Jeanne de Penthièvre, duchess of Brittany (died 10 September 1384)
A year ago, I wrote about Joanna of Flanders, countess of Montfort, and her involvement in the War of the Breton Succession, and just last month, I posted an essay about another Jeanne, Jeanne de Belleville, who was also caught up in the conflict over the duchy of Brittany, an independent state. Both of these women gained a reputation for their activities during the war, Joanna of Flanders as "la flamme" (or, "fiery Joanna") and Jeanne de Belleville as an avenger of her husband's death.
But there is a third woman caught up in this conflict over Brittany, Jeanne de Penthièvre. She did not have quite as colorful a life as her two contemporaries, though the trauma and tragedy she faced were much like the traumas and tragedies the other women suffered.
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An imagined portrait of Jeanne de Penthièvre from Jacques de Boucq's (image 107, fol. 045r) |
Born about the year 1325,* Jeanne de Penthièvre was the daughter of Guy II de Bretagne and Jeanne d'Avaugour, the daughter of Henri d'Avaugour, count of Penthièvre.
Guy de Bretagne was the younger son of Arthur II, duke of Brittany, and his wife, Marie of Limoges. Guy's elder brother, John (or Jean) III, became duke of Brittany after the death of Arthur II.
But Arthur of Brittany had remarried after the death of his wife, and his second wife bore him another son, John de Montfort. Notably, John III detested his father's second wife and after his father's death, John III attempted to have the marriage annulled posthumously and to have his half siblings declared illegitimate. Remember John de Montfort . . .
Meanwhile, following his wife's death in 1327, Guy de Bretagne married Jeanne de Belleville--but, as you may already know if you've read the earlier post for Jeanne de Belleville, this marriage was annulled by the pope in 1330 after complaints by Guy's family about its legitimacy--and there was also some involvement by Charles of Blois, nephew of the king of France, Philip VI, in the annulment of this marriage. (Even though Jeanne de Belleville's marriage to Guy was annulled, she was still pulled into the Breton war of succession by her marriage to Olivier de Clisson.)
After the failure of his marriage to Jeanne de Belleville, Guy tried again, this time allying himself with Marie of Blois--who just so happened to be Philip VI's niece and Charles of Blois' sister. A dispensation for the two to marry during Lent was issued on 12 February 1331. But on 26 March, just a few weeks later, Guy de Bretagne died. His only child, his daughter Jeanne de Penthièvre, was his heir.
After her father's death, which occurred when she was about eleven years old, Jeanne became countess of Penthièvre in her own right. From her father, she also inherited a claim to the duchy of Brittany. But in 1331, her uncle, John III, was still alive, and although his first two marriages had been childless, he had married for a third time in 1330.
In the meantime, arrangements were being made for Jeanne de Penthièvre's marriage. In 1335, negotiations for her match to John, earl of Cornwall, King Edward III's younger brother, were begun, but the projected alliance with England did not materialize. (In any case, John iof Cornwall died in September of 1336--maybe his death is the reason the negotiations were abandoned.) Instead, on 4 June 1337, Jeanne was married to Charles of Blois, the French king's nephew. (Remember him? He was involved in having Guy of Penthièvre's marriage to Jeanne of Belleville annulled, and his sister, Marie of Blois, would have been married to Guy of Penthièvre if he had not died . . . hmm.) With her marriage to Charles of Blois, Jeanne, countess of Penthièvre, became countess of Blois.
I've spent a lot of time here noting all of these relationships and interrelationships because after John III, duke of Brittany, died on 30 April 1341, still childless, all hell broke loose about who would succeed him--the result was the so-called War of the Breton Succession.
Without a direct male heir to succeed John III as duke of Brittany, who was to inherit the duchy? The two claimants were Jeanne de Penthièvre, only heir of John III's younger brother Guy, and John de Montfort, John III's half brother.
The critical question was to be which of these claims took precedence. When Arthur II, duke of Brittany, died, he had been succeeded by John III, his eldest son by his first wife. When John III died, himself childless, his younger brother Guy was also dead, and Guy's daughter, Jeanne de Penthièvre, was her father's heir. But Arthur II of Brittany had a third son, still living, John de Montfort, the child of Arthur and his second wife.
So, did John III's younger brother, Guy, have a right of succession to the duchy of Brittany? And, if so, could a daughter--in this case, Guy's daughter--inherit her father's rights of succession? Or did the succession belong to the next eldest male heir in the line? That is, did John de Montfort, as the only surviving son of Arthur II, have a right of succession? In sum: since John III had no direct male heir, who had the better claim: his half brother or his niece?
Here is an analysis of the problem from historian Dan Moorhouse: since John III died childless, the question of inheritance "reverted back to his father [Arthur II], with claims being made against lineage from him." Arthur had been married twice--John III and Guy were the sons of his first wife, Marie, countess of Limoges. Although Guy had died before his elder brother, he had an heir, Jeanne; if her right to inherit was recognized, she would become duchess of Brittany, and her husband, Charles of Blois, would become duke of Brittany "by right of her claim." Moorhouse continues: Arthur II of Brittany had been married a second time, to Yolande de Dreux, and with her he had another son, John de Montfort. If the right of inheritance was "to the male with the closest lineage, then he would inherit."
It was not as if John III were unaware of the explosive situation. According to the contemporary chronicler Jean Froissart, the duke's intentions were for his niece to succeed him: "It seemed to the duke, that the daughter of his brother-german ought, by reason of her proximity, to have the duchy after his death, in preference to the earl of Montfort, his [half] brother. And as he had long had his suspicions that the earl of Montfort would, after his decease, enforce his claim, to the prejudice of his young niece, with all his [Montfort's] power, he had married her to the lord Charles of Blois, with the intent that the king of France, his [Charles of Blois'] uncle, might more powerfully assist him in preserving his rights, should the earl of Montfort attempt to encroach on them."
So that was the state of affairs after the death of John III, duke of Brittany. The succession of Jeanne de Penthièvre was recognized by the parlement of Paris and by the king of France--Philip VI accepted the homage of her husband, his nephew Charles of Blois, on 7 September 1341. Although Jeanne's right to inherit Brittany would trigger decades of war, she would assert her right to be recognized as duchess of Brittany for twenty-three years, from this date until she was forced to relinquish the title in 1364.
Despite the French king's recognizion of Jeanne's claims to Brittany, John de Montfort had arrived in Nantes after John III's death and seems to have been recognized there as duke in May of 1341. According to Froissart, he "held a solemn court, and a great feast at Nantes. Summons were ordered to be sent to all the barons and nobles of Brittany, and to the councils of the great towns. Inviting them to attend this court, to do their fealty and homage as to their true lord, which was done."
But by October 1341, Charles of Blois and his forces reached Nantes, and the city surrendered to him. John de Montfort was captured and imprisoned in the Louvre, his wife, Joanna of Flanders, carrying on the fight without him. Although John de Montfort was eventually released, he died in 1345, leaving his wife to continue the struggle, claiming the inheritance of Brittany for her son.
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| Jeanne de Penthièvre's seal 1369 |
As for Jeanne de Penthièvre. Her husband, Charles of Blois, was initially successful in pursuing her claims to Brittany, and after John de Montfort's capture and imprisonment, it seemed as if the pair had been victorious. Joanna of Flanders, however, continued to pursue war, in her son's name, and Charles of Blois was taken captive by the English in 1347. He was taken to England, where he was imprisoned in the Tower of London.
Although there are records documenting Jeanne's role in the administration of Brittany from the time she claimed the title of duchess, it was after her husband's capture that she played a more active role. She took command of Charles of Blois' troops, leading them into battle. In Froissart's words, she "takes the war with a great will." In a later version of his chronicle, he adds that she "held the bridle to
the teeth and showed the courage of a man and of a lion," reminding her husband's forces that they fought for her two sons.
At this point, the war for Brittany had become a fight between two women, two Jeannes, as the chronicler noted: "[Jeanne de Penthièvre] waged as good and strong a war against [Joanna, or Jeanne,] the Countess of Montfort and her people as had my lord Charles, her
husband, and his people before."
During her husband's captivity, Jeanne de Penthièvre also sought assistance from the pope, attempted to engage Edward III in negotiations to settle the Breton conflict, and even suggested a marriage between one of the English king's daughters and one of her sons. She attended peace talks in Calais in 1351, one of the results of which was the marriage of her daughter, Marguerite, to Charles de la Cerda ("Charles of Spain"), who was appointed constable of France by his cousin, John II, who had succeeded Philip VI in 1350. Jeanne also involved Breton religious leaders, barons, and citizens of the towns as she negotiated for her husband's release--for one thing, she would have to pay a huge ransom, and she would need support in Brittany from all these groups.
In 1353, three of Jeanne de Penthièvre's children were sent to England as part of the negotiations for her husband's release--her daughter Marie, and her two sons, Jean and Guy. Charles of Blois was finally relieased from captivity--after nine years, he was ransomed in 1356. When he returned to Brittany, he was accompanied only by his daughter. His sons would remain in England for decades.
Back in Brittany, Charles of Blois resumed the title of duke, and the war for control of Brittany recommenced. But within three years he was dead; Charles of Blois was killed on 29 September 1364 at the battle of Auray, after which Jeanne de Penthièvre was forced to relinquish her claims to the duchy, ceding them to the son of Joanna of Flanders and John de Montfort (he was also named John, becoming John IV of Brittany).
Jeanne de Penthièvre did not lose everything, however. She may have lost the title of duchess of Brittany, but by the terms of the first treaty of Guérande, she retained her rights to Penthièvre and Avaugour, she was exempt from paying homage to the new duke, and she received a pension. She also retain some claim to Brittany--if the Montfort dukes failed to produce an heir, her descendants would inherit.**
In the years following the loss of her title, Jeanne de Penthièvre endeavored to have her husband, Charles of Blois, canonized. Charles had always been a pious man (despite all the fighting!), and as early as 1366, groups had begun traveling to the monastery of the Cordeliers in Guincamp to pray at his tomb. A few cures were attributed to him, as were a miracle or two. An investigation into his case began in 1368 and continued until 1371, after which the report was sent to Avignon. The case was under review throughout the papacies of Gregory XI, Clement VII, and Urban VI, but Charles was never canonized. His case was reopened in 1894, and Charles of Blois was beatified in 1904.
During this same period, Jeanne struggled to repay debts that she and her husband had incurred in their long struggle for Brittany. After the Montfort duke of Brittany, John IV, was forced into exile in 1373--he had tried to strike a balance between his English allies and the Breton lords, and he had failed--she also attempted to reclaim her rights in the duchy, actions which brought her into increasing conflict with Charles V, now king of France (he was Philip VI's grandson).
When the king attempted to bring the independent duchy of Brittany under French control in 1379, Jeanne de Penthièvre briefly united with her old enemies. The combined efforts of the barons of Brittany brought the Montfort duke back to the duchy and preserved its independence.
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| Cenotaph of Jeanne de Penthièvre |
Although no longer duchess of Brittany, Jeanne de Penthièvre lived in a peaceful Brittany for the rest of her life. Jeanne spent the last years of her life in La Roche-Darrien, where her husband had been fighting when he was taken captive by the English in 1347.
She died on 10 September 1384. Notice of her death is preserved in a contemporary chronicle of Brittany: "Lady Jeanne, daughter of Guy of Brittany, count of Penthièvre, and Jeanne of Avaugour, duchess of Brittany, wife of Charles of Blois of good memory (Pendomina Johanna filia D. Guidonis de Britannia Penthevriæ comitiis, Johannæque de Avalgorio...ducissa Britanniæ uxor bonæ memoriæ Caroli de Blesis). The necrology of Notre Dame de Beauport (Brittany) also records the death of Jeanne, duchess of Brittany, in 1384.
She is buried at the Franciscan monastery, the Cordeliers à Guingamp, where her father, mother, and husband are also buried.
Jeanne de Penthièvre had six children: Marguerite de Blois-Châtillon (1339-c. 1354), Marie de Blois-Châtillon (1343-1404), Jean I de Blois-Châtillon, comte de Penthièvre (1345-1404), Guy de Blois-Châtillon (b. before 1347-d. 1385), Henri de Blois-Châtillon (c. 1356-c. 1400), and Charles de Blois-Châtillon (b. and d. before 1364).
- In 1352, Marguerite de Blois-Châtillon married Charles de la Cerda, who was given the title count of Angoulême. Charles "the Spaniard" was a descendant of both Alfonso X of Spain and of Louis IX of France.
- Marie de Blois-Châtillon married Louis I, duke of Anjou, son of John II of France, in 1360. Historian Erika Graham-Goering notes that Marie was sent to England, along with her brothers Jean and Guy, as a hostage. She was the only one of the three to return to Brittany when her father was ransomed in 1356.
- Jean de Blois-Châtillon became count of Penthièvre and continued to claim the duchy of Brittany. He remained as a hostage in England until 1387--Graham-Goering notes that he was finally released with the assistance of Olivier de Clisson, and the following year he married Olivier's daughter, Marguerite de Clisson (Jeanne de Belleville's granddaughter!).
- A reference in his father's canonization file indicates that Guy de Blois-Châtillon was still a hostage in England. Graham-Goering notes that he died there in 1385, a year after his mother's death.
- Henri de Blois-Châtillon was likely born after his father was released from captivity in 1356. Graham-Goering notes that a reference dated 1365 says that he is in the care of nourrices, suggesting that he was still a small child. Graham-Goering also writes that along with his mother, Henri swore on 2 May 1381 to uphold the terms of the seconed treaty of Guérande. In 1382, when his brother-in-law Louis, duke of Anjou, went to Italy to claim the crown of Naples, Henri went with him. There, at some point after 1385 (when her first husband died), he married Giacobella Caetani. Henri is named in a legal document dated 31 July 1400, the last surviving reference to him.
- Charles de Blois-Châtillon (d. before 1364). According to Graham-Goering, this child "probably died in infancy."
In her assessment Jeanne de Penthièvre, Graham-Goering concludes that she "was an active and determined ruler who maintained her claim to the duchy throughout a war of succession and even after her eventual defeat."
*The years given for Jeanne de Penthièvre's birth vary widely--here, I have used the date provided by Erika Graham-Goering in her full-length study, Princely Power in Late Medieval France: Jeanne de Penthièvre and the War for Brittany. She notes that a 1337 betrothal contract indicates that Jeanne will be "of an age to bear children in a year or two" and that her "intelligence" could "make up for age," suggesting she is "about 10 or 12 years old" at the time. Twelve was the canonical age for marriage for girls: "The marriageable age is fourteen full years in males and twelve full years in females, under penalty of nullity (unless natural puberty supplies the want of years)."
**Although the treaty of Guérande was intended to settle the War of the Breton Succession, it was not quite successful. In 1420, another John de Montfort, duke of Brittany (this one is John V, John IV's son) was abducted by Olivier, the count of Penthièvre, and his brother, Charles de Avaugour (the grandsons of Jeanne). They held John for five months before his release was negotiated. As a result of his abduction and captivity, John V declared that the treaty settling the Breton War of Succession had been abrogated, thus ending any future Penthièvre claims. So, when Francis II, duke of Brittany (John IV's grandson), died in 1488 without a male heir, the rights of inheritance to the duchy of Brittany did not revert to the Penthièvres--Francis II was succeeded by his daughter, Anne of Brittany.
