Philippe III "à la Lèvre" de Courtenay, Marquis de Namur

MedLands

PHILIPPE [III] "à la Lèvre" de Courtenay ([1194/96]-killed in battle Saint-Flour en Auvergne 1226, bur Abbaye de Vaucelles, near Cambrai). The Chronicle of Alberic de Trois-Fontaines names "Philippus dictus de labra comes Namucensis" as first of the four son of "comitis Petris"[65]. His birth date is estimated on the assumption that he was of age when he succeeded in 1216 as Seigneur de Courtenay et de Montargis, at the time his father was elected emperor of Constantinople. He remained in France while the other members of his family travelled eastwards. His parents installed him as regent of Namur in 1217[66]. He succeeded as Marquis de Namur in 1219 on the death of his father. William of Tyre records that, when his father died, he refused to leave France for Constantinople to claim the imperial throne[67]. “Philippus marchio Namurcii” swore allegiance to Philippe II King of France, with “dominum...Robertum de Courtenay...Dom. Petrum de Donjone et Iohannem et Petrum filios eius...et Guidonem de Donjone et Ferricum ac Guillelmum filios eius” acting as guarantors in specified sums, by charter dated Jun 1223[68]. The document does not specify any family relationships between Philippe and the guarantors. There are two possibilities for the identity of “dominum...Robertum de Courtenay”: Philippe´s paternal uncle or his younger brother Robert Emperor of Constantinople. The latter is more likely as there appears no reason for Philippe to have resigned the seigneurie de Courtenay, which the document suggests he must have done presumably when he was installed as regent in Namur, in favour of his uncle when he had living younger brothers. This hypothesis appears to be supported by the charter dated Nov 1217 under which “Gui du Donjon chevalier” guaranteed the loyalty of “Robert de Courtenai” to the king[69], the dating of which suggests that it could also relate to the future Emperor Robert. It is also clear that the seigneurie de Courtenay was held by this branch of the family in 1300, when it was granted by Catherine de Courtenay to her husband Charles de Valois (see below), so it is unlikely that it was transferred temporarily at any time to a younger branch of the family. The Chronique de Guillaume de Nangis records the death in 1226 of "le comte de Namur, parent du roi de France, et frère de Henri empereur de Constantinople", returning from his campaign against the Albigeois[70]. He was killed at the siege of Saint-Flour.