Jeanne, Countess Of Ferrette
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Joanna of Pfirt (; – 15 November 1351) was the Countess of Pfirt in her own right from 1324 and Duchess of Austria as consort of Duke Albert II from 1330 until her death.


Life

Born in
Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...
, Joanna was the eldest daughter of Count Ulrich III of
Pfirt Ferrette (; ; ) is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France. It is situated close to the Swiss border. Its main attraction is the Château de Ferrette. County of Ferrette The County of Ferrette came into exist ...
and his wife,
Joanna of Burgundy Joanna is a feminine given name deriving from from . Variants in English include Joan, Joann, Joanne, and Johanna. Other forms of the name in English are Jan, Jane, Janet, Janice, Jean, and Jeanne. The earliest recorded occurrence of the ...
.


Inheritance

When
Reginald of Burgundy Reginald of Burgundy (in French, ''Renaud'', died 1321) was Count of Montbéliard, ''jure uxoris'', from 1282 to 1321. He was a son of Hugh of Chalon (from the House of Ivrée), sire of Salins, and his wife Adelaide. After Reginald's death i ...
, the last
Count of Montbéliard Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility.L. G. Pine, Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty'' ...
from the
Chalon-Arlay Chalon-Arlay was a noble house of the Holy Roman Empire. They were the lords of Arlay in the county of Burgundy and a cadet branch of the ruling house of the county, the House of Ivrea. The founder of the house was John I of Chalon-Arlay, fifth ...
dynasty, died in 1321, his daughter, Joanna of Montbéliard (Joanna of Pfirt's mother), inherited her father's domains. Joanna and Ulrich III had four daughters and no sons. When Count Ulrich died in March 1324, he left large estates in the Alsatian
Sundgau Sundgau ( or ; ) is a geographical territory in the southern Alsace region (Haut Rhin and Territoire de Belfort, Belfort), on the eastern edge of France. The name is derived from Alemannic German ''Sunt-Gau (territory), gowe'' ("South shire"), den ...
, in the southern
Vosges Mountains The Vosges ( , ; ; Franconian (linguistics), Franconian and ) is a range of medium mountains in Eastern France, near its France–Germany border, border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the bor ...
with the strategically important
Burgundian Gate The Belfort Gap () or Burgundian Gate () is the area of relatively flat terrain in Eastern France between the Vosges Mountains to the north and the Jura Mountains to the south. It marks the watershed between the drainage basins of the River Rhi ...
, and in the northern Jura foothills. Ulrich's surviving legacy was his two daughters, Joanna of Pfirt and her younger sister Ursula (1315–1367). Duke Leopold I of Austria was head of the
Habsburg dynasty The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...
since the death of his father, King
Albert I of Germany Albert I of Habsburg () (July 12551 May 1308) was a List of rulers of Austria, Duke of Austria and Duchy of Styria, Styria from 1282 and List of German monarchs, King of Germany from 1298 until his assassination. He was the eldest son of King Ru ...
, in 1308. He concentrated on the administration of the family's
Further Austria Further Austria, Outer Austria or Anterior Austria (; , formerly ''die Vorlande'' (pl.)) was the collective name for the early (and later) possessions of the House of Habsburg in the former Swabian stem duchy of south-western Germany, includin ...
n territories in
Swabia Swabia ; , colloquially ''Schwabenland'' or ''Ländle''; archaic English also Suabia or Svebia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany. The name is ultimately derived from the medieval Duchy of Swabia, one of ...
, while his brother
Frederick the Fair Frederick the Fair () or the Handsome ( – 13 January 1330), from the House of Habsburg, was the duke of Austria and Styria from 1308 as well as the anti-king of Germany from 1314 until 1325 and then co-king until his death. Background Frederi ...
rivalled with King
Louis the Bavarian Louis IV (; 1 April 1282 – 11 October 1347), called the Bavarian (, ), was King of the Romans from 1314, King of Italy from 1327, and Holy Roman Emperor from 1328 until his death in 1347. Louis' election as king of Germany in 1314 was cont ...
. When Leopold found out that the late Count of Pfirt's daughter, Joanna was still unmarried, he sent his younger brother Albert II to make the official request to Joanna of Montbéliard for her daughter's hand. With the lands of Pfirt, Joanna was an attractive party. Joanna ceded her domains (including the town of
Belfort Belfort (; archaic , ) is a city in northeastern France, situated approximately from the Swiss border. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Territoire de Belfort. Belfort is from Paris and from Basel. The residents of the city ...
) to the House of Habsburg, whereby the dynasty could add a large contiguous territory in Southern
Alsace Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...
to its Swabian possessions. The treaty between Joanna and Duke Leopold was sealed on March 17 at Thann. Joanna's mother was however remarried to
Rudolf Hesso, Margrave of Baden-Baden Rudolf Hesso of Baden-Baden (c. 1290 – 17 August 1335) was a son of Hesso, Margrave of Baden-Baden and his wife, Adelaide of Rieneck. He succeeded his father as Margrave of Baden-Baden in 1297, and ruled jointly with his uncle, Rudolf III. ...
and had two more daughters: Margaret and Adelaide.


Marriage

Joanna married Albert II in
Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
on 26 March 1324. At first the marriage went off unhappily. Joanna was considered to be well into child-bearing years. The couple had children early in their marriage, but they were all short-lived (all buried in
St. Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna St. Stephen's Cathedral ( ) is a Roman Catholic church in Vienna, Austria, and the mother church of the Archdiocese of Vienna. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Vienna, Christoph Schönborn. The current Romanesque and Gothic form of the ca ...
). In total, Albert and Joanna had five short-lived children throughout their marriage. Albert II succeeded as Duke of
Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
and
Styria Styria ( ; ; ; ) is an Austrian Federal states of Austria, state in the southeast of the country. With an area of approximately , Styria is Austria's second largest state, after Lower Austria. It is bordered to the south by Slovenia, and cloc ...
upon the death of Frederick the Fair in 1330. However, at the same time, he fell ill with
polyarthritis Polyarthritis is any type of arthritis that involves 5 or more joints simultaneously. It can be associated with autoimmune conditions; it may be experienced at any age and is not sex specific. Causes Polyarthritis is often caused by an auto-immun ...
which paralyzed his legs, which seemed to preclude producing heirs. For divine aid, the duke went on a pilgrimage to
Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...
and
Aachen Aachen is the List of cities in North Rhine-Westphalia by population, 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, 27th-largest city of Germany, with around 261,000 inhabitants. Aachen is locat ...
in 1337. Two years later, when Joanna was in her late thirties, she gave birth to a son and continued to have children. In total Albert and Joanna had six surviving children: #
Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria Rudolf IV (1 November 1339 – 27 July 1365), also called Rudolf the Founder (), was a scion of the House of Habsburg who ruled as duke of Austria (self-proclaimed archduke), Styria and Carinthia from 1358, as well as count of Tyrol from 136 ...
(November 1, 1339,
Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
– July 27, 1365,
Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
). Married but line extinct. # Catherine (1342, Vienna – 10 January 1381, Vienna), Abbess of St. Klara in Vienna. # Margaret (1346, Vienna – 14 January 1366,
Brno Brno ( , ; ) is a Statutory city (Czech Republic), city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava (river), Svitava and Svratka (river), Svratka rivers, Brno has about 403,000 inhabitants, making ...
), married: ## in
Passau Passau (; ) is a city in Lower Bavaria, Germany. It is also known as the ("City of Three Rivers"), as the river Danube is joined by the Inn (river), Inn from the south and the Ilz from the north. Passau's population is about 50,000, of whom ...
4 September 1359 Count
Meinhard III of Gorizia-Tyrol Meinhard (9 February 1344 – 13 January 1363), a member of the House of Wittelsbach, was duke of Upper Bavaria and count of Tyrol (as Meinhard III) from 1361 until his death. He was the son of Duke Louis V of Bavaria with Countess Margaret of T ...
; ## in Vienna 1364 Margrave Johann Heinrich of Moravia. # Frederick III, Duke of Austria (1347, Vienna – 1362, Vienna). Died unmarried. #
Albert III, Duke of Austria Albert III of Austria (9 September 1349 – 29 August 1395), known as Albert with the Braid (Pigtail) (), a member of the House of Habsburg, was Duke of Austria from 1365 until his death. Biography Albert III was born in the ducal residence ...
(September 9, 1349, Vienna – August 29, 1395, Castle
Laxenburg __NOTOC__ Laxenburg (Central Bavarian: ''Laxnbuag'') is a market town in the district of Mödling, in the Austrian state of Lower Austria. Located about south of the Austrian capital Vienna, it is chiefly known for the Laxenburg castles, which, be ...
). Had issue. # Leopold III (November 1, 1351, Vienna – July 9, 1386,
Sempach Sempach is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Sursee (Amt), Sursee in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Lucerne (canton), Lucerne in Switzerland. History It has retained some traces of its medieval appearance, ...
). Had issue. Joanna was described as wise and prudent. She was said to be politically talented and smart. In 1336, Joanna mediated the peace between the Habsburg family and the rising
House of Luxembourg The House of Luxembourg (; ; ) or Luxembourg dynasty was a royal family of the Holy Roman Empire in the Late Middle Ages, whose members between 1308 and 1437 ruled as kings of Germany and Holy Roman emperors as well as kings of Bohemia, List of r ...
over the heritage of the late Duke
Henry of Carinthia Henry of Gorizia (, ; – 2 April 1335), a member of the House of Gorizia, was Duke of Carinthia and Landgrave of Carniola (as Henry VI) and Count of Tyrol from 1295 until his death, as well as King of Bohemia, Margrave of Moravia and titular ...
. The Habsburgs later gained further possessions up to the
Adriatic The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Se ...
coast, formerly held by the
Patriarchs of Aquileia The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Roman Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and in ...
. Through Joanna, Albert and the Habsburgs gained more lands since she was an heiress. Even though there was peace, wars could break out if it promised benefits for Albert and the Habsburgs, who were growing to be one of the most powerful royal families in Europe. After Albert had purchased the
Duchy of Carinthia The Duchy of Carinthia (; ; ) was a duchy located in southern Austria and parts of northern Slovenia. It was separated from the Duchy of Bavaria in 976, and was the first newly created Imperial State after the original German stem duchies. Car ...
with the Carniolan and Windic marches, he did not need allies anymore. Joanna had children unusually late. When she was fifty-one, she gave birth to her final child, a son,
Leopold III, Duke of Austria Leopold III (1 November 1351 – 9 July 1386), known as the Just, a member of the House of Habsburg, was Duke of Austria from 1365. As head and progenitor of the Leopoldian line, he ruled over the Inner Austrian duchies of Carinthia, Styria a ...
, and died soon after.Johanna von Pfirt
/ref> She is buried in the
Gaming Charterhouse Gaming Charterhouse (, also known as ''Kartause Maria Thron'') is a former Carthusian monastery in Gaming near Scheibbs in the '' Mostviertel'' of Lower Austria. The monastery was founded in 1330 by Albert II, Duke of Austria, who intende ...
with her husband and daughter-in-law, Elisabeth of Bohemia.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Joanna of Pfirt 1300s births 1351 deaths 14th-century Austrian women Countesses in the Holy Roman Empire Austrian consorts 14th-century House of Habsburg 14th-century women rulers Deaths in childbirth Mothers of Austrian monarchs