Cyril and Orestes, some men, headed by one Peter, a lecturer, entered into a conspiracy against her, waylaid her, and dragged her to the church called Casais, where, stripping her naked, they killed her with tiles, tore her to pieces, and carrying her limbs to a place called Cinaron, there burnt them to ashes. This happened in March, about the year 415; in the tenth year of Honorius' and the sixth of Theodosius' consulship. The weak and trifling emperor was roused from his usual indifference by such an awful crime, and threatened the assassins of this incomparable woman with a merited punishment; but at the entreaties of his friends, whom Orestes had corrupted, was induced to suffer them to escape, by which means, it is added, he drew vengeance on himself and family. There are few recorded crimes of wicked men so utterly fiendlike as the unprovoked murder of the lovely, learned, and virtuous Hypasia. I. ICASIA, SPOUSE of Theophilus, emperor of Constantinople, in 829. He having assembled the most beautiful young women of the empire, for the purpose of choosing a wife, fixed upon Icasia, and gave orders for her coronation; but on her answering some questions he proposed to her, in a manner at once learned and acute, he changed his mind. Icasia, therefore, retired to a monastery, where she composed many works. The emperor had the same taste, probably, for foolish, flippant women, as characterized Charles II., king of England. INGEBORGE, or INGELBURGA, WIFE of Philip Augustus, king of France, was born in 1175, and was the daughter of Waldemar, king of Denmark, and of his wife Sophia, a Russian princess. In 1193, she was selected, from motives of policy, by Philip Augustus, then a widower of twenty-eight, as his wife. She is represented as very beautiful and discreet, but the king, almost from the first interview, conceived a strong aversion to her, and on a frivolous pretext of Ingeborge's just discovered relationship to his first wife, he assembled the nobles of the kingdom at Compiégne, November 5th, 1193, who declared the marriage null and void. Ingeborge was present on this occasion, but having no counsellor, and not understanding the language, knew nothing of the business that the nobles were transacting, till she was informed of their decision by her interpreter, when she burst into tears, and appealed to Rome. She was taken to an abbey, where she was kept in confinement, and almost without the necessaries of life. The pope, urged by the king of Denmark as well as by Ingeborge, refused to sanction the divorce; but Philip Augustus imprisoned the legates, and married Agnes, daughter of Berthod, duke of Merania, a descendant of the emperor Charlemagne. Ingeborge appealed in vain to pope Celestine III.; but, on his death, he was succeeded by Innocent III., who immediately took very severe measures, and in 1199 Philip Augustus was excommunicated, and his kingdom declared under an inderdict. All the churches were closed, no baptisms, marriages, or burials were allowed to be performed, the dying were refused the benefit of the priest's services, and all the religious duties were suspended. In those days of superstition, this terrible sentence fell with tenfold weight on the people; and moved by their distress, after having resisted the papal authority for eight months, Philip at length sent Agnes to the royal castle of St. Leger, and allowed Ingeborge to return to him. But she still complained, and justly, that she had only exchanged one prison for another, and was treated with no respect. Meanwhile there was a solemn assembly held at Soissons to give a final judgment on the demand the king made for a legal separation. The king was surrounded by a crowd of lawyers, who vied with each other in urging the justice of his claim. Ingeborge was alone and defenceless; after waiting a few moments for her advocate, the judges were about to pronounce their decision, when a young and unknown lawyer came forward and argued her cause so eloquently, that the judges dared not utter the wished-for sentence. The king, leaving the assembly, went to the abbey where Ingeborge had taken refuge, and taking her behind him, on horseback, left the city without any of his usual train. When this was told to Agnes de Merania, it affected her so deeply that she died a few days after. Philip Augustus, still more irritated against his queen, confined her in the tower of the castle of Etampes, where no one was allowed to converse with her without his permission; her food was insufficient and coarse, her clothes hung about her in rags, and the servants who attended her were so brutal, that they were accused of wishing to cause her death by their ill-treatment. Philip endeavoured to induce his wife to take the veil, but in vain; and in 1213, after a separation of twenty years, he allowed her to reside under the same roof with him, where the sweetness of her temper, the goodness and purity of her soul, at length conquered his aversion. After the death of Philip, in 1223, Ingeborge was treated with the greatest respect by his successor; while she devoted herself chiefly to her religious duties. She died in 1236. INGONDE, or INGUNDIS, DAUGHTER of Siegbert I., king of Austrasia, or Lorraine, and of his wife, the famous Brunehaut, was married about 570, to Brunechilde, or Ermenegild, second son of Leovigild, one of the Gothic kings of Spain. She was received with great pomp and tenderness by her husband and his grandmother Gosuinda. But the old queen had an aversion to Catholicism, and attempted, at first by persuasions and afterwards by threats to convert Ingonde to Arianism, and to have her rebaptized, but Ingonde resolutely refused to consent. Gosuinda, enraged at her firmness, seized A NUN of the convent of St. Brigitta, in Wadstena, Sweden, who lived in 1498, wrote an epistle to her lover, which is considered the most elegant and correct specimen of the Swedish language of that period, and indeed superior to any that appeared for a long time after. This composition, full of eloquence and genuine passion, in which the sentiments of love and mystical devotion are intermingled, places Ingrida by the side of the more celebrated Heloise. IRENE, EMPRESS of Constantinople, was an Athenian orphan, distinguished only by her accomplishments, when, in 769, at the age of seventeen, she was married to Leo IV., emperor of Constantinople. She was banished by her husband on account of her attachment to image worship, of which the Greek church disapproved. On the death of Leo, in 780, she returned to Constantinople, and was associated in the government with her son, Constantine VI., then only ten years of age. Artful and cruel, Irene deposed her son, in 797, and caused his eyes to be put out, and then reigned alone. On this occasion, she entered Constantinople in state, with a splendid retinue. She made Charlemagne, then emperor of the West, a proposal of marriage, in order to preserve her Italian dominions from his grasp, and the marriage treaty was actually concluded, when Nicephorus, chancellor of the empire, conspired against her, seized her in her bed, and banished her to a nunnery in the island of Lesbos. She was here so reduced, as to be forced to earn a scanty subsistence by her distaff, and died the same year, 802. During her reign, she had submitted to be tributary to the Saracens. She governed under the direction of two ambitious eunuchs, who were perpetually plotting against each other. IRGE, A JAPANESE princess, born 858, whose writings are said still to be in great repute in Japan. ISABELLA, OF ARRAGON, daughter of Alphonso, duke of Calabria, married, in 1480, John Galeazzo Sforza, duke of Milan, who, yet in his minority, was under the protection of his uncle, Louis Sforza. When Isabella arrived at Milan, her beauty inspired the protector with a passion for her that proved fatal to her happiness. The lovers having been married only by proxy, Louis contrived to keep them apart, while he attempted to supplant the bridegroom. But Isabella repulsed him with disdain, and exhorted her husband to throw off the yoke of his uncle, and assert his rights. The protector, artful and politic, attempted, by negotiation, to annul the marriage, in his own favour; but Alphonso threatened to arm Europe in his son-in-law's cause, and Louis was at length obliged to restore to his nephew his betrothed bride. His love for Isabella was now turned to hatred; and he endeavoured in every way to embitter her life. He married Alphonsina, daughter of the duke of Ferrara, a woman as haughty and ambitious as Isabella. Compelled to reside under the same roof with her rival, and to see her station and privileges usurped, Isabella found her position so insupportable, that she wrote to her father and grandfather, Ferdinand, king of Naples, protesting that if no means for her deliverance were devised, she would escape from her sufferings by relinquishing her life. These princes, however, could not redress her grievances; and, in the mean time, her husband died of a slow poison, recommending his wife and children to his cousin, Charles VIII., of France, who was passing through Pavia. Hardly had Galeazzo expired, than the party of Louis, saluting him duke, ordered the bells to be set ringing. During this indecent and insulting display of joy, Isabella immured herself and her children, thus deprived at once of their father and their inheritance, in a dark chamber. The French having taken Milan, Isabella fled to Naples; but that city was at length compelled to surrender to the invaders. Isabella's only son was carried captive to France, where it was intended to compel him to become a monk, and where he died by a fall from his horse. Louis Sforza was also taken prisoner and carried to France, where he died. Isabella retired to a town in Naples, which had been assigned to her as a dower, and where she still maintained an air of state and grandeur. Her daughter, Bona Sforza, married Sigismund, king of Poland. Some time previous to her death, Isabella made a journey of devotion to Rome, where she walked to the Vatican, attended by a train of ladies, dressed in bridal ornaments. Her reputation in her youth was unblemished, but in her later years, she gave occasion for censure, by admitting the attentions of Prosper Colonna. She died Feb. 11th, 1524. ISABELLA, OF CASTILE, the celebrated queen of Spain, daughter of John II., was born in 1451, and married, in 1469, Ferdinand V., king of Arragon. After the death of her brother, Henry IV., in 1474, she ascended the throne of Castile, to the exclusion of her elder sister, Joanna, who had the rightful claim to the crown. During the lifetime of her brother, Isabella had gained the favour of the estates of the kingdom to such a degree that the majority, on his death, declared for her. From the others, the victorious arms of her husband extorted acquiescence, in the battle of Toro, in 1476. After the kingdoms of Arragon and Castile were thus united, Ferdinand and Isabella assumed the royal title of Spain. With the graces and charms of her sex, Isabella united the courage of a hero, and the sagacity of a statesman and legislator. She was always present at the transaction of state affairs, and her name was placed beside that of her husband in public ordinances. The conquest of Granada, after which the Moors were entirely expelled from Spain, and the discovery of America, were, in a great degree, her work. In all her undertakings, the wise cardinal Ximenes was her assistant. She has been accused of severity, pride, and unbounded ambition; but these faults sometimes promoted the welfare of the kingdom, as well as her virtues and talents. A spirit like hers was necessary to humble the haughtiness of the nobles without exciting their hostility, to conquer Granada without letting loose the hordes of Africa on Europe, and to restrain the vices of her subjects, who had become corrupt by reason of the bad administration of the laws. By the introduction of a strict ceremonial, which subsists till the present day at the Spanish court, she succeeded in checking the haughtiness of the numerous nobles about the person of the king, and in depriving them of their pernicious influence over him. Private war fare, which had formerly prevailed to the destruction of public tranquillity, she checked, and introduced a vigorous administration of justice. In 1492, pope Alexander VI. confirmed to the royal pair the title of Catholic king, already conferred on them by Innocent VIII. The zeal for the Roman Catholic religion, which procured them this title, gave rise to the Inquisition, which was introduced into Spain in 1480, at the suggestion of their confessor, Torquemada. Isabella died in 1504, having extorted from her husband (of whom she was very jealous) an oath that he would never marry again. ISABELLA OF FRANCE, YOUNGEST child of Louis VIII. and Blanche of Castile, was born in 1224. She was early celebrated for her beauty, learning, and piety. She refused every offer of marriage, even the son of the emperor Ferdinand, and declared her intention to devote herself wholly to religion. The pope, at her mother's request, wrote to dissuade her from doing this; but her answer to his letter was so full of humility, piety, and reason, that both he and Blanche were obliged to yield. She founded the monastery of Longchamp about 1260, though she never withdrew entirely from the world, or joined any religious order. Towards the end of her life she observed the most rigorous silence, to expiate for the idle words she had spoken in her youth. She died, February 12th, 1269, at the age of forty-five. For several ages, it was believed that miracles were performed at her tomb. ISABELLA, DAUGHTER of Philip the Fair, king of France, was born in 1295. She married, in 1308, Edward, afterwards Edward II. of England. She was very beautiful; but her licentiousness disgraced her, and embittered the last years of her husband's life. By her intrigues she induced his abdication and the accession of their son Edward III., then a boy. She sought to secure the sovereign power in her hands, and those of her infamous favourite, Roger Mortimer. She did not effect this till after the wicked murder of her husband, the deposed Edward II., which was attributed to her instigations. Soon afterwards her son, Edward III., joined with his indignant barons in an attack on Nottingham castle, where she and Mortimer had taken up their abode. The crafty queen was overcome; her paramour seized and executed; and she confined for the remainder of her life, twentyeight years, at Castle Rising. She died in 1358, aged sixty-three years. "Since the days of the fair and false Elfrida of Saxon celebrity, no queen of England has left so dark a stain on the annals of female royalty as the consort of Edward II., Isabella of France," says Miss Strickland. SABELLA OF VALOIS, WAS the daughter of Charles VI. of France, and Isabella of Bavaria. She was born in the Louvre palace at Paris, November 9th, 1887. In October, 1396, Isabella became the second wife of Richard II. of England, though she was then only eight years old. After Richard was dethroned and murdered by Henry of Bolingbroke, afterwards Henry IV., in 1400, and Isabella remained in England for two years, treated with great respect as queen-dowager, but steadily refusing the hand of Henry's eldest son, who had fallen very much in love with her. In 1402, Isabella returned to Paris, and at the age of eighteen married her cousin, the celebrated archduke of Orleans, who, though some years younger than herself, she dearly loved. She died at Blois, September 13th, 1410, leaving an infant daughter only a few hours old. ISABELLA OF LORRAINE, ELDEST daughter of Charles II. of Lorraine, was married in 1420, at the age of thirteen, to René, duke d'Anjou, brother-in-law of Charles VI. of France, then about fourteen. She united to great beauty, intellect, generosity, and courage. When her husband was taken prisoner by the duke of Burgundy, in 1429, she assembled the nobles of Lorraine, placed her four children under their protection, and raised an army to rescue her husband. While he was still a prisoner, the kingdom of Sicily, by the death of Charles I., became his; and René sent Isabella to claim it. She went there, and by her wise and skilful government acquired great popularity. In 1437, René joined her; but in less than five years he was forced to return with his family to France, by his victorious rival, Alphonso of Arragon. In 1444, Isabella's youngest daughter, Margaret of Anjou, married Henry VI. of England; and the misfortunes of this beloved child so preyed upon the mother, that they are supposed to have caused her death. She died at the castle d'Angers, February 28th, 1452, at the age of forty-four. Her husband's grief at her loss nearly proved fatal to him; and though he married again, he never ceased to regret her. Among the illustrious females of the fifteenth century, Isabella of Lorraine must ever hold a distinguished place. Her commanding talents, her personal endowments, her courage and conjugal tenderness, all unite to form a character of the most lovely and perfect type of womanhood. She was the contemporary of Joan of Arc; she was the patroness of Agnes Sorel, and seems to have possessed the true heart of the heroine and the cultivated intellect of the poetess. Her daughter, Margaret of Anjou, "inherited from this illustrious parent those energies which the sternest shocks of adversity were unable to subdue," says Miss Strickland; she also describes Isabella as the "tenderest and most courageous of conjugal heroines;" a title most appropriate to her deeds of daring, all done for the sake of her husband. ISAURE, CLEMENCE, OF CLEMENZA, a lady of Toulouse in France, celebrated for her learning. She instituted the Jeux Floraux, or Floral Games, in that city, where prizes were bestowed on the successful poetical competitors. She was born in 1464, and was the daughter of Ludovico Isaure, who died when Clemence was only five years old. Some years afterwards the romance of her life began. Near her garden dwelt Raoul, a young troubadour, who fell in love with her for her genius and beauty, and communicated his passion in songs in which her name and his were united. The maiden replied with flowers, whose meaning Raoul could easily interpret. He was the natural son of count Raymond of Toulouse, and followed his father to the war against the emperor Maximilian. In the battle of Guigenaste both were slain, and Clemence resolved to take the veil. Before doing so, however, she renewed the poetic festival which had been established by the gay company of the seven troubadours, but had been long forgotten, and assigned as prizes for the victors the five different flowers, wrought in gold and silver, with which she had replied to her lover's passion. She fixed on the first of May as the day for the distribution of the prizes; and she herself composed an ode on spring for the occasion, which acquired for her the surname of the Sappho of Toulouse. Her character was tinged with melancholy, which the loss of her lover probably heightened; and her poems partake of this plaintive style. Her works were printed at Toulouse in 1505. They remained a long time in oblivion, and perhaps never would have seen the light but for the fortunate discovery of M. Alexandre Dumenge. There are extant two copies of this precious volume, which is entitled "Dictats de Dona Clamenza Isaure;" it consists of cantos or odes; the principal and most finished is called "Plainte d'Amour." The two first strophes have been translated almost literally into modern French. Au soin des bois la colombe amoureuse Murmure en paix ses longs, et doux accens;. Sus nos coteaux, la Fauvette de meilleuse Va celebrer le retour du Printemps! Helas! et moi, plaintive, solitaire The queen of poetry, as her contemporaries entitled her, died in the first year of the great reign of Frances I., and Leo X. Her mortal remains were deposited in the choir of the church of Notre Dame, at Toulouse. A bronze tablet, inscribed with a highly eulogistic tribute to her fame, still remains, at the foot of a statue of Clemence. After the lapse of three centuries, it required nothing less than the convulsions of the French Revolution of 1789 to suspend the floral games; they were reinstated under Napoleon, as a municipal institution, in 1806. The memory of Clemence Isaure lived "green with immortal bays;" for centuries the Toulousians had made her their boast-but "all that beauty, all that wit e'er gave," could find no grace with the patriots of 1793. That intelligent body of citizens voted Clemence Isaure an "aristocrat," and, as such, sentenced her bronze monument to be melted down, and used for vulgar purposes. Fortunately, the honest artisan to whom the work was consigned, had a feeling which saved this venerable relic. At the risk of his head, he substituted some other bronze, and concealed the tablet till a time of political safety arrived. J. JANE OF FLANDERS, COUNTESS of Montfort, was one of the most extraordinary women of her age. Her husband, the count of Montfort, having been, in 1342, made prisoner and conducted to Paris, she assembled the inhabitants of Rennes, her place of residence, and by her eloquence, aided by the pity inspired by her infant son, moved the inhabitants of Rennes to take up arms in her behalf. The movement was participated in by all Brittany, and she soon found herself in a position to protect her rights. Having shut herself in the fortress of Hennebonne, Charles de Blois, her husband's enemy, besieged her there, after an obstinate defence, in which the countess showed many of the qualities of a commander. The repeated breaches made in the walls at length rendered it necessary for the besieged, who were diminished in numbers, and exhausted by fatigue, to treat for a capitulation. During a conference for that purpose, in which the bishop of Leon was engaged with Charles de Blois, the countess, who had mounted a high tower, which commanded a view of the sea, descried some sails at a distance, and immediately exclaimed, "Behold the succours! the English succours! no capitulation!" This fleet, prepared by Edward III. for the relief of Hennebonne, having been detained by contrary winds, entered the harbour, under the command of Sir Walter Mauny. The garrison, by this reinforcement, animated with fresh spirits, immediately sallied forth, beat the besiegers from their posts, and obliged them to decamp. The flames of war still continued their devastations, when Charles de Blois, having invested the fortress of Roche de Rien, the Countess of Montfort, reinforced by some English troops, attacked him, during the night, in his entrenchments, dispersed his army, and took him prisoner. His wife, in whose right he had pretended to Brittany, compelled by the captivity of her husband, assumed, in her turn, the government of the party; and opposed herself, a formidable and worthy rival, both in the cabinet and field, to the countess of Montfort. The mediation of France and England failed to put an end to the disputes in Brittany, till Charles de Blois was at length slain, at the battle of Auray. The young count de Montfort soon after obtained possession of the duchy, and, though a zealous partizan of England, had his title acknowledged by the French king, to whom he did homage for his dominions. JEANNE DE BOURBON, DAUGHTER of Pierre I., duke de Bourbon, was born at Vincennes, near Paris, February 3d, 1337. April 8th, 1350, when about thirteen, she married Charles, who was nearly the same age, afterwards Charles V. of France, eldest son of king John. She was a very beautiful woman, and her husband was much attached to her. He had a high opinion of her judgment, often consulted her on state affairs, and loved to see her surrounded by all the pomp and luxury suited to her station. On days of solemnity, Charles frequently brought his wife, whom he called "the sun of his kingdom," with him to the parliament, where she took her seat by his side. By his will, he left the regency to Jeanne, although he had three brothers of mature age. However, his queen died before him, at the Hotel de St. Paul, in Paris, February 11th, 1378. Her death proved a real misfortune to France. She is spoken of, by historians, as one of the most accomplished and virtuous princesses of her time. JEANNE OF FRANCE AND NAVARRE, WIFE of Philip IV., surnamed the Fair, of France, was the only child and heiress of Henry I., king of Navarre and count of Champagne. The count de Bar having attacked Champagne, she placed herself at the head of a small army, forced him to surrender, and kept him a long time in prison. But her most solid title to glory, is the having founded the famous college of Navarre. Jeanne of Navarre died at Vincennes, in 1304, aged thirty-three. Her husband was devotedly attached to her, and she fully deserved his love. Philip never took the titles of king of Navarre, or of count of Champagne and of Brie; and to all his ordinances relative to the government of these principalities, he always added that he acted with the concurrence of his dear companion; and Jeanne added her seal to that of her husband. Jeanne was married at the age of thirteen, and, during her twenty years of wedded life, she bore her husband seven children. She was equally beautiful, eloquent, generous, and courageous. JOANNA, OR JANE OF NAVARRE, consort of Henry IV. of England, was the second daughter of Charles |