I

Ia – (fl. c430 – c450 AD)
Irish virgin saint
Ia was the sister of St Uni, and came to Cornwall in England with St Fingar. The church of St Ives in the Cornish town of Pendinas was built for her. Ia was venerated as a saint jointly with her brother (Oct 27).

Iah – (fl. c2100 – after 2061 BC)
Queen consort of Egypt
Iah was the daughter of Inyotef II, the third ruler of the XIth Dynasty (2160 – 1994 BC). She became the wife of her brother King Inyotef III (c2120 – c2061 BC), and was the mother of his successor, Mentuhotep I (c2085 – c2010 BC) and of his sister wife, Neferu II. Her husband reigned for fifty-one years and Iah survived into the reign of her son as queen mother. An imposing rock-relief in the small valley of the Shatt el-Rigal, two miles below Gebel Silsila, portrays King Mentuhopte, accompanied by his parents, and by his chancellor Akhtoy, and is dated to the end of his reign. The queen was also named in a surviving inscription from the tomb of her daughter. Her name is also variously rendered as Ioh, Aoh or Yah.

Iaia of Cyzicus – (fl. c90 – c80 BC)
Greek painter
Iaia established herself as a popular artist in Rome during the time of the dictator Sulla and frequently painted women as well as being an engraver of ivory. The Romans called her ‘Lala,’ and Pliny the Elder records that she painted a self-portrait using a mirror, and refers to a panel portrait of an elderly woman, which had survived in Naples in his own time. Her talent and the commissions she exacted for her work made Iaia more famous than the contemporary male artists of her day, Sopolis and Dionysius, whose works were much in demand.

Ianka Vsevolodovna – (1068 – 1113)
Russian princess, nun and diplomatic figure
Princess Anna Vsevolodna was born at Kiev, in the Ukraine, the daughter of Vsevolod I Jaroslavitch, Grand prince of Kiev, and his second wife, Anna of Cumin. The name Ianka was a family nickname. The princess was consecrated as a nun and travelled to the Imperial court in Constantinople to preside over the installation of a new metropolitan. Ianka ruled the convent of Janczyn as abbess for over two decades (c1090 – 1113) and established the convent popularly known as the ‘Ianchini’ and a school for the education of women. This was the first such establishment known to Russian history, and the princess is said to have presided over every detail of the school’s appointments. Princess Ianka died (Nov 3, 1113) aged forty-five.

Ianthe    see   Embury, Emma Catherine

Ibanez, Sara de – (1909 – 1971)
Uruguayan poet
Sara de Ibanez was born near Paso de los Toros in Chamberlain. She became famous for her collection of songs entitled Canto (Song) (1940), written in the style of Juana de Asbaje Ramirez de Santillana. She also wrote Las estaciones y otros poemas (The Stations, and Other Poems) (1957) and Canto postumo (Posthumous Song) (1973).

Ibarbourou, Juana de – (1895 – 1979)
Uruguayan poet
Born Juana Fernandez Morales in Melo on the Brazilian border, she married a soldier named Ibarbourou. She was highly creative and her work was acknowledged and celebrated in her own country throughout her lifetime. Juana de Ibarbourou was popularly entitled ‘Juana de America’ (1929) and wrote the famous collection of verse entitled Las lenguas de diamante (Tongues of Diamond) (1919). Later in her career she wrote successful radio dramas to entertain children. Her work was acknowledged by several international awards. Juana de Ibarbourou was honoured with a state funeral in recognition of her contribution to Uruguayan literature.

Ibarruri, Dolores – (1895 – 1989)
Spanish writer, Communist politician and revolutionary
Born Isidora Dolores Ibarruri Gomez (Dec 9, 1895) in Gallarta, Vizcaya province, she was the daughter of a Basque miner, and was raised to work as a seamstress and a domestic servant. She was married and left five children, of whom only a daughter survived her. Ibarruri joined the Basque Communist Party (1920) and was later elected to the Central Committee of the Spanish Communist party (1931). She was best remembered for her patriotic exhortation to the Spanish people to fight against Fascism, stating ‘It is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees.’ She was popularly known as ‘La Pasionara’ (The Passion Flower) and made forever famous the defiant phrase “No pasaran” (They shall not pass). With the end of the Spanish Civil War (1939), Ibarruri went to reside in exile in Russia, where she resided almost forty years and there served as secretary-general of the Spanish Communist Party (1942 – 1960), after which she was elected president. She was later awarded the Lenin Peace Prize (1964) and the Order of Lenin (1965). Ibarruri remained in exile until the death of Franco (1977), but the political climate had changed during her absence, and her Communist views were now no longer the prevalent ideal. She wrote two volumes of memoirs El Unico Camino (1963), which was translated into English as They Shall Not Pass and Memorias de Pasionaria 1936 – 1977 (1984). She was awarded the Order of the October Revolution (1985). Dolores Ibarruri died aged ninety-three.

Ibars i Ibars, Maria – (1892 – 1965)
Spanish Catalan poet and novelist
Ibars was born in Benissa, Valencia, and was best known for her collection of verse entitled Poemes de Penyamar (1949), which included one of her most famous poems “Pluja” (Rain). Maria Ibars was the author of several popular novels, which stressed the peasant’s attachment to the land such as Vides planes (Flat Lives) (1962) and L’Ultim Serf (The Last Serf) (1965). Ibars also contributed articles to the weekly periodical La marina (1961 – 1965). Maria Ibars i Ibars died in Benissa.

Ibberson, Dora – (1890 – 1962)
British civil servant
Ibberson was born (Nov 23, 1890), the daughter of Joseph Ibberson and was educated in secondary school in Bristol, and then at St Hugh’s College at Oxford. Agnes Ibberson entered the ministry of Labour through the Trade Board Inpsectorate and was later transferred to the Assistance Board as a special enquiry officer prior and during WW II (1934 – 1945), during which time she also held the position of social welfare officer in Trinidad (1943). At the end of the war Ibberson was appointed as welfare adviser to the Comptroller for Development and Welfare in the British West Indies, a post she held until her retirement (1955).  She remained unmarried. Dora Ibberson died (May 17, 1962) aged seventy-one, at Oare, near Marlborough in Wiltshire.

Ibbetson, Agnes – (1757 – 1823)
British vegetable physiologist
Agnes Thomson was born in London, the daughter of Andrew Thomson. She was married to a barrister named Ibbetson whom she survived. Agnes Ibbetson resided during the latter part of her life at Exmouth, and she studied closely the physiology and microscopic structure of plant life. Over more than a decade (1809 – 1822) she contributed more than fifty published articles to Nicholson’s Journal and the Philosophical Magazine on these and related subjects, though she mistakenly believed that plant buds originated endogenously, and forced their way out. The leguminous genus Ibbetsonia was named in her honour. Agnes Ibbetson died (Feb, 1823) aged sixty-five, in Exmouth.

Ibbott, Nellie Grace – (1889 – 1970)
Anglo-Australian civic leader
Born Nellie Pugh (June 20, 1889) at Leyton in Essex, she was the daughter of a printing machinist. She was married (1916) to Alfred Ibbott, a piano maker, with whom she came to Australia (1923). Nellie Ibbott became involved in local politics in Melbourne, Victoria, where she became the first woman to serve on the local council in Heidelberg (1928). Heidelberg officially achieved city status (1934) and a decade afterwards Nellie Ibbott was elected to serve as lord mayor (1943 – 1944) becoming the first woman to serve in that capacity in the state of Victoria. Her candidacy for Liberal Party pre-selection for the Senate proved unsuccessful (1949). Mrs Ibbott served as an executive on the board of the Victorian Baby Health Centres Association and during her time in office she established seven baby health centres, and introduced immunization against diptheria. She was appointed MBE (Member of the British Empire) by Queen Elizabeth II (1954) in recognition of her public and political service. Nellie Ibbott died (June 25, 1970) aged eighty-one, in Mornington.

Ibelin, Ermengarde de – (c1125 – c1167)
French Crusader heiress
Ermengarde de Ibelin was the daughter of Balian I the Old, Lord of Ibelin in Palestine, and his wife Helvis of Ramleh. Her stepfather was Manasses de Hierges, the constable of Jerusalem. Ermengarde was heiress to the important principality of Tiberias, and was married (c1140) to Elinand de Bures, who then ruled as prince of Galilee in her right. She became the mother of the important Crusader baron Walter Falconberg, lord of Saint-Omer (c1144 – c1173).

Ibelin, Margaret de – (c1240 – 1317)
French Crusader nun
Margaret de Ibelin was the daughter of Jean de Ibelin, Count of Jaffa and his Armenian wife, Kalamaria de Barbaron. She never married and became a nun, being appointed as Abbess of the convent of Notre Dame de Tyre at Nicosia, Cyprus.

Ibrahim, Nilima – (1921 – 2002)
Bangladeshi educator, author and social reformer
Ibrahim was best known as the author of Ami Virangona Bolchhi (I, the heroine, speak), which dealt with the lives of women who had been raped and tortured during the Bangladesh Liberation War (1971). Nilima Ibrahim was the recipient of seven prestigious literary awards including the Bangla Academy Award (1969) and the Ekushey Medal (2000).

Ibsen, Pearl – (1918 – 1990)
American dancer and jazz vocalist
Ibsen was born (March 29, 1918) in Virginia. She was a noted theatrical and cabaret personality and entertainer, and began her career on Broadway in Hollywood (1946). She appeared in several films and was a legendary media personality. Pearl Ibsen died aged seventy-two.

Icaza, Carmen de – (1899 – 1979)
Mexican-Spanish novelist
Born Carmen de Icaza de Leon (May 17, 1899) in Madrid, she was the daughter of a diplomat. Carmen travelled the world extensively and her most notable published works included La boda del Duque Kurt (1935) and Cristina de Guzman, profesora de idiomas (1951), considered by many to be her most important work, and which was translated into Portugese as Cristina, professora moderna (1953). Other works included Sonar la vida (1941), La fuente enterrada (1947) and Las horas contadas (1953). Carmen de Icaza died (March 16, 1979) aged seventy-nine, in Madrid.

Icelia – (fl. c450 AD – c500)
Byzantine patrician and Christian
Icelia was the wife of an Imperial prefect and was patron of a church dedicated to the Virgin Mary, situated on the road between the cities of Jerusalem and Bethlehem in Palestine. She was revered as a saint by the early church (Feb 2), and was credited with introducing from Constantinople the custom of celebrating the feast of the Purification (hypapante) with torches.

Ichenhaeuser, Eliza – (1869 – 1932)
German feminist and suffrage campaigner
Ichenhaeuser was born (May 12, 1869) at Iasi in Romania. She came to Berlin in Prussia as a young woman (1889) and there became actively involved with the women’s movement. Eliza wrote articles for magazines and newspapers, sometimes using the pseudonym ‘E. Rosevalle.’ She was a supporter of legal reform concerning the general rights of women, and was an organizer of two International Women’s Congresses, both of which were held in Berlin (1896) and (1904). Her published work included Die politische Gleichberechtigung der Frau (1898). Eliza Ichenhaeuser died (March 3, 1932) aged sixty-two, in Berlin.

Ichikawa, Fusaye – (1893 – 1981)
Japanese feminist and politician
Ichikawa was born in Bisai in Aichi Prefecture. She originally trained as a teacher in Aichi before turning to politics. Becoming influenced by the new feminism, she was co-founder of the New Women’s Association (1920) with Hiratsuke Raicho. Fusaye Ichikawa visited the USA for several years (1921 – 1924) and upon her return to Japan she established the Women’s Suffrage League, which secured the vote for women at the end of WW II (1945). She later campaigned against legalized prostitution and served for almost two decades on the Japanese Diet (1952 – 1971). Fusaye Ichikawa was later defeated at the polls (1971), but later returned for a triumphant five year term in office (1975 – 1980) and became the leading voice which demanded that the Japanese government ratify the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. Ichikawa received the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership (1974) in recognition of her life-long campaign for social equality.

Ichiyo, Higuchi – (1872 – 1896)
Japanese novelist and poet of the Meiji Period (1868 – 1912)
Higuchi Ichiyo was born (May 2, 1872) in Tokyo. With the early death of her father, Higuchi and her mother ran a small shop in order to survive, so she was largely educated through her own efforts. She died of tuberculosis, aged only twenty-four. Ichiyo crammed considerable literary activity into her short life, producing four thousand classical poems, essays, nearly two dozen short stories, and a private journal which was published as an autobiographical novel Wakabakage (1896). She left two popular novels entitled Oetsugomori (1894) and Takekurabe (1895). Higuchi Ichiyo was the only woman to be represented (2005) in the Museum of Contemporary Literature in Yokohama.

Ickstatt, Maria Franziska von – (1768 – 1785)
German writer
Born Baroness von Ickstatt in Ingoldstadt, Bavaria, she received an excellent education at home from her mother, who was something of a scholar. Maria Franziska began writing historical plays from childhood, and was the author of Der letzte Graf von Dachau. Her death occurred in Munich (Jan 14, 1785) at the age of sixteen, after she had fallen from the tower of the Frauenkirche there. The circumstances surrounding her death remain unclear.

Ida of Boulogne (1) – (c1028 – before 1081)
Flemish mediaeval countess
Sometimes called Judith in various genealogies, she was the younger daughter of Eustace I, Count of Boulogne (1041 – 1049) and his wife Matilda of Louvain, the daughter of Lambert I the Bearded, Count of Louvain in Brabant. She was the paternal aunt of the famous crusader Godfrey of Bouillon (1059 – 1100) and to Baldwin I, King of Jerusalem (1100 – 1118). Ida became the wife (c1044) of Manasses II of Le Bourg (c1012 – c1081), Count of Rethel, whom she predeceased. Countess Ida left five children,

• Hugh I of Le Bourg (c1045 – 1118). He succeeded his father as Count of Boulogne (c1081 – 1118) and left issue.
• Manasses of Rethel (died after 1095).
• Daughter (name unknown). She became the wife of Stephen Strabo, Seigneur de Neufchatel-sur-Aisne.
• Daughter (name unknown). She became the wife of the Seigneur de Henalmont.
• Judith of Rethel (Yvette) (c1055 – after 1081). With the death of her second husband, the Seigneur Villain d’Arzilliers, she became Abbess of Bethany in Jerusalem.

Ida of Boulogne (2) – (1057 – before 1106)
Flemish mediaeval countess
Ida was the eldest daughter of Eustace II Aux Grenons, Count of Boulogne (1049 – 1087) and his second wife Ida of Louvain, the daughter of Godfrey the Bearded of Louvain, Duke of Lorraine. She was sister to Godfrey of Bouillon (1059 – 1100) and to Baldwin I, King of Jerusalem (1100 – 1118). Ida was married firstly (1070) to Hermann of Malsen (c1044 – c1080), Count of Kempengau, the son of Count Unruoch. Her second husband was Count Kuno of Montaigu, the grandson of Count Hermann of Grandpre. Count Kuno died (April 30, 1106) and Ida predeceased him. Countess Ida left three sons from her first marriage,

• Heinrich of Kempengau (c1074 – 1118). He became Lord of Kuyc and married Alverada von Hochstaden, the heiress of Osning and left issue.
• Andreas of Kempengau (Andrew) (c1076 – 1139). He entered the church serving as archdeacon and provost of the Church of St Lambert in Liege. He was later appointed as Bishop of Utrecht (1128 – 1139).
• Gottfried of Kempengau (Godfrey) (c1079 – after 1135). He became provost of Xanten and St Severin in Koln (Cologne). He was appointed as Elector of Koln (1131),

Ida of Brunswick    see   Elstorf, Ida von

Ida of Cham – (c1056 – 1101)
German Crusader and figure of legend
Countess Ida of Cham was the daughter of Ratpoto IV, Count of Cham, and his wife Emma, the daughter of Herman I, Count of Kastl. She was married (c1071) to Leopold II (c1056 – 1102), Margrave of Austria, to whom she bore eight children, including Margrave Leopold III (1073 – 1136). Considered one of the great beauties of her era, the Margravine travelled on the crusade to the Palestine (1101), accompanied by Duke Welf of Bavaria, Duke William IX of Aquitaine, and Thiemo, Archbishop of Salzburg. At Constantinople the party was well received by the Emperor Alexius I. The party moved on to Dorylaeum and Konya, before reaching the deserted city of Heraclea on Sept 5, 1101. They were ambushed by hidden Turkish soldiers near the river, and a massacre ensued. The two dukes and a few retainers managed to escape the slaughter and reach safety, however, Archbishop Thiemo was captured and later massacred, and the chronicler Ekkehard of Aura confirms that the Margravine Ida died, probably trampled to death in the panic which ensued after the sneak attack. The Historia Welforum Wingartensis records the favoured legend that Ida was taken captive and ended her life in a Saracen harem, where she gave birth to the famous Moslem leader Zengi Imad ed-Din (c1100 – 1146), governor of Aleppo. However, given her age at the time this seems hardly likely, and although he provides no details Ekkehard definitely states that Ida was killed during the Turkish massacre.

Ida of Faucigny – (c1065 – 1119)
French countess consort of Geneva (c1080 – 1119)
Ida was the daughter of Louis, Count of Faucigny and his first wife Ida de Glane, the daughter of Pierre de Glane. After her father’s death (c1070) Ida’steptmother Theutberga of Maurienne then remarried to Gerald I, Count of Geneva. Her stepmother arranged for Ida to be married (c1080) to Aimon of Geneva (c1062 – 1125), her own stepson. This marriage is a clear example of the intricate familial dynastic and political relationships which occurred during the mediaeval period. The marriage took place about the same time as Aimon succeeded his father as the ruling count of Geneva as Aimon I. Countess Ida was a patron of Chamonix Priory which had been founded by her husband. Her children were,

• Conon of Geneva (c1081 – after 1106). He entered the church and was appointed as Bishop of Maurienne
• Gerald II (c1085 – 1134). He succeeded his father as Count of Geneva (1125 – 1134) and was married leaving an only daughter and heiress Alice of Geneva who became the wife of Guido Visconti (died 1158) Viscount of Milan in Lombardy, and left descendants.
• Amadeus I (c1095 – 1178). He succeeded his brother Gerald II as Count of Geneva (1134 – 1178). He was married twice and left issue.
• William of Geneva (Guillaume) (died after 1153). He left no wife or children that have been recorded.

Ida of Flanders – (1160 – 1216)
French sovereign countess of Boulogne (1173 – 1216)
Countess Ida was the elder daughter of Count Matthew I of Boulogne and his English wife, Mary of Blois, the daughter of Stephen, King of England (1135 – 1154). Her first husband Matthew (died 1179) remains a genealogical mystery, and no details of his family connections are known. Countess Ida was married three more times, secondly (1179) to Gerhard II, count of Gueldres (died 1182), thirdly (1183) to Berthold IV, duke of Zahringen (c1129 – 1186), and fourthly, to Rainald of Dammartin (c1159 – 1227), Comte de Tree.
The countess owned estates in England inherited through her mother Princess Mary (1182), and is well attested as a powerful feudal landowner, and patron of abbeys and convents. She died aged fifty-five. Her daughter Matilda of Dammartin, Countess of Boulogne, was the first wife (1239 – 1245) of the future Alfonso III, King of Portugal.

Ida of Hertzfeld – (c795 – after 838)
Carolingian abbess and saint
Ida of Hertzfeld was the daughter of Theodoric (Dietrich), Duke of the Riprarian Franks, and his wife Theotrada, the daughter of Bernard, Count of Austrasia, and the granddaughter of Charles Martel (717 – 741). Her maternal uncles were Adalard and Wala of Corbie, and Ida became the wife of the Saxon count Egbert (Echbert) of the Ittergau, who had been subdued by the Emperor Charlemagne, who arranged Egbert’s marriage with his kinswoman in order to secure his future loyalty. They were the ancestors of the famous Empress Mathilda, born Countess of Westphalia, the second wife of Emperor Henry I the Fowler (919 – 936) and mother of emperor Otto I the Great (962 – 973). Ida and her husband built and endowed the famous abbey at Hertzfeld. With her husband’s death, sometime after 834, Ida became a religious recluse and built herself a small oratory attached to the church there, and where she placed her tomb in readiness. She filled a stone coffin with food each day for the poor, and was said to have also been the founder of the church of Hofstadt in Westphalia.  Ida was living a few years after her husband (Nov 21, 838), but some ancient sources state that she lived to be one hundred years of age, which would place her death in the vicinity of (c890 – c900). This claim cannot be verified and seems unlikely, or at least, an exaggeration. Ida was later canonized (980), and was considered the patron saint (Sept 4) of brides and widows. Ida of Hertzfeld has sometimes been incorrectly identified as Redburga (Raedburh), the Carolingian wife of the Anglo-Saxon ruler, Egbert of Wessex.

Ida of Lorraine – (c933 – 986)                                            
German heiress
Ida of Lorraine was the daughter and heiress of Herman I of Lorraine, Duke of Swabia, and his wife Reginlinda of Nellenburg, the daughter of Eberhard I, Count of NiederLahngau. Ida was the sole heiress of the duchy of Swabia in Franconia. She was married (948) to Luidolf of Saxony (930 – 957), the eldest son and heir of King Otto I (later emperor). At the same time as their marriage, the king publicly designated Luidolf as his heir, and Otto and Queen Adelaide, together with Liudolf and Ida, embarked upon a progress through the kingdom, so that each region could participate in the wedding celebrations, and pay homage to the future king and queen. Luidolf assumed the ducal title by right of his wife, after the death of her father (949). Her husband died whilst involved in a revolt against his father in 957, and King Otto ruled Swabia for Ida’s infant son till he came of age (973). She was the mother of Matilda of Saxony (c950 – 1011) who became Abbess of Essen, Otto, Duke of Swabia (954 – 982) who died childless, and Riclinda of Saxony, the second wife of Conrad II, Duke of Swabia. The duchess died aged in her early fifties (May 17, 986).

Ida of Louvain    see also     Nivelles, Ida de

Ida of Louvain – (1040 – 1113)
Flemish religious patron
Ida was born in Louvain in Brabant, the daughter of Godfrey the Bearded of Louvain, Duke of Lorraine and his first wife Agnes of Hapsburg-Klettgau. She was married (1057) to Eustace II, Count of Boulogne (c1022 – 1087) as his second wife and she bore him three sons, Eustace III (1058 – 1125) who succeeded his father as Count of Boulogne (1087 – 1125) and was married to Mary of Scotland, daughter to St Margaret and king Malcolm III Canmore, and left issue, Godfrey of Bouillon (1059 – 1100), the famous Crusader leader and Baldwin I (1061 – 1118), Count of Edessa in Palestine and then King of Jerusalem (1100 – 1118). Her daughter Ida became the wife of Count Hermann of Kempengau and then of Count Kuno of Montaigu. Having educated her children very carefully, with the death of her husband (1087) she became a Benedictine oblate at the abbey of St Vaast, near Doudeville, Normandy. Some of her letters to her spiritual adviser St Anselm have been preserved. The countess was a very enthusiastic supporter of the First Crusade (1095) and she sold estates at Genappes and in Brabant and mortgaged a great portion of her property in order to finance his journey to Palestine. Ida founded the abbeys of Saint-Wulmer at Boulogne and Vasconvilliers, restored Samer and Our Lady of the Chapel at Calais, besides making generous benefactions to the abbeys of Saint-Bertin, Bouillon and Afflighem.  
Countess Ida receives mention in the Domesday Book commissioned by William the Conqueror as a wealthy heiress and tenant-in-chief in England. She gradually retired from the world and became a Benedictine oblate at the abbey of St Vaast, near Doudeville, Normandy, and achieved a great reputation for religious piety. Countess Ida died (Aug 13, 1113) at St Vaast, and was honoured as a saint by the church.

Ida of Namur – (1083 – after 1117)
Flemish duchess of Brabant
Countess Ida was the daughter of Otto II, Count of Chiny, and his wife Adelaide, the daughter of Adalbert III, Count of Namur, and was heiress to the counties of Namur and Chiny. Ida was married (c1098) to Godfrey I the Bearded (c1061 – 1139), Duke of Brabant. She was the mother of Duke Godfrey II (c1108 – 1142), whilst her daughter Adeliza became the second wife of Henry I, king of England (1100 – 1135). Still living in 1117, the duchess died sometime prior to 1125, when her husband had remarried to Clemence of Burgundy, the widow of Robert II, Count of Flanders.

Ida of Nordheim – (c1065 – c1116)
German princess
Ida of Nordheim was the daughter of Henry the Fat, Duke of Nordheim and Bavaria, and his wife Richenza of Werle. She was married firstly to Thimo II, Count of Brehna and Wettin (c1050 – 1100), and secondly (1101) to Gerhard, count of Querfurt, leaving issue by her first marriage,

• Dedo IV of Wettin, Margrave of Meissen (c1090 – 1144). He married Bertha of Groitzsch and left an only surviving daughter.
• Conrad ‘the Great’ (1098 – 1157), Margrave of Meissen (1127 – 1157). He was married to Luitgarde von Ravenstein and left many descendants.
• Matilda of Wettin (c1100 – c1145). She was married firstly to Gero, Count of Seeburg (1097 – 1122), and secondly Louis II, Count of Wippra (c1095 – 1151).

Ida of Saxony – (1043 – 1102)
German princess
Princess Ida was the daughter of Ordulf, Duke of Saxony, and his first wife Ulfhilda, the daughter of Olaf II, King of Norway. Ida was married firstly (c1059) to Frederick of Luxemburg, duke of Lorraine and Bar (died 1065), as his second wife. This marriage remained childless. She was remarried secondly (1066) to Adalbert III, Count of Namur (c1025 – 1102) to whom she bore several children. Some contemporary sources call her Relinda. Countess Ida died (July 31, 1102) aged fifty-nine.

Ida of Toggenburg – (1156 – 1226)
German recluse and saint
Ida of Kirchberg was born at Kirchberg Castle, Swabia, the daughter of Hartmann, Count of Kirchberg, and was married to Count Henry of Toggenburg. Turned out by her husband because of false accusations made against her, Ida retired to live as a solitary in the forest of Rabenstein. She later became a Benedictine nun at the Abbey of Fischingen. According to legend her husband became reconciled to her before his own death, and received her forgiveness. Ida died at Fischingen (May 30, 1226) aged seventy. Her cult was confirmed in 1724.

Ida Caroline Louise – (1796 – 1869)
German princess consort of Schaumburg-Lippe (1816 – 1860)
Princess Ida of Waldeck –Pyrmont was born (Sept 26, 1796) at Rhoden, the third daughter of Prince George of Waldeck-Pyrmont (1763 – 1813), and his wife Princess Augusta of Schwarzburg-Sonderhausen. The princess was married (1816) at Arolsen, to George I Wilhelm (1784 – 1860), sovereign prince of Schaumburg-Lippe after joining the confederation of the Rhine (1806). She was princess consort for forty-five years, and survived her husband a decade (1860 – 1869) as Princess Dowager of Schaumburg-Lippe. Princess Ida died (April 12, 1869) aged seventy-two, at Menton, and left nine children,

• Adolf I (1817 – 1893), second Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe (1860 – 1893). He was married and left descendants.
• Princess Mathilde of Schaumburg-Lippe (1818 – 1891). She was married to Eugen, Duke of Wurttemburg (1820 – 1875) and left children.
• Princess Adelaide of Schaumburg-Lippe (1821 – 1899). She was married to Friedrich, Duke of schleswig-Holstein-Glucksburg (1814 – 1885) and left descendants.
• Prince Ernst of Schaumburg-Lippe (1822 – 1831). He died young.
• Princess Ida of Schaumburg-Lippe (1824 – 1894). She died unmarried.
• Princess Emma of Schaumburg-Lippe (1827 – 1828). She died in infancy.
• Prince Wilhelm of Schaumburg-Lippe (1834 – 1906). He held the Bohemian lordship of Nachod and was an officer in the Austrian army. He was married and left issue.
• Prince Herman of Schaumburg-Lippe (Oct 31 – Dec 23, 1839). He died in infancy.
• Princess Elisabeth of Schaumburg-Lippe (1841 – 1926). She was married to Prince Wilhelm von Hanau (1836 – 1902). The marriage remained childless and ended in divorce (1868).

Iddesleigh, Cecilia Frances Farrer, Countess of – (1822 – 1910)
British courtier and diplomatic figure
The Hon. (Honourable) Cecilia Farrer was the daughter of the first Baron Farrer. She was married (1843) to Sir Stafford Henry Northcote (1818 – 1887), who was created first Earl of Iddesleigh (1885) by Queen Victoria. Cecilia Northcote accompanied her husband to India when he served as Secretary of State there (1867 – 1868) and was awarded the CI (Crown of India) by Queen Victoria in recognition of her social work in that country. She survived her husband over two decades (1887 – 1910) as the Dowager Countess of Iddesleigh. Lady Iddesleigh died (Jan 17, 1910) aged eighty-seven. She had borne her husband ten children including,

• Sir Walter Northcote (1845 – 1927). He succeeded his father as second Earl of Iddesleigh (1887 – 1927).
• Sir Henry Stafford Northcote (1846 – 1911). He was created Baron Northcote by Queen Victoria (1900), and then served as governor of Bombay and governor-general of Australia (1903 – 1908).
• Reverend Hon. John Stafford Northcote (1850 – 1920). He served as chaplain to Queen Victoria and Edward VII (1901 – 1910). He was the father of Sir Henry Stafford Northcote (1888 – 1970), who succeeded his uncle as third Earl of Iddesleigh (1927 – 1970).

Ide, Frances Otis Ogden – (1853 – 1927)
American children’s author
Frances Ogden was born in Brooklyn, New York and married Charles W. Ide. She first published her works under the pseudonym ‘Ruth Ogden,’ beginning with A Loyal Little Red Coat (1890). Frances Ide produced several other popular works for children over the next twenty-five years which included A Little Queen of Hearts (1893), His Little Royal Highness (1898), Loyal Hearts and True (1899) and Little Pierre and Big Peter (1915), amongst other stories.

Ide, Letitia – (1908 – 1993)
American dancer
Ide was born in Springfield, Illinois, and studied dance in New York at the Isadora Duncan School. She may her stage debut on Broadway as a leading dancer in Lysistrata (1930), and also appeared in the production Americana, amongst others. Letitia Ide performed with Charles Weldman and Doris Humphrey (1930 – 1937), and was a popular performer with modern dance companies of Jose Limon and Humphrey-Weldman, in the decades (1930 – 1950). During this time she was the principal dancer (1946 – 1948) with the Jose Limon Dance Company, and Humphrey created the roles in Lament for Ignacio Sanchez Meijas and Day on Earth, especially for her. Ide featured in the film version of Lament (1959). Letitia Ide died (Aug 29, 1993) aged eighty-four, at Hastings-on-Hudson, New York.

Ideson, Elizabeth – (fl. 1777)
British Hanoverian artist and painter
Elizabeth Ideson was an unmarried lady who produced watercolour still-lifes, and specialized in painting flowers. Her work was exhibited at the Society of Artists in London.

Idia – (fl. c1500 – c1530)
African ruler
The queen mother of Benin in Edo, south western Nigeria Idia was born in the village of Ugieghudu. She was the mother of King Esigie of Benin (c1504 – 1550), who especially created for her the title of Iyoba (queen mother). From then on all mothers of successive kings enjoyed the rights and privileges that went with this position, including the palace Esigie built for her at Uselu, outside Benin, the residence of all future Ioyabas. According to ancient traditions Queen Idia herself led a military force and was believed to be possessed of magical powers. Her portrait is preserved on carved ivory pendant belt plaques preserved in the British Museum and in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Idris, Wafa – (1974 – 2002)
Palestinian political activist and martyr
The first female suicide bomber, Idris was born in the West Bank region and was raised there, her family having connections with Yasser Arafat’s Fatah organization. Wafa attended university, and worked as a volunteer paramedic. She had been married, borne a daughter, and was then divorced, resuming her maiden name. Having evinced no outward signs of religious fanaticism, which might have alerted her family to her intentions, she left home and blew herself up, killing an elderly Israeli man, and injuring one hundred other people (Jan 27, 2002). The Iraqi president Saddam Hussein ordered a memorial been erected to her in Baghdad.

Iduberga of Aquitaine (Itta, Ydubergue) – (592 – 652)
Carolingian nun, saint and Imperial progenatrix
Iduberga of Aquitaine was the daughter of Grimoald, Duke of Aquitaine, a Merovingian prince, and his wife Itta, the daughter of Severus, Duke of Gascony. She was married (c610) to the Carolingian magante, Pepin I of Landen (585 – 639), who succeeded his father Carloman (615) as mayor and then dux of the Merovingian kingdom of Austrasia. Iduberga bore Pepin a son and heir, Grimoald, and several daughters, including Bega and Gertrude (626 – 659). With her husband’s death the duchess founded the large double monastery at Nivelles on her own estates, which fact is recorded in the Annales Xantenses, which calls her Itta relicta Pippini. She cut off the hair of her daughter Gertrude lest anything should prevent her becoming a nun. Iduberga and her daughter also provided grants of land to the Irish monks, Foillan and Ultan, at Fosse, or Morstes-Fossez, where a hospice for pilgrims was established. Iduberga eventually retired from the world and became a nun at Nivelles (647) under the rule of her daughter till her death. She was buried at Nivelles, and her feast was observed by the church (May 5 and 17). Her elder daughter, Bega of Landen, became the wife of Anisegal, and their son was Pepin II of Heristal (645 – 714), was himself the father of Charles Martel (676 – 741).

Ie    see   Ja

‘Iffat (Effat) – (1910 – 2000)
Queen consort of Saudi Arabia
‘Iffat was the wife of King Faisal (1905 – 1975), and a social reformer and organizer and patron of education for Muslim girls. She was born in Turkey, the daughter of Ahmand al-Thunaiyan, the chief adviser to King Ibn Saud, father of Faisal, and had been raised in Istanbul in a more open, western, fashion. Through her father she was a descendant of the royal Al Saud family. ‘Iffat was married to Faisal (1932), and bore him six sons and three daughters. The couple remained togther for over forty years, though when the king took a second wife (1940), it was rumoured that this was in disapproval of the queen’s pro-western stance in female education. Despite this, she appears to have had her husband’s support in most matters, and was the founder of the Dar al-Hanan school for girls at Jeddah (1956), and later of the Kulliyat al-banat (Girls College of Education) at Riyadh (1966), the first government funded school for girls. Queen ‘Iffat also founded a religious school for boys in Ta’if, near Mecca (1942), where the first pupils were members of the royal family. ‘Iffat survived Faisal for over two decades as Queen Dowager (1975 – 2000).

Iffat-un-Nisa – (fl. 1737 – 1748)
Mughal princess and queen
Iffat-un-Nisa was born (c1724), and was the granddaughter of the Emperor Aurangzeb. She was married firstly (1737) in Delhi, to Nasrullah Mirza, Prince of Persia (c1723 – 1747), and then remarried to the King of Afghanistan. Her first husband and all their nine sons had been executed by order of Nadir Shah.

Iglehart, Fanny Chambers – (1839 – 1931)
Southern American historian and author
Fanny Chambers was born (Dec 9, 1839) in Hillsboro, Mississippi, the daughter of William Chambers. She was taken with her family to Texas during early childhood and was raised there, and spent the remainder of her life in that state, except for a period of seven years, when she resided in Mexico. Fanny was married twice, first to Gooch, second (1889) to Iglehart. Mrs Iglehart wrote several children’s books and articles for various magazines, but was best known for her socio-economic study of the native people of Mexico in her Face to Face with the Mexicans: The Domestic Life, Educational, Social, and Business Ways, Statesmanship and Literature, Legendary and General History of the Mexican People, as Seen and Studied by an American Woman during seven Years of Intercourse with Them (1887), which was published in New York. Fanny Iglehart died (Oct 10, 1931) aged ninety-two, in Austin, Texas.

Iglesias-Jordan, Ramona Trinidad – (1889 – 2004)
Puerto-Rican supercentenarian
Ramona Iglesias-Jordan was born (Aug 31, 1889) at Utuado. She attended school in Puerto-Rico and learnt to be fluent in English as well as Spanish. She was married (1912) to Alfonso soler. They remained childless but adopted Ramona’s nephew Robert Torres as their son. With her husband’s death Ramona resided alone for twenty-five years until she was forced by age to move into a care facility. Ramona Iglesias-Jordan died (May 29, 2004) aged over 114 years. A few months prior to her death she received a document from the Guiness Book of World Records which verified her as the world’s oldest living woman (March 29, 2004).

Ignacz, Rosza – (1910 – 1979)
Hungarian novelist, travel writer and memoirist
Rosza Ignacz was born in Transylvania, and was educated there. She worked as an actress in the National Theatre in Budapest and most of her works deal with the every day lives and concerns of her own countrymen. Her published works included Anyanyelve magyar (1937), Szuletett Moldovaban (1940) and Prospero Szigeten (On Prospero’s Island) (1960), which was a collection of biographical details of Hungarian actors. Ignacz also published her autobiography Ikerpalyaimon (1975).

Iguassu, Maria Isabel de Alcantara Brasiliera de Braganza, Condesa de – (1830 – 1896)
Spanish royal and grandee
Maria Isabel de Braganza was born (Feb 28, 1830) in Sao Paulo, Brazil, the third daughter of the Emperor Pedro I and his mistress, Domitilia de Castro, Marquesa de Santos. She was recognized by her father in his will (1834), and was married in Rio de Janeiro (1846) to Pedro Caldeira Brant, first Conde de Iguassu (1814 – 1881), whom she survived as Dowager Condesa de Iguassu (1881 – 1896). The Condesa died (Sept 13, 1896) in Rio de Janeiro, aged sixty-six, and left four children,

• Isabel Caldeira Brant (1849). She died an infant.
• Pedro de Alcantara Caldeira Brant (1850 – 1868). He died unmarried.
• Maria Teresa Caldeira Brant (1850 – after 1877). She was married to Charles Collins and left descendants.
• Isabel Caldeira Brant (1854 – 1884). She was married to Antonio Dias Pais Leme (1832 – 1887) and left descendants.

Iheya II (Iha) – (fl. c1888 – 1897)
African queen mother of Benin
Iheya was the mother of King (Oba) Ovonramwen of Benin, in the westernregion of Nigeria. When her son came to the throne she was granted the title of Iyoba (from Iye (mother) to oba (king), with the priveliges that were inherited with that role. The British conquered Benin in 1888, and Iheya’s son was deposed and exiled to Calabar on eastern Nigeria. The queen mother however, was permitted to remain resident in the city of Benin, though her palace was burnt to the ground. No further queen mother was crowned in Benin for over one hundred years until 1981.

Ihle, Charlotte Elizabeth    see   Inescourt, Elaine

Ihrer, Emma – (1857 – 1911)
German trade unionist
Ihrer was born in Glatz and removed to Berlin, Prussia (1881) where she became actively involved with the suffrage movement. Emma Ihrer became one of the first female Social Democratic trade union leaders, and founded the Society for the Representation of the Interests of Female Workers (1885). She later joined the General Commission for the Trade Unions of Germany, and was appointed delegate to the International Workers’ Congress (1889). She edited the female political journal Die Gleichkeit (1891). Emma Ihrer died in Berlin.

Ikasia    see    Kassiane

Ikbal Hanim – (1876 – 1941)
Khediva of Egypt
Ikbal Hanim was born (Oct 22, 1876) in the Crimea, Turkey. She was married im Cairo, to Khedive Abbas II Hilmi (1874 – 1944), as his first wife. Ikbal was Khediva consort of Egypt for two decades (1895 – 1914) until her husband was deposed in favour of his uncle, Sultan Husayn Kamil. Abbas II only renounced the throne in 1931. The Khediva died (Feb 10, 1941) aged sixty-four, in Jerusalem, Palestine, leaving six children,

• Princess Emine (1895 – 1954). She died unmarried.
• Princess Atiye (1896 – 1971). She was married firstly to Celaleddin Vlora Pasha, the official representative of the Khedive in Constantinople. This marriage ended in divorce, and the princess remarried to Serket Bey Kibrisli.
• Princess Fethiye (1897 – 1923). She was married to Hanim Bey.
• Prince Muhammad Abdel Moneim (1899 – 1979), he was heir-apparent to the throne (1899 – 1914) and was later appointed as Regent of Egypt (1952 – 1953). He was married and left children.
• Princess Lutfia Sevket (born 1900). She was married to Omar Muhtar Katircioglu (1902 – 1935) and left issue.
• Prince Muhammad Abd El Kader (1902 – 1919). He died young.

Ikonomidou, Fotini – (1856 – 1883)
Greek poet
Fotini Ikonomidou was born in Athens, the daughter of a prominent merchant. She attended a college for girls, but supplemented her own education with extensive reading. With the loss of the family fortune which was followed by the deaths of both her parents, Fotini was forced to live with relatives, and was totally dependent on them. She remained unmarried and died (March, 1883) before the age of thirty. The poet Kostis Palamas composed her obituary. She wrote poetry from girlhood, and had articles published in such literary periodicals as Parnassos (Parnassus), Vyron (Byron) and Pikili Stoa (Miscellaneous Porticum).

Ikramullah, Shaista – (1915 – 2000) 
Pakistani politician, diplomat and writer
Ikramullah was born (July 22, 1915) in Calcutta into a prominent aristocratic Bengali family. She travelled to England and studied at the University of London, and was elected as the first female representative of the first Constituent Assembly of Pakistan (1947). Shaista represented Pakistan at the first Constituent Assembly of the United Nations (1948) and later served as ambassador to Morrocco (1964 – 1967). She published her autobiography From Purdah to Parliament (1963). Shaista Ikramullah died (Dec 11, 2000) aged eighty-five, in Karachi.

Ilaria – (fl. 1665 – after 1706)
Queen consort of the Kongo
Ilaria was the wife of Antonio I, the last important ruler of the Kinlaza dynasty of the Kongo in Africa. He was killed in battle at Mbwila (1665) and Ilaria was still living four decades afterwards as queen dowager. As a widow she became a prominent leader of Roman Catholic orthodoxy, and later gave her support to the plans of the popular and powerful general Pedro Kibenga, which lead to the death of Beatriz Kimpa Vita, and to the end of the heretical ‘Antonian’ movement.

Ilchester, Caroline Leonora Murray, Countess of – (1788 – 1819)
British peeress (1812 – 1819) and courtier
Caroline Murray was born (June 17, 1788), the daughter of the Lord George Murray (1761 – 1803), Bishop of St David’s in Wales and his wife Anne Charlotte, the daughter of Lieutenant-General Francis Grant. Caroline was married (1812) at Burnham in Buckinghamshire, to Henry Stephen Fox-Strangways (1787 – 1858), third Earl of Ilchester from 1802. Lady Ilchester was a member of the household of the Princess Charlotte, daughter of the Prince Regent (George IV), whilst her stepmother-in-law, Maria Digby, widow of the second earl, was the princess’s official governess. Lady Ilchester died (Jan 8, 1819) aged thirty, at Melbury House, Dorset, and left four children,

• Lady Theresa Anna Maria Fox-Strangways (1813 – 1874). She was married to Edward St Vincent Digby (1809 – 1889), ninth Baron Digby, and left descendants.
• Henry Thomas Leopold Fox-Strangways (1816 – 1837), Lord Stavordale. He died unmarried.
• Stephen Fox-Strangways (1817 – 1848), Lord Stavordale (1837 – 1848). He died unmarried.
• Lady Caroline Margaret Fox-Strangways – (born 1819). She was married to Sir Edward Clarence Kerrison (1821 – 1886), second baronet (1853 – 1886) and died childless.

Ilchester, Elizabeth Strangways-Horner, Countess of – (1722 – 1792)
British heiress and peeress
Elizabeth Strangways-Horner was the only daughter and heiress of Thomas Strangways Horner, of Mells Park, Somersetshore, and his wife Susannah, the daughter and coheiress of Thomas Strangways of Melbury, near Sampford, Dorset. Elizabeth was married (1735) to Stephen Fox-Strangways (Sept 12, 1704 – Sept 29, 1776) who was created first Earl of Ilchester by George II (1756) and adopted his wife’s surname to his own, and this was borne by their children and descendants. Some of Lady Ilchester’s correspondence has survived, and she receives mention in the letters of the antiquarian Sir Horace Walpole. She was heir to her brother, Thomas Strangways, and with the death of her sister Jane, Duchess of Hamilton (1729) Lady Ilchester became the sole heiress of that family. She survived her husband as Dowager Countess of Ilchester (1776 – 1792). Her children were,

• Lady Susan Sarah Louisa Fox-Strangways (1744 – 1827). She eloped with and married the actor William O’Brien.
• Henry Thomas Fox-Strangways (1742 – 1802). He succeeded his father as second Earl of Ilchester (1776 – 1802), was married twice and left descendants.
• Lady Lucy Fox-Strangways (1748 – 1787). She became the first wife of Colonel Hon. (Honourable) Stephen Digby (1742 – 1800).
• Lady Harriet Fox-Strangways (Christian Henrietta Caroline) (1750 – 1815). She became the wife of John Dyke Acland (1746 – 1778) and left descendants.
• Lieutenant-Colonel Hon. Stephen Fox-Strangways (1751 – 1836). He died unmarried.
• Hon. Charles Redlynch Fox-Strangways (1761 – 1836). He became a clergyman and was rector of Rewe in Devon. He married and left descendants.
• Lady Frances Muriel Fox-Strangways (1755 – 1814). She became the first wife of Sir Valentine Richard Quin (1752 – 1824), first Baron Adare (1752 – 1824) and later first Earl of Dunraven. She was ancestress of the successive Earls of Dunraven.

Ilchester, Maria Digby, Countess of – (1772 – 1842)
British Hanoverian courtier and peeress (1794 – 1802)
Maria Digby was the daughter of Henry William Digby, Dean of Durham, and his wife Charlotte Lepel, the daughter of Joseph Cox, of Stanford, Berkshire. Maria became the second wife (1794) of Henry Thomas Fox-Strangways (1742 – 1802), second Earl of Ilchester (1776 – 1802). She survived her husband four decades as Dowager Countess of Ilchester (1802 – 1842). As a widow Lady Ilchester served at the court of George III (1760 – 1820), as as extra lady-in-waiting to Queen Charlotte, and was in attendance upon during the trying time of her daughter Amelia’s tragic death (1810). Later, after an agreement between the queen and her eldest son, the Prince Regent (George IV), Lady Ilchester served as lady-in-waiting to the Princess Charlotte, the Regent’s only child, but she adopted the position with serious misgivings on her own part. The queen herself was not happy with the arrangement, but acquiesced to placate her son. Lady Ilchester then attended the queen when she received news of the death of her granddaughter in childbirth (1817). With the death of her royal mistress (Nov, 1818), the countess attended her lying-in-state at Kew Palace, together with the Countess of Macclesfield and the Dowager Countess of Cardigan. Her eldest son William Fox-Strangways (1795 – 1865), succeeded as fourth Earl of Ilchester, but died childless. Her youngest son, John George Charles Fox-Strangways (1803 – 1859), of Brickworth House, Wiltshire, who was born posthumously, served at the court of William IV (1830 – 1837) as gentleman usher to Queen Adelaide, and was the father of Henry Edward Fox-Strangways (1847 – 1905), who succeeded his uncle as fifth Earl of Ilchester (1865 – 1905). The Countess of Ilchester died (Sept 23, 1842) aged seventy, at Abbotsbury Castle, and was interred there. She appears in the historical novel The Regent's Daughter (1971) by Jean Plaidy.

Ilchester, Mary Eleanor Anne Dawson, Countess of – (1852 – 1935)
British editor
Lady Mary Dawson was the only daughter of Sir Richard Dawson, first Earl of Dartrey, and his wife Augusta, the daughter of Edward Stanley, of Cross Hall. Lady Mary was married (1872) to Henry Edward Fox-Strangways (1847 – 1905), fifth Earl of Ilchester, to whom she bore three children, including Giles Fox-Strangways (1874 – 1959), who succeeded as sixth Earl of Ilchester (1905 – 1959). Lady Ilchester worked in conjunction with her eldest son (then Lord Stavordale) to edit The Life and Letters of Lady Sarah Lennox (1901). She survived her husband as Dowager Countess of Ilchester for three decades (1905 – 1935). The Countess of Ilchester died (Oct 25, 1935) aged eighty-three.

Ildegonde of Cologne – (fl. c415 – c430 AD)
Merovingian queen consort
Ildegonde was the daughter of Marcomir II, king of the Franks at Cologne, and his own wife Ildegonde, herself the daughter of Agelmund, King of Lombardy. She was married (c415 AD) to Chlodion (c396 – c448 AD), King of the Salian Franks at Tournai, and became the mother of Childebert (c425 – 483 AD), King of the Franks at Cologne (Koln), through whom she was the ancestress of many of the royal and aristocratic families of Europe.

Ildegonde of Lombardy – (fl. c400 AD)
Merovingian queen consort
Ildegonde was the daughter of Agelmund, King of Lombardy, and was married (c396 AD) to Marcomir II (died 423 AD), King of the Franks at Cologne (Koln). Her own daughter Ildegonde became the wife of Chlodion, the King of the Salian Franks at Tournai, and left many descendants.

Ildemerca (Hildemarca) – (c625 – 689)
Merovingian nun and saint
Ildemerca was appointed abbess of the convent of St Eulalia in Bordeaux, France (c650). When St Wandrille (Wandregiselus) inherited the abbey of Fecamp, in Normandy (c660), and he brought abbess Ildemerca to preside over the community at Fecamp. When St Leger of Autun was being persecuted by the mayor Ebroin, Ildemerca gave the bishop sanctuary at Fecamp (673), and she and her nuns received religious instruction from him during his stay. The church venerated her as a saint (Oct 25). The abbey of Fecamp was later destroyed by the Normans in the ninth century.

Ildiko – (fl 453 AD)
Hunnish queen
Possibly of royal Burgundian birth, her name is the Hungarian form of the German name Hilda (meaning ‘a fierce warrior’). Captured by the forces of Attila, king of the Huns, several of her family members were murdered at his order, and she was forcibly married to him (453 AD) according to the historians Jordanes and Priscus.  Attila died suddenly of a stroke during their wedding night, and Ildiko was found in the morning weeping beside his corpse. Her own fate remains unrecorded. Attila had overthrown the Burgundian kings (437 AD), and later, according to the historian Saxo and the Quedlinburg chronicle, Ildiko murdered him in revenge for the deaths of relatives of hers he had killed, which included her father and brothers. Zacharias Werner in his dramatization Attila, A Tragedy (1832) which was performed in London, makes Ildiko plot with attila’s brother Bleda to arrange his murder, but this fails to happen and he is murdered by the Roman princess Honoria instead.

Ileana of Roumania – (1909 – 1991)
Princess and author
Princess Ileana was born (Jan 5, 1909) the third and youngest daughter of Ferdinand I, King of Roumania (1914 – 1927) and his British wife Marie of Edinburgh-Coburg, the daughter of Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh and of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha in Germany (1893 – 1900), and was the granddaughter of Queen Victoria. She was married firstly to the Hapsburg archduke Stephen Anton of Austria-Lorraine (1901 – 1987) to whom she bore six children. Due to her husband’s sexual proclivities the couple were later divorced. Her second marriage with Dr Stefan Issarescu (1906 – 2002) remained childless and also ended in divorce. Archduchess Ileana became a nun as Mother Alexandra and her published works included I Live Again (1951), Hospital of the Queen’s Heart (1954) and the religious work Introduction to the Jesus Prayer (1959). Her eldest daughter the Archduchess Maria Ileana (born 1933) became the wife of Count Joseph Kottulinsky (1917 – 1959) with whom she was killed in a plane crash, whilst her second daughter, Archduchess Alexandra (born 1935) became the wife of Duke Eugen Eberhard of Wurttemburg (born 1930). Princess Ileana died (Jan 21, 1991) aged eighty-one.

Ilg, Frances Lillian – (1902 – 1981)
American psychologist and child behaviour specialist
Ilg trained as a paediatrician, and researched infant and child behaviour at Yale University as assistant to Arnold Gesell. With Gesell’s retirement (1950), Ilg and several other colleagues established the Gesell Institute of Child Development in New Haven, which was renamed the Gesell Institute of Human Developement. Frances Ilg died aged seventy-eight, in Manitowish Waters, Wisconsin.

Iliffe, Charlotte Gilding, Lady – (1881 – 1972)
British peeress (1933 – 1960)
Charlotte Gilding was the daughter of Henry Gilding, of Gateacre, near Liverpool, Lancashire. Charlotte was married (1902) to Sir Edward Mauger Iliffe (1877 – 1960), the newspaper proprietor, who was created first Baron Iliffe of Yattenden (1933) by King George V, whereupon Lady Charlotte became the Baroness Iliffe. She survived her husband as Dowager Baroness Illiffe (1960 – 1972). Lady Iliffe died at Yattenden Court, near Newbury in Berkshire, aged ninety. She left three children.

• Hon. (Honourable) Kathleen Iliffe (born 1904). She was married (1926) to Leslie Frederick Laurence, of Las Palmas, in the Canary Islands.
• Edward Langton Iliffe (1908 – 1996) He succeeded his father as second Baron Iliffe (1960 – 1996). He served as High Sheriff of Berkshire, and was married (1938) to Madamoiselle Renee Merandon du Plessis of Mauritius, but died childless.
• Hon.Richard Iliffe (1911 – 1959). He was married and was the father of Robert Iliffe (born 1944), who succeeded his childless uncle as third Baron Iliffe (1996).

Iliffe, Renee Merandon du Plessis, Lady – (1916 – 2007)
Mauritian-Anglo peeress as Baroness Iliffe (1960 – 1996)
Born (Nov 15, 1916) as Madamoiselle Renee Merandon du Plessis on the Island of Mauritius, she was the daughter of a sugar planter. Due to financial problems the family came to live in London (1933), and Renee finished her education in Paris. Renee became the wife (1938) of the noted newspaper proprietor, Edward Langton Iliffe (1908 – 1996), who later succeeded his father (1960) as second Baron Iliffe. Their marriage remained childless. With her husband she purchased (1952) and restored the famous Palladian villa, of Basildon Park in Berkshire, which overlooked the Thames River, and which had been originally built for Sir Francis Sykes in the reign of George III. The couple resided on the estate for over two decades and finally presented the estate to the National Trust (1978).

Ilk, Herta – (1902 – 1972)
German politician and lawyer
Born Hertha Gerdessen (Sept 9, 1902) in Brieg, Silesia, she was the daughter of an army officer. She studied law at the University of Breslau and was employed there with the regional courts. With her marriage (1929) she worked as a legal advisor to the German Red Cross, and accompanied her husband to Augsburg in Bavaria (1937).
Madame Ilk joined the FDP (Free Democratic Party) (1947) and was elected to the Federal executive committee (1950). She was a member of the Bundestag (Congress) (1949 – 1957). Herta Ilk died (Aug 20, 1972) aged sixty-nine, in Augsburg.

Illakowiczowna, Kazimiera – (1892 – 1970)
Polish poet
Kazimiera Illakowiczowna was born in Vilnius, Lithuania into the minor nobility. She attended boarding school in Krakow, and later studied abroad in Switzerland, England, and Russia (1906 – 1909). Kazimiera then attended the Jagiellonian University in Krakow and served as a nurse with the Russian army during WW I. During the wars she was employed as a government secretary, but with the advance on Poland by the Nazi forces she was evacuated to Romania. She then worked as a teacher of foreign languages before being able to return to her homeland (1947). Kazimiera settled in Poznan, Silesia. She published several collections of poems and was elected a member of the Polish Academy of Literature (1932). Her works included Ikarowe loty (Flights of Icarus) (1911), Rymy dzieciece (Childlike Verses) (1914), Ballady bohaterskie (Heroic Ballads) (1934), Wiersze bezlistne (Leafless Poems) (1942) and Wiersze 1912 – 1959 (Poems 1912 – 1959) (1980) which was published posthumously.

Ille-Beeg, Marie – (1855 – 1927)
German author
Marie Ille was born in Furth and attended the School of Art in Nuremburg and then removed to Munich in Bavaria. Confined to bed by a debilitating illness for many years, she took up a writing career, using the pseudonym ‘Maria Beeg,’ and began illustrating books for juveniles and small children. Her extremely popular Schulmadelgeschichten fur Madchen (1887), went through nine editions by 1913.

Illingworth, Margaret Mary Clare Wilberforce, Lady – (1900 – 1986)
British socialite
Margaret Wilberforce was born at Markington Hall, near Ripon in Yorkshire, a descendant of William Wilberforce (1759 – 1833), the famous politician and philanthropist. She became the second wife of the elderly Lord Albert Illingworth, a cabinet minister to King George V (1910 – 1936). His death a decade afterwards left her a childless widow. She never remarried. Lady Illingworth lived as a widow of wealthy means, and was a prominent member and leader fashionable London social society. Later, when her health deteriorated she was defrauded her of her considerable fortune of over five hundred thousand pounds by her niece Susan Wilberforce (the Baroness de Stempel). Lady Illingworth died (Nov 6, 1986) aged eighty-six, in a nursing home, Langford House in Yorkshire. Mrs de Stempel was later arrested, tried, convicted and imprisoned (1990) for this crime.

Ilmakangas, Ida Livija – (1884 – 1912)
Finnish disaster victim
Ida Ilmakangas was the daughter of Beata Sofia Ilmakangas, of Paavola, in Oulu. She had travelled to New York in the USA to meet her younger sister Pieta Sofia (born 1886), and the two women booked return passage to Finland, travelling aboard the ill-fated Titanic, which they boarded at Southampton in England. Both sisters perished and their bodies were never recovered. Their mother received some compensation from a public relief fund.

Ilona Zrinyi (Helena) – (1645 – 1703)
Hungarian ruler and regent
Countess Ilona Zrinyi was married firstly to Franz I Rakoczy, Prince of Siebenburgen, and secondly to Imre Tokoly. With the death of her first husband, and then her mother-in-law, Sophia Bathory, Princess Ilona inherited vast estates. With her husband Franz’s death (1676) she ruled as regent for their son. With her second husband she organized the ‘kuruc’ uprising against the Austrian Hapsburgs. With Tokoly’s eventual defeat, Ilona held out in the fortress of Munkach in Ruthenia until forced to surrender (1688). The princess was taken to Vienna and immured within a convent until she was exchanged for various high ranking Austrian prisoners. Ilona accompanied her second husband into exile and later died in Nikodemia.

Iltani – (fl. c1780 – c1770 BC)
Queen of Karana in Assyria
Iltani was the wife of Samu-addu, King of Karana and his wife Ama-duga. She was married for political reasons to Aqba-hammu, a client ruler of the king of Karana, who was of Amorite ancestry. During a palace coup her husband deposed her brother Ashkur-Addu, and installed himself and Iltani as rulers of Karana. Queen Iltani ruled as regent during her husband’s abscences on military campaigns, and her considerable official correspondence in the palace archives at Tell el Rimah has survived, preserved on cuneiform tablets. These records also reveal that the queen was actively involved in supervision of the palace textile industry, an enormous source of financial capital for the kingdom, on a daily basis through her stewards.

Imhilda – (c750 – before 804)
Scandinavian queen
Imhilda was the daughter of Warnechin, Count of Engern in Westphalia, and his wife Kunehilda of Rugen. She was sister to the Saxon warrior and hero Widukind, and was married (c769) to Harald I, king of Norway (died 804), whom she predeceased. Imhilda was the mother of King Harald II (c775 – 804) through whom she was ancestress to most of the famous European royal dynasties, including the Plantagenets of England, and the Capets and Valois of France.

Imi – (fl. c2020 BC)
Egyptian queen consort
An attested queen consort of the XIth Dynasty (2160 – 1994 BC), the identities of her parents and husband remain unknown, but Imi was the mother of King Menuhotep IV, the last pharoah of that dynasty, and survived into his reign as queen mother. Queen Imi was mentioned in a surviving inscription in the Wadi Hammamat which recorded an expedition there to cut stone for the pharoah’s tomb. These inscriptions gave her the title of ‘King’s Mother.’

Imizza of Lutzelburg      see    Ermengarde of Luxemburg

Imma of Alemannia    see also   Emma of Alemannia

Imma of Alemannia – (c690 – c750)
Merovingian nun and saint
Imma was the daughter of Godfrey, Duke of Alemannia (687 - 709) who was killed in a local uprising when he tried to enforce the spread of the Christian religion amongst his subjects. She became the wife (c705) of Tassilo II (c683 - c720), Duke of Bavaria (715 - c720), co-ruler with his elder brothers Duke Theodebert III and Duke Theodebald II. She bore her husband two children, a son Grimoald who did not succeed his father as duke, and a daughter Suanachilde (Swanhilde) who became the second wife of Charles Martel, Duke of Austrasia. With her husband's death (c720) the duchess chose to retire from the court and embrace the religious life. She gathered around her some women of like vocation, and the group lived as nuns near the family castle known as St Mary’s Mount in Wurzburg. When St Burchard visited her there Imma gave him both her property and her residence, and retired to the Abbey of Karelburg, where she died. The church honoured her as a saint, though the date of her feast has been lost.

Imma of Saxony (d. after 995)
German mediaeval princess
Imma was the third and youngest daughter of Bernard I, Duke of Saxony (973 – 1011) and his first wife Bertrada of Norway, the daughter of Harald II Graypelt, King of Norway. Imma never married and became a nun at the royal Abbey of Herford where her elder sister Godesta later ruled as abbess (1002 – 1040).

Immachilde (Himnechildis) – (c632 – 679)
Merovingian queen consort
Immachilde was probably the daughter of Bodilon, a powerful Austrasian magnate, and his wife Sigrada of Dijon, a descendant of Flavius Afranius Syagrius, Gallo-Roman consul (381 AD) and proconsul of Africa. She was sister to St Leger, Bishop of Autun and of Count Guerin of Poitiers, who were referred to as the maternal uncles of her daughter Berswinda. Immachilde was married (c645) to King Sigebert II (629 – 656) and was queen mother during the reign of her son Dagobert II (675 – 679). Her daughter Berswinda was the wife of Duke Eticho of Alsace, and the mother of St Odilia, the blind Abbess of Hohenburg. Queen Immachilde was murdered (Dec 23, 679) at the Palace of Stenay, near Ardenne, Austrasia, with her son and other members of the royal family in a dynastic coup. She was probably interred together with her son in the Chapel of St Remy there. Through her eldest daughter Queen Immachilde was the grandmother of St Odilia, the blind abbess of Hohenburg. Her children were,

• Bereswinda of Austrasia (c646 – after 679). She became the wife of Adalric I (Eticho) (c645 – 690), the first Duke of Alsace, and elft descendants.
• Dagobert II (652 – 679). He succeeded his father as King of Austrasia (675 – 679). He was married twice and left descendants.
• Bilchilde of Austrasia (c656 – 675). She became the wife of her kinsman, Childeric II (655 – 675), King of Neustria, and left issue. She was murdered with her husband, whilst she was pregnant, and interred with him in the Abbey of St Germain-des-Pres in Paris.

Immena – (c810 – before 856)
Carolingian abbess
Immena was the daughter of Rodulf, Count of Turenne and Cahors, and his wife Goda, and the sister of Rodulf, Archbishop of Bourges. Her parents built the abbey of Sarrazac on the site of a former villa, for Immena in order to provide for her future, and she was dedicated as a nun and abbess of that house, being styled ‘abbatissa’ in a surviving charter (844).  Immena later sold some of her property to her brother archbishop Rodulf (c847), but died sometime before 856. Details of her life are recorded in the charters which were transcribed into the cartulary of Beaulieu. When Immena herself died her brother Rodulf disbanded the community of nuns and gave the lands to endow the Benedictine abbey for monsk at Beaulieu in Limoges, Aquitaine.

Immerwahr, Clara – (1870 – 1915)
German chemist
Immerwahr was born (June 21, 1870) in Polkersdorf, the daughter of a chemist. She was the first woman to graduate in physical chemistry from the University of Breslau, and was married (1901) to Fritz Haber, the noted scientist. Clara later publicly attacked her husband’s research and the application of deadly poison gas used during WW I (1914 – 1918). Clara Immerwahr committed suicide (May 2, 1915) aged forty-four, in Berlin.

Immula    see    Irmingarde of Susa

Imperia – (c320 – c362 AD)
Gallo-Roman Christian martyr
Imperia was put to death at Mauprouvoir, near Carroux in Poitou during the Christian persecution there, probably instigated by the emperor Julian the Apostate (361 – 363 AD). Of patrician rank, she was a woman of mature years and the French later referred to her as Impere. The church venerated her memory (Sept 6).

Importuna – (d. c236 AD)
Roman Christian martyr
Importuna perished at Milan in Lombardy, during the persecutions instigated by the Emperor Maximinus Thrax (235 – 238 AD). Arrested as a Christian she refused to abjure her faith and was condemned to death. Her veneration date (May 6) was recorded in the Acta Sanctorum.

Imrie, Amy Elizabeth – (1870 – 1944)
British Catholic nun
Born Amy Elizabeth Pollard in British Guiana, she was adopted as a child by William Imrie, one of the owners of the famous White Star shipping line and was then known by his name. Imrie left Amy as his sole heiress at his death (1906). She became a nun and joined the Order of the Poor Clares where she adopted the name of Sister Mary Clare (1907). She provided funds for the establishment of the convent of St Mary of the Angels in Liverpool, Lancashire. Amy Imrie died at Looe in Bodmin, Cornwall.

Inama von Sternegg, Franziska – (1870 – 1928)
Austrian painter
Franziska was born in Innsbruck, the daughter of Theodor Inama von Sternegg, the economic historian. Franziska was trained as a portraitist and historical landscape artist under Rudolf Geyling in Vienna, and received further training under Johann Leonhardt and Walter Firle in Munich, Bavaria. Having established herself as a freelance painter in Innsbruck (1905) where she was a popular portrait painter, she was awarded a bronze medal at the World Exhibition in St Louis, Missouri, USA (1904). Franziska Inama von Sternegg died at Innsbruck (Nov 9, 1928).

Inayat Khan, Noor – (1914 – 1944)
Indian espionage agent and author
She was born Noor-un-Nisa Inayat Khan (Jan 1,1914) in Moscow, Russia, to a Muslim Indian father, her mother was a descendant of Tipu Sultan, ruler of Mysore. Inayat studied music under Nadia Boulanger in Paris and wrote poetry and children’s stories publishing Twenty Jakata Tales. During WW II she became a Special Operations Executive agent in Paris. Despite the danger and the arrest of many network radio operators, Inayat decided to remain at her post, and was captured and interrogated by the Germans (1943). She refused to reveal any information and twice escaped, though they recovered her notebooks, which revealed details of parachute landings. Inayat Khan was then taken to Germany and placed in the Pforzheim fortress in solitary confinement, treated as a dangerous prisoner. Brutally tortured she refused to reveal even her own name. She died (Sept 13, 1944) at Dachau aged only thirty, with several others, all shot in the head by the Gestapo. Inayat Khan was posthumously awarded the GC (George Cross) and was appointed MBE (Member of the British Empire) by King George VI.

Inayat Shah – (c1640 – 1688)
Muslim sultana
The queen of Aceh Dar es-Salam in Indonesia, her given name was Zaqiyat. She was the daughter of Raja Mahmud Shan bin Raja Sulaiman Shahand. Her husband was a great-grandson of Sultan Mukmin (1579), but it was Inayat who ruled. She was elected by the powerful merchant class as successor to the Sultana Naqiat, and was succeeded at her death by her sister-in-law Zinat.

Inber, Vera – (1890 – 1972)
Russian poet, journalist and diarist
Vera Inber was born (July 10, 1890) in Odessa to a prosperous family, and spent several years in Switzerland and Paris (1910 – 1914) due to ill-health. Vera later joined the short-lived Acmeist movement in imagery and verse, which flourished in Russia prior to WW I. After the war she sampled Constructivism and Futurism, but was best known for her coverage of the nine hundred day siege of Leningrad, which she recorded in her diary. During the siege by the Germans, her husband worked as a hospital director, whilst Vera wrote for the newspaper Leningradskaya Pravda, and worked in radio broadcasting, to keep up the moral of the besieged population. Her poem ‘The Pulkovo Meridian’ (1942) is considered one of Russia’s finest poetic works, and her diary was published as Nearly Three Years (1945). In recognition of her literary contributions, Inber was awarded the Stalin Prize (1946). Her collections of verse included Pechal’noe vino (Sad Wine) (1914), Gor’kaia uslada (Bitter Pleasure) (1917) and Brennyeslova (Fleeting Words) (1922). Vera Inber died in Moscow (Nov 11, 1972) aged eighty-two.

Inchbald, Elizabeth – (1753 – 1821)
British novelist, dramatist and actress
Born Elizabeth Simpson (Oct 5, 1753), she was the daughter of a Catholic farmer from Stanningfield, near Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. Her father died during her childhood, and Elizabeth went on the stage in Norfolk (1770) before travelling to London to pursue this career. In order to protect her reputation, Elizabeth was married (1772) to Joseph Inchbald, the actor and portrait painter. Her stage roles included Cordelia opposite her husband in the title role as King Lear, Queen Anne Boleyn, Queen Anne in Richard III, Desdemona, Aspasia in Tamurlane, and Monimia in the Orphan. She performed in Edinburgh and in Yorkshire before her husband’s early death (1779). Mrs Inchbald continued to pursue her acting career and worked at Covent Garden and Haymarket, but despite her beauty, her acting talent was considered middle of the range, and she never excited great comment. Her last stage role was as Mrs Blandish in the Heiress (1789). From this time onwards Elizabeth Inchbald concentrated on her literary career, and wrote many plays which were produced for the stage such as The Mogul Tale, or the Descent of the Balloon and I’ll Tell You What. However, she was best remembered for her novel, A Simple Story (1791), which was followed by Nature and Art (1796), the first work being considered much the superior. She later edited The British Theatre (1806 – 1809) in twenty-five volumes and contributed articles for the Edinburgh Review.Her portrait was painted by Sir Thomas Lawrence, and De Wilde painted her as Lady Jane Grey. Elizabeth Inchbald died (Aug 1, 1821) aged sixty-seven, at Kensington House.

Inchiquin, Mary Villiers, Countess of – (c1668 – 1753)
English Stuart and Hanoverian courtier
Mary Villiers was the daughter of Sir Edward Villiers, and was the childhood companion to the Stuart queens, Mary II (1688 – 1694) and Anne (1702 – 1714). She was closely related to Barbara Villiers, Lady Castlemaine, the notorious mistress of King Charles II (1660 – 1685). Mary was later married to William O’Brien (1660 – 1719), the Irish Earl of Inchiquin (1660 – 1719), a descendant of the ancient royal house, to whom she bore several children. Lady Inchiquin attended the courts of the Stuart rulers, Mary and William, and Queen Anne, and attended the coronation of George I (1714). Lady Mary survived her husband for over three decades (1719 – 1753) as the Dowager Countess of Inchiquin, and as such she attended the coronation of George II and Queen Caroline (1728).

Incrocci, Zoe – (1917 – 2003)
American film and television actress
Zoe Incrocci was born (Sept 21, 1917) at Brescia in Lombardy, and was sister of the screenwriter Agenore Incrocci (1919 – 2005). She appeared in such films as Toto cerca moglie (1950), Bravissimo (1955). Incrocci also appeared in television series such as Il maresciallo (1998) and Don Matteo (2000) as the Contessa Ravelli. Zoe Incrocci died (Nov 6, 2003) aged eighty-six, in Rome.

India of Toulouse – (c1195 – after 1249)
French dynastic figure
India was the natural daughter of Raymond VI, count of Toulouse and an unidentified mistress. She was married firstly to Bernard II, seigneur de l’Isle-Jourdain, and secondly to Guillaume, Vicomte de Lautrec. By her first husband she was the mother of Jourdain IV de l’Isle-Jourdain (died c1271).

Indradevi – (c850 – c893)
Cambodian queen
Indradevi was the daughter of Mahipativarman and his wife Rajendradevi, and was a descendant of King Pushkaraksha (716). She became the wife of Indravarm, King of Angkor (reigned 877 – 889) who obtained control of the kingdom of Sambhupura through marriage with her. Indradevi became the mother of King Yasovarman I (ruled 889 – 900), who restored the legitimacy of the kingdom of Angkor. She survived into the reign of her son, who caused a sanctuary to be erected in the middle of Lake Indratataka (893), in which were built four brick towers, two of which commemorated the queen and her husband. They were then deified in the religious forms of Siva and Uma (Indradevi). Of her two daughters, the elder, Jayadevi, became the wife King Jayarvarman IV (reigned 928 – 942) whilst the younger, Mahendradevi, became the mother of King Rajenravarman (reigned 944 – 968).

Inenek-Inti – (fl. c2220 BC)
Egyptian queen
A queen consort of the VIth Dynasty (2282 – 2117 BC), Inenek-Inti was one of the wives of Pepi I, the long-lived third pharoah of that dynasty. She was interred with her husband in his tomb at Saqqara, where surviving reliefs give her the title of ‘King’s Wife.’

Inescourt, Elaine – (1877 – 1964)
British stage and film actress
Born Charlotte Elizabeth Ihle in London, after embarking upon a stage career she adopted the stagename of ‘Elaine Inescourt’ and sometimes used the surnamed ‘Inerscort.’ A talented linguist, who had received a considerable education in her youth, she was mother to the more famous screen actress, Frieda Inescort. She appeared in several silent films such as Linked by Fate (1919) and An Arabian Knight (1920). She also made sporadic appearances in films such as Rolling in Money (1934) and Doctor ‘My Book’ (1938), as well an appearance in the television series The Count of Monte Cristo (1956). Elaine Inescourt died (July 7, 1964) in Brighton, Sussex.

Inescort, Frieda – (1901 – 1976)
British film and television actress
Born Frieda Wightman (June 29, 1901) at Edinburgh, she was the daughter of actress Elaine Inescourt. After appearing on the stage she moved to the screen and appeared in well over fifty films. Frieda Inescort was famous for her portrayal of aristocratic ladies and socialites, her credits included The King Steps Out (1936), as Princess Helena, Mary of Scotland (1936) with Katharine Hepburn, where she played Mary Beaton, Pride and Prejudice (1940) with Laurence Olivier and Greer Garson, where she appeared as Caroline Bingley, The Return of the Vampire (1944), A Place in the Sun (1951) with Montgomery Clift, in which she played Elizabeth Taylor’s sympathetic aunt, and The Eddie Duchin Story (1956) as Edie Wadsworth. During the latter part of her career Inescourt appeared in various popular television programs such as Meet Corliss Archer (1951 – 1952), Fireside Theater (1950 – 1952), General Electric Theater (1954), Wagon Train (1958) and Perry Mason (1961). Frieda Inescort died (Feb 26, 1976) aged seventy-four, in Woodland Hills, California.

Inez de Castro      see     Castro, Inez de

Infantado, Duquesa Marie Eleonore del    see    Croy, Marie Eleonore von Salm-Salm, Duchesse de

Ingamode – (c1023 – c1080)
Swedish queen and heiress
Ingamode was the daughter of King Edmund the Old, and the granddaughter of Olaf III Skotkonnung. Ingamode was married (c1042) Stenkil Rognvaldsson (c1015 – 1066) the son of her stepmother Queen Astrid, and the couple succeeded Edmund as king and queen (1060). She survived her husband and was the mother of kings Halstan (1066 – 1080) and Inge I (1080 – 1110).

Ingeborg Tryggvasdotter – (c961 – after 1000)
Norwegian princess
Ingeborg was the daughter of Tryggvas, King of Vigen, and sister to King Olaf I, and was the great-granddaughter of Harald I Haarfager (Fair-haired), King of Norway (850 – 936). Ingeborg was married prior to 980 to Ragnvald Ulfsson, jarl (earl) of Vastergotland in Sweden, and later of Staraja Ladoga. Her children included Stenkil Ragnvaldsson (c990 – 1066) who later ruled Sweden as king (1056 – 1066), and the two princes, Ulf and Eilif who travelled to Russia to carve their careers.

Ingeborg Charlotta Caroline Frederika Lovisa – (1878 – 1958) 
Princess of Denmark
Princess Ingeborg was born (Aug 2, 1878) at Charlottenlund, the daughter of King Frederik VIII and his wife Louise of Sweden, the daughter of Carl XV, King of Sweden. Princess Ingeborg was married (1897) Charles, Duke of Vastergotland (1861 – 1951), a younger son of Oskar II of Sweden, to whom she bore three daughters.When her brother Carl was elected to the throne of Norway (1905) there were rumours of Ingeborg intriguing against his acceptance of the throne, however, no evidence of such intrigues can now be found. During the frequent abscences abroad of her sister-in-law Queen Victoria, wife of her brother Gustavus V, due to illness, Ingeborge acted as official hostess at her brother’s court. A tireless supporter of the Swedish Red Cross, of which her husband was the president, the princess was immersed in many other charitable concerns, becoming chairperson of the ‘Sallskapet barnavaara’ (Swedish Child Care Society). Princess Ingeborg died (March 11, 1958) aged seventy-nine, in Stockholm.

Ingeborge Eriksdotter (1) – (1244 – 1287)
Queen consort of Norway (1263 – 1280)
Princess Ingeborge Eriksdotter was the daughter of Erik IV, King of Denmark. Ingeborge was married (1261) to Magnus VI (1238 – 1280), King of Norway, whom she survived as Queen Dowager (1280 – 1287). Queen Ingeborge was the mother of kings Erik III (1280 – 1299) and Haakon V (1299 – 1319) of Norway.

Ingeborge Eriksdotter (2) – (1212 – 1254)
Princess of Sweden
Ingeborge was the daughter of Erik Knutsson, King of Sweden (1208 – 1210) and his wife Richesa of Denmark. She became the first wife (c1230) of the powerful magnate Jarl Birger Magnusson (c1200 – 1266). When her husband became regent of Sweden for their son Valdemar Princess Ingeborge became the first lady of the Swedish court for the last years of her life (1250 – 1254). Her children were,

• Prince Erik Birgersson of Sweden (c1235 – 1275). He became a duke in Sweden but died unmarried.
• Valdemar I Birgersson (1237 – 1302). He became King of Sweden (1250 – 1275) and was married twice and left issue.
• Magnus III Ladislaus Birgersson (1240 – 1290). He succeeded his brother as King of Sweden (1275 – 1290).
• Princess Richeza Birgersdotter of Sweden (c1241 – 1288). She became the second wife of Heinrich I (c1225 – 1291), Prince of Werle and Gustrow and left issue.
• Princess Katarina Birgersdotter of Sweden (1245 – before 1298). She became the wife if Siegfried I (c1230 – 1298), Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst and left issue.

Ingeborge Finnsdotter (Groa) – (c1030 – 1067)
Queen consort of Scotland (1058 – 1067)
Ingeborge Finnsdotter was the daughter of Finn Arnesson of Vrjor, Jarl (earl) of Halland, and his wife Berglijot Haldansdotter. Ingeborge was married firstly to Maclolm III Canmore (1031 – 1093), King of Scotland (1058 – 1093) as his first wife. She was the mother of King Duncan II (1059 – 1094). Ingeborge appears as one of the main characters in the historical novel entitled King Hereafter (1982) by Dorothy Dunnett.

Ingeborge Haakonsdotter – (1301 – after 1360)
Scandinavian princess and regent
Princess Ingeborge Haakonsdotter was the daughter of Haakon V, King of Norway and his wife Euphemia of Rugen. She was married (1312) to Erik Magnusson, Duke of Sodermanland, the brother of Birger, king of Sweden. Ingeborge bore her husband two children before he was murdered (1318), including  Magnus VII Eriksson (1316 – 1374), who was elected king of Norway (1319 – 1374) king of Norway with the death of Ingeborge’s father, Haakon V. Soon afterwards the Swedish nobility deposed King Birger (1319) and Magnus succeeded to the Swedish throne as well. Duchess Ingeborge ruled Norway as regent for her infant son, but alienated the magates and nobles when she remarried to her lover Knut Porse. He was created duke of Halland and Estonia, and was the legal holder of Ingeborge’s estates and revenues, but the marriage severely damages the princess’s desirability as regent. With Duke Knut’s death (1330) her position weakened and she finally surrenderd power to her son (1332). Ingeborge bore her second husband two sons, who both died in 1350. Ingeborge was still living three decades later (1360) and died sometime afterwards. Her daughter from her first marriage, Princess Euphemia Erikssdotter (1317 – 1370) was married to the German duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, and carried her claims to the Norwegian throne into that family.

Ingeborge Magnusdotter – (1278 – 1319)
Queen consort of Denmark (1296 – 1319)
Princess Ingeborge Magnusdotter was the daughter of Magnus I, King of Sweden, and his wife Hedwig of Holstein. Ingeborge was married (1296) to Erik VI (1274 – 1319), king of Denmark, to whom she bore four sons, who all died young. Queen Ingeborge died (Aug 15, 1319) aged forty-one, the same year as her husband.

Ingeborge of Denmark (Isambour) – (1175 – 1236)
Queen consort of France (1193 – 1223)
Princess Ingeborge was the daughter of Valdemar I, King of Denmark, and his wife Sophia Volodarovna of Novgorod, who then became the wife of Louis III, Landgrave of Thuringia, from whom she was divorced. Ingeborge was the sister to kings Knud VI and Valdemar II (1170 – 1241). Her youngest sister, Helena of Denmark, became the wife of William ‘of Winchester,’ Prince of Saxony and first Duke of Brunswick, the grandson of Henry II, king of England (1154 – 1189) and Eleanor of Aquitaine. Ingeborge was provided with a dowry of ten thousand silver marks, and was escorted to Paris where she became the second wife (1193) of Philip II Augustus (1180 – 1223), king of France (1180 – 1223). The French called her Isambour. He repudiated her almost immediately, and refused to consider her his wife or queen. In order to facilitate a divorce from Ingeborge Philip had her imprisoned. The exact reason for his behaviour remains unknown, and the queen herself always maintained that the marriage had been properly consummated. Philip produced documents to prove the invalidity of the marriage, which showed that Ingeborge was closely related to his first wife, Isabella of Hainault, as one of her ancestors, Knud IV, king of Denmark (died 1086), had married Adela of Flanders. A clerical assembly held at Compeigne (Nov, 1193) then declared the marriage annulled.
Philip then remarried thirdly (1196) to the German princess, Agnes of Meran. King Knud VI complained to Rome concerning his sister’s treatment and Pope Celestine III declared the annulment to be void (1195) and ordered Philip to reinstate the queen to her lawful position. Philip refused and kept Queen Ingeborge imprisoned for some years. Celestine died (1198) but his successor Innocent III was much sterner. Innocent imposed an interediction upon the kingdom of France (1200), and declared the marriage with Queen Agnes to be void, though her children were recognized as legitimate. Agnes died soon afterwards (1201). Philip then pretended to be reconciled with Ingeborge, but he privately refused to cohabit with her as his wife, and still kept her in semi-captivity, first at the Abbey of Cisoing, near Tournai, and then in a tower at Etampes, southwest of Paris. Queen Ingeborge fought tenaciously for twenty years to maintain her legal rights, and eventually King Philip was forced to concede and accepted Ingeborge as queen (1213), though not as his wife. He appears to have remained faithful to her during this latter period of his life. In his will the king referred to Ingeborge as carissima uxor (dearest spouse). As Queen Dowager (1223 – 1236) Ingeborge was treated with great honour and respect by her stepson, Louis VIII and his wife, Blanche of Castile. Together with Blanche and Queen Berengaria of Jerusalem, Ingeborge travelled to the abbey of Saint-Antoine to pray for the king’s victory at La Rochelle Castle (1224). The queen spent the last years of her life in Orleans, and died there (July 29, 1236) aged about sixty. She was buried in the Church of the Order of St Jean at Corbeuil, Normandy.

Ingeborge of Holstein – (1398 – 1465)
Scandinavian nun
Countess Ingeborge was the daughter of Gerhard VI, Count of Holstein-Rendsborg and Duke of Schleswig, and his wife Elisabeth of Brunswick-Luenburg, the daughter of Magnus II, Duke of Brunswick-Luneburg. She never married and was consecrated as a nun, and was later elected as Abbess of Vadstena in Sweden, founded by St Brigit.

Ingeborge of Mecklenburg (1) – (c1339 – 1395)
German princess and dynastic figure
Duchess Ingeborge of Mecklenburg was the daughter of Albert I, Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and his wife Euphemia of Sweden. Ingeborge was married firstly (1352) to Ludwig VI (1330 – 1365), Duke of Bavaria, and secondly (1366) to Henry II (1317 – 1384), Count of Holstein-Rendsborg. She was the mother of Gerhard of Holstein (1367 – 1404), Duke of Schleswig. Princess Ingeborge died (shortly after July 25, 1395).

Ingeborge of Mecklenburg (2) – (1368 – 1408)
German princess and nun
Duchess Ingeborge was the third daughter of Heinrich I, Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, and his first wife Princess Ingeborge Valdemarsdotter, the daughter of Valdemar IV, King of Denmark. She never married and was veiled as a nun before being appointed to rule over the convent of Ribnitz as abbess (1395 – 1408). Princess Ingeborge died (Sept 28, 1408) aged forty. Through her joint descent from Valdemar IV of Denmark and Magnus I of Sweden, Ingeborge inherited claims to the thrones of Denmark, Norway and Sweden. These claims became extinct when Ingebore took religious vows.

Ingeborge Valdemarsdotter – (1261 – 1290)
Princess of Sweden
Ingeborge was the eldest daughter of Valdemar I Birgersson, King of Sweden (1250 – 1275) and his wife Sophia Eriksdotter, Princess of Denmark, the daughter of King Erik IV Plough-penny. She became the first wife (1275) of Gerhard II (1254 – 1312), Count of Holstein-Ploen, the son of Count Gerhard I of Holstein-Itzehoe and his first wife Duchess Elisabeth of Mecklenburg. Her children were,

• Gerhard IV (c1278 – 1323). He succeeded as Count of Holstein-Segeburg (1312 – 1323) and was married and left issue.
• Count Waldemar of Holstein-Ploen (c1281 – 1308). He died unmarried.
• Countess Catherine of Holstein-Ploen (c1287 – 1319). She became the wife of Otto I (1279 – 1344), Duke of Pomerania-Stettin and left issue.

Ingegarde Haraldsdotter – (1047 – 1120)
Scandinavian queen consort
Princess Ingegarde Haraldsdotter was the second daughter of Harald III Haardrada, King of Norway, and his second wife Elizabeth Jaroslavna, the daughter of Jaroslav I Vladimirovitch, Grand Prince of Kiev. Ingegarde accompanied her mother and sister Maria to England when her father died during his abortive attempt to gain the English throne. Her widowed mother remarried to Swein II Estrithsson of Denmark, and Ingegarde was married (c1068) to Olaf Hunger (1050 – 1095), who established himself as king of Denmark (1086). Their marriage remained childless. With Olaf’s death (Aug, 1095), Queen Ingegarde was married soon afterwards to Philip I, King of Sweden. She was queen consort (1095 – 1118) and survived Philip only eighteen months. Her second marriage was also childless.

Ingegarde Olafsdotter (Irene) – (c1001 – 1050)
Grnd Princess of Kiev
Princess Ingegarde Olafsdotter was the daughter of Olaf III Skotkonnung, King of Sweden and his wife Astrid, the daughter of Mieczyslav III, the Obotrite king of Mecklenburg. Ingegarde was married (1019) to Jaroslav I Vladimirovitch, Grand Prince of Kiev (980 – 1054), as his second wife, bringing the towns of Aldeigaburg and Old Ladoga as her dower. After her marriage Ingegarde joined with Jarl Rognvald of Orkney and other influential men, when they petitioned Jaroslav to allow Magnus, the son of the murdered Olaf II of Norway, to be delivered up to the Norwegians so they crown him as their king. The young king had fled to Jaroslav’s court for protection after his father’s murder, and the prince assisted Magnus to regain his throne, prompted by Ingegarde who desired to see Norway under stable rule. Ingegarde’s part in this particular political arrangement was recorded in the Orkneyinga Saga, where she and Jaroslav were incorrectly styled ‘king’ and ‘queen.’ With her baptism into the Greek Church she took the name of Irene. Ingegarde took religious vows before her death (Feb 10, 1050), having taken the religious name of Sister Anna, and she was regarded as a saint (Feb 10) by the Russian Orthodox church, and also jointly commemorated with her son Vladimir (Oct 4). Ingegarde was the first Russian princess to be veiled as a nun at the approach of death, this custom becoming a general one within the dynasty after her own death. She was buried in the Abbey of St Sophia in Novgorod, where her tomb survives. Her children were,

• Vladimir Jaroslavitch, Prince of Novgorod (1020 – 1052). He was married and left descendants, being canonized a saint.
• Anastasia Jaroslavna (1022 – 1096). She became the second wife of Andras I, King of Hungary and left descendants.
• Izyslav I Jaroslavitch (1025 – 1078), Grand Prince of Kiev. He was married and left descendants.
• Svyatoslav II Jaroslavitch (1027 – 1076), Prince of Tschernigov. He was married and left descendants.
• Elizabeth Jaroslavna (1028 – after 1070). She was married firstly to Harald III Haardrada, King of Norway (1015 – 1066), and secondly became the third wife of Swein II Estrithsson, King of Denmark (1019 – 1076), and left descendants.
• Vsevolod I Jaroslavitch (1030 – 1093), Prince of Perejaslavl and then Grand Prince of Kiev. He married and left descendants.
• Vyatcheslav Jaroslavitch (c1032 – 1056), Prince of Smolensk.
• Igor Jaroslavitch (c1033 – 1060), Prince of Vladimir and Smolensk.
• Anna Jaroslavna (Anne of Kiev) (1036 – c1089). She was married firstly to Henry I, King of France as his third wife, and secondly to Raoul IV of Crepy, Count of Valois-Vexin, as his last wife. She was the mother of Philip I, King of France (1052 – 1108).

Ingelberga Thraudsdotter – (fl. c950 – c970)
Scandinavian queen consort
Ingelberga was the daughter of Thraud, Jarl (earl) of Sula. She became the wife of Olaf II Edmundsson, King of Sweden. Queen Ingelberga was the mother of the Viking leader Prince Styrbjorn Olafsson (c956 – 986), the Jarl of Jomsburg who was killed at the battle of Blackfeld. Ingelberga was the ancestress of Sweyn II Estrithsson (1019 – 1076), King of Denmark and of Haraold II (1066), the last anglo-Saxon king of England, and left many descendants.

Ingelow, Jean – (1820 – 1897)
British poet
Ingelow was born (March 17, 1820) at Boston in Lincolnshire, the daughter of a banker. She was raised in Lincolnshire, and later resided in Ipswich before moving to London, where she spent the rest of her life, remaining unmarried. Jean Ingelow first published work was the collection of verse entitled A Rhyming Chronicle of Incidents and Feelings (1850), which was admired by Lord Tennyson and Wordsworth. Acquainted with the literary circle of Christina Rossetti, Robert Browning, and Ruskin, she achieved fame as a lyric poet with her collection of verse Poems (1863), which included the ballad ‘High Tide on the Coast of Lincolnshire, 1571’ which is counted among her finest works. Her works were extremely popular in the USA, and she wrote several novels including the four volume group Off the Skellings (1872), Sarah de Berenger (1879) in three volumes, and several works for children. Jean Ingelow died (July 20, 1897) aged seventy-seven, in Kensington, London, and was interred within Brompton cemetery.

Ingeltrude of Friuli – (c839 – after 874)
Carolingian princess
Ingeltrude was the daughter of Eberhard, Duke of Friuli and his wife Gisela of Neustria, the daughter of the Emperor Louis I the Pious (816 – 840), and sister to Emperor Charles II the Bald (875 – 877). She was married (c853) to Henry of Saalgau (c830 – 886), Count of Grabfeldgau and Duke of Austrasia, and bore him several children including Hedwig of Saalgau, the wife of Otto I, Duke of Saxony (880 - 912). She was mentioned in the will of her father (866), and that of her widowed mother (July 1, 874) whom she survived.

Ingeltrude of Paris – (c783 – before 836)
Carolingian noblewoman
Sometimes called Engeltron she was the daughter of Bego I, Count of Paris and his first wife Withburga who was perhaps the daughter of Guaifre, Duke of Aquitaine. Ingeltrude became the wife (c799) of Count Unruoch of Ternois (c780 – after 853), the son of Berengar an East Frankish nobleman. Unruoch was created Duke of Friuli, and Ingeltrude was the first recorded female ancestress of the Unruoching dynasty. Their son Duke Eberhard of Friuli (c805 – 866) was married to the Princess Gisela, the daughter of Emperor Louis I (816 – 840) and sister of the Emperor Charles II the Bald (875 – 877) and left many descendants. Through this marriage Ingeltrude was ancestress of the Plantagenet and Tudor dynasties of England, as well as many European royal and aristocratic families.

Ingenach – (c510 – c570)
Scottish queen
Ingenach, sometimes called Lleian, was the daughter of Brychan, Prince of Manau in South Wales. Her mother was the daughter of Dynfnwal Hen (the Old), King of Strathclyde. She was married (c530) to Gabran MacDommangart (c500 – 559), King of Dalriada and the Scots. Ingenach was the mother of Aidan (532 – 606), King of the Scots at Argyll.

Ingenheim, Countess von   see    Voss, Julie von

Ingersoll, Marion Crary – (1880 – 1972)
American suffragist
Marion Crary was the wife of Raymond V. Ingersoll, the borough president of Brooklyn, New York (1933 – 1940). An early leading figure in the drive for female suffrage, Ingersoll was prominent in the field of family planning, and co-founded with Margaret Sanger, the Brooklyn Maternity center, which later evolved into the Planned Parenthood Association. For decades she acted as director of the Margaret Sangster Research Bureau, being the organization’s official representative, and she co-founded the Women’s City Club of New York. Marion Ingersoll died at Northport, Rhode Island (June 9, 1972).

Ingham, Alice – (1830 – 1890) 
British Catholic activist
Alice Ingham was the daughter of a cotton corder who later became a shopkeeper. Alice never married, and with her stepmother and two sisters decided to follow the rule of the Franciscan Third Order. The women lived together in a quasi-religious situation (1871), whilst still organized in running a shop and becoming involved in local acts of charity, and teaching the Catholic catechism to local children.

Ingham, Margaret Hastings, Lady – (1700 – 1768)
British Methodist patron
Lady Margaret Hastings was born at Dunnington Park, Leicestershire, the second daughter of Theophilus Hastings (1650 – 1701), seventh Earl of Huntingdon, and his second wife Frances Wheeler, the widow of the sixth Viscount Kilmorey. With the marriage of her brother Theophilus, ninth Earl of Huntingdon to Lady Selina Shirley (1728), the two women became great friends. Herself of a religious persuasion, Lady Margaret converted her sister-in-law to Methodism, and because of this they were introduced to the society and teaching of the Methodist evangelist, Benjamin Ingham (1712 – 1772), a native of Yorkshire, a dozen years her junior. Despite the difference in age, Margaret was married to Ingham (1741), and through him was the paternal grandmother of Theophilus Hastings Ingham, of Marton-on-Craven, York. After their marriage the couple resided at Aberford, near Tadcaster, where Ingham was appointed rector, and continued his Methodist preaching, with which work Margaret proved to be of admirable practical assistance. With the death of her brother (1746), Lady Margaret often resided for lengthy periods with his widow at Ashby. Lady Ingham died (April 30, 1768) aged sixty-seven.

Ingiberga – (c970 – 1046)
Spanish nun
Ingiberga was the natural daughter of Oliva II Cabreta, Count of Cerdagne and Besalu, by his mistress Ingiberga de Besora. Ingiberga was acknowledged by her father and brought up as a nun at the family abbey of San Juan de Ripoll, at which foundation she became abbess. She may have been the sister of Miron, Viscount of Sisteron the ancestor of the viscounts of Nice.

Ingiltrude (Engiltrude) – (fl. 830 – 834)
Carolingian noblewoman
Ingiltrude was the daughter of Luithard, Count of Fezensac and his wife Grimhild of Damm. Through her father she was the great-granddaughter of King Carloman I (751 – 754), and was cousin to the Emperor Charlemagne. Ingiltrude was sister to Count Gerard II of Vienne and Paris, and of Count Adalhard III, seneschal to the Emperor Louis I the Pious (816 – 840). She was married (c827) to Odo (Eudes), Count of Orleans, who was killed in battle (834), the union being recorded by the chronicler Nithard. The couple had two children, Ermentrude of Orleans (830 – 869), the first wife of Charles II the Bald, and Count Guillaume (died 866), who was captured and executed in Burgundy by his brother-in-law.

Ingina – (c670 – after 737)
Duchess consort of Alsace (690 – 722) and religious patron
Her family of provenance remains undetermined. Old genealogical sources call her the daughter of Duke Boggo of Aquitaine, and of his wife Oda of Austrasia, the daughter of the Merovingian prince Childebert, and thus sister of Duke Eudes I of Aquitaine (died 735) but mistakenly call her ‘Gerlinda’  which is a confusion with her youngest daughter Gerlinda, sometimes also confusingly referred too as ‘Gundelinda.’ Ingina was married (c685) to Adalbert I (c667 – 722), Duke of Alsace to whom she bore six children. She survived Adalbert as the Dowager Duchess of Alsace and was living in 737 when she was mentioned in a surviving charter of her son Luitfrid. The duchess had assisted her husband with the foundation of the Abbey of Honau on an island in the Rhine River north of Strasbourg, and was probably a patron of the Benedictine abbey of Wissembourg, near the Vosges Mountains as well as the abbeys of Neidermunster and Hohenburg. Through her son Luitfrid Duchess Ingina was the ancestress of Ermengarde of Tours, the wife of the Carolingian emperor Lothair I (840 – 855) and mother of the Emperor Louis II (855 – 875). Her children were,

• Princess Attala of Alsace (687 – 741). She became a nun and was appointed as Abbess of St Stephen in Strasbourg (717 – 741).
• Princess Eugenia of Alsace (c689 – 738). She became a nun and was appointed as Abbess of Hohenburg.
• Luitfrid I (c690 – after 741). He succeeded his father Adalbert I as Duke of Alsace (722) and was married and left issue.
• Princess Gerlinda of Alsace (c692 – c740). She became a nun and was appointed to succeed her aunt St Odilia as Abbess of Neidermunster (723 – c740).
• Prince Eberhard of Alsace (c695 – 745). He became Duke of Alsace and was married to Emeltrude but their only son died young. He later retired from the world and became a monk at the Abbey of Remriemont in Lorraine.
• Prince Maso of Alsace (died after 722). He was married and left issue.

Ingleby, Joan Rachel de Vere Capell, Lady – (1897 – 1979)
British peeress
Lady Joan Capell was the younger daughter of George Devereux de Vere Capell, seventh Earl of Essex, and his American second wife, Adela Grant, of New York. Lady Joan was married (1922) to Osbert Peake (1897 – 1966), who was created (1956) first Viscount Ingleby by Queen Elizabeth II. She was Viscountess Ingleby (1956 – 1966) and then Dowager Viscountess after her husband’s death (1966 – 1979). The family estate was at Snilesworth, at Northallerton in North Yorkshire. Lady Ingleby was the mother of,

• Hon. (Honourable) Iris Irene Adele Peake (born 1923). She remained unmarried and served at court as lady-in-waiting to Princess Margaret, the sister of Elizabeth II.
• Hon. Sonia Mary Peake (born 1924). She was married, as his first wife, Lieutenant David George Montagu Hay (born 1921), of the Royal Navy Reserve, from whom she was later divorced (1958). They had children.
• Martin Raymond Peake (1926 – 2008). He succeeded his father as the second Viscount Peake (1966 – 2008) and was married to Susan Landale, leaving a son and four daughters. The peerage became extinct at Lord Ingleby’s death as his only son Richard had predeceased him (1975).
• Hon. Mary Rose Peake (born 1940). She was married to Major Everard John Philipps de Lisle, of the Royal Horse Guards, and left issue.

Inglesby, Mona – (1918 – 2006)
British leading ballerina and teacher
Mona Inglesby was trained as a dancer by Nikolai Sergeyev, the former director-general of the St Petersburg Imperial Ballet. Inglesby herself established the International Ballet (1940) as a mean to provide a showcase for the classical ballets as they had been performed before the Imperial court. From the inception of her troupe Inglesby appeared in most of the performances, though she employed over seventy dancers overall. With Sergeyev’s death (1951) she bought the original notations of the works of Marius Petipa, which included such classics as The Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake and The Nutcracker, which he had brought from Russia during the Revolution (1918). She later sold these papers to Harvard University in the USA (1969).

Inglewood, Kathleen – (1876 – 1955)
New Zealand novelist
Born Kate Evelyn Isitt, she was the daughter of a clergyman, and worked for many years as a journalist. She later travelled to England (1902). She adopted the pseudonym Inglewood and published the novel Patmos(1905), which was a fictionalized account of the Prohibition movement.

Inglewood, Mary Proby, Lady – (1913 – 1982)
British peeress (1964 – 1982) and civic leader
Mary Proby was the eldest daughter of Major Sir Richard Proby, first baronet. She was married (1949) to Morgan Fletcher-Vane (b. 1909), the first Baron Inglewood (1964), and bore him two sons. During WW II, Mary Proby served as senior commandant of the ATS (Auxiliary Territorial Service – later the WRAC (Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps), and was mentioned in despatches. As Mary Fletcher-Vane she served as a member of the London County Council (1949 – 1952), and later, as Lady Inglewood she served as a member of the Cumberland County Council (1961 – 1974) and as a Justice of the Peace.

Inglis, Agnes – (1870 – 1952)
American anarchist
Agnes Inglis was born in Detroit, Michigan, and attended college in Massachusetts. She cared for her sick mother until her death, and then studied history and literature at the University of Michigan. Inglis was variously employed, as a social worker at Hull House in Chicago, and at the Franklin Street Settlement House in Detroit. Her sympathy at the plight of immigrant workers led to her meeting the famous anarchist, Emma Goldman (‘Red Emma’). With the outbreak of WW I (1914) Inglis became more closely involved with radical anti-government groups and the pacifist movement, and suffered during the period of the Red Scare (1919 – 1920). After being introduced to the radical, Joseph Labadie, Inglis worked to organize and catalogue his own private collection of papers at the University of Michigan, known as the Labadie Collection. To this collection was added over the following decades the writings and publications of other prominent anarchist figures.

Inglis, Elsie Maud – (1864 – 1917)
Scottish physician and surgeon
Elsie Inglis was born in India (Aug 16, 1864), the daughter of a civil servant. Her desire to study medicine was delayed because of her mother’s illness and death, but eventually she was able to begin studies at the Edinburgh School of Medicine under Sophia Jex-Blake (1886). She completed her training at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary under the guidance of Sir William MacEwen (1892). Inglis was appointed firstly to the New Hospital for Women in London, established by Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, and then worked at Dublin’s leading maternity hospital, the Rotunda. She went into private practice in Edinburgh, and with a friend and fellow student, Jessie Macgregor, Inglis established the maternity hospital which would evolve into the Elsie Inglis Memorial Hospital, known as The Hospice.’ She later merged with the Bruntisfield Hospital for women and children (1910). Inglis’s career in political activism stemmed from her horror of the current standards of medical care which had been available to women, and she was a prominent member of the Scottish Federation of Women’s Suffrage Societies. During WW I she organized nursing groups to tend soldiers at the front, and was even captured by the enemy and repatriated. Ill-health forced her return to England. Elsie Inglis died of cancer (Nov 26, 1917) aged fifty-three.

Inglis, Esther – (1571 – 1624)
French-Scottish calligrapher and miniature painter
Esther Langlois was the daughter of the French Protestant émigré Nicolas Langlois (anglicized as Inglis), and was taught calligraphy by her mother, Marie Presot, who established a French school on Edinburgh. Esther was married a Scottish minister, Bartholomew Kello, of Leith, to whom she bore four children, but she retained her own surname for business purposes. Over fifty of her illustrated manuscript books survive, which include self-portraits produced over a twenty-five years period. Her highly place patrons included royalty such Queen Elizabeth I, and King James I, and his son, Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales. During the latter part of her life she was plagued by financial problems, and died in relative poverty. Her portrait (1596), artist unknown, is preserved in the Scottish Portrait Gallery.

Inglis, Julia Selina Thesiger, Lady – (1833 – 1904)
Anglo-Indian memoirist
The Hon. (Honourable) Julia Thesiger was the second daughter of Sir Frederic Thesiger, first Baron Chelmsford, and his wife Anna Maria, the daughter of William Tinling, of Southampton. Julia was married (1851) to Major Sir John Eardley Inglis (1814 – 1862). Lady Inglis and several of her children were trapped in the British Residency at Lucknow, when it was besieged by Sepoy rebels. Her husband gallantly and successfully defended the building, and those British resident and dependants who had taken refuge there. Lady Inglis published her memoirs in London three decades later as The Siege of Lucknow (1892). Lady Inglis died (Feb 3, 1904) aged seventy.

Inglis, Margaret Maxwell – (1774 – 1843)
Scottish poet
Born Margaret Murray (Oct 27, 1774) at Sanquhar in Dumfriesshire, she was the daughter of a physician. She received an excellent education and was married to a naval officer named Finlay, whose early death in the West Indies left her a childhood widow. Margaret later remarried (1803 – 1826) to a clergyman named Inglis from Kirkmabreck in East Galloway, to whom she bore three children. The death of her husband (1826), left Mrs Inglis with limited financial resources, and to augment this she took up writing and published Miscellaneous Collection of Poems, chiefly Scriptural Pieces (1828). Margaret Inglis died (Dec 21, 1843) aged sixty-nine, in Edinburgh.

Ingoberga – (c520 – 589)
Merovingian queen
Ingoberga was the daughter of Berthacharius (died 529), King of Thuringia. She was brought to the Frankish court by Clotaire I together with her elder sister Radegonde as a hostage. Clotaire married Radegonde, and gave Ingoberga in marriage (c540) to his son Charibert I (c520 – 567), King of Paris (561 – 567) as his first wife. She bore him a daughter Bertha, the wife of Aethelbert I, Anglo-Saxon king of Kent, but no son, and Charibert later divorced her (c563).
Queen Ingoberga was personally acquainted with Gregory, Bishop of Tours the famous historian, who spoke highly of her and assisted her to arrange her will. Ingoberga left legacies to many churches including Tours Cathedral, the Abbey of St Martin at Tours, and to the Cathedral of Le Mans in Anjou, and paid from her own finances for many serfs to receive their freedoms. Queen Ingoberga died aged seventy, her death being recorded by Gregory of Tours in his Historia Francorum.

Ingpen, Joan Mary Eileen – (1916 – 2007)
British operatic impressario and administrator
Joan Ingpen was born (Jan 3, 1916) in London, and studied the piano. She was working in marine insurance before she met Walter Legge with whom she later co-founded the Philharmonia Orchestra. Legge later bough out her share (1950) and Joan became more closely involved with the administration of her own established agency, Ingpen & Williams (1946). Ingpen’s contacts in the music world were international, and she was an important figure at various famous opera houses such as the Metropolitan in New York and Covent Garden in London. She played an important role in bringing to prominence such famous figures as Australia’s Dame Joan Sutherland, George Solti, the Italian tenor, Luciano Pavarotti, and the German Anne Sofie Otter. Joan Ingpen was twice married and twice divorced. She had no children. The last years of her life were spent with her partner, the actor Sebastian Shaw (died 1994). Joan Ingpen died (Dec 29, 2007) aged ninety-one.

Ingram, Diana – (1948 – 1999)
Australian peace activist and campaigner
Born Diana Chapman (Nov 8, 1948) in Sydney, New South Wales, she was the daughter of a truck driver. She attended secondary schools in Granville and Parramatta before working as a tram conductor. She was married to Michael Ingram, a British immigrant, to whom she bore three children. The couple resided in England for several years, before returning to Sydney, and settling at Tempe. She became closely identified with several public campaigns, such as the anti-nuclear movement, and was a strong advocate of pacifism. Ingram was an early member of Greenpeace, and became a staunch environmental leader. She was founder of the Sydney Peace Squadron, and was a party to harbour confrontations with nuclear warships. An attempt to sail to Mururoa to protest against French nuclear testing proved unsuccessful. Diana Ingram died of breast cancer (June 3, 1999) aged fifty, in Tempe, Sydney.

Ingram, Mary Allison – (1900 – 1959)
Australian medical practitioner and physician
Mary Ingram was born in Melbourne, Victoria. She attended the Presbyterian Ladies’ College and then studied medicine at the University of Melbourne. Ingram worked as the resident physician at Prince Henry Hospital, before being appointed as head of the Children’s Welfare Department in Melbourne (1934 – 1947). Mary Ingram died (Feb 20, 1959).

Ingrams, Dame Davina    see   Darcy de Knayth, Davina Marcia Herbert, Lady

Ingrid Knudsdotter – (c1080 – after 1127)
Danish princess
Princess Ingrid Knudsdotter was the daughter of King Knud IV (Canute) of Denmark, and his wife Adela (Alaine), the daughter of Robert I the Frisian, Count of Flanders. Ingrid was the sister to Charles of Denmark, Count of Flanders, whom she survived and had been married to the Swedish jarl Folk Folkunga the Fat. She became the great-grandmother to the later Swedish regent Birger Folkunga (c1200 – 1266).

Ingrid Ragnvaldsdotter – (c1110 – after 1161)
Queen consort of Norway (c1135 – 1136)
Ingrid Ragnvaldsdotter was the daughter of the Swedish prince Ragnvald Ingesson and granddaughter of King Inge I of Sweden. She was married firstly (c1130) to the Danish prince Henrik Svendsson (c1099 – 1134), and secondly (c1135) to Harald IV Gille (c1103 – 1136), King of Norway. Her daughter Birgitta Haraldsdotter became the queen of Magnus II, king of Sweden.

Ingrid Victoria Sophia Louisa Margarethe – (1910 – 2000)
Queen consort of Denmark (1947 – 1972)
Princess Ingrid was born (March 28, 1910) in Stockholm, the only daughter of Gustavus VI Adolf, King of Sweden, and his first wife Margaret of Connaught, the granddaughter of Queen Victoria of Great Britain (1837 – 1901). Her mother died in 1920, and her father remarried (1923) to Lady Louise Mountbatten, the cousin of her mother. Princess Ingrid was present at the marriage of her eldest brother, Prince Gustavus, the Duke of Westerbotten to another cousin, Sybilla of Saxe-Coburg. Ingrid was married (1935) in Stockholm, to Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark and bore him three daughters before he succeeded to the Danish throne as Frederik IX (1947) with Ingrid as queen. Glamorous and with a penchant for rich jewellery, Ingrid was a popular and well-loved consort, credited with transforming the dreary formality which formerly characterized the Danish court. After the death of her husband (1972), and the acession of her eldest daughter as Queen Margrethe II (born 1940), the queen mother lived a quiet and retired life in the Chancellory in the park of Fredensborg Castle, near Copenhagen. From the day she ceased being queen consort she refused to grant audiences outside her immediate family circle and close friends. Her younger daughter Princess Anne-Marie (born 1946) became the wife of Konstantinos II, King of Greece (1964 – 1973). Queen Ingrid died (Nov 7, 2000) aged ninety, at Copenhagen.

Ingstad, Anne Stine – (1918 – 1997)
Norwegian archaeologist and writer
Born Anne Moe (Feb 11, 1918), at Lillehammer, she was married (1941) to fellow archaeologist Helge Ingstad, to whom she bore a daughter, and went on to study archaeology at the University of Oslo. With her husband she discovered the site of a Viking settlement at L’Anse aux Meadows in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador in Canada (1960). Anne Stine led the excavation team which unearthed a settlement from the eleventh century, which included houses, cooking pits and a forge. Co-jointly with her husband she co-authored The Viking Discovery of America: The Excavation of a Norse Settlement in L’Anse aux Meadows, Newfoundland (2001) which was published posthumously. L’Anse aux Meadows was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site. Madame Ingstad died of cancer (Nov 6, 1997) aged seventy-nine, at Oslo.

Ingunde of Austrasia – (567 – 585)
Merovingian queen consort
Ingunde was the daughter of Sigebert I, the Merovingian king of Austrasia (561 – 575) and his wife Brunhilda, the daughter of Athanagild, the Visigothic king of Spain. Ingunde was married to Hermenegild, King of Seville (c552 – 585), the eldest son and heir of King Leovigild of Spain, and they had one child, a son Athanagild, who was raised at the Imperial court in Constantinople. Ingunde was persecuted by her Arian mother-in-law, Goisvintha, with some considerable brutality in her uge to convert her. She managed to escape to Carthage where she died aged only eighteen.

Ingunde of Thuringia – (c514 – c558)
Merovingian queen consort (c530 – c543)
Princess Ingunde was the daughter of Baderic, King of Thuringia. She was married (c530) to Clotaire I, King of Neustria (496 AD – 561) as his third wife. Despite the fact that Ingunde bore him several sons and heirs, Clotaire divorced her in order to marry another. She appears to have died before him. Her children included Charibert I (c530 – 567), King of Paris, Guntram (c537 – 593), King of Burgundy, and Sigebert I (c539 – 575), King of Austrasia, husband of the infamous Queen Brunhilda, their daughter Ingunde of Austrasia being her granddaughter. Through Charibert’s daughter Bertha, the wife of Aethelbert I, King of Kent in England, Queen Ingunde was an ancestress of the British and many other European royal families.

Inib-Sarri – (fl. c1800 – c1770 BC)
Assyrian queen
Inib-Sarri was the daughter of Zimri-Lim, king of Mari. Surviving letters found at Mari from the discovered royal archive designate her as ‘daughter of the king.’ Her father arranged a dynastic marriage for her and she became the wife of Ibal-Addu, King of Aslaka, one of his vassals. The new queen’s surviving correspondence to her father revealed her deep unhappiness in her new kingdom, as her husband restored his earlier and favourite wife as chief queen in her place, and had Inib-Sarri placed under guard. Her husband later plotted with the Eluhutians against her father’s overlordship, and Queen Inib-Sarri fled Aslaka and travelled to Nahur, where she successfully sought protection from the governor, Itsur-Asdu. Zimri-Lim ordered his daughter to return to her husband, but he kept her confined at Nahur. Her later fate remains unrecorded, though her name survives on a list of important people who sent gifts to the Marian court.

Inman, Elizabeth Murray – (c1724 – 1785)
American colonial diarist and letter writer
Elizabeth Murray was born in Scotland and emigrated to American with her family. With the deaths of her parents she established herself as a milliner in Boston, Massachusetts. Elizabeth was married three times, firstly (1755) to Thomas Campbell, a Scottish merchant, secondly (1760) to James Smith, and lastly (1771) to Ralph Inman, a wealthy Boston merchant. With the death of her second husband Elizabeth returned to Scotland for a lengthy visit (1769 – 1771).
After her return and subsequent remarriage she settled at Cambridge in Massachusetts. During the American Revolution she and her husband remained loyal to the British cause and their property was confiscated. Her personal diary and account of this time, which included her letters from the period (1775 – 1783), were later published posthumously in the biography of her brother James Murray in the biography Letters of James Murray, Loyalist (1901). Elizabeth Murray Inman died (May 25, 1785).

Innes, Alice – (fl. 1869 – 1870)
British Victorian artist and painter
Alice Innes was a native of London. She produced watercolour still-lifes, and specialized in flower paintings. Her work was exhibited at the Suffolk Street Gallery in London.

Innes, Catherine Lucy – (c1839 – 1900)
New Zealand colonist and writer
Born Catherine Williams in England, she immigrated to Christchurch in New Zealand with her family aboard the, Randolph(1850). There she was married (1860) to David Innes (died 1865), a sheep farmer, to whom she bore a son. Catherine Innes wrote articles for several newspapers and periodicals in the city of Canterbury. Her work was later published as Canterbury sketches; or, life from the early days (1879) under the pen name ‘Pilgrim.’ Catherine Innes died (April 28, 1900) at Oriental Bay, Wellington.

Innes, Mary Jane – (1852 – 1941)
Welsh-New Zealand businesswoman and manager
Born Mary Jane Lewis was born (April 18, 1852) at Lanvaches, Monmouthshire, Wales, the daughter of a farmer. She arrived in Auckland with her brother and several other relatives aboard the, Asterope (1870). Mary Janes was married (1874) to a Scotsman, Charles Innes, a brewery manager. Using the money from the sale of her parents’ home, Mary Jane and her husband established a brewery at Te Awamutu (1875), the property being registered in her name.
When her husband registered himself bankrupt Mary Jane took over control of the business (1888). She took over the Waikato Brewery, and later moved the business to Hamilton. A strong and determined woman, Mary Jane Innes paid off her husband’s debts and became the sole owner of the Waikato Brewery. She later left the management to her sons and gave up all her shares in 1912. Mary Jane Innes died (Nov 14, 1941) aged eighty-nine, in Auckland.

Inni – (fl. c1700 BC)
Egyptian queen consort
Queen Inni is thought to have been the wife of King Aya, the successor of King Iaib of the XIIIth Dynasty (1781 – 1650 BC). The queen is attested by the existence of over twenty surviving scarabs which bear her name. She was accorded the titles of ‘King’s Great Wife and ‘United with the White Crown.’ A seal impression bearing her name was discovered at Kerman in Nubia.

Innocentia of Rimini – (c287 – c304 AD)
Roman Christian martyr
Innocentia was the daughterof a patrician family of the town of Rimini, where she was put to death as a Christian during the persecutions instigated by the emperors Diocletian and Maximian Daia, aged only seventeen. The church honoured her as a saint (Sept 16) and her feast was recorded in the Acta Sanctorum. St Innocentia was considered to be the patroness of the city of Rimini, though it remains uncertain whether or not she should be identified with the St Innocentia who was honoured at Vicenza.

Intuata – (c670 – 709)
British virgin Christian martyr
Intuata lived as a recluse in Wales, before being murdered by raiding barbarians, or robbers. Revered locally as a saint (Dec 23) her Vitae, written by Robert Buckland, no longer survives.

Inverarity, Elizabeth – (1813 – 1846)
British actress and vocalist
Elizabeth Inverarity was born in London (March 23, 1813). She received musical training during youth from Alexander Murray, and made her first public appearance as an amateur performer (1829). Elizabeth made her stage debut as a serious performer in Cinderella at Covent Garden in London (1830). She enjoyed considerable success there and also appeared in concerts with the Philharmonic Society.
Miss Inverarity was married the bass player, Charles Martyn, and performed in New York with her husband (1839 – 1840). A beautiful and charming woman, she was possessed of mediocre acting and vocal ability, Inverarity later returned to England. Elizabeth Inverarity died (Dec 27, 1846) aged thirty-three, at Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Inverness, Cecilia Laetitia Underwood, Duchess of – (1785 – 1873)
British royal
Lady Cecilia Gore was born in Ireland, the eldest daughter of Arthur Saunders Gore (1734 – 1809), second Earl of Arran, and his wife Elizabeth Underwood (1757 – 1829). Lady Cecilia remained unmarried until the age of thirty, when she became the second wife (1815), of Sir George Buggin (1759 – 1825). The union remained childless. Several years later, Lady Buggin wished to rid herself of her cumbersome married name and by royal licence adopted instead (1831), her mother’s maiden name, becoming Lady Cecilia Underwood. Cecilia then formed a liasion with Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex (1773 – 1843), a younger son of George III, and the uncle of Queen Victoria, during the time of his seperation from his first wife, Lady Augusta Murray (Comtesse d’Ameland). Augusta died in 1830, and the Duke then married Lady Cecilia (1831) in contravention of the Royal Marriage Act (1772). At the request of her uncle, Victoria accorded Cecilia the title of duchess of Inverness (1840) and she was granted the rank directly below that of princesses of the blood at court. The queen received Cecilia at court, but did not recognize her officially as her uncle’s wife. Widowed in 1843, the duchess was granted apartments in Kensington Palace by Queen Victoria. During her later years she became known for the hospitality she accorded to the military and diplomatic corps. The duchess died (Aug 1, 1873) at Kensington Palace, London, aged eighty-eight, having survived her royal husband three decades. She was interred near Prince Augustus in Kensal Green Cemetery in London, where their tombs remain.

Invernizio, Carolina – (1858 – 1916)
Italian novelist and writer
Invernizio was born in Voghera, and wrote stories for the Turin Gazetta in Piedmont. Her sentimental and titillating works proved very popular and were wideley read. Her novels included such titles as Satanella, ovvero la mano della morte (Satanella, or the Hand of Death) (1888), Il bacio d’una morta (The Kiss of a Dead Woman) (1889) and La fata nera (The Black Fairy) (1910). Carolina Invernizio died at Cuneo.

Ioanna of Bulgaria    see   Giovanna Elisabetta Antonia Romana Maria

Iola   see   Wells-Barnett, Ida Bell

Iordanidou, Maria – (1897 – 1989)
Greek novelist
Maria Iordanidou was born in Constantinople, and was raised on Greece and Russia, where she attended school in Stavropol. She later settled in Athens. Iordanidou was best known for her best-selling novel Loxandra (1963), which was set in Constantinople. Her later works included San ta trella poulia (Like Crazy Birds) (1978) and Stou kyklou ta gyrismata (In the Circle’s Turnings) (1982).

Iotape I – (c40 BC – c15 AD)
Commagenian queen
Iotape I was the daughter of Artavasdus, king of Media Atropatene and of Armenia. She was married firstly, whilst a small child (34 BC) to Alexander Helios (b. 40 BC), the twin child of Cleopatra VII of Egypt and Marcus Antonius, the Roman triumvir, as part of the peace terms after her father was defeated by Antonius. When her father feared an attack from Parthia, Antonius returned to Armenia, with Iotape as a hostage, and defeated the Armenians. Soon afterwards her husband received an Armenian bodyguard and was styled King of Armenia. After the collapse of Antony and Cleopatra (30 BC), her marriage with Helios was deemed over by Octavian. Helios went to Rome and died in Mauretania, whilst Iotape was returned to her father. Cassius Dio recorded that Iotape was present at the court of Alexandria when Octavian arrived after the battle of Actium, and that he voluntarily restored her to her father, after Artavasdus had made his successful submission to Rome. With the death of her father (20 BC), emperor Augustus (Octavian) married Iotape to a Greek client ruler, Mithridates III, King of Commagene (c50 BC – c10 AD), to whom he had recently granted a kingdom, and was the mother of his successor, King Antiochus III (c17 BC – 17 AD), his sister-wife Iotape II and most probably also of Iotape III, the wife of Samsigeramus of Emesa. All successive female members of the dynasty received the name Iotape in her honour, hence the need for numeration.

Iotape II – (c15 BC – c40 AD)
Commagenian queen
Iotape II was the elder daughter of King Mithridates III (c20 Bc – c10 AD) and his wife Iotape I, the widow of Alexander Helios, and daughter of Artavasdus, King of Media Atropatene. Iotape II was married to her full brother Antiochus III (c17 BC – 17 AD) as queen consort, and survived him. She was the mother of King Antiochus IV (c3 – after 72 AD) and of his sister-wife, Iotape IV.

Iotape III – (c10 BC – c40 AD)
Emesan queen
Iotape III was probably the younger daughter of Mithridates III, king of Commagene (c20 BC – c10 AD) and his wife Iotape I, widow of Alexander Helios, and daughter of Artavasdus, King of Media Atropatene and Armenia. Her elder sister Iotape II was the wife of King Antiochus III (c10 – 17 AD). Queen Iotape III is believed to have become the wife of Samsigeramus II (c15 BC – 47 AD), King of Emesa. Though there remains no direct proof that the wife of Samsigeramus was of the Commagenian royal family, her name and that of her eldest daughter strongly suggests that connection. Her children were,

• Iotape of Emesa. She became the wife of Prince Aristobulos of Judaea (c12 BC – c45 AD) to whom she left a daughter named Iotape, who was born deaf.
• Azizus (c5 – 55 AD), King of Emesa (47 – 55 AD). His last wife was Drusilla, the daughter of Herod Agrippa II, king of Judaea, who later fled his court to become the mistress (later wife) of the Roman procurator, Antonius Felix.
• Sohaemus (c10 – c74 AD), King of Emesa (55 – c74 AD). He was married and left descendants.
• Julia Mamaea of Emesa (c15 – c50 AD). She became the first wife of Polemo II (died 66 AD), King of Pontus.

Iotape IV – (c5 – after 72 AD)
Commagenian queen
Iotape IV was the daughter of King Antiochus III (c10 – 17 AD) and his sister-wife Iotape II, and granddaughter to Mithridates III and Iotape I. Iotape IV was married (c17 AD) to her full brother, Antiochus IV (c3 – after 72 AD), and is thought to have had some influence in political and public affairs during his reign (41 – 72 AD). Her portrait appears on surviving coinage minted in Commagene and at Lakanatis and Selinus in Cilicia, with the title of Philadelphos. Coins of her husband also show her head and title, and Iotape’s name occurs in an inscription from Kios. They were granted their kingdom by the Roman emperor Gaius Caligula (38 AD), and it was regranted by Claudius I (41 AD). Antiochus was eventually deposed by the Romans (72 AD) who accused him of plotting with their enemiesm and the historian Josephus speaks of the queen without mentioning her name when he tells of the flight of Antiochus and his family from their kingdom. The king and queen fled in a chariot before the Roman invaders, accompanied by their daughters. They encamped in the plain near the city, whilst theit two sons engaged the Romans. They then travelled on to Cilicia, but when their troops defected to the Romans, the king and queen were captured though their sons fled to the Parthian court. The emperor Vespasian ordered the family to reside in Sparta, Greece, with a pension suitable to their rank. Their two sons were eventually allowed to return to their parents and became permanent residents of Rome. Queen Iotape left several children,

• Antiochus V Epiphanes (c25 – c90 AD). He was the last brief reigning king of Commagene (72 AD). He was married firstly to his sister Iotape V and secondly to a Roman patrician named Claudia Capitolina, and left descendants by both marriages. By his second wife he was father of Julia Balbilla, the famous poet at the court of the Emperor Hadrian (117 – 138 AD).
• Iotape V (c30 – c76AD). She was married to her brother Antiochus V as his first wife, and left issue.
• Antiochus Kallinicus, Prince of Commagene (c29 – after 72 AD). He supported his brother with the Parthians, but eventually made his peace with Rome.
• Iotape VI (c35 – after 72 AD). She was married Alexander of Armenia, King of Elaeusa and Iotape, a son of Tigranes V, king of Armenia, and became the mother of Gaius Julius Philopappus, who served Rome as praetor in Asia.

Iotape V – (c30 – c76 AD)
Greek queen on Commagene
Iotape V was the daughter of Antiochus IV, and his sister-wife, Iotape IV. According to dynastic family custom she became the first wife of her brother, Antiochus V Epiphanes (c25 – c90 AD). Her husband was deposed by the Romans (72 AD) and the royal family retired into opulent private life. Her sons settled in Athens, Greece as Roman citizens.

Ippolita d’Este – (1565 – 1602)
Italian princess of Modena and Ferrara
Princess Ippolita was born (Nov 6, 1565) the daughter of Prince Alfonso d’Este (1527 – 1587), Conte de Montecchio, and his second wife Violante Signa. Through her father Ippolita was a descendant of Pope Alexander VI (1492 – 1503) through his infamous daughter, Lucrezia Borgia, wife of Alfonso I, Duke of Ferrara. Ippolita and her brother Alessandro d’Este (1568 – 1624) were both born before their parents’ subsequent marriage (1584) and were then legitimated. Ippolita was married (1594) when aged almost thirty, to Federigo Pico (died 1602), Duca di Mirandola. There were no children. Duchess Ippolita died (May 1, 602) aged thirty-six.

Ippolita Maria Grimaldi – (1644 – 1722)
French Monegasque princess
Princess Ippolita Maria was born (May 8, 1644) the elder daughter of Ercole Grimaldi, the hereditary prince of Monaco, and his wife Maria Aurelia di Spinola. She never married and became a Carmelite nun as Sister Therese Marie de Saint-Joseph. The princess died (July 24, 1722) aged seventy-eight.

Ippolita Maria Sforza – (1446 – 1484)
Italian princess and literary salonniere
Ippolita Sforza was born (April 18, 1446) at Cremona, in Lombardy, the eldest daughter of Francesco Maria Sforza, Duke of Milan (1450 – 1466), and his second wife Bianca Maria Visconti, the heiress of Milan. Ippolita was married in Milan (1465) to Infante Alfonso of Aragon, Duke of Calabria (1448 – 1495), the son and heir of King Ferrante I of Naples. He was later king of Naples after her death as Alfonso II (1494 – 1495). The duchess was well educated and well read, and composed poetry and verses which have survived. Duchess Ippolita died (Aug 20, 1484) aged thirty-eight, in Naples. She left three children,

• Ferrante II of Aragon (1469 – 1496). He succeeded his father briefly as king of Naples (1495 – 1496). He was married to his youthful aunt Giovanna of Naples, but died childless.
• Isabella of Aragon, Duchess of Bari (1470 – 1524). She became the wife of Gian Galeazzo II Sforza (1469 – 1494), Duke of Milan, and left issue.
• Pietro of Aragon (1471 – 1491) Prince di Rossano. He died unmarried.

Ipsitilla      see     Orestilla, Aurelia

Iput I – (c2380 – c2320 BC)
Queen of Egypt
Iput I was the daughter of King Unas, and became the wife of King Teti (c2395 – c2333 BC). She was the mother of King Pepi I (c2360 – c2283 BC), and may have ruled as regent with King Userkare. Queen Iput was interred in her own pyramid near that of her husband at Saqqara. The queen is attested by a surviving inscription from Koptos, and her remains are preserved in the Cairo Museum. She bore successively the titles of ‘King’s Daughter,’ ‘King’s Wife ’ and ‘King’s Mother.’

Iput II – (fl. c2300 BC)
Queen of Egypt
Iput II was the daughter of King Pepi I, and was half-sister to Pharoah Merenre Nemtyemsaf I, bearing the title of ‘Eldest King’s Daughter.’ Iput was married to her half-brother King Pepi II (c2280 – c2184 BC) and bore the title ‘King’s Wife.’ There are no recorded children for her. Queen Iput II was interred at Saqqara.

Irby, Adeline Paulina – (1831 – 1911)
British traveller and writer
Adeline Irby was the youngest daughter of a rear admiral. Together with her friend Georgina Muir Mackenzie (later Lady Sebright), Irby travelled Europe and more extensively in the Balkans, including Macedonia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. The two women co-published several works together including Across the Carpathians (1862) and Travels in the Slavonic Provinces of Turkey in Europe (1867), which was considered their most erudite work, and for which volume the Prime Minister, William Gladstone, wrote the preface. Lady Sebright died (1874) and Adeline layer resided in Sarajevo, Bosnia, with a female companion. There she established a school for girls. With the rebellion against Ottoman rule, Irby and her companion worked amongst refugee children.

Ireland, Philippa de Vere, Duchess of   see   Coucy, Philippa de

Iremberta  see   Bertana

Irene, Aelia – (752 – 803) 
Byzantine Augusta
Irene was born in Athens, Greece, and was chosen to be the wife (769) of the Emperor Leo IV (749 – 780). Her only child was the Emperor Constantine VI (770). The Emperor Leo was a fanatical persecutor of icon worshippers, and according to one story he discovered two icons in Irene’s apartments, and fell into a deep rage, threatening her with dire punishments. Almost immediately after this incident the emperor died (Sept, 780), not without suspicion of Irene’s privity. Irene became regent for her son, and reversed the iconoclastic policy of her late husband. She moved cautiously, so as not to offend the powerful minority party of image smashers. Internally, she ordered there be reprisals against the iconoclasts, externally, she sought to strengthen her position by restoring good relations with the Western papacy, a natural step, seeing she was leading the empire back to Orthodox Catholicism, and by suggesting an alliance with the foremost power in the Christian world, the kingdom of the Franks under Charlemagne, the empress proposed that that her son should marry Charlemagne’s daughter Rotrude, and the couple were betrothed.
In 787 Irene called a synod at Nikaea to confirm the new era of revived image worship in Constantinople, and Pope Adrian sent apostolic delegates to meet with her. Her policy was approved, and after this date, Irene and the iconoclasts remained in violent political opposition. When her son tried to exercise his rights as sole emperor (788) Irene resisted, unwilling to give up power herself. That same year Constantine conspired to arrest Irene and banish her close supporter, the eunuch Stauracius. Irene was forced to resign and the image smashers again returned to power. However, Constantine had been dependent upon his mother for too long, and could not retain control of the state. Irene was recalled to power (789) from retirement in the Eleutherion Palace, and resored as regent. She promptly began undermining her son’s popularity by fostering his vices, and within five years (794) her position was unassailable. Finally she had Constantine blinded and imprisoned (797). In 801 she was tempted to make a marital alliance with the Carolingian emperor Charlemagne, because of the military assistance he could provide for Constantinople. However, the match proved unfavourable to her supporters, and a conspiracy rose against her once more. She was deposed by a palace revolution (802) led by Nikephorus who was proclaimed emperor. It is said that Nikephorus, with tears in his eyes, apologized to Irene for the step he had taken. The empress herself, perhaps tired of the unending battle for position, put up little resistance, evening turning over a secret hoard of treasure to Nikephorus. She wished to reside in the Eleutherion Palace, but she had always been popular, and Nikephorus felt safer with Irene out of the capital. She was exiled firstly to Prinkipos and later to Lesbos, where she died. For her part in the image-worship controversy the Empress Irene was canonized by the Greek Orthodox Church.

Irene Angela – (c1219 – 1246)
Tsarina of Bulgaria
Princess Irene Angela was the daughter of Theodore I Komnenus Dukas Angelus, emperor of Nikaia, and his wife Maria Dukaina Komnena Petraliphania. She became the third wife of the Bulgarian tsar Ivan Asen II (c1190 – 1241) whom she survived. Irene later ruled Bulgaria briefly (1246) as regent for their son Mikhail II Asen (c1237 – 1257).

Irene Komnena – (1167 – 1188)
Byzantine Augusta (1185 – 1186)
Irene Komnena was the daughter of the Emperor Andronikos I Komnenus, and his second wife, Eudocia Komnena Gabraina, the daughter of Michael Gabras. Irene was married (1180) to the emperor Isaak II Angelus (1155 – 1204), as his first wife. Empress Irene was later divorced (1186), and she died a nun. Her daughter, Irene Angela, became the wife of Roger III, king of Sicily, and later of the German king, Philip of Swabia.

Irene Laskarina (1) (Eirene) – (1202 – 1241)
Byzantine Augusta
Irene Laskarina was the daughter of Theodore I Laskaris, Emperor of Nikaia, and his wife Anna Angela, the daughter of emperor Alexius III Angelus. Her sister Maria Laskarina was the wife of Bela IV, King of Hungary (1235 – 1270). Irene was married firstly to Andronikos Palaeologus, the famous general. His death left her a childless widow, and then was remarried (1212) to the Emperor Johannes III Dukas Vatatzes. Irene was the mother of the Emperor Theodore II Dukas Laskaris (1222 – 1258), a fall from her hosrse preventing her bearing any further children. The empress eventually retired from the world, becoming a nun in Constantinople, and taking the religious name of Eugenia.

Irene Laskarina (2) (Eirene) – (1243 – 1290)
Tsarina of Bulgaria
Irene Laskarina was the daughter of Theodor II Laskaris, emperor of Byzantium and his wife Helena, the daughter of Ivan Asen II, Tsar of Bulgaria. Irene was married (1258) to the Bulgarian tsar, Constantine Tich Asen, as his second wife, and bore him two daughters, the elder became the wife of the Bulgarian tsar, Smilec, and Theodora (c1267 – 1322), the wife of Stepan Uros III, King of Serbia. Constantine was assassinated (1277) by the peasant tsar Ivailo Burdokva, who forced Irene to marry him in order to secure his position on the throne. He was then murdered by the Tartars (1280), and Irene took a third husband, Arnaud Roger, count of Pallars. Arnaud Roger had usurped Pallars from his nephew, but his marriage with the Tsarina Irene involved him in political wars that worked to his disadvantage. She survived his death (c1283). Her last two marriages were childless.

Irene of Byzantium – (c970 – 1015)
Tsarina of Bulgaria
Irene was born into a wealthy patrician family in Constantinople, and became the second wife (c987) of Tsar Gabriel Radomir (c970 – 1018). Irene was the mother of Tsar Peter Deljan (988 – after 1040) who was proclaimed tsar (1040), but was then deposed and died in a Byzantine prison. Tsarina Irene was later murdered, her death connected to a rather shadowy court intrigue, the details of which remain obscure. Her daughter, whose name remains unrecorded, was married (before 1015) to Stephen Dobroslav, the Serbian prince of Diokleia.

Irene of Georgia – (c1056 – 1108)
Byzantine Imperial princess
Irene was the daughter of Demetrius, the anti-King of Georgia. Her original name remains unknown, and she adopted the Greek name of Irene when she married (c1071) Isaac Komnenus (1047 – c1107), Duke of Antioch and governor of Constantinople. Princess Irene did not long survive her husband and left eight children,

• Prince Johannes Komnenus (1073 – 1106), Duke of Durazzo. He was married and left descendants.
• Prince Alexius Komnenus, Duke of Durazzo. He was married but died childless.
• Prince Constantine Komnenus, Duke of Beroa. He was married and left descendants.
• Prince Adrian Komnenus (died after 1110). He entered the church and was appointed as Metropolitan of Ochrida.
• Princess Anna Komnena. She became wife of Johannes Dukas (1064 – c1136), Duke of Durazzo.
• Princess Maria Komnena. She was betrothed but never married to Gregorius Gabras.
• Princess Sophia Komnena. She became the wife of Nikolas Dokeianos.
• Princess Eudoxia Komnena. She becane the wife of Nikephorus Botaneiates.

Irene of Greece – (1904 – 1974)
Queen consort of Croatia (1941 – 1943)
Princess Irene was born (Feb 13, 1904) at the Tatoi Palace, near Athens, the daughter of King Konstantine I and his wife Sophia of Prussia, sister to the German Kaiser Wilhelm II. Princess Irene was married (1939) to the Italian prince Aimone of Aosta (1900 – 1948), who was appointed as king of the short-lived kingdom of Croatia. Irene was de jure consort only and never set foot in her husband’s kingdom. Most of her widowhood was spent in Italy. Queen Irene died (April 15, 1974) aged seventy, at the Villa Sparta at Fiesole.

Irene of Hungary – (1088 – 1134)
Byzantine Augusta (1118 – 1134)
Named Piroska at birth, she was born at Esztergom, the daughter of Ladislaus I, king of Hungary (1077 – 1095), and his wife Adelaide of Rheinfelden, the daughter of Rudolf of Rheinfelden, Duke of Swabia, who was elected king of Germany (1077 – 1080). With her father’s death she became the ward of her cousin, King Koloman. In a move to improve Hungarian-Greek relations Koloman arranged for Piroska to be married (1104) to the emperor Johannes II Komnenus (1087 – 1143), son and heir of Emperor Alexius I Komnenus of Byzantium, who had apready been appointed joint-ruler with his father (1092).
Upon her arrival in Constantinople Piroska converted to the Greek Orthodox religion and took the name of Irene by which she was then known. Empress Irene played little part in politics, devoting herself to her family, the ritual of the Imperial court, and her own religious benefactions. The empress later retired from the court to reside at the convent of St Pantokrator, she had established and financially endowed, as aplace of refuge for female members of the Imperial family. She lived as a nun and took the religious name of Xene. Empress Irene died (Aug 13, 1134) and was venerated as a saint. Irene of Hungary and Johannes II left eight children,

• Prince Alexius Komnenus (1106 – 1142). He was appointed as co-emperor with his father (1122 – 1142) whom he predeceased. He was married twice and left two daughters.
• Princess Maria Komnena (1106 – 1145). A twin with her elder brother, she was married to the patrician Johannes Dalassenus Rogerios.
• Prince Andronikos Komnenus (1108 – 1142). He was married and left children but predeceased his father.
• Princess Anna Komnena (1110 – c1170). She was married to the Byzantine patrician Stephan Kontestapharos (died 1149).
• Prince Isaak Komnenus (1115 – 1174). He was married and left descendants.
• Princess Theodora Komnena (1116 – before 1157). She was married to the patrician Manuel Aenemas (died 1147) and left issue.
• Manuel II Komnenus (1120 – 1180). He succeeded his father as emperor (1143), was married twice and left issue.
• Princess Eudoxia Komnena (1119 – c1180). She was married to Prince Theodore Vatatzes.

Irene of the Khazars – (c720 – 750)
Byzantine Augusta (741 – 750)
Irene the first wife of the emperor Constantine V (718 – 775), she was the daughter of Biheros, Khan of the Khazars and originally bore the name Tzitzak, which was the Hellenized version of the Turkish name ‘Chichek’ or ‘Cicek,’ which means flower. Her marriage (738), at which time she assumed converted to the Greek Orthodox religions and assumed the Imperial name of Irene (Eirene), followed a ‘bride show’ in which prospective brides were singled out in front of an assembled crowd. This is believed to have been a Khazar custom, which lasted in Byzantine Imperial custom until the third marriage of Emperor Leo VI (900) to Eudocia Baiana, after which it was finally abolished. The marriage cemented a political alliance between the emperor Leo III (Constantine’s father) and Khan Biheros. Empress Irene is credited with the introduction to the Imperial court of the ceremonial garment known as the tzitzakion, which was derived from the mandarin robes of China, and which she wore for her arrival in Constantinople for the first time. The empress bore her husband two children, Emperor Leo IV (749 – 780) sometimes nicknamed ‘the Khazar,’ in allusion to his maternal family, and Princess Anthusa, who remained unmarried and became an abbess in Constantinople. The famous Irene of Athens was her daughter-in-law. Empress Irene died in Constantinople (before June 6, 750) aged about thirty, and was buried in the Church of the Holy Apostles there.

Irene of Sweden      see    Ingegarde Olafsdotter

Irene of Trebizond – (c1307 – after 1340)
Greek Imperial courtier and pseudo-empress
Irene was a native of the city of Trebizond, she became the mistress (c1326) of Basileus Komnenus (c1302 – 1340), Emperor of Trebizond (1335 – 1340). Their illegal association lasted until (1339), when the emperor married her bigamously, with the assent of his clergy, despite his marriage with the Empress Irene Palaeologina. Irene survived him and she and their sons were sent to the Imperial court in Constantinople by Irene Palaeologina after she seized the throne.

Irene Palaeologina (1) – (c1256 – c1303)
Byzantine Imperial princess
Irene was the natural daughter of the Emperor Michael VIII Palaeologus (1258 – 1282). Irene was married (1278) to Ivan Asen III Mytzes (1250 – c1302), Tsar of Bulgaria. She was the mother of Andronikos Asen (living 1355), Despot of the Morea.

Irene Palaeologina (2) – (fl. 1335 – c1350)  
Byzantine Augusta of Trebizond (1340 – 1341)
Irene was the illegitimate daughter of Andonicus III Palaeologus, emperor of Byzantium, and an unknown mistress. Irene was married (1335) to Basileus Komnenus, Emperor of Trebizond (c1302 – 1340). Their marriage remained childless, and eventually the emperor deposed her as empress with the consent of his clergy and married his mistress, Irene of Trebizond. The empress’s cause was championed by the patriarch, John XIV of Constantinople, but eventually she caused Basileus to be poisoned (April 6, 1340) and Irene was then proclaimed as empress in her own right. Irene reigned ineffectually, but with the death of her father the emperor (1341), she had no firm supporters. She caused great offence by flaunting before the court her realtionship with her Grand Domestikos, and the small kingdom seemed about to slide into civil anarchy. After a massacre of the nobility at the monastery of St Eugenios, and several attacks on the city by the marauding Turks, which left much of the city in flames, Irene was finally deposed (July 17, 1341). After her deposition, the empress retired to the court of Constantinople, and eventually married to the Italian nobleman Giacomo di Cristoforo (died 1350) by whom she left descendants.

Irene Palaeologina (3) – (1349 – c1373)
Byzantine Imperial princess
Irene was born in Constantinople, the daughter of the Emperor Johannes VI Palaeologus, and his wife Helena, the daughter of the Emperor Johannes VI Kantakuzene, and was sister to emperor Manuel II Palaeologus (1391 – 1425). Princess Irene was betrothed firstly to the Ottoman prince, Halil, and afterwards to Peter II, king of Cyprus, but neither proposed marriages ever eventuated. Princess Irene was living (Dec 31, 1372) but died shortly afterwards. She was unmarried.

Irene Porphyrogennita – (c789 – c816)
Byzantine princess
Irene was born in Constantinople, the elder daughter of the Emperor Constantine VI, and his first wife Maria of Amnia, and named in honour of her more famous grandmother, Irene of Athens, the widow of Leo VI. Her second ‘Porphyrogennita’ name reveals that she was ‘born in the purple’, that is, the daughter of the reigning emperor.
When her parents were eventually divorced (795), Irene accompanied her mother and younger sister Euphrosyne into exile in the Abbey of St Maria, on the Island of Prinkipo, in the Sea of Marmora, There they were raised by their mother, and were forced to become nuns, when they reached the suitable age. Princess Irene died twenty years later, aged only about twenty-five, and was buried in the abbey of St Maria.

Irene Louisa Marie Anna – (1866 – 1953)
German princess
Princess Irene was born (July 11, 1866) at Darmstadt, the daughter of Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse-Darmstadt, and his wife Alice, the second daughter of Queen Victoria of Great Britain and Prince Albert. Princess Irene was the elder sister of the last Russian tsarina, Alexandra Feodorovna, the maternal niece to Edward VII of England (1901 – 1910), and first cousin to the German Kaiser, Wilhelm II (1888 – 1918). Irene was married to her cousin, Prince Henry of Prussia (1862 – 1929), the kaiser’s younger brother, with whom she had fallen in love. However, they were first cousins, and Queen Victoria disapproved the union. Despite this, they were married at Charlottenburg, Prussia (1888). They had three sons, Waldemar (1889 – 1945), Sigismund (1896 – 1980), and Henry (1900 – 1904), who died young. During WW I Princess Irene and her sister, Princess Victoria of Battenberg, made extensive contributions, both financial and in person, to nursing and Red Cross work for the German army. The princess was later induced to visit Anna Anderson, who had claimed to be her niece, the Romanov grand duchess Anastasia, but pronounced her an imposter. With her husband’s death, Irene resided quietly at her estate of Hemmelmark, where she remained throughout WW II. Princess Irene died (Nov 11, 1953) aged eighty-seven, at Hemmelmark, and was interred in Potsdam, near Berlin.

Iretskaia, Natalia Alexandrovna – (1845 – 1922)
Russian soprano and vocal instructor
Iretskaia was the daughter of Alexander Iretsky, and recieved her vocal training from the noted soprano Henrietta Nissen-Saloman at the St Petersburg Conservatory, and then travelled to France, where she studied under Pauline Viardot-Garcia. Natalia Iretskaia later taught singing at the St Petersburg Conservatory from 1875, and was made a professor several years later (1881). Her pupils included Lidia Lipkovskaia, Elena Katulskaia, Aikanush Danielian, Nadezhda Zabela-Vrubel, Elizaveta Petrenko, and Oda Slobodskaya. Natalia Iretskaia died (Nov 15, 1922) aged seventy-seven, in Petrograd.

Iria (Irene) – (fl. c630 – c680)
Visigothic Christian saint
Iria was supposedly a member of the important family in Nabancia (Tomar). A prince of the royal house desired to marry her, but Iria refused his suit because of her desire to embrace the religious life and be veiled as a nun. According to the legend her spiritual adviser gave Iria a position which made it appear that she was pregnant, after she had refused his improper sexual advances. The prince, angry at being supposedly decieved, ordered Iria killed, and her body thrown into the Nabao River. Her remains were washed ashore at Scalabis, which was renamed Santarem in her honour. Iria was the patron saint of Tomar.

Irihapeti Rangi te Apakura – (fl. c1850 – c1870)
New Zealand Maori poet
Irihapeti Rangi was of high birth and family, a member of the Ngati Porou tribe. Her surviving poem ‘Reply to a Marriage Proposal’ for which she may also have composed the music, concerned a marriage offer made to Irihapeti by Ta Keepa, the son of Toihau.

Irina Alexandrovna      see     Yussoupova, Irina Alexandrova, Princess

Irina Botezata – (1567 – 1592)
Moldavian gypsy
Irina was a slave of great beauty who became the mistress of Peter the Lame (1530 – 1594), Prince of Moldavia. Peter caused her to be freed and baptized, hence her nickname Botezata (‘the Baptized’). She bore him two children before he finally married her (1591), a daughter Despina, who died young and a son Stefanita (1584 – 1602), the future pretender to the Moldavian throne, who died childless. When Peter was forced to flee to the court of the emperor Rudolph II, Irina accompanied him there. The emperor provided the couple with a residence in the city of Bolzano. Her early death at the age of twenty-five (Nov 3, 1592) was said to have been caused by a broken heart after her husband took a mistress. Irina was interred within the Franciscan church at Bolzano, where her tomb and inscription, put up by her husband, survive.

Irina Feodorovna – (1563 – 1603)
Russian tsarina
Irina Feodorovna was the daughter of Feodor Godunov, and was sister of Tsar Boris Godunov (1598 – 1605). Irina was married (1580) to Feodor I Ivanovich (1557 – 1598), who succeeded his father Ivan the Terrible as Tsar of Russia (1584 – 1598). A kindly and pious woman united in marriage with a feeble-minded husband, Tsarina Irina and her brother controlled politics and state affairs with success during Feodor’s reign. She suffered several miscarriages, and her only surviving child, Grand Duchess Theodosia Feodorovna (1592 – 1593), died in infancy. With Feodor’s death her brother Boris seized the throne. She was as much admired and respected by her contemporaries, as her brother was hated. Tsarina Irina died (Sept 26, 1603) aged forty, her death said to have been hastened by her sorrow at her brother’s mismanagement of Russian affairs.

Irina Mikhailovna – (1627 – 1679)
Russian grand duchess
Grand Duchess Irina was born (May 2, 1627) in Moscow, the eldest daughter of Tsat Mikhail Romanov (1613 – 1645) and his second wife Eudoxia Loukianovna Streshnevaya, and was sister to Tsar Alexis (1645 – 1676). Her father proposed that Irina be married to the Danish prince Valdemar, son of King Christian IV and his morganatic second wife (1642). It was believed that such a marriage would strengthen the power of Russia and Denmark against Poland, and protect the trade routes to the west, via the straits of the Baltic and North Seas. Valdemar duly arrived in Russia (Jan, 1644) but the negotiation eventually failed when he refused to be baptised into the Russian Orthodox faith. In the midst of these protracted wranglings her father died (July, 1645) and Valdemar returned to Denmark.
Grand Duchess Irina remained unmarried. She appears to have been particularly close to her brother Alexis, her appointed her as godmother to his son Dimitry. Letters between them, written during the Tsar’s absence on military campaigns in Poland (1657) have survived. Irina was present with her sisters Anna, Sophia and Tatiana at the Kolomenskoe Palace when it was besieged by rebels (July, 1662), but all escaped harm. With her nephew the Tsarevitch Feodor she was godparent to the future Peter ‘the Great’ (June, 1672), the son of Alexis and his second wife Natalia Naryshkina. Grand Duchess Irina died (Feb 19, 1679) aged fifty-one.

Irina Raievskaia – (1892 – 1955)
Russian-German royal
Irina Mikhailovna Raievskaia was born (Aug 18, 1892) at Tsarskoie Selo, the daughter of Major general Mikhail nikolaievitch Raievsky and his wife Princess Maria Grigorievna Gagarina. With the death of her first husband Count Alexander Mikhailovitch Tolstoy, Countess Irina then became the first wife (1920) at Geneva in Switzerland, of Count George von Carlow (1859 – 1909) who was seven years her junior, and was the son of a morganatic marriage contracted by Duke George Alexander of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (1859 – 1909). She bore him three children. Irina bore the title of Countess von Carlow (1920 – 1929) as the wife of a morganatic member of the former ruling grand ducal house of Mecklenburg-Strelitz which had abdicated its former sovereign power at the end of WW I (1918). However when Count George was later recognized officially as a fully legitimate member of the former royal house and was declared to be Duke George Alexander of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (1929), the countess became HSH (Her Serene Highness) Duchess Irina of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (1929 – 1955). Duchess Irina died (Jan 22, 1955) aged sixty-two, at Sigmaringen in Germany. Her husband remarried secondly to the Archduchess Charlotte, daughter of the last Hapsburg Emperor Karl I (1916 – 1918). Irina’s children were raised to full royal rank, with all titles and styles, at the same time as their father (1929). They were,

• Duke George Alexander of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (born 1921). He was married and left issue.
• Duchess Helena of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (1924 – 1962). She was married to Hassan Sayed Kamil (born 1918) and left issue.
• Duke Karl Gregor of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (born 1933). He became a noted art historian and was married but left no children.

Irlond, Agnes – (fl. 1364) 
English mediaeval criminal
Agnes was the wife of John Irlond. Agnes and her husband, together with John Cotyller and his wife Joan, and one Isabel Hemyng, were charged in a London court (Sept, 1364) with disturbing the peace. The court found all five guilty, but also accused Agnes and the two other women of being common scolds and trouble makers. All three of them were sentenced to a term in the infamous Newgate prison.

Irma Helene – (1902 – 1986)
German princess of Hohenlohe-Langenburg
Princess Irma was born (July 4, 1902) at Langenburg, the daughter of Ernst Wilhelm, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, and his wife Alexandra, the daughter of Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh and Saxe-Coburg. Through her mother she was a great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria (1837 – 1901). She remained unmarried and was present in London for the coronation ceremonies of Queen Elizabeth II (1953). Princess Irma died (March 8, 1986) aged eighty-three, at Heilbronn.

Irmengarde of Aspel – (c994 – after 1041)
German mediaeval heiress and saint
Irmengarde of Apel was the wife (c1010) of Count Berchtold of Walbeck (c985 – after 1018) whom she long survived. She was the sovereign countess of Aspel and is recorded as such by surviving charter evidence (1013). As a widow she resided as a recluse in Suchteln where a chapel was dedicated in her memory. During the latter part of her life Irmengarde resided in Koln (Cologne) where she ministered to the poor and needy. She used much of her wealth to make religious donations and for her philanthropic activities. Her grandson Chazil of Isengau (died after 1100) founded the Abbey of Eberndorf. Irmengarde as later canonized a saint (1319). Her children were,

• Bruno of Walbeck (c1012 – 1064). He became Count of Heimbach and married Matilda von Ehrensbreitstein but died without issue.
• Irmentrude of Walbeck (c1014 – 1075). She became the wife of Count Rupert of Zutphen.
• Irmengarde of Walbeck (c1018 – 1075). She became the wife of Chadalhoch III (c1004 – 1050), Count of Isengau and left issue.

Irmengarde of Berg – (c1203 – 1248)
Flemish heiress
Irmengarde was the daughter of Count Adolf VI of Berg. She was married (1218) to Henry of Limburg, who assumed the title of count of Berg, and the couple ruled jointly (1225 – 1246). With her husband’s death, Irmengarde retired in favour of her sons, Adolf VII (c1220 – 1259), and Waleran IV (c1221 – 1279), Duke of Limburg. Countess Irmengarde died (Aug 12, 1248) aged about forty-five.

Irmengarde of Limburg – (1261 – 1283)
Flemish heiress and ruler (1279 – 1283)
Iremngarde was the daughter of Waleran IV, Duke of Limburg and Count of Berg, and his wife Jutta of Cleves. She was married (1276) to Rainald I (c1259 – 1326), Duke of Gueldres. Her death without heirs instigated the War of the Limburg Succession (1283 – 1288).

Irmengarde of Plotzkau – (1083 – 1154)
German mediaeval noblewoman
Irmengarde was the elder daughter of Count Dietrich of Plotzkau and his wife Matilda of Walbeck, the daughter of Conrad of Walbeck, Margrave of Magdeburg. She was sister to Helferic of Plotzkau, Margrave of Nordmark, they being descendants of the Saxon hero Duke Widukind (died after 807). She was married firstly to Lothar Udo III of Stade (c1060 – 1106), Margrave of Nordmark, and became the Margravine consort of Nordmark to whom she bore three children,

• Heinrich II of Stade (1102 – 1128). He succeeded as Margrave of Nordmark and was married but died childless.
• Adelaide of Stade (1104 – after 1123). She became the wife of Heinrich II (1103 – 1123), Margrave of Meissen but died without issue.
• Irmengarde of Stade (1105 – 1178). She became the wife of Count Poppo IV of Henneberg (died 1156).

With the death of Margrave Lothair Irmengarde was remarried to Count Gerhard I of Heinsberg, to whom she bore two further children, Count Siegfried of Heinsberg (c1110 – 1137) who died without issue, and Oda of Heinsberg (c1108 – c1143) who became the wife of Siegfried II (c1100 – 1147), Count of Artlenburg and left descendants. Count Gerhard was living in 1128 but predeceased his wife by many years. Irmengarde of Plotzkau died (March 26, 1154) aged seventy-one.

Irmengarde of Saxony – (1201 – 1260)
German princess and ruler
Irmengarde was the daughter of Henry VI the Long, Duke of Saxony, and his first wife Agnes, the daughter of Conrad, Count Palatine of the Rhine. She was married (1220) to Herman IV (c1169 – 1243), the ruling margrave of Baden (c1169 – 1243) to whom she bore several children. Her city of Busek twice successfully repelled Imperial forces, and steadfastly refused to acknowledge any other suzerain than the lady Irmengarde. Margravine Irmengarde died (Feb 24, 1260) aged fifty-eight.

Irmentrude    see   Ermentrude

Irmina of Neustria – (c644 – 708)
Merovingian religious patron and founder
Irmina was the daughter of Theodard of Oeren (c620 – 673), Bishop of Liege and his wife Princess Doda, the daughter of Dagobert I, king of Neustria and Austrasia (629 – 639) and of his first wife Queen Gomatrude. With the death of her father Irmina’s mother became abbess of St Pierre at Rheims, near Paris. Irmina was married (c657) to Hugobert of Echternach (c640 – 698), count of the Palace in Austrasia, and seneschal of Bavaria, to whom she bore at least three daughters. Irmina was the co-founder of the abbey of St Willibrord at Echternach (697) and with the death of Hugobert (698) she retired to become abbess of St Maria aux Greniers, commonly called Horres (Oeren), near Trier (Treves) in Austrasia, and may have taken the religious name of Theodrate. Irmina was revered as a saint (Dec 25). Her children were,

• Plectrude of Neustria (Plectrudis) (c659 – after 717). She became the wife of Pepin II of Heristal, duke of Austrasia, to whom she left children. She was the stepmother to Charles Martel (676 – 741), the Hammer of the Franks, whose line disinherited her own progeny.
• Bertrada of Neustria (Berthe) (c662 – after 721). Sometimes known as ‘Bertrade of Prum,’ she was married to Count Martin of Laon (died 680), and left a son Carobert, Count of Laon (c678 – c747), the father of Queen Bertrada, the mother of Emperor Charlemagne. She founded the abbey of Prum in Austrasia, where she retired.
• Chrotlinda of Neustria (Chrotlindis) (c675 - after 738). She became the wife of Bernarius (Bernard) (died c715), Count of Autun. Chrotlinda was the grandmother of Count Theodoric I (Thierry) of Autun, and was ancestress of Guillaume de Gellone.

Irmingard of Susa (Ermengard, Immula) – (c1018 – 1078)
Italian princess and heiress
Irmingard was the second daughter of Odalrico Manfredi II, Margrave of Susa and Turin in Piedmont, and his wife Bertha of Tuscany. Her elder sister Adelaide, her father’s heiress was the wife of Otto, count of Maurienne. Irmingard inherited considerable properties and estates and was married firstly (1036) to a German prince, Otto of Schweinfurth (c1008 – 1057), Duke of Swabia and Margrave of Nordgau, to whom she bore five daughters,

• Eilika of Schweinfurth (c1037 – after 1078). She became a nun and was abbess of Neidermunster in Bavaria.
• Judith of Schweinfurth (c1039 – 1104). She was married firstly to Kuno, Duke of Bavaria (died 1055), and secondly to Botho, Count von Bottenstein (died 1104), and left issue.
• Beatrix of Schweinfurth (c1041 – 1104). She was married to Heinrich of Hildrizhausen, margrave of Nordgau (died 1078).
• Gisela of Schweinfurth (c1053 – 1100). She was married to Berthold III (died 1098), count of Andechs (Meran), and left issue.
• Bertha of Schweinfurth (Alberada) (c1054 – after 1101). She was married firstly to her first cousin, Hermann II of Kastl, Margrave of Nordgau (died c1074), and secondly to Friedrich, Count of Kastl (c1053 – 1103), the brother of her first husband.

After the death of Otto, Irmingard was remarried for dynastic reasons to (1058) Ekbert I of Brunswick (c1037 – 1068), Margrave of Saxony, two decades her junior. This marriage was recorded in the Annalisto Saxo which named her Emilias vel Immula, seu Irmingardis, and called her the sister of Adelas uxor Otto marchoni de Italia. She bore Ekbert two children. Irmingarde survived her second husband as Dowager Margravine of Saxony (1068 – 1078). Irmingarde died (Jan 21, 1078) aged about sixty. Her children by her second marriage were,

• Ekbert II (1060 – 1090). He succeeded as margrave of Meissen and count of Brunswick. He was married but died childless.
• Gertrude of Brunswick (1065 – 1117). She made three dynastically important marriages, her second to Henry, Duke of Nordheim, and left children by all three husbands.

Iron, Ralph     see    Schreiner, Olive Emilie Albertina

Irons, Evelyn Graham – (1900 – 2000)
Scottish journalist, war correspondent and literary figure
Evelyn Irons was born (June 17, 1900) in Glasgow, and attended Oxford University in England. She began her journalistic career with the Daily Mail and the Evening Standard. With the outbreak of WW II Irons became a correspondent with the Standard, and was present with the French army of Charles de Gaulle when it crossed the Rhine River. She was the first female war correspondent to be awarded the Croix de Guerre. After the war Irons removed to New York, and later covered the revolution in Guatemala (1954), arriving in the country by mule. During her youth Irons was involved in a lesbian romance with the noted author, Vita Sackville-West, who was simultaneously involved with Violet Trefusis at the time. The romance proved short-lived (1931 – 1932) and Irons remained in a relationship with another female friend for over four decades, which ended only with the woman’s death. Evelyn Irons died (April 3, 2000) aged ninety-nine, in New York.

Ironside, Adelaide Eliza – (1831 – 1867)
Australian writer and painter
Adelaide Ironside was the daughter of a wealthy merchant, James Ironside, and his wife Martha Redman, whose mother was a transported to New South Wales, as a convict. She resided in Sydney after the seperation of her parents, and was trained as a linguist and studied science and the classics at home. Adelaide also became a proficient artist, working in watercolours, pencil, and crayon. Her work Forty-Three Wildflowers was much admired when exhibited at the Paris International Exhibition (1855). In the same year she travelled to Rome in Italy with her mother and set up her own studio, and sketched portraits to make money. She studied the art of fresco painting in Perugia, and she was visited by the Prince of Wales (Edward VII) and the wealthy pastoralist, William Charles Wentworth, who commissioned Adelaide to paint two of his daughters. She was also granted a private audience with Pope Pius IX, who presented her with a medal in recognition of her contribution to art. An ardent admirer of the pre-Raphaelite style, four of her best known works included The Marriage in Cana, The Pilgrim of Art (a self-portrait of her and her mother), St Catherine and St Agnes, all of which were exhibited at the London International Exhibition (1862). Her last important work was The Adoration of the Magi which was exhibited at the Dublin International Exhibition (1865). Adelaide Ironside died in Rome of tuberculosis. Some of her poems, of a highly patriotic nature, were published in the republican paper People’s Advocate.

Irschik, Magda – (1841 – 1935)
Austrian actress
Irschik was born (July 10, 1841) in Vienna, the daughter of a cabinet maker. She made her stage debut at the Sulkowsky Theater in Bielitz, going on to perform on stage in Hamburg (1864). Magda made appearances at the court theatre in Munich (1875) and in Leipzig, Saxony (1882 – 1883) before her eventual retirement (1884). She was best remembered in the title role of the classical Greek play Medea by Euripides. Magda Irschik died (Jan 16, 1935) aged ninety-three, at Schliersee in Bavaria.

Irvine, Anne Howard, Lady – (1696 – 1764)
British Hanoverian courtier and verse writer
Lady Anne Howard was the daughter of Charles Howard, third Earl of Carlisle, and his wife, Anne Capell. Lady Anne was married (1717) to Rich Ingram (1688 – 1721), Viscount Irvine, but the marriage remained childless. Lady Irvine served at court as lady-in-waiting, being appointed by Caroline of Ansbach, the wife of George II (1727 – 1760), to serve her daughter-in-law, Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, the wife of Frederick, Prince of Wales. A famous beauty, whose portrait survives, she was forced to keep her second marriage (1737) with Colonel William Douglas (died 1748) a secret for fear of losing her paid position in the royal household. During the rows which erupted in the royal family between the king and queen and the Prince of Wales, Lady Irvine retained her position at court. Lady Irvine was the author of poetic verses including ‘On Mr Pope’s Characters of Women,’ which was praised in Susanna Duncombe’s Feminead, and her surviving letters to her father, Lord Carlisle, have been edited and published. Lady Anne Irvine died (Dec 2, 1764) aged sixty-eight.

Irvine, Henrietta – (c1865 – 1923)
Anglo-Australian painter
Henrietta Irvine was born in Ireland. Early attracted to the new Expressionist style, Henrietta studied this technique in Paris, and then further studies in Melbourne, after her arrival in Victoria. Exhibitions of her paintings and sketches, along with those of other students took place in the National Gallery (1889 – 1890), and in 1918 she exhibited some of her work with the Victorian Artists’ Society. Her work, and that of other female painters were again exhibited in 1920, and in 1923, just after her death, her work was represented at the International Exhibition in Paris.

Irvine, Nance – (1911 – 2007)
Australian educator and lecturer
Born Nancy Janet Caldwell in Melbourne, Victoria, she later went with her family to live in Sydney, where she attended secondary school at Fort Street. Nance then trained as a teacher and school principal. Her second marriage with John Irvine ended in divorce. Nance Irvine later studied at the University of New England, and obtained her master of education from Sydney University. She lectured concerning early childhood education, and her career as a writer only took off after her retirement (1977). Irvine became famous for the biography of Mary Reibey, the famous colonial businesswoman entitled, Molly Incognita (1982), which was published by the library of Australian History. She also found, edited, and published the letters of Lieutenant Newton Fowell, an officer aboard the Sirius in the First Fleet (1788), which were published as The Sirius Letters. For her services to literature she was awarded the OAM (Order of Australia Medal). Nance Irvine died aged ninety-six, in Sydney.

Irving, Sybil Howy – (1897 – 1973)
Australian military administrator
Irving was born (Feb 25, 1897) in Melbourne, Victoria, the daughter of an army officer. She was educated in Melbourne, and in Perth, Western Australia. Sybil Irving served as secretary of the Girl Guides’ Association of Victoria (1924 – 1940) for which work she was appointed MBE (Member of the British Empire) by King George VI (1939). During WW II Sybil Irving served with the VAD (Voluntary Aid Detachment) section organized by the British Red Cross Society. She was then appointed to establish the AWAS (Australian Women’s Army Service) (1941) being eventually promoted as lieutenant-colonel (1943). With the end of her term of office she served as the honorary colonel of the WRAAC (Women’s Royal Australian Army Corp) which had replaced the AWAS. Her portrait, painted by Nora Heysen (1943) is preserved at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra. She remained unmarried. Sybil Irving died (March 28, 1973) aged seventy-six, in South Yarra, Melbourne.

Irwin, Annabelle – (1916 – 1998)
American academic and educator
Born Annabelle Bowen, in Peterson, Iowa, she was the daughter of a farmer. She studied music in Sioux City, and was married to Keith Irwin, to whom she bore three daughters. After her children had grown and left home, Annabella Irwin obtained a teaching degree from the University of Iowa, and then joined the faculty of thr Iowa State University (1969). She then spent three decades teaching in various chools in Iowa and Illinois. Annabelle Irwin collaborated with the English professor, Lee Hadley, to produce a series of books which were aimed at teenagers, taking the publishing name ‘Hadley Irwin.’ These dealt with a variety of subjects including teen suicide and racism, and included such titles as So Long at the Fair and Can’t Hear You Listening. Her book Abby, My Love (1985), dealt with the difficult problem of incest, whilst her last work Sarah With an H (1995), which was published posthumously, dealt with anti-Semitism. Annabelle Irwin died (Sept 13, 1998) in Des Moine.

Irwin, Harriet – (1828 – 1897)
Southern American architect and novelist
Irwin was born in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, the daughter of a college principal. She was educated at home by her father, and later attended college in Salem, Massachusetts. Harriet Irwin travelled in Europe before marrying, and residing in Charlotte, and remained unmarried. Without any architectural training, Harriet designed and built a hexagonal shaped house, and became the first woman to receive an official patent for an architectural innovation (1869). Harriet Irwin also published a novel, and wrote articles on various subjects, which were published in various newspapers and magazines.

Irwin, Inez Leonore Haynes – (1873 – 1970)
American suffragist, feminist and writer
Irwin was born (March 2, 1873) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the daughter of a prosperous farmer. Inez Irwin was a member of the National Advisory Council of the National Woman’s Party and wrote a history of the struggle entitled Story of the Woman’s Party (1921). Inez Irwin died (Sept 25, 1970) aged ninety-seven, in Norwell, Massachusetts.

Irwin, Margaret Emma Faith – (1889 – 1967)
British historical novelist
Margaret Irwin was born at Highgate in London, the daughter of Andrew Clarke Irwin. With the early deaths of her parents she was raised at Clifton in the house of a paternal uncle, a classical scholar. Margaret was educated locally and later attended Oxford University, being later married (1929) to John Robert Monsell, the artist and illustrator of children’s books. Margaret Irwin began publishing her stories such as the ghostly tale Still She Wished for Company (1924) and Knock Four Times (1927). She was awarded the first prize in the Historical Novel Competition, organized by the London publishers Chatto and Windus for her story None So Pretty (1930). Irwin established herself as a novelist of considerable talent with her Royal Flush (1932), which told the story of Henrietta Anne (Minette) Duchesse d’Orleans, the favourite sister of King Charles II (1660 – 1685). This success was followed by further historical novelisations such as The Stranger Prince (1937), the life of King Charles’s cousin, Prince Rupert of Bohemia and the Rhine (1619 – 1682) and The Proud Servant (1934), which reccounted the life of and of the campaigns of the royalist James Graham, first Marquess of Montrose. The dustjackets of her books were designed by her husband. Other works included The Bride (1939), which told the story of Lord Montrose and his romance with Princess Louise Hollandine of Bohemia and the Rhine, maternal aunt to George I, and later abbess of Maubuisson, and The Great Lucifer: a portrait of Sir Walter Raleigh (1960). She also produced the trilogy concerning Elizabeth I entitled The Story of Elizabeth Tudor (1944), Elizabeth, Captive Princess (1948) and Elizabeth and the Prince of Spain (1953). Irwin was a friend to the historian and scholar, Dame Veronica Wedgwood. Margaret Irwin died (Dec 11, 1967) aged seventy-eight, in London.

Irwin, May – (1862 – 1938)
American actress
Irwin was born in Whitby, Ontario, Canada, and made her stage debut at the age of twelve (1874). From 1876 she and her sister Flora had joined the theatrical troupe of Tony Pastor and she performed with them at the Adelphi Theater in Buffalo, New York. May Irwin was later attached to the company of the impressario Augustin Daly (1883 – 1887) and she appeared in the dramatic productions of Charles Frohman such as His Wedding Day and Poets and Puppets. Her other stage credits included parts in, The Widow Jones, Mrs Peckham’s Carouse, On the Hiring Line, and, She Knows Better Now. Irwin formed a member of the troupe that performed before President Woodrow Wilson and members of his cabinet in the play No 33 Washington Square. May Irwin died (Oct 22, 1938) in New York.

Isaacs, Adelaide Mary    see    Reeve, Ada

Isaacs, Edith Juliet Rich – (1878 – 1956)
American editor and author
Edith Rich was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and was married to Lewis Montefiore Isaacs. Greatly interested in all facets of theatrical life, including the history of American drama and theatre, Isaacs served as editor of the Arts Magazine for over twenty years (1924 – 1946). This publication was later renamed the Theatre Arts Monthly. Her published work included Theatre (1927), Plays of American Life and Fantasy (1929), Architecture for the New Theatre (1935) and lastly, the historically groundbreaking volume The Negro in the American Theatre (1947).

Isaacs, Marion Margery Scranton – (1908 – 1992)
American civic leader
Marion Scranton was born in Pennsylvania, the sister of William W. Scranton, who served as governor of the state. She attended Smith College, and then spent time in England where she studied at Oxford. Marion was married firstly to Edward Mayer (died 1932), to whom she bore a son, and secondly to Albert G. Isaacs Jr. Marion Isaacs was a valued supporter of the Community Medical Center in Scranton, on the campus of the Pennyslvania State University, and the local Citizens Association. With her family she provided funds for public works and programs through the Scranton Area Fund, which eventually became a public community foundation (1989) and for which Mrs Isaacs served as chairman for almost four decades (1954 – 1992). Marion Scranton Isaacs died (Jan 16, 1992) aged eighty-three, at Hobe Sound, Florida.

Isaacs, Dame Stella      see     Reading, Stella Charnaud, Marchioness of

Isaacs, Susan Sutherland – (1885 – 1948)
British psychologist
Born Susan Fairhurst at Bromley Cross, Lancashire, she was the daughter of a Methodist journalist. She studied psychology and philosophy and was trained as a lecturer, working as such in Manchester, Lancashire, and in London. Susan was married firstly (1916 – 1921) to William Brierly. This union was dissolved and she remarried (1922) to Nathan Isaacs. Isaacs absorbed the tenets espoused by the famous Austrian psychologist, Sigmund Freud, and believed that childhood experiences and traumas to have profound effects upon human behaviour. She ran an experiemental school at Malting House in Cambridge (1924 – 1927), which disposed of strict discipline, and permitted children to learn and adopt new ideas in their own timeframe. Susan Isaacs served for a decade (1933 – 1943) as head of the Department of Child Development at the Institute of Education in London. Her published works included Intellectual Growth in Young Children (1930) and Social Development of Young Children (1933). Just prior to her death Susan Isaacs was appointed CBE (Commander of the British Empire) by King George VI (1948) in recognition of her valuable contribution to child education and development.

Isaacson, Caroline (Lynka) – (1900 – 1962)
Australian journalist
Born Caroline Jacobson (Sept 14, 1900) in Vienna, Austria, she was the daughter of a shipping magnate. She was educated at home before attended a finishing school in London. Caroline was married (1919) to Arnold Isaacson, an Australian army officer, whom she later accompanied to Australia with their children. Caroline Isaacson then obtained work with the Age newspaper, and edited ‘The Spare Corner’ column for rural women in the Leader. During WW II she worked as the foreign news editor for the Age and then joined the AWAS (Australian Women’s Army Service) (1942 – 1943). After the war she became the owner of the rural newspaper Dandenong Ranges News, and the editorial director of several newspapers owned by her son including the Elsternwick Advertiser. Caroline Isaacson died (Jan 23, 1962) aged sixty-one, in Genoa, Italy.

Isabeau de Bavariere      see      Isabella of Bavaria

Isabel Cristina Leopoldina Augusta Micaela Gabriela Rafaela Gonzaga – (1846 – 1921)
Princess Imperial of Brazil
Princess Isabel was born in Rio de Janeiro the only child of the Emperor Pedro II and his wife Teresa, the daughter of Francisco I, King of Naples. Soon after her birth she was officially styled Princess Imperial. Isabel was married (1864) to Gaston d’Orleans, Comte d’Eu (1842 – 1922), the grandson of the French king Louis Philippe (reigned 1830 – 1848) to whom she bore four children. The princess served as regent of Brazil three times during her father’s abscences from the country, (1871 – 1872), (1876), and (1887 – 1888). During her last regency Isabel signed the decree which abolished slavery. For this act the princess became popularly known as ‘A Redentora’ (the Redemptress). However the emancipation provided no compensation and contributed to a revolt against the crown. Pedro II was deposed after a popular uprising (1889), and Princess Isabel, together with her husband and children were exiled from Brazil, travelling to Lisbon in Portugal by steamship. As Princess Isabel was the successor to the Imperial throne and the legitimate representative of the Brazilian branch of the Braganza family, her three sons adopted their mother’s surname as if inherited by the male line. Princess Isabel died (Nov 14, 1921) at the Chateau d’Eu, in Perieure, France.

Isabel Luisa Josefa – (1668 – 1690)
Infanta of Portugal
Infanta Isabel was born (Jan 6, 1668) in Lisbon, Estramadura, the only surviving child of King Pedro II, and his first wife, Maria Francisca of Savoy, the former wife of his brother, King Alfonso II. Isabel was the granddaughter of King Joao IV, and the paternal niece of Catharine of Braganza, the wife of Charles II of England. Infanta Isabel was heiress-presumtive to the Portugese throne for two decades (1668 – 1689) until the birth of her half-brother, Joao V, the son of her stepmother, Maria Sophia of Palatine-Neuburg, and was granted the title of Princess of Beira. She was betrothed to many European princes, most notably to Vittorio Amadeo II of Savoy, and because of this received the popular epithet Sempre-Noiva (Always-Engaged). Infanta Isabel died unmarried (Oct 21, 1690) aged twenty-two, at Palhava, and her death was popularly attributed to poison.
In the letters of Liselotte, the German born duchesse d’Orleans, her death is attributed to poisoned chocolate. There is however, no real evidence that her death was anything other than a natural one. Originally interred within a convent, her remains were later transferred to the Abbey of Sao Vicente de Fora in Lisbon.

Isabel of Castile – (1283 – 1328)
Queen consort of Aragon (1291 – 1295)
Infanta Isabel was born at Toro, the eldest daughter of Sancho IV, King of Castile, and his wife Maria de Molina. Isabel was married (Dec 1, 1291) at Soria to Jaime II (1267 – 1327), King of Aragon (1291 – 1327) as his first wife, the union designed to secure peace between Castile and Aragon. Isabel was assigned the towns of Huesca, Girona, Prades, Calatyud, Algeciras, Morella and Cervera, with their rights and revenues, as her dower. The marriage remained childless, and due to changes in political and dynastic policy, the young queen was repudiated so Jaime could take another bride (1295). Isabel returned to Castile, accompanied by the Bishop of Lerida and her governess Dona Maria Fernandez, and resided with her mother, the Queen Dowager Maria. She later remarried at Burgos (1310) to Jean III (1286 - 1341), Duke of Brittany and earl of Richmond in England, as his second wife, but this union also remained childless. Duchess Isabel died (July 24, 1328) aged forty-five.

Isabel of Meulan     see   Beaumont, Isabel de

Isabel of Urgel – (c1050 – c1071)
Spanish queen consort
Isabel was the daughter of Armengol III, Count of Urgel, and his first wife Adelaide of Besalu, the daughter of Guillermo I, Count of Besalu. Isabel was married firstly (c1065) to Sancho V Ramirez (1043 – 1094), King of Aragon, as his first wife. The marriage remained childless and Sancho divorced her (1070). She was quickly remarried to Guillermo Ramon, Count of Cerdagne, but died soon afterwards.

Isabella I of Jerusalem – (1171 – 1206)
Queen regnant (1190 – 1206)
Isabella was the daughter of King Amalric I of Jerusalem and his second wife Maria Komnena, who was related to the Emperor Manuel I Komnenus (1143 - 1180). Isabella eventually succeeded her half-sister Sibylla (1190) as queen. She was married three times, firstly (1186) to Humphrey of Toron, from whom she was divorced for dynastic reasons, despite her own wish not to have the marriage annulled, secondly (1190) to Conrad, Marquis of Montferrat, thirdly (1192) to Henry I of Champagne, and fourthly (1197) to Amalric II of Lusignan, King of Cyprus. By Conrad of Montferrat the queen was the mother of Queen Maria la Marquise, the wife of Jean of Brienne and Alice (1192 - 1246), the wife of Hugh I (1195 - 1218), King of Cyprus. Her second husband Conrad was assassinated but on his deathbed he commanded Isabella to only deliver the keys of the city of Tyre to either Richard I of England, then crusading in Palestine, or to the next king-elect of Jerusalem. The queen then shut herself up within the city and refused to hand over the keys to Duke Hugh of Burgundy. Soon afterwards Henry of Champagne, nephew of King Richard, arrived at Tyre, and Isabella yielded to popular demand and offerred the keys and herself to Count Henry, with King Richard's approval. At the time of this, her third marriage, Queen Isabella was pregnant with her late husband's child. Somewhat confused the secretary of the Saracen leader Saladin, who was present at the marriage, asked a courtier to whom paternity of the child would be awarded, receiving the reply ' It will be the Queen's child.' With Henry's death which was caused by an accident when he fell from an upper window of the palace, Queen Isabella remarried to Amalric of Lusignan, whose brother Guy had been the husband of her sister Sibylla. Amalric I died from eating a surfeit of fish, and Isabella did not long survive him. Isabella I died (May, 1206) aged thirty-five, in Jerusalem. She bore Henry of Champagne two daughters, and she bore Amalric another two daughters, whilst their son Amalric (1204 - 1205) died in infancy.

Isabella II of Jerusalem (Yolande) – (1211 – 1228)
Titular queen regnant (1225 – 1228) and Holy Roman empress (1225 – 1228)
Sometimes known as Yolande of Brienne, she was born in Jerusalem, the only child of Jean of Brienne, King of Jerusalem and his wife Maria on Montferrat, known as la Marquise, the daughter of Conrad of Montferrat and his wife Isabella I of Jerusalem. From the time of her mother's death (1212) Yolande was the lawful heiress to the crown of Jerusalem, though her father continued to rule on her behalf. Possessed of great beauty, she was carefully raised in seclusion by nuns. Her father began arrangements for Isabella's marriage with the Hohenstaufen emperor Friedrich II (1194 – 1250), whose second wife she became by proxy at Tyre (March 9, 1225). After the wedding the young empress sailed for Italy, accompanied by Balian III of Sidon, Simon, archbishop of Tyre and many Syrian lords and their wives. She was met by the emperor in person at Brindisi, where the marriage was formally celebrated (Nov 9, 1225) and she was crowned as empress. Freidrich then assumed the title of King of Jerusalem in his wife's right. She was the mother of his son Conrad IV of Hohenstaufen (1227 – 1254), King of Germany. Many rumours and legends were spread by her father regarding Isabella's marriage, notably that Friedrich beat her on their wedding night, and that he then deserted her in favour of one of her ladies-in-waiting, but the truth behind these allegations cannot now be ascertained, and King Jean and the emperor and been involved in a heated altercation on the day of the wedding, concerning rights to the crown of Jerusalem. Queen Isabella II died (May 8, 1228) aged only sixteen, in Andria, Italy, her husband remaining absent from her bedside, pleading the stress of affairs of state.

Isabella I of Spain – (1451 – 1504) 
Queen regnant of Castile (1474 – 1504)
Isabella I was born (April 22, 1451) at Madrigal de las Altas Torres, the daughter of Juan II, King of Castile and Leon, and his second wife Isabella, who was the daughter of Infante Joao, Duke of Beja, the brother of King Duarte (Edward) of Portugal. With her father’s death and the accession of her elder half-brother Henry IV (1454) she was brought up at the castle of Arevalo, near Madrid with her widowed mother. With the death of her brother Alfonso (1468) Isabella became the heir to her half-brother, whose own daughter Juana, popularly known as ‘La Beltraneja’ (after her real father) was regarded as illegitimate. Isabella had many suitors, but for political reasons she married (1469) Ferdinand (1452 – 1516) the son and heir of Juan II of Aragon, without the permission of the king. The couple had seven children, of whom four daughters ultimately survived. When Isabella succeeded to the throne (1474) an inevitable war of succession flared up, but in 1479 the allied Castilian and Portugese faction were defeated, and La Beltraneja secured within a convent. In the same year Ferdinand V succeeded his elderly father on the throne of Aragon, and the couple became joint sovereigns. Though the couple ruled together, it remained a union of crowns and not countries, and the two kingdoms retained their separate laws, institutions and governments. Neverthelesss, their propitious marriage would eventually lead to the unification of Spain. Isabella restored the authority of the crown after its extended weakness under Henry IV, and she acquired a reputation for severity and justice. The traditional policy of later Spanish monarchs in providing equal justice for all classes was undoubtedly due to her influence. In her will the queen retracted her own grants of crown land, an act which was regarded as sharp practice, but justified by political expediency. She had also reorganized the royal councils, excluding the grandees in favour of professional administrators and lawyers. The infamous Inquisition finally persuaded the king and queen to expel the Jews from Spain (1492). With her narrow religious views, and influenced by her own ecclesiastical advisers, the queen firmly believed she was fulfilling a pious duty in saving her subjects from contact with the Jews, but it was a policy that would prove to be economically disastrous for Spain, and laid the country open to the pernicious influence of German and Italian financiers. A moving spirit behind the conquest of Granada, she fully supported Cardinal de Cisneros in his policy of forced conversion of the Moors. Queen Isabella is particularly remembered for the approval and support she gave to the voyage of Christopher Columbus (Cristobal Colon) when he discovered the New World (1492), which was then annexed to the crown of Castile. A wise and intensely religious woman, she gathered excellent advisers around her and organized the reform of both the Spanish churches and the order of the Poor Clares within her realm. Her only surviving son, the Infante Juan, Prince of the Asturias (1475 – 1497), died childless, and her heir was her grandson Charles (1500 – 1558) (the future Emperor Charles V), son of her second daughter Juana ‘the Mad’ and Philip of Austria. Her youngest daughter Catalina (Catharine) (1485 – 1536) became the ill-fated first wife of Henry VIII, King of England. Queen Isabella died (Nov 26, 1504) aged fifty-three, at Medina del Campo, in Salamanca, after a long illness.

Isabella II of Spain – (1830 – 1904) 
Queen regnant of Spain (1833 – 1870)
Isabella II was born in Madrid, the elder daughter of King Ferdinando VII and his fourth wife Maria Christina of Naples. At her father’s death (1833) Isabella succeeded to the throne with her mother as regent. Her accession was opposed by the supporters of the Infante Carlos and his sons, and led to the first Carlist War which was ended with the Treaty of Virgana (1839). She was declared of age after a coup d’etat organized by Ramon Narvaez (1843) and was married to her cousin Prince Francisco de Assisi (1846). Queen Isabella bore a large number of children, reputedly not all fathered by the prince, who was notoriously effeminate. Although personally popular with the Spanish people, her scandalous private life forced Isabella into becoming the tool of rival court factions. She betrayed her liberal supporters and even the conservatives found her unprincipled and untrustworthy. Queen Isabella II was eventually deposed (1868) and exiled to France. The former queen abdicated (1870) in favour of her eldest son Alfonso XII (1857 – 1885) and she then established herself and her new court in Paris where she remained permanently resident. Queen Isabella II died (April 10, 1904) in Paris.

Isabella Bruce – (1276 – 1358)
Queen consort of Norway (1292 – 1299)
Isabella Bruce was eldest daughter of Robert Bruce, Earl of Carrick and his wife Margaret de Carrick, the widow of Adam de Kilconquhar. She was the sister of Robert I the Bruce, King of Scotland (1306 – 1329). Sources which claim that Isabella was married to Sir Thomas Randolph of Strathearn, Great Chamberlain to King Alexander III, and was the mother of Thomas Randolph, Earl of Moray are incorrect. Isabella became the second wife (1292) of Erik II (1268 – 1299), King of Norway, the marriage having been arranged by her father during a visit to Norway. Her houselh goods including furniture, wardrobe, regalia and jewellery were then delivered to Bergheim by Scottish envoys for the use of ' the serene Lady Isabella de Brus, Queen of Norway.' Isabella survived her husband for six decades as Queen Dowager of Norway (1299 – 1358) and she died aged eighty-two. There remains no foundation for the queen's alleged second and third marriages with an earl of Atholl and Alexander Bruce.

Isabella of Angouleme – (1188 – 1246) 
Queen consort of England (1200 – 1216)
Isabella was the daughter of Aymer I, Count of Angouleme, and his wife Alicia of Courtenay, the divorced wife of Count William of Joigny, and granddaughter of Louis VI of France (1108 – 1137). Though originally betrothed to Hugh X de Lusignan, count of La Marche, his overlord King John (1167 – 1216) stepped in and married Isabella himself as his second wife (1200). This sent the outraged Lusignan clan into an alliance with Philip II Augustus of France, which ultimately led to the Barons’ War and John’s loss of all the Plantagenet lands on the continent, including the duchy of Normandy.
With John’s death (1216) the regency for her young son Henry III (1207 – 1272) was placed in the capable hands of William Marshall. Isabella’s influence was distrusted and feared and she was prevented any share of power. She returned to France where she remarried (1220) Hugh X de Lusignan (1182 – 1249) her former suitor, breaking off his betrothal with her won daughter Joan in order to effect their marriage. This marriage caused considerable political problems both for England and France, and Isabella conducted a feud with Queen Blanche, mother of Louis IX over several decades. Eventually Queen Isabella was forced to give up the battle and retired to the Abbey of St Marie at Fontevrault. Of her daughters by King John, the elder, Joan (1210 – 1238) became the wife of Alexander II, king of Scotland, whilst her second, Isabella (1214 – 1241), became the third wife (1235) of the Holy Roman emperor Frederick II. Her youngest Plantagenet daughter, Eleanor (1215 – 1275) became the wife of Simon de Montfort. Queen Isabella died (May 31, 1246) at Fontevrault, and was buried there. She appears in the historical novel The Battle of the Queens (1978) by Jean Plaidy.

Isabella of Antioch – (1182 – 1207)
Queen consort of Armenia
Isabella was the daughter of Bohemond III, Prince of Antioch and his third wife Sybilla, a native of Antioch. She became the second wife of Leo II, King of Armenia (c1155 – 1219) soon after his accession to the throne (c1198) and was the mother of daughter Rita (c1199 – 1220) whom the Franks called Stephanie, later wife of Jean de Brienne, King of Jerusalem. In 1205 one of the king’s closest advisors publicly denounced the queen, accusing her of adultery. The king was greatly enraged, and giving credence to the accusation, the truth of which remains unknown, caused Queen Isabella to be imprisoned in the castle of Vakha, where she remained until her death. She was later put to death at Vakha and was buried there.

Isabella of Aragon (1) – (1242 – 1271)
Queen consort of France (1270 – 1271)
Infanta Isabella was the daughter of Jaime I, the Conqueror, King of Aragon (1213 – 1276), and his third wife, Violante (Yolande), the daughter of Andrew II, King of Hungary (1205 – 1235). Isabella was married (1260) to the French dauphin Philip (1245 – 1285), the eldest son and heir of St Louis IX (1226 – 1270) who succeeded his father as Philip III (1270). The marriage had been arranged after the treaty of Corbeuil (1258) which ended Aragonese attempts to expand their territory beyond Cardona and Rousillon, and Isabella brought the city of Montpellier in Languedoc as her dowry, which she had inherited from her paternal grandmother Maria of Montpellier, the wife of Pedro II of Aragon. Queen Isabella was the mother of Philip IV the Fair (1268 – 1314), who left descendants, and Charles I, Count of Valois (1270 – 1325), who was married three times and left numerous descendants. Queen Isabella accompanied her husband on his crusade to Tunis, and was with him in Africa when he succeeded as King of France (1270). The royal party then set out to return to France. Queen Isabella died (Jan 28, 1271) at Cosenza, Italy, after a fall from her horse whilst pregnant. Her husband remarried to Marie of Brabant and had further children.

Isabella of Aragon (2) – (1271 – 1336)
Queen consort of Portugal (1282 - 1325)
Infanta Isabella was the daughter of Pedro III, King of Aragon and his wife Constance of Hohenstaufen, the daughter of Manfred of Hohenstaufen, King of Sicily. She was married at Trancosa (1282) to King Diniz of Portugal (1261 - 1325), becoming the mother of King Alfonso IV (1291 – 1357). The king and queen resided together in perfect accord though Isabella held herself aloof from his dissolute court. Famous for her religious piety, and revered for her skills as a dynastic peacemaker, the queen one rode her horse between two opposing armies, managing to negotiate peace terms and avoid a war. Diniz caused Isabella to be banished from the court for a period after the slanderous suggestion that she had encouraged their son Alfonso to revolt against his father, but the truth in this matter was quickly revealed, and King Diniz showed his confidence in her by entrusting Isabella with the government of Torre Vedras. She survived her husband ten years as Queen Dowager, being dissuaded from her wish to become a Clarissan nun. Queen Isabella founded hospital, orphanages and homes for fallen women. Isabella died (July 4, 1336) at Estremoz, and was buried within the Clarissan convent in Coimbra. She was beatified (1516) by Pope Leo X and then canonized (1625) by Pope Urban VIII. Isabella was the patron saint (July 4) of the city of Coimbra.

Isabella of Aragon (3) – (1300 – 1330)
Queen consort of Germany (1314 – 1322)
Infanta Isabella was the second daughter of Jaimes II, King of Aragon (1291 – 1327) and his first wife Blanche, the daughter of Charles II of Anjou, King of Naples. Ambassadors from Duke Friedrich of Austria (1286 – 1330) came to Tervel (Feb, 1312) to arrange for the marriage between their master and Isabella, the negotiations for which were concluded in Barcelona (June, 1313). Isabella was married to Friedrich was proxy (1313) bringing a dowry of fifteen thousand silver marks. After being married in person, they travelled by way of Perpignan, Avignon, and Savoy, to Tyrol. When the duke was elected as King of Germany (Feb, 1314), he crowned Isabella as queen in the city of Basileia. They were both crowned by the Archbishop of Koln (Cologne) in Bonn. When King Frederick was captured by his rival, Ludwig IV of Bavaria at Muhldorf (1322), he was deposed and imprisoned at Trusnite until 1325. Queen Isabella tried desperately to procure his release, but in 1327, having failed to make his brother Leopold acknowledge Ludwig of Bavaria as German king, Friedrich was imprisoned at Gutenstein in Upper Styria. The queen chose to share his confinement, and accompanied him there with their children. Queen Isabella died (July 12, 1330) at Gutenstein, only six months after the death of her husband. They were interred together in the Carthusian monastery at Mauerbach, near Vienna, which they had jointly founded and patronized. Her three children were,

• Prince Friedrich of Austria (1316 – 1322). He died young.
• Princess Elisabeth of Austria (1317 – 1336). She remained unmarried.
• Princess Anna of Austria (1319 – 1343). She was married firstly to Heinrich III (1312 – 1333), Duke of Bavaria, and secondly to Johann Heinrich (1322 – 1338), Count of Gorz (Gorizia) but died without issue.

Isabella of Aragon (4) – (1470 – 1498)
Queen consort of Portugal (1497 – 1498)
Infanta Isabella was born (Oct 2, 1470) at Duennas, the eldest daughter of Ferdinando V, King of Aragon (1479 – 1516) and his wife Isabella I, Queen of Castile (1474 – 1504). Her sisters were Juana, wife of Philip of Austria, Maria, later queen of Portugal and Catalina (Catharine of Aragon, wife of Henry vIII of England). She was educated at the convent of Santa Anna and was beautiful and intelligent, being the fsavourite child of her mother Queen Isabella.
With the mediation of her great-aunt the Infanta Beatriz, Duquesa de Viseu Isabella was officially betrothed (1482) to Prince Alfonso (1475 – 1491), the son and heir of Joao II, King of Portugal by the terms of the treaty of Alcantara (Sept, 1479). Other royal suitors such as Charles VIII of France and the Hapsburg emperor Maximilian I also negotiated for Isabella’s hand but her parents preferred the Portugese alliance above all others. Preperations for her marriage began in1488 in which year the Infanta accompanied her parents to witness the siege of Malaga. When the city was finally captured some of the treasures from the city were sold to provide for Isabella’s dowry. The proxy ceremony took place at Seville (April, 1490) Alfonso being represented by Don Fernando de Silveira. Later in that year Isabella left Castile for Lisbon where she received a magnificent welcome and was married to Alfonso at Estremoz on the same evening she arrived (Nov 23, 1490) theceremony was conducted by the Archbishop of Braga. Her dowry was much larger than that usually accorded to the Infantas of Aragon and she possessed magnificent gowns which cost over twenty thousand golden crowns.
The marriage of Isabella and Alfonso proved to be one of great mutual affection despite the five year age difference, and they were rarely separated. However Alfonso’s death as the result of a hunting accident (July 13, 1491) left Isabella a grief-stricken and childless widow. Her health declined so alarmingly that her family feared for her and at the special request of her mother Queen Isabella, the princess was permitted to return to the Castilian court. Infanta Isabella was present with her mother and siblings at the siege of Granada (1492) where she worked closely with the queen to improve conditions for the troops. During this time Isabella and her sisters had a narrow escape from death when a fire burnt the royal pavilions to be burned to the ground. After the city capitulated the princess took part in the triumphal entry of her parents into the city. With the death of Joao II of Portugal without a male heir (1495) his cousin and successor Manuel I (1459 – 1521) began negotiating for a marriage between himself and the widowed Isabella. It would appear that Manuel ahd admired Isabella whilst she had been married to his cousin, and one he came to the throne he would have no other princess than her for his queen. The marriage was made conditional upon the adoption of a repressive religious policy in Portugal which resulted in the expulsion of all Moors and Jews from Spain (1497). The marriage of Isabella and Manuel took place the same year and Isabella returned to Lisbon as queen of Portugal. Queen Isabella died (Aug 23, 1498) aged twenty-seven from the effects of childbirth.
Her child the Infante Dom Miguel de la Paz (1498 – 1500) was, during his brief lifetime, recognized by his maternal grandparents Ferdinando and Isabella as the heir to both Portugal and Spain. With Miguel’s death these claims passed to his first cousin the future Emperor Charles V. Isabella appears as a character in the historical novels Castile for Isabella (1960) and Daughters of Spain (1961) written by Jean Plaidy.

Isabella of Aragon (5) – (1470 – 1524)
Italian princess of Naples
Isabella of Aragon was born (Oct 2, 1470), the daughter of King Alfonso II of Naples, and his wife Ippolita Maria Sforza (she died as duchess of Calabria), the daughter of Francesco I Sforza, duke of Milan. She was the granddaughter of Ferrante I, king of Naples and was sometimes referred to as 'Isabella of Naples.' Isabella was married to her cousin, Gian Galeazzo Sforza, duke of Milan, to whom she bore three children, and was duchess consort (1487 – 1494), though her husband later lost his throne and the family forced to live in exile. Isabella was later created sovereign duchess of Bari and princess di Rossano (1499). With the death of her brother, Ferrante II of Naples, Isabella inherited the claim of the Brienne family to the title of king of Jerusalem. A famous beauty and patron of the arts, some historians and researchers claim that Isabella was the model for the famous Mona Lisa painting, produced by Leonardo da Vinci (1452 – 1519), though this identification is not accepted. Duchess Isabella died (Feb 11, 1524) aged fifty-three. She left three children,

• Ippolita Maria Sforza – (1490 – 1501). She died young.
• Francesco Sforza (1491 – 1512). Surnamed ‘Il Duchetto,’ he was Count of Pavia and titular duke of Milan (1494 – 1512). He took holy orders and became Abbot of Marmoutier in France (1505) and died from a fall from his horse.
• Bona Sforza (1495 – 1557). She became the second wife of Sigismund I (1467 – 1532), King of Poland, and left descendants.

Isabella of Bavaria (Isabeau de Baviere) – (1369 – 1435)
Queen of France (1385 – 1422)
Princess Isabella of Bavaria was the daughter of Stephen III, Duke of Bavaria-Ingoldstadt and his Italian wife Taddaea Visconti. Isabella was married (1385) to Charles VI, King of France (1368 – 1422), the marriage being arranged by Philip II of Burgundy, to bolster the king’s claim to the county of Flanders. Isabella was crowned queen in Paris (Aug 22, 1389), and the couple had twelve children. Falling under the influence of the French court, when the king first became insane (1392) the queen relied heavily on her brother-in-law, Louis, Duc d’Orleans, and their association created much damaging scandal. Although by no means ignorant of politics, the queen was more often motivated by emotional feelings of love or hate rather than important political dictates, or even her own self-interest. With the eventual assassination of Orleans (1407) the queen enjoyed great power, but she was forced to support the Armagnac faction, and was pushed into the background. During a period of comparative sanity the king ordered Isabella confined at Tours because of an adulterous liasion (1417), but she was soon released by the intervention of Jean of Burgundy, and her husband lapsed back into his former insanity. However, after she and her son the Dauphin Charles quarrelled with them, she threw in her lot with the Burgundians (1418). With Burgundy’s support Isabella established herself as regent of France at Troyes. Her greatest political act was the signing of the Treaty of Troyes (May 21, 1420). Isabella gave her daughter Katherine in marriage to Henry V of England, whom she then recognized as heir to her husband, instead of her own son, who was thus disinherited. Despised and reviled by all she was forced into retirement at the Hotel de St Pol in Paris. At her death (Sept 24, 1435) she was buried simply without the honours due to a queen-mother. Her son Charles VII (1403 – 1461) succeeded his father in 1422, Henry V dying in the same year leaving only an infant heir (Henry VI).

Isabella of Castile - (1355 - 1392)
Duchess of York (1371 - 1392)
Infanta Isabella was born at Morales or at Tordesillas Castle, the third daughter of Pedro I the Cruel, King of Castile (1350 - 1369) and his mistress Maria de Padilla, whom he claimed to have secretly married. Her father was murdered at the instigation of his half-brother Enrique Trastamara, who then usurped the Castilian throne. Isabella and her surviving elder sister Constanza (Constance), to save themselves from capture and possibly murder, fled with a group of loyal followers to Bayonne. The sisters and their household were residing there when John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, and his brother Edmund, Duke of York arrived in France (1371). Infanta Constanza was considered by many to be the rightful heiress to the throne of Castile, and was married to the Duke of Lancaster, who for many years tried vainly to regain her rights in Castile. There appears to have been some difficulty in getting the marriage contract signed because the Castilian courtiers foolishly demanded more self-suitable conditions, and detained the two sisters at Bayonne. They were eventually persuaded to allow the infantas to proceed to Bordeaux, where Constanza became the second wife of the Duke of Lancaster whilst Isabella was married to Prince Edmund (1341 - 1402) and became the Duchess of York. Bothceremonies took place at Roquefort, near Bordeaux (Sept 21, 1371) after which the two women accompanied their new husbands to England. The Duke and Duchess of York then went through a second marriage ceremony at Hertford Castle (before April 30, 1372).
The Duchess Isabella and her husband were present at the coronation of Richard II (July 16, 1377), was a Lady of the Garter (1379). She and her husband attended the wedding of Lancaster's eldest son Henry of Bolingbroke to Mary de Bohun at Leicester Castle (1380). During the ensuing Peasant's Revolt (June, 1381) the duchess and her children were forced to flee from London for their own safety. Isabella and Duke Edmund were present at the marriage of King Richard to his first wife Anne of Bohemia (Jan, 1382). Duchess Isabella died (Dec 23, 1392) aged thirty-seven at Hertford Castle. She was interred within the Church of the Dominican Friars at King's Langley in Hertfordshire. The historian Walsingham described the Duchess Isabella as, a lady noted for her over-fineness and delicacy, yet at her death showing much penitence for her persistent vanities. She appears in the historical novel Katherine (1954) by Anya Seton. Her three children were, Edward Plantagenet (1373 - 1415), Duke of York who was killed at the Battle of Agincourt, Constance Plantagenet (1376 - 1416), the wife of Thomas le Despenser, Earl of Gloucester, and Richard Plantagenet (1375 - 1413), Earl of Cambridge, who was executed for treason against Henry V, and from whom the House of York descended.

Isabella of Cornwall – (1233 – 1234)
English Plantagenet princess
Princess Isabella was born (Sept 9, 1233) at Marlowe-on-Thames, Buckinghamshire, the only daughter of Prince Richard Plantagenet, Earl of Cornwall (later King of the Romans) and his first wife Lady Isabella Marshal, the widow of Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Gloucester. Isabella was the granddaughter of King John (1199 – 1216) and the niece of King Henry III (1216 – 1272). She died young (Oct 10, 1234) aged one year at Marlowe-on-Thames, and was buried at Reading Abbey in Berkshire.

Isabella of England    see    Isabella Plantagenet (1) or (2)

Isabella of France – (1292 – 1358) 
Queen of England
Isabella of Valois was the daughter of Philip IV Le Bel (the Fair), King of France, and his wife Jeanne I, Queen of Navarre. She was married to Edward II at Bouogne (1308). Though the couple produced several children, including the future Edward III (1312 – 1377) the queen remained in the background of public affairs, the king preferring the company of his favourites such as the hated Piers Gaveston. Isabella finally decided to return to France (1325) after her brother Charles IV seized Edward’s remaining territories in France from his ineffectual grasp. She fell in love with one of his disaffected nobles, Roger Mortimer (1287 - 1330), Earl of March. Together they organized the invasion of England (1326). Their forces routed Edward’s troops, and he was captured, being forced to abdicate in favour of his son Edward, with Isabella and Mortimer as regents. The former king was imprisoned in Berkeley Castle where he was supposedly murdered with extreme cruelty (Sept, 1327), though in actual fact he was allowed to escape to Europe where he lived as a monk, and died in 1341. Isabella and Mortimer ruled for three years but proved so unpopular that in 1330 Edward asserted his own authority. Mortimer was apprehended in the queen mother’s chamber, and arrested despite her pleas for his safety. She was placed under house arrest whilst Mortimer was hanged, drawn and quartered. The queen mother was forced into political retirement, though she attended Edward’s court and spent much of her later life at Castle Rising, in Norfolk. There were rumours that she went insane before her death. Queen Isabella died (Aug 27, 1358) at Castle Rising.

Isabella of Gloucester (Avisa, Hadwisa) – (1168 – 1217)
Anglo Norman countess of Mortain and titular queen consort of England (1199)
Isabella of Gloucester was the daughter of William FitzHenry, second Earl of Gloucester, and his wife Hawise, the daughter of Robert de Beaumont, second Earl of Leicester. Isabella inherited the earldom of Gloucester, which was held in turn by all of her husbands. She was married firstly (1189) at Marlborough Castle, Wiltshire, to Prince John, count of Mortain (1167 – 1219), the youngest son of Henry II and brother to Richard I. Their marriage remained childless, and when John succeeded his brother as king (1199), she was briefly the titular queen consort of England, though she was never proclaimed as such. John quickly divorced Isabella. Countess Isabella remarried secondly to Geoffrey de Mandeville, fifth Earl of Essex, and thirdly to Hubert de Burgh (c1170 – 1243), first Earl of Kent. Isabella died childless (Nov 18, 1217) aged fifty-seven.

Isabella of Hainault – (1170 – 1190)
Queen consort of France (1180 – 1190)
Isabella was born (April, 1170) at Lille, Flanders, the eldest daughter of Baldwin V, Count of Hainault and his wife Margaret of Alsace, the sister of Philip of Alsace, Count of Flanders. She was originally betrothed to Henry, the son of Count Henry I of Champagne, but this engagement was broken so that she could become the first wife of King Philip II Augustus (1165 – 1223) at the age of ten years (1180). She was crowned queen at the Abbey of St Denis at Rheims (May 29, 1180). Isabella brought Philip the county of Artois as her dowry, and the marriage brought about the revolt of the house of Champagne. When her father later supported the enemies of the king, Philip called a council at Senlis for the purpose of breaking off the alliance and repudiating Queen Isabella (1184) but she managed to dissuade her husband from this course of action. Her only surviving child was King Louis VIII (1187 – 1226). Queen Isabella died (March 15, 1190) aged barely twenty, in Paris, after giving birth to stillborn twins. She was interred within the Cathedral of Notre Dame.

Isabella of Ibelin – (1241 – 1324)
Queen consort of Cyprus
Isabella was the daughter of Guy of Ibelin, Constable of Cyprus, and his wife Philippa Borlais. She was married (before 1266) to Hugh III of Lusignan (1235 – 1284), king of Cyprus who she survived for four decades as Dowager Queen (1284 – 1324). Queen Isabella died aged eighty-two. She had borne her husband a large family of children,

• Jean II of Lusignan (1267 – 1285). He succeeded his father as King of Jerusalem and Cyprus (1284 – 1285) but died unmarried and childless.
• Bohemond of Lusignan (1268 – 1281), Prince of Cyprus. He died young and was interred in the Franciscan church in Nicosia.
• Henry II of Lusignan (1271 – 1324). He succeeded his brother Jean II as King of Cyprus and Jerusalem (1285 – 1324). He was married to Constanza of Aragon, later the wife of Leo V, King of Armenia. Henry and Constanza had no children.
• Amalric III of Lusignan (1272 – 1310), Prince of Tyre and Constable of Jerusalem. He displaced his brother Henry and became King of Cyprus (1306 – 1310). He was married and left issue.
• Maria of Lusignan, Princess of Cyprus (1273 – 1322). She was the second wife of James II, king of Aragon (1267 – 1327). Queen Maria died childless.
• Aimery of Lusignan (1274 – 1316). He succeeded his younger brother Guy as Constable of Cyprus (1303) and was later Regent and governor of Cyprus. He died unmarried.
• Guy of Lusignan, Prince of Cyprus (1275 – 1303). He was Constable of Cyprus (c1291 – 1303) and was the father of Hugh IV of Lusignan (1300 – 1359), king of Cyprus (1324 – 1359), who left descendants.
• Margaret of Lusignan, Princess of Cyprus (1276 – 1296). She was married (1288) to Thoros II, King of Armenia (died 1292), and left issue.
• Alice of Lusignan, Princess of Cyprus (1277 – 1324). She was married to Balian of Ibelin (died 1316), the titular Prince of Galilee, and left issue.
• Helvis of Lusignan, Princess of Cyprus (1278 – 1324). She was married to Hethoum II, Prince of Armenia.
• Isabella of Lusignan, Prince of Cyprus (c1280 – 1319). She was married firstly to Constantine of Neghir, Lord of Partzerpert (died 1308), and secondly to Oshin (c1275 – 1320), King of Armenia, by whom she left issue, and from whom she was later divorced (1316).

Isabella of Lancaster – (1317 – 1347)
English Plantagenet princess and nun
Isabella was the fourth daughter of Henry of Grosmont, Earl of Lancaster (1326 – 1345) and his first wife Matilda de Chaworth, the daughter of Sir Patrick de Chaworth of Kidwelly. As a child she became the wife (c1326) of Henry de la Dale but was left a childless widow. Still a child her father placed her in the royal Abbey of Amesbury in Wiltshire under thr protection of her royal cousin Princess Mary, the daughter of Edward I. Isabella accompanied Mary upon several of her travels in England and to the royal court. Professed as a nun in 1327 she encouraged the patronage of Amesbury by her powerful family and from 1337, probably as a mark of her royal rank Isabella was permitted a separate edtablishment at Amesbury and was maintained in considerable comfort by her friends and relatives. Her tastes were no exclusively secular as there is record of Edward III paying Isabella one hundred marks for her book of romances. She was later elected as prioress (1344) and served in that office until she died proving to be an excellent administrator. Princess Isabella died (after Feb 1, 1347) aged twenty-nine.

Isabella of Lorraine – (1410 – 1453)
Queen consort of Naples (1435 – 1442) and Duchess regnant of Lorraine (1431 – 1453)
Isabella was the daughter of Charles II, Duke of Lorraine and his wife Margaret of Bavaria, the daughter of Rupert of Bavaria, King of Germany. Plans to marry Isabella to John Plantagenet, Duke of Bedford, the brother of Henry V of England did not eventuate. She was married instead (1420) to Rene of Anjou (1408 – 1482), Duke of Bar and titular King of Naples, as his first wife. Beautiful and intellectually cultured, with her father’s death (1431) Isabella inherited Lorraine, but Rene ruled in her name. When he was absent from the duchy as the prisoner of Duke Philip III of Burgundy, Isabella ruled as regent (1431 - 1437). Isabella later led an armed force in order to rescue Rene from Philip III of Burgundy and then travelled to naples (1435) where she secured the recognition of her husband as King of Naples. With his subsequent release (1437) Rene travelled to Naples to consolidate the throne acquired for him by Isabella. However, with the colllapse of the Angevin cause in Naples, the king and queen abandoned the struggle and retired to Angers in Anjou (1442). Her children included Jean II of Anjou (1425 – 1470), titular King of Naples, who inherited the dukedom of Lorraine, Yolande of Anjou, titular Queen of Naples, wife of Frederick of Lorraine, Comte de Vaudement, and mother of Rene II, Duke of Lorraine, and Margaret of Anjou, the ill-fated wife of Henry VI, King of England, last ruler of the House of Lancaster. Queen Isabella died (Feb 28, 1453) aged forty-two.

Isabella of Montferrat – (fl. c1210 – 1225) 
Italian trobairitz
Isabella was born in Thessaly, the daughter of Bonifacio I of Montferrat, King of Thessalonika and his first wife Elena di Busco. Her stepmother was Margaret of Hungary, the widow of the Byzantine emperor Isaac II Komnenus. Isabella is believed to be identified with the Isabella who exchanged a poem with the troubadour Elias Cairel which survives. Others identify her as the daughter of either the Marchesopulo Pelavincini or Guido Merchesopulo, lord of Badonitza in Thessaly.

Isabella of Naples    see   Isabella of Aragon (4)

Isabella of Nassau-Saarsbrucken      see     Elisabeth of Nassau-Saarsbrucken

Isabella of Portugal (1) – (1397 – 1471)
Duchess of Burgundy
Infanta Isabella was born at Evora, Alto Alentejo, the daughter of Joao I, King of Portugal and his wife Philippa, the daughter of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, and granddaughter of King Edward III. Despite her own religious inclinations which saw her still unmarried at the age of thirty, Isabella yielded to political pressures and became the third wife of Philip III the Good, Duke of Bugundy who instituted the chivalric honour of the Order of the Golden Fleece on their wedding day (Jan 10, 1429). Her only child was the last independent male ruler of Burgundy, Duke Charles the Bold who was killed at the battle of Nancy (1477). The duchess presided over the peace talks held at the chateau d’Oye (1436) between the Burgundians, the English, and the French, led by Charles, Duc d’Orleans. Her plans for peace were eventually rejected by the English and French, though the duchess’s attempts to mediate were both recognized and appreciated. A patroness of the arts in her youth, Isabella’s patronage continued after her marriage, and this influence found a link between the painters and sculptors of the Low Countries and the emerging Portugese schools of art. It was to paint Isabella’s portrait that the Flemish master Jan Van Eyck first came to Lisbon. With Philip’s death (1467) Isabella retired from court, though she emerged to conclude important negotiations with England, whilst her son was absent on a military campaign in Liege. With the death of Henry VI of England in the Tower of London Isabella considered herself the senior surviving representative of the English house of Lancaster. Duchess Isabella died (Dec 17, 1471) aged seventy-four, at Aire, Artois.

Isabella of Portugal (2) – (1428 – 1496)
Queen consort of Castile (1447 – 1454)
Infanta Isabella was the daughter of Infante Joao of Portugal, Duke of Beja, and his wife Isabella, the daughter of Alfonso I, Duke of Braganza. Her father was the son of King Joao I and Philippa of Lancaster, whilst her mother was the granddaughter of Joao I and his mistress. Isabella was married (1447) at Madrigal in Castile to Juan II, King of Castile (1405 – 1454), as his second wife. Their children were the Infante Alfonso (1453 – 1468) and his elder sister, the future Queen Isabella I. She was the maternal grandmother of Catharine of Aragon, first wife of Henry VIII of England, and of Juana ‘the Mad’. Her great-grandchildren included Mary I of England (1553 – 1558) and the Holy Roman emperor Charles V (1519 – 1555). Queen Isabella suffered much from the arrogance of the royal favourite, Alvaro de Luna, and with the death of her husband and the accession of her stepson, Enrique IV (1454), she retired from the court with her children. By the time of the accession of her daughter and son-in-law, Ferdinand V of Aragon (1474), her mental state, which had been fragile for some time, collapsed completely, and she was sent to reside at the Castle of Arevalo, where she remained over two decades until her death. Queen Isabella died (Aug 15, 1496) aged sixty-eight. She was interred at Miraflora. Queen Isabella appears in the historical novels Castile for Isabella (1960) and Spain for the Sovereigns (1960) by Jean Plaidy.

Isabella of Portugal (3) – (1503 – 1539)
Holy Roman empress (1519 – 1539)
Infanta Isabella was born (Oct 24, 1503) in Lisbon, Estramadura, the daughter of Manoel I, king of Portugal, and his second wife Maria of Aragon, daughter of the famous Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain. Isabella became the wife of the Emperor Charles V (1500 – 1558) and was mother of Philip II (1527 – 1598), King of Spain, and of Maria, wife of the Emperor Maximilian II (1564 – 1576). She was the grandmother of the insane Don Carlos and of King Sebastian of Portugal. The marriage of the Empress and her husband was one of almost perfect happiness and affection, and the emperor’s deep love for Isabella is borne out not only by his tender references to her in his personal correspondence, but also by the observations of contemporaries such as Cardinal Salviati and Baldassare di Castiglione. Her portrait by Titian survives. Empress Isabella died (May 1, 1539) aged thirty-six, at Toledo, from complications following the birth of her seventh and last child, which died almost immediately. She was buried firstly in the Capilla Real, but her remains and those of her husband were later reinterred by their son Philip in the Palace of the Escorial, where their tombs remains. Her children were,

• Philip II (1527 – 1598). With his father’s abdication (1555) his uncle succeeded as Emperor Ferdinand II, whilst he became King of Spain. He was married four times and left descendants. His second wife was Mary Tudor, Queen of England (1553 – 1558).
• Infanta Maria of Spain (1528 – 1603). She became the wife of her cousin, the Emperor Maximilian II (1564 – 1578) and left issue.
• Infante Ferdinand of Spain. He died young.
• Infante Juan of Spain. He died young.
• Infanta Juana of Spain (1535 – 1573). She became the wife of Crown Prince Juan of Portugal, and left issue.

Isabella of Savoy – (1591 – 1626)
Italian duchess consort of Modena
Princess Isabella was the second daughter of Carlo Emanuele I, Duke of Savoy, and his wife the Infanta Catalina Michaela Francesca, daughter of Philip II, King of Spain (1555 – 1598). Isabella was married to Alfonso d’Este, ducal prince of Modena (1591 – 1644), who later succeeded as Duke of Modena. Renowned for her strong religious piety and devout qualities, the princess died from the effects of childbirth. Her great-granddaughter was Mary Beatrice d’Este, the second wife of James II, King of England (1685 – 1688). Duchess Isabella left nine children,

• Francesco I d’Este (1610 – 1658). He succeeded his father as Duke of Modena (1644 – 1658). He was married and left descendants.
• Prince Obizzo d’Este (1611 – 1645). He became a priest and was appointed Bishop of Modena.
• Princess Caterina d’Este (1613 – 1635). She became a nun.
• Prince Cesare d’Este (1614 – 1677). He died unmarried.
• Prince Carlos Alessandro d’Este (1616 – 1679). He died unmarried.
• Prince Rainaldo d’Este (1618 – 1671). He became a priest and was appointed Cardinal.
• Princess Margarita d’Este (1619 – 1682). She became the wife of Ferdinando III di Gonzaga, Duca di Guastalla.
• Prince Philiberto d’Este (1623 – 1654). He died unmarried.
• Princess Anna Beatrix d’Este (1626 – 1690). She became the wife of Alessandro II Pico, Prince di Mirandola (1631 – 1691).

Isabella of Valois    see also     Isabelle de Valois

Isabella Plantagenet      see also      Coucy, Isabella Plantagenet, Lady de

Isabella Plantagenet (1) – (1214 – 1241)
Holy Roman empress (1235 – 1241)
Princess Isabella was the second daughter of John I Lackland, King of England (1199 – 1216), and his second wife, Isabella, the daughter of Aymer I Taillefer, Count of Angouleme. Her father's plan to marry Isabella to the future Louis IX of France failed (1225). Isabella became the fourth wife of emperor Frederick II of Hohenstaufen (1194 – 1250) at Worms Cathedral (1235), being crowned as empress on the same day (July 20) and bore him several children including Henry of Hohenstaufen, King of Jerusalem (1238 – 1253), who died childless, and Margaret of Hohenstaufen (1237 – 1270), the ill-fated wife of Albert I the Froward, Landgrave of Thuringia. Her husband was devoted attached to Isabella and her family is said to have complained that he kept her in almost oriental seclusion, and her brothers were put to great pains when they tried to visit her during a trip to Germany (1241). Empress Isabella founded the convent of St Dominic at Montargis in France for Augustinian nuns. The Empress Isabella died (Dec 1, 1241) from the effects of childbirth at Foggia, near Naples in Sicily, aged only twenty-seven. She was buried at Andria in Sicily.

Isabella Plantagenet (2) – (1279)
Princess of England
Princess Isabella was born (March 12, 1279) at Woodstock Palace, Oxon or Windsor Castle in Berkshire, one of the younger children of Edward I, King of England (1272 – 1307) and his first wife Eleanor, the daughter of Ferdinando II, King of Castile. Isabella died in infancy (before Dec 31 of the same year), and was interred in Westminster Abbey, in London.

Isabella Stuart (1) – (1426 – 1494)
Princess of Scotland
Princess Isabella was born in Edinburgh, the second daughter of James I and his wife Joan, the daughter of John Beaufort, Earl of Somerset. Her father was assassinated (1437) and during the Parliament of 1439 the custody of the young James II and his sisters was granted to Queen Joan. With the consent of James II and the regents, Princess Isabella was betrothed (1441) to the widowed Count Francois of Montfort (1415 – 1451) who succeeded to the ducal throne of Brittany as Duke Francois I (1442 – 1451). He married Isabella shortly afterwards (before Dec, 1442) and she was installed as duchess consort. The couple had two daughters. With the death of Francois I (May 15, 1451) Duchess Isabella ruled the dukedom as regent for her stepson, Francois II (1451 – 1452). At his death (1488) leaving his only daughter Anne of Brittany as his sole heiress, Duchess Isabella and her daughter-in-law, Margeurite de Foix, ruled Brittany as joint regents until Anne’s marriage (1491) with Charles VIII of France. Her daughters were,

• Princess Margeurite of Brittany (1443 – 1469). She became the first wife of her first cousin, Duke Francois II of Brittany (1435 – 1488) and left issue.
• Princess Marie of Brittany (c1446 – before 1511). She became the wife of Jean II, Vicomte de Rohan (c1440 – 1516).

Isabella Stuart (2) – (1676 – 1681)
Princess of York and England
Princess Isabella was born (Aug 28, 1676), the second daughter of James Stuart, Duke of York (later James II 1685 – 1688) and his second wife, Mary Beatrice d’Este. Princess Isabella died young (March 2, 1681) aged five, at St James’s Palace, London. She was buried in Westminster Abbey, London.

Isabella Clara of Austria – (1629 – 1665)
Hapsburg archduchess of Austria
Archduchess Isabella Clara was born (Aug 12, 1629), the daughter of Archduke Leopold of Austria, Count of Tyrol, and his Italian wife, Claudia de Medici. She bore the additional titles of Princess of Hungary and Bohemia. Archduchess Isabella Clara was married (1649) to Carlo III (1629 – 1665), Duke of Mantua, and was mother of Duke Carlo IV (1652 – 1708). Isabella Clara died (Feb 24, 1665) aged thirty-five.

Isabella Clara Eugenia – (1566 – 1633)
Spanish Infanta and regent of the Netherlands (1599 – 1621)
Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia of Spain was born at Bolsan, near Segovia, the elder daughter of Philip II and his third wife Elisabeth (Isabel), daughter of Henry II, King of France. She was the elder half-sister to King Philip III (reigned 1598 – 1621). With the death of her elder half-brother Don Carlos (1568), Infanta Isabella became heiress to the Spanish crown, which title she retained until the birth of her half-brother Don Fernando (1571). Her father had planned to set up Isabella as ruler of England to replace Elizabeth I if his famous Armada had not been defeated (1588). Philip then attempted to gain the French throne for her, in opposition to the claims of Henry of Navarre, as the natural heiress of her mother, who had been the eldest daughter of Henry II. However, when her name was put forward in Paris (Jan, 1593) it created such an uproar that her candidature was withdrawn and the French refused to repeal the Salic Law. Infanta Isabella was married (1599) to her cousin, the Hapsburg archduke Albert 91559 – 1621), bringing as her dowry joint-sovereignty of the Netherlands. Despite making religious concessions to the Dutch, a war developed but the forces of Isabella and Albert eventually won over the town of Ostend (1604) after a three year siege. In 1605 Oldenzaal and Lingen were taken, followed by Grol and Rheinberg (1606). James I of England made peace with Spain (1607) and the leader of the Dutch republic, Oldenbarnewelt, convinced of the necessity to end the war, accepted Albert and Isabella’s long standing offer to start useful negotiations. A twelve year treaty was finally conculuded (April 9, 1609), and for the duration of this truce the status quo was to be preserved in Europe and in the East and West Indies as well. Isabella’s regency ended with Albert’s death (July, 1621). Archduchess Isabella Clara Eugenia died (Dec 1, 1633) aged sixty-seven, in Brussels.

Isabella Leonarda – (1620 – 1700)
Italian nun and composer
Isabella Leonarda was born in Novara, and she entered the convent of St Ursula there as a young woman (1636). She was elected as mother superior five decades afterwards (1686), and then became provincial mother superior of her order (1693). Two of her personal compositions are included in the Terzo libro de sacri concenti (1640) of Gasparo Casati, the chapel master of Novara Cathedral. She published over two hundred works, including solo motets, masses, psalms, and sacred music, her last collection published around the time of her death (1700).

Isabella Luigia of Savoy – (1688 – 1767)
Italian princess
Isabella Luigia was born (June 30, 1688) the younger daughter of Emanuele Philiberto of Savoy (1656 – 1709), the reigining prince of Carignano and his wife Angelica Caterina d’Este, the daughter of Borso d’Este, Prince of Modena. The princess was known officially as ‘Madamigella di Savigliano’ (Mademoiselle de Savigliane). She was married three times, firstly to Alfonso Tapareli, Conte di Lagnasco, secondly to Conte Eugenio Cambiano di Ruffia, and thirdly to Carlo Biandrate di San Giorgio. Princess Isabella Luigia died (May 2, 1767) aged seventy-eight.

Isabella Maria of Parma – (1741 – 1763)
Crown Princess consort of Austria (1760 – 1763)
The Princess Isabella Maria Luisa Antoinetta Ferdinanda Giuseppina Saveria Dominica Giovanna of Parma was born (Dec 31, 1741) in Madrid, the child of Philip of Spain, Duke of Parma in Italy (1735 – 1765) and his wife Princess Louise Elisabeth de Bourbon, the eldest daughter of Louis XV, King of France (1715 – 1774). Isabella was married in Vienna (1760) to the Hapsburg Crown Prince Joseph (later emperor as Joseph II), the heir of the Empress Maria Theresa. Beautiful and accomplished her husband was much attached to her and her death was the cause of great grief to him. Some of her letters to her sister-in-law Queen Maria Carolina of Naples are preserved in the Imperial archives. Crown Princess Isabella died (Nov 27, 1763) aged only twenty-one, in Vienna, a week after the birth of her younger child. She appeared as a character in the historical novel The Queen's Confession (1968) by British author Victoria Holt. Isabella's two children were,

• Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria (1762 – 1770). She died young.
• Archduchess Maria Christina of Austria (Nov 22, 1763). She was and died on the same day.

Isabella Maria Theresia Christina Eugenie – (1888 – 1973)
Hapsburg archduchess of Austria
Archduchess Isabella was born in Pressburg, Hungary (Nov 17, 1888), the seventh daughter of Archduke Frederick, Duke of Teschen, and his wife Isabelle de Croy, daughter of Rudolf, Duc de Croy. She bore the additional titles of Princess of Hungary and Bohemia. Isabella was married (1912) to Prince George of Bavaria (1880 – 1943), but the union was annulled by the church (1913). There were no children and she never remarried. Archduchess Isabella died (Dec 6, 1973) aged eighty-five, at La Tour de Peilz.

Isabelle Capet – (1225 – 1270)
French princess
Princesse Isabelle was the daughter of King Louis VIII (1223 – 1226) and his wife Blanche of Castile, the daughter of Alfonso VIII, King of Castile. She was the maternal great-granddaughter of the famous Eleanor of Aquitaine. A projected match (1227) between Isabelle and the son and heir of Hugh de Lusignan, Count of La Marche never eventuated. Despite several suggested betrothals with foreign princes including Conrad of Hohenstaufen, the son of the Emperor Friedrich II, Isabelle refused to be married, and after sufferring a severe illness (1245) persevered in her desire to become a nun. With the death of her mother (1252) and with the approval of her brother Louis IX, Isabelle founded the Clarissan convent at Longchamps in Paris. She never actually became an enclosed nun, but resided in a part of the building seperate from the nuns' cells and wore secular clothing. She was influenced in this decision by her continuing ill-health which would not permit her to keep up the full observances of the convent rule, and also because she was determined not to be elected as abbess.
Princess Isabelle died (Feb 23, 1270) aged forty-four. She was declared venerable (1521) and her feast was observed (Feb 26). Her Vitae was written by Agnes d' Harcourt, Abbess of Longchamps, under whose care she spent her last days. Agnes described Isabelle as " a mirror of innocence, a model of penitence, a rose of patience, a lily of chastity, a fountain of mercy."

Isabelle de Courtenay – (1219 – 1257)
French countess consort of Burgundy (1242 – 1257)
Isabelle de Courtenay was the daughter of Robert I de Courtenay, Seigneur de Champignelles and de Chateaurenard, and his wife Maude de Mehun, Dame de Mehun-sur-Yeve. She became the second wife (1242) of Jean I the Old, Count of Burgundy (1241 – 1267). Countess Isabelle died (Sept 22, 1257) aged thirty-eight. She left seven children,

• Jean I of Burgundy and Chalon (1243 – 1309). He became Count of Auxerre (1268 – 1309) and Seigneur de Rochefort, and was married twice and left issue.
• Robert of Burgundy (1244 – after 1245). He died young.
• Stephen of Burgundy (Etienne) (1245 – 1302). He became Seigneur de Rouvres and de Montenot and left issue.
• Matilda of Burgundy (1246 – after 1267). She remained unmarried and became a nun at the Abbey of Sauvement.
• Pierre of Burgundy (c1247 – c1274). He became Seigneur de Chatelbelin and was married but left no issue.
• Guillemette of Burgundy (died after 1267). She remained unmarried and was appointed as the Abbess of Battaut.
• Margeurite of Burgundy (died after 1267). She remained unmarried and was appointed as Abbess of Chateau-Chalon.

Isabelle de Valois – (1389 – 1409)
Queen consort of England (1396 – 1399)
Princess Isabelle was born (Nov 9, 1389) at the Louvre Palace, in Paris, the daughter of Charles VI le Fou (the Mad), King of France and his wife Isabella, the daughter of Stephen, Duke of Bavaria-Ingoldstadt. She was betrothed in infancy (1391) to Jean, the son and heir of Comte Pierre d' Alencon but this match was broken off (1395) she could become the second wife (1396) of Richard II of England (1377 – 1399). Isabelle was crowned as queen (Jan 8, 1397) at Westminster Abbey by Archbishop Arundel. There were no children, and with his subsequent deposition and murder at Pontefract Castle, she was left a widow at the age of only ten years. Despite unsuccessful negotions for her to remarry to Henry, Prince of Wales, the eldest son of the Lancastrian king Henry IV, she was eventually permitted to return to the French court. Isabelle then became the first wife (1406) of her cousin, Charles, Duc d’Orleans (1394 – 1465), the poet prince, to whom she bore a daughter Jeanne d’Orleans, Duchesse de Alencon (1409 – 1432). Queen Isabelle died (Sept 13, 1409) in childbirth, aged nineteen, at the Chateau de Blois, and was interred within the Chapel of Notre Dame des Bonnes Nouvelles in the Abbey of Saint-Laumer at Blois. Isabelle appears as a minor character in the historical novel Katherine (1954) by Anya Seton.

Isambour     see    Ingeborge of Denmark

Isanos, Magda – (1916 – 1944)
Romanian visionary poet, dramatist and translator
Magda Isanos was born at Iasi. Her collection of verse Poezii (Poems) (1943), where published shortly before her early death. Her other works were published posthumously and included the four-act play Focurile (The Fires) (1945) and the collection Tara muninii.Versuri (Land of Light, Poems) (1946).

Isaure, Clemence – (1464 – 1516)
French poet
Clemence Isaure was a nun who composed verses under the name ‘Clemenza’ and became known as the ‘Sappho of Toulouse.’ She was the sponsor of the Jeux Floreaux (Floral Games), an annual poetry competition (May 1).

Ise – (c875 – c938)
Japanese poet and courtier
Ise was the daughter of Fujiwara no Tsugukage, the governor of Ise. She became a concubine of the emperor Uda, becoming the mother of his son, Prince Yuki-Akari. Ise was later the mistress to Prince Atsuyoshi, before she married to Prince Katura.  Her extant poetic works, composed in the new kokinshu style, included, ‘Thread of Pearls,’ amongst others. Her daughter Nakatsukasa (912 – 991), born from her marriage with Katura, also achieved lasting fame as a poet.

Iselin, Hope Goddard – (1867 – 1970)
American sportswoman and socialite
Hope Goddard was the wife (1894) of the Charles Oliver Iselin, the famous banker and yachtsman. Iselin defeated the Russian grand duke Michael at a famous golf tournament sponsored by the Prince of Wales (Edward VII) in 1900, and was the only woman ever to sail as a member of a yacht crew, defending the Americas Cup aboard the ‘Columbia.’ Passionately interested in horse racing Mrs Iselin established two racing stables in Upper Brookville, Long Island, and in England, and her horse Wolver Hollow won the Eclipse Stakes in London (1969). Responsible for building a hospital and the Fermata School for Girls in Aiken, South Carolina, her estate of Hopelands was famous for its formal gardens. She presented her house in Providence to Brown University (1966) to use as a facility club. Hope Goddard Iselin died (April 5, 1970) aged one hundred and two, at Aiken.

Isetneferet I (Iset-Nofret, Isitnofret) – (c1300 – c1244 BC) 
Queen of Egypt
Isetneferet I joined the harem of King Ramesses II the Great (c1305 – 1213 BC). Her parentage remains unknown, and she bore the king at least six or seven children. With the death of the premier royal wife, Queen Nofretiri (c1254 BC), Isetneferet was raised to the rank of chief queen, along with her daughter Bintanath I, who had already married her father and bore the title of queen. On a rock stelae at Aswan, dated (c1255 – c1249 BC), Isetneferet was portrayed with her daughter, and her principal sons, Ramesses, Khaemwaset, and Merneptah. Another rock stelae, which was uncovered at the Silsila quarries and dated a few years later, protrays Isetneferet and Bintanath attending King Ramesses, with Khaemwaset before him. On this stela the queen’s eldest son Ramesses is styled ‘Senior King’s Son.’ Isetneferet held the rank of chief queen for about a decade, and was interred in the Valley of the Queens. Her tomb has never been discovered, but its existence is attested in records of the workmen from the royal tombs. Her two eldest sons predeceased their father, Ramesses (c1255 BC) and Khaemwaset (1224 BC). Her third son Merneptah (c1280 – 1204 BC), succeeded his father as king (1213 – 1204 BC), and was the father of Pharoah Seti II (1200 – 1194 BC).

Isetneferet II (Iset-Nofret, Isitnofret) – (c1260 – c1205 BC)
Queen of Egypt
Isetneferet II was the daughter of Ramesses II and his daughter-wife, Bintanath I, and thus granddaughter of Isetneferet I. She appears to have resided away from the court and remained unmarried for the early part of her life. Isetneferet was only married to her half-brother, King Merneptah (1213 – 1204 BC) at the time of his accession, so there were no children. His successor, Amenmesses, was the son of a secondary wife. There is some evidence that Queen Isetneferet II was interred with her husband, instead of in a separate tomb in the Valley of the Queens, and that she died before him, though her mummy has never been recovered.

Iseut de Capio    see    Capio, Iseut de

Isham, Anne Elizabeth – (1862 – 1912)
American disaster victim
Anne Isham was born (Jan 25, 1862) in Chicago, Illinois, the daughter of a lawyer. She remained unmarried, and having resided in France for some years with her sister, Mrs Frances Shelton, she boarded the Titanic at Cherbourg (April, 1912), intending to visit her brother in Enlgand. Isham was one of the four first-class ladies who perished in the Titanic disaster, and was aged fifty. Her body was never recovered.

Isias – (fl. c1030 – c100 BC)
Greek queen of Commagene
Her parentage remains unknown. She was married to King Samos II (c175 – 96 BC). Queen Isias was mother of King Mithridates I Kallinikus (c125 – c70 BC).

Isimkheb – (c1050 – c980 BC)
Queen consort of Egypt
Isimkheb was the daughter of King Psusennes I, and was married (c1030 BC) to King Menkheperre (ruled c1045 – 992 BC). She was the mother of his successor, King Pinedjem II (c1030 – c969 BC).

Isis I – (c1520 – c1489 BC)
Queen of Egypt
Isis I was the secondary wife of King Tuthmosis I (c1530 – 1492 BC). She was the mother of King Tuthmosis II (c1504 – 1450 BC).

Isis II – (c1380 – c1356 BC)
Queen of Egypt
Isis II was the daughter of Amenhotep III, and his chief wife Tiye, the sister to Pharoah Ay. She was married to her father, according to dynastic custom, and was granted the royal titles. Isis II died young.

Isis III – (c1210 – c1163 BC)
Queen of Egypt
Isis III was perhaps the daughter of Pharoah Setnakhte, and his wife Habadjilat. She was married to King Ramesses III (c1220 – c1163 BC), whom she predeceased. Her tomb was later raided by thieves, who were caught and put to death. A record of their trial has survived on papyrus.

Isitnofret    see    Isetneferet

Isitt, Kate Evelyn    see   Inglewood, Kathleen

Islavishna    see   Perekusikhina, Maria

Isley, Phylis Lee see Jones, Jennifer

Ismat ad-Din Khatun – (c1132 – 1186)
Arabic princess
Ismat ad-Din was the daughter of Mu’in as-Din Unur, the regent of Damascus (1138 – 1149) under the overlordship of the Burid dynasty. She was married (1147) to Nur ad-Din, the Zengi emir of Aleppo to cement a dynastic alliance negotiated by her father. The next year her father recognized Nur ad-Din as his overlord. Within a few years of her father’s death Ismat’s husband managed to gain complete control of the city of Damascus (1154). With her husband’s death two decades later (1174) the Christian king of Jerusalem, Amalric I, took the opportunity to lay siege to the important city of Banias. Ismat managed to persuade Amalric to lift the siege after offerring him a large bribe, and releasing Christian prisoners. When Saladin gained control over Damascus he married Ismat (1176) to consolidate his position. Ismat died (Jan 26, 1186) and was interred in the Jamaa’ al-Jadid in Damascus. Her second marriage remained childless, but Saladin was so devoted to her that news of her death was kept from him for several months, until he was safely recovered from a serious illness.

Ismihan Sultan Osmanoglu – (c1544 – after 1582)
Ottoman princess of Turkey
Princess Ismihan Sultan was the daughter of Sultan Selim II (1566 – 1574) and his concubine Nurbanu (later queen mother), and was the granddaughter of Sultan Suleyman I (1520 – 1566). She was sister to Murad III (1574 – 1595) and aunt to Mehmed III (1595 – 1603).
Ismihan was married firstly to the Grand Vizier Sokollu Mehmed. With his death she wished to marry Ozdemiroglu Osman Pasha as her second husband, but her royal connections did not entice him. Ismihan then chose Kalayhikaz Ali Pasha, the governor of Buda as her next choice, but the outrage done to his wife, who would have been divorced in order to make this marriage possible, caused the city of Buda to rise in rebellion. This projected match did not eventuate. Princess Ismihan was present at the royal celebrations in Constantinople held to honour her nephew, the future Sultan Mehmed III (1582). Details of her later life remain unrecorded.

Isolani, Gertrud – (1899 – 1988)
German writer
Born Gertrud Issacsohn (Feb 7, 1899), she was the daughter of the Jewish journalist, Eugen Issacsohn. She was married (1921) to a manufacter named Sternberg. Gertrud worked initially as a journalist and radio announcer in Berlin until forced to resign her job by the Nazis (1933). She then immigrated to Paris and was later placed in a prison camp at Gurs (1940). She was assisted to escape by the underground, and reached safety in Switzerland (1942). Isolani worked as a journalist in Switzerland for various periodicals, and published novels and short stories, sometimes using the pseudonym ‘Ger Trud.’ Her best known work was Stadt ohne Manner (1945), which described her experiences at Gurs. She published memoirs entitled Kein Blatt vor dem Mund (1985). Gertrud Isolani died (Jan 19, 1988) aged eighty-eight, at Riehen in Basel, Switzerland.

Istomina, Avdotia Ilinichna – (1799 – 1848)
Russian ballerina
Avdotia Istomina was a pupil of Charles Didelot, and made her stage debut with the Imperial Ballet (1815), quickly achieving fame for her grace and style, and established herself as the most celebrated Russian ballerina of the nineteenth century. Madame Istomina was equally famous for her romantic liasions, and many duels were for her favours. Count Zavadovsky killed Count Sheremetev (1817) after a quarrel over her favours, and the dramatist, Alexander Griboedov (1795 – 1829) was shot in the hand. Her dancing featured in a stanza of the ballet Eugene Onegin, which was described by Vladimir Nabokov as one of the most brilliant poetic lines in Russian literature.

Istromena, Maria   see   Charisse, Cyd

Ita – (c480 AD – 569)
Irish saint and patron of Munster
Ita was the daughter of Cennfoeladh, king of Deisi and his wife Necta, a descendant of Feidhlimidh Rechtmuir, king of Ireland. In her youth Ita left Deisi and established a religious community at Cluaincreadhail in county Limerick, and became abbess of Killeedy. She also built the church called Cill Ite after her. Ita was not a recluse and took active part in the public affairs of her community, travelling to the abbey of Clonmacnois to visit St Comgan when he was dying. Many legends are preserved of the wonders performed by her in the improvement of the wicked, the cure of the sick and the breeding of horses. The church honoured her as a saint (Jan 15).

Ita of Benevento – (c615 – before 663)
Italian duchess
Ita was a highborn captive of unknown antecedents, who was married prior to 635 to Duke Grimoald of Benevento (c602 – 671). After her death her husband became king of Lombardy as Grimoald I after her death. Ita left three children,

• Romuald I (c635 – 687). He succeeded his father as Duke of Benevento (671 – 687). He was married and left issue.
• Daughter (name unknown). She was married Trasamund of Capua (c630 – 703), Duke of Spoleto and left descendants.
• Gisa of Benevento. She died unmarried as a captive of the Byzantine emperor Constantine IV (668 – 685).

Ita of Metz – (c990 – c1050)
German countess
Ita was the daughter of Adalbert II, Count of Metz and Saargau, and his wife Judith of Oeningen, the widow of Count Louis of Dagsburg. She was married to Radbot, Count of Klettgau and Hapsburg (c969 – 1045). Countess Ita survived her husband and retired to the abbey of Muri, where she became a nun and was buried. She left five children,

• Otto I (c1012 – 1055). He was Count of Hapsburg (1033 – 1045).
• Agnes of Hapsburg (c1014 – c1053), She became the first wife of Godfrey II the Bearded, of Louvain, Duke of Lower Lorraine (c995 – 1069) and left descendants.
• Adalbert I (c1015 – 1055). He was Count of Hapsburg (1045 – 1055).
• Richenza of Hapsburg (c1018 – before 1081). She was married to Ulric II, Count of Lenzburg (c1015 – 1081) and left descendants.
• Werner I (c1025 – 1096). He was count of Hapsburg (1055 – 1096) and was married and left descendants.

Italiano, Anna Maria    see   Bancroft, Anne

Italica – (c550 – c600)
Roman letter writer
Italica was the wife of the patrician Venatius, and was the mother of two daughters, Antonina and Barbara, and resided with her family in Syrakuse. She is known from letters preserved in the Epistolarum Registrum of Pope Gregory I. The first letter (Aug, 593) refers to Italica as Italicae patriociae and excellentia vestra, whilst the second (Aug, 599) is addressed to her and Venantius jointly. At the time of the first correspondence Italica had been accused of oppressing peasants on a church estate, but Gregory informed her by letter that she would not be prosecuted, and that the matter would be settled in an amenable manner by his official, Cyprianus. Italica received a letter from the Merovingian ruler Childebert II of Neustria (587 – 588) in which the king asked her to support a treaty of friendship between the Franks and the Imperial court on Constantinople. This letter is preserved in the Epistolae Austrasicae, and in it she is formally addressed as inlustro atque magnificentissime Italicae patriciae. Both Italica and Venantius were sufferring from ill-health (599), and she appears in no further correspondence concerned with her family, it may be that she died soon afterwards.

Itha of Oeningen (Ita) – (c954 – 1020)
Duchess consort of Bavaria
Itha was the daughter of Kuno, Count of Oeningen in Boden, and his wife Richilda of Saxony, the natural daughter of the Holy Roman Emperor Otto I (962 – 973). She was married (c970) to Duke Rudolf II of Altdorf, Duke of Bavaria. With her husband’s death (995) the duchess re-established the former royal abbey of Altmunster, which had sufferred much during the Hungarian invasions. The death of her eldest son Henry (1014) caused the duchess to provide more gifts for her monastery, and she managed to persuade her son Welf to make a considerable donation to secure the abbey’s survival. The duchess then revived the former religious discipline of the monks and installed a new abbot. Duchess Itha died (Oct 16, 1020) aged about sixty-five, and was buried at Altmunster. Her children included,

• Henry of Altdorf (c973 – 1014). He succeeded his father as Duke of Bavaria (995 – 1014) but died unmarried.
• Riclinda of Altdorf (c975 – 1045). She was married to Adalberon II (c973 – 1045), Count of Ebersberg but died childless.
• Welf II (Guelph) (c978 – 1030). He succeeded his brother Henry as Duke of Bavaria (1014 – 1030). He was married to Ermengarde of Luxemburg, Dowager Queen of Burgundy, niece of the Holy Roman empress Kunigunda, wife of Henry II (1002 – 1024).
• Richwara of Altdorf (c985 – before 1026). She became the wife of Kuno, count of Rheinfelden and mother of Rudolf of Rheinfelden (c1015 – 1080), King of Germany (1077 – 1080).

Itsuko, Nabeshima – (1882 – 1976)
Japanese princess
Nabeshima Itsuko was the elder daughter of Marquis Nabeshima Naohiro, and was married during childhood (1890) to Prince Nashimoto, of the Imperial house. The couple had two daughters, Masako (later called Yi), who became the wife of Prince Yi Un of Korea, and Princess Noriko (1907 – 1992), who died unmarried. After WW II the princess and her husband were relegated to commoner status (Oct, 1947) and retired to private life. Widowed in 1951, the former princess retained close links with the Imperial family. She published memoirs entitled Nashimoto-no-miya Itsuko-ohi Nikki (The Memoirs of Princess Nabeshima Itsuko) (1972).

Itta of Aquitaine     see    Iduberga of Aquitaine

Itta of Gascony – (c560 – 612)
Merovingian noblewoman
Itta was the daughter of Duke Severus of Gascony, and was married (c575) to Grimoald (c553 – 599), Duke of Aquitaine, the grandson of Theudebert I, King of Austrasia (533 – 548). After her husband’s death Itta became a nun and was venerated as a saint because of her piety. She left three children,

• St Modoald (c580 – c640).
• Iduberga of Aquitaine (592 – 652). She was married to Pepin I of Landen (585 – 640), Duke of Austrasia and was the mother of Pepin II of Heristal and of St Gertrude, Abbess of Nivelles.
• St Severa (c595 – c660). She became a nun and abbess of the convent of St Symphorian on the Moselle River.

Ittifaq – (fl. c1330 – 1348) 
Black Mameluke queen
Ittifaq was originally a lute player in the household of King al-Nasir Muhammad (reigned 1309 – 1340). The king married her officially (c1330)  and after his death Ittifaq was remarried to three of his successors, al-Salih Ismail (reigned 1342 – 1345), al-Kamil Shaban (reigned 1345 – 1346), and al-Muzzaffar Hajji (reigned 1347 – 1348).  So great was Ittifaq’ power that it made the Mameluke lords uneasy. A palace revolution was affected, and al-Muzzaffar was forced to dismiss Ittifaq and a female companion from the court. Expelled from the palace, and deprived of her rich possessions, Ittifaq survived to take two more husbands, a Mameluke vizier and a prince of the Moroccan Marinid dynasty.

Iturbide, Maria Terezia de – (1876 – 1915)
Princess of Mexico
The princess was born (Feb 26, 1876) in exile in Gyulafehervar, Hungary, a descendant of the short-lived Emperor Augustin I of Mexico, being the daughter of Prince Salvador de Irurbide and his Hungarian wife the Baroness Gizella Maria Mikos de Tarrodhaza. She was married (1893) at Beszterce, to the Hungarian nobleman Lajos Torok de Aranyos-Kakos-Kadicsfalva (born 1869), who later died as the result of a hunting accident at Pancsova (1904). There were no children. Princess Maria Terezia served as a volunteer nurse with Hungarian Red Cross at Novodwar in Galicia during WW I, where she contracted cholera. Maria Terezia de Iturbide died (Aug 7, 1915) aged thirty-nine.

Iuco, Ignacia    see   Espiritu Santo, Ignacia del

Iuhetibu – (fl. c1650 BC)
Egyptian queen mother
Iuhetibu was the daughter of Senwosret, and was the wife of Dedusobek. Husband and wife are attested by a surviving stela from Abydos, preserved in the Cairo Museum. She was the mother of an unidentified king from the XIIIth Dynasty, and was granted the title of ‘King’s Mother.’

Iulla Antonia – (fl. c18 – 2 BC)
Roman Imperial patrician
Iulla Antonia was the daughter of Iullus Antonius, consul, and his wife, Claudia Marcella Maior. Her father was the son of the famous triumvir, Marcus Antonius, lover of Queen Cleopatra, and his wife Fulvia Flacca Bambalia. Her mother was niece to the first emperor, Augustus (27 BC – 14 AD) amd a descendant of the noted politician, Gaius Gracchus, and of the general, Scipio Africanus, who defeated Hannibal of Carthage. Iulla was raised in Rome, firstly in the household of her grandmother Octavia Minor, and then probably in the Imperial palace. No husband is recorded for her, and she may have died in childhood.

Iurminburg – (c653 – c705)
Anglo-Saxon queen consort
Iurminburg (also Iurminburh or Ermenberga) was a member of the royal family of Kent, and became the second wife (670) of King Egbert of Northumbria (646 – 685). Their marriage remained childless, and the queen achieved lasting fame due to her antagonism to St Wilfred, Bishop of York. After the death of her husband she retired to Carlisle in the north, and became a nun under the rule of her sister, whom she subsequently succeeded (c700) as abbess.

Ivanauskaite, Jurga – (1961 – 2007)
Lithuanian novelist and short story writer
Ivanauskaite was born (Nov 14, 1961) in Vilnius, and studied at the Art Academy there. She travelled extensively in China and Tibet, and became a passionate supporter of democracy and freedom for the Tibetanese. Jurga published her first work The Year of the Lilies of the Valley (1985), which was followed by half a dozen novels, a volume of essays, and several works for children. These included The Day That Never Happened (1997) and Gone with the Dreams (2002). Her work was translated into several European languages. Jurga Ivanauskaite died of cancer (Feb 17, 2007) aged forty-five, in Vilnius.

Iveagh, Gwendolen Florence Mary Onslow, Countess of – (1881 – 1966)
British politician and public activist
Lady Gwendolen Onslow was the elder daughter of William Hillier Onslow (1853 – 1911), the fourth Earl Onslow, and his wife Florence Coulston Gardner, the daughter of Alan, third Baron Gardner. She was the sister-in-law of the first Earl of Halifax, who served as Viceroy of India. Lady Gwendolen was married (1903) to the famous philanthropist and company chairman, Sir Rupert Edward Cecil Lee Guinness (1874 – 1967), who became viscount Elveden (1919) before succeeding as second Earl of Iveagh (1927). The couple had five children. During WW I she served as a member of the National Prisoners of War Fund, for which she was created CBE (Commander of the British Empire) by King George V (1920). Like her husband Lady Elveden became active in Conservative politics, and she succeeded her husband as that party’s Member of Parliament for Southend, which seat she retained for eight years (1927 – 1935) until she was succeeded by her son-in-law, Henry Channon. Her son, Arthur Onslow Edward Guinness (1912 – 1945) was styled Viscount Elveden from 1927. He predeceased his father and was the father of Arthur Francis Guinness (born 1937), who later succeeded his grandfather as the third Earl of Iveagh (1967). The Countess of Iveagh died (Feb 16, 1966) aged eighty-four. She gave her family’s estate of Clandon Park in Surrey, built by Leoni in the eighteenth century, to the National Trust with a financial endowment (1956).

Ivers, Julia Crawford – (1867 – 1930)
American silent film screenwriter and movie producer
Ivers was born (Oct 3, 1867) in Los Angeles, California. She wrote the screenplays for various silent films such as The Rug Maker’s Daughter (1915), The Heart of Paula (1916), The Veiled Adventure (1919) and The Soul of Youth (1920). Julia Ivers also adapted several written works for the screen for such movies as Good Night, Paul (1918) and In a Moment of Temptation (1927) which was her last work. Ivers herself produced five silent films including The Wax Model, A Kiss for Susie, and The Trouble Buster (all 1917). She was the mother of the noted cinematographer James Van Trees (1890 – 1973). Julia Ivers died (May 8, 1930) aged sixty-two, in Los Angeles.

Ivins, Molly – (1944 – 2007)
American newspaper columnist, political commentator and author
Molly Ivins was born in Monterey, California (Aug 30, 1944) and was raised in Houston, Texas, where she attended St John’s School before going on to Smith College and studying abroad in Paris. She was employed by the Houston Chronicle, the Minneapolis Tribune, the Texas Observer (1970 – 1976), and the New York Times (1976 – 1982). Her more colourful, liberal, style caused Ivins to be dismissed and she was then employed by the Dallas Times Herald (1982 – 1992). Her last journalistic post was with the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (1992 – 2001), after which she worked independently. Ivin’s particular spleen was reserved for corrupt and stupid public officials, and she did not spare her own legislature in Austin, Texas. A critic of the Iraq War, she coined the phrase ‘Great Liberal Backlash of 2003’ and applied the nickname ‘Shrub’ to President George W. Bush. Her written work included Shrub: The Short But Happy Political Life of George W. Bush (2000) and Bushwacked: Life in George W. Bush’s America (2003), both co-written with Lou Dubose and You Got to Dance With Them That Brung You: Politics in the Clinton Years (1998) and Molly Ivins Can’t Say That, Can She? (1991). She was the recipient of several prestigious awards including the Pringle Prize for Washington Journalism from Columbia University, and she was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2001). Molly Ivins died of breast cancer (Jan 31, 2007) aged sixty-two, in Austin.

Ivinskaia, Olga – (1912 – 1995)
Russian literary figure
Ivinskaia was born (June 16, 1912) in Tambov. She was married twice and eventually worked as an editor with the Novy Mir literary magazine. Olga first met the author Boris Pasternak in 1946, and became involved in a romantic liasion with him. She was the inspiration for the heroine Lara, of his tragic love story, Doctor Zhivago, for which Pasternak was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature, and was made into a famous film starring Omar Sharif and Julie Christie (1965). However, Pasternak’s works were considered anti-Soviet by the regime of Josef Stalin, and in an attempt to frighten him into submission, Olga was arrested and sentenced to five years’ detention in Siberia (1949 – 1953). Pregnant at the time, the child died in the prison camp. With Stalin’s death she was released, but with with Pasternak’s death, seven years afterwards, she was sent back to Siberia as a punishment (1960 – 1964), whilst her love-letters were confiscated. Olga Ivinskaia was only rehabilitated (1988) during the presidency of Mikhail Gorbachov. She left memoirs entitled Prisoner of Time. Olga Ivinskaia died (Sept 8, 1995) aged eighty-three, in Moscow.

Ivison, Irene – (1946 – 2000)
British anti-child prostitution campaigner
Ivison was born in Oxford, and then studied at Sheffield University before training to become a psychotherapist. She was married and bore three children, including a daughter Fiona. Fiona Ivison was beguiled into prostitution at the age of fourteen, by her older boyfriend, as a runaway, and was murdered by a client (1993), after which Irene became a determined campaigner against child prostitution. Mrs Ivison established the CRP (Coalition for the Removal of Pimping) and wrote the book Fiona’s Story (1997). Ivison also personally assisted in the first re-education program initiated in Britain, for men caught using street prostitutes (1998). She liased closley with the Home Office and assisted with the formation of the National Plan to Prevent Sexual Exploitation of Children, and the Sexual Offences Review.

Ivogun, Maria – (1891 – 1987)
Austrian soprano
Born Maria Kempner (Nov 18, 1891) in Budapest, Hungary, she studied under Irene Schlemmer-Ambros at the Academy of Music in Vienna, and made her stage debut as the Munich Court Opera (1913). Ivogun performed with the Berlin Municipal Opera and after her retirement from the stage (1932) she continued to perform as a lieder singer, and later as a teacher at the Academy of Music and at the Berlin School of Music (1950 – 1958). Her famous pupils included Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, and Ivogun herself was best known for her performances of the works of Mozart, Giuseppe Verdi, and Giacomo Puccini. The noted pianist Michael Raucheisen was her second husband.

Iwa no Hime – (c285 – 347 AD)
Japanese empress and poet
Born Iwa-no-hime no Mikoto, she became the wife of the sixteenth emperor Mintoku and was proclaimed empress in 314 AD. She was interred at Saki-cho near Nara City, where her tomb has survived. One of her poems beginning ‘Autumn Field’ survives in the Manyo-shuh, a tanka anthology of four and a half thousand poems.

Iwasaki, Kiseko – (1845 – 1923)
Japanese educator
Kiseko was the second daughter of Gensuke Takashiba, a member of the patrician Kochi clan. She was married to Yataro Iwasaki and established the famous Sukokan School.

Iwy    see    Ewa

Ixar y Luna, Margarita de – (c1403 – 1425)
Spanish courtier and royal mistress
Margarita de Ixar was the daughter of Juande Ixar, Baron de Hijar and his wife Maria de Luna. Margarita joined the household of Maria of Castile, the wife of Alfonso V of Aragon (reigned 1416 – 1458), and there attracted the attention of the king who made her his mistress. Margarita became the mother of Ferrante I of Aragon, King of Naples (1423 – 1494) and died whilst he was an infant. Her death was said to have been caused by Alfonso’s jealous wife.

Iyo – (fl. 247 – c250 AD)
Queen regnant of Yamatai in Japan
Iyo was the daughter and heiress of Queen Pimiku. Her throne was illegally usurped by her brother, but the people rose against him, and the queen was quickly restored to her rightful inheritance.

Izumi Shikibu – (fl. c980 – c1000)
Japanese poet and courtier
Izumi Shikibu served at the Imperial Heian court as lady-in-waiting to the Empress Akiko. She was married to a provincial governor, and her daughter Koshikibu died from the effects of childbirth. Though particularly known for her varied romantic liasions, her most famous poem was the lengthy “After the death of my daughter in childbirth, looking at the child.”