Peter II of Courtenay

Biography

Peter II was a son of Peter I of Courtenay (died 1183), a younger son of Louis VI of France and his second wife, Adélaide de Maurienne. His mother was Elisabeth de Courtenay, daughter of Renaud de Courtenay (died 1194) and Hawise du Donjon.

Peter first married Agnes I, via whom he obtained the three counties of Nevers, Auxerre, and Tonnerre. In 1193 he married secondly to Yolanda, a sister of Baldwin and Henry of Flanders, who were afterwards the first and second emperors of the Latin Empire of Constantinople. Peter accompanied his cousin, King Philip Augustus, on the third Crusade in 1190, returning to France in 1193. He fought (alongside his brother Robert) in the Albigensian Crusade in 1209 and 1211, when he took part in the siege of Lavaur. He was present at the Battle of Bouvines in 1214.

When his brother-in-law, the emperor Henry, died without issue in 1216, Peter was chosen as his successor, and with a small army he left his residence of château de Druyes in France to take possession of his throne. He was consecrated emperor at the Basilica of Saint Lawrence outside the Walls in Rome by Pope Honorius III on 9 April 1217. He then borrowed some ships from the Venetians, promising in return to conquer Durazzo for them, but he failed in this enterprise and sought to make his way to Constantinople by land. On the journey he was seized by the despot of Epirus, Theodore Komnenos Doukas, and, after an imprisonment, died, probably by foul means. Peter thus never governed his empire, which, however, was ruled for a time by his wife, Yolanda, who had succeeded in reaching Constantinople. Two of his sons, Robert and Baldwin, reigned in turn as emperors of the Latin Empire of Constantinople.

In late 1217, Pope Honorius III still mentioned Emperer Peter as a prisoner. Giovanni Colonna, who was also imprisoned, was released by the despot in early 1218 after negotiations. However, Peter is no longer mentioned, which suggests his death.

Family

By his first wife Agnes I, Countess of Nevers he had:

• Matilda I, Countess of Nevers

By his second wife Yolanda of Flanders, of the House of Flanders he had:

• Philip II (1194 - 1226), Marquis of Namur, who declined the offer of the crown of the Latin Empire
• Margaret (1196 - 1258), Marchioness of Namur, who married first Raoul d'Issoudun and then Henry count of Vianden
• Elizabeth (1199 - 1269), who married Walter (Gaucher) count of Bar and then Eudes sire of Montagu
• Yolanda (1200 - 1233), who married Andrew II of Hungary
• Robert I (1201 - 1228), Latin Emperor
• Agnes (1202 - 1247), who married Geoffrey II Villehardouin, Prince of Achaea
• Constance (died after 1210)
• Marie (1204 - 1228), who married Theodore I Lascaris of the Empire of Nicaea
• Eleonore (1208 - 1230), who married Philip of Montfort, Lord of Tyre
• Sybil, nun at Fontevraud-l'Abbaye. She died in young age after 1223
• Peter, clergyman, died in young age
• Henry (1212 - 1229), Marquis of Namur
• Baldwin II (1217 - 1273), Latin Emperor

Armorial

File:Arms of the House of Courtenay (undifferencied arms).svg|Arms as Lord of Courtenay File:Arms of Pierre II de Courtenay as Count of Nevers, Auxerre, and Tonnerre.svg|Arms of Pierre II de Courtenay as Count of Nevers, Auxerre, and Tonnerre File:Arms of Courtenay-Constantinople.svg|Arms as Latin Emperor of Constantinople

References

Sources

References

1. (2008). "The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies". Oxford University Press.
2. Bouchet, Jean Du. (1661). "Histoire généalogique de la Maison royale de Courtenay... par M. du Bouchet,...". chez Jean Dupuis.