Enguerrand VII de Coucy

Enguerrand VII de Coucy (1340 - 1397), also known as Ingelram de Coucy, was a 14th century French nobleman, the last Sire de Coucy, and the son-in-law of King Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault. Coucy also held the English title of 1st Earl of Bedford due to his marriage to Edward's daughter Isabella Plantagenet (1332-1382) and to English estates granted to the couple by Edward III.

Related Topics:
1340 - 1397 - 14th century - Edward III of England - Philippa of Hainault - Earl of Bedford - Isabella Plantagenet

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Coucy became the Sire de Coucy at the death of his father, Enguerrand VI, during the sequence of battles ending with the battle of Crecy in 1346. He also gained the titles of: 4th Lord Gynes: Sire d' Oisy, in the district of Marle: and the Sire de La Fère. His mother, Katharina von Habsburg of Austria, died in 1348 or 1349 during a wave of the Black Death. Coucy first became involved in the war against England at the age of fifteen, serving among the Barons of Picardy in the battalion of Moreau de Fiennes, a future Marshall of France. In 1358, at the age of eighteen, Coucy acted as a leader during the suppression of the peasant revolt known as the Jacquerie.

Related Topics:
Battle of Crecy - Marle - Habsburg - Black Death - Picardy - Moreau de Fiennes - Marshall of France - Jacquerie

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Young Coucy first met Edward III of England in 1359 as one of forty royal and noble hostages exchanged for the future release of the captured King John II of France. He was retained as a hostage in 1360, when the Treaty of Bretigny established territorial adjustments between the two countries and set the monetary payments for King John's release. The hostages finally arrived in England in November 1360. Coucy was to spend the next five years as a guest of the royal court. Chronicler Jean Froissart records that "...the young lord de Coucy shined in dancing and caroling whenever it was his turn. He was in great favor with both the French and English..."

Related Topics:
King John II - Treaty of Bretigny - Jean Froissart

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In 1365, the wealthy Coucy was betrothed and married to Isabella of England, age 33, who has been described as an over-indulged, willful, and wildly extravagant princess. To care for her personal needs, her father settled an substantial annual income on her for life, as well as gifts of costly jewelry, and properties that included manors, castles, and priories. Coucy was her choice as a husband, as she wished to be betrothed for love after the failure of previous betrothal negotiations with several noble houses of Europe. Coucy received, as part of the marriage arrangement, the restoration of his family's lands in Yorkshire,Lancaster, Westmorland and Cumberland, England. He was also released as a hostage for the French treaty requirements, with no payment of ransom. In November 1365, after their marriage on July 27, the couple was given leave to travel to France. Their daughter Marie was born in April 1366 at Coucy. During a subsequent visit to England with his new family, Coucy was named the Earl of Bedford and was inducted into the Order of the Garter. In 1367, the Coucy's second daughter, Phillippa, was born in England. At this time, Coucy was gifted with additional French lands, under the title Count of Soissons, which had come to Edward through the payment of ransom.

Related Topics:
Yorkshire - Lancaster - Westmorland - Cumberland - Order of the Garter - Count of Soissons

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Coucy and his English wife spent much of their lives on their northern French estate, although Isabella made frequent trips to England, particularly while Coucy was away in the service of France. They had three daughters: Marie de Coucy (1366 to 1404), Philippa de Coucy (1367 to 1411) and Isabel de Coucy (unknown to 1411). He held the office of Governor of Brittany in 1380. He also held the offices of Grand Butler of France and Marshal of France. Considered among the most skilled and experienced of all the knights of France, Coucy twice refused the position of Constable of France, the highest - and, at times, the most lucrative - military office in France.

Related Topics:
Brittany - Grand Butler of France - Constable of France

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Always diplomatic, Coucy managed to maintain both his allegiance to the King of France and to his English father-in-law during the period of intermittant armed conflict between England and France known as the Hundred Years' War. At various time, he acted as a warrior, envoy, councillor and mediator during the conflict. However, Coucy resigned all of his English honours on the accession of King Richard II on 26 August 1377. In 1380, after the death of Isabella of England, Coucy married Isabelle, daughter of the Jean I, Duke of Lorraine and Sophie von Württemberg.

Related Topics:
Hundred Years' War - Richard II - Duke of Lorraine

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Coucy died of the bubonic plague at age 56, on February 18, 1397, at Bursa, Anatolia, Turkey while participating in the last medieval crusade. He fought in the Battle of Nicopolis on 28 September 1396, where he was taken prisoner by the Turks. His body was returned to Europe and he was buried at Abbey of Villeneuve, near Soissons, France. After the death of Coucy, his eldest daughter, Marie de Bar, and his second wife, Isabelle of Lorraine (d. 1423), engaged in a prolonged dispute over the estate. Upon Marie's sudden death in 1405, the vast Coucy lands became part of the royal estates of France.

Related Topics:
Bubonic plague - Bursa - Anatolia - Turkey - Crusade - Battle of Nicopolis - Turks - Abbey of Villeneuve - Soissons

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