Yolande of Brittany

Yolande of Brittany
suo jure Countess of Penthrièvre suo jure Countess of Porhoet Countess of La Marche Countess of Angoulême suo jure Dame de la Fère-en-Tardenois, de Chailly, and de Longjumeau
Spouse(s)	Hugh XI of Lusignan, Count of La Marche and Count of Angoulême
Issue Hugh XII of Lusignan, Count of La Marche and Count of Angoulême Guy of Lusignan Geoffroy of Lusignan Alice of Lusignan Isabelle of Lusignan Marie of Lusignan Yolande of Lusignan
Noble family	House of Dreux
Father	Peter I, Duke of Brittany
Mother	Alix of Thouars, Duchess of Brittany
Born	late 1218 Dreux, France
Died	10 October 1272 Chateau of Bouteville, Charente, France

Chateau de Bouteville, Charente, where Yolande died in 1272

Yolande de Dreux, Countess of Penthièvre and of Porhoet (late 1218 – 10 October 1272) was a Breton noblewoman and a suo jure Breton countess within the sovereign Duchy of Brittany. Yolande had been betrothed to King Henry III of England in 1226 at the age of seven years.^[1] but married Hugh XI of Lusignan, the eldest uterine half-brother of Henry III. Through Hugh, she became Countess of La Marche and of Angoulême. She was the mother of seven children. From 1250 to 1256, she acted as Regent of La Marche and Angoulême for her son, Hugh XII of Lusignan.^[2]

Family

Yolande was born in Dreux, France at the end of 1218,^[3] the only daughter of Peter I, Duke of Brittany and Alix of Thouars, Duchess of Brittany. She had two brothers, John I, Duke of Brittany and Arthur of Brittany (1220–1224). By her father's second marriage to Nicole, she had a half-brother, Olivier de Braine (1231–1279). Her mother, Alix, had died on 21 October 1221, when Yolande was not quite three years old. Yolande's paternal grandparents were Robert II, Count of Dreux and Yolande de Coucy, and her maternal grandparents were Guy de Thouars and Constance, Duchess of Brittany.

As her dowry, In 1236 Yolande received the titles of Countess of Penthièvre, Dame de la Fère-en-Tardenois, de Chailly, and de Longjumeau which she held suo jure from her brother John I, Duke of Brittany and her father, Pierre Mauclerc, acting as his Regent. Her brother also granted her the title of suo jure Countess of Porhoet.^[3]

Betrothals, marriage and issue

Sometime before 19 October 1226, when she was seven years old, Yolande was betrothed to King Henry III of England. ^{[lower-alpha 1]} The marriage never took place. ^{[lower-alpha 2]} Blanche, regent of France, wanted to prevent Henry from gaining land or influence in France, and so forced Yolande's father to change her betrothal. Under this influence, Yolande's second betrothal occurred in March 1227 to John of France, Count of Anjou, the son of King Louis VIII of France and Blanche. The engagement was ended when John died aged thirteen in 1232.^[4]

Yolande was affianced a third time in 1231 to Theobald IV, Count of Champagne. As in the case with King Henry and John of France, this betrothal to Theobald also did not result in marriage. ^{[lower-alpha 3]}

Yolande was more fortunate in her fourth betrothal, and in January 1236 she married Hugh XI of Lusignan. Hugh XI succeeded his father in 1249 as Count of La Marche and Count of Angoulême. His uterine half-brother was King Henry III of England to whom Yolande had been betrothed in 1226.

Together Hugh and Yolande had seven children:

• Hugh XII of Lusignan, Count of La Marche and Count of Angoulême (died after 25 August 1270), married 29 January 1254 Jeanne de Fougères, Dame de Fougères by whom he had six children. He died while on crusade.
• Guy of Lusignan, (died 1288/89), Seigneur de Cognac, d'Archiac, and de Couhé; Seigneur de la Fère-en-Tardenois.
• Geoffroy of Lusignan (died 1264)
• Alice of Lusignan (died May 1290), married in 1253 as his first wife, Gilbert de Clare, 6th Earl of Gloucester, by whom she had two daughters.
• Marie of Lusignan (1242- after 11 July 1266), married Robert de Ferrers, 6th Earl of Derby. She died childless.
• Isabelle of Lusignan, Dame de Belleville (1248–1304), married Maurice de Belleville
• Yolande of Lusignan (died 10 November 1305), married Pierre I, Sire de Preaux

Yolande's husband Hugh XI was killed at the Battle of Fariskur in Egypt on 6 April 1250. ^{[lower-alpha 4]} Yolande acted as Regent of La Marche and Angoulême for her eldest son Hugh from 1250 to 1256.

Death

Yolande died at the Chateau de Bouteville, Charente on 10 October 1272. She was buried at the Notre Dame Abbey in Villeneuve-lez-Nantes.

Upon her death, her Breton enoblements returned to the House of Dreux when the titles of Count of Penthievre and Porhoet were seized by her brother, John I, Duke of Brittany.

Ancestry

Ancestors of Yolande of Brittany

16. Louis VI of France               8. Robert I of Dreux                       17. Adélaide de Maurienne               4. Robert II of Dreux                             18. Guy de Baudement               9. Agnes de Baudemont, countess of Braine                       19. Alix, Dame de Braine               2. Peter I, Duke of Brittany                                   20. Enguerrand II, Lord of Coucy               10. Ralph I, Lord of Coucy                       21. Agnes de Baugency               5. Yolande de Coucy                             22. Baldwin IV, Count of Hainaut               11. Agnes of Hainaut                       23. Alice of Namur               1. Yolande de Dreux                                         24. Aimery V, Viscount of Thouars               12. Geoffroy IV, Viscount of Thouars                       25. Agnes of Aquitaine               6. Guy of Thouars                             26. Hugh VII of Lusignan               13. Aimée de Lusignan                       27. Saracena de Lezay               3. Alix of Thouars                                   28. Alan, 1st Earl of Richmond               14. Conan IV, Duke of Brittany                       29. Bertha, Duchess of Brittany               7. Constance, Duchess of Brittany                             30. Henry of Scotland               15. Margaret of Huntingdon                       31. Ada de Warenne

Notes

1. A letter of the King dated 19 October 1226 confirms Henry III's betrothal to Jolentam filiam Petri ducis Brittanniae et comitis Richemundiae^[3]
2. King Henry III of England eventually married Eleanor of Provence.
3. Theobald's daughter Blanche however married Yolande's brother John in 1236.
4. The Battle of Fariskur was the last major battle of the Seventh Crusade.

References

1. Charles Cawley, Medieval Lands, Brittany
2. Charles Cawley, Medieval Lands, Angoulême, La Marche, Périgord
3. Cawley, Medieval Lands, Brittany
4. Goldstone 2007, p. 42-43.

Sources

• Charles Cawley, Medieval Lands, Angoulême, La Marche, Périgord
• Charles Cawley, Medieval Lands, Brittany
• Goldstone, Nancy (2007). Four Queens: The Provençal Sisters who ruled Europe. New York: Viking Penguin. ISBN 9780670038435.