Constance, Duchess of Brittany

Constance of Brittany (1161 Brittany – September 5 1201 Nantes) was Duchess of Brittany between 1186 and 1196. Constance was the only child of Conan IV, Duke of Brittany and Earl of Richmond, by his wife Margaret of Scotland, countess of Hereford (granddaughter of king David I).

First Marriage

In 1181, Constance married Geoffrey Plantagenet, the fourth son of Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine, and had three children by him: Eleanor, Fair Maid of Brittany (1184-1241), Matilda/Maud of Brittany (1185-bef 1189) and Arthur, the latter born after Geoffrey's death. Geoffrey assumed the title of Duke of Brittany and became the effective ruler of the duchy from the date of their marriage. However, he died in 1186, stamped by a horse during a tournament. Constance then became ruler of Brittany until 1196, when she abdicated in favour of Arthur.

Later Marriages

After her son's rebellion was quashed, Arthur disappeared into one of King John's castles, never to be seen again, and Eleanor was imprisoned for the rest of her days. King Henry had arranged for Constance to marry Ranulph de Meschines, 4th Earl of Chester on 3 February 1188, but this marriage was not successful, and Ranulph imprisoned his wife in 1196, an act that sparked a rebellion in her native Brittany. Finally in 1198 she was released, and had her marriage to Ranulph annulled. In the same year, at Angers, Constance took Guy of Thouars as her husband, and by him was mother of twin daughters; Alix of Thouars, who married Peter de Dreux, first Breton ruler of the House of Dreux; and Katherine of Thouars (1201-c. 1240) who married Andre III of Bretagne, Sire of Vitre.

Death and Burial

Constance died, age 40, on 5 September 1201 at Nantes. She was buried at Villeneuve Abbey in Nantes.

Constance's cause of death is debated. Some historians believe she died of leprosy. Others believe she died from complications of childbirth, shortly after birthing twin girls. Still others believe that she had leprosy, leading to a difficult delivery, and ultimately to her death shortly after the birth of the twins, thus both leprosy and childbirth being the causes of death. That Constance was birthing twins, at the age of forty, in the unsanitary conditions of the age, should be taken greatly into account in this debate. As the exact date of the twins birth is not currently known, and may never be known, there may never be a resolution to this question.

Media

She has several very eloquent speeches on grief and death in Shakespeare's play King John.

See also

• Dukes of Brittany family tree