Joanna of Bourbon

Joanna of Bourbon
Queen consort of France
Tenure	1364–1378
Coronation	1 June 1364, at 2 PM
Born	3 February 1338 Vincennes, France
Died	6 February 1378 (aged 40) Paris, France
Burial	Basilique Saint-Denis
Spouse	Charles V of France
Issue	Charles VI of France Louis, Duke of Orléans Catherine
House	House of Bourbon
Father	Peter I, Duke of Bourbon
Mother	Isabella of Valois
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Joanna of Bourbon (3 February 1338 – 6 February 1378) ^[1] was Queen of France as the wife of King Charles V.

Early life

Born in the Château de Vincennes, Joanna was a daughter of Peter I, Duke of Bourbon, and Isabella of Valois, a half-sister of Philip VI of France.

From October 1340 through at least 1343, negotiations and treaties were made for her to marry Amadeus VI, Count of Savoy. The goal was to bring Savoy more closely into French influence. ^[2]

Marriage and Family

On 8 April 1350, she married her cousin, the future Charles V of France, at Tain-l'Hermitage. Born thirteen days apart, they both were 12 years old. When her husband ascended the throne in 1364, his 26-year old wife became quuen of France.

Joanna and Charles had nine children. Only two of them reached adulthood:

1. Joanna (September 1357 – 21 October 1360), interred at Saint-Antoine-des-Champs Abbey.
2. Bonne (1358 – 7 December 1360, Paris, France), interred beside her older sister.
3. Joanna (Vincennes, 6 June 1366 – 21 December 1366), interred at Saint Denis Basilica.
4. Charles VI (3 December 1368 – 22 October 1422), King of France.
5. Marie (Paris, 27 February 1370 – June 1377, Paris).
6. Louis (13 March 1372 – 23 November 1407), Duke of Orléans.
7. Isabella (Paris, 24 July 1373 – 13 February 1377, Paris).
8. John (1374/76 – died young).^[3]
9. Catherine (Paris, 4 February 1378 – November 1388, buried at Abbaye De Maubuisson, France), m. John of Berry, Count of Montpensier (son of John, Duke of Berry).

In 1360, her two oldest daughters died within one month and a half of each other, while a third daughter lived only a few months in 1366. Two further daughters also died within 5 months of each other in 1377. Her last daughter died at the age of ten.

Death and burial

Joanna died at the royal residence Hôtel Saint-Pol in Paris, on 6 February 1378 (1377 Old Style), ^[4] three days after her 40th birthday, and two days after the birth of her youngest child, Catherine. Froissart^[5] recorded that Joanna took a bath against her physicians' advice. Soon after, she went into labour and died two days after giving birth. The king was devastated. Her heart was buried in the Cordeliers Convent and her entrails in the Couvent des Célestins. The Couvent des Célestins in Paris was the most important royal necropolis after the Basilica of St Denis. The rest of her remains were then placed at Saint-Denis.

Ancestry

Ancestors of Joanna of Bourbon

16. Louis IX of France               8. Robert, Count of Clermont                       17. Margaret of Provence               4. Louis I, Duke of Bourbon                             18. John of Burgundy               9. Beatrix of Bourbon                       19. Agnes of Dampierre               2. Peter I, Duke of Bourbon                                   20. John I of Avesnes               10. John II, Count of Holland                       21. Adelaide of Holland               5. Mary of Avesnes                             22. Henry V of Luxembourg               11. Philippa of Luxembourg                       23. Margaret of Bar               1. Joanna of Bourbon                                         24. Louis IX of France (= 16)               12. Philip III of France                       25. Margaret of Provence (= 17)               6. Charles of Valois                             26. James I of Aragon               13. Isabella of Aragon                       27. Violant of Hungary               3. Isabella of Valois                                   28. Guy III, Count of Saint-Pol               14. Guy IV, Count of Saint-Pol                       29. Matilda of Brabant               7. Mahaut of Châtillon                             30. John II, Duke of Brittany               15. Marie of Brittany                       31. Beatrice of England

References

• Cox, Eugene L. (1967). The Green Count of Savoy. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. LCCN 67-11030.

1. Julian calendar
2. Cox 1967, p. 57.
3. His existence is disputed.
4. Les chroniques de sire Jean Froissart... avec notes par J.A.C. Buchon, Tome II, A. Desrez Libraire-Editeur, Paris, 1835, p. 19.
5. J. A. Buchon, Collection des Chroniques nationales françaises écrites en langue vulgaire du treizième au seizième siècle, Chroniques de Froissart, Tome VII, Verdière, Libraire, Paris, 1824, p. 61