Alix of Vergy, duchess of Burgundy

Overview

Title social-status

Duchess of Burgundy

Date of Death

1251

Biography

(See also Genealogical Table(s): 2.3, 2.4.2.)
Alix was the daughter of Hugues, Seigneur de Vergy and Gillette de Trainel. In 1199, she married Odo (Eudes) III, duke of Burgundy from 1192 to 1218, with whom she had a son and at least two daughters. Odo was her father’s overlord. The marriage, which took place by 1199, was arranged as a part of the peace between her father and Odo, who had been engaged in a long conflict. Hugh had to agree to turn over the chateau of Vergy for two weeks when the duke needed it with free straw for his horses, though he would have to pay for anything else that was taken or broken. Alix took the castle and land of Vergy into the marriage as her dowry, provided she had a son, otherwise it would come back to her brother, William of Vergy. The duke gave Vergy various castles and all he had on one side of the Tille river, while Hugh gave up what he had on the other side of the river. Odo supported Philip Augustus in his struggle with John of England, fighting at Bouvines, and took a large part in the crusade against the Cathars. When Odo died en route to the Holy Land in 1218, their son was five, and Alix became the regent. The legal age for majority was fourteen, but twenty-one was the effective age (specified in charters)1 and Alix continued to rule the duchy until 1234, after which she continued to confirm and witness donations and settlements, and to buy land to build religious institutions. Her husband’s will named two of his relatives, his uncle William of Champagne, archbishop of Reims, and his cousin Robert d’Auvergne, bishop of Clermont, as executors and advisors to Alix, but she was the regent, witnessing, overseeing, and making donations, arranging settlements in disputes; she did homage to the French king, Philip Augustus (and later, 1223, to Louis VIII) for the duchy, promising not to remarry without his consent. At Odo’s death, Alix felt compelled to fullfil his promise to send one hundred knights on crusade, an enormous expense for the duchy. She had to borrow a considerable amount of money and raise some from taxes, which led to some conflict with the commune of Dijon, resolved by a recognition of their privileges. But by what E. Petit calls her “good administration and wise economy” (bonne administration et la sage economie,” 4.8)2 during her regency, she was able to discharge the debts, to buy back the lands of Chalon and Beaune which had gone to her husband’s brother, the Dauphin of Viennois, to buy the seigneury of Salins in the heart of Jura (Richard, 55)3 and to pass the duchy to her son in a strong state, the beginning of a prosperity hitherto unknown to the dukes of Burgundy (Petit,“prosperité inconnu jusque-là aux ducs de Bourgogne”). In some cases she extended privileges to help pay her purchases, in others she profited from others’ conflicts to gain territory without battle or payment (Petit, 4.24); according to Garnier, 104, she was sympathetic to communal freedom, according to Plancher,391, she kept peace between her subjects.4 She ruled Burgundy until Hugh IV reached his majority, after which she continued to confirm and witness donations and settlements, and to buy land to build religious institutions. Her seal, which is pictured in Petit,4.208, shows a woman sitting side-saddle on a horse holding a bird on her fist, is sometimes appended to charters she witnesses, at the request of the participants (see 4.228, #1865, 1227, June). Alix has been erroneously connected with the vengeful duchess portrayed in the Chastelaine de Vergi, but the editor of the roman, Gaston Raynaud, insists that neither of Alix’s two nieces could have been inspirations for the roman, and suggests a later niece of Hugh IV and his duchess as the protagonists, if indeed there is any historical source for the story.5 Most, though not all, of the letters cited here come from Petit's edition, but in some cases, he summarizes rather than transcribes them. Not having access to all the summarized texts, I have translated the summaries and included them here under the date 1212-1245.

Letters from Alix of Vergy, duchess of Burgundy