Jacqueline, Countess of Hainaut
Encyclopedia
Jacqueline of Wittelsbach (16 August 1401 – 8 October 1436) was Duchess of Bavaria-Straubing
, Countess of Hainaut and Holland
from 1417 to 1432. She was also Dauphine of France for a period of less than a year and a half between 1415 and 1417 and Duchess of Gloucester for a period during the 1420s, if her marriage to Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester
, is accepted as valid.
Jacqueline was the last Wittelsbach
ruler of Hainaut and Holland. Following her death, her estates passed into the inheritance of Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy
.
in Hainaut
, Jacqueline, from her birth, was referred to as "of Holland", indicating that she was the heiress of her father's estates. She was the only daughter of William II, Duke of Bavaria (also known as William VI, Count of Holland) from his marriage with Margaret of Burgundy, daughter of Margaret III of Flanders and Philip the Bold
. She was born after 16 years of an otherwise childless marriage. At the age of only twenty-two months (in Paris
on 5 May 1403) and again at the age of four (in Compiègne
on 29 June 1406), Jacqueline was betrothed to John, Duke of Touraine, fourth son of King Charles VI of France
and Queen Isabeau of Bavaria
. Both children were brought up in the Castle of Le Quesnoy, Jacqueline's birth place. The boy had been given into tutelage of his father-in-law, since he was expected to succeed as ruler in Hainaut and not in any way in France itself. It was a happy youth with both children given a very good education. On 22 April 1411 the Pope gave his dispensation for the union and on 6 August 1415, when Jacqueline was just fourteen, she and John married in The Hague
.
On 15 December 1415 John's elder brother Louis
, the Dauphin of France, died, and John became the new Dauphin and heir to the throne. But John died on 4 April 1417 (in Compiègne, of an abscess in his neck). Two months later, on 31 May, Jacqueline also lost her father.
and Limbourg. The ceremony took place in The Hague on 18 April of that year, but the marriage brought no happiness to Jacqueline. John was two years younger, boorish, spoiled and weak.
It was at this time that Jacqueline's troubles with her uncle, John III, duke of Bavaria-Straubing and bishop of Liège, began, when he claimed her counties and fuelled the civil war between their political factions. She was fortunate to be able to draw on the support of the Hoek faction
in Holland, which represented the interests of the small cities and petty nobility
. Through the mediation of John the Fearless, a treaty of partition was concluded in 1419 between Jacqueline and John III of Bavaria, but it was merely a truce, and the contest between uncle and niece soon began again. It continued with varying success for both sides until the death of John III in 1425.
Jacqueline came to the realisation that she could not depend on the support either of her husband or her mother in her confrontation with her uncle. Due to personal and political disagreements with her husband, Jacqueline finally left him to reside in the Kingdom of England
at the invitation of Henry V
. Jacqueline's marriage with John of Brabant was declared illegal, and she obtained a divorce from Avignon Pope Benedict XIII on 7 March 1422. Upon her arrival, it was Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, the younger brother of King Henry, who welcomed her. He was thirty, unmarried, and, according to an English chronicle, "exceeded any monarch in knowledge". Although Jacqueline considered marriage to the Duke of Gloucester, Henry V prevented her from marrying him. Nevertheless, she was an honoured guest at the court of England, and when the future Henry VI was born, Jacqueline was made one of his godparents.
, sometime before 7 March 1423. IN 1424, Jacqueline gave birth to a stillborn child, the only offspring from her four marriages.
Jacqueline hoped that Humphrey would restore her to her counties but, being regent in England, he was occupied with affairs of state. Then her situation changed when her uncle John of Bavaria died on 6 January 1425, the victim of poisoning. Now it was her former husband, John of Brabant, who tried to dispute her inheritance. In this matter, Humphrey did intervene, with disastrous consequences for the English-Burgundian alliance that aided the English cause in France during the Hundred Years' War
.
In October 1425 Duke Humphrey landed a mercenary army in Flanders that laid waste the land to the gates of Brussels. Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, responded with a furious protest to Humphrey threatening war with England. The Englishman suggested that Philip support Jacqueline's cause, and mused that his claim of distruction was "contrary to the truth." Philip challenged him to a duel; Humphrey agreed and brother Bedford adjudicated in a jousting tournament. Nonetheless, armed conflict ensued. Humphrey sent a fleet of twenty-four ships containing an army of 2,000 men under command of Lord FitzWalter at the end of 1425. However, the cities in Zeeland were not prepared to assist, and Jacqueline had no army to come to their aid. In the meantime, Philip the Good was prepared and, on 13 January 1426, started his attack on the main force. The English forces were annihilated and only the knights were not killed, as they could be used to secure a ransom. This victory placed Zeeland securely into Philip's hands. As Brabant and Hainaut were losing the conflict, the Burgundians made peace with Humphrey. In the long term, however, the rift would be fatal to the Anglo-Burgundian alliance and the English war with France.
Soon Humphrey began to distance himself from Jacqueline's cause. On 13 February 1426, Humphrey deserted his wife by returning to England, never to set foot in Flanders again. Jacqueline then found herself obliged to submit to her cousin, Philip the Good, after being besieged in the city of Mons
in Hainaut. Jacqueline was placed under house arrest in the chateau of Ghent
.
On 27 February Pope Martin V decreed that Jacqueline was still the wife of John IV, Duke of Brabant, and this released Humphrey from his obligations to come to her aid. Having lost interest in Jacqueline and her counties in the Low Countries, Humphrey consoled himself in England with Eleanor Cobham
, Jacqueline's former lady-in-waiting, while Jacqueline was imprisoned. Her escape from confinement was extraordinary. When it was rumoured that she was to be taken to Lille
or even as far as Savoy
, two knights came to her rescue. Visiting her, they brought her men's clothing, and she was able to leave the chateau of Ghent unnoticed by the guards in disguise as a man.
John of Brabant now mortgaged the two counties of Holland and Zeeland to Philip, who assumed their protectorate. Jacqueline struggled heroically during the next three years to maintain herself in Holland against the united efforts of Philip the Good, John of Brabant, and the cities of the Hook faction
. Although she occasionally won, her victories were never decisive. On 17 April 1427, John of Brabant died, which ironically did not resolve her marital problems. Pope Martin V
decreed that her marriage to John had been valid, thus confirming that her marriage to Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, was in fact null and void (9 July 1428). Within months Humphrey married with his mistress Eleanor Cobham.
Without allies, and with Philip the Good applying further pressure to her, Jacqueline realised she had no chance of regaining her counties and, on 3 July 1428, "The Reconciliation of Delft" (de Zoen van Delft) was signed between Jacqueline and Philip. By this treaty, Jacqueline kept her titles of Countess of Holland, Zeeland and Hainaut, but the administration of her territories was placed in the hands of Philip, who was also appointed as her heir in case she died without children. She was not allowed to marry without the permission of her mother, Philip and the three counties.
With this treaty, Jacqueline gained more than what she could have expected. Although she was sovereign in name only, her image appeared with Philip's on the coins of her territories. There was to be a council of nine the ruled them, of which she was to be allowed to appoint three. From now as her life was rather empty; she did little but travel through her counties.
("Frank van Borssele"), in charge of Jacqueline's finances. Francis had been one of her opponents in the past; nonetheless, in 1432, they secretly married and attempted to foment a rebellion in Holland against Burgundian rule. In response to this, Philip invaded Holland and threw Borssele into prison. Only on the condition that Jacqueline abdicate her estates in his favour would Philip allow Jacqueline her liberty and recognize her marriage with Borssele. She submitted in April 1432, and lived on her husband's estates in retirement. Jacqueline thus renounced her titles and became known as Duchess in Bavaria, of Holland and Countess of Oostervant. On 1 March 1434, Jacqueline and Frank van Borssele openly married in the church of St. Maartensdijk and Philip granted Frank the title of Count of Oostervant.
Jacqueline's marriage with Frank van Borssele was happy but, in the summer of 1436, it became obvious that she was gravely ill. She died of "consumption" (presumably tuberculosis
) in Teylingen Castle
on 8 October 1436. Since she had no children, Philip of Burgundy inherited Hainaut and Holland. Her husband Frank survived her for thirty-four years.
Bavaria-Straubing
Bavaria-Straubing denotes the widely-scattered territorial inheritance in the Wittelsbach house of Bavaria that were governed by independent dukes of Bavaria-Straubing between 1353 and 1432; a map of these marches and outliers of the Holy Roman Empire, vividly demonstrates the fractionalisation of...
, Countess of Hainaut and Holland
Count of Holland
The Counts of Holland ruled over the County of Holland in the Low Countries between the 10th and the 16th century.-House of Holland:The first count of Holland, Dirk I, was the son or foster-son of Gerolf, Count in Frisia...
from 1417 to 1432. She was also Dauphine of France for a period of less than a year and a half between 1415 and 1417 and Duchess of Gloucester for a period during the 1420s, if her marriage to Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester
Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester
Humphrey of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Gloucester, 1st Earl of Pembroke, KG , also known as Humphrey Plantagenet, was "son, brother and uncle of kings", being the fourth and youngest son of king Henry IV of England by his first wife, Mary de Bohun, brother to king Henry V of England, and uncle to the...
, is accepted as valid.
Jacqueline was the last Wittelsbach
Wittelsbach
The Wittelsbach family is a European royal family and a German dynasty from Bavaria.Members of the family served as Dukes, Electors and Kings of Bavaria , Counts Palatine of the Rhine , Margraves of Brandenburg , Counts of Holland, Hainaut and Zeeland , Elector-Archbishops of Cologne , Dukes of...
ruler of Hainaut and Holland. Following her death, her estates passed into the inheritance of Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy
Duke of Burgundy
Duke of Burgundy was a title borne by the rulers of the Duchy of Burgundy, a small portion of traditional lands of Burgundians west of river Saône which in 843 was allotted to Charles the Bald's kingdom of West Franks...
.
Early life. Marriage to the Duke of Touraine
Born in the Castle of Le QuesnoyLe Quesnoy
Le Quesnoy is a commune in the Nord department in northern France.Le Quesnoy's inhabitants are known as Quercitains.- Economy :The town of Le Quesnoy has somehow missed much of the Industrial Revolution. Unlike the neighboring towns of Valenciennes or Maubeuge, iron/steel works did not take hold...
in Hainaut
County of Hainaut
The County of Hainaut was a historical region in the Low Countries with its capital at Mons . In English sources it is often given the archaic spelling Hainault....
, Jacqueline, from her birth, was referred to as "of Holland", indicating that she was the heiress of her father's estates. She was the only daughter of William II, Duke of Bavaria (also known as William VI, Count of Holland) from his marriage with Margaret of Burgundy, daughter of Margaret III of Flanders and Philip the Bold
Philip the Bold
Philip the Bold , also Philip II, Duke of Burgundy , was the fourth and youngest son of King John II of France and his wife, Bonne of Luxembourg. By his marriage to Margaret III, Countess of Flanders, he also became Count Philip II of Flanders, Count Philip IV of Artois and Count-Palatine Philip IV...
. She was born after 16 years of an otherwise childless marriage. At the age of only twenty-two months (in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
on 5 May 1403) and again at the age of four (in Compiègne
Compiègne
Compiègne is a city in northern France. It is designated municipally as a commune within the département of Oise.The city is located along the Oise River...
on 29 June 1406), Jacqueline was betrothed to John, Duke of Touraine, fourth son of King Charles VI of France
Charles 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 Queen 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...
. Both children were brought up in the Castle of Le Quesnoy, Jacqueline's birth place. The boy had been given into tutelage of his father-in-law, since he was expected to succeed as ruler in Hainaut and not in any way in France itself. It was a happy youth with both children given a very good education. On 22 April 1411 the Pope gave his dispensation for the union and on 6 August 1415, when Jacqueline was just fourteen, she and John married in The Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
.
On 15 December 1415 John's elder brother Louis
Louis, Dauphin of France (1397-1415)
Louis, Dauphin of France and Duke of Guyenne was a younger son of Charles VI of France and Isabella of Bavaria-Ingolstadt...
, the Dauphin of France, died, and John became the new Dauphin and heir to the throne. But John died on 4 April 1417 (in Compiègne, of an abscess in his neck). Two months later, on 31 May, Jacqueline also lost her father.
Marriage to the Duke of Brabant
Acknowledged as sovereign in Holland and Hainaut, Jacqueline was expected to seek a new husband. In 1418, her uncle and guardian, John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy, arranged a marriage to her cousin, John IV, Duke of BrabantJohn IV, Duke of Brabant
John IV, Duke of Brabant was the son of Antoine of Burgundy, Duke of Brabant, Lothier and Limburg.John IV was the second Brabantian ruler of the House of Valois....
and Limbourg. The ceremony took place in The Hague on 18 April of that year, but the marriage brought no happiness to Jacqueline. John was two years younger, boorish, spoiled and weak.
It was at this time that Jacqueline's troubles with her uncle, John III, duke of Bavaria-Straubing and bishop of Liège, began, when he claimed her counties and fuelled the civil war between their political factions. She was fortunate to be able to draw on the support of the Hoek faction
Hook and Cod wars
The Hook and Cod wars comprise a series of wars and battles in the County of Holland between 1350 and 1490. Most of these wars were fought over the title of count of Holland, but some have argued that the underlying reason was because of the power struggle of the bourgeois in the cities against...
in Holland, which represented the interests of the small cities and petty nobility
Petty nobility
Petty nobility is dated at least back to 13th century and was formed by Nobles/Knights around their strategic interests. The idea was more capable peasants with leader roles in local community that were given tax exemption for taking care of services like for example guard duties of local primitive...
. Through the mediation of John the Fearless, a treaty of partition was concluded in 1419 between Jacqueline and John III of Bavaria, but it was merely a truce, and the contest between uncle and niece soon began again. It continued with varying success for both sides until the death of John III in 1425.
Jacqueline came to the realisation that she could not depend on the support either of her husband or her mother in her confrontation with her uncle. Due to personal and political disagreements with her husband, Jacqueline finally left him to reside in the Kingdom of England
Kingdom of England
The Kingdom of England was, from 927 to 1707, a sovereign state to the northwest of continental Europe. At its height, the Kingdom of England spanned the southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain and several smaller outlying islands; what today comprises the legal jurisdiction of England...
at the invitation of Henry V
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....
. Jacqueline's marriage with John of Brabant was declared illegal, and she obtained a divorce from Avignon Pope Benedict XIII on 7 March 1422. Upon her arrival, it was Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, the younger brother of King Henry, who welcomed her. He was thirty, unmarried, and, according to an English chronicle, "exceeded any monarch in knowledge". Although Jacqueline considered marriage to the Duke of Gloucester, Henry V prevented her from marrying him. Nevertheless, she was an honoured guest at the court of England, and when the future Henry VI was born, Jacqueline was made one of his godparents.
Marriage to the Duke of Gloucester and its aftermath
It was only after the unexpected death of Henry V in 1422 that Jacqueline obtained a dubious divorce from John of Brabant valid in England that allowed a marriage to Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester. However, as not all rules were observed, the marriage was arranged in haste and in secret in the town of Hadleigh, EssexHadleigh, Essex
Hadleigh is a town in southeast Essex, England, on the A13 between Benfleet and Leigh-on-Sea with a population of about 18,300.-History:Hadleigh is known for its castle, and the country park that surrounds it. The castle has been a romantic ruin for a few hundred years, but parts of two towers are...
, sometime before 7 March 1423. IN 1424, Jacqueline gave birth to a stillborn child, the only offspring from her four marriages.
Jacqueline hoped that Humphrey would restore her to her counties but, being regent in England, he was occupied with affairs of state. Then her situation changed when her uncle John of Bavaria died on 6 January 1425, the victim of poisoning. Now it was her former husband, John of Brabant, who tried to dispute her inheritance. In this matter, Humphrey did intervene, with disastrous consequences for the English-Burgundian alliance that aided the English cause in France during 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...
.
In October 1425 Duke Humphrey landed a mercenary army in Flanders that laid waste the land to the gates of Brussels. Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, responded with a furious protest to Humphrey threatening war with England. The Englishman suggested that Philip support Jacqueline's cause, and mused that his claim of distruction was "contrary to the truth." Philip challenged him to a duel; Humphrey agreed and brother Bedford adjudicated in a jousting tournament. Nonetheless, armed conflict ensued. Humphrey sent a fleet of twenty-four ships containing an army of 2,000 men under command of Lord FitzWalter at the end of 1425. However, the cities in Zeeland were not prepared to assist, and Jacqueline had no army to come to their aid. In the meantime, Philip the Good was prepared and, on 13 January 1426, started his attack on the main force. The English forces were annihilated and only the knights were not killed, as they could be used to secure a ransom. This victory placed Zeeland securely into Philip's hands. As Brabant and Hainaut were losing the conflict, the Burgundians made peace with Humphrey. In the long term, however, the rift would be fatal to the Anglo-Burgundian alliance and the English war with France.
Soon Humphrey began to distance himself from Jacqueline's cause. On 13 February 1426, Humphrey deserted his wife by returning to England, never to set foot in Flanders again. Jacqueline then found herself obliged to submit to her cousin, Philip the Good, after being besieged in the city of Mons
Mons
Mons is a Walloon city and municipality located in the Belgian province of Hainaut, of which it is the capital. The Mons municipality includes the old communes of Cuesmes, Flénu, Ghlin, Hyon, Nimy, Obourg, Baudour , Jemappes, Ciply, Harmignies, Harveng, Havré, Maisières, Mesvin, Nouvelles,...
in Hainaut. Jacqueline was placed under house arrest in the chateau of Ghent
Ghent
Ghent is a city and a municipality located in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is the capital and biggest city of the East Flanders province. The city started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Lys and in the Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of...
.
On 27 February Pope Martin V decreed that Jacqueline was still the wife of John IV, Duke of Brabant, and this released Humphrey from his obligations to come to her aid. Having lost interest in Jacqueline and her counties in the Low Countries, Humphrey consoled himself in England with Eleanor Cobham
Eleanor Cobham
Eleanor [née Eleanor Cobham], Duchess of Gloucester , was a mistress and the second wife of Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester. A convicted sorceress, her imprisonment for treasonable necromancy in 1441 was a cause célèbre.-Family:...
, Jacqueline's former lady-in-waiting, while Jacqueline was imprisoned. Her escape from confinement was extraordinary. When it was rumoured that she was to be taken to Lille
Lille
Lille is a city in northern France . It is the principal city of the Lille Métropole, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the country behind those of Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Lille is situated on the Deûle River, near France's border with Belgium...
or even as far as Savoy
Savoy
Savoy is a region of France. It comprises roughly the territory of the Western Alps situated between Lake Geneva in the north and Monaco and the Mediterranean coast in the south....
, two knights came to her rescue. Visiting her, they brought her men's clothing, and she was able to leave the chateau of Ghent unnoticed by the guards in disguise as a man.
John of Brabant now mortgaged the two counties of Holland and Zeeland to Philip, who assumed their protectorate. Jacqueline struggled heroically during the next three years to maintain herself in Holland against the united efforts of Philip the Good, John of Brabant, and the cities of the Hook faction
Hook and Cod wars
The Hook and Cod wars comprise a series of wars and battles in the County of Holland between 1350 and 1490. Most of these wars were fought over the title of count of Holland, but some have argued that the underlying reason was because of the power struggle of the bourgeois in the cities against...
. Although she occasionally won, her victories were never decisive. On 17 April 1427, John of Brabant died, which ironically did not resolve her marital problems. Pope Martin V
Pope Martin V
Pope Martin V , born Odo Colonna, was Pope from 1417 to 1431. His election effectively ended the Western Schism .-Biography:...
decreed that her marriage to John had been valid, thus confirming that her marriage to Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, was in fact null and void (9 July 1428). Within months Humphrey married with his mistress Eleanor Cobham.
Without allies, and with Philip the Good applying further pressure to her, Jacqueline realised she had no chance of regaining her counties and, on 3 July 1428, "The Reconciliation of Delft" (de Zoen van Delft) was signed between Jacqueline and Philip. By this treaty, Jacqueline kept her titles of Countess of Holland, Zeeland and Hainaut, but the administration of her territories was placed in the hands of Philip, who was also appointed as her heir in case she died without children. She was not allowed to marry without the permission of her mother, Philip and the three counties.
With this treaty, Jacqueline gained more than what she could have expected. Although she was sovereign in name only, her image appeared with Philip's on the coins of her territories. There was to be a council of nine the ruled them, of which she was to be allowed to appoint three. From now as her life was rather empty; she did little but travel through her counties.
Final Days
In 1430, Philip the Good mortgaged Holland and Zeeland to the Borssele family, who placed the head of the family, Francis, Lord of BorsseleFrank van Borssele
Frank II of Borssele was a fifteenth century Zeelandic nobleman.He was stadhouder of Holland and Zealand, but is mainly known as the fourth husband of countess Jacqueline of Holland. He was the son of Floris van Borssele and Oda van Bergen, Lord of Sint Maartensdijk, Scherpenisse and Zuylen...
("Frank van Borssele"), in charge of Jacqueline's finances. Francis had been one of her opponents in the past; nonetheless, in 1432, they secretly married and attempted to foment a rebellion in Holland against Burgundian rule. In response to this, Philip invaded Holland and threw Borssele into prison. Only on the condition that Jacqueline abdicate her estates in his favour would Philip allow Jacqueline her liberty and recognize her marriage with Borssele. She submitted in April 1432, and lived on her husband's estates in retirement. Jacqueline thus renounced her titles and became known as Duchess in Bavaria, of Holland and Countess of Oostervant. On 1 March 1434, Jacqueline and Frank van Borssele openly married in the church of St. Maartensdijk and Philip granted Frank the title of Count of Oostervant.
Jacqueline's marriage with Frank van Borssele was happy but, in the summer of 1436, it became obvious that she was gravely ill. She died of "consumption" (presumably tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
) in Teylingen Castle
Teylingen
Teylingen is a municipality in the province of South Holland, the Netherlands. It was created on January 1, 2006, through the amalgamation of Sassenheim, Voorhout, and Warmond...
on 8 October 1436. Since she had no children, Philip of Burgundy inherited Hainaut and Holland. Her husband Frank survived her for thirty-four years.