Blanche of Navarre (french: Blanche d'Évreux; c. 1331 – 5 October 1398), was a
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 ...
princess and
Infanta
''Infante'' (, ; f. ''infanta''), also anglicised as Infant or translated as Prince, is the title and rank given in the Iberian kingdoms of Spain (including the predecessor kingdoms of Aragon, Castile, Navarre, and León) and Portugal to ...
of
Navarre
Navarre (; es, Navarra ; eu, Nafarroa ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre ( es, Comunidad Foral de Navarra, links=no ; eu, Nafarroako Foru Komunitatea, links=no ), is a foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, ...
House of Capet
The House of Capet (french: Maison capétienne) or the Direct Capetians (''Capétiens directs''), also called the House of France (''la maison de France''), or simply the Capets, ruled the Kingdom of France from 987 to 1328. It was the most ...
) and by marriage Queen of France from 29 January until 22 August 1350.
Blanche d'Évreux was intended become the bride of
John, Duke of Normandy
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 ...
, heir of the throne of France — whose first wife had just died of the Black Death— but eventually married his father, King
Philip VI of France
Philip VI (french: Philippe; 1293 – 22 August 1350), called the Fortunate (french: le Fortuné, link=no) or the Catholic (french: le Catholique, link=no) and of Valois, was the first king of France from the House of Valois
The Capetian h ...
. Only a few months after their wedding, the French king died prematurely and Blanche found herself a widow.
After giving birth in 1351 to a posthumous daughter, Blanche refused to remarry King
Peter of Castile
Peter ( es, Pedro; 30 August 133423 March 1369), called the Cruel () or the Just (), was King of Castile and León from 1350 to 1369. Peter was the last ruler of the main branch of the House of Ivrea. He was excommunicated by Pope Urban V f ...
and retired to the large dower lands that were granted by her late husband. Despite her widowhood, she played an essential role in 1354 by attempting to reconcile her brother King Charles II of Navarre with King John II of France. In 1389, she organized the coronation of
Isabeau of Bavaria
Isabeau of Bavaria (or Isabelle; also Elisabeth of Bavaria-Ingolstadt; c. 1370 – September 1435) was Queen of France from 1385 to 1422. She was born into the House of Wittelsbach as the only daughter of Duke Stephen III of Bavaria-Ingo ...
, the wife of 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 ...
.
Life
Born around 1331, Blanche was the third daughter of King Philip III and Queen Joan II of Navarre; by both her paternal and maternal ancestry, she belonged to the
House of Capet
The House of Capet (french: Maison capétienne) or the Direct Capetians (''Capétiens directs''), also called the House of France (''la maison de France''), or simply the Capets, ruled the Kingdom of France from 987 to 1328. It was the most ...
.
Blanche was engaged on 19 August 1335 to Andrew, only son and heir of the Dauphin Humbert II of Viennois, but the project was abandoned after the premature death of her fiancé two months later. Then, on 15 March 1340, a marriage contract was signed between Blanche and
Louis of Male
Louis II ( nl, Lodewijk van Male; french: Louis II de Flandre) (25 October 1330, Male – 30 January 1384, Lille), also known as Louis of Male, a member of the House of Dampierre, was Count of Flanders, Nevers and Rethel from 1346 as wel ...
, only son and heir of
Louis I, Count of Flanders
Louis I ( – 26 August 1346, ruled 1322–1346) was Count of Flanders, Nevers and Rethel.
Life
He was the son of Louis I, Count of Nevers, and Joan, Countess of Rethel, and grandson of Robert III of Flanders. He succeeded his father a ...
, which provided for payment of a dowry of 50,000 livres for the Infanta of Navarre. The engagement was nullified on 6 June 1347 by the marriage of Louis of Male to
Margaret
Margaret is a female first name, derived via French () and Latin () from grc, μαργαρίτης () meaning "pearl". The Greek is borrowed from Persian.
Margaret has been an English name since the 11th century, and remained popular through ...
, daughter of
John III, Duke of Brabant
John III ( nl, Jan; 1300 – 5 December 1355) was Duke of Brabant, Lothier (1312–1355) and Limburg (1312–1347 then 1349–1355). He was the son of John II, Duke of Brabant, and Margaret of England.
John and the towns of Brabant
The early fou ...
. Finally, on 1 July 1345, while still officially engaged with the heir of Flanders, a marriage contract was drawn up between Blanche and Peter, son and heir of King
Alfonso XI of Castile
Alfonso XI (13 August 131126 March 1350), called the Avenger (''el Justiciero''), was King of Castile and León. He was the son of Ferdinand IV of Castile and his wife Constance of Portugal. Upon his father's death in 1312, several disputes ...
. Nevertheless, it was almost immediately abandoned by the Castilian court in favor of a marriage with
Joan Joan may refer to:
People and fictional characters
*Joan (given name), including a list of women, men and fictional characters
*: Joan of Arc, a French military heroine
* Joan (surname)
Weather events
* Tropical Storm Joan (disambiguation), multi ...
, daughter of King
Edward III of England
Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring r ...
.
Queenship
On 29 January 1350 at
Brie-Comte-Robert
Brie-Comte-Robert () is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France.
Brie-Comte-Robert is on the edge of the plain of Brie and was formerly the capital of the ''Brie française''.
"Brie" ...
, Blanche married King
Philip VI of France
Philip VI (french: Philippe; 1293 – 22 August 1350), called the Fortunate (french: le Fortuné, link=no) or the Catholic (french: le Catholique, link=no) and of Valois, was the first king of France from the House of Valois
The Capetian h ...
, forty years her senior. Initially, she was intended to marry
John, Duke of Normandy
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 ...
, heir of the throne of France, but, being considered as one of the most beautiful princesses of her time — which explains her nickname "Beautiful Wisdom" (french: Belle Sagesse)— King Philip VI became captivated by her beauty and decided to marry her, while the Duke of Normandy was married with Blanche's first cousin Joan I, Countess of Auvergne. As the chronicler Jean Le Bel recounts:
Due to the Black Death that spread throughout the kingdom, the new Queen of France was not crowned after the wedding ceremony. Blanche's union with King Philip VI only lasted six months, when he suddenly died on 22 August 1350, according to some chroniclers due of exhaustion from constantly fulfilling his conjugal duties. Pregnant by her late husband, Blanche gave birth nine months later, in May 1351, to a daughter named
Joan Joan may refer to:
People and fictional characters
*Joan (given name), including a list of women, men and fictional characters
*: Joan of Arc, a French military heroine
* Joan (surname)
Weather events
* Tropical Storm Joan (disambiguation), multi ...
.
Since the announcement of the death of King Philip VI,
Pope Clement VI
Pope Clement VI ( la, Clemens VI; 1291 – 6 December 1352), born Pierre Roger, was head of the Catholic Church from 7 May 1342 to his death in December 1352. He was the fourth Avignon pope. Clement reigned during the first visitation of the B ...
considered the remarriage of Blanche with her former fiance, King
Peter of Castile
Peter ( es, Pedro; 30 August 133423 March 1369), called the Cruel () or the Just (), was King of Castile and León from 1350 to 1369. Peter was the last ruler of the main branch of the House of Ivrea. He was excommunicated by Pope Urban V f ...
, to strengthen the links between the Kingdoms of Castile and France. After discussing it with Gil Álvarez Carrillo de Albornoz,
Archbishop of Toledo
This is a list of Bishops and Archbishops of Toledo ( la, Archidioecesis Metropolitae Toletana).
, and Pedro,
Archbishop of Santiago de Compostela
The Metropolitan Archdiocese of (Santiago de) Compostela ( la, Archidioecesis Compostellana), is the senior of the five districts in which the Catholic Church divides Galicia in North-western Spain.Charles II of Navarre, who had encouraged her marriage to Philip VI a few months before. The marriage plan was temporarily put on hold due to Blanche's pregnancy, but the Pope insisted after she gave birth. However, she refused to consider a second marriage and is said to have even declared, "The Queens of France do not remarry" (french: Les reines de France ne se remarient point). Tenacious, the pontiff wrote in March 1352 to
Joan of Évreux
Joan of Évreux (french: Jeanne d'Évreux; 1310 – 4 March 1371) was Queen of France and Navarre as the third wife of King Charles IV of France.
Life
She was the daughter of Louis, Count of Évreux and Margaret of Artois. Because Joan was Char ...
—Blanche's paternal aunt and also Dowager Queen of France— in order to make her change her mind, but the widow of Philip VI resolutely rejected the papal proposal.
Retirement
Once widowed, Blanche retired to the residence of
Neaufles-Saint-Martin
Neaufles-Saint-Martin () is a commune in the Eure department in Normandy in northern France.
Population
See also
*Communes of the Eure department
The following is a list of the 585 communes of the Eure department of France.
The communes ...
, located near
Gisors
Gisors () is a commune of Normandy, France. It is located northwest from the centre of Paris.
Gisors, together with the neighbouring communes of Trie-Château and Trie-la-Ville, form an urban area of 13,915 inhabitants (2018). This urban area i ...
, which her husband had granted her as her dower land. She devoted herself to the education of her daughter Joan, whose marriage contract with Infante John, Duke of Girona, son and heir of King
Peter IV of Aragon
Peter IV, ; an, Pero, ; es, Pedro, . In Catalan, he may also be nicknamed ''el del punyalet'': "he of the little dagger". (Catalan: ''Pere IV''; 5 September 1319 – 6 January 1387), called the Ceremonious (Catalan: ''el Cerimoniós''), w ...
, was signed on 16 July 1370; unfortunately, the princess died on 16 September 1371 in
Béziers
Béziers (; oc, Besièrs) is a subprefecture of the Hérault department in the Occitanie region of Southern France. Every August Béziers hosts the famous ''Feria de Béziers'', which is centred on bullfighting. A million visitors are attra ...
in her way to
Perpignan
Perpignan (, , ; ca, Perpinyà ; es, Perpiñán ; it, Perpignano ) is the prefecture of the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France, in the heart of the plain of Roussillon, at the foot of the Pyrenees a few kilometres from the ...
to celebrate her wedding. Blanche's retirement did not prevent her from temporarily returning to the court of King John II, whom she tried to bring closer to her brother King Charles II of Navarre. Thus, after the assassination of Charles de la Cerda on 8 January 1354, she persuaded the French monarch to sign the Treaty of Mantes with the King of Navarre on 22 February of the same year.
The presence of Blanche was influential under the reign of King Charles VI of France. On 2 October 1380, she attended the proclamation of the end of the regency of the young sovereign at the Palais de la Cité, and on 18 July 1385, she welcomed his new wife
Isabeau of Bavaria
Isabeau of Bavaria (or Isabelle; also Elisabeth of Bavaria-Ingolstadt; c. 1370 – September 1435) was Queen of France from 1385 to 1422. She was born into the House of Wittelsbach as the only daughter of Duke Stephen III of Bavaria-Ingo ...
at
Creil
Creil is a commune in the Oise department in northern France. The Creil station is an important railway junction.
History
Archaeological remains in the area include a Neolithic site as well as a late Iron Age necropolis, perhaps belongin ...
and was charged with teaching the new Queen the traditions and etiquette of the French court. On 22 August 1389, she organized the
Joyous Entry
A Joyous Entry ( nl, Blijde Intrede, Blijde Inkomst, or ; ) is the official name used for the ceremonial royal entry, the first official peaceable visit of a reigning monarch, prince, duke or governor into a city, mainly in the Duchy of Braban ...
of Queen Isabeau in Paris, which preceded her coronation the next day. During the coronation ceremony in Notre-Dame Cathedral in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...
Charles IV of France
Charles IV (18/19 June 1294 – 1 February 1328), called the Fair (''le Bel'') in France and the Bald (''el Calvo'') in Navarre, was last king of the direct line of the House of Capet, King of France and King of Navarre (as Charles I) from 1322 ...
and Joan of Évreux. After this ceremony, Blanche withdrew to Neaufles-Saint-Martin and died on 5 October 1398, aged 67. She was buried in the royal necropolis at the
Basilica of Saint-Denis
The Basilica of Saint-Denis (french: Basilique royale de Saint-Denis, links=no, now formally known as the ) is a large former medieval abbey church and present cathedral in the commune of Saint-Denis, a northern suburb of Paris. The building ...
next to her daughter. Her tomb, like many other royal ones, was desecrated on 17 October 1793 by the revolutionaries.
In Literature
Blanche de Navarre is a minor character in the historical series "The Accursed Kings" (french: Les Rois maudits) by
Maurice Druon
Maurice Druon (23 April 1918 – 14 April 2009) was a French novelist and a member of the Académie Française, of which he served as "Perpetual Secretary" (chairman) between 1985 and 1999.
Life and career
Born in Paris, France, Druon was the s ...
. She appears in the seventh and final volume, titled ''When a King loses France''. The author describes it as follows:
References
Bibliography
General
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*
Biographical studies
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*
*
*
Testament patronage and material culture
*
** First publication:
* — About the founding by Blanche de Navarre of a funeral chapel in the abbey church at the Basilica of St Denis.
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