Marriages
Adeliza married Henry I of England on 24 January 1121, when she is thought to have been in her late teens and Henry was fifty-three. It is believed that Henry only married again because he wanted a male heir. Despite holding the record for the most illegitimate children of a British monarch, Henry had only one legitimate son, William Adelin, who predeceased his father on 25 November 1120 in the White Ship disaster. It is usually assumed that Henry married Adeliza because of this disaster; however, negotiations to find a new wife began as early as 1119.
Adeliza was reputedly quite pretty, known as the "Fair Maid of Brabant." More importantly, her father was a vassal of Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor, son-in-law of Henry. It is possible that his daughter was influential in making the match. Godfrey was motivated to protect his lands from the newest Count of Flanders, Charles. As Flanders had been long-term enemies of the Normans, marrying his daughter to the English king aligned Godfrey with a natural ally. Despite all these hopes, no children were born during the marriage.
Read more about this topic: Adeliza Of Louvain
Famous quotes containing the word marriages:
“The happiest two-job marriages I saw during my research were ones in which men and women shared the housework and parenting. What couples called good communication often meant that they were good at saying thanks to one another for small aspects of taking care of the family. Making it to the school play, helping a child read, cooking dinner in good spirit, remembering the grocery list,... these were silver and gold of the marital exchange.”
—Arlie Hochschild (20th century)
“Those Marriages generally abound most with Love and Constancy, that are preceded by a long Courtship.”
—Joseph Addison (1672–1719)
“Some marriages depend on domestic arguments the way the courts depend on litigation.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)