Jeanne de Belleville

Jeanne-Louise de Belleville (* 1300 ; † 1359 ) - called the Breton tigress ("la Tigresse bretonne") - was a pirate in the 14th century.

Life

She was the daughter of Maurice IV. De Montaigu, the Lord of Belleville and Palluau (1263-1304) and Letice Parthenay (1276-?). At the age of twelve she married Geoffroy (1293-1326), Lord of Chateaubriand. This marriage had two children, Louise and Geoffrey.

After the death of her first husband, she married Olivier IV. De Clisson in 1330. They had five children together: Maurice, Guillaume, Olivier, Isabeau († 1343) and Jeanne. In 1343 Olivier de Clisson, who supported the pretender to the Duchy of Brittany, Jean de Montfort , against Charles de Blois , was charged with high treason by King Philip VI. Lured to Paris with a trick, sentenced to death (see War of the Breton Succession ) and beheaded. His head was sent to Nantes and presented there on a spit on the battlements of Bouffray Castle near Nantes. His widow, Jeanne, swore vengeance on the king and Charles de Blois, who supported the death sentence.

She sold her lands and used the proceeds to buy a ship with which she hunted the Crown's merchant ships. After a few successful battles, her ship was badly damaged. She then fled to England with her children, where she found support from King Edward . Her sons were brought up at the English court together with the sons of Jean de Montfort. She herself fitted out three new ships - black with red sails - and continued the fight. Legend has it that she beheaded captured French nobles with her own hands and left only one or two people alive from the occupation to tell the French king about it - even when Philip VI. was long dead. It was not until 1356, after 13 years, that she ended her revenge and married an English nobleman, Walter Bentley, lieutenant of King Edward III of England and captain of the English troops who continued to fight Charles de Blois after the death of Jean de Montfort.

She later settled back in France, in Hennebont. One of her sons was Olivier V. de Clisson , one of the key figures in the first half of the Hundred Years War.

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personal data
SURNAME	Jeanne de Belleville
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Jeanne-Louise de Belleville (full name); Breton Tigress; la tigresse bretonne
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	French pirate
DATE OF BIRTH	1300
DATE OF DEATH	1359