Arthur II, Duke of Brittany

Arthur II
Duke of Brittany
Reign 18 November 1305 – 27 August 1312
Predecessor John II
Successor John III
Born 25 July 1261
Died 27 August 1312(1312-08-27) (aged 50)
Château de L'Isle
Burial Cordeliers Convent
Spouse Marie, Viscountess of Limoges
Yolande of Dreux
Issue
Among others
John III
John of Montfort
House House of Dreux
Father John II
Mother Beatrice of England
Religion Roman Catholicism

Arthur II (25 July 1261 – 27 August 1312), of the House of Dreux, was Duke of Brittany from 1305 to his death. He was the first son of John II and Beatrice, daughter of Henry III of England and Eleanor of Provence.

After he inherited the ducal throne, his brother John became Earl of Richmond.[lower-alpha 1]

As duke, Arthur was independent of the French crown. He divided his duchy into eight "battles": Léon, Kernev, Landreger, Penteur, Gwened, Naoned, Roazhon, and Sant Malou. In 1309, he convoked the first Estates of Brittany.[lower-alpha 2] It was the first time in French history that the third estate was represented.

Arthur died at Château de l'Isle in Saint Denis en Val and was interred in a marble tomb of the cordeliers of Vannes. The tomb was vandalised during the French Revolution, but later repaired and is on display today.

Marriages and children

In 1275, Arthur married Marie, Viscountess of Limoges, daughter of Guy VI, Viscount of Limoges and Margaret, Lady of Molinot.[1][2] Her maternal grandparents were Hugh IV, Duke of Burgundy and his first wife Yolande of Dreux. They were parents of three children:

Mary died in 1291. In May, 1292, Arthur married Yolande of Dreux,[3] who was Countess of Montfort, daughter of Robert IV, Count of Dreux and Beatrice de Montfort. Yolande had briefly been Queen Consort of Scotland by her first marriage.[4] They were parents of seven children:

Ancestry

See also

Footnotes

  1. There are discrepancies about how this title was separated from the Duke of Brittany and invested in John. One history recounts that Arthur conferred it on his brother, while an alternative history is that King Edward I invested John as Earl of Richmond the year after John and Arthur's father had died,
  2. Brittany would eventually have both an "Estates" and a "Parliament"
  3. The Lords of Laval would become Governors of Brittany after 1491. when Anne de Bretagne married Charles VIII of France.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Jonathan Sumption, Trial by Battle: The Hundred Years War, (Faber & Faber, 1990), 372.
  2. Duplès-Agier, H. (ed.) (1874) Chroniques de Saint-Martial de Limoges (Paris), Anonymum S Martialis Chronicon, Chroniques de Saint-Martial de Limoges, p. 172.
  3. 1 2 Jonathan Sumption, Trial by Battle: The Hundred Years War, 373.
  4. Goodall, W. (ed.) (1759) Joannis de Fordun Scotichronicon cum Supplementis et Continuatione Walteri Boweri, Vols. I, II (Edinburgh) ("Joannis de Fordun (Goodall)"), Vol. II, Lib. X, Cap. XXXIX-XL, p. 127.
  5. Diocesis of Bruges (ed.) (1852) Chronicon abbatiæ Warnestoniensis (Bruges), Appendix, p. 34.
Arthur II, Duke of Brittany
Cadet branch of the Capetian Dynasty
Born: 2 July 1262 Died: 27 August 1312
Regnal titles
Preceded by
Marie
Viscount of Limoges
1275–1301
with Marie (1275–1291)
Succeeded by
John III
Preceded by
John II
Duke of Brittany
1305–1312
Count of Penthièvre
1305–1312
Succeeded by
Guy
Preceded by
Beatrice
Count of Montfort
1311–1312
with Yolande
Succeeded by
John II
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