Death of Isabella of Hainault
Isabella of Hainault was the first child of Baldwin V, Count of Hainault and Margaret of Flanders.
Isabella was born on the 5th April 1170 in Valenciennes.
On 28th April 1180, ten year old Isabella married the 15 year old new King of France, Philip II.
The young couple then went on to Paris, where they were both crowned on 29th May 1180.
The first four years of Isabella’s marriage was not easy.
Philip’s mother Adele, was not happy about their union, and let Isabella know at every opportunity.
In 1184, Philip announced that he planned on divorcing Isabella, because she could not produce an heir.
Isabella was still only fourteen at this time, and it is unclear if the marriage had already been consummated.
However, Isabella was not going let a divorce happen.
In the hope that Philip would keep her, she made an impressive move that would turn her into a popular queen.
Barefoot and dressed only in her shift, she took to the streets and walked from church to church, weeping and praying at the altars.
She carried a candle and distributed alms to the poor and lepers.
This action made her very popular, and she gained the sympathy of the people.
In late 1185/early1186, Isabella gave birth to a daughter who was either stillborn, or died soon after birth.
Soon after this tragedy, she suffered another miscarriage.
In 1187, she was pregnant again.
This time she had better luck.
On 3rd September 1187, she gave birth to the longed-for son, who was named Louis.
All of Paris rejoiced at his birth.
A solar eclipse happened the day after, and it was seen as a good omen.
Isabella was now secure in her position as queen.
She was now valued by her husband, and the French people loved her.
Tragically, Isabella’s life was cut short.
On 14th March 1190, she gave birth to twin boys named Robert and Philip.
Robert died within a few hours, and Isabella passed away the following day, on 15th March.
Little Philip died two days after his mother.
Isabella, not yet twenty, was buried with her twin sons and stillborn daughter, in the Cathedral of Notre Dame, Paris.
In 1858, the choir of Notre Dame was excavated, and Isabella’s tomb was identified by her seal.
Measurements of her remains suggested that she stood 5’8″ to 5’9″ tall, an exceptional height.
In an age where people were typically shorter, she would have been taller than many men.
It was during this exhumation that a silver seal was discovered in the queen’s coffin.
Little used during her lifetime, it is one of the few medieval seals with a royal connection to survive from the Middle Ages, and now lives in The British Museum.
Isabella had been a popular queen, and she was mourned greatly by the people.
Despite trying to divorce her, Philip never forgot her.
He continually gave donations to Notre Dame, in her memory.
? Isabella’s seal from her coffin, showing her as queen, holding a sceptre and fleur-de-lis.
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