Beatrice of Bourbon (1320 – 23 December 1383) was a French noblewoman. A member of the
House of Bourbon
The House of Bourbon (, also ; ) is a European dynasty of French origin, a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Navarre in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Spanis ...
, she was by marriage
Queen of Bohemia and
Countess of Luxembourg.
She was the youngest daughter of
Louis I, Duke of Bourbon, and
Mary of Avesnes.
Life
Marriage
On 28 September 1330, Queen
Elisabeth of Bohemia, wife of King
John of Bohemia
John the Blind or John of Luxembourg ( lb, Jang de Blannen; german: link=no, Johann der Blinde; cz, Jan Lucemburský; 10 August 1296 – 26 August 1346), was the Count of Luxembourg from 1313 and King of Bohemia from 1310 and titular King of ...
, died:
::"''The news was that the King, distraught for the loss of his wife manifested his feelings using mourning clothes, after all, they were married for twenty years, and yet remained completely himself with a brief time, this was in Bohemia, the other side used to be mostly in their county or elsewhere, where he discussed the matter.''"
Despite the fact that John and Elisabeth became estranged during the last years of their marriage, the king remained a widower for the next four years. The French King
Philip VI wanted to tie John more closely with France, and he suggested to the Bohemian king a second marriage. The proposed bride was Beatrice, youngest daughter of the Duke of Bourbon and member of a cadet branch of the
House of Capet. Beatrice was already betrothed, however, to Philip, the second son of
Philip I, Prince of Taranto, as of 29 May 1321. The engagement was broken soon after the marriage negotiations with Bohemia started.
The marriage of King John of Bohemia and Beatrice of Bourbon was solemnized in the
Château de Vincennes
The Château de Vincennes () is a former fortress and royal residence next to the town of Vincennes, on the eastern edge of Paris, alongside the Bois de Vincennes. It was largely built between 1361 and 1369, and was a preferred residence, after ...
in December 1334, at which time she was fourteen years old. But because the two were related in a prohibited degree (they were second cousins through their common descent from
Henry V, Count of Luxembourg
Henry V the Blondell (1216 – 24 December 1281), called the Great, was the Count of Arlon from 1226 to his death, lord of Ligny from 1240 to his death, Count of Luxembourg and Laroche from 1247 to his death, and the Marquis of Namur between 1 ...
, and his wife
Margaret of Bar),
Pope Benedict XII
Pope Benedict XII ( la, Benedictus XII, french: Benoît XII; 1285 – 25 April 1342), born Jacques Fournier, was head of the Catholic Church from 30 December 1334 to his death in April 1342. He was the third Avignon pope. Benedict was a careful p ...
had to give dispensation for the marriage, which was granted in
Avignon
Avignon (, ; ; oc, Avinhon, label=Provençal dialect, Provençal or , ; la, Avenio) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region of So ...
on 9 January 1335 at the request of Philip VI.
The marriage contract stipulated that if a son was born from the marriage, the
County of Luxembourg (King John's paternal heritage), as well as lands belonging to it, would go to him.
[''Luxemburg in the Middle Ages'', Brill Archive] King John's sons from his first marriage,
Charles
Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...
and
John Henry, were not informed of the contents of the marriage contract, but both princes were compelled to accept it along with the knights and citizens of Luxembourg in August 1335.
Life in Bohemia
Beatrice arrived in Bohemia on 2 January 1336:
::"''...our father came to Bohemia and brought him a wife, named Beatrix, daughter of the Duke of Bourbon and relative of the King of the Frenchs...''"
In the Bohemian court, Beatrice took care of the wife of her oldest stepson Charles,
Blanche of Valois. Both women could easily communicate in French. The Queen soon felt ill-at-ease in Prague, where she was always compared unfavorably with the Margravine of Moravia (Blanche's title as wife of the Bohemian heir). Also, the Czech people were offended by her coldness, insolence and aversion to learning their language.
The new Queen of Bohemia and Countess of Luxembourg brought with her an annual income of 4,000 livres extracted from her father's County of Clermont. On 25 February 1337, Beatrice gave birth in
Prague to her only child, a son named
Wenceslaus after the holy patron of the
Přemyslid dynasty; probably calling her son with this name either the queen or her husband tried to gain the favor of the Bohemians. There is some indirect evidence that this was the first
caesarean section
Caesarean section, also known as C-section or caesarean delivery, is the surgical procedure by which one or more babies are delivered through an incision in the mother's abdomen, often performed because vaginal delivery would put the baby or mo ...
that was survived by both the mother and child.
However, the relationship between Beatrice and her new subjects remained estranged: her coronation as Queen of Bohemia in
St. Vitus Cathedral three months later, on 18 May,
[Josef Cibulka, ''The Crown Jewels of the Bohemian Kingdom'', Odeon, t. PG1, 1969] was an event of spectacular indifference from the citizens of Prague.
Shortly after her coronation, in June 1337, Beatrice left Bohemia leaving her son behind, and went to live in
Luxembourg. After this, she rarely visited the Bohemian Kingdom.
Later Years
On 26 August 1346 King John was killed in the
Battle of Crécy and Beatrice ceased to be queen consort. Her stepson, now King Charles of Bohemia, confirmed the provisions of her marriage contract. Beatrice, now Dowager Queen of Bohemia, received in perpetuity lands in the
County of Hainaut
The County of Hainaut (french: Comté de Hainaut; nl, Graafschap Henegouwen; la, comitatus hanoniensis), sometimes spelled Hainault, was a territorial lordship within the medieval Holy Roman Empire that straddled what is now the border of Belg ...
, the rent of 4,000 livres and the towns of
Arlon,
Marville Marville may refer to:
* ''Marville'' (comics), a Marvel Comics series from the early 2000s
* Marville, Meuse
Marville () is a commune in the Meuse department in Grand Est in north-eastern France.
An airbase built by NATO hosted fighter squ ...
and
Damvillers (where she settled her residence) as her widow's estate. These revenues were used not only for their own needs, but also for the education of her son. King Charles also left her all the movable property and income from the mines in
Kutná Hora
Kutná Hora (; medieval Czech: ''Hory Kutné''; german: Kuttenberg) is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 20,000 inhabitants. The centre of Kutná Hora, including the Sedlec Abbey and its ossuary, was designa ...
. In addition, when her father Duke Louis I of Bourbon died in 1342, she received the sum of 1,000 livres, which was secured from the town of
Creil.
Around 1347, Beatrice married for a second time to Eudes II, Lord of Grancey, (then a widower) at her state of Damvillers. Despite her new marriage, she retained the title of Queen of Bohemia. The couple had no children. Soon after her second marriage, she arranged the betrothal of her son Wenceslaus with the widowed
Joanna, Duchess of Brabant
Joanna, Duchess of Brabant (24 June 1322 – 1 December 1406), also known as Jeanne, was a ruling Duchess (Duke) of Brabant from 1355 until her death. She was duchess of Brabant until the occupation of the duchy by her brother-in-law Louis II of ...
, daughter and heiress of
John III, Duke of Brabant
John III ( nl, Jan; 1300 – 5 December 1355) was Duke of Brabant, Duke of Lothier, Lothier (1312–1355) and List of rulers of Limburg, Limburg (1312–1347 then 1349–1355). He was the son of John II, Duke of Brabant, and Margaret of England, ...
, who was fifteen years older than he was. The marriage took place in Damvillers four years later, on 17 May 1351.
Despite all the grants of land and money given to Beatrice, the Bohemian king delayed the investiture of his young half-brother Wenceslaus as Count of Luxembourg. In fact, he held on to the title until 1353, when Wenceslaus finally obtained sovereignty over the County. One year later (13 March 1354) the County was elevated to the rank of a Duchy.
Beatrice died on 27 December 1383, having outlived her son (for only sixteen days) and all her stepchildren. She was buried in the now-demolished church of the
Couvent des Jacobins in
Paris - her effigy is now in the
Basilica of St Denis
The Basilica of Saint-Denis (french: Basilique royale de Saint-Denis, links=no, now formally known as the ) is a large former medieval abbey church and present cathedral in the commune of Saint-Denis, a northern suburb of Paris. The building ...
. Her second husband survived her by six years.
References
Sources
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Further reading
*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Beatrice Of Bourbon
1320 births
1383 deaths
House of Bourbon (France)
Bohemian queens consort
Remarried royal consorts
Countesses of Luxembourg
14th-century French people
14th-century French women
Royal reburials