A better King John(1199-1216)

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John I of England would decide not to meddle to the business of the Lusignans as it may inflame the conflicts with France and not to bother ally with the Count of Angouleme as he knew what they did with his mother, Eleanor.

On 1200, John I of England would decide to marry a Portuguese Princess, he is informed of Theresa, the former queen of Leon, Sanchia of Portugal, and Constancia of Portugal as the unmarried daughters of Sancho of Portugal.

John I of England is interested to marry Theresa of Portugal, former queen of Leon as she is of proven fertility as she has three sons with her first husband.

John I of England would send his emissaries to arrange a marriage with Theresa of Portugal but Theresa of Portugal would refuse and recommended her sister, Constance who does not want to be a nun as the wife of King John, as Sanchia, the other sister of Theresa decided to be a nun and Mafalda and Berengaria are too young for King John.

Infanta Constance would arrive in the court of King John I in 1200 and married her in the autumn of 1200.

Infanta Constance would have seven surviving children with John I, namely Henry III(1201), Richard II, Duke of Aquitaine(1203), Joanna(1204), Fulk(1207), Eleanor(1208), Matilda(1210), and Douce(1212).

 

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After the marriage with Constance of Portugal, just as John I had already made the Treaty with the King of France in Le Goulet with Blanche of Castile as the bride of Louis of France and ceded parts of Normandy with her, he would make a treaty with the Kingdom of Aragon about the boundaries of Gascony with King Peter II and he would propose a betrothal between Peter II and Eleanor of Brittany and settling the border between Gascony and Aragon and Eleanor would renounce her rights to England, the Angevin Inheritance and Brittany and given dowry by her mother and uncle which would be accepted by Peter II of Aragon and the Treaty of Bordeaux was signed on 1201 and the terms of the Treaty of Bordeaux where Bearn and Comminges are recognized as vassals of King John I as the Duke of Gascony, and the cessation of the alliance between Aragon and Toulouse with the marriage of Eleanor Brittany with Peter II of Aragon was the condition to ratify the Treaty.

Eleanor of Brittany would leave the Duchy of Brittany in 1201 after the ratification of the Treaty of Bordeaux and was escorted by her stepfather, Guy of Thouars to Barcelona to meet Peter II of Aragon.

Eleanor of Brittany would provide Peter II of Aragon with three surviving children, namely, Infanta Sancha(1203), Alfonso(1208), and Eleanor(1212).

As Eleanor of Aragon was once planned to marry the Count of Toulouse, Eleanor of Aragon would marry Arthur of Brittany on 1203, as Eleanor of Aragon and Arthur’s marriage would sour as she would only have two surviving daughters with Arthur named Constance (b.1206) and Eleanor (b. 1209), he would repudiate Eleanor of Aragon and he would start to appeal for the annulment of marriage with her in 1212 but Pope Innocent III would refuse to accept it.

 

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On 1204, Eleanor of Aquitaine would die and John would inherit Aquitaine and picked his second son, Richard as the heir to the Duchy of Aquitaine which both John I and Eleanor of Aquitaine wanted before Eleanor’s death as both of them wanted the Duchy of Aquitaine to not to be in personal union with England and due to this, Richard was invested as Richard II, Count of Poitou while John was alive and inherited the Duchy of Aquitaine after John’s death, Philip II would recognize Richard as the heir of John in Aquitaine and the Count of Poitou.

On 1205 John I and Baldwin I of Constantinople would have Margaret of Flanders betrothed with Richard and even obtained the dispensation for Richard, the Count of Poitou to marry Margaret of Flanders as they are both descendants of Eleanor of Aquitaine, Philip II of France would forbid a match between Joanna of Flanders and John’s son Henry as it might cause Flanders to pass to the English but he is fine with a match between Margaret and Richard, King John I would send English Knights to Constantinople to aid Baldwin I against his own enemies which would enable him to survive longer.

 

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Raymond VI of Toulouse would do his best to keep Pierre de Castelnau alive, knowing that it would save his own position and he would be a target of a crusade if someone killed him in his own territory and he would be careful about his alliances as Peter II of Aragon has ended his own alliance with him after marrying Eleanor of Brittany in the Treaty of Bordeaux in 1201.

With Raymond VI of Toulouse wanting to gain the favor of the French King, Raymond VI of Toulouse would tell Philip II to betroth his daughter, Marie to his son Raymond and even promised to eliminate the Cathars in his own lands, Philip II would accept this as he would balance out the alliance of the Plantagenets with the Kings of Aragon in the south.

Due to the dealings between the Count of Toulouse and the Duke of Brittany, the Capetians would gain the County of Toulouse and incorporate the Counties of Anjou, Maine, and Touraine to the Royal domain.