Johann VI. (Brittany)

Tomb of the Duke in the Cathedral of Tréguier

Johann VI. , counted in France as Jean V (* December 24, 1389 at Château l'Hermine ; † August 29, 1442 in Nantes in the Manoir de la Touche), was Duke of Brittany from 1399 to 1442; he was the son of Duke John V and his third wife Joan of Navarre , who in 1403 became the second wife of King Henry IV of England .

biography

At the age of ten, Johann VI. Duke under the reign of Duke Philip the Bold of Burgundy († 1404), after whose death he took the government into his own hands. He came to an understanding with King Charles VI. , whose daughter he married, and defeated the English at Brest in 1404 . He got into a quarrel with Olivier V. de Clisson after his father was reconciled to his father shortly before his death, and was about to besiege him when Olivier died.

He came too late for the battle of Azincourt in 1415; In order to keep his duchy, he therefore had to pursue a policy that did not provoke either party, the English or the French: he signed the Treaty of Troyes (1420), which eliminated Charles VII , but at the same time allowed his brother Arthur to the Count of Richmond and later Connétable of France , to fight under his flag.

Johann VI. made peace with the Counts of Penthièvre , the descendants of his predecessor Charles of Blois , who had not given up their claims to Brittany. He was arrested there for a celebration that they held in Châtonceaux in 1420 , but was freed again by the drive of his wife and the Breton barons . Later he dealt with Duke John II of Alençon , where he besieged Pouancé . His brother Arthur of Richmond , who accompanied him, made him make peace.

In 1440 he was accepted into the Order of the Golden Fleece in order to strengthen the mutual alliance with Philip the Good .

Marriage and offspring

In 1396 he married Joan of France (1391–1433), a daughter of Charles VI. Children of the two are:

• Anne (* 1409; † after 1415)
• Isabelle (* 1411; † 1442), ∞ 1435 Guy XIV. De Laval ( House of Montfort-Laval )
• Marguerite (* 1412; † 1421)
• Francis I (* 1414; † 1450), Duke of Brittany
• Catherine (* 1416; † after 1421)
• Peter II (* 1418; † 1457), Duke of Brittany
• Gilles (1420--1450), Lord of Prince

literature

• Raphael de Smedt (ed.): Les chevaliers de l'Ordre de la Toison d'or au XVe siècle. Notices bio-bibliographiques (= Kiel work pieces. Series D: Contributions to the European history of the late Middle Ages. 3). 2nd édition entièrement revue et enrichie. Peter Lang, Frankfurt am Main et al. 2000, ISBN 3-631-36017-7 , pp. 88-90.

predecessor	Office	successor
Johann V.	Duke of Brittany 1399–1442	Franz I.
Johann V.	Count of Montfort 1399–1442	Franz I.