Isabelle of Hainaut

Isabella of Hainaut (1170, at Lille - 1190), was the daughter of Baldwin V, Count of Hainaut and Countess Margaret I of Flanders. She married King Philip II of France in 1180 and brought as her dowry the province of Artois. Isabella was crowned consort of France at St Denis on May 28, 1180. As Baldwin V claimed to be a descendant of Charlemagne, the chroniclers of the time saw in this marriage a union of the Carolingian and Capetian dynasties. Though she received extravagant praise from certain annalists, she failed to win the affections of Philip, who, in 1184, waging war against Flanders, was angered at seeing Baldwin support his enemies, and called a council at Sens for the purpose of repudiating her. Robert, the king’s uncle, successfully interposed. Isabella died in childbirth in 1190, and was buried in the church of Notre Dame in Paris. Her son became Louis VIII of France.

This article incorporates text from the public domain 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica.