Catherine of Alençon

Catherine of Alençon
Duchess of Bavaria
Born	before 1396
Died	22 June 1462 Paris
Noble family	House of Valois-Alençon
Spouse(s)	Peter of Évreux Louis VII, Duke of Bavaria
Issue	John of Bavaria unnamed daughter
Father	Peter II of Alençon
Mother	Marie Chamaillart, Viscountess of Beaumont-au-Maine

Catherine d'Alençon (born before 1396 – 22 June 1462 in Paris) was a younger daughter of Peter II of Alençon and his wife Marie Chamaillart, Viscountess of Beaumont-au-Maine. Catherine was the second wife of Louis VII, Duke of Bavaria. Catherine was also maid of honour to Louis' sister, Isabeau of Bavaria.

Life

Catherine came from a branch of the French royal family, House of Valois, her family were known as The House of Valois-Alençon. Her brother John I, Duke of Alençon was killed at the Battle of Agincourt against Henry V of England. Catherine married in 1411 to the 30-year-old Peter of Évreux, Count of Mortain. Peter was a brother of Charles III of Navarre. After only one year of marriage, Peter died, the marriage produced no children.

One year after Peter's death, Catherine was betrothed again to Louis VII, Duke of Bavaria, brother of Isabeau, Queen of France. The wedding, however, had to be postponed, as Catherine's future husband was taken prisoner. The wedding took place on Louis' release in early October 1413. Catherine's Dowry covered not only the county of Mortain, 60,000 francs but it also created connections between Bavaria and France.

Louis travelled in early 1415 as head of the French embassy to the Council of Constance. Catherine's husband gave the County of Mortain, from Catherine's dowry to John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy, to free his wife, during the Armagnac-Burgundian Civil War in 1417, she had been taken prisoner by Bernard VII of Armagnac and did not care for their financial supply.

Catherine lost all of their income by Henry V's successful invasion. Henry took the county of Mortain and occupied their heritages in Normandy. Even precious utensils, documents and account books were taken by the English. Help finally came not from her husband, but from the English king, who made an agreement with the French King, the Treaty of Troyes, which gave Catherine 2000 francs per year as compensation for her losses. In 1421 Catherine even travelled to England, as lady-in-waiting to the wife of the King Henry, Catherine of Valois, who was Catherine's niece. Catherine even assisted in the birth of their child, Henry VI of England.

Catherine's second husband, Louis VII, Duke of Bavaria, died on 1 May 1447 at Burghausen.

Catherine joined the household of her sister-in-law, Isabeau. Catherine died 1462 in Paris and was buried in the Abbey of Sainte-Geneviève. She is now buried next to her first husband, Peter.

Children

Louis and Catherine had two children:

• John of Bavaria (b. 6 February 1415), died young
• unnamed daughter, died young

Catherine left no surviving children.

Ancestry

Family of Catherine of Alençon

Philip III of France Charles of Valois Isabella of Aragon Charles II of Alençon Charles II of Naples Marguerite of Anjou and Maine Maria of Hungary (1257-1323) Peter II of Alençon Ferdinand de la Cerda, Infante of Castile Fernando de La Cerda Blanche of France Maria de La Cerda y Lara Juan II Nunez de Lara Juana Núñez de Lara Teresa Diaz de Haro, Senora de Albarracin Catherine of Alençon Guillaume Chamaillart Jean Chamaillart Eremburge Guillaume Chamaillart, Viscount of Beaumont-Brienne Hamelin IV, Seigneur d'Athenais Emmanuelle, Dame d'Athenais Juliane Marie Chamaillart, Viscountess of Beaumont-au-Maine Robert de Brienne, Viscount of Beaumont Jean II de Brienne, Viscount of Beaumont Marie de Craon, Dame de Chatelais Marie de Beaumont, Dame de Beaumont-le-Vicomte Jean III d'Harcourt Isabeau d'Harcourt Alix de Brabant

Literature

• Claudia Märtl: Frankreich. Herzog Ludwig VII. von Bayern-Ingolstadt (1368–1447) und seine Schwester Isabeau am französischen Königshof. In: Alois Schmid, Katharina Weigand (eds.): Bayern mitten in Europa. Vom Frühmittelalter bis ins 20. Jahrhundert. C. H. Beck, Munich 2005, ISBN 3-406-52898-8, P. 107-120, especially p. 116-117.
• Beatrix Schönewald: Die Herzoginnen von Bayern-Ingolstadt. In: Sammelblatt des Historischen Vereins Ingolstadt. Volume 113, 2004, p. 35-54, especially p. 48-52.
• Theodor Straub: Bayern im Zeichen der Teilungen und Teilherzogtümer. In: Max Spindler, Andreas Kraus (eds.): Handbuch der bayerischen Geschichte. 2nd edition. Vol. 2, C. H. Beck, Munich 1988, ISBN 3-406-32320-0, p. 196-287, especially p. 245.
• Theodor Straub: Die fünf Ingolstädter Herzoginnen. In: Bayern-Ingolstadt, Bayern-Landshut. 1392–1506. Glanz und Elend einer Teilung. Stadtarchiv Ingolstadt 1992, ISBN 3-932113-06-3, P. 43-50, especially p. 47-49.