Blanche of Brittany

Blanche of Brittany
Spouse(s)	Philip of Artois
Noble family	House of Dreux
Father	John II, Duke of Brittany
Mother	Beatrice of England
Born	1271
Died	1327

Blanche of Brittany (1271–1327) was a daughter of John II, Duke of Brittany, and his wife Beatrice of England. She is also known as Blanche de Dreux. Through her mother she was the granddaughter of King Henry III of England and Eleanor of Provence.

Marriage and issue

Blanche was married in Paris sometime after November 1281 to Philip of Artois, who was the son of Robert II of Artois and Amice de Courtenay. The couple had seven children, they were:

• Margaret (1285–1311), married in 1301 Louis, Count of Évreux
• Robert III of Artois (1287–1342), married in 1318 Joan of Valois
• Isabella (1288–1344), a nun at Poissy
• Joan (1289 – aft. 1350), married in 1301 in Senlis, Gaston I, Count of Foix
• Othon (died 2 November 1291)
• Marie of Artois (1291 – 22 January 1365, Wijnendaele), Lady of Merode, married in 1309 in Paris John I, Marquis of Namur. She was the mother of Blanche of Namur.
• Catherine (1296–1368, Normandy), married John II of Ponthieu, Count of Aumale

Blanche's husband served under his father at the Battle of Furnes, where he was wounded. He never recovered, and died of the effects over a year later. His premature death led to a legal battle later, when Artois was left to his sister Mahaut rather than his son Robert. Robert was never the proper Count of Artois, on Mahaut's death Artois passed to her daughter, Joan II, Countess of Burgundy.

Blanche's daughter Margaret was the mother of Philip III of Navarre who was married to Joan II of Navarre. Her sister, Marie was married to Guy IV, Count of Saint-Pol.

Blanche died on 19 March 1327 at the Chateau de Bois-de-Vincennes, and was buried in the now-demolished church of the Couvent des Jacobins in Paris.^[1]

Ancestry

Ancestors of Blanche of Brittany

16. Robert II of Dreux               8. Peter I, Duke of Brittany                       17. Yolande de Coucy               4. John I, Duke of Brittany                             18. Guy of Thouars, Duke of Brittany               9. Alix of Thouars                       19. Constance, Duchess of Brittany               2. John II, Duke of Brittany                                   20. Theobald III, Count of Champagne               10. Theobald I of Navarre                       21. Blanche of Navarre               5. Blanche of Navarre                             22. Guichard IV, Sire of Beaujeu               11. Agnes of Beaujeu                       23. Sybille of Flanders               1. Blanche of Brittany                                         24. Henry II of England               12. John of England                       25. Eleanor of Aquitaine               6. Henry III of England                             26. Aymer, Count of Angoulême               13. Isabella of Angoulême                       27. Alice of Courtenay               3. Beatrice of England                                   28. Alfonso II, Count of Provence               14. Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Provence                       29. Garsenda, Countess of Forcalquier               7. Eleanor of Provence                             30. Thomas I, Count of Savoy               15. Beatrice of Savoy                       31. Margaret of Geneva

See also

• Dukes of Brittany family tree
• Artois

References

1. Charles Cawley, Medieval Lands, Northern France, Nobility