Blanche of Navarre (1226 – 12 August 1283), also known as Blanche of Champagne, was the daughter of Theobald the Troubador,

King of Navarre This is a list of the kings and queens of kingdom of Pamplona, Pamplona, later kingdom of Navarre, Navarre. Pamplona was the primary name of the kingdom until its union with Kingdom of Aragon, Aragon (1076–1134). However, the territorial desig ...

and

Count of Champagne The count of Champagne was the ruler of the County of Champagne from 950 to 1316. Champagne evolved from the County of Troyes in the late eleventh century and Hugh I was the first to officially use the title count of Champagne. Count Theobald I ...

, and his second wife

Agnes of Beaujeu Agnes of Beaujeu (''Agnès de Beaujeu''; ? – 11 July 1231) was a French noblewoman, the daughter of Guichard IV of Beaujeu and his wife Sybil of Hainaut. Agnes was Countess of Champagne by her marriage to Theobald I of Navarre Theobald I (french ...

. She was a member of the House of Champagne. By her marriage to

John I, Duke of Brittany John I ( br, Yann, french: Jean; c. 1217/12188 October 1286), known as John the Red due to the colour of his beard, was Duke of Brittany from 1221 to his death and 2nd Earl of Richmond in 1268. John was the eldest of three children born to Duche ...

, she became Duchess consort of Brittany.

Life

Blanche was firstly betrothed to

Otto III, Count of Burgundy Otto III ( – 19 June 1248), a member of the House of Andechs, was Count of Burgundy from 1231 and the last duke of Merania (numbered Otto II) from 1234 until his death. Family Otto was the only son of Duke Otto I of Merania and Countess Beatri ...

; the marriage contract was signed on 16 January 1236. However, the engagement was broken. Blanche was instead married in 1236 to

: the main reason he married Blanche was so he could get

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, ...

, and Theobald did make John heir to the throne. However, John renounced the claim after Margaret of Bourbon bore Theobald two sons.

Marriage and children

Blanche and John had: *

John II, Duke of Brittany John II ( br, Yann, french: Jean; 123918 November 1305) reigned as Duke of Brittany from 1286 until his death, and was also Earl of Richmond in the Peerage of England. He took part in two crusades prior to his accession to the ducal throne. As a d ...

* Peter of Brittany (2 April 1241–

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, 19 October 1268), Lord of Hade *

Alix of Brittany, Dame de Pontarcy Alix of Brittany, Dame de Pontarcy, Countess of Blois (6 June 1243 – 2 August 1288), was a Breton noblewoman and a member of the House of Dreux as the eldest daughter of John I, Duke of Brittany. She married John I, Count of Blois. Alix was k ...

*Theobald (1245–1256), died young *Theobald (died soon after birth) *Eleanor (1248), died young *Nicholas (1249–1261), died young *Robert (1251–1259), died young Of their eight children, only their eldest three lived to adulthood. In 1270 Blanche founded the Abbey de la Joie near

Hennebont Hennebont (; ) is a commune in the Morbihan department in the region of Brittany in north-western France. Geography Hennebont is situated about ten miles from the mouth of the River Blavet, which divides it into two parts: the ''Ville Close'', ...

; she was later buried there. She died in 1283; her husband outlived her by three years. Blanche outlived six of her eight children.

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Blanche of Navarre, Brittany, Duchess of 1226 births 1283 deaths Duchesses of Brittany Navarrese infantas House of Blois 13th-century Breton people 13th-century French women 13th-century nobility from the Kingdom of Navarre Daughters of kings