Isabella of Brittany
Encyclopedia
Isabella of Brittany (1411 – c. 1444) was a daughter of John VI, Duke of Brittany
, and his wife, Joan of Valois
. Isabella was a member of the House of Dreux.
and Isabeau of Bavaria
. Her paternal grandparents were John V, Duke of Brittany
and Joan of Navarre.
Isabella was related to three Queens of England. Two of her maternal aunts, Isabella of Valois and Catherine of Valois
were queens of England and after the death of her paternal grandfather, John V her grandmother, Joan became queen of England by her marriage to Henry IV of England
. Isabella of Valois was married to Henry's predecessor Richard II of England
. Catherine of Valois was married to Henry IV's son, Henry V of England
.
. Guy fought in many different battles in the Hundred Years' War
and fought alongside with Joan of Arc
. Guy had been betrothed to Isabella's younger sister, Margaret but she died before the marriage could take place, so Guy married Isabella instead.
Isabella and Guy had three children:
Isabella died around 1444, and she is buried in Nantes
. Her husband remarried after her death, to Françoise de Dinan. Her husband was buried at the collegial church of Saint-Thugal at Laval
.
.
Joanna of Navarre
x John V, Duke of Brittany
│
│
├──> Arthur III, Duke of Brittany
│
├──> John VI, Duke of Brittany
│ x Joan of France
│ │
│ └──> Isabelle de Bretagne
│ │ x Guy XIV de Laval
│ │
│ └──> Francis I, Duke of Brittany
│ │
│ └──> Peter II, Duke of Brittany
│ │
│ └──> Gilles of Brittany
│ x Françoise de Dinan
│
x Henry IV of England
John VI, Duke of Brittany
John VI the Wise , was duke of Brittany, count of Montfort, and titular earl of Richmond, from 1399 to his death...
, and his wife, Joan of Valois
Joan of France (1391-1433)
Joan of France was a daughter of King Charles VI of France and his wife, Queen Isabeau of Bavaria. Her most notable siblings were King Charles VII of France, Catherine of Valois , Isabella of Valois and Michelle of Valois, who...
. Isabella was a member of the House of Dreux.
Family
Isabella's maternal grandparents were Charles VI of FranceCharles VI of France
Charles VI , called the Beloved and the Mad , was the King of France from 1380 to 1422, as a member of the House of Valois. His bouts with madness, which seem to have begun in 1392, led to quarrels among the French royal family, which were exploited by the neighbouring powers of England and Burgundy...
and Isabeau of Bavaria
Isabeau of Bavaria
Isabeau of Bavaria was Queen consort of France as spouse of King Charles VI of France, a member of the Valois Dynasty...
. Her paternal grandparents were John V, Duke of Brittany
John V, Duke of Brittany
John V the Conqueror KG was Duke of Brittany and Count of Montfort, from 1345 until his death.-Numbering:...
and Joan of Navarre.
Isabella was related to three Queens of England. Two of her maternal aunts, Isabella of Valois and Catherine of Valois
Catherine of Valois
Catherine of France was the Queen consort of England from 1420 until 1422. She was the daughter of King Charles VI of France, wife of Henry V of Monmouth, King of England, mother of Henry VI, King of England and King of France, and through her secret marriage with Owen Tudor, the grandmother of...
were queens of England and after the death of her paternal grandfather, John V her grandmother, Joan became queen of England by her marriage to Henry IV of England
Henry IV of England
Henry IV was King of England and Lord of Ireland . He was the ninth King of England of the House of Plantagenet and also asserted his grandfather's claim to the title King of France. He was born at Bolingbroke Castle in Lincolnshire, hence his other name, Henry Bolingbroke...
. Isabella of Valois was married to Henry's predecessor Richard II of England
Richard II of England
Richard II was King of England, a member of the House of Plantagenet and the last of its main-line kings. He ruled from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. Richard was a son of Edward, the Black Prince, and was born during the reign of his grandfather, Edward III...
. Catherine of Valois was married to Henry IV's son, Henry V of England
Henry V of England
Henry V was King of England from 1413 until his death at the age of 35 in 1422. He was the second monarch belonging to the House of Lancaster....
.
Marriage
On 1 October 1430, at Redon, Isabella married Guy XIV de LavalGuy XIV de Laval
Guy XIV de Laval, François de Montfort-Laval, , comte de Laval, baron de Vitré and of La Roche-Bernard, seigneur of Gâvre, of Acquigny, of Tinténiac, of Montfort and Gaël, of Bécherel, was a French nobleman, known for his account of Joan of Arc...
. Guy fought in many different battles in the Hundred Years' War
Hundred Years' War
The Hundred Years' War was a series of separate wars waged from 1337 to 1453 by the House of Valois and the House of Plantagenet, also known as the House of Anjou, for the French throne, which had become vacant upon the extinction of the senior Capetian line of French kings...
and fought alongside with Joan of Arc
Joan of Arc
Saint Joan of Arc, nicknamed "The Maid of Orléans" , is a national heroine of France and a Roman Catholic saint. A peasant girl born in eastern France who claimed divine guidance, she led the French army to several important victories during the Hundred Years' War, which paved the way for the...
. Guy had been betrothed to Isabella's younger sister, Margaret but she died before the marriage could take place, so Guy married Isabella instead.
Isabella and Guy had three children:
- Guy XV de Laval, successor to Guy
- Pierre de Laval, he was archbishop of Rheims
- Jeanne de LavalJeanne de Laval-Sources:*Accounts of John Legay, fundraiser for the Queen of Sicily, the manuscript of the library of Angers, published in the History Anjou in 1900.*King Lecoy by René de la Marche.*Conduct of King René J. Levron....
, married René of Anjou, she was queen consort of NaplesNaplesNaples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
and was stepmother to Margaret of AnjouMargaret of AnjouMargaret of Anjou was the wife of King Henry VI of England. As such, she was Queen consort of England from 1445 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471; and Queen consort of France from 1445 to 1453...
, queen consort to Henry VI of EnglandHenry VI of EnglandHenry VI was King of England from 1422 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471, and disputed King of France from 1422 to 1453. Until 1437, his realm was governed by regents. Contemporaneous accounts described him as peaceful and pious, not suited for the violent dynastic civil wars, known as the Wars...
.
Isabella died around 1444, and she is buried in Nantes
Nantes
Nantes is a city in western France, located on the Loire River, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the 6th largest in France, while its metropolitan area ranks 8th with over 800,000 inhabitants....
. Her husband remarried after her death, to Françoise de Dinan. Her husband was buried at the collegial church of Saint-Thugal at Laval
Laval, Mayenne
Laval is a commune in the Mayenne department in north-western France.It lies on the threshold of Brittany and on the border between Normandy and Anjou. Its citizens are called Lavallois.-Geography:...
.
House of Brittany
This family tree shows Isabella's paternal side of her family, her mother and brothers. It shows that after the death of her brothers, her uncle, Arthur became Duke of BrittanyDuke of Brittany
The Duchy of Brittany was a medieval tribal and feudal state covering the northwestern peninsula of Europe,bordered by the Alantic Ocean on the west and the English Channel to the north with less definitive borders of the Loire River to the south and Normandy to the east...
.
Joanna of Navarre
x John V, Duke of Brittany
John V, Duke of Brittany
John V the Conqueror KG was Duke of Brittany and Count of Montfort, from 1345 until his death.-Numbering:...
│
│
├──> Arthur III, Duke of Brittany
Arthur III, Duke of Brittany
Arthur III , known as the Justicier and as Arthur de Richemont, was Lord of Parthenay and titular Count of Richmond in England and for eleven months at the very end of his life, Duke of Brittany and Count of Montfort after inheriting those titles upon the death of his nephew.-Biography:Belonging...
│
├──> John VI, Duke of Brittany
John VI, Duke of Brittany
John VI the Wise , was duke of Brittany, count of Montfort, and titular earl of Richmond, from 1399 to his death...
│ x Joan of France
Joan of France (1391-1433)
Joan of France was a daughter of King Charles VI of France and his wife, Queen Isabeau of Bavaria. Her most notable siblings were King Charles VII of France, Catherine of Valois , Isabella of Valois and Michelle of Valois, who...
│ │
│ └──> Isabelle de Bretagne
Isabella of Brittany
Isabella of Brittany was a daughter of John VI, Duke of Brittany, and his wife, Joan of Valois. Isabella was a member of the House of Dreux.- Family :...
│ │ x Guy XIV de Laval
Guy XIV de Laval
Guy XIV de Laval, François de Montfort-Laval, , comte de Laval, baron de Vitré and of La Roche-Bernard, seigneur of Gâvre, of Acquigny, of Tinténiac, of Montfort and Gaël, of Bécherel, was a French nobleman, known for his account of Joan of Arc...
│ │
│ └──> Francis I, Duke of Brittany
Francis I, Duke of Brittany
Francis I , was duke of Brittany, count of Montfort and titular earl of Richmond, from 1442 to his death. He was son of Duke John VI and Joan of France.He first married, at Nantes in 1431, Yolande of Anjou Francis I (in Breton Fransez I, in French François I) (Vannes/Gwened, May 14, 1414 –...
│ │
│ └──> Peter II, Duke of Brittany
Peter II, Duke of Brittany
Peter II , was duke of Brittany, count of Montfort and titular earl of Richmond, from 1450 to his death. He was son of Duke John VI and Joan of France, and thus was younger brother of Francis I.In 1442, he married Françoise d'Amboise Peter II (in Breton Pêr II, in French Pierre II) (1418 –...
│ │
│ └──> Gilles of Brittany
│ x Françoise de Dinan
│
x Henry IV of England
Henry IV of England
Henry IV was King of England and Lord of Ireland . He was the ninth King of England of the House of Plantagenet and also asserted his grandfather's claim to the title King of France. He was born at Bolingbroke Castle in Lincolnshire, hence his other name, Henry Bolingbroke...