Margaret I of Flanders

Did You Know?

• Margaret first married Count Ralph II of Vermandois in 1160; the marriage was childless due to his leprosy, and he died in 1167.
• She married Count Baldwin V of Hainaut in 1169.

Countship

Margaret claimed the county of Flanders in 1191 after her brother Count Philip I died childless, with support from her husband. The king of France, backed by Ghent, declared Flanders escheated to the crown due to the lack of male heirs, a dispute resolved by the Treaty of Arras through mediation of the archbishop of Reims. Unrest arose from the nobility, notably from her brother's widow Theresa of Portugal, whose extensive dower lands in coastal and southern Flanders provoked trouble through high taxation. Margaret's right to the county was acknowledged on 1 March 1192. As countess, she opposed foreign legal independence, preventing Hanse merchants in Bruges from obtaining a separate quarter and rights in Damme. She died on 15 November 1194, and her husband, who had been count jure uxoris, could not remain sole count; their son Baldwin IX succeeded her.

Issue

Margaret and Baldwin had eight children. Isabella of Hainault became the wife of Philip II of France. Their son Baldwin IX of Flanders, who lived from 1171 to 1205, was both count of Flanders and Latin Emperor. Yolanda, born in 1175 and died in 1219, married Peter of Courtenay, another Latin Emperor. Philip I of Namur, also born in 1175 and died in 1212, was Margrave of Namur and wed Marie of France. Henry of Flanders, born in 1176 and died in 1216, served as Latin emperor of Constantinople, marrying first Agnes of Montferrat and then Maria of Bulgaria. Sybille, who lived from 1179 to 1217, married Guichard IV, Sire de Beaujeu around 1197 and had a daughter named Agnes of Beaujeu. Eustace died in 1219, having acted as regent of the Kingdom of Thessalonica. Godfrey is also listed.