Jeanne de Montfort

Background

Jeanne de Montfort was born in 1925 in France. She was the daughter of Louis de Nevers, Count of Flanders and Joan, Countess of Rethel. Little is known about her early life.

Career

The death of Jean ill of Brittany in 1341 led to a succession dispute for the duchy of Brittany between the rival claimants Jean de Montfort, half brother of the deceased duke, and Jeanne de Penthievre, Jean Ill's niece by his younger brother Guy. The two rival factions were backed by the kings of England and France, respectively.

Jeanne de Montfort and her husband moved swiftly to occupy Nantes and Rennes and secure the ducal treasury in May-June 1341. She was also a key military leader of the Montfort faction in her own right. After her husband's capture at Nantes on 18 November 1341, Jeanne organized the defense of the Montfort possessions in Brittany againsе the Penthievre faction and their French allies through the winter of 1341-1342 and sent at least two embassies to England seeking support. These secured a formal alliance with Edward III of England in February 1342 and the dispatch of English armies to Brittany, including one led by Edward himself in October 1342. With English support, the Montfort faction was able to seize and hold a series of fortresses around the Breton coast. Jeanne's most celebrated military feat was her alleged defense of Hennebont against the army of Charles de Blois in May 1342, when, according to Jean le Bel and Froissart, she donned armor, mounted a horse, and, showing "the heart of a lion and the courage of a man," rode through the streets, encouraging her forces and leading a rout of the opposing camp, burning its tents. Following the Anglo-French truce of Malestroit in 1343, Jeanne and her two children, Jeanne and Jean (the future Jean IV), went to England with the returning Edward III. The struggle in Brittany was subsequently waged by Edward III's lieutenants; Jeanne took no further active role in the war. Froissart claimed that she led the pro-Montfort forces in a naval engagement off Guernsey and that she continued to command her forces in battle after her husband's death in 1345. However, his account seems to be based on confusion or conflation of different naval battles, none of which Jeanne took part in. She never returned from exile in England. Froissart, who was attached to the household of the queen of England, Philippa of Hainault, tended to glorify the role played by Jeanne de Montfort, so his descriptions of her actions need to be treated with some skepticism.

Achievements

• When John died in 1345, during a war against the Blois family over control of Brittany, Jeanne became ruler of the duchy to protect the rights of her son, John V, who was next in line of succession. In one siege, she organized a successful military defense that included the women of the town cutting their skirts and joining the battle.

Personality

Jeanne de Montfort was a tough and ambitious woman and appears to have been the prime mover behind her husband's campaign.

Quotes from others about the person

• "In those qualities admired by chivalry she was unquestionably an extraordinary woman: courageous and personally valiant, with a head to plan daring exploits and a heart to conduct her through the thick of the danger; impulsive and generous, a free-handed ruler and an admirer of those deeds of chivalrous daring in others which she was so willing to share in herself... One cannot read her story without enthusiasm, yet one would like to know more of the woman before bestowing unreserved praise on the countess 'who was worth a man in a fight' and 'who had the heart of a lion.'" - Pierce Butler

Connections

Jeanne was married to Jean de Montfort in 1329.

Father:

Louis de Nevers, Count of Flanders

Mother:

Joan, Countess of Rethel

husband:

Jean de Montfort

Son:

John IV, Duke of Brittany

Daughter:

Joan, Baroness of Drayton

References

• Amazons to Fighter Pilots: A Biographical Dictionary of Military Women
  2003
• Women of Mediæval France
  1907
• Joanna of Flanders: Heroine and Exile
  2019