Joan II ( 1378 – c. 1424) was the countess of Auvergne and

Boulogne Boulogne-sur-Mer (; ; ; or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Hauts-de-France, Northern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Pas-de-Calais. Boul ...

from 1394 until 1424 as well as the duchess of Berry by marriage. She was the daughter of John II, Count of Auvergne (died 1394), and second wife of

John, Duke of Berry John of Berry or John the Magnificent (French language, French: ''Jean de Berry'', ; 30 November 1340 – 15 June 1416) was Duke of Berry and Rulers of Auvergne, Auvergne and Count of Poitiers and Montpensier. His brothers were King Charles ...

. She is arguably most famous for saving the life of her nephew King

Charles VI of France Charles VI (3 December 136821 October 1422), nicknamed the Beloved () and in the 19th century, the Mad ( or ''le Fou''), was King of France from 1380 until his death in 1422. He is known for his mental illness and psychosis, psychotic episodes t ...

, during the disastrous '' Bal des Ardents'' (Ball of the Burning Men).

Life

Joan was born around 1378 to John II, Count of Auvergne and Boulogne and his wife Aliénor de Comminges. Joan's grandfather,

John I John I may refer to: People Religious figures * John I (bishop of Jerusalem) * John Chrysostom (349 – c. 407), Patriarch of Constantinople * John I of Antioch (died 441) * Pope John I of Alexandria, Coptic Pope from 496 to 505 * Pope John I, P ...

, had been an uncle of Queen Joan of France, a previous heiress to Auvergne and Boulogne; John inherited the counties when his great-nephew, Joan's son, Duke Philip I of Burgundy, died without issue. Joan II's mother was a descendant of

Peter II of Courtenay Peter II of Courtenay (; died 1219), was emperor of the Latin Empire of Constantinople from 1216 to 1217. Biography Peter II was a son of Peter I of Courtenay (died 1183), a younger son of Louis VI of France and his second wife, Adelaide of Mau ...

, the

Latin emperor of Constantinople The Latin Emperor was the ruler of the Latin Empire, the historiographical convention for the Crusader realm, established in Constantinople after the Fourth Crusade (1204) and lasting until the city was reconquered by the Byzantine Greeks in 1 ...

, who in turn descended from

Louis VI of France Louis VI (1 December 1081 – 1 August 1137), called the Fat () or the Fighter (), was List of French monarchs, King of the Franks from 1108 to 1137. Like his father Philip I of France, Philip I, Louis made a lasting contribution to centralizing ...

. In 1389, Joan was married to

, a son of

John II of France John 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 between a thir ...

, whose wife had died in the previous year. They had no children.

Role in Bal des Ardents

At the age of fifteen, Joan was present at the infamous '' Bal des Ardents'' given by Queen Isabeau, wife of the Duke of Berry's nephew King Charles, on 28 January 1393. During this, the King and five nobles dressed up as wildmen, clad "in costumes of linen cloth sewn onto their bodies and soaked in resinous wax or pitch to hold a covering of frazzled hemp," and proceeded to dance about chained together. At length, the King became separated from the others, and made his way to the Duchess, who jokingly refused to let him wander off again until he told her his name. When Charles' brother, Louis of Orléans, accidentally set the other dancers on fire, Joan swathed the King in her skirts, protecting him from the flames and saving his life.

Sovereign

Upon her father's death in 1394, Joan became Countess of Auvergne and Boulogne. Joan was widowed upon the death of the Duke of Berry in 1416. She married Georges de La Trémoille soon after; however, they produced no children, and the counties passed to her cousin, Marie, upon her death in 1424.

References

Sources

* Echols, Anne and Marty Williams, ''An Annotated Index of Medieval Women'', Markus Weiner Publishing Inc., 1992. * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Joan Ii of Auvergne 1378 births 1424 deaths French countesses Duchesses of Berry Countesses of Montpensier Auvergne, Countess of, Joan II 14th-century countesses regnant 15th-century countesses regnant 15th-century women monarchs Counts of Auvergne 14th-century French nobility 14th-century French women 15th-century French nobility 15th-century French women