Everything about The House Of Courtenay totally explained
The
House of Courtenay was an important dynasty in
medieval France originating from the castle of
Courtenay in the
Gâtinais (
Loiret), going back to the 10th century. The dynasty descended from Athon, the first lord of Courtenay, apparently himself a descendant of the Counts of Sens and from
Pharamond, reputed founder of the French monarchy in 420. Athon took advantage of the succession crisis in the
Duchy of Burgundy between
Otto-William, Duke of Burgundy and
Robert II of France to capture a piece of land for himself, where he established his own seigneury, taking his surname from the town he founded and fortified.
The Courtenay family was divided into two branches in the
12th century. The elder branch continued to rule Courtenay, but became extinct around
1150 with the death of Renaud de Courtenay. It was inherited by
Peter, son of
Louis VI of France, through his marriage to the heiress Elizabeth, and continued as the
Capetian branch. This branch also acquired through marriage the
County of Namur and the
Latin Empire of
Constantinople. The Capetian branch became extinct in
1730.
The cadet branch participated in the
crusades and came to rule the
County of Edessa, a
Crusader state; it became extinct around
1200.
In the mid-
12th century a branch of the pre-Capetian family settled in
England, obtained the barony of
Okehampton and inherited the title of
Earls of Devon (in 1293) from the de Redvers family (see
Baldwin de Redvers). The title was subsequently recreated for Hugh de Courtenay, nephew of
Hugh the elder Despenser. Currently the head of this family is
Hugh Courtenay, 18th Earl of Devon.
Disputed title
Their male-line descent from
Louis VI of France induced the impoverished 17th-century members of the Courtenay family to seek to be acknowledged as "
princes du sang" (Princes of the Blood Royal) and "cousins to the king", two titles normally reserved for the members of the royal family and prized for the seats at the
Royal Council and the
Parliament of Paris that it conferred upon its owners.
Three kings in a row -
Henri IV,
Louis XIII, and
Louis XIV - turned down their petitions. That the Bourbon monarchs confined the French royalty to the descendants of
Louis IX is evidenced by the
Treaty of Montmartre (1662) which named the non-Capetian
House of Lorraine as the next in line to the French throne after the
Bourbons, thus bypassing the Courtenay, a Capetian family. Although the Courtenays protested this clause, their claims to the princely title were never acknowledged by the Paris Court of Accounts.
The last male member of the French Courtenays committed suicide in 1727, but his sister married the
Marquis de Bauffremont, and her descendants assumed the dubious title of Prince de Courtenay, which they bear to this day.
Genealogy
