Joan of Lusignan

Jeanne of Lusignan
suo jure Lady of Couhe and Peyrat Dame d'Albret Lady de Geneville
Buried	Abbaye de Valence, France
Noble family	Lusignan
Spouse(s)	Bernard Ezi III, Sire d'Albret Sir Piers de Geneville of Trim and Ludlow Castle
Issue	Mathe, Dame d'Albret Isabelle, Dame d'Albret Joan de Geneville Maud de Geneville Beatrice de Geneville
Father	Hugh XII of Lusignan, Count of La Marche and Angoulême
Mother	Jeanne de Fougères

Jeanne de Lusignan (1260 – 13 April 1323) was a French noblewoman. She succeeded her uncle, Guy de la Marche, Knt., sometime in the period, 1310/13, as Lady of Couhe and Peyrat, but not as Countess of La Marche since after her sister, Yolande's death, it was annexed by Philippe IV of France and given as an appanage to Philippe's son Charles the Fair. Previously, in 1308, following the death of her brother Guy (or Guiard) de Lusignan, Jeanne and her sister Isabelle, as co-heiresses, had sold the county of Angoulême to the King.

She was married twice. Her first husband was Bernard Ezi III, Sire d'Albret, by whom she had two daughters. By her second husband Sir Piers de Geneville, she had another three daughters; the eldest of whom was Joan de Geneville, 2nd Baroness Geneville, wife of Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March, the de facto ruler of England from 1327 to 1330.

She is sometimes referred to as Joan of Lusignan.

Family

Jeanne de Lusignan was a younger daughter of Hugh XII of Lusignan, Count of La Marche and Angoulême, seigneur of Lusignan and Fougères, and Jeanne de Fougères. Her paternal grandparents were Hugh XI of Lusignan, Count of La Marche and Angoulême, and Yolande de Dreux, and her maternal grandparents were Raoul III, seigneur of Fougères and Isabelle de Craon. She had three sisters, Yolande, Isabelle, and Marie, and two brothers, Hugh XIII de Lusignan and Guy (or Guiard) de Lusignan.

Marriages

Jeanne de Lusignan married firstly Bernard Ezi III, Sire d'Albret, by whom she had two daughters:

• Mathe, Dame d'Albret (died 1283)
• Isabelle, Dame d'Albret (died 1 December 1294), married Bernard VI, Count of Armagnac as his first wife. Their marriage was childless.

After the death of her first husband on 24 December 1280, Jeanne married secondly before 11 Oct. 1283 (date of charter), Sir Piers de Geneville, of Trim and Ludlow Castle (1256- before June 1292), by whom she had another three daughters:

• Joan de Geneville (2 February 1286 – 19 October 1356), in 1301 married Roger de Mortimer, 1st Earl of March (d. 29 November 1330), by whom she had twelve children.
• Maud de Geneville, a nun at Aconbury Priory
• Beatrice de Geneville, a nun at Aconbury Priory

Death and legacy

Jeanne de Lusignan died 13 April 1323 at the age of 63, and was buried at the Abbaye de Valence. Her eldest surviving daughter by her second marriage, Joan de Geneville, inherited the title of her paternal grandfather, Sir Geoffrey de Geneville, Lord Geneville in 1314, making her Baroness Geneville in her own right.

Ancestry

Family of Joan of Lusignan

Hugh IX of Lusignan, Count of La Marche Hugh X of Lusignan, Count of La Marche, Count of Angoulême Mathilde Taillefer of Angoulême Hugh XI of Lusignan, Count of La Marche, Count of Angoulême Aymer Taillefer, Count of Angoulême Isabella of Angoulême, Queen of England Alice of Courtenay Hugh XII of Lusignan, Count of La Marche, Count of Angoulême Robert II of Dreux, Count of Dreux Peter I, Duke of Brittany Yolande de Coucy Yolande de Dreux Guy de Thouars Alix of Thouars, Duchess of Brittany Constance, Duchess of Brittany Jeanne de Lusignan Geoffrey, Seigneur of Fougères Raoul III, seigneur of Fougères Eudes III, Count of Porhoet Mathilde de Porhoet Marguerite N. Jeanne de Fougères Maurice II, seigneur of Craon Amaury I, seigneur de Craon Isabelle de Meulan Isabelle de Craon Guillaume des Roches, Seneschal of Anjou Jeanne des Roches Marguerite de Sablé

References

1. Medieval Lands "Angoulême"
2. Paul Theroff
3. Europaseische Stammtafeln "Lusignan".