Blanche of Burgundy ( 1296 – 1326) was
Queen of France
This is a list of the women who were queens or empresses as wives of French monarchs from the 843 Treaty of Verdun, which gave rise to West Francia, until 1870, when the Third Republic was declared.
Living wives of reigning monarchs technica ...
and
Navarre
Navarre (; es, Navarra ; eu, Nafarroa ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre ( es, Comunidad Foral de Navarra, links=no ; eu, Nafarroako Foru Komunitatea, links=no ), is a foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, ...
for a few months in 1322 through her marriage to
King Charles IV the Fair. The daughter of
Count Otto IV of Burgundy and
Countess Mahaut of Artois, she was led to a disastrous marriage by her mother's ambition. Eight years before her husband's accession to the thrones, Blanche was arrested and found guilty of adultery with a Norman knight. Her sister-in-law,
Margaret of Burgundy, suffered the same fate, while her sister
Joan Joan may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Joan (given name), including a list of women, men and fictional characters
*:Joan of Arc, a French military heroine
* Joan (surname)
Weather events
*Tropical Storm Joan (disambiguation), multip ...
was acquitted. Blanche was imprisoned and not released even after becoming queen, until her marriage was annulled when she was moved to the coast of Normandy. The date and place of her death are unknown; the mere fact that she died was simply mentioned on the occasion of her husband's third marriage in April 1326.
Early life
Blanche was the younger daughter of
Otto IV, Count of Burgundy
Otto IV (1248, Ornans – 17 March 1303, Melun) was the count of the Free County of Burgundy from 1279 until 1303.
Life
Otto was the son of Hugh of Châlons and Adelaide, Countess Palatine of Burgundy. Upon his father's death in 1266/7, he became ...
, and
Mahaut, Countess of Artois
Mahaut of Artois also known as Mathilda (1268 27 November 1329), ruled as Countess of Artois from 1302 to 1329. She was furthermore regent of the County of Burgundy from 1303 to 1315 during the minority and the absence of her daughter, Joan II, ...
. Her father died in 1303, leaving the county to Blanche's elder sister,
Joan Joan may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Joan (given name), including a list of women, men and fictional characters
*:Joan of Arc, a French military heroine
* Joan (surname)
Weather events
*Tropical Storm Joan (disambiguation), multip ...
. Joan was supposed to marry
Louis Louis may refer to:
* Louis (coin)
* Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name
* Louis (surname)
* Louis (singer), Serbian singer
* HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy
See also
Derived or associated terms
* Lewis ( ...
, the
heir
Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Officiall ...
of
Philip IV of France
Philip IV (April–June 1268 – 29 November 1314), called Philip the Fair (french: Philippe le Bel), was King of France from 1285 to 1314. By virtue of his marriage with Joan I of Navarre, he was also King of Navarre as Philip I from 12 ...
, but Philip changed his mind and arranged for her to marry his second son,
Philip
Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularize ...
, in 1307. The Countess of Artois was proud of this achievement and quickly started negotiating her younger daughter's marriage to
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 ...
, King Philip's third son, offering a huge
dowry
A dowry is a payment, such as property or money, paid by the bride's family to the groom or his family at the time of marriage. Dowry contrasts with the related concepts of bride price and dower. While bride price or bride service is a payment b ...
. The negotiations were successful and on 23 September 1307, the eleven-year-old Blanche and thirteen-year-old Charles concluded a marriage contract. The marriage ceremony was hastily performed at Countess Mahaut's castle in
Hesdin
Hesdin (; vls, Heusdin) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France.
Geography
The N39, from Arras to Montreuil, used to be the main thoroughfare of the town. In the 1950s, a circular route was created to help traffic flo ...
in January 1308.
Adultery accusations
In 1313, Blanche's sister-in-law and brother-in-law,
Isabella
Isabella may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Isabella (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters
* Isabella (surname), including a list of people
Places
United States
* Isabella, Alabama, an unincorpor ...
and
Edward II of England
Edward II (25 April 1284 – 21 September 1327), also called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. The fourth son of Edward I, Edward became the heir apparent to ...
, visited King Philip IV. Isabella presented her brothers and sisters-in-law with embroidered
coin purse
A coin is a small, flat (usually depending on the country or value), round piece of metal or plastic used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order to ...
s. Later that year, upon their return to London, Isabella and Edward held a banquet during which Isabella noticed that the coin purses she had given to Blanche and Margaret were now in the possession of the Norman knights
Gautier and
Philippe d'Aunay
Philip of Aunay or of Aulnay (''Philippe d'Aunay'' or ''d'Aulnay'') (c. 1290/93 – Pontoise, (19 April 1314), was a Norman knight implicated in a French royal scandal known as the Tour de Nesle affair..
Biography
In the court of Philip IV of ...
. From that she concluded that the brothers were having relationships with her sisters-in-law. When she visited Paris again in 1314, she informed King Philip about her suspicions. Blanche's sister Joan was accused of hiding the affair and later of participating in it.
Trial and imprisonment
Acting quickly, King Philip ordered the arrest of all his daughters-in-law and the knights. Following torture, the d'Aunays confessed to adultery and admitted that it had lasted three years. The Blanche and Margaret were tried before the
Paris Parlement
The Parliament of Paris (french: Parlement de Paris) was the oldest '' parlement'' in the Kingdom of France, formed in the 14th century. It was fixed in Paris by Philip IV of France in 1302. The Parliament of Paris would hold sessions inside th ...
and were found guilty of adultery. Their heads were shaven and both were sentenced to
life imprisonment
Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes for ...
underground in
Château Gaillard
Château Gaillard () is a medieval castle ruin overlooking the River Seine above the commune of Les Andelys, in the French department of Eure, in Normandy. It is located some north-west of Paris and from Rouen. Construction began in 1196 unde ...
, while the d'Aunays were condemned to death and duly executed. Blanche's first child, a son named Philip, was born around 5 January 1314, so presumably his paternity was not challenged; her second child, a daughter named Joan, was born in 1315 after the trial. Despite her disgrace, Blanche remained in contact with her ambitious mother and often received gifts from her.
Queenship and death
On Philip V's death on 3 January 1322, Blanche's husband, Charles, inherited the crown. Blanche thus became queen of France and Navarre, but at Charles' request,
Pope John XXII
Pope John XXII ( la, Ioannes PP. XXII; 1244 – 4 December 1334), born Jacques Duèze (or d'Euse), was head of the Catholic Church from 7 August 1316 to his death in December 1334.
He was the second and longest-reigning Avignon Pope, elected by ...
declared their marriage null and void on 19 May 1322. Both Charles and Blanche received permission to remarry. Both of her children died in infancy, Philip by the end of March 1322 and Joan on 17 May 1321.
Though she was replaced immediately by
Marie of Luxembourg
Marie of Luxembourg (1304 – 26 March 1324) was Queen of France and Navarre as the second wife of King Charles IV and I.
She was the daughter of Henry VII, Holy Roman Emperor and Margaret of Brabant. Her two siblings were John of Luxembou ...
, there was no hope for Blanche to remarry, as she was sent to
Gavray
Gavray () is a former commune in the Manche department in north-western France. On 1 January 2019, it was merged into the new commune Gavray-sur-Sienne. Castle. There is no evidence that supports the common belief that she died as a nun at
Maubuisson Abbey
Maubuisson Abbey (french: Abbaye de Maubuisson or ) is a Cistercian nunnery at Saint-Ouen-l'Aumône, in the Val-d'Oise department of France. It was founded in A.D. 1236 by Blanche of Castile, Queen of France, who may have been buried there in 125 ...
. Having spent eight years imprisoned underground, the former queen suffered from poor health. The date of her eventual death is unknown; the Pope mentioned her as dead in a document of 5 April 1326 issuing a dispensation for the marriage of her former husband and
Jeanne d'Évreux.
In fiction
Blanche is a character in ''
Les Rois maudits
''The Accursed Kings'' (french: Les Rois maudits ) is a series of historical novels by French author Maurice Druon about the French monarchy in the 14th century. Published between 1955 and 1977, the series has been adapted as a miniseries twice ...
'' (''The Accursed Kings''), a series of French
historical novel
Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other ty ...
s by
Maurice Druon
Maurice Druon (23 April 1918 – 14 April 2009) was a French novelist and a member of the Académie Française, of which he served as "Perpetual Secretary" (chairman) between 1985 and 1999.
Life and career
Born in Paris, France, Druon was the s ...
. She was portrayed by in the 1972 French
miniseries
A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format h ...
adaptation of the series, and by Anne Malraux in the 2005 adaptation.
Family tree
References
Sources
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External links
Blanche de Bourgogne
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Blanche Of Burgundy
1296 births
1326 deaths
French queens consort
Navarrese royal consorts
Chalon-Arlay
Repudiated queens
13th-century French people
13th-century French women
14th-century French people
14th-century French women
People convicted of adultery