Yolande of Brittany

Yolande of Brittany
Countess of Penthrièvre and Porhoet
Alice of Lusignan Isabelle of Lusignan Marie of Lusignan Yolande of Lusignan
Father	Peter I, Duke of Brittany
Mother	Alix of Thouars

Yolande of Brittany (late 1218 – 10 October 1272), also known as Yolande de Dreux, was the ruler of the counties of Penthièvre and

. Yolande had been betrothed to King Henry III of England in 1226 at the age of seven years,^[1] but married Hugh XI of Lusignan,^[2] the half-brother of Henry III. Through Hugh, she became Countess of La Marche and of Angoulême. She was the mother of seven children. From 1250 to 1256, she acted as Regent of La Marche and Angoulême for her son, Hugh XII of Lusignan.

Life

Yolande was born in

.

Suo Jure Countess

As her dowry, In 1236 Yolande received the titles of Countess of Penthièvre, Dame de la Fère-en-Tardenois, de Chailly, and de Longjumeau which she held suo jure from her brother

Pierre Mauclerc

, acting as his regent. Her brother also granted her the title of suo jure Countess of Porhoet.

Sometime before 19 October 1226, when she was seven years old, Yolande was betrothed to King Henry III of England. ^[a][5] The marriage never took place. ^[b] Blanche, regent of France, wanted to prevent Henry from gaining land or influence in France, and so forced Yolande's father to change her betrothal. Under this influence, Yolande's second betrothal occurred in March 1227 to John of France, Count of Anjou, the son of King Louis VIII of France and Blanche.^[6] The engagement was ended when John died aged thirteen in 1232.

Yolande was affianced a third time in 1231 to Theobald IV, Count of Champagne.^[6] As in the case with King Henry and John of France, this betrothal to Theobald also did not result in marriage. ^[c]

In January 1236 she married Hugh XI of Lusignan.^[7] Hugh XI succeeded his father in 1249 as Count of La Marche and Count of Angoulême. His uterine half-brother was King Henry III of England, to whom Yolande had been betrothed in 1226.

Regency

Yolande's husband Hugh XI was killed at the Battle of Fariskur in Egypt on 6 April 1250. Yolande acted as Regent of La Marche and Angoulême for her eldest son Hugh from 1250 to 1256.

Death

Yolande died at the Chateau de Bouteville, Charente on 10 October 1272. She was buried at the Notre Dame Abbey in Villeneuve-lez-Nantes.

Upon her death, her Breton ennoblements returned to the House of Dreux when the titles of Count of Penthievre and Porhoet were seized by her brother, John I, Duke of Brittany.

Issue

Together Hugh and Yolande had seven children:

• crusade
  .
• Guy of Lusignan, (died 1288/89), Seigneur de Cognac, d'Archiac, and de Couhé; Seigneur de la Fère-en-Tardenois.
• Geoffroy of Lusignan (died 1264)
• Gilbert de Clare, 6th Earl of Gloucester
  , by whom she had two daughters.
• Marie of Lusignan (1242- after 11 July 1266), married Robert de Ferrers, 6th Earl of Derby.^[9] She died childless.
• Isabelle of Lusignan, Dame de Belleville (1248–1304), married Maurice de Belleville
• Yolande of Lusignan (died 10 November 1305), married Pierre I, Sire de Preaux

Ancestry

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Notes

References

1. ISBN 978-1-4214-3658-6
   .
2. ^ Painter 1937.
3. ^ ^{a b} Richard 1983, p. xxviii.
4. hdl:10023/2001
   .
5. ^ Pernoud 1975, p. 123.
6. ^ ^{a b} Painter 1937, p. 84.
7. ^ Davenport 1975, p. 94.
8. ^ Pollock 2015, p. 195.
9. ^ Pollock 2015, p. 196.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Yolande of Brittany.

Sources

• Davenport, Millia (1975). The Secular Spirit: Life and Art at the End of the Middle Ages. The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
• Painter, Sidney (February 1937). "The Historical Setting of Robert veez de Perron". Modern Language Notes. 52 (2). The Johns Hopkins University Press: 83–87.
  JSTOR 2911568
  .
• Pernoud, Régine (1975). Blanche of Castile. Coward, McCann & Geoghegan.
• Pollock, M.A. (2015). Scotland, England and France after the Loss of Normandy, 1204-1296. The Boydell Press.
• Richard, Jean (1983). Lloyd, Simon (ed.). Saint Louis: Crusader King of France. Translated by Birrell, Jean. Cambridge University Press.

Preceded by vacant	Countess of Penthièvre suo jure 1237–1272	Succeeded by John I
Preceded by vacant	Countess of Porhoët suo jure 1237–1272	Succeeded by John I