John II ( br, Yann, french: Jean; 123918 November 1305) reigned as
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 ...
from 1286 until his death, and was also
Earl of Richmond
The now-extinct title of Earl of Richmond was created many times in the Peerage of England. The earldom of Richmond was initially held by various Breton nobles; sometimes the holder was the Breton duke himself, including one member of the cad ...
in the
Peerage of England
The Peerage of England comprises all peerages created in the Kingdom of England before the Act of Union in 1707. In that year, the Peerages of England and Scotland were replaced by one Peerage of Great Britain. There are five peerages in t ...
. He took part in two
crusades
The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...
prior to his accession to the ducal throne. As a duke, John was involved in the conflicts between the kings of France and England. He was crushed to death in an accident during the celebrations of a
papal coronation.
Family and crusades
John was the eldest son of Duke
John I of Brittany and
Blanche of Navarre. On 22 January 1260, he married
Beatrice, a daughter 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 ...
. John was very close to his brother-in-law,
Edward I
Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vassal o ...
. In 1271, he accompanied Edward to the
Ninth Crusade
Lord Edward's crusade, sometimes called the Ninth Crusade, was a military expedition to the Holy Land under the command of Edward, Duke of Gascony (future King Edward I of England) in 1271–1272. It was an extension of the Eighth Crusade and was ...
, meeting there with his father and 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 ...
. Louis succumbed to an illness in Tunis, and John's father returned to Brittany. John, however, followed Edward to Palestine. The crusade ended the following year, having achieved little. In 1285, John took part in the
Aragonese Crusade
The Aragonese Crusade or Crusade of Aragon, a part of the larger War of the Sicilian Vespers, was declared by Pope Martin IV against King Peter III of Aragon in 1284 and 1285. Because of the recent conquest of Sicily by Peter, Martin declared ...
at the side of King
Philip III of France
Philip III (1 May 1245 – 5 October 1285), called the Bold (french: le Hardi), was King of France from 1270 until his death in 1285. His father, Louis IX, died in Tunis during the Eighth Crusade. Philip, who was accompanying him, returned ...
.
Reign
Upon the death of his father on 8 October 1286, John ascended the throne of Brittany, inheriting also the
Earldom of Richmond
The now-extinct title of Earl of Richmond was created many times in the Peerage of Peerage of England, England. The earldom of Richmond, North Yorkshire, Richmond was initially held by various Breton people, Breton nobles; sometimes the holde ...
in the
Peerage of England
The Peerage of England comprises all peerages created in the Kingdom of England before the Act of Union in 1707. In that year, the Peerages of England and Scotland were replaced by one Peerage of Great Britain. There are five peerages in t ...
. His namesake son governed
Guyenne
Guyenne or Guienne (, ; oc, Guiana ) was an old French province which corresponded roughly to the Roman province of '' Aquitania Secunda'' and the archdiocese of Bordeaux.
The name "Guyenne" comes from ''Aguyenne'', a popular transformation o ...
in the name of his uncle, King Edward, when
King Philip IV of France
Philip IV (April–June 1268 – 29 November 1314), called Philip the Fair (french: Philippe le Bel), was King of France from 1285 to 1314. By virtue of his marriage with Joan I of Navarre, he was also King of Navarre as Philip I from 1 ...
decided to confiscate it in May 1294. John assisted his brother-in-law in the ensuing conflict, but suffered only defeats. When the English army sought to recover by plundering the Breton
Abbaye Saint-Mathieu de Fine-Terre
The Abbey of Saint-Mathieu de Fine-Terre (french: Abbaye Saint-Mathieu de Fine-Terre; br, Abati Lokmazhe Penn-ar-Bed) is a former Breton monastery, whose ruins are found in the territory of what is now the commune of Plougonvelin on Pointe Sain ...
in 1296, however, John abandoned Edward's cause. In response, Edward deprived him of the earldom. John proceeded to ally himself with the French, arranging a marriage between his grandson
John
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
* Secon ...
and King Philip's cousin Isabella of Valois. Philip then raised him into the
Peerage of France
The Peerage of France (french: Pairie de France) was a hereditary distinction within the French nobility which appeared in 1180 in the Middle Ages.
The prestigious title and position of Peer of France (french: Pair de France, links=no) was ...
in September 1297.
Last years and accidental death
From 1294 until 1304, John assisted the King of France in his campaign against
Count Guy of Flanders, taking part in the decisive
Battle of Mons-en-Pévèle
The Battle of Mons-en-Pévèle (or Pevelenberg) was fought on 18 August 1304 between the French and the Flemish. The French were led by their king, Philip IV.
Prelude
The French king wanted revenge for the defeat in Battle of the Golden Sp ...
. Following King Philip's victory, in 1305, John travelled to
Lyon
Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...
to attend the
coronation
A coronation is the act of placement or bestowal of a coronation crown, crown upon a monarch's head. The term also generally refers not only to the physical crowning but to the whole ceremony wherein the act of crowning occurs, along with the ...
of
Pope Clement V
Pope Clement V ( la, Clemens Quintus; c. 1264 – 20 April 1314), born Raymond Bertrand de Got (also occasionally spelled ''de Guoth'' and ''de Goth''), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 5 June 1305 to his de ...
. John was leading the Pope's horse through the crowd during the celebrations. So many spectators had piled atop the walls that one of them crumbled and collapsed on top of the Duke. He died four days later, on 18 November. His body was placed in a lead coffin and sent down the
Loire
The Loire (, also ; ; oc, Léger, ; la, Liger) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône ...
. He was buried on 16 December in the
Carmelite
, image =
, caption = Coat of arms of the Carmelites
, abbreviation = OCarm
, formation = Late 12th century
, founder = Early hermits of Mount Carmel
, founding_location = Mount Car ...
convent he had founded in
Ploërmel
Church Saint-Armel
Ploërmel (; ; Gallo language: ''Pieurmè'') is a commune in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France. On 1 January 2019, the former commune Monterrein was merged into Ploërmel.
Character of the town
The ...
.
Issue
John and Beatrice had six children, several of whom were raised at the court of their uncle King Edward.
*
Arthur II, Duke of Brittany
Arthur II (25 July 1261 – 27 August 1312), of the House of Dreux, was Duke of Brittany from 1305 to his death. He was the first son of John II and Beatrice, daughter of Henry III of England and Eleanor of Provence.
After he inherited the duca ...
(1262–1312)
*
John, Earl of Richmond (c. 1266–1334)
*
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 ...
, wife of
Guy III of Châtillon
Guy IV of Châtillon, Count of Saint Pol ( – 6 April 1317) was a French nobleman. He was the son of Guy III, Count of Saint-Pol and Matilda of Brabant.
In 1292, he married Marie of Brittany, daughter of John II, Duke of Brittany and Beatr ...
(1268–1339)
*
Peter, Viscount of Leon (1269–1312)
*
Blanche, wife of
Philip of Artois
Philip of Artois (November 1269 – 11 September 1298) was the son of Robert II of Artois, Count of Artois, and Amicie de Courtenay. He was the Lord of Conches, Nonancourt, and Domfront.
He married Blanche of Brittany, daughter of John ...
(1271–1327)
*
Eleanor of Brittany, Abbess of
Fontevrault
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 Duchy of Anjou, Anjou. It was founded in 1101 by the i ...
(1275–1342)
See also
*
Dukes of Brittany family tree
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 ...
References
Sources
*
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:John Ii, Duke Of Brittany
1239 births
1305 deaths
13th-century dukes of Brittany
14th-century dukes of Brittany
13th-century peers of France
14th-century peers of France
13th-century English nobility
14th-century English nobility
Dukes of Brittany
Earls of Richmond (1268 creation)
House of Dreux
Accidental deaths in France
Christians of Lord Edward's crusade