Peter I (french: Pierre; 1187 – 26 May 1250), also known as Peter Mauclerc, was Duke of Brittany ''
jure uxoris
''Jure uxoris'' (a Latin phrase meaning "by right of (his) wife"), citing . describes a title of nobility used by a man because his wife holds the office or title ''suo jure'' ("in her own right"). Similarly, the husband of an heiress could becom ...
'' from 1213 to 1221, and regent of the
duchy
A duchy, also called a dukedom, is a Middle Ages, medieval country, territory, fiefdom, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess, a ruler hierarchically second to the king or Queen regnant, queen in Western European tradition.
There once exis ...
for his minor son
John I John I may refer to:
People
* John I (bishop of Jerusalem)
* John Chrysostom (349 – c. 407), Patriarch of Constantinople
* John of Antioch (died 441)
* Pope John I, Pope from 523 to 526
* John I (exarch) (died 615), Exarch of Ravenna
* John I o ...
from 1221 to 1237. As duke he was also 1st Earl of Richmond from 1218 to 1235.
Origins
Peter was the second son of Robert II, Count of Dreux and Yolande de Coucy. The former was in turn the son of
Robert I, Count of Dreux
Robert I of Dreux, nicknamed ''the Great'' ( – 11 October 1188), was the fifth son of Louis VI of France and Adélaide de Maurienne.
Life
In 1137 he received the County of Dreux as an appanage from his father. He held this title until 1184 ...
, a younger brother of
Louis VII of France
Louis VII (1120 – 18 September 1180), called the Younger, or the Young (french: link=no, le Jeune), was King of the Franks from 1137 to 1180. He was the son and successor of King Louis VI (hence the epithet "the Young") and married Duchess ...
. Peter was thus a Capetian, a second cousin of Louis VIII of France.
Despite being of royal descent, as the younger son of a cadet branch Peter's early prospects were that of a minor noble, with a few scattered fiefs in the
and Champagne. He was initially destined for a career in the clergy, which he later renounced, earning him the nickname ''Mauclerc'' (French: ''mauvais clerc'', bad-cleric). He broke the convention of ecclesiastical heraldry by placing on the canton of his paternal arms the ermine, then reserved for the clergy.
Accession
In 1212 King Philip II of France needed to find a weak and faithful ruler for Brittany. The duchy lay athwart the sea lanes between
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
and the English territories in
Gascony
Gascony (; french: Gascogne ; oc, Gasconha ; eu, Gaskoinia) was a province of the southwestern Kingdom of France that succeeded the Duchy of Gascony (602–1453). From the 17th century until the French Revolution (1789–1799), it was part o ...
. Furthermore, it bordered on
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 ...
and
Normandy
Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
, which the English had lost ten or twelve years before and were eager to recover. It was being ruled with less than a strong hand by Guy of Thouars, as regent for his young daughter
Alix
''Alix'', or ''The Adventures of Alix'', is a Franco-Belgian comics series drawn in the ligne claire style by Jacques Martin. The stories revolve around a young Gallo-Roman man named Alix in the late Roman Republic. Although the series is re ...
. Also worrisome was that Alix's older half-sister Eleanor, Fair Maid of Brittany, was in an English prison.
King Philip thus broke off the betrothal of Alix and the Breton lord Henry of Penthièvre, and turned to his French cousin Peter, then in his early twenties. Peter married Alix, and on 27 January 1213, paid homage to the king for Brittany.
There is some ambiguity regarding whether Peter should be considered duke or count. The duchy was legally held by his wife. The king of France and the Pope (and their courts) always addressed him as count, but Peter in his own charters called himself duke.
Relations with the English
In 1214 King
John of England
John (24 December 1166 – 19 October 1216) was King of England from 1199 until his death in 1216. He lost the Duchy of Normandy and most of his other French lands to King Philip II of France, resulting in the collapse of the Angevin Emp ...
had assembled a formidable coalition against the
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
Otto
Otto is a masculine German given name and a surname. It originates as an Old High German short form (variants ''Audo'', ''Odo'', ''Udo'') of Germanic names beginning in ''aud-'', an element meaning "wealth, prosperity".
The name is recorded fro ...
of
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
prepared to invade from the north. John chased off some French forces in the north of Poitou, and then moved to the southern edge of Brittany, opposite
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 inhabita ...
. Peter drove him off after a brief skirmish but did nothing to hinder John's subsequent movement up 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 ...
valley where he took a few Breton fortresses and then besieged
La Roche-aux-Moines
LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States.
La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Music
* La (musical note), or A, the sixth note
* "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on Figure 8 ( ...
. John's Poitevin vassals, however, refused to fight against a French force led by the King of France's son
Louis Louis may refer to:
* Louis (coin)
* Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name
* Louis (surname)
* Louis (singer), Serbian singer
* HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy
See also
Derived or associated terms
* Lewis (d ...
. Meanwhile, Otto's army was crushed at
Bouvines
Bouvines (; nl, Bovingen) is a commune and village in the Nord department in northern France. It is on the French-Belgian border between Lille and Tournai.
History
On 27 July 1214, the Battle of Bouvines was fought here between the forces of F ...
, and the entire invasion foundered.
It is not clear why John attempted to capture Nantes, even less why he would do so the hardest way, via the very well-defended bridge across 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 ...
. Nor is it clear why Peter declined to harass his forces from the rear as John marched east. A likely explanation is that the two had come to some sort of agreement whereby John would leave Brittany alone for the moment, and in return the Bretons would not hinder him elsewhere.
John had a prize he could dangle in front of Peter: 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 ...
. This great English honour (land) had traditionally been held by the dukes of Brittany, and in fact a constant theme in Peter's political affairs was the desire to hold and retain the English revenues from
Richmond
Richmond most often refers to:
* Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States
* Richmond, London, a part of London
* Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England
* Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada
* Richmond, California, ...
.
Peter did not yield to King John's offers to accept the earldom and take up the king's side in his conflicts with the English barons, probably because he deemed the king's prospects too uncertain. Moreover, Louis was again fighting against the English. But when Louis was defeated, Peter was sent as one of the negotiators for a peace treaty. After the negotiations were completed (in 1218), William Marshal, the regent for the young
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 ...
, recognized Peter as Earl of Richmond, in place of Eleanor of Brittany who, as a potential threat to English crown, would never be released from imprisonment. The center of the earldom's properties in
Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...
was in the hands of the Earl of Chester, whom the regent could not afford to antagonize, but Peter did receive the properties of the earldom outside of Yorkshire, which in fact generated the bulk of the earldom's income. In 1219 he participated in the capture of Marmande and the siege of Toulouse during the
Albigensian Crusade
The Albigensian Crusade or the Cathar Crusade (; 1209–1229) was a military and ideological campaign initiated by Pope Innocent III to eliminate Catharism in Languedoc, southern France. The Crusade was prosecuted primarily by the French crown ...
.
Consolidation of power
Peter turned his attention to his next goal. The authority of the dukes of Brittany had traditionally been weak, in comparison to the great peers of northern France. For example, the duke could not limit the building of castles by his counts. Nor did he have the right to guardianship of minor heirs of his vassals. Peter aimed to re-establish his relationship with his vassals (or subjects) more along the lines of what he knew from the Capetian royal court. To that end Peter simply declared new rules by fiat, and then faced the inevitable turmoil that resulted from the reaction of his barons. There followed a series of small civil wars and political maneuverings. In 1222 he suppressed a revolt by Breton barons in the Battle of
Châteaubriant
Châteaubriant (; br, Kastell-Briant; Gallo: ''Châtiaoberiant'') is a town in western France, about southwest of Paris, and one of the three sous-préfectures of the Loire-Atlantique department. Châteaubriant is also situated in the historica ...
. By 1223, the barons had all acquiesced to the changes or been dispossessed.
The six Breton bishops were the other threat to the ducal power, for they had substantial landholdings (including control of all or part of the few cities in Brittany), and were recalcitrant in the face of Peter's attempts to raise revenues by increasing taxes or simply taking possession of episcopal holdings. For this he was excommunicated for a time in 1219–1221. Peter submitted in the end, but this was not to be the last of his conflict with the bishops.
Regency
Peter's wife died on 21 October 1221, leaving behind four young children. She was then only 21, and little is known about her beyond the basic genealogical facts. Her death meant that Peter was no longer duke, although he continued to rule the duchy with undiminished authority, as regent for his son John, then a boy of four or so.
Alix's death changed Peter's goals in two ways. First, he aimed to acquire some additional territory, not part of the duchy, to augment his retirement after his son came of age. Second, there was a strong tradition in France that a minor heir should, when coming of age, have his property in the state it was in when he inherited it. Thus Peter could not now take some risks without fear of harming the prospects of his son.
Peter helped Philip II's successor, Louis VIII, in his fight against
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 ...
(in the sieges of
Niort
Niort (; Poitevin: ''Niàu''; oc, Niòrt; la, Novioritum) is a commune in the Deux-Sèvres department, western France. It is the prefecture of Deux-Sèvres.
The population of Niort is 58,707 (2017) and more than 177,000 people live in the u ...
and
La Rochelle
La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle''; oc, La Rochèla ) is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department. With ...
in 1224). He also accompanied Louis VIII on the
Albigensian Crusade
The Albigensian Crusade or the Cathar Crusade (; 1209–1229) was a military and ideological campaign initiated by Pope Innocent III to eliminate Catharism in Languedoc, southern France. The Crusade was prosecuted primarily by the French crown ...
. According to
Nicholas of Bray Nicholas of Bray (or Nicolas de Brai) was a French clergyman and poet who wrote a Latin epic on the deeds of King Louis VIII of France (1223–1226), the ''Gesta Ludovici VIII''.
Nicholas is probably to be identified with the Nicholas who is record ...
, he was present at the siege of Avignon in June–September. After Louis's death in November, he participated, with Count
Theobald IV of Champagne
Theobald I (french: Thibaut, es, Teobaldo; 30 May 1201 – 8 July 1253), also called the Troubadour and the Posthumous, was Count of Champagne (as Theobald IV) from birth and King of Navarre from 1234. He initiated the Barons' Crusade, was famous ...
and Count Hugh X of La Marche, in rebellions against the regent Blanche of Castile, which lasted from 1227 until 1234. Around this time he renounced his allegiance to the king of England and suffered forfeiture of his English earldom.
Crusades and death
Peter's son John reached the age of majority in 1237. Peter Mauclerc then participated in the
Barons' Crusade
The Barons' Crusade (1239–1241), also called the Crusade of 1239, was a crusade to the Holy Land that, in territorial terms, was the most successful crusade since the First Crusade. Called by Pope Gregory IX, the Barons' Crusade broadly embod ...
to the
Holy Land
The Holy Land; Arabic: or is an area roughly located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Eastern Bank of the Jordan River, traditionally synonymous both with the biblical Land of Israel and with the region of Palestine. The term "Holy ...
in 1239. While there, Peter's troops along with some local knights were attacked by heavily armed
Mamluk
Mamluk ( ar, مملوك, mamlūk (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural), translated as "one who is owned", meaning " slave", also transliterated as ''Mameluke'', ''mamluq'', ''mamluke'', ''mameluk'', ''mameluke'', ''mamaluke'', or ''marmeluke'') ...
cavalry, firing their bows, but the crusader force managed to outflank and defeat them, taking a few prisoners with them back to
Jaffa
Jaffa, in Hebrew Yafo ( he, יָפוֹ, ) and in Arabic Yafa ( ar, يَافَا) and also called Japho or Joppa, the southern and oldest part of Tel Aviv-Yafo, is an ancient port city in Israel. Jaffa is known for its association with the b ...
.
In early November, two days into a march from
Acre
The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial
Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism.
Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to:
Places
United States
* Imperial, California
* Imperial, Missouri
* Imp ...
to Ascalon, Peter and his lieutenant Raoul de Soissons split off from the main force to conduct a raid. They divided their force in half and each waited in ambush along a possible route for the Muslim caravan which was moving up the Jordan to
Damascus
)), is an adjective which means "spacious".
, motto =
, image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg
, image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg
, seal_type = Seal
, map_caption =
, ...
. Peter's half clashed with the Muslims outside of a castle, and after some fighting, he sounded his horn to summon Raoul. The Muslims were routed and fled inside the castle, where Peter's men followed them, killed many, took some captives, and seized the booty and edible animals of the caravan. This minor victory would soon be overshadowed by a serious defeat at Gaza.
Back in France, he won some success against the English at sea in 1242 and 1243. In 1249, he participated in the Seventh Crusade to
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
under King
Louis IX
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 d ...
. He died at the sea before he was able to return home. He was buried in
Braine Braine may refer to:
People
* Braine (surname)
Places
* Braine, Aisne, a commune in the department of Aisne, France
* Braine-l'Alleud, a municipality in the province of Walloon Brabant, Belgium
* Braine-le-Château, a municipality in the province ...
, France.
Marriages and children
Peter was married three times:
His first wife was Alix of Thouars, Duchess of Brittany (1201–1221). Alix and Peter had three children:
*
John I John I may refer to:
People
* John I (bishop of Jerusalem)
* John Chrysostom (349 – c. 407), Patriarch of Constantinople
* John of Antioch (died 441)
* Pope John I, Pope from 523 to 526
* John I (exarch) (died 615), Exarch of Ravenna
* John I o ...
(to 1217–1286), duke of Brittany;
*
Yolande of Brittany
Yolande of Brittany (late 1218 – 10 October 1272) was the ruler of the counties of Penthièvre and Porhoet in the Duchy of Brittany.
Yolande had been betrothed to King Henry III of England in 1226 at the age of seven years, but married Hugh ...
(1218 – 10 October 1272), married (January 1236) to
Hugh XI of Lusignan
Hugh XI de Lusignan, Hugh VI of La Marche or Hugh II of Angoulême (1221 – 6 April 1250) was a 13th-century French nobleman. He succeeded his mother Isabelle of Angoulême, former queen of England, as Count of Angoulême in 1246. He likewise suc ...
, Seigneur de Lusignan, Count of la Marche and Angoulême
*Arthur of Brittany (1220–1224)
His second wife was Nicole (died February 1232). Nicole and Peter had a son:
*Oliver de Braine (1231–1279), who inherited the Lordship of