When was John's decision to marry Isabella? The new peace would only last for two years; war recommenced in the aftermath of John's decision in August 1200 to marry Isabella of Angoulême. In order to remarry, John first needed to abandon Isabel, Countess of Gloucester, his first wife; John accomplished this by arguing that he had failed to get the necessary papal permission to marry Isabel in the first place – as a cousin, John could not have legally wed her without this. It remains unclear why John chose to marry Isabella of Angoulême. Contemporary chroniclers argued that John had fallen deeply in love with Isabella, and John may have been motivated by desire for an apparently beautiful, if rather young, girl. On the other hand, the Angoumois lands that came with Isabella were strategically vital to John: by marrying Isabella, John was acquiring a key land route between Poitou and Gascony, which significantly strengthened his grip on Aquitaine.[nb 5]
When was Jo's decision to marry Isabella? The new peace would only last for two years; war recommenced in the aftermath of Jo's decision in August 1200 to marry Isabella of Angoulême. In order to remarry, Jo first needed to abandon Isabel, Countess of Gloucester, their first wife; Jo accomplished this by arguing that they had failed to get the necessary papal permission to marry Isabel in the first place – as a cousin, Jo could not have legally wed her without this. It remains unclear why Jo chose to marry Isabella of Angoulême. Contemporary chroniclers argued that Jo had fallen deeply in love with Isabella, and Jo may have been motivated by desire for an apparently beautiful, if rather young, girl. On the other hand, the Angoumois lands that came with Isabella were strategically vital to Jo: by marrying Isabella, Jo was acquiring a key land route between Poitou and Gascony, which significantly strengthened their grip on Aquitaine.