Joan of Bar (died 1361) was a French-English noble. She acted as regent of the County of Bar from 1344 until 1353. She was a daughter of

Henry III, Count of Bar Henry III of Bar (french: links=no, Henri III de Bar; german: Heinrich III von Bar 1259 – Naples, September 1302) was Count of Bar from 1291 to 1302. He was the son of Theobald II, Count of Bar and Jeanne de Toucy. Henry's introduction to mili ...

and Eleanor of England, and niece of

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 t ...

. She was unhappily married to

John de Warenne, 7th Earl of Surrey John de Warenne (24/30 June 1286 - June 1347), 7th Earl of Surrey, was the last Warenne earl of Surrey. Life John was born on either 24 or 30 June 1286 and baptised on 7 November of that year.He was the son of William de Warenne, the only son o ...

. In 1345, Joan became the

regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

of Bar for her great-nephew

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

Life

On 25 May 1306, Joan was married to one of the leading nobles of England,

, a "nasty, brutal man with scarcely one redeeming quality." She lived at the Warenne family estates, Conisbrough Castle and

Sandal Castle Sandal Castle is a ruined medieval castle in Sandal Magna, a suburb of the city of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England, overlooking the River Calder. It was the site of royal intrigue and the setting for a scene in one of William Shakespeare ...

, abandoned by her husband, who hated her and since 1313 had been trying to divorce her. In England, she was close to

Isabella of France Isabella of France ( – 22 August 1358), sometimes described as the She-Wolf of France (), was Queen of England as the wife of King Edward II, and regent of England from 1327 until 1330. She was the youngest surviving child and only surviving ...

, her aunt by marriage (Isabella’s husband Edward II was Joan’s maternal uncle) who was about her same age, and spent time with her at court. She was probably close to her cousin

Elizabeth de Clare Elizabeth de Clare, 11th Lady of Clare (16 September 1295 – 4 November 1360) was the heiress to the lordships of Clare, Suffolk, in England and Usk in Wales. She was the youngest of the three daughters of Gilbert de Clare, 6th Earl of Hertfo ...

, who left Joan an image of

John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...

in her will. After four unhappy years of marriage, Surrey alleged in 1313 that the union was unlawful because Joan was related to him in the third and fourth degree, and because he had been "precontracted" to Maud of Nerford, his longtime mistress and the mother of his children, before marrying Joan. Despite his claims, a divorce was never granted. In 1345, Joan was invited by Philip VI of France to act as regent of the

County of Bar The County of Bar, later Duchy of Bar, was a principality of the Holy Roman Empire encompassing the '' pays de Barrois'' and centred on the city of Bar-le-Duc. It was held by the House of Montbéliard from the 11th century. Part of the county, t ...

. In 1353, she returned to England. When

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 ...

was captured and imprisoned in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, she was allowed to visit him and is said to have become his

mistress Mistress is the feminine form of the English word "master" (''master'' + ''-ess'') and may refer to: Romance and relationships * Mistress (lover), a term for a woman who is in a sexual and romantic relationship with a man who is married to a ...

. Joan died in 1361 in London.

References

Sources

* * *114 {{DEFAULTSORT:Surrey, Joan Of Bar, Countess of 1297 births 1361 deaths 14th-century women rulers House of Montbelliard English countesses