William of Champlitte
| William I | |
|---|---|
| Prince of Achaea | |
Coat of Arms of William of Champlitte | |
| Reign | 1205–1209 |
| Successor | Geoffrey I |
| Born | 1160s |
| Died | 1209 |
| Spouse | Alais of Meursault Elisabeth of Mount-Saint-Jean |
| House |
|
| Father | Odo I of Champlitte |
| Mother | Sybille |
William I of Champlitte (French: Guillaume de Champlitte) (1160s-1209) was a French knight who joined the Fourth Crusade and became the first prince of Achaea (1205–1209).[1][2][3]
Early years and the Fourth Crusade
William was the second son of Odo or Eudes I of Champlitte, viscount of Dijon.[3] He later married Elisabeth of Mount-Saint-Jean, but they divorced in 1199.
William was one of the crusader leaders who signed the letter written in April 1203 by Counts Baldwin IX of Flanders, Louis I of Blois and Chartres and Hugh IV of Saint Pol to Pope Innocent III after the occupation of Zara (now Zadar, Croatia).[4]
The imperial throne was given to Baldwin IX of Flanders on May 16, 1204.[5]
Foundation of the Principality of Achaea
Early in 1205 Geoffrey of Villehardouin, one of William of Champlitte's allies went to the camp of Boniface I of Thessalonica at Nauplia (now Nafplion, Greece).[6][7] He had earlier occupied some parts of Messenia.[6]
William in short time occupied Coron (now Koroni, Greece), Kalamata and Kyparissia.[8]
William became the Prince of Achaea during 1205.[9]
While traveling to France, his death occurred during 1208 in Apulia.[10][11]
See also
References
Sources
- Andrea, Alfred J. (2000). Contemporary Sources for the Fourth Crusade. Brill. ISBN 90-04-11740-7.
- Evergates, Theodore (2007). The Aristocracy in the County of Champagne, 1100-1300. University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 978-0-8122-4019-1.
- Fine, John V. A. Jr. (1994) [1987]. The Late Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Late Twelfth Century to the Ottoman Conquest. Ann Arbor, Michigan: University of Michigan Press. ISBN 978-0-472-10079-8.
- Longnon, Jean (1969) [1962]. "The Frankish States in Greece, 1204–1311". In Setton, Kenneth M.; Wolff, Robert Lee; Hazard, Harry W. (eds.). A History of the Crusades, Volume II: The Later Crusades, 1189–1311. Vol. 2 (Second ed.). Madison, Milwaukee, and London: University of Wisconsin Press. pp. 234–275. ISBN 0-299-04844-6.
- Runciman, Steven (1954). A History of the Crusades, Volume III: The Kingdom of Acre and the Later Crusades. Vol. 3. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Setton, Kenneth M. (1976). The Papacy and the Levant (1204–1571), Volume I: The Thirteenth and Fourteenth Centuries. Vol. 1. Philadelphia: The American Philosophical Society. ISBN 0-87169-114-0.
Further reading
- Bon, Antoine (1969). La Morée franque. Recherches historiques, topographiques et archéologiques sur la principauté d'Achaïe [The Frankish Morea. Historical, Topographic and Archaeological Studies on the Principality of Achaea] (in French). Paris: De Boccard.
- Finley Jr, John H. "Corinth in the Middle Ages." Speculum, Vol. 7, No. 4. (Oct., 1932), pp. 477–499.
- Joinville, Jean de; Villehardouin, Geoffroi de; Shaw, Margaret R. B. (1963). Chronicles of the Crusades. Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-044124-7.
- Tozer, H. F. "The Franks in the Peloponnese." The Journal of Hellenic Studies, Vol. 4. (1883), pp. 165–236.