Agnes of France

Agnes of France was the name of two notable female members of the Capetian dynasty which ruled France in the Middle Ages. One of them served as Empress consort of the Eastern Roman Empire. The other as Duchess of Burgundy

Empress consort of the Eastern Roman Empire

Agnes of France (1171 - 1240) was the only daughter of Louis VII of France by his third wife Adèle of Champagne.

Related Topics:
1171 - 1240 - Louis VII of France - Adèle of Champagne

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She was a younger half-sister of Marie de Champagne, Alix of France, Marguerite of France and Alys, Countess of the Vexin. She was a younger sister of Philip II of France.

Related Topics:
Marie de Champagne - Alix of France - Marguerite of France - Alys, Countess of the Vexin - Philip II of France

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In 1179 embassies arrived from the Byzantine court seeking to obtain Agnes as a bride for Alexius, the only son and heir apparent of Eastern Roman Emperor Manuel I Comnenus by his second wife Maria of Antioch. She was sent to Constantinople to be raised alongside her betrothed and trained in the beliefs of the Eastern Orthodox Church. She was also introduced there to the Byzantine protocol, both stricter and more complex that the one current to France in the Middle Ages. She was baptized and renamed to Anna.

Related Topics:
1179 - Alexius - Heir apparent - Eastern Roman Emperor - Manuel I Comnenus - Maria of Antioch - Constantinople - Eastern Orthodox Church - Protocol - France in the Middle Ages

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On September 24, 1180, Manuel I died and her betrothed succeeded him as Alexius II Comnenus. He was an adolescent of 13 years of age but married Anna shortly after his ascension. However the new Empress consort was living in the shadow of her mother-in-law. Maria exercised more

Related Topics:
September 24 - 1180 - Alexius II Comnenus - Adolescent - Empress consort

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influence in affairs of the state than Anna.

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By 1183, Maria was dispaced by a new power behind the throne, Andronicus I Comnenus. Andronicus was a first cousin of Manuel I and harbored imperial ambitions for himself. He was soon crowned co-ruler of Alexius and had him strangled in October of the same year. Anna was a widow at age 12. But not for long, since the approximately 65-year-old Andronicus married her.

Related Topics:
1183 - Power behind the throne - Andronicus I Comnenus - Widow

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Anna continued to serve as Empress consort until the deposition and death of Andronicus I on September 12, 1185. She reportedly survived the fall by becoming mistress to general Alexius Branas who continued to exercise influence under new Emperor Isaac II Angelus.

Related Topics:
September 12 - 1185 - Alexius Branas - Isaac II Angelus

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Anna was not heard again until 1204. Then she married Theodosius Branas, son of her former lover. She is believed to have long survived all three of her husbands. She and Theodosius Branas had at least one daughter, who married Narjot de Toucy, lord of la Terza in the Levant.

Related Topics:
1204 - Theodosius Branas - Lover

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She is the subject of the historical novel Agnes of France (1980) by Greek writer Kostas Kyriazis (1920 - ). The novel describes the events of the reigns of Manuel I, Alexius II and Andronicus I through her eyes. She is also part of the cast of the sequels Fourth Crusade (1981) and Henry of Hainaut (1984). All three have been in print in Greece since their first edition.

Related Topics:
1980 - Greek - Kostas Kyriazis - 1920 - Sequel - Fourth Crusade - 1981 - Henry of Hainaut - 1984

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Sources

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• Magdalino, Paul. The Empire of Manuel I Komnenos, 2002