Isabella, Countess of Vertus

Isabella
suo jure Countess of Vertus
Family tree of Isabella; her parents and siblings are depicted alongside her
Born	1 October 1348 Château de Bois de Vincennes, France
Died	11 September 1373 (aged 24) Pavia
Spouse	Gian Galeazzo Visconti
Issue	Gian Galeazzo Visconti Azzone Visconti Valentina, Duchess of Orléans Carlo Visconti
House	Valois
Father	John II of France
Mother	Bonne of Bohemia

Isabella of France (Château de Bois de Vincennes, 1 October 1348 – Pavia, 11 September 1373) was a French princess and member of the House of Valois, as well as the wife of Gian Galeazzo Visconti, Lord of Milan, although she died before her husband's accession).

She was the youngest daughter of King John II of France by his first wife Bonne of Bohemia.^[1] Her full-siblings are: Blanche of France (died young), Charles V of France, Catherine of France (died young), Louis I of Naples, John, Duke of Berry, Philip II, Duke of Burgundy, Jeanne, Queen of Navarre, Marie, Duchess of Bar, Agnes of France (died young) and Marguerite of France (died young). She had three youngest half-siblings from her father's second marriage with Joan I, Countess of Auvergne: Blanche of France (died young), Catherine of France (died young) and an unnamed son (died young).

Her maternal grandparents were John of Luxembourg and Elizabeth of Bohemia. Her paternal grandparents were Philip VI of France and Joan the Lame.

Life

Her maternal uncle Count Amadeus VI of Savoy arranged her marriage with Gian Galeazzo Visconti. As her dowry, Isabella received the county of Sommières, exchanged later for the county of Vertus. On 8 October 1360, Isabella and Gian Galeazzo were married in Milan, and six months later, in April 1361, she was declared sovereign Countess of Vertus. The couple had four children:^[2]

• Gian Galeazzo (b. Pavia, 4 March 1366 – d. bef. 1376).
• Azzone (b. Pavia, 1368 – d. Pavia, 4 October 1381).
• Valentina (b. Pavia, 1371 – d. Château de Blois, Loir-et-Cher, 14 December 1408), married on 17 August 1389 to Louis, Duke of Orleans
• Carlo (b. Pavia, 11 September 1373 – d. Pavia, 1374).

Isabella died in childbirth in 1373.^[1][3]

Family tree of Isabella of Vertus

Ancestors of Isabella, Countess of Vertus

16. Philip III of France               8. Charles of Valois                       17. Isabella of Aragon               4. Philip VI of France                             18. Charles II of Naples               9. Marguerite of Anjou and Maine                       19. Maria Arpad of Hungary               2. John II of France                                   20. Hugh IV, Duke of Burgundy               10. Robert II, Duke of Burgundy                       21. Yolande of Dreux               5. Joan the Lame                             22. Louis IX of France               11. Agnes of France, Duchess of Burgundy                       23. Marguerite of Provence               1. Isabelle of Valois                                         24. Henry VI of Luxembourg               12. Henry VII, Holy Roman Emperor                       25. Beatrice d'Avesnes               6. John I of Bohemia                             26. John I, Duke of Brabant               13. Margaret of Brabant                       27. Margaret III, Countess of Flanders               3. Bonne of Bohemia                                   28. Ottokar II of Bohemia               14. Wenceslaus II of Bohemia                       29. Kunigunda of Slavonia               7. Elisabeth of Bohemia (1292–1330)                             31. Rudolph I of Germany               15. Judith of Habsburg                       32. Gertrude of Hohenburg

References

1. Lundy, Darryl. "The Peerage: Isabel de Valois". Retrieved 28 September 2009.
2. Galeazzo Gian Galeazzo in: Storiadimilano.it [retrieved 12 September 2014].
3. Cawley, Charles, CAPET, Foundation for Medieval Genealogy, retrieved August 2012,