Margherita del Balzo

Margaret de Baux
Countess of Saint-Pol, of Brienne, and of Conversano
Spouse(s)	Peter of Luxembourg, Count of Saint-Pol, of Brienne, and of Conversano
Issue
Louis de Luxembourg, Count of Saint-Pol Jacquetta of Luxembourg Thibaud of Luxembourg Jacques of Luxembourg Valeran of Luxembourg Jean of Luxembourg Catherine of Luxembourg Isabelle of Luxembourg
Noble family	del Balzo
Father	Francesco del Balzo (de Baux), 1st Duke of Andria
Mother	Sueva Orsini
Born	1394
Died	15 November 1469

Margaret de Baux, Countess of Saint-Pol, of Brienne, and of Conversano, sometimes known as Margherita del Balzo (1394- 15 November 1469), was a member of the noble del Balzo (de Baux) family 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.

Coat-of-arms of the noble del Balzo family

Family

Margaret was born in 1394, the daughter of Francesco del Balzo (de Baux), 1st Duke of Andria (1330- 23 April 1422), by his third wife Sueva Orsini (1360- after 1422),^[1] a descendant of Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester and Eleanor Plantagenet.

Her paternal grandparents were Bertrand III del Balzo, 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:

• Guglielmo del Balzo (de Baux), Duke of Andria, married Maria Brunforte, by whom he had issue.
• Bianchino del Balzo (de Baux), 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 Princess Margaret of Naples:

• Jacopo del Balzo, Prince of Tarento and Archaia, Despot of Romania, Lord of Albania and Corfu, Titular 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 Balzo (died 1374), in 1372, married King Frederick III the Simple.

Queen consort Elizabeth Woodville, was the granddaughter of Margaret de Baux

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, Sire of Beauvois 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:^[2]

• 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 sixteen children, including Elizabeth Woodville, Queen consort of King Edward IV of England. Every English monarch after 1509 descended from her.
• 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 her own turn married Jacques d'Armagnac, Duke of Nemours, by whom she had six children.

Margaret died on 15 November 1469 at the age of seventy-five and was buried in Cercamp Abbey, Frévent, Pas-de-Calais.^[3] Her husband Peter had died of plague in 1433.

Ancestry

References

1. ^ Charles Cawley, Medieval Lands, Sicily/Naples, Nobility
2. ^ Charles Cawley, Medieval Lands, Champagne Nobility, Seigneurs de Ligny, de Roussy, et de La Roche, Comtes de Ligny
3. ^ Cawley, Medieval Lands

Persondata
Name	Balzo, Margherita Del
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1394
Place of birth
Date of death	15 November 1469
Place of death