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Yolande de HainautEmpress of the Latin Empire, wife of Emperor Pierre de Courtenay.
Date of Birth: 01.01.1175
Country:  Dive |
Content:
- Yolanda of Flanders, Empress of the Latin Empire
- Marriage and Inheritance
- Regency and Rule as Empress
- Children
Yolanda of Flanders, Empress of the Latin Empire
Yolanda of Flanders was a powerful and influential figure in the Latin Empire. She was the wife of Emperor Pierre de Courtenay and the daughter of Count Baldwin V of Hainaut and Countess Margaret I of Flanders. Her brothers, Baldwin of Flanders and Henry of Hainaut, were both emperors of the Latin Empire.
Marriage and Inheritance
In 1193, Yolanda married Pierre II de Courtenay, Count of Nevers, Auxerre, and Tonnerre. In 1212, she inherited the Marquisate of Namur, which she later passed on to her eldest son, Philip, when she left for the East.
Regency and Rule as Empress
After the death of Henry in 1216, Yolanda's husband, Pierre, was offered the throne of Constantinople. After his coronation in Rome on April 9, 1217, Yolanda sailed east by sea, while Pierre traveled overland through the Balkans. Upon arriving in Constantinople in June 1217, she learned that her husband had been captured by the Despotate of Epirus. Yolanda became regent, ruling on behalf of Pierre. That same year, she gave birth to a son, the future Emperor Baldwin II. To secure the empire's position, she arranged marriages for her daughters in 1217: Agnes to Geoffrey I of Villehardouin, Prince of Achaea, and Maria to Theodore I Laskaris, Emperor of Nicaea.
From early 1219, when news of Pierre's death reached Constantinople, Yolanda ruled, most likely on behalf of her eldest son, Philip, until her own death in October 1219.
Children
Yolanda had ten children:Margaret de Courtenay (1194-1270)
Philip II de Courtenay (1195-1226), Marquis of Namur
Sibylla (1197-1210), nun
Elizabeth (1199-post 1269)
Yolanda de Courtenay (1200-1233)
Robert de Courtenay (1201-1228), Latin Emperor
Agnes de Courtenay (1202-post 1247)
Maria de Courtenay (1204-1228)
Henry II de Courtenay (1206-1229), Marquis of Namur
Eleanor (1208-1230)
Constance (1210-?), nun at Fontevraud
Baldwin II de Courtenay (1217-1273), Latin Emperor
