Jean IV. De Brosse

Jean IV. De Brosse, drawing by Jean Clouet, around 1540

Jean IV. De Brosse (* around 1505; † January 27, 1564 in Lamballe ) was the son of René de Brosse and Jeanne de Commines, the daughter of Philippe de Commynes . With the death of his father in the Battle of Pavia (1525) , he follows him as Count of Penthièvre .

In 1536 he married Anne de Pisseleu d'Heilly (* probably 1508, † after 1552), who had been the mistress of King Francis I from around 1526 and remained so until his death in 1547. In the same year Jean de Brosse was made Duke of Étampes (and she became Duchess). However, this increase in wealth was not enough to cover the costs that his position at court brought with it, so that he became increasingly impoverished - which was not changed by his appointment as Duke of Chevreuse in 1545. The arguments between Anne de Pisseleu and Diane de Poitiers , the Dauphin's mistress , then after the death of the king and Henry II's accession to the throne , Jean and Anne had to withdraw from the court. The couple went to Brittany , where Jean had been governor since 1543 .

In 1553 Diane de Poitiers succeeded in taking over the Duchy of Étampes. In 1555 Charles de Lorraine , Archbishop of Reims , was named Duke of Chevreuse in his place. After the death of Henry II (1559) and the subsequent overthrow of Diane, he received Étampes back (1562), but died a little later. Jean de Brosse was buried in the Franciscan monastery of Guingamp .

The marriage of Jean de Brosse and Anne de Pisseleu remained childless. Through his sister Charlotte, his nephew Sébastien de Luxembourg inherited the county of Penthièvre. Étampes fell back to the Domaine royal .

predecessor	Office	successor
René de Brosse	Count of Penthièvre 1525–1564	Sébastien de Luxembourg
Jean de la Barre	Count of Étampes from 1536 Duke 1534–1553	Diane de Poitiers
French crown domain ( Franz I. )	Duke of Chevreuse 1545–1555	Charles de Lorraine
Diane de Poitiers	Duke of Étampes 1562–1564	French crown domain ( Charles IX. )