Biography of Louis VII King of the Franks 1120-1180

In 1115 [his father] Louis VI King of the Franks [aged 33] and [his mother] Adelaide Savoy Queen Consort France were married. She by marriage Queen Consort of France. She the daughter of [his grandfather] Humbert "Fat" Savoy II Count Savoy and [his grandmother] Gisela Ivrea Countess Savoy [aged 45]. He the son of Philip I King of the Franks and Bertha Gerulfing Queen Consort France. They were fourth cousin twice removed.

In 1120 Louis VII King of the Franks was born to [his father] Louis VI King of the Franks [aged 38] and [his mother] Adelaide Savoy Queen Consort France at Paris [Map].

Chronicle of William Nangis. Matilda the empress, daughter of Henry, king of England, was given in marriage [on 17th June 1128] to Geoffrey, count of Anjou. By her he fathered Henry, who later became king of England, and William Longsword, and Geoffrey Plantagent, who took as wife the daughter of Conan, count of Brittany^{ENDNOTE1ENDNOTE}, together with the county.

Note 1. The author here is incorrect. Geoffrey Planatagenet, son of Geoffrey of Anjou and Empress Matilda, did not marry. He did, in 1152, attempt, unsuccessfully, to abduct Eleanor of Aquitaine following the annulment of her marriage to King Louis VII; two months later she married his older brother Henry, the future King. It was Geoffrey, son of King Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine who married Constance, daughter of Conan, Duke of Brittany, and who became Duke of Brittany, when they married.

Mathildis imperatrix, filia regis Angliæ Henrici, data est uxor Gaufrido (5) comiti Andegavensi, de qua genuit Henricum qui postea fuit rex Angliæ, et Guillermum Longam spatam, atque Gaufridum Plantegeneste, qui filiam Conani comitis Britanniae cum comitatu accepit uxorem.

In 1137 [his brother] Robert "Great" Capet I Count Dreux [aged 14] was created I Count Dreux.

On 9th April 1137 William "Saint" Poitiers X Duke Aquitaine [aged 38] died. His daughter [his future wife] Eleanor [aged 15] succeeded XI Duchess Aquitaine.

On 1st August 1137 [his father] Louis VI King of the Franks [aged 55] died of dysentery. His son Louis [aged 17] succeeded VII King of the Franks. [his wife] Eleanor of Aquitaine Queen Consort Franks and England [aged 15] by marriage Queen Consort Franks.

Chronicle of William Nangis. Louis, king of France, having heard of the death of William, duke of Aquitaine, sent his son Louis, already crowned king as was said above, into Aquitaine to betroth Eleanor, daughter of the aforesaid duke. Taking her in marriage together with the duchy of Aquitaine, he married her at Bordeaux; by her he later begot Mary, countess of Champagne, and Alix, wife of Theobald, count of Blois. Within a month after the marriage of Louis the Younger, his father Louis, king surnamed the Fat, died on the Kalends of August [1st August 1137] and was buried in the church of Saint Denis in the diocese of Paris; he was succeeded by his son Louis, called the Younger.

Ludovicus rex Franciæ, audita morte Guillermi ducis Aquitaniae, misit Ludovicum filium suum, jam in regem coronatum, sicut superius dictum est, in Aquitaniam ad desponsandam Alienordem, filiam Prædicti ducis. Quam, cum ducatu Aquilaniae accipiens in uxorem, apud Burdegalas desponsavit; de qua postea genuit Mariam comitissam Campaniae, et Aaliz (I) uxorem Theobaldi comitis Blesensis. Infra igitur mensem post nuptias Ludovici junioris, obiit pater ejus Ludovicus rex cognominatus Grossus (2) kalendis Augnsti, et in ecclesia beati Dionysii Parisiensis dioecesis sepelitur; cui successit Ludovicus, filius ejus, agnominatus Junior.

Chronicle of William Nangis. At this time flourished Theobald, count of Champagne, father of orphans, judge of widows, eye of the blind, foot of the lame, singularly generous in supporting the poor, and incomparable in his liberality toward all religious in the building of monasteries. He built the abbey of Saint-Florent of Saumur and the Cistercian abbey of l’Aumône^{ENDNOTE1ENDNOTE}, as well as many others. By his wife Matilda^{ENDNOTE2ENDNOTE}, of noble German lineage, he begot [his future son-in-law] Henry, count of Champagne; Theobald, count of Blois; Stephen, count of Sancerre; William, first elected bishop of Chartres, then archbishop of Sens, afterwards of Reims; and also Adela, queen of the Franks^{ENDNOTE3ENDNOTE}, [Matilda] countess of Perche, [Agnes] countess of Bar, and [Marie] wife of the duke of Burgundy.

Note 1. The author here is mistaken. The abbey of l’Aumône, called the little Cîteaux, may have been founded by Count Thibaut; its origin goes back to about the year 1121. But the abbey of Saint-Florent, founded around the middle of the seventh century in the castle of Saumur, had already been rebuilt near the town at the beginning of the eleventh century.

Note 2. Matilda, countess of Champagne, was the daughter of Engelbert II, duke of Carinthia and margrave of Friuli.

Note 3. Adela, third wife of King Louis the Younger. his first two wives being Eleanor of Aquitaine, and Constance of Castile.

Florebat hoc tempore Theobaldus comes Campanise, pater orphanorum, judex viduarum, cæcorum oculus) pes claudorum, in pauperibus sustentandis singulariter munificus, in extruendis monasteriis et erga religiosps quosque largitate incomparabilis. Hic abbatiam sancti Florentii Salmuriensis et abbatiam Eleemosinæ Cisterciensis (2) ac multas alias construxit. Genuit autem ex Mathilde uxore sua, nobili genere Teuthonicorum progenita (3), Henricum comitem Campanise, et Theobaldum comitem Blesensem, ac Stephanum comitem Sacri-Cæsaris, Guillermum primo Carnotensem electum, deinde Senonensem archiepiscopum, post Remensem; item Adelam reginam Francorum (4) comitissam de Pertico, etcomitissam Barri, ac uxorem ducis Burgundiæ.

1. II y a ici une erreur que je ne puis m'expliquer. L'abbaye de l'Aumône, dite le petit Cîteaux, peut avoir été fondée par le comte Thibaut; son origine remonte a l'année 1121 environ. Mais l'abbaye de Saint-Florent, fondée vers le milieu du Vile siècle dans le château de Saumur, avait déjà été rebâtie près de la ville vers le commencement du Xl^e.

2. Mathilde, comtesse de Champagne, était fille d'Engilbert II, duc de Carinthie et marquis de Frioul.

3. Troisieme femme de Louis-le-Jeune

In 1139 [his brother] Robert "Great" Capet I Count Dreux [aged 16] and [his sister-in-law] Agnes Garlande Countess Dreux [aged 22] were married. She by marriage Countess Dreux. He the son of [his father] Louis VI King of the Franks and [his mother] Adelaide Savoy Queen Consort France.

Chronicle of William Nangis. Louis, king of France, leading an army against Theobald, count of Champagne, captured the castle of Vitry, where, when a church had been set on fire, one thousand three hundred persons of different sexes and ages were burned in the flames. Moved with compassion over this, he is said to have wept, and for this reason he is thought by some afterward to have undertaken a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. The king, however, gave Vitry to Odo of Champagne, nephew of Count Theobald, who had taken away his inheritance from him.

Ludovicus rex Franciæ, contra Theobaldum comitem Campaniae exercitum ducens, Vitriacum castrum cepit, ubi succensa ecclesia, in ea mille et trecentae personnae diversi sexus et æta tis igne combustae sunt. Super quo ex misericordia motus plorasse dicitur, et hac de causa postmodum peregrinationem Jerosolymis aggressus a quibusdam æstimatur (2). Rex vero dedit Vitriacum Odoni Campaniensi, nepoti comitis Theobaldi, qui patrimonium suum ei abstulerat.

In 1145 [his brother] Robert "Great" Capet I Count Dreux [aged 22] and [his sister-in-law] Hawise Salisbury Countess Dreux [aged 27] were married. She by marriage Countess Dreux. He the son of [his father] Louis VI King of the Franks and [his mother] Adelaide Savoy Queen Consort France.

In 1145 [his daughter] Marie Capet Countess Champagne was born to Louis VII King of the Franks [aged 25] and [his wife] Eleanor of Aquitaine Queen Consort Franks and England [aged 23]. She married 1164 her fourth cousin Henry Blois I Count Champagne, son of Theobald Blois II Count Champagne IV Count Blois and Matilda Carinthia Countess Champagne and Blois, and had issue.

In 1148 [his brother-in-law] Eustace Blois IV Count Boulogne [aged 18] and [his sister] Constance Capet Countess Boulogne and Toulouse [aged 20] were married. She by marriage Countess Boulogne. She the daughter of [his father] Louis VI King of the Franks and [his mother] Adelaide Savoy Queen Consort France. He the son of King Stephen I England [aged 54] and Matilda Flanders [aged 43]. They were third cousin once removed.

In 1149 [his brother] Henry Capet Archbishop of Reims [aged 28] was appointed Bishop of Beauvais.

In 1150 King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England [aged 16] was created Duke Normandy by Louis VII King of the Franks [aged 30].

In July 1150 [his daughter] Alix Capet Countess Blois was born to Louis VII King of the Franks [aged 30] and [his wife] Eleanor of Aquitaine Queen Consort Franks and England [aged 28]. She married 1164 her fourth cousin Theobald "Good" Blois V Count Blois, son of Theobald Blois II Count Champagne IV Count Blois and Matilda Carinthia Countess Champagne and Blois, and had issue.

In 1152 [his brother] Robert "Great" Capet I Count Dreux [aged 29] and [his sister-in-law] Agnes Baudemont Countess Dreux [aged 22] were married. She by marriage Countess Dreux. He the son of [his father] Louis VI King of the Franks and [his mother] Adelaide Savoy Queen Consort France.

In 1154 [his mother] Adelaide Savoy Queen Consort France died.

In 1157 [his daughter] Margaret Capet was born to Louis VII King of the Franks [aged 37] and [his wife] Constance of Castile Queen of the Franks [aged 17]. Coefficient of inbreeding 1.85%. She married (1) 27th August 1172 her half fourth cousin Henry the Young King, son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine Queen Consort Franks and England (2) July 1186 King Béla III of Hungary.

On 21st August 1157 [his father-in-law] Alfonso VII King Castile VII King Leon [aged 52] died. His son [his brother-in-law] Sancho [aged 23] succeeded III King Castile. His son Ferdinand [aged 20] succeeded II King Leon.

On 31st August 1158 [his brother-in-law] Sancho III King Castile [aged 24] died. His son Alfonso [aged 2] succeeded VIII King Castile.

On 4th October 1160 [his daughter] Alys Capet Countess Ponthieu was born to Louis VII King of the Franks [aged 40] and [his wife] Constance of Castile Queen of the Franks [aged 20]. Her mother died in childbirth. Coefficient of inbreeding 1.85%. She married 20th August 1195 her third cousin once removed William Montgomery IV Count Ponthieu, son of John Montgomery I Count Ponthieu and Beatrice St Pol Countess Ponthieu, and had issue.

In 1161 [his brother] Henry Capet Archbishop of Reims [aged 40] was appointed Archbishop of Reims.

In 1164 [his son-in-law] Theobald "Good" Blois V Count Blois [aged 34] and Alix Capet Countess Blois [aged 13] were married. She by marriage Countess Blois. The difference in their ages was 20 years. She the daughter of Louis VII King of the Franks [aged 44] and Eleanor of Aquitaine Queen Consort Franks and England [aged 42]. He the son of Theobald Blois II Count Champagne IV Count Blois and Matilda Carinthia Countess Champagne and Blois. They were fourth cousins. He a great grandson of King William "Conqueror" I of England.

In 1164 [his son-in-law] Henry Blois I Count Champagne [aged 36] and Marie Capet Countess Champagne [aged 19] were married. She by marriage Countess Champagne. She the daughter of Louis VII King of the Franks [aged 44] and Eleanor of Aquitaine Queen Consort Franks and England [aged 42]. He the son of Theobald Blois II Count Champagne IV Count Blois and Matilda Carinthia Countess Champagne and Blois. They were fourth cousins. He a great grandson of King William "Conqueror" I of England.

Letters. 1168. Letter V. Marie Blois I Countess Boulogne [aged 32] to Louis VII King of the Franks [aged 48].

Let it be known to your highness that Henry, king of England [aged 34] has sent his ambassadors to the emperor. It is certain that he has for the most part, succeeded in obtaining what he wished; for the emperor shews himself kindly disposed to the king, and his (the king's) ambassadors being on their return, he has not hesitated to send his own with them to him, which he thought the best course, lest the aforesaid king should doubt whether he was sincere in his assistance against you. The returning ambassadors passed through my territories, and I spoke with them, and well I perceived from their words that the English king ceases not, day nor night, to devise mischief against you. Wherefore I thought it fitting to send to your grace, and to give you the necessary forewarning, that you may take counsel with your wise men, and act as is most fitting, lest the impetuous presumption of the fraudulent king should inflict violent injury upon you. Fare you well.

In 1171 [his daughter] Agnes Empress of Byzantine was born to Louis VII King of the Franks [aged 51] and [his wife] Adèle Queen of the Franks. She a great x 2 granddaughter of King William "Conqueror" I of England. She married 2nd March 1180 her second cousin twice removed Emperor Alexios II Komnenos.

On 27th August 1172 [his son-in-law] Henry the Young King [aged 17] and Margaret Capet [aged 15] were married at Winchester Cathedral [Map]. Margaret's dowry included the Vexin; the border between France and Normandy. On the same day they were both crowned by Rotrou Newburgh Archbishop of Rouen. She the daughter of Louis VII King of the Franks [aged 52] and Constance of Castile Queen of the Franks. He the son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England [aged 39] and Eleanor of Aquitaine Queen Consort Franks and England [aged 50]. They were half fourth cousins.

In 1173 Hugh Lacy [aged 39] held against Louis VII King of the Franks [aged 53] at Verneuil-sur-Avre, Eure, Haute Normandie.

On 13th November 1175 [his brother] Henry Capet Archbishop of Reims [aged 54] died.

On 16th August 1176 [his sister] Constance Capet Countess Boulogne and Toulouse [aged 48] died.

On 2nd March 1180 [his son-in-law] Emperor Alexios II Komnenos [aged 10] and Agnes Empress of Byzantine [aged 9] were married. She the daughter of Louis VII King of the Franks [aged 60] and Adèle Queen of the Franks. They were second cousin twice removed. She a great x 2 granddaughter of King William "Conqueror" I of England.

On 28th April 1180 King Philip II of France [aged 14] and Isabelle Flanders Queen Consort France [aged 10] were married. She by marriage Queen Consort of France. She the daughter of Baldwin Flanders V Count Hainaut [aged 30] and Margaret Metz Countess Hainaut and Flanders. He the son of Louis VII King of the Franks [aged 60] and Adèle Queen of the Franks. They were half third cousins. He a great x 2 grandson of King William "Conqueror" I of England.

On 18th September 1180 Louis VII King of the Franks [aged 60] died in Paris [Map]. His son Philip [aged 15] succeeded II King France: Capet.