Joan of France or Joan of Valois (; 24 January 1391 – 27 September 1433) was

Duchess of Brittany This is a list of rulers of Brittany. In different epochs the rulers of Brittany were kings, princes, and dukes. The Breton ruler was sometimes elected, sometimes attained the position by conquest or intrigue, or by hereditary right. Hereditary ...

by marriage to

John V John V may refer to: * Patriarch John V of Alexandria or John the Merciful (died by 620), Patriarch of Alexandria from 606 to 616 * John V of Constantinople, Patriarch from 669 to 675 * Pope John V (685–686), Pope from 685 to his death in 686 ...

. She was a daughter of

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 ...

and

Isabeau of Bavaria Isabeau of Bavaria (or Isabelle; also Elisabeth of Bavaria-Ingolstadt; c. 1370 – 24 September 1435) was Queen of France as the wife of King Charles VI of France, Charles VI from 1385 to 1422. She was born into the House of Wittelsbach a ...

.Potter, Philip J., Kings of the Seine: The French Rulers from Pippin III to Jacques Chirac, 2006, PublishAmerica, Baltimore, ISBN 978-1-4137-8857-0. She ruled Brittany during the imprisonment of her spouse in 1420.

Life

Mariage de Jean V de Bretagne et de Jeanne de France

Joan married

John V, Duke of Brittany John V, sometimes numbered as VI, (24 December 1389 – 29 August 1442) bynamed John the Wise (; ), was Duke of Brittany and Count of Montfort from 1399 to his death. His rule coincided with the height of the Hundred Years' War between Engla ...

, in 1396. Three years after the wedding, her spouse became duke and she duchess of Brittany. As duchess, Joan is perhaps most known for her role during the conflict between John V and the Counts of Penthièvre. The Penthièvre branch had lost the

Breton War of Succession The War of the Breton Succession (, ) or Breton Civil War was a conflict between the Counts of Blois and the Montforts of Brittany for control of the Duchy of Brittany, then a fief of the Kingdom of France. It was fought between 1341 and ...

in the 1340s. As a result, they lost the ducal title of Brittany to the Montforts. The conclusion to the conflict took many years to confirm until 1365 when the Treaty of Guérande was signed. Despite the military loss and the diplomatic treaty, the Counts of Penthièvre had not renounced their ducal claims to Brittany and continued to pursue them. In 1420, they invited John V to a festival held at Châtonceaux. He accepted the invitation, but when he arrived, he was captured and kept prisoner. The Counts of Penthiève then spread rumours of his death, and moved him to a new prison each day. Joan of France called upon all the barons of Brittany to respond. They besieged all the castles of the Penthièvre family one by one. Joan ended the conflict by seizing the dowager countess of Penthièvre, Margaret of Clisson, and forcing her to have the duke freed. Joan died in 1433, during her husband's reign.

Legacy

Book of Hours A book is a structured presentation of recorded information, primarily verbal and graphical, through a medium. Originally physical, electronic books and audiobooks are now existent. Physical books are objects that contain printed material, ...

by the Bedford Master, '' Heures Lamoignon'', was dedicated to her.

Issue

She had seven children: *Anne (1409 – ) * Isabella (1411 – ), who in 1435 married Guy XIV of Laval and had 3 children with him. *Margaret (1412 – ) * Francis I (1414 – ), duke of Brittany *Catherine (1416 – ) * Peter II (1418 – ), duke of Brittany * Gilles (1420 – ),

seigneur A seigneur () or lord is an originally feudal title in France before the Revolution, in New France and British North America until 1854, and in the Channel Islands to this day. The seigneur owned a seigneurie, seigneury, or lordship—a form of ...

of Chantocé.

References

*''The original version of this page was a translation of :fr:Jeanne de France (1391-1433). From January 2013 the translation has been refined. '' {{Breton royal consorts, state=collapsed 1391 births 1433 deaths House of Valois People of the Hundred Years' War French princesses Duchesses of Brittany 15th-century Breton women 15th-century Breton people Daughters of kings 15th-century women regents 15th-century regents Mothers of French monarchs