by Mayv 'SpearBourne' Amaia

Created on: September 05, 2009   Last Updated: April 27, 2012

Isabella, Countess of Angouleme, was the second wife and queen-consort of John "Lackland," King of England.

Born in or about the year 1188, she was the only daughter and heiress of Aymer Taillefer, Count of Angouleme, and Alix de Courtenay. Aymer's parents were William IV of Angouleme, whose territories were split among his three sons and subsequent male heirs, and Marguerite de Turenne. Alix de Courtenay's father was Pierre de Courtenay, himself a son of King Louis VI of France, and her mother was Elizabeth de Courtenay.

Like many queens-consort of mediaeval England, not much is known of Isabella's childhood. She was, however, renowned for her beauty, leading some historians to liken her to Helen of Troy.

In 1202, she inherited her father's title and became Countess of Angouleme in her own right. By the age of twelve, she had already been betrothed to Hugh IX, Count of Lusignan, son of the then-Count of La Marche. Their wedding was delayed due to her young age.

At about this same time, King John of England had his childless marriage to Isabel of Gloucester annulled on grounds of consanguinity as they were second cousins and both descendants of King Henry I.

John kidnapped Isabella of Angouleme, twenty years his junior, and they married at Bordeaux on 24 August 1200. John was reportedly so enamored of his young bride that he refused to rise from bed until well after noon. The affront greatly angered the Lusignan family, who petitioned Philip II, King of France, to summon King John to answer charges concerning the kidnapping of Hugh IX's fiancee, as well as other charges concerning John's failure of service to Philip. Philip was John's feudal overlord with respect to some territories within France.

When John refused to answer this summons, those lands were confiscated. The French invaded Normandy and Philip invested all of John's French fiefs, save Normandy, with Arthur, the son of John's brother Geoffrey, Duke of Brittany. In the War of Bouvines that ensued, most of Normandy, Aquitaine, and the Angevin lands were conquered. The decisive victory of Philip II in 1214 at Bouvines, France, over forces led by Otto IV, Holy Roman Emperor, and Count Ferrand of Flanders, brought order to Western European politics. England was so weakened, however, that King John had to acquiesce to the demands his barons placed on him and signed the Magna Carta, which established common law and secured the rights of men.

As for John and Isabella's marriage, the vast difference in their ages

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