Brienne (noble family)

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The House of Brienne was a family of the feudal nobility of the high medieval Champagne in France , whose eponymous ancestral seat was in what is now the municipality of Brienne-le-Château in the Aube department . This family has achieved particular historical prominence due to its cross-generational participation in the Crusades of the 12th and 13th centuries and produced a King of Jerusalem and Emperor of Constantinople . In addition, the Brienne provided three Connétables from France and two Lord High Constables in England.

John of Brienne and Mary of Montferrat are crowned King and Queen of Jerusalem. Illustration from an edition of the Histories of William of Tire , 13th century; Bibliothèque nationale de France, MS français 2824, fol. 186v .

history

The origins of the family go back to the middle of the 10th century. Flodoard von Reims noted in his annals for the year 951 the siege and razing of the castle of Brienne by King Ludwig IV “the overseas” because their masters, the brothers Gotbert and Engelbert I , had raided the surrounding area with raids. Apparently Engelbert I succeeded in rebuilding his castle in the following years, since it served him and his descendants as ancestral seat, over the surrounding area they were able to consolidate a permanent rule. A genealogy of the earliest representatives of those of Brienne can only be vaguely constructed in the absence of sufficient documentation. Apparently, until the first half of the 11th century, there was a succession of three people named Engelbert, of whom Engelbert I already claimed the title of count. A genealogy can only be traced from Count Walter I in the middle of the 11th century.

The county of Brienne was not one of the great territorial lords of feudal medieval France. It did not even include the entire old Franconian pagus Breonensis , but only corresponded to its southern half, for example today's canton of Brienne-le-Château. The power-political weight of the Count House was therefore limited and from the 11th century at the latest it had to recognize the feudal sovereignty of the powerful Counts of Champagne, whose main residence Troyes was about twenty kilometers west of Brienne. The family had achieved a certain regional importance mainly through their relationship with neighboring families, especially the gentlemen's family from Joinville were closely associated with them until the 13th century.

Count Erhard I († approx. 1114) began the family's long crusader tradition, which was characteristic of almost every feudal family in Champagne and for which that of Brienne became particularly prominent. No fewer than twelve family members had actively participated in the Crusades by the end of the 13th century. Particularly famous was Johann von Brienne († 1237), who in 1210 was chosen as a later-born and poorly paid son of the family to be the husband of the Queen of Jerusalem and was thus set to rule over this Crusader kingdom. From 1218 to 1221 he led the Damiette crusade (fifth crusade) and was elected to the Latin imperial throne in Constantinople shortly before the end of his life . Through his daughter, Queen Isabella II († 1228), he became the grandfather of the last rulers of the Staufer family .

The main line of the House of Brienne expired in 1360 with Countess Isabella as her last representative in the male line, the County of Brienne passed to her heirs from the House of Enghien . Sub-branches derived from Johann von Brienne survived both in France as Counts of Eu and Vice- Counts of Beaumont into the 14th century, and in England as Viscount Beaumont into the 16th century.

coat of arms

The earliest heraldic representations of the House of Brienne date from the 13th century and have the basic motif of a golden, upright lion on a blue shield (Fig. 1). This lion depiction appears for the first time on a seal of Johann von Brienne from the year 1209. On seals of the count's main line, this motif appears subsequently supplemented with shingles (image 2), which today serves as the coat of arms of the Commune Brienne-le-Château. A side branch established in Ramerupt had its shield striped gold and blue (Fig. 3), while that of the Vice Counts of Beaumont had its shield covered with gold fleur-de-lys (Fig. 4). The latter is used today as the coat of arms of the Commune Beaumont-sur-Sarthe .

  • Image 1

  • picture 2

  • picture 3

  • Picture 4

When the English chronicler Matthäus Paris illustrated his Historia Anglorum in the second half of the 13th century , he had provided the news of the death of John of Brienne with the depiction of an upside-down coat of arms that shows a golden fish on a blue shield (Fig. 5 ). A fish motif has never been used on any of the Brienne's well-known seals.

  • Picture 5; Rotated 180 °

Master list (extract)

The Lords of Brienne

The Counts of Brienne and Bar-sur-Seine

  1. Walter I of Brienne , 1035 Count of Brienne, † before 1089/1090; ⚭Eustachie Countess of Bar-sur-Seine , daughter of Milon IV. (I.) Count of Tonnerre and Bar-sur-Seine - ancestors see above
    1. Érard I. , † 1114/25, before 1095 Count of Brienne,
      1. Walter II. , † before 1161, Count of Brienne, Lord of Ramerupt
        1. Érard II. , † 1190/1191, 1161 Count of Brienne
          1. Walter III. , † 1205, 1192 Count of Brienne, pretender to the throne of Sicily, Prince of Taranto ; ⚭ 1200 Elvira of Lecce, † after 1216, daughter of Tankred of Lecce , King of Sicily ( Hauteville )
            1. Margarete von Brienne, lover of Emperor Friedrich II. ( Staufer )
            2. Walter IV. , † murdered 1244/47, around 1210 Count of Brienne, 1221/24 Count of Jaffa; ⚭ Mary of Cyprus, daughter of King Hugo I ( House of Lusignan )
              1. Johann I , Count of Brienne, † 1260/1261
              2. Hugo , † 1296, Count of Brienne, 1269 Count of Lecce, 1289 Lord of Conversano
                1. Walter V , Count of Brienne and Lecce, 1308 Duke of Athens , X 1311; ⚭ Johanna von Châtillon, † 1354, daughter of Walter V von Châtillon , Count of Porcien , Connétable of France ( House of Châtillon )
                  1. Walter VI. , Count of Brienne and Lecce, Count of Conversano, Lord of Florence , Titular Duke of Athens, Connétable of France , X 1356; ⚭ I Margaret of Sicily, daughter of Prince Philip I of Taranto ; ⚭ II 1342/43 Johanna von Brienne, daughter of Rudolf III. , Count of Eu
                  2. Isabella , 1356 Countess of Brienne, Lecce and Conversano, mistress of Ramerupt, † 1360; ⚭ Walter III. von Enghien , † 1345 ( House Enghien )
                2. Agnes; ⚭ John II, Count of Joigny ( House of Joigny )
                3. Johanna, ⚭ Niccolo I. Sanudo , Duke of Naxos , † 1341
          2. Wilhelm, † before 1200; ⚭ Eustachia von Courtenay, daughter of Peter I ( House of France-Courtenay )
          3. Johann von Brienne , † 1237, King of Jerusalem, Emperor of Constantinople; ⚭ Mary of Montferrat , Queen of Jerusalem, † 1212; ⚭ II Stephanie of Armenia ; ⚭ III Berenguela of Castile, daughter of Alfonso IX. King of León , and Berenguela of Castile - descendants see below
        2. Andreas , Herr von Ramerupt, - offspring
    2. Milon II , Count of Bar-sur-Seine, † before 1126
      1. Guido , Count of Bar-sur-Seine
        1. Milon III. , † 1151, Count of Bar-sur-Seine
          1. Pétronille , 1168 Countess of Bar-sur-Seine; ⚭ 1168 Hugo IV of Le Puiset, Vice Count of Chartres , † 1189 ( House of Le Puiset )
        2. Manasses , † 1193, 1164 Count of Bar-sur-Seine, 1179/1193 Bishop of Langres
        3. Theobald , 1169 Count of Bar-sur-Seine
        4. Ermesinde; ⚭ II 1189, divorced around 1195, Theobald I, 1191 Count von Bar -sur-Aube, 1198 Count of Luxembourg, † 1214
      2. Rainald, † December 16, 1150, Abbot of Cîteaux

The Counts of Eu

  1. John of Brienne , King of Jerusalem, Emperor of Constantinople; ⚭ Mary of Montferrat , Queen of Jerusalem, † 1212; ⚭ II Stephanie of Armenia ; ⚭ III Berenguela of Castile, daughter of Alfonso IX. King of León and Berenguela of Castile - ancestors see above
    1. (I) Jolande / Isabella II , Queen of Jerusalem, † 1228; ⚭ Friedrich II. , German Emperor, † 1250
    2. (II) Johann, Crown Prince of Armenia , † 1220
    3. (III) Maria , † 1275, regent of Constantinople; ⚭ Baldwin II , Latin Emperor of Constantinople, † 1273
    4. (III) Alfons of Akko , Count of Eu , † 1270, Grand Chamberlain of France ; ⚭ Marie de Lusignan , Countess of Eu, † 1260, daughter of Count Rudolf (Raoul) of Eu and Gûines
      1. Johann II. , † 1294, Count of Eu; ⚭ Beatrix of Châtillon, daughter of Guido II , Count of Saint-Pol ( House of Châtillon )
        1. Johann III. , X 1302 in the Battle of Spurs , Count of Eu and Guînes; ⚭ Johanna, Countess of Guînes, † 1332, daughter of Count Balduin ( House of Gent )
          1. Raoul I , † 1344, Count of Eu and Guînes, 1327 Connétable of France , 1331 Governor of Languedoc
            1. Raoul II , † 1350, Count of Eu and Guînes, 1344 Constable of France
            2. Johanna, † 1389, Dame de Château-Chinon ; ⚭ I Walter VI. , Count of Brienne, Lecce and Conversano, † 1356; ⚭ II Ludwig von Évreux , Count of Étampes , Peer of France , † 1400
      2. Blanche, † before 1328, 1309 Abbess of Maubuisson
    5. (III) Louis of Akko , † after 1297, Vice Count of Beaumont-au-Maine; ⚭ Agnes, Vice Countess of Beaumont, † after 1304, daughter of Vice Count Raoul VIII. - For descendants see below
    6. (III) John of Akko , † 1296, 1258–94 Bouteiller de France ; ⚭ Marie de Coucy, daughter of Enguerrand III. de Coucy ( House of Boves ), widow of Alexander II , King of Scotland ( House of Dunkeld ); ⚭ Jeanne de Châteaudun, Dame de Château-du-Loir , daughter of Geoffroy VI. Viscount de Châteaudun ( House of Châteaudun )

The Vice Counts of Beaumont in France and England

  1. Louis of Akko , † after 1297, Vice Count of Beaumont-au-Maine; ⚭ Agnes, Vice Countess of Beaumont, † after 1304, daughter of Vice Count Raoul VIII - ancestors see above
    1. Johann, † 1306
      1. Robert, † 1327, Vice Count of Beaumont
        1. Johann, † before 1355, Vice Count of Beaumont
          1. Marie, † 1372, Dame de Beaumont; ⚭ Guillaume de Chamaillart, † 1391
            1. Marie de Chamaillart, † 1425; ⚭ Peter II , Count of Alençon , inherits the Vice-County of Beaumont
          2. Ludwig II, Vice Count of Beaumont, † 1364
    2. Ludwig † 1333, Bishop of Durham
    3. Margarete, † 1328; ⚭ Bohemond IV , count of Tripoli 1257/1287
    4. Johanna, † 1323; ⚭ Guy VII. De Laval, Count of Caserta , † 1295 ( House of Montmorency )
    5. Henry de Beaumont , † 1340, 1st Baron Beaumont; ⚭ Alice Comyn, † 1349, daughter of Alexander Comyn , Sheriff of Aberdeen and NN (probably Joan Le Latimer), niece and heiress of John Comyn, Earl of Buchan
      1. John de Beaumont , † 1342, 2nd Baron Beaumont; ⚭ Eleanor of Lancaster, † 1372, daughter of Henry Plantagenet, 3rd Earl of Lancaster , and Maud de Chaworth
        1. Henry de Beaumont, 3rd Baron Beaumont † 1369; ⚭ Margaret de Vere , † 1398, daughter of John de Vere, 7th Earl of Oxford
          1. John Beaumont, 4th Baron Beaumont , † 1396; ⚭ Katherine Everingham
            1. Elizabeth Beaumont, † 1415
            2. Richard Beaumont
            3. Eleanor Beaumont
            4. Margaret Beaumont
            5. Henry Beaumont, † 1413, 5th Baron Beaumont
              1. John Beaumont , † X 1460, 6th Baron Beaumont, 1436 Count of Boulogne , 1440 1st Viscount Beaumont, 1445/50 constable of England, 1450 Great Chambelain; ⚭ II Katherine Neville , † after 1483, daughter of Ralph Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland , and Joan Beaufort , Bâtarde d'Angleterre, widow of John Mowbray, 2nd Duke of Norfolk
                1. (I) Joan Beaumont, † 1466
                2. (I) Henry Beaumont, † before 1460
                3. (I) William Beaumont , † 1507, 2nd Viscount Beaumont, 7th Lord Beaumont; ⚭ Joan Stafford, † after 1491, daughter of Humphrey Stafford, 1st Duke of Buckingham
            6. Thomas Beaumont, Lord of Basqueville, † 1457
      2. Isabel de Beaumont († 1356), ⚭ 1330 Henry of Grosmont, 1st Duke of Lancaster

literature

Remarks

  1. ↑ Cf. Flodoard von Reims, MGH , Scriptores (in folio) 3, p. 400f; Richer von Reims , MGH, Scriptores (in folio) 38, pp. 168f.
  2. ↑ See Louis Douët d'Arcq, Inventaires et documents publ. par ordre de l'Empereur: Collection de sceaux, Vol. 1 (1863), No. 1016, p. 428.
  3. ↑ Arms of John of Brienne ( English ) In: Royal MS 14 C VII, fol. 125v . British Library . Accessed in 2019.