Robert of Courtenay

Coat of arms of the Latin Empire of Constantinople.

Robert of Courtenay (died 1228), emperor of the Latin Empire, or of Constantinople, was a younger son of the emperor Peter II of Courtenay, and a descendant of the French king, Louis VI, while his mother Yolanda of Flanders was a sister of Baldwin and Henry of Flanders, the first and second emperors of the Latin Empire.

When it became known in France that Peter of Courtenay was dead, his eldest son, Philip, Marquis of Namur, renounced the succession to the Latin empire of Constantinople in favor of his brother Robert, who set out to take possession of his distracted inheritance, which was then ruled by Conon of Béthune as regent. Crowned emperor on March 25, 1221 Robert, who was surrounded by enemies, appealed for help to the pope Honorius III and to the king of France Philip II; but meanwhile his lands were falling into the hands of the rival Despotate of Epirus and Empire of Nicaea.

Some little aid was sent from western Europe, but soon Robert was compelled to make peace with his chief foe, John Ducas Vatatzes, emperor of Nicaea, who was confirmed in all his conquests. Robert promised to marry Eudoxia, daughter of the late emperor of Nicaea, Theodore I Lascaris and Anna Angelina. He had been betrothed to Eudoxia on a former occasion; however, he soon repudiated this engagement, and married the Lady of Neuville, already the fiancée of a Burgundian gentleman. Heading a conspiracy, the Burgundian drove Robert from Constantinople, he fled to Rome to seek redress from the pope who convinced him to return to Constantinople, but on his return trip, in early in 1228, the emperor died in Morea.

v • d • e Monarchs of the Latin Empire of Constantinople Reigning emperors (1204–1261) Baldwin I · Henry · Peter · Yolanda · Robert I · Baldwin II (with John of Brienne as regent) Titular emperors (1261–1383) Baldwin II · Philip I · Catherine I (with Charles of Valois) · Catherine II (with Philip II) · Robert II · Philip III · James of Baux

References

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.