian territories he had governed since 1233 as lord and later count.[1] This departure marked the conclusion of Savoyard involvement in Flemish affairs, allowing Thomas to refocus on consolidating power in northern Italy amid ongoing familial and regional rivalries.[1] His tenure in Flanders, spanning from the marriage on 2 April 1237 to Joan's death, had involved joint issuance of charters and diplomatic acts, but yielded no lasting dynastic gains for the House of Savoy.[10][1]Later Career and Regency
Involvement in Savoyard Affairs
Following his deposition as Count of Flanders in 1244, Thomas returned to his Savoyard patrimony in Italy, where he focused on consolidating family influence in the County of Savoy and adjacent territories. He had inherited the lordship of Piedmont upon his father Thomas I's death in 1233, which his brother Amadeus IV elevated to a county in 1247, granting Thomas the title Conte del Piemonte and entrusting him with its governance.[1] This role positioned him as a key administrator in Savoyard expansion efforts, leveraging imperial alliances; in November 1248, Emperor Frederick II awarded him Moncalieri and other Piedmontese properties, along with vicarial authority over parts of Italy to counter papal and Lombard opposition.[1] Thomas's diplomatic acumen proved vital in navigating ecclesiastical tensions. In 1250, he brokered a reconciliation between the House of Savoy and Pope Innocent IV, resolving prior conflicts over territorial encroachments and imperial ties; this accord facilitated the 1253 marriage of his nephew Boniface—Amadeus IV's son—to the pope's niece, Beatrice Fieschi, strengthening Savoyard papal relations and securing dynastic continuity.[1] Such maneuvers underscored Thomas's prioritization of familial stability amid the county's strategic Alpine position, which controlled vital passes and invited rivalry from Burgundy, Provence, and the Holy Roman Empire. Amadeus IV's death on 24 August 1253 elevated Thomas to regent of the County of Savoy, as stipulated in Amadeus's testament dated 24 May 1253, which designated the underage Boniface as heir under Thomas's tutelage and guardianship.[1] During this regency, lasting until Thomas's own death, he issued confirmations of privileges to maintain administrative continuity, including a charter on 24 August 1253 reaffirming Aosta citizens' rights originally granted by his father.[1] Thomas also managed succession planning, as evidenced by his 26 June 1248 testament outlining Piedmontese inheritances for his sons, and subsequent 1254 charters integrating Savoyard domains.[1] His oversight extended to military defenses, though a 1255 capture during an assault on Asti highlighted ongoing regional skirmishes with communes and imperial rivals.[11] This period marked Thomas's shift from peripheral lordship to central regental authority, preserving Savoy's cohesion against fragmentation risks posed by underage rule and external pressures.Regency of the County of Savoy
Upon the death of his brother Amadeus IV on 24 June 1253, Thomas II, Lord of Piedmont, assumed the regency of the County of Savoy for his nephew Boniface I, the underage son and successor of Amadeus.[1] This arrangement fulfilled the provisions of Amadeus IV's testament dated 24 May 1253, which named Boniface as heir "sub tutela Thomæ comitis," placing him explicitly under Thomas's guardianship and tutelage.[1] Boniface, born around 1245 to Amadeus IV and his wife Cecilia of Baux, was approximately eight years old at the time, necessitating a regency to administer the county's governance, finances, and defenses.[1] Cecilia of Baux, Boniface's mother, shared regency responsibilities alongside Thomas, focusing on maternal oversight while Thomas handled broader administrative and diplomatic duties from his base in Piedmont.[1] Thomas's tenure as regent, spanning 1253 to his death on 7 February 1259, emphasized continuity in Savoyard policies, including the maintenance of alliances with the Holy Roman Empire and resistance to encroachments by Lombard communes and neighboring powers like the Dauphiné.[1] He leveraged his experience from prior roles in Flanders and Piedmont to secure the county's alpine passes and Vaud territories, preventing fragmentation during the minority.[1] Thomas's regency concluded prematurely with his fatal wounding during the Siege of Turin in early 1259, after which Cecilia continued as sole regent until Boniface reached majority around 1260.[1] This period marked a transitional phase for the House of Savoy, bridging the direct line of Amadeus IV to Boniface's brief reign, which ended with the young count's death in 1263 without male heirs, prompting further familial succession disputes.[1]Italian Conflicts and Ambitions
Following his deposition as Count of Flanders in 1244, Thomas II redirected his efforts toward consolidating Savoyard influence in Italy, where he held the lordship of Piedmont since 1233 as per his father's partition of territories. In 1247, his brother Amadeus IV formally confirmed Thomas's authority as marchese del Piemonte, granting him sovereignty over this strategic region encompassing key Alpine passes and trade routes between France and Lombardy.[1] Thomas leveraged imperial privileges from Frederick II to advance Savoyard claims against resistant communes and rival lords. In November 1248, the emperor granted him control over Moncalieri, Castelvecchio, and associated castles, reinforcing his position amid Ghibelline alignments in northern Italy. To reaffirm dominance over Turin, Thomas defeated Guglielmo VII, Marquis of Monferrato, in military engagements that subdued Monferrat's encroachments on Piedmontese holdings.[1] The death of Frederick II in 1250 created a power vacuum, prompting Thomas to occupy Turin based on prior imperial concessions, only to encounter opposition from the city's bishop and consuls, who defended communal autonomy. These clashes exemplified broader Savoyard ambitions to centralize authority in Piedmont against fractious city-states like Turin and Asti, which often aligned with Guelph interests and resisted feudal overlordship to preserve trade privileges and self-governance.[12] During his regency in Savoy from 1253 to 1259 for his nephew Boniface, Thomas intensified military campaigns in Italy, including a war against Asti from 1255 to 1257, where his brothers Peter and Philip led reinforcements from Savoy in 1256 to support Piedmontese defenses. These conflicts aimed to secure economic corridors and buffer zones, reflecting the House of Savoy's long-term goal of bridging transalpine domains into a cohesive Alpine principality with extensions into Lombardy, though communal resistance and internecine feuds limited gains. Thomas died on 7 February 1259, leaving unresolved tensions that his successors would inherit.[1]Death, Succession, and Legacy
Final Years and Death
In the years following his brief tenure as Prince of Capua in 1254, Thomas focused on consolidating Savoyard influence in Piedmont amid ongoing regional rivalries. He engaged in military campaigns against Asti, culminating in a defeat in 1255 that led to his capture and prolonged imprisonment by local forces.[13] After negotiating his release through concessions, including pacts with Asti, Thomas returned to governance but faced persistent opposition from papal and communal interests in northern Italy.[13] Thomas died on 7 February 1259, reportedly in Chambéry, though some accounts place the event in Aosta where he was buried in the cathedral.[1] The chronicler Matthew Paris alleged poisoning as the cause, a claim echoed in later Italian sources but unsubstantiated by contemporary Savoyard records.[1] [14] His death marked the end of direct male-line control over key Savoyard territories by his branch, with his son Thomas III succeeding as Marquis of Piedmont and Count of Maurienne, while nephew Boniface inherited broader Savoy claims.[1]Historical Assessment
Thomas's tenure as count consort of Flanders from 1237 to 1244 is generally evaluated by historians as an unsuccessful venture for the House of Savoy, marked by inability to secure lasting influence amid entrenched local resistance. The marriage to Joan, arranged by Emperor Frederick II on 2 April 1237 to align Flanders with imperial rather than French interests, positioned Thomas as a foreign interloper in a county characterized by powerful urban communes like Ghent and Bruges, which prioritized commercial autonomy and resented centralized impositions.[1] His governance efforts, including attempts at fiscal consolidation to address inherited debts, provoked opposition from nobles and patricians protective of communal privileges, exacerbating tensions without producing heirs to solidify claims. By 1244, escalating unrest compelled Thomas to withdraw from Flanders before Joan's death on 5 December, effectively ending Savoyard involvement and paving the way for succession disputes between Joan's sister Margaret and her descendants.[1] This outcome underscored the causal limits of dynastic unions in regions with robust institutional independence, where empirical patterns of revolt against non-native rulers—evident in prior short-lived tenures—rendered external control untenable without broad elite buy-in.[15] In contrast, Thomas's later regency in Savoy from 1253 demonstrated greater efficacy, leveraging familial networks to stabilize administration and expand Piedmontese holdings, contributing to the dynasty's ascent from Alpine obscurity to European prominence.[16] Overall, historical assessments frame the Flemish phase as a peripheral setback in the Savoyard trajectory, emphasizing Thomas's role in broader familial strategies over isolated territorial gains; the absence of progeny from the union precluded inheritance, redirecting ambitions southward while illustrating the interplay of geography, economics, and power dynamics in medieval state-building.[16] Sources like chronicles of the period, while biased toward imperial perspectives, corroborate the primacy of local agency in thwarting his objectives, with modern analyses attributing failure less to personal failings than to structural mismatches between Savoyard ambitions and Flemish realities.[1]Family
Marriages
Thomas II of Savoy married Jeanne, Countess of Flanders and Hainaut, on 2 April 1237, following the death of her first husband, Ferdinand, Count of Flanders, in 1233. This union, arranged without papal dispensation despite consanguinity within prohibited degrees, elevated Thomas to the position of Count of Flanders and Hainaut jure uxoris (by right of his wife), allowing him to govern the counties from 1237 until Jeanne's death.[17] The marriage produced no children and ended with Jeanne's death on 5 December 1244, after which Thomas relinquished control of the counties and returned his focus to Savoyard affairs.[17] Following Jeanne's death, Thomas contracted a second marriage in 1251, after June, to Beatrice Fieschi, daughter of Marquis Tedisio Fieschi of Lavagna.[17] This alliance strengthened ties between the House of Savoy and the influential Genoese Fieschi family, which held significant power in the Republic of Genoa.[17] Beatrice survived Thomas, dying on 15 July 1283.[17] The couple had six legitimate children: Thomas (born around 1252, died 16 May 1282), who briefly claimed Savoyard titles; Amadeus (born around 1253, died 16 October 1323); Louis (born around 1254, died between 10 January 1302 and 27 April 1303); Eleanor (died 24 August 1296); Alice (died 1 August 1277); and possibly others, though primary records confirm these.[17] An additional son, Contesson (died after 14 January 1264), is noted in sources with uncertain legitimacy.[17]Issue
Thomas II of Savoy and his second wife, Beatrice Fieschi, had six known children.[17] Their eldest son, Thomas III, succeeded his father as Count of Piedmont and died on 16 May 1282 without legitimate issue, though he had illegitimate children.[18] Amedeo V became Count of Savoy upon the death of his cousin Amedeo IV in 1253, reigning until 16 October 1323 and expanding Savoyard territories through military campaigns and diplomacy.[19] Louis inherited the barony of Vaud, where he governed until at least 10 January 1302, and was involved in regional conflicts, including disputes over Aargau.[20] The daughters included Eleonore, who married Louis de Forez in 1270 and died on 24 August 1296; Alix, who died on 1 August 1277 without recorded marriage; and Contesson, documented after 14 January 1264 but with no further details on marriage or descendants.[17]| Name | Title/Role | Lifespan | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thomas III | Count of Piedmont | c. 1252 – 1282 | Succeeded father; no legitimate heirs.[18] |
| Amedeo V | Count of Savoy | c. 1253 – 1323 | Expanded dynasty; married Sybille de Bâgé.[19] |
| Louis | Baron of Vaud | c. 1254 – after 1302 | Managed Vaud lordships; married.[20] |
| Contesson | None recorded | After 1264 | Limited records.[17] |
| Eleonore | None recorded | Died 1296 | Married Louis de Forez.[17] |
| Alix | None recorded | Died 1277 | Unmarried.[17] |