Joan II, Countess of Auvergne and Boulogne (french: Jeanne d'Auvergne, links=no), also known as Jeanne de Boulogne, and Joan,

Duchess of Berry Duke of Berry (french: Duc de Berry) or Duchess of Berry (french: Duchesse de Berry) was a title in the Peerage of France. The Duchy of Berry, centred on Bourges, was originally created as an appanage for junior members of the French royal fami ...

, (1378 – c. 1424), was sovereign Countess of Auvergne and Boulogne from 1394 until 1424. She was the daughter of

John II, Count of Auvergne John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

(died 1394), and second wife of

John, Duke of Berry John of Berry or John the Magnificent (French: ''Jean de Berry'', ; 30 November 1340 – 15 June 1416) was Duke of Berry and Auvergne and Count of Poitiers and Montpensier. He was Regent of France during the minority of his nephew 1380-1388 ...

. She is arguably most famous for saving the life of her nephew,

King 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 ...

, during the disastrous ''

Bal des Ardents The ''Bal des Ardents'' (Ball of the Burning Men), also called ''Bal des Sauvages'' (Ball of the Wild Men), was a masquerade ballSources vary whether the event was a masquerade or a masque. held on 28 January 1393 in Paris at which Charles V ...

'' (Ball of the Burning Men).

Life

Joan was born around 1378 to John II, Count of Auvergne and Boulogne and his wife Aliénor de Comminges. Joan's grandfather, John I, had been an uncle of Queen Joanna of France, a previous heiress to Auvergne and Boulogne; John inherited the counties when his great-nephew, Joanna's son from a previous marriage, Philip of Burgundy, died without issue. Joan's mother was a descendant of

Peter II of Courtenay Peter, also Peter II of Courtenay (french: Pierre de Courtenay; died 1219), was emperor of the Latin Empire of Constantinople from 1216 to 1217. Biography Peter II was a son of Peter I of Courtenay (died 1183), a younger son of Louis VI of Fra ...

, Emperor of Constantinople, who in turn descended from Louis VI of France. In 1389, Joan was married to

, a son of

John II of France John II (french: Jean II; 26 April 1319 – 8 April 1364), called John the Good (French: ''Jean le Bon''), was King of France from 1350 until his death in 1364. When he came to power, France faced several disasters: the Black Death, which killed ...

, whose wife had died in the previous year. They had no children.

Role in Bal des Ardents

At the age of fifteen, Joan was present at the infamous ''

'' given by Queen Isabeau, wife of the Duke of Berry's nephew King Charles, on 28 January 1393. During this, the King and five nobles dressed up as wildmen, clad "in costumes of linen cloth sewn onto their bodies and soaked in resinous wax or pitch to hold a covering of frazzled hemp," and proceeded to dance about chained together. At length, the King became separated from the others, and made his way to the Duchess, who jokingly refused to let him wander off again until he told her his name. When Charles' brother, Louis of Orléans, accidentally set the other dancers on fire, Joan swathed the King in her skirts, protecting him from the flames and saving his life.Tuchman, Barbara. (1978). ''A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century''. New York: Ballantine. , p. 504

Sovereign

Upon her father's death in 1394, Joan became Countess of Auvergne and Boulogne. Joan was widowed upon the death of the Duke of Berry in 1416. She married

Georges de La Trémoille Georges may refer to: Places *Georges River, New South Wales, Australia *Georges Quay (Dublin) * Georges Township, Fayette County, Pennsylvania Other uses * Georges (name) * ''Georges'' (novel), a novel by Alexandre Dumas * "Georges" (song), a 19 ...

soon after; however, they produced no children, and the counties passed to her cousin,

Marie Marie may refer to: People Name * Marie (given name) * Marie (Japanese given name) * Marie (murder victim), girl who was killed in Florida after being pushed in front of a moving vehicle in 1973 * Marie (died 1759), an enslaved Cree person in Tr ...

, upon her death in 1424.

Ancestry

Notes

References

* Echols, Anne and Marty Williams, ''An Annotated Index of Medieval Women'', Markus Weiner Publishing Inc., 1992. * * ''The Encyclopædia Britannica'', Vol.3, Ed. Hugh Chisholm, 1911. {{DEFAULTSORT:Joan Ii of Auvergne 1378 births 1424 deaths French countesses Duchesses of Berry Countesses of Montpensier Auvergne, Countess of, Joan II 14th-century women rulers 15th-century women rulers Counts of Auvergne 14th-century French people 14th-century French women 15th-century French people 15th-century French women