Joan, Duchess of Brittany

For the daughter of her opponent, see Joan of Brittany, Baroness of Drayton.

Joan of Penthièvre
A Seal of Joan, Duchess of Brittany.
Duchess of Brittany
Reign	30 April 1341 – 10 September 1384 (suo jure)
Predecessor	John III
Successor	John V
Born	1319
Died	10 September 1384 (aged 60) Guingamp
Burial	church of the Friars Minor of Guingamp.
Spouse	Charles I
Issue	John I of Blois-Châtillon Guy Henry Marie, Lady of Guise Marguerite, Countess of Angoulême
House	House of Dreux
Father	Guy of Brittany, count of Penthièvre
Mother	Jeanne d'Avaugour
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Joan of Penthièvre or Joan the Lame (in French Jeanne de Penthièvre, Jeanne la Boiteuse) (c.1324 – 10 September 1384) reigned as Duchess of Brittany (suo jure) together with her husband Charles of Blois between 1341 and 1364. Her Ducal claims were contested by the House of Montfort, which prevailed only after an extensive civil war. Joan retained the title Duchess of Brittany to her death. She was also Countess of Penthièvre in her own right.

Breton War of Succession

She was one of the protagonists of the Breton War of Succession. Joan was the only daughter of Guy of Brittany, count of Penthièvre, and thus niece and an heiress of duke John III.

In 1337, she married Charles of Blois in Paris and in 1341 on the death of John III, the couple assumed the rule of the duchy of Brittany, being supported by most of the local nobility and administration. However, John of Dreux, born from the second marriage of duke Arthur II to Yolande de Montfort, did not agree to let go of his own rights.

When John died in 1345 in the midst of the Breton War of Succession, his wife Joanna of Flanders took arms to protect the rights of her son John V, Duke of Brittany against the party led by Charles and Joan. Joanna organized resistance and made use of diplomatic means to protect her family and country. In the siege of Hennebont, she took up arms and, dressed in armour, conducted the defence of the town. Joanna even led a raid of knights outside the walls that successfully fired and destroyed one of the enemy's rear camps. After this she became known as "Jeanne la Flamme". However Joanna was eventually forced to retreat to England, where she became mentally ill leaving her young son in the care of the English court. Charles and Joan by this time controlled most of Brittany.

After these initial successes, Charles was taken prisoner by the English in 1347. Thomas Dagworth was the official captor of Charles of Blois. He was released nine years afterwards against a ransom of about half a million écus, and resumed the war against the Montforts.

Charles died in the Battle of Auray which determined the end of the war and the victory of the Montforts, leaving Joan a widow. His partisans led a movement to canonize him as a saint for his devotion to religion, but despite the apparent support of Pope Gregory XI, no final canonization was achieved at this time. Subsequently, in 1904, he was beatified.

Later life

After this defeat, Joan had to sign the first treaty Guérande, ceding sovereignty over Brittany, while retaining the ducal title for life.

In 1379, when John V had been forced into exile in England, Joan was shocked that King Charles V of France wished to annex Brittany as part of France in violation of her rights and those of her son. Both local factions united to invite John V back from his exile in England and retake control of the Duchy.

After the death of Charles V, she signed on 15 January 1381 the second treaty of Guérande by which she received a substantial pension and the opportunity for her heirs to recover the duchy if John V had no descendants. The problem of succession was finally settled.

Joan died on 10 September 1384 and she was buried at the church of the Friars Minor of Guingamp.

Joan was grandmother of Louis II of Naples.

Children

Joan and Charles had the following children:

• John I of Blois-Châtillon (1340–1404) - also known as John of Blois (Jean de Blois)
• Guy
• Henry (d. 1400)
• Marie (1345–1404), Lady of Guise, married in 1360 Louis I of Naples
• Marguerite, married in 1351 Charles de la Cerda (d. 1354)

See also

• Dukes of Brittany family tree