Early Life
Her father died when she was not yet 2 years old and it was her mother Blanche who oversaw her education. Like her sisters, she studied Latin and became an expert in this language. She also got a short religious education.
When still a child at court Isabelle was already devoted to religion. By the Bull of 26 May 1254, Pope Innocent IV allowed her to retain some Franciscan fathers as her special confessors. She was even more devoted to the Franciscan Order than her royal brother. She not only broke off her engagement with a count, but moreover refused the hand of Conrad IV of Germany, son of Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, although pressed to accept him by everyone, even by Innocent IV, who however did not hesitate subsequently to praise her fixed determination to remain a virgin.
Read more about this topic: Saint Isabelle Of France
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