Ralph I of Vermandois
French noble and Count
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ralph I (French: Raoul Ier) (d. 14 October 1152) was the count of Vermandois from 1102 to 1152. He was a son of Count Hugh and Countess Adelaide.[1] Ralph was a grandson of King Henry I of France on his father's side and of Herbert IV of Vermandois on his mother's.
| Ralph I | |
|---|---|
Image of Ralph taken from his seal | |
| Count of Vermandois and Valois | |
| Reign | 1102–1152 |
| Predecessor | Adelaide and Hugh I |
| Successor | Ralph II |
| Died | 14 October 1152 |
| Spouses |
|
| Issue | |
| House | Capet |
| Father | Hugh I |
| Mother | Adelaide |
Ralph served as the seneschal of France during the reign of his cousin King Louis VI.[2] Under pressure from the queen, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Louis allowed Ralph to repudiate his wife, Eleanor, sister of Count Theobald II of Champagne, in favor of the queen's sister, Petronilla.[3] This led to a war with Theobald, which lasted two years (1142–44) and ended with the occupation of Champagne by the royal army.
Ralph and Petronilla were excommunicated by Pope Innocent II for a marriage deemed illegitimate, overriding three bishops who had already annulled Ralph's prior marriage.[3] With Eleanor's death in 1147, the following year Pope Eugene III, legitimized the marriage at the Council of Reims.[4]
Family and children
Ralph was married three times:
1. in 1125 to Eleanor, daughter of Stephen, Count of Blois. Their marriage ended in divorce in 1140[3] and she died in 1147.
2. in 1140 to Petronilla of Aquitaine;[3] they had three children, each of whom would eventually marry a child of Count Thierry of Flanders:
- Elizabeth (or Isabelle) Mabile, countess of Vermandois and Valois (1143–1183), married Philip I, Count of Flanders; no issue.[5]
- Ralph II, count of Vermandois and Valois (1145–1167),[6] was the first husband of Margaret of Lorraine, who later became suo jure countess of Flanders. He died of leprosy in 1167 without issue.
- Eleanor, countess of Vermandois and Valois (b. 1148? – d. 1213/1214).[7] She married four times as follows, but had no issue:
- 1. Godfrey of Hainaut, Count of Ostervant (d. 1163).[8]
- 2. before 1167 William IV, Count of Nevers.[9]
- 3. ca 1170 Matthew of Alsace.[9]
- 4. ca 1175 Count Matthew III of Beaumont-sur-Oise.[10]
3. in 1152 with Laurette of Flanders,[11] daughter of Thierry, Count of Flanders and Swanhilde. They had no children.