- Marie of Montpellier
Marie of Montpellier (adapted from
Occitan : Maria de Montpelhièr) (1182 –18 April 1213 ) was the daughter ofWilliam VIII of Montpellier andEudokia Komnene . A condition of the marriage was that the firstborn child, boy or girl, would succeed to the lordship ofMontpellier on William's death.Marie married Barral of Marseille in 1192 or shortly before, but was widowed in that year. Her second marriage, in 1197, was to
Bernard IV of Comminges , and her father now insisted on her giving up her right to inherit Montpellier. Marie had two daughters by Bernard, Mathilde and Petronille. The marriage was, however, notoriously polygamous, Bernard having two other living wives. It was annulled (some say on Marie's insistence, some say on that ofPeter II of Aragon ) and the annulment meant that she was once more heir to Montpellier.William had died in 1202. Marie's half-brother, William's son by Agnes of Castile, William, had taken control of the city, but Marie asserted her right to it. On
15 June 1204 she married Peter II and was recognised as Lady of Montpellier. Her son by Peter, James, the future James the Conqueror, was born on1 February 1208 . Peter immediately attempted to divorce her, hoping both to marryMaria of Montferrat , Queen of Jerusalem, and to claim Montpellier for himself. Marie's last years were spent in combating these political and matrimonial manoeuvres.Pope Innocent III finally decided in her favour, refusing to permit the divorce. Both Marie and Peter died in 1213; James inherited Aragon and Montpellier.ources
* Guillaume de Puylaurens, "Chronique 1145-1275" ed. and tr. Jean Duvernoy (Paris: CNRS, 1976) pp. 62-3.
* Sources in Catalan quoted in the Catalan WikipediaBibliography
* J. M. Lacarra, L. Gonzalez Anton, 'Les testaments de la reine Marie de Montpellier' in "Annales du Midi" vol. 90 (1978) pp. 105-120.
* M. Switten, 'Marie de Montpellier: la femme et le pouvoir en Occitanie au douzième siècle' in "Actes du Premier Congrès International de l'Association d'Etudes Occitanes" ed. P. T. Ricketts (London: Westfield College, 1987) pp. 485-491.
* K. Varzos, "I genealogia ton Komninon" (Thessalonica, 1984) vol. 2 pp. 346-359.succession box
before=William IX
title=Lady of Montpellier | years=1204–1213
after=James I
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.