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From: Douglas Richardson <>
Subject: Re: Children of Isabel of England (Died 1241), Wife of Emperor Frederick II
Date: Wed, 23 Jan 2008 12:11:49 -0800 (PST)
References: <mailman.2351.1200882265.4586.gen-medieval@rootsweb.com> <35bd6501-2a3c-4677-b67a-7b9c2735371d@s13g2000prd.googlegroups.com> <5vVkj.14$d85.84@eagle.america.net><9f285055-6952-450e-92ff-5972c1ca9949@d21g2000prg.googlegroups.com><ca92f78a-1170-4b1d-a8a8-f395d17361f4@e23g2000prf.googlegroups.com> <4863ded6-9c06-4540-8dd9-99fcc3b40235@c23g2000hsa.googlegroups.com> <uCvlj.85269$wD5.26225@newsfe3-gui.ntli.net><8cbf5fb2-147f-442a-937b-4a45160802f0@m34g2000hsb.googlegroups.com><fTvlj.78489$KC3.30757@newsfe6-gui.ntli.net><156936e1-814f-453a-8edb-b17746611970@i29g2000prf.googlegroups.com><wNClj.17131$g%2.12220@newsfe4-gui.ntli.net><49f873ad-195c-459d-ab88-5266985ec7b5@i72g2000hsd.googlegroups.com><36cb6aa4-ed7d-4e39-966f-7bd6106ea01e@s8g2000prg.googlegroups.com>


Dear Newsgroup ~

There is an interesting discussion of the children of Isabel of
England by Emperor Frederick II, as well as a discussion of the
question of the marriage of Emperor Frederick II and his mistress/
wife, Blanche/Bianca, in the following French source. Grande chronique
de Matthieu Paris by A. Huillard-Bréholles, 8 (1840): 491-499. This
material can be found at the following weblink:

http://books.google.com/books?id=ncYsAAAAMAAJ&pg=RA5-PA496&dq=Bianca+Agliano&lr=#PRA5-PA491,M1

The author includes a transcript of the letter of Emperor Frederick
II's son, Conrad, written in Feb. 1254 to King Henry III of England
following the death in Dec. 1253 of Conrad's half-brother, Heinrich
[notre très-chere frère], son of Isabel of England, and nephew to King
Henry III of England [votre neveu]. In the letter, Conrad
specifically states that Heinrich will live with us [... puisqu'il
vivra avec nous] in the person of our very dear sister [notre très-
chère soeur], Margaretha, who has survived Heinrich [qui lui survit],
and who is married to the Margrave of Meissen. Conrad adds that "nous
les trouvons resserrés, grâce á son heureuse fécondité, par les
héritiers venus d'elle."

In a footnote on page 494, the author assigns four children to Isabel
of England, namely Jordan, born at Ravenna in 1236, who died young;
Agnes, died in 1237, Margaretha, and Heinrich. No sources are given
to substantiate this list of children, although it agrees favorably
with the list published by Green. The author comments in the same
footnote that Margaretha can hardly have been more than 15 years old
at the time Conrad's letter was written, as Conrad speaks of her
fecundity (i.e., fruitfulness), implying that Margaretha was already a
mother. If Margaretha was 15, it would place her birth at about
1239. Whatever the case, Margaretha would surely not be the child of
Isabel of England born at Isabel's death in childbirth in Dec. 1241.
A birth in Dec. 1241 would make Marguerite at best 12 years old in
Feb. 1254, which would not be old enough to allow her to be a mother.

Matthew Parris says that Emperor Frederick II and his wife, Isabel of
England, had two sons, Heinrich and another son who he did not name.
Added to this, we know that Emperor Frederick II had a female daughter
born about Feb. 1237. Lastly, there was a child born in Dec. 1241, at
the time Isabel of England died in childbirth. This list doesn't
match Green or Huillard-Bréholles. If we accept Matthew Paris'
testimony of the births of two sons, this would appear to suggest that
Margaretha was the female child born in Feb. 1237. Other than that,
we know for certain that only two children, Heinrich and Margaretha,
survived Isabel of England.

Best always, Douglas Richardson, Salt Lake City, Utah





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