COA french queen Jeanne de Champagne double

The Treaty of Orléans was a marriage

treaty A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between sovereign states and/or international organizations that is governed by international law. A treaty may also be known as an international agreement, protocol, covenant, convention ...

signed in 1275, that led to a short-lived

personal union A personal union is a combination of two or more monarchical states that have the same monarch while their boundaries, laws, and interests remain distinct. A real union, by contrast, involves the constituent states being to some extent in ...

between the kingdoms of

Navarre Navarre ( ; ; ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre, is a landlocked foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Autonomous Community, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and New Aquitaine in France. ...

and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. It was signed by

Philip III of France Philip III (1 May 1245 – 5 October 1285), called the Bold (), was King of France from 1270 until his death in 1285. His father, Louis IX, died in Tunis during the Eighth Crusade. Philip, who was accompanying him, returned to France and wa ...

and his cousin Blanche of Artois, mother and regent to the two-year-old

Joan I of Navarre Joan I (14 January 1273 – 31 March/2 April 1305) (, Spanish: ''Juana'') was ruling Queen of Navarre and Countess of Champagne from 1274 until 1305. She was also Queen of France by marriage to King Philip IV. She founded the College of Nava ...

. The original intent of the treaty was to not create a personal union, however, but to enable Philip to administer Navarre in Joan's name. Joan was also to marry either Philip's firstborn and heir apparent,

Louis Louis may refer to: People * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer Other uses * Louis (coin), a French coin * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also ...

, or his second son,

Philip Philip, also Phillip, is a male name derived from the Macedonian Old Koine language, Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominen ...

Pope Gregory X Pope Gregory X (; – 10 January 1276), born Teobaldo Visconti, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1 September 1271 to his death and was a member of the Third Order of St. Francis. He was elected at the ...

explicitly stated that he preferred a match with the younger son, as he probably wished to avoid merging Navarre with France. Louis died in 1276, however, leaving Philip as the only choice per the terms of the treaty. Notably, the treaty bound both Philip and Blanche to convince their children to accept the marriage once they reach the

age of consent The age of consent is the age at which a person is considered to be legally competent to consent to Human sexual activity, sexual acts. Consequently, an adult who engages in sexual activity with a person younger than the age of consent is un ...

, "unless serious illness, deformity, or other reasonable impediment appears in either of them before their marriage". The treaty also stipulated that if Joan's husband was not to succeed to the French throne, she would be assigned an additional annual revenue of 4,000 livres as compensation for her

dower Dower is a provision accorded traditionally by a husband or his family, to a wife for her support should she become widowed. It was settlement (law), settled on the bride (being given into trust instrument, trust) by agreement at the time of t ...

. If Joan's husband did succeed Philip, Philip promised that she would receive an even larger dower. The treaty was to have no effect on Blanche's guardianship over Joan or Blanche's own dower. The first French-appointed governor of Navarre, per the terms of the treaty, was the seneschal of Toulouse Eustache de Beaumarché. The treaty effectively gave France a strategic stronghold in Iberia, but it also ensured that Joan would not lose her kingdom to the neighbouring Castile and

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and ; ) is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces of Spain, ...

. More importantly, however, it brought Joan's

County of Champagne The County of Champagne (; ) was a medieval territory and feudal principality in the Kingdom of France. It developed on the rich plains between Paris and the border of the Holy Roman Empire in the 12th century. It became an economic hub of north ...

into the

French royal domain The crown lands, crown estate, royal domain or (in French) ''domaine royal'' (from demesne) of France were the lands, fiefs and rights directly possessed by the kings of France. While the term eventually came to refer to a territorial unit, the ...

. The personal union created by the treaty ended in 1328, when Philip and Joan's granddaughter

Joan II of Navarre Joan II (, , ; 28 January 1312 – 6 October 1349) was Queen of Navarre from 1328 until her death in 1349. Joan was the only surviving child of Louis I of Navarre and Margaret of Burgundy. Her father ascended the French throne as Louis X in ...

failed to inherit the French crown. Champagne, however, remained in French hands.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Treaty of Orleans Treaties of the Kingdom of France Treaties of the Kingdom of Navarre 1275 in Europe 1270s in France 1270s treaties