Raoul I of Brienne, Count of Eu

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Raoul I of Brienne
Count of Eu
Count of Guînes
The arms of the Count of Eu
Died19 January 1344
Paris, Kingdom of France
Noble familyBrienne
Spouse(s)Jeanne de Mello
IssueRaoul II of Brienne, Count of Eu
Jeanne of Brienne
Marie of Brienne
FatherJohn II of Brienne, Count of Eu
MotherJeanne, Countess of Guînes

Raoul I of Brienne (died 19 January 1344, Paris) was the son of John II of Brienne, Count of Eu and Jeanne, Countess of Guînes.[1]

He succeeded his father as Count of Eu in 1302, and his mother as Count of Guînes in 1332. In 1329, he was named Constable of France,[2] and he also held the office of Governor of Languedoc. The Count of Eu commanded French forces during the opening stages of the Hundred Years' War, as befit his rank of Constable. However, he proved to be a poor commander and "a man of very limited talent", according to Lord Sumption.[3]

In 1315, he married Jeanne de Mello (d. 1351), Lady of Lormes and Château-Chinon. The daughter of Dreux VI de Mello, she was the heiress to a rich Burgundian barony.[1] They had three children:

  1. Raoul II of Brienne, Count of Eu and Guînes (d. 1350)[1]
  2. Jeanne (d. 1389, Sens), Lady of Château-Chinon, married first in 1342/3 Walter VI of Brienne,[1] married second in 1357 Louis I d'Évreux, Count of Étampes (1336–1400)
  3. Marie, d. young[1]

He was killed in a tournament being held in honour of the marriage of Philip, Duke of Orléans and Blanche of France, and was succeeded by his son Raoul.[4] The costs of financing France's war against the English and maintaining a lifestyle to match his status had significantly drained his finances, and he had died bankrupt and in debt.[5]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e Perry 2018, p. xxiii.
  2. ^ Wagner 2006, p. 332.
  3. ^ Sumption 1990, p. 363.
  4. ^ Dubois 1956, p. 200.
  5. ^ Sumption 1990, p. 740.

Sources[edit]

  • Dubois, Pierre (1956). The Recovery of the Holy Land. Translated by Brandt, Walther Immanuel. Columbia University Press.
  • Perry, Guy (2018). The Briennes: The Rise and Fall of a Champenois Dynasty in the Age of the Crusades, c. 950-1356. Cambridge University Press.
  • Sumption, Jonathan (1990). The Hundred Years War 1: Trial by Battle. London: Faber & Faber. ISBN 978-0-571-13895-1.
  • Wagner, John A., ed. (2006). "Appendix 6:Constables and Marshals of France and England during the Hundred Years War". Encyclopedia of the Hundred Years War. Greenwood Press.
Preceded by Count of Eu
1302–1344
Succeeded by
Preceded by Count of Guînes
1332–1344