Sanchia of Provence, Queen of the Romans

Sanchia of Provence (c. 1228 – 9 November 1261) was the third daughter of Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Provence and Beatrice of Savoy. Sanchia was described as "of incomparable beauty".

Sanchia's sisters Margaret, Eleanor and Beatrice were the respective wives of Louis IX of France, Henry III of England and Charles I of Sicily. Sanchia was said to have a softer and more winsome type of good looks than either her older sisters, Margaret and Eleanor.

Sanchia was crowned Queen of the Romans with her husband on 27 May 1257 at Aachen Cathedral in Germany. She and her husband then spent fifteen months traveling in the area near Mainz. They hurriedly traveled back to England when the political situation deteriorated there. Sanchia grew ill in the autumn of 1260 and died a year later, with her son Edmund present.

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanchia_of_Provence
• http://www.thepeerage.com/p10223.htm
• http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=45551603
• http://nygaard.howards.net/files/3/4662.htm
• https://historytheinterestingbits.com/2015/11/12/sanchia-of-provenc... See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard,_1st_Earl_of_Cornwall

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• http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/PROVENCE.htm#SancheMRichardCornwall...

3. SANCHA de Provence (Aix-en-Provence [1225]-Berkhamstead Castle, Buckinghamshire 5 or 9 Nov 1261, bur Hayles Abbey, Gloucestershire). The testament of “R. Berengarius…comes et marchio Provincie et comes Forcalquerii”, dated 20 Jun 1238, names “Margaritam filiam nostrum…reginam Francie…Elionors filiam nostrum…reginam Anglie…Sanciam filiam nostram” and appoints “Beatricem filiam nostrum heredem generalem”[447]. A charter dated Jun 1240 records the episcopal annulment of the betrothal of "Guigonem Dalphinum Viennæ et Albonis" and "filiam comitis Provinciæ" because of his prior commitment to marry "filia Barralis domini de Baucio"[448]. It is assumed that this betrothal relates to Sancha, because her two older sisters were married at that date and her younger sister probably too young to have been betrothed. A charter dated 11 Aug 1241 records the marriage contract between "R comitis Tolosæ" and "Sanciam filiam…R Berengarii Comitis Provinciæ…et…Beatrix Comitissa"[449]. "Petrus de Sabaudia" acted as proxy for the marriage of "Richardo comite Cornubie" and "Sanccie filie…Raimundi Berengarii comitis provincie", recorded in a charter dated 17 Jul 1242[450]. Her marriage is recorded by Matthew of Paris, who also confirms her parentage[451]. The Annales Halesiensibus record the death "1261 V Id Nov…apud Berhamstede" of "Sanchia regina Alemannie" and her burial "apud Heiles"[452]. The Annals of Osney record the death “die Mercurii proximo ante festum beati Martini apud Berchamstede” in 1261 of “Schenchia regina Alemanniæ, soror Elianoræ reginæ Angliæ” and her burial “ad domum de Hayles”[453].

Betrothed (contract before Jun 1240, annulled Jun 1240) to GUIGUES Dauphin de Viennois Comte d'Albon, son of ANDRE Comte d´Albon [Bourgogne-Capet] & his third wife Beatrice di Monferrato ([1225]-[Aug/Nov] 1269, bur Chartreuse Abbaye de Prémol).

Betrothed (Aug 1241) to RAYMOND VII Comte de Toulouse, son of RAYMOND VI Comte de Toulouse & his third wife Joan of England (Beaucaire, Gard Jul 1197-Millau, Aveyron 27 Sep 1249, bur Fontevraud).

m (Contract 17 Jul 1242, Westminster 22 Nov 1243) as his second wife, RICHARD Earl of Cornwall, son of JOHN King of England & Isabelle d’Angoulême (Winchester Castle 5 Jan 1209-Berkhamstead Castle, Herts 2 Apr 1272, bur Hayles Abbey, Gloucestershire). Elected King of Germany and King of the Romans 13 Jan 1257, crowned 17 May 1257 at Aachen Cathedral.

Children of Richard and his mistress Joan de Valletort:

• Philip of Cornwall, a priest.
• Sir Richard of Cornwall, he received a grant from his half-brother Edmund in which he was called brother, he married a wife named Joan, and by her had three sons and a daughter. He was slain by an arrow at the siege of Berwick in 1296. His daughter, Joan of Cornwall, married Sir John Howard, from whom the Howard Dukes of Norfolk are descended.[9]
• Sir Walter of Cornwall, he received a grant of the manor of Brannell from his half-brother Edmund in which he was called brother, he was the father of William de Cornwall and grandfather of John de Cornwall who married Margery Tregago, parents of Margaret de Cornwall who married David Hendower.
• Isabel of Cornwall, who received a grant from King Henry III in which she was called niece.
• Joan of Cornwall, who received a grant from her half-brother Edmund in which she was called sister, she married firstly, Richard de Champernoun, by whom she had a son, Sir Richard, and secondly, Sir Peter de Fissacre, by whom she had no issue.

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for further research:

The following post to SGM, 10 Sep 1998, by John Carmi Parsons, has Joan as wife of Ralph de Valletort, younger brother of Reginald de Valletort (who m. Joan Basset).

From: John Carmi Parsons (jparsons AT chass.utoronto.ca) Subject: Joan de Valletort and Richard of Cornwall Newsgroups: soc.genealogy.medieval Date: 1998/09/10

This material is intended primarily for Todd Farmerie but will be of general interest.

On the marriages of Joan de Valletort/Vautort, mistress of Richard of Cornwall and the mother of at least one of his illegitimate children, Joan wife of Richard Champernowne of Modbury [**Note: This post, which seems to say that Richard Champernoun's wife was a daughter of Richard of Cornwall, is I think in error on that point. Richard Champernoun's wife is said to be a half-sister of James de Okeston by this Joan.**]:

Joan's parentage is unknown. She must not be confused with the Joan Basset of Headington who married our Joan's elder brother Reginald de Vautort (d.s.p. 1245/46). On the Vautorts see Sanders, _English Baronies_, pp. 90-91. It may be noted that shortly after the death of Joan's son Reginald de Vautort, his heir for the barony of Trematon, an uncle Roger (d. 1298?) sold the entire barony to Richard of Cornwall himself.

Our Joan's first husband was Ralph de Valletort/Vautort of Trematon d. 1256, younger son but ultimately heir of Roger de V. of Trematon d. 1206? by his wife Alice (parentage unknown). By Ralph Joan had one son, Reginald, still underage 1257, d. by 1269 (Sanders says 1270). Joan de Vautort was living 1299 by which time she had also married, before Feb. 1270, Alexander de Oxton/ Okeston and then Andrew de Trellek/Trelluk (E.B. Powley, _The House of de la Pomeray_ [Liverpool, 1944], pp. 36-37).

At the morrow of All Souls' at the end of 5 Edw I (= CE 1277), Andrew de Treslok and Joan de Vautort his wife had an action before the Exchequer touching Joan's dower lands from her marriage to Ralph de Vautort (Plea roll of the Exchequer 6 Edw I, Public Record Office E13/6 m. 6r). So by Nov. 1277 Alexander de Okeston was dead and Joan had already married Trellek.

I am not sure, however, that Joan de Vautort/Okeston/Trellek was the mother of all Richard of Cornwall's illegitimate children. Certainly Joan Champernowne was her daughter, and probably her son was the Richard de Cornwalle who is said to have fallen at Berwick in 1297, leaving issue by Joan [fitz Alan of Oswestry?] his wife (Reade, _The House of Cornwewall [1908]).

Richard of Cornwall's son Philip, however, occurs as a cleric in 1248, when he was dispensed to hold an additional benefice with cure of souls. This must mean that he was of canonical age to be a fully ordained priest, which at that time meant at least 25 years old. So he could not have been born any later than ca 1223, which obviously means Richard of Cornwall, b. 1209, must have fathered him at a very early age indeed (which is by no means impossible).

The dates and careers of Richard of Cornwall's other natural children do not conform closely to the supposition that they were born so early in his life, and I tend to think they were sired during one of Richard's periods of widowhood, either between the death of his first wife Isabella Marshal in 1240 and his second marriage to Sancha of Provence in 1243, or after Sancha died in 1261 and before his 1269 third marriage to Beatrix von Falkenberg.

John Parsons