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John II, Duke of Brittany

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John II
Duke of Brittany
Reign8 October 1286 – 18 November 1305
PredecessorJohn I
SuccessorArthur II
Born3/4 January 1239
Died18 November 1305(1305-11-18) (aged 66)
Lyon
Burial
Notre-Dame des Carmes
SpouseBeatrice of England
IssueArthur II, Duke of Brittany
John, 1st Earl of Richmond
Marie, Countess of Saint Pol
Peter, Viscount of Leon
Blanche, Countess of Artois
Eleanor of Brittany, Abbess of Fontevrault
HouseHouse of Dreux
FatherJohn I, Duke of Brittany
MotherBlanche of Navarre
ReligionRoman Catholicism

John II (Breton: Yann, French: Jean; 1239 – 18 November 1305) reigned as Duke of Brittany from 1268 until his death, and was also Earl of Richmond in the Peerage of England. He took part in two crusades prior to his accession to the ducal throne. As a duke, John was involved in the conflicts between the kings of France and England. He was crushed to death in an accident during the celebrations of a papal coronation.

Family and crusades

John was the eldest son of John I of Brittany and Blanche of Navarre. On 22 January 1260, he married Beatrice, a daughter of King Henry III of England. John was very close to his brother-in-law, the future King Edward I. In 1271, he accompanied Edward to the Ninth Crusade, meeting there with his father and King Louis IX of France. Louis succumbed to an illness in Tunis, and John's father returned to Brittany. John, however, followed Edward to Palestine. The crusade ended the following year, having achieved little. In 1285, John took part in the Aragonese Crusade at the side of King Philip III of France.[1]

Reign

Upon the death of his father on 8 October 1286, John ascended the throne of Brittany, inheriting also the Earldom of Richmond in the Peerage of England. His namesake son governed Guyenne in the name of his uncle, King Edward, when King Philip IV of France decided to confiscate it in May 1294. John assisted his brother-in-law in the ensuing conflict, but suffered only defeats. When the English army sought to recover by plundering the Breton Abbaye Saint-Mathieu de Fine-Terre in 1296, however, John abandoned Edward's cause. In response, Edward deprived him of the earldom. John proceeded to ally himself with the French, arranging a marriage between his grandson John and King Philip's cousin Isabella of Valois. Philip then raised him into the Peerage of France in September 1297.[1]

Last years and accidental death

From 1294 until 1304, John assisted the King of France in his campaign against Count Guy of Flanders, taking part in the decisive Battle of Mons-en-Pévèle.[1] Following King Philip's victory, in 1305, John travelled to Lyon to attend the coronation of Pope Clement V. John was leading the Pope's horse through the crowd during the celebrations. So many spectators had piled atop the walls that one of them crumbled and collapsed on top of the Duke. He died four days later, on 18 November.[1][2] His body was placed in a lead coffin and sent down the Loire. He was buried on 16 December in the Carmelite convent he had founded in Ploërmel.[1]

Issue

Duke John and Duchess Beatrice had six children, several of whom were raised at the court of their uncle King Edward.

Ancestry

Family of John II, Duke of Brittany
16. Robert I of Dreux
8. Robert II of Dreux
17. Agnes de Baudemont
4. Peter I, Duke of Brittany
18. Raoul I de Coucy
9. Yolande de Coucy
19. Agnes of Hainaut
2. John I, Duke of Brittany
20. Guillaume, Viscount of Thouars
10. Guy of Thouars
5. Alix of Thouars
22. Conan IV, Duke of Brittany
11. Constance, Duchess of Brittany
23. Margaret of Huntingdon
1. John II, Duke of Brittany
24. Henry I of Champagne
12. Theobald III, Count of Champagne
25. Marie of France
6. Theobald I of Navarre
26. Sancho VI of Navarre
13. Blanche of Navarre, Countess of Champagne
27. Sancha of Castile
3. Blanche of Navarre
28. Humbert II of Beaujeu
14. Guichard IV, Sire of Beaujeu
29. Agnes of Thiers
7. Agnes of Beaujeu
30. Baldwin V, Count of Hainaut
15. Sybille of Flanders
31. Margaret I, Countess of Flanders

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Le Moyne de La Borderie, Arthur (1906), Histoire de Bretagne, J. Plihon et L. Hommay, pp. 359–381
  2. ^ Nicolas Cheetham, Keepers of the Keys, (Charles Scribner's Sons, 1982), 152.

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to John II of Brittany.
John II, Duke of Brittany
Cadet branch of the Capetian Dynasty
Born: 1239 Died: 18 November 1305
Regnal titles
Preceded by Duke of Brittany
1286–1305 		Succeeded by
Peerage of England
Preceded by Earl of Richmond
1268–1305 		Vacant
Forfeited
Title next held by
John of Brittany

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