Jean Tristan of France
Encyclopedia
John Tristan of France was a French prince of the Capetian dynasty
. He was jure uxoris
Count of Nevers from 1265 to 1270, Count of Auxerre
and Tonnerre
(jure uxoris
) and also Count of Valois and Crépy
(1268–1270).
, Egypt
. He was the sixth child and the fourth son of king Louis IX of France
, called St. Louis, and Margaret of Provence. Moreover he was the first of three children of this royal couple who were born during the Seventh Crusade
. He was born at the Egyptian port town of Damietta which had been conquered by the crusaders in 1249. According to chronicler Jean de Joinville
, an old knight acted as midwife during John's birth. Two days prior to his birth, the king was captured by the Mamluks which was the reason to name the child Tristan
due to the triste occasion. He was baptised in the grand mosque of Damietta that had been re-consecrated into a church. One month later, Damietta had to be abandoned. John subsequently spent his childhood in the Holy Land
where his siblings Peter
(1251) and Blanche
(1253) were born.
, but John resisted this wish successfully. In 1266, he was married to Yolande II, Countess of Nevers (1247-1280), making him Count of Nevers, Auxerre and Tonnere. In 1268, John was made Count of Valois and Crépy on his own right by his father the king, a gift he received as paréage
.
, which reached Tunis in July after setting out from Cagliari
on Sardinia
. But at Tunis the army suffered an outbreak of dysentery
. John Tristan was one of the victims who died of it, and three weaks later, St. Louis also succumbed to the disease. Both bodies were transported to France and buried in the Basilica of St Denis.
John's marriage remained childless. His widow Yolande married again in 1272 with Robert III of Flanders
; the county of Valois, his prerogative, returned to the Crown.
Capetian dynasty
The Capetian dynasty , also known as the House of France, is the largest and oldest European royal house, consisting of the descendants of King Hugh Capet of France in the male line. Hugh Capet himself was a cognatic descendant of the Carolingians and the Merovingians, earlier rulers of France...
. He was jure uxoris
Jure uxoris
Jure uxoris is a Latin term that means "by right of his wife" or "in right of a wife". It is commonly used to refer to a title held by a man whose wife holds it in her own right. In other words, he acquired the title simply by being her husband....
Count of Nevers from 1265 to 1270, Count of Auxerre
Auxerre
Auxerre is a commune in the Bourgogne region in north-central France, between Paris and Dijon. It is the capital of the Yonne department.Auxerre's population today is about 45,000...
and Tonnerre
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
(jure uxoris
Jure uxoris
Jure uxoris is a Latin term that means "by right of his wife" or "in right of a wife". It is commonly used to refer to a title held by a man whose wife holds it in her own right. In other words, he acquired the title simply by being her husband....
) and also Count of Valois and Crépy
Crépy-en-Valois
Crépy-en-Valois is a large town in northern France. It is designated municipally as a commune within the département of Oise. It is located northeast of the center of Paris.-History:...
(1268–1270).
Birth and childhood
John was born in DamiettaDamietta
Damietta , also known as Damiata, or Domyat, is a port and the capital of the Damietta Governorate in Egypt. It is located at the intersection between the Mediterranean Sea and the Nile, about north of Cairo.-History:...
, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
. He was the sixth child and the fourth son of king Louis IX of France
Louis IX of France
Louis IX , commonly Saint Louis, was King of France from 1226 until his death. He was also styled Louis II, Count of Artois from 1226 to 1237. Born at Poissy, near Paris, he was an eighth-generation descendant of Hugh Capet, and thus a member of the House of Capet, and the son of Louis VIII and...
, called St. Louis, and Margaret of Provence. Moreover he was the first of three children of this royal couple who were born during the Seventh Crusade
Seventh Crusade
The Seventh Crusade was a crusade led by Louis IX of France from 1248 to 1254. Approximately 800,000 bezants were paid in ransom for King Louis who, along with thousands of his troops, was captured and defeated by the Egyptian army led by the Ayyubid Sultan Turanshah supported by the Bahariyya...
. He was born at the Egyptian port town of Damietta which had been conquered by the crusaders in 1249. According to chronicler Jean de Joinville
Jean de Joinville
Jean de Joinville was one of the great chroniclers of medieval France.Son of Simon de Joinville and Beatrice d'Auxonne, he belonged to a noble family from Champagne. He received an education befitting a young noble at the court of Theobald IV, count of Champagne: reading, writing, and the...
, an old knight acted as midwife during John's birth. Two days prior to his birth, the king was captured by the Mamluks which was the reason to name the child Tristan
Tristan (name)
Tristan or Tristram is a given name of Welsh origin. It originates from the Brythonic name Drust or Drustanus. It derives from a stem meaning "noise", seen in the modern Welsh noun trwst "noise" and the verb trystio "to clatter".It became popularized through the character of Tristan, one of the...
due to the triste occasion. He was baptised in the grand mosque of Damietta that had been re-consecrated into a church. One month later, Damietta had to be abandoned. John subsequently spent his childhood in the Holy Land
Holy Land
The Holy Land is a term which in Judaism refers to the Kingdom of Israel as defined in the Tanakh. For Jews, the Land's identifiction of being Holy is defined in Judaism by its differentiation from other lands by virtue of the practice of Judaism often possible only in the Land of Israel...
where his siblings Peter
Peter, Count of Perche and Alençon
Peter of France or Peter I of Alencon was the son of Louis IX of France and Margaret of Provence. He became Count of Alençon in 1269 and in 1284, Count of Blois and Chartres, and Seigneur de Guise in 1272 and 1284.He was born in the Holy Land while his father headed the Seventh Crusade...
(1251) and Blanche
Blanche of France (1253–1323)
Blanche of France was a daughter of King Louis IX of France and Margaret of Provence, and sister of King Philip III of France and Queen Isabella of Navarre.-Biography:...
(1253) were born.
Marriage
His father wished that John joined the Dominican OrderDominican Order
The Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
, but John resisted this wish successfully. In 1266, he was married to Yolande II, Countess of Nevers (1247-1280), making him Count of Nevers, Auxerre and Tonnere. In 1268, John was made Count of Valois and Crépy on his own right by his father the king, a gift he received as paréage
Paréage
In Medieval France a paréage or pariage was a feudal treaty recognising joint sovereignty over a territory by two rulers, who were on an equal footing, pari passu; compare peer. On a familial scale, paréage could also refer to the equal division of lands and the titles they brought between sons of...
.
Crusade
Two years later, John accompanied his father during the Eighth CrusadeEighth Crusade
The Eighth Crusade was a crusade launched by Louis IX, King of France, in 1270. The Eighth Crusade is sometimes counted as the Seventh, if the Fifth and Sixth Crusades of Frederick II are counted as a single crusade...
, which reached Tunis in July after setting out from Cagliari
Cagliari
Cagliari is the capital of the island of Sardinia, a region of Italy. Cagliari's Sardinian name Casteddu literally means castle. It has about 156,000 inhabitants, or about 480,000 including the outlying townships : Elmas, Assemini, Capoterra, Selargius, Sestu, Monserrato, Quartucciu, Quartu...
on Sardinia
Sardinia
Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],...
. But at Tunis the army suffered an outbreak of dysentery
Dysentery
Dysentery is an inflammatory disorder of the intestine, especially of the colon, that results in severe diarrhea containing mucus and/or blood in the faeces with fever and abdominal pain. If left untreated, dysentery can be fatal.There are differences between dysentery and normal bloody diarrhoea...
. John Tristan was one of the victims who died of it, and three weaks later, St. Louis also succumbed to the disease. Both bodies were transported to France and buried in the Basilica of St Denis.
John's marriage remained childless. His widow Yolande married again in 1272 with Robert III of Flanders
Robert III of Flanders
Robert III of Flanders , also called Robert of Bethune and nicknamed The Lion of Flanders , was Count of Nevers 1273–1322 and Count of Flanders 1305–1322.-History:...
; the county of Valois, his prerogative, returned to the Crown.