Catherine of Thouars was the daughter of Constance, ''suo jure''

Duchess 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 ...

and Countess of Richmond, and her third husband

Guy of Thouars Guy of Thouars (died 13 April 1213) was the third husband of Constance, Duchess of Brittany, whom he married in Angers, County of Anjou between August and October 1199 after her son Arthur of Brittany entered Angers to be recognized as count of ...

. She was the first wife of Andrew III, Baron of Vitré.

Family

Catherine was the second daughter of Constance, Duchess of Brittany, and Guy of Thouars. Her mother died soon after she was born. Catherine had a twin sister, Margaret, and their mother might have died because of a difficult deliveryFrançois Manet, ''Histoire de la Petite-Bretagne, ou Bretagne Armorique, depuis ses premiers habitans connus'', Tome second, p. 308 After her mother's death, her father married Eustachie of Chemillé, and had two sons, Peter and Thomas. Catherine was the younger half-sister of

Eleanor Eleanor () is a feminine given name, originally from an Old French adaptation of the Old Provençal name ''Aliénor''. It is the name of a number of women of royalty and nobility in western Europe during the High Middle Ages. The name was introd ...

, Matilda and

Arthur Arthur is a common male given name of Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. Another theory, more wi ...

, Constance and Geoffrey of England's children, the sister of

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 ...

and Margaret, and the elder half-sister of Peter and Thomas of Chemillé, Guy and Eustachie of Chemillé's sons.

Union and issue

In 1212, Catherine married

Andrew III, Baron of Vitré Andrew III of Vitré (c. 1200 † 8 February 1250 at the Battle of Mansurah (1250), Battle of Al Mansurah, in Egypt) was List of barons of Vitré, Baron of Vitré and Aubigné from 1211 to 1250. Life Andrew III was the eldest son of Andrew II, ...

, whose father Andrew II had been Constance's ally. They had three children: * , who married Guy VII, Lord of Laval; * Eustachie, who married Geoffrey I Botherel, Lord of Quintin; * Alix, who married Fulk of Mathefelon (c. 1200 † c. 1269), Lord of Azay.

Portrayals in literature

Catherine of Thouars is a secondary character in the novel ''Le Poids d’une couronne (légende bretonne)'' (1867-1868) by

Gabrielle d’Étampes Gabrielle may refer to: * Gabrielle (given name), a French female given name derived from Gabriel Film and television * ''Gabrielle'' (1954 film), a Swedish film directed by Hasse Ekman * ''Gabrielle'' (2005 film), a French film directed by Pa ...

and is mentioned in the novel ''Dans l’Ombre du Passé'' (2020) by

Léa Chaillou Léa may refer to: People with the given name Léa *Princess Léa of Belgium (born Léa Inga Dora Wolman; 1951), the widow of Prince Alexandre of Belgium and aunt of King Philippe of Belgium * Léa Bouard (born 1996), German freestyle skier * Léa ...

, where it is revealed that the heroine’s sister is named after her.

Family

Union and issue

Portrayals in literature

References

See also