Isabella of Brittany (french: Isabelle; 1411 – c. 1444) was a daughter of

John V, Duke of Brittany John V, sometimes numbered as VI, (24 December 1389 – 29 August 1442) bynamed John the Wise ( br, Yann ar Fur; french: Jean le Sage), was Duke of Brittany and Count of Montfort from 1399 to his death. His rule coincided with the height of t ...

, and his wife, Joan of Valois. Isabella was a member of the

House of Dreux The House of Dreux was a cadet branch of the Capetian dynasty. It was founded by Robert I, Count of Dreux, a son of Louis VI of France, who was given the County of Dreux as his appanage. The Counts of Dreux were relatively minor nobles in France ...

Family

Isabella's maternal grandparents were

Charles VI of France Charles VI (3 December 136821 October 1422), nicknamed the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé) and later the Mad (french: le Fol or ''le Fou''), was King of France from 1380 until his death in 1422. He is known for his mental illness and psychotic ...

and

Isabeau of Bavaria Isabeau of Bavaria (or Isabelle; also Elisabeth of Bavaria-Ingolstadt; c. 1370 – September 1435) was Queen of France from 1385 to 1422. She was born into the House of Wittelsbach as the only daughter of Duke Stephen III of Bavaria-Ingo ...

. Her paternal grandparents were

John IV, Duke of Brittany John IV the Conqueror KG (in Breton Yann IV, in French Jean IV, and traditionally in English sources both John of Montfort and John V) (1339 – 1 November 1399), was Duke of Brittany and Count of Montfort from 1345 until his death and 7th Ear ...

and

Joan of Navarre Joan of Navarre may refer to: *Joan I of Navarre (1273–1305), daughter of Henry I of Navarre *Joan II of Navarre (1312–1349), daughter of Louis I of Navarre * Joan of Navarre (nun) (1326–1387), daughter of Joan II of Navarre and Philip III of ...

. Isabella was related to three Queens of England. Two of her maternal aunts,

Isabella of Valois Isabella of France (9 November 1389 – 13 September 1409) was Queen of England as the wife of Richard II, King of England between 1396 and 1399, and Duchess (consort) of Orléans as the wife of Charles, Duke of Orléans from 1406 until her ...

and

Catherine of Valois Catherine of Valois or Catherine of France (27 October 1401 – 3 January 1437) was Queen of England from 1420 until 1422. A daughter of Charles VI of France, she was married to Henry V of England and gave birth to his heir Henry VI of England ...

were queens of England and after the death of her paternal grandfather, John IV, her grandmother,

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), multi ...

, became queen of England by her marriage to

Henry IV of England Henry IV ( April 1367 – 20 March 1413), also known as Henry Bolingbroke, was King of England from 1399 to 1413. He asserted the claim of his grandfather King Edward III, a maternal grandson of Philip IV of France, to the Kingdom of Fr ...

. Isabella of Valois was married to Henry's predecessor,

Richard II of England Richard II (6 January 1367 – ), also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He was the son of Edward the Black Prince, Prince of Wales, and Joan, Countess of Kent. Richard's father died ...

. Catherine of Valois was married to Henry IV's son,

Henry V of England Henry V (16 September 1386 – 31 August 1422), also called Henry of Monmouth, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1413 until his death in 1422. Despite his relatively short reign, Henry's outstanding military successes in the H ...

Marriage

On 1 October 1430, at

Redon Redon (; ) is a commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine department in Brittany in northwestern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. Geography Redon borders the Morbihan and Loire-Atlantique departments. It is situated at the junction of ...

, Isabella married

Guy XIV de Laval Guy XIV de Laval, François de Montfort-Laval, (28 January 1406 – 2 September 1486, Châteaubriant), comte de Laval, baron de Vitré and of La Roche-Bernard, seigneur of Gâvre, of Acquigny, of Tinténiac, of Montfort and Gaël, of Béche ...

. Guy fought in many different battles in the

Hundred Years' War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a series of armed conflicts between the kingdoms of England and France during the Late Middle Ages. It originated from disputed claims to the French throne between the English House of Plantag ...

and fought alongside

Joan of Arc Joan of Arc (french: link=yes, Jeanne d'Arc, translit= �an daʁk} ; 1412 – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the corona ...

. Guy had been betrothed to Isabella's younger sister, Margaret, who died before the marriage could take place, so Guy married Isabella instead. Isabella and Guy had three sons and seven daughters: *

Yolande of Laval Yolande or Yolanta may refer to: Royalty and nobility * Yolande of Aragon (disambiguation), several people * Yolande de Montferrat (c.1274–1317), Byzantine Empress consort * Yolande de Courtenay (c.1200–1233), wife of Andrew II of Hungary *Yol ...

(born Nantes 1 October 1431), married firstly 1443 to Alain de Rohan, Count of Porhoet and secondly Guillaume d'Harcourt, Count of Tancarville. *

Françoise of Laval Françoise () is a French feminine given name (equivalent to the Italian Francesca) and may refer to: * Anne Françoise Elizabeth Lange (1772–1816), French actress * Claudine Françoise Mignot (1624–1711), French adventuress * Françoise Adnet ...

(born and died 1432). *

Jeanne de Laval Jeanne de Laval (10 November 1433 – 19 December 1498), was the second wife and titular Queen consort of René I of Anjou, King of Naples, Sicily, titular King of Jerusalem, Aragon, and Majorca; Duke of Anjou, Bar, and Lorraine; and Count of Pro ...

(10 November 1433, Auray – 19 December 1498, Beaufort-en-Vallée), married to

René of Anjou René of Anjou ( it, Renato; oc, Rainièr; ca, Renat; 1409–1480) was Duke of Anjou and Count of Provence from 1434 to 1480, who also reigned as King of Naples as René I from 1435 to 1442 (then deposed as the preceding dynasty was restored to ...

. *Anne of Laval (born and died 1434). *

François of Laval François () is a French masculine given name and surname, equivalent to the English name Francis. People with the given name * Francis I of France, King of France (), known as "the Father and Restorer of Letters" * Francis II of France, King o ...

(16 November 1435, Moncontour – 28 January 1501, Laval), successor of his father as Guy XV, married to Catherine of Alençon *

Jean of Laval Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * ...

(14 February 1437, Redon – 14 August 1476), twin with Arthuse; Lord of la Roche-Bernard. * Arthuse of Laval (14 February 1437, Redon – 1461, Marseille), twin with Jean; she died unmarried. *

Hélène of Laval Helene or Hélène may refer to: People *Helene (given name), a Greek feminine given name *Helen of Troy, the daughter of Zeus and Leda *Helene, a figure in Greek mythology who was a friend of Aphrodite and helped her seduce Adonis * Helene (Am ...

(17 June 1439, Ploërmel – 3 December 1500), married Jean de Malestroit, Baron of Derval. *

Louise of Laval Louise or Luise may refer to: * Louise (given name) Arts Songs * "Louise" (Bonnie Tyler song), 2005 * "Louise" (The Human League song), 1984 * "Louise" (Jett Rebel song), 2013 * "Louise" (Maurice Chevalier song), 1929 *"Louise", by Clan of ...

(born 13 January 1441), married 15 May 1468

Jean III de Brosse Jean III de Brosse (d. 1502) was Count of Penthièvre from 1480 until his death. He was the elder son of Jean II de Brosse and Nicole, Countess of Penthièvre. On 15 May 1468, he married Louise de Laval, daughter of Guy XIV de Laval and Isabelle ...

Count of Penthièvre Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

. *

Pierre of Laval Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...

(17 July 1442, Montfort-sur-Meu – 1493), archbishop of

Rheims Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded b ...

. Isabella died around 1444, and she is buried in

Nantes Nantes (, , ; Gallo: or ; ) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with a population of 314,138 in Nantes proper and a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million inhabit ...

. Her husband remarried after her death, to

Françoise de Dinan Françoise de Dinan (1436-1499), was a French heiress, courtier and educator. She was the governess of Anne of Brittany. She was the daughter and heir of Jacques de Dinan (d. 1444), lord of Beaumanoir and chamberlain at the court of Brittany, and ...

, widow of Isabella's younger brother Gilles, Lord of Chantocé. Her husband was buried at the collegial church of Saint-Thugal at

Laval Laval means ''The Valley'' in old French and is the name of: People * House of Laval, a French noble family originating from the town of Laval, Mayenne * Laval (surname) Places Belgium * Laval, a village in the municipality of Sainte-Ode, Luxemb ...

House of Brittany

This family tree shows Isabella's paternal side of her family, her mother and brothers. It shows that after the death of her brothers, her uncle, Arthur became

Duke of Brittany This is a list of rulers of the Duchy of Brittany. In different epochs the sovereigns of Brittany were kings, princes, and dukes. The Breton ruler was sometimes elected, sometimes attained the position by conquest or intrigue, or by hereditary r ...

Ancestry

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Isabella of Brittany 1411 births 1444 deaths House of Dreux 15th-century Breton women People of the Hundred Years' War