Joan of England (1321-1362)

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Joan of England based on an illustration from around 1350.

Johanna von England (also Johanna Plantagenet ; called Joan of the Tower ) (* July 5, 1321 in the Tower of London , † September 7, 1362 at Hertford Castle ) was an English king's daughter. As the wife of David II , she was Queen of Scotland .

Origin and early marriage negotiations

Johanna came from the English ruling family Plantagenet . She was the fourth child and second daughter of King Edward II and his wife Isabelle de France . She was born in the Tower of London, which is how she got her nickname. Almost nothing is known about their appearance and character. The chronicler Andrew Wyntoun described the adult Johanna around 1400 as lovely, polite, courteous, lovable and honest, but these are probably just general empty phrases. As early as 1325, her father had planned to marry off his four-year-old daughter for diplomatic reasons. Negotiations with King James II of Aragón about marrying Joan's grandson, later King Peter , were unsuccessful, as were negotiations about a marriage with a son of the French Count Philip of Valois . Johanna's mother had since become estranged from her husband. She stayed in France after a diplomatic mission and returned to England with a small army in 1326 to overthrow her husband as king. In fact, the reign of Edward II quickly collapsed, whereupon Johanna's eldest brother Edward was crowned the new king in early February 1327 . The new English government wanted to end the war with Scotland that had been going on since 1296 . To do this, Eduard III. recognize the Scottish King Robert Bruce as king and renounce the English claim to sovereignty over Scotland. In order to secure this peace made in 1328 , Johanna was to be married to the son of Robert Bruce, the four-year-old Scottish heir to the throne, David .

Marriage to the Scottish heir to the throne

Since the two bride and groom were still too young to marry according to canon law , it was agreed that the marriage would have to be consummated no later than two months after David's 14th birthday. Otherwise, the peace that was made would be null and void. Joan's brother Eduard, who had reluctantly agreed to peace with Scotland, publicly stated that he refused Joan's marriage to the Scottish heir to the throne and that he would therefore not attend the wedding ceremony. As a result, Robert Bruce did not want to take part in the celebration and was excused for being ill. Nevertheless, the marriage took place on July 17, 1328 in Berwick and was celebrated in a big way. The Scottish King is said to have spent the stately sum of over £ 2500 on the celebration. Joan's mother, Isabelle, and several English magnates attended the ceremony, while the young groom was escorted to Berwick by the Earl of Moray and James Douglas . Johanna received valuable gifts from her mother, including probably the Taymouth Book of Hours . The Scottish King had promised that Johanna would receive properties in Scotland from which she would have an annual income of £ 2000. However , nothing is known about a dowry from her brother. After the wedding, Johanna moved to Scotland with her husband, where they initially lived at Turnberry Castle . After the death of Robert Bruce in 1329, young David became the new King of Scots. But it wasn't until November 24, 1331 that the nine and ten year old royal couple was crowned in Scone . This made Johanna the first Scottish queen to be crowned unchallenged.

Exile in France during the Second Scottish War of Independence

Little is known about Johanna's later life. The peace made with England in 1328 ended as early as 1332 when, with the approval of Edward III. a group of English nobles invaded Scotland. They supported Edward Balliol's claim to the throne , which started the Second Scottish War of Independence . Balliol declared in 1332 that he would marry Johanna if her marriage to David were annulled due to non-execution . In the war against the disinherited and then against England, the Scots suffered several heavy defeats. To ensure the king's safety, David II and Joan were brought to France from Dumbarton Castle in 1334 . There the French King Philip VI granted them . Refuge. He assigned them and their small entourage Château Gaillard in Normandy as their residence. Edward Balliol could not assert himself as king in Scotland, despite the support of the English king. To the great jubilation of their supporters, David II and Johanna landed in Inverbervie on June 2, 1341 and thus returned to Scotland.

Her husband's imprisonment and separation after his return

But the war with England was not over yet. In October 1346, David II was captured by the English at the Battle of Neville's Cross . With the exception of a brief period from 1351 to 1352 when he was allowed to travel to Scotland for negotiations, the king remained in honorable custody in England for nearly eleven years. During this time Robert Stewart took over the reign as Guardian . Little is known about Johanna during this time. There is no evidence that she was involved in negotiations for her husband's release. Perhaps she was even considered a kind of hostage to the integrity of her husband. In 1348 Eduard III granted her. safe conduct so that she could travel to Windsor Castle and take part in the celebrations of St. George's Day there with her husband . Presumably, however, she did not accept the offer. According to other sources, Johanna could have followed her husband to England. She did not live with him in captivity, but in Hertford Castle , a castle owned by her mother. Only after the conclusion of the Treaty of Berwick in 1357 was David II released and able to return to Scotland. However, he had become estranged from his wife during his imprisonment. In England he had started a relationship with Katherine Mortimer , whose origin is unknown. She accompanied him to Scotland and remained his mistress while Johanna was neglected. At Christmas 1357 and a few months later in May 1358 Johanna traveled to England. It is unclear whether she undertook these trips because of the estrangement with her husband or whether she conducted further negotiations with her brother, who had granted her safe conduct for her travels. According to a document issued in February 1359, at her request, the English king granted the Scottish king a deferred payment for his outstanding ransom from David II, which could also have been just a diplomatic phrase.

Last years in England and death

Johanna stayed in England after 1358 and never returned to Scotland. In June 1358 she made a pilgrimage to Canterbury with her mother . A few weeks later she was with her mother when she died. Edward III. granted his sister an annual pension of £ 200 for her stay in England, which was apparently insufficient as she later received an advance on further payments. Johanna died in England at the age of 41 and was buried in the Franciscan Church in London . Her marriage to David II had remained childless.

Web links

Commons : Joan of England, Queen of Scotland (1362)  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Joanna 'of the Tower' Plantagenet on thepeerage.com , accessed June 21, 2020.
  2. ↑ Alison Weir: Isabella. She-Wolf of France, Queen of England . London, Pimlico 2006, ISBN 0-7126-4194-7 , p. 311.
  3. ^ Geoffrey WS Barrow: Robert Bruce and the Community of the Realm of Scotland . Eyre & Spottiswoode, London 1965, p. 292.
  4. ↑ Alison Weir: Isabella. She-Wolf of France, Queen of England . London, Pimlico 2006, ISBN 0-7126-4194-7 , p. 312.
  5. ^ Ranald Nicholson: Scotland. The later Middle Ages . Oliver & Boyd, Edinburgh 1974, p. 120.
  6. ↑ Michael Penman: Robert the Bruce. King of the Scots . Yale University Press, New Haven 2014, ISBN 978-0-300-14872-5 , p. 294.
  7. ↑ Theresa Earenfight: Queenship in Medieval Europe . Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke 2013, ISBN 978-1-137-30392-9 , p. 220.
  8. ↑ Alison Weir: Isabella. She-Wolf of France, Queen of England . London, Pimlico 2006, ISBN 0-7126-4194-7 , p. 367.
  9. ^ Ranald Nicholson: Scotland. The later Middle Ages . Oliver & Boyd, Edinburgh 1974, p. 167.
  10. ↑ Alison Weir: Isabella. She-Wolf of France, Queen of England . London, Pimlico 2006, ISBN 0-7126-4194-7 , p. 373.
predecessor Office Successor
Elizabeth de Burgh Queen Consort of Scotland
1329–1362 		Margaret Drummond
personal data
SURNAME Joan of England
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Johanna Plantagenet; Joan of the Tower
SHORT DESCRIPTION Queen of Scotland
DATE OF BIRTH July 5, 1321
PLACE OF BIRTH Tower of London
DATE OF DEATH September 7, 1362
Place of death Hertford Castle