Agnes (French: Agnès, Spanish: Inés; c.1105–c.1159)[1] was the daughterof William IX, Duke of Aquitaine, and Philippa, Countess of Toulouse. Herfirst marriage, around 1117, was to Aimery V, Viscount of Thouars, whomshe bore three sons. After his death she married a second time in 1135 tothe childless Ramiro II, King of Aragon, a former monk. She bore him anheiress and in 1137 she retired to the Abbey of Fontevraud, from whereshe continued to take part in the affairs of her sons until her death.
Agnes was the namesake of her aunt Agnes, queen of King Peter I of Aragonand Navarre. She was also the aunt of Eleanor of Aquitaine and Petronillaof Aquitaine.
Agnes married Aimery, the viscount of Thouars, some time prior to 9January 1117, when the couple confirmed the possessions of the abbey ofSaint-Laon de Thouars.[2] Before Aimery''s death in 1127, Agnes bore himthree sons:[3]
William I (died 1151), succeeded his father[1]
Guy (died c. 1149), lord of Oiron[1]
Geoffrey IV (died 1173), succeeded William[1]
On 13 November 1135 in the cathedral of Jaca, the ancient capital of theKingdom of Aragon, Agnes married Ramiro, a monk who had resigned thebishopric of Roda in order to assume the crown.[3] The anonymouscontemporary author of the Chronica Adefonsi imperatoris attributes theinitiative in Ramiro''s marriage to the Aragonese:
They elected Alfonso''s brother King. This man was a monk, and his namewas Ramiro. They gave him the sister of the Count of Poitiers for a wife.Even though this was a great sin, the Aragonese did it, for they had losttheir king and hoped that there would be an offspring from the royalfamily. . . King Ramiro went to his wife, and she conceived and gavebirth to a daughter. . . He transferred the kingdom to his daughter andacknowledged his sins. He then did penance.[4]
In a document from the same month as his marriage, Ramiro declares thathe "took a wife not out of carnal lust, but for the restoration of theblood and the lineage" (uxorem quoque non carnis libidine, set sanguinisac proienici restauratione duxi).[1] Later medieval and early modernhistorians, embarrassed by the disregard for canon law, inventedexplanations to reconcile the marriage of a bishop with what was currentin their own day. The fourteenth-century Chronicle of San Juan de la Peñarecords that messengers were sent to the Pope to obtain the properdispensation.[1] The Aragonese translation of the same chronicle placesRamiro''s religious status in doubt ("some chronicles say that he was notin holy orders", algunas cronónicas dizen que no era en sacresórdenes).[1] At the Second Lateran Council in 1139, the church, perhapsinfluenced by the case of Ramiro and Agnes, declared the marriages ofclerics to be null and void. Prior to this, they were legitimate, butillegal, marriages.[1]
Agnes'' young age (approximately thirty) proven fertility in her priormarriage were probably the main reasons the Aragonese sought her out.[5]Agnes'' brother, Duke William X was also one of the few regionalsupporters of Antipope Anacletus II, who, as the weaker claimant, mightbe persuaded to support Ramiro''s irregular (and uncanonical)accession.[3]
The first known royal diploma in which Agnes appears as queen is anoriginal dated 29 January 1136.[3] By August Agnes had born a daughter,Petronilla. Her brother, Duke William, went on a pilgrimage to Santiagode Compostela and died there on 3 April 1137. It was probably during hispassage through Spain that his consent to the proposed marriage of theinfant Petronilla was obtained.[6] In a series of acts between 11 Augustand 13 November 1137 Ramiro betrothed his daughter to the powerful CountRaymond Berengar IV of Barcelona, made his subjects swear an oath ofallegiance to the count and then handed over the royal power toRaymond.[6] The transfer of power done, Ramiro returned to religious lifeand Agnes retired to the Abbey of Fontevraud, where her mother had lived.She died there around 1159.[7]
Agnes was the namesake of her aunt Agnes, queen of King Peter I of Aragonand Navarre. She was also the aunt of Eleanor of Aquitaine and Petronillaof Aquitaine.
Agnes married Aimery, the viscount of Thouars, some time prior to 9January 1117, when the couple confirmed the possessions of the abbey ofSaint-Laon de Thouars.[2] Before Aimery''s death in 1127, Agnes bore himthree sons:[3]
William I (died 1151), succeeded his father[1]
Guy (died c. 1149), lord of Oiron[1]
Geoffrey IV (died 1173), succeeded William[1]
On 13 November 1135 in the cathedral of Jaca, the ancient capital of theKingdom of Aragon, Agnes married Ramiro, a monk who had resigned thebishopric of Roda in order to assume the crown.[3] The anonymouscontemporary author of the Chronica Adefonsi imperatoris attributes theinitiative in Ramiro''s marriage to the Aragonese:
They elected Alfonso''s brother King. This man was a monk, and his namewas Ramiro. They gave him the sister of the Count of Poitiers for a wife.Even though this was a great sin, the Aragonese did it, for they had losttheir king and hoped that there would be an offspring from the royalfamily. . . King Ramiro went to his wife, and she conceived and gavebirth to a daughter. . . He transferred the kingdom to his daughter andacknowledged his sins. He then did penance.[4]
In a document from the same month as his marriage, Ramiro declares thathe "took a wife not out of carnal lust, but for the restoration of theblood and the lineage" (uxorem quoque non carnis libidine, set sanguinisac proienici restauratione duxi).[1] Later medieval and early modernhistorians, embarrassed by the disregard for canon law, inventedexplanations to reconcile the marriage of a bishop with what was currentin their own day. The fourteenth-century Chronicle of San Juan de la Peñarecords that messengers were sent to the Pope to obtain the properdispensation.[1] The Aragonese translation of the same chronicle placesRamiro''s religious status in doubt ("some chronicles say that he was notin holy orders", algunas cronónicas dizen que no era en sacresórdenes).[1] At the Second Lateran Council in 1139, the church, perhapsinfluenced by the case of Ramiro and Agnes, declared the marriages ofclerics to be null and void. Prior to this, they were legitimate, butillegal, marriages.[1]
Agnes'' young age (approximately thirty) proven fertility in her priormarriage were probably the main reasons the Aragonese sought her out.[5]Agnes'' brother, Duke William X was also one of the few regionalsupporters of Antipope Anacletus II, who, as the weaker claimant, mightbe persuaded to support Ramiro''s irregular (and uncanonical)accession.[3]
The first known royal diploma in which Agnes appears as queen is anoriginal dated 29 January 1136.[3] By August Agnes had born a daughter,Petronilla. Her brother, Duke William, went on a pilgrimage to Santiagode Compostela and died there on 3 April 1137. It was probably during hispassage through Spain that his consent to the proposed marriage of theinfant Petronilla was obtained.[6] In a series of acts between 11 Augustand 13 November 1137 Ramiro betrothed his daughter to the powerful CountRaymond Berengar IV of Barcelona, made his subjects swear an oath ofallegiance to the count and then handed over the royal power toRaymond.[6] The transfer of power done, Ramiro returned to religious lifeand Agnes retired to the Abbey of Fontevraud, where her mother had lived.She died there around 1159.[7]
- ABT 1105 - Birth -
- ABT 1159 - Death -
PARENT (M) William IX, Duke of Aquitaine | |||
Birth | |||
Death | |||
Marriage | mistress | to Dangereuse de L'' Isle Bouchard | |
Marriage | to Philippa, Countess of Toulouse | ||
Father | William VIII, Duke of Aquitaine | ||
Mother | Hildegarde of Burgundy | ||
PARENT (F) Philippa, Countess of Toulouse | |||
Birth | |||
Death | |||
Marriage | to William IX, Duke of Aquitaine | ||
Father | William IV, Count of Toulouse | ||
Mother | Emma of Mortain | ||
CHILDREN | |||
M | William X, Duke of Aquitaine | ||
Birth | |||
Death | |||
Marriage | to Aenor de Châtellerault | ||
F | Agnes of Aquitaine, Queen of Aragon | ||
Birth | ABT 1105 | ||
Death | ABT 1159 | ||
Marriage | 13 NOV 1135 | to Ramiro II of Aragon at cathedral of Jaca | |
Marriage | BEF 9 JAN 1117 | to Aimery V of Thouars |
PARENT (M) Ramiro II of Aragon | |||
Birth | |||
Death | |||
Marriage | 13 NOV 1135 | to Agnes of Aquitaine, Queen of Aragon at cathedral of Jaca | |
Father | Sancho RamÃrez | ||
Mother | Felicia of Roucy | ||
PARENT (F) Agnes of Aquitaine, Queen of Aragon | |||
Birth | ABT 1105 | ||
Death | ABT 1159 | ||
Marriage | 13 NOV 1135 | to Ramiro II of Aragon at cathedral of Jaca | |
Marriage | BEF 9 JAN 1117 | to Aimery V of Thouars | |
Father | William IX, Duke of Aquitaine | ||
Mother | Philippa, Countess of Toulouse | ||
CHILDREN | |||
F | Petronilla of Aragon | ||
Birth | |||
Death | |||
Marriage | to Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Barcelona |
PARENT (M) Aimery V of Thouars | |||
Birth | |||
Death | 1127 | ||
Marriage | BEF 9 JAN 1117 | to Agnes of Aquitaine, Queen of Aragon | |
Father | ? | ||
Mother | ? | ||
PARENT (F) Agnes of Aquitaine, Queen of Aragon | |||
Birth | ABT 1105 | ||
Death | ABT 1159 | ||
Marriage | 13 NOV 1135 | to Ramiro II of Aragon at cathedral of Jaca | |
Marriage | BEF 9 JAN 1117 | to Aimery V of Thouars | |
Father | William IX, Duke of Aquitaine | ||
Mother | Philippa, Countess of Toulouse | ||
CHILDREN |
1 Agnes of Aquitaine, Queen of Aragon b: ABT 1105 d: ABT 1159
3 Alfonso II of Aragon b: MAR 1157 d: 25 APR 1196
4 Alfonso II, Count of Provence b: 1174 d: 1 DEC 1209
+ Edward III b: 13 NOV 1312 d: 21 JUN 1377
+ Henry III b: 1 OCT 1207 d: 16 NOV 1272
7 Edward I b: 17 JUN 1239 d: 7 JUL 1307
+ Eleanor of Castile b: ABT 1245 d: 1290
8 Edward II b: 25 APR 1284 d: 21 SEP 1327
9 Edward III b: 13 NOV 1312 d: 21 JUN 1377
10 John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster b: 6 MAR 1340 d: 3 FEB 1399
+ Blanche
+ Edward III b: 13 NOV 1312 d: 21 JUN 1377
+ Edward II b: 25 APR 1284 d: 21 SEP 1327
10 Edward III b: 13 NOV 1312 d: 21 JUN 1377
+ Marie of Brabant, Queen of France b: 13 MAY 1254 d: 12 JAN 1321
+ Edward I b: 17 JUN 1239 d: 7 JUL 1307
+ Edward III b: 13 NOV 1312 d: 21 JUN 1377
10 John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster b: 6 MAR 1340 d: 3 FEB 1399
+ Blanche
+ Edward II b: 25 APR 1284 d: 21 SEP 1327
9 Edward III b: 13 NOV 1312 d: 21 JUN 1377
10 John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster b: 6 MAR 1340 d: 3 FEB 1399
+ Blanche
+ Aimery V of Thouars d: 1127