Margaret of Baux

Margaret of Baux (French: Marguerite des Baux, Italian: Margherita del Balzo; 1394 – 15 November 1469) was a Countess of Saint-Pol, of Brienne, and of Conversano. She was a member of the noble House of Baux of the Kingdom of Naples, which had its origins in Provence dating back to the 11th century. Her husband was Peter of Luxembourg, Count of Saint-Pol, of Brienne, and of Conversano (1390 – 31 August 1433). Margaret's descendants include English Queen Consort Elizabeth Woodville, King Henry IV of France, Mary, Queen of Scots, and all English monarchs after 1509.

Family

Margaret was born in 1394, the daughter of Francis of Baux (1330 – 23 April 1422) by his third wife Sveva Orsini (1360 – c.1430), a descendant of Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester and Eleanor of England (daughter of King John of England).

Her paternal grandparents were Bertrand III of Baux, Count of Andria and Squillace, and Marguerite d'Aulnay, and her maternal grandparents were Nicola Orsini, Count of Nola, Senator of Rome (27 August 1331 – 14 February 1399), and Jeanne de Sabran.

List of siblings

Margaret had two brothers by her father's third marriage to her mother, Sueva Orsini:

• William of Baux (Guglielmo del Balzo), Duke of Andria, married Maria Brunforte, by whom he had issue.
• Bianchino of Baux (Bianchino del Balzo), was the father of Tesco del Balzo, Governor of Pisa, and chief of the Milanese army. He married Laura Rho, by whom he had issue.

She had two half-siblings from her father's second marriage to Margaret of Taranto:

• James of Baux (Jacopo del Balzo), Prince of Taranto and Prince of Achaea, Despot of Romania, Lord of Albania and Corfu, Titular Latin Emperor of Constantinople (1353–1384), married Agnes of Naples. The marriage was childless, but he had two illegitimate daughters by an unknown mistress.
• Antonia of Baux, Queen consort of Sicily (died 1374), in 1372, married King Frederick III the Simple. The two had no issue.

• ^ Douglas Richardson. Plantagenet Ancestry: Plantagenet Ancestry: A Study In Colonial And Medieval Families, 2nd Edition, 2011. pg 401.

Marriage and issue

On 8 May 1405, Margaret married Peter of Luxembourg, Count of Saint-Pol, of Brienne, and of Conversano (1390 – 31 August 1433), the eldest son of John of Luxembourg, Lord of Beauvoir and Marguerite of Enghien, Countess of Brienne and of Conversano, Heiress of Enghien. Peter inherited his mother's fiefs, which included the counties of Brienne and Conversano. He succeeded his aunt Jeanne of Luxembourg, Countess of Saint-Pol and Ligny, as Count of Saint-Pol in 1430. His younger brother John II of Luxembourg, Count of Ligny, an ally of the English during the Hundred Years War, received Joan of Arc as his prisoner, and subsequently sold her to the English, for 10,000 livres.

Peter and Margaret had nine children:

• Louis of Luxembourg, Count of Saint-Pol, de Brienne, de Ligny, and Conversano, Constable of France (1418 – 19 December 1475), married firstly, in 1435, Jeanne de Bar, Countess of Marle and Soissons (1415 – 14 May 1462), by whom he had issue, and from whom descended King Henry IV of France and Mary, Queen of Scots. He married secondly, Marie of Savoy (20 March 1448 – 1475), by whom he had further issue. He was beheaded in Paris in 1475 for treason against King Louis XI.
• Jacquetta of Luxembourg (1415/1416 – 30 May 1472), married firstly in 1433, John, Duke of Bedford, and secondly, in secret, c.1436, Richard Woodville, 1st Earl Rivers, by whom she had 16 children, including Elizabeth Woodville, queen consort of King Edward IV of England. Every English monarch after King Henry VII of England descends from Jacquetta's granddaughter, Elizabeth of York, queen consort of England.
• Thibaud of Luxembourg, Seigneur de Fiennes, Count of Brienne, Bishop of Le Mans, (died 1 September 1477), married Philippa de Melun, by whom he had issue.
• Jacques of Luxembourg, Seigneur de Richebourg (died 1487), married Isabelle de Roubaix, by whom he had issue.
• Valeran of Luxembourg, died young.
• Jean of Luxembourg, died in Africa.
• Catherine of Luxembourg (died 1492), married Arthur III, Duke of Brittany (24 August 1393 – 26 December 1438).
• Isabelle of Luxembourg, Countess of Guise (died 1472), married in 1443, Charles, Count of Maine (1414–1472), by whom she had a daughter, Louise (1445–1477), who in turn married Jacques d'Armagnac, Duke of Nemours, by whom she had six children.

Margaret died on 15 November 1469 at the age of 75 and was buried in Cercamp Abbey, Frévent, Pas-de-Calais. Her husband Peter had died of plague in 1433.

Ancestry