Eleanor of Brittany (1275 – 16 May 1342) was the sixteenth

abbess An abbess (Latin: ''abbatissa''), also known as a mother superior, is the female superior of a community of Catholic nuns in an abbey. Description In the Catholic Church (both the Latin Church and Eastern Catholic), Eastern Orthodox, Copt ...

of Fontevrault. She was born in England to

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 ...

and

Beatrice of England Beatrice of England (25 June 1242 – 24 March 1275) was a member of the House of Plantagenet, the daughter of Henry III of England and Eleanor of Provence. Childhood Born 25 June 1242, Beatrice was the second-eldest daughter of King Henry III ...

, and in 1281 at the age of seven entered Amesbury Priory in Wiltshire, a priory of the Fontevrault order (her first cousin, twice removed, Eleanor, Fair Maid of Brittany is buried there). Her grandmother,

Eleanor of Provence Eleanor of Provence (c. 1223 – 24/25 June 1291) was a French noblewoman who became Queen of England as the wife of King Henry III from 1236 until his death in 1272. She served as regent of England during the absence of her spouse in 1253. ...

, decided to live out her retirement at this priory, and had earlier lobbied for Eleanor and another granddaughter,

Mary of Woodstock Mary of Woodstock (11 March 1278 – before 8 July 1332) was the seventh named daughter of Edward I of England and Eleanor of Castile. She was a nun at Amesbury Priory, but lived very comfortably thanks to a generous allowance from her parents. ...

, to join her at Amesbury. In 1290 she moved to

Fontevrault Abbey The Royal Abbey of Our Lady of Fontevraud or Fontevrault (in French: ''abbaye de Fontevraud'') was a monastery in the village of Fontevraud-l'Abbaye, near Chinon, in the former French duchy of Anjou. It was founded in 1101 by the itinerant preache ...

in the Loire region of France, the parent abbey of the order, where she took her vows and became a

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is o ...

in March 1291. The richly illuminated Fontevraud Gradual was presented to her upon her induction. In 1304 she became abbess. Soon after 1313, Eleanor's cousin,

, was removed from her role as visitor of Amesbury Priory. In 1317, Mary's brother Edward, by now King

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 ...

, asked Eleanor to restore her to the post, but his request was refused. But Mary persevered and obtained a papal mandate requiring her reinstatement, which Eleanor appears to have obeyed. Upon her death in 1342 she bequeathed the gradual to the abbey. It survives to this day and is held by the public library of

Limoges Limoges (, , ; oc, Lemòtges, locally ) is a city and Communes of France, commune, and the prefecture of the Haute-Vienne Departments of France, department in west-central France. It was the administrative capital of the former Limousin region ...

References

* Berenice M. Kerr, ''Religious life for women, c.1100-c.1350 : Fontevraud in England.'' Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999. * Célestin Port, ''Dictionnaire historique, géographique et biographique de Maine-et-Loire et de l'ancienne province d'Anjou : A-C'', t. 1, Angers, H. Siraudeau et Cie, 1965, 2nd edition. {{DEFAULTSORT:Eleanor of Brittany 1275 births 1342 deaths Abbesses of Fontevraud Anglo-Norman Roman Catholic abbesses 13th-century Breton women 14th-century Breton women Benedictine nuns 13th-century French nuns 14th-century French nuns House of Dreux Amesbury Abbey