Jeanne des Roches, Dame de Sablé (c. 1195 – 28 September 1238) was a French noble heiress, ruler of de baronies of La Suze, de Briollay, de Mayet, de Loupeland, de Chateauneuf-sur-Sarte, de Genneteil, de Precigné, de Agon, and de Craon; and the ''suo jure''

seneschal The word ''seneschal'' () can have several different meanings, all of which reflect certain types of supervising or administering in a historic context. Most commonly, a seneschal was a senior position filled by a court appointment within a royal, ...

Anjou Anjou may refer to: Geography and titles France *County of Anjou, a historical county in France and predecessor of the Duchy of Anjou **Count of Anjou, title of nobility *Duchy of Anjou, a historical duchy and later a province of France **Duke ...

, from 1222. The seneschalship passed to her husband, Amaury I, Sire de Craon, as well as the vast Sablè barony.

Life

Jeanne was born in about 1195, the eldest daughter of

Guillaume des Roches William des Roches (died 1222) (in French Guillaume des Roches) was a French knight and crusader who acted as Seneschal of Anjou, of Maine and of Touraine. After serving the Angevin kings of England, in 1202 he changed his loyalty to King Philip II ...

, Seneschal of Anjou and one of the greatest barons in Anjou and Maine. Her mother was

Marguerite de Sablé Marguerite de Sablé, Dame de Sablé (c.1179 – after June 1238), was a French noblewoman and one of the wealthiest heiresses in the counties of Anjou and Maine. She was the eldest daughter of Robert IV de Sablé, and the wife of William des R ...

, Dame de Sablé who had brought the rich Sablé barony to her husband. Jeanne had a brother Robert, who died in 1204, and a younger sister Clémence, Viscountess de Chateaudun (died after September 1259). Her paternal grandparents were Baudoin des Roches and Alix de Châtellerault, and her maternal grandparents were Robert de Sablé and Clémence de Mayenne, daughter of Geoffroy, Sire de Mayenne and

Isabelle de Meulan Isabelle de Meulan, Dame de Mayenne, Dame de Craon (c. 1148 – 10 May 1220) was a French noblewoman, being the daughter of Waleran de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Worcester, Count of Meulan. Isabelle married twice; firstly to Geoffroy, Seigneur de Mayenn ...

. Jeanne's father was a knight who had fought in the

Third Crusade The Third Crusade (1189–1192) was an attempt by three European monarchs of Western Christianity (Philip II of France, Richard I of England and Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor) to reconquer the Holy Land following the capture of Jerusalem by ...

in the service of the

Angevin Angevin or House of Anjou may refer to: *County of Anjou or Duchy of Anjou, a historical county, and later Duchy, in France ** Angevin (language), the traditional langue d'oïl spoken in Anjou **Counts and Dukes of Anjou *House of Ingelger, a Frank ...

kings of England and King

Philip II of France Philip II (21 August 1165 – 14 July 1223), byname Philip Augustus (french: Philippe Auguste), was King of France from 1180 to 1223. His predecessors had been known as kings of the Franks, but from 1190 onward, Philip became the first French ...

Inheritance

Upon her father's death on 15 July 1222 Jeanne, being the eldest surviving child, succeeded to the seneschalship of Anjou, as well as his vast lordships which included Sablé, La Suze, Briollay, Mayet, Loupeland, Chateauneuf-sur-Sarte, Genneteil, Precigné, and the Norman manor of Agon. Jeanne did homage to King

Louis IX of France Louis IX (25 April 1214 – 25 August 1270), commonly known as Saint Louis or Louis the Saint, was King of France from 1226 to 1270, and the most illustrious of the Direct Capetians. He was crowned in Reims at the age of 12, following the ...

for ' in a charter dated 27 January 1226. By March 1219 Jeanne was married to Amaury I, Sire de Craon. He was the son of Maurice II, Sire de Craon and

. Jeanne's mother-in-law,

was also her maternal great-grandmother, as Isabelle had married twice; Geoffroy de Mayenne was her first husband, and Maurice de Craon her second. The seneschalship and barony passed to her husband upon their marriage. Jeanne died on 28 September 1238. Her husband had died in 1226.

Issue

Together Amaury and Jeanne had three children: * Maurice IV de Craon, Sire de Craon (1213–1250), married

Isabella of Lusignan Isabella of Lusignan (c.1224 – 14 January 1300) was a daughter of Hugh X of Lusignan and his wife Isabella of Angoulême, Dowager Queen of England. Isabella was half-sister to King Henry III of England. She was Dame de Beauvoir-sur Mer et ...

, half-sister of King

Henry III of England Henry III (1 October 1207 – 16 November 1272), also known as Henry of Winchester, was King of England, Lord of Ireland, and Duke of Aquitaine from 1216 until his death in 1272. The son of King John and Isabella of Angoulême, Henry a ...

, by whom he had three children. * Jeanne de Craon, bethrothed in 1223 to Arthur of Brittany (1220–1223) *

Isabelle de Craon Isabelle de Craon, Dame de Fougères (born 1212), was a French noblewoman, being the daughter of Amaury I, Sire de Craon, a wealthy baron who was the possessor of many lordships in Anjou and Maine. She was the wife of Raoul III, Sire de Fougères ...

(born 1212), married Raoul III, Sire de Fougères, by whom she had two children, Jean de Fougères, and

Jeanne de Fougères Jeanne may refer to: Places * Jeanne (crater), on Venus People * Jeanne (given name) * Joan of Arc (Jeanne d'Arc, 1412–1431) * Joanna of Flanders (1295–1374) * Joan, Duchess of Brittany (1319–1384) * Ruth Stuber Jeanne (1910–2004), Amer ...

, Dame de Fougères.

References

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Roches, Jeanne Des 1195 births 1238 deaths Medieval French nobility 13th-century French people Sable, Lady of, Jeanne des Roches 13th-century women rulers 13th-century French women