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Joan of France, Duchess of Brittany

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Burial
  
Vannes Cathedral

Name
  
Joan France,

Religion
  
Roman Catholicism


Mother
  
Isabeau of Bavaria

Father
  
Charles VI of France

House
  
House of Valois

Joan of France, Duchess of Brittany

Tenure
  
1 November 1399 – 27 September 1433

Born
  
24 January 1391 Chateau de Melun, Seine-et-Marne, Kingdom of France (
1391-01-24
)

Issue
  
Anne Isabelle, Countess of Laval Margaret Francis I Catherine Peter II, Duke of Brittany Gilles, Lord of Chantoce

Died
  
September 27, 1433, Vannes, France

Spouse
  
John V, Duke of Brittany (m. 1396)

Children
  
Francis I, Duke of Brittany, Peter II, Duke of Brittany, Isabella of Brittany

Parents
  
Isabeau of Bavaria, Charles VI of France

Similar People
  
Charles VI of France, Isabeau of Bavaria, Michelle of Valois, Isabella of Valois, Arthur III - Duke of Brittany

Joan of France (24 January 1391 – 27 September 1433) was Duchess of Brittany through her marriage to John V. She was a daughter of Charles VI of France and Isabeau of Bavaria.

Contents

Life

Joan married John V, Duke of Brittany in 1396. Three years after the wedding, her spouse became duke and she duchess of Brittany.

As duchess, Joan is perhaps most known for her role during the conflict between John V and the Counts of Penthièvre. The Penthièvre branch had lost the Breton War of Succession in the 1340s. As a result, they lost the ducal title of Brittany to the Montforts. The conclusion to the conflict took many years to confirm until 1365 when the Treaty of Guérande was signed. Despite the military loss and the diplomatic treaty, the Counts of Penthièvre had not renounced their ducal claims to Brittany and continued to pursue them. In 1420, they invited John V to a festival held at Châtonceaux. He accepted the invitation, but when he arrived, he was captured and kept prisoner.

The Counts of Penthiève then spread rumours of his death, and moved him to a new prison each day. Joan of France called upon all the barons of Brittany to respond. They besieged all the castles of the Penthièvre family one by one. Joan ended the conflict by seizing the dowager countess of Penthièvre, Margaret of Clisson, and forcing her to have the duke freed.

A Book of Hours by the Bedford Master, Heures Lamoignon, was dedicated to her.

Family

She had seven children:

  • Anne (1409 – c. 1415)
  • Isabella (1411 – c. 1442), who in 1435 married Guy XIV of Laval and had 3 children with him.
  • Margaret (1412 – c. 1421)
  • Francis I (1414 – c. 1450), duke of Brittany
  • Catherine (1416 – c. 1421)
  • Peter II (1418 – c. 1457), duke of Brittany
  • Gilles (1420 – c. 1450), seigneur of Chantocé.
  • Her most notable siblings were:

  • King Charles VII of France,
  • Catherine of Valois – she married King Henry V of England and was mother of King Henry VI of England),
  • Isabella of Valois – who married King Richard II of England, and
  • Michelle of Valois – she married Philip III, Duke of Burgundy.
  • Joan died in 1433, during her husband's reign.

    References

    Joan of France, Duchess of Brittany Wikipedia