John II, Duke of Brittany

John II
John II
Duke of Brittany
Reign	8 October 1286 – 18 November 1305
Predecessor	John I
Successor	Arthur II
Born	3/4 January 1239
Died	18 November 1305 (aged 66); Lyon, Kingdom of Arles
Burial	Notre-Dame des Carmes
Spouse	Beatrice of England (m. 1260; died 1275)
Issue	Arthur II, Duke of Brittany; John, 1st Earl of Richmond; Marie, Countess of Saint Pol; Peter, Viscount of Leon; Blanche, Countess of Artois; Eleanor, Abbess of Fontevrault;
House	Dreux
Father	John I, Duke of Brittany
Mother	Blanche of Navarre

John II (Breton: Yann; French: Jean; 1239 – 18 November 1305) reigned as Duke of Brittany from 1286 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.

Life

John was the eldest son of Duke John I of Brittany and Blanche of Navarre.^[1] On 22 January 1260, he married Beatrice, a daughter of King Henry III of England.^[2] John was very close to his brother-in-law, 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.^[3]

Upon the death of his father on 8 October 1286, John succeeded him as duke of Brittany, inheriting also the Earldom of Richmond in the Peerage of England. His namesake son was governing Aquitaine in the name of his uncle Edward I, when King Philip IV declared Edward's rule forfeit in May 1294 after Edward's refusal to stand before the Parlement of Paris over fishing disputes the previous year that had escalated into naval warfare between the two countries. John assisted his brother-in-law in the ensuing Gascon War 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.^[3] During the negotiations over the final Treaty of Paris ending the war, John was among Philip's chief negotiators with the English.^[4]

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.^[3] 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.^[5] He died four days later, on 18 November.^[5]^[3] 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.^[3]

Issue

John and Beatrice had six children, several of whom were raised at the English court of their uncle Edward I.

Arthur II, Duke of Brittany (1262–1312)^[6]
John, Earl of Richmond (c. 1266–1334)^[6]
Marie, wife of Guy III of Châtillon (1268–1339)^[7]
Peter, Viscount of Leon (1269–1312)^[6]
Blanche, wife of Philip of Artois (1271–1327)^[6]
Eleanor of Brittany, Abbess of Fontevrault (1275–1342)^[6]

References

Citations

^ Morvan 2009, table 5.
^ Waugh 1988, p. 179.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e La Borderie 1906, pp. 359–381.
^ Rymer & al. (1745), "Tractatus Perpetuae Paciis & Amicitiae inter Angliae & Franciae Reges Firmatus & Juratus" [Treaty of Perpetual Peace and Friendship between the Kings of England & France Confirmed & Sworn].
^ ^a ^b Menache 2002, p. 17.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Morvan 2009, table 2.
^ Golden 2002, p. 73.

Sources

Golden, Judith K. (2002). "Instructional Images and the Life of St. Eustace". In Hourihane, Colum (ed.). Insights and Interpretations. Princeton University Press.
La Borderie, Arthur Le Moyne de (1906). Histoire de Bretagne. J. Plihon et L. Hommay.
Menache, Sophia (2002). Clement V. Cambridge University Press.
Morvan, Frederic (2009). La Chevalerie bretonne et la formation de l'armee ducale, 1260-1341 (in French). Presses Universitaires de Rennes.
Rymer, Thomas; et al., eds. (1745), Foedera, Conventiones, Literae, et Cujuscunque Generis Acta Publica inter Reges Angliae et Alios Quosvis Imperatores, Reges, Pontifices, Principes, vel Communitates... [Treaties, Conventions, Letters, and Public Proceedings of Any Kind between the Kings of England and Any Other Emperors, Kings, Popes, Princes, or Communities...] (in Latin and French), vol. I, Pt. 4 (3rd ed.), The Hague: Jean Neaulme, pp. 24–29.
Waugh, Scott L. (1988). The Lordship of England: Royal Wardships and Marriages in English Society and Politics, 1217-1327. Princeton University Press.

Regnal titles
John II, Duke of Brittany House of Dreux Cadet branch of the Capetian dynasty Born: 1239 Died: 18 November 1305
Preceded by John I	Duke of Brittany 1286–1305	Succeeded by Arthur II
Peerage of England
Preceded by John	Earl of Richmond 1268–1305	Vacant Forfeited Title next held by John