Constanze from Brittany

Konstanze von der Bretagne (* 1161 ; † September 5, 1201 in Nantes ) was a duchess of Brittany . She was the only daughter of Duke Conan IV of Brittany and his wife Margaret of Scotland, a daughter of Crown Prince Henry of Scotland , Duke of Huntingdon and Northumberland .

Constance's father was deposed as duke by Heinrich II Plantagenet in 1166 and replaced by his son, Gottfried II . Her father recognized Gottfried as his heir and administered the duchy until he came of age. At the same time, Konstanze and Gottfried II were engaged to each other in order to legitimize this change of rule dynastically. As a result, Brittany fell into the family conglomerate of the Plantagenets , the so-called Angevin Empire . The marriage could only be consummated in 1181 after a necessary dispensation from the Pope had been granted. From this marriage there were three children:

• Eleonore (* 1182/1184, † August 12, 1241 at Corfe Castle )
• Mathilde (* / † 1186)
• Arthur I (born April 13, 1187, † April 3, 1203 in Rouen (murdered)), Duke of Brittany

After the failed revolt of the Plantagenet sons against their father, Konstanze was brought to England in 1174, where she lived in Devizes . 1186 Gottfried died in Paris as a result of a tournament accident.

A year later, on the orders of Henry II Plantagenets, Konstanze was married to Ranulph de Blondeville , Earl of Chester , who was a close follower of the Plantagenets and was now to rule over Brittany. This provoked the resistance of the Breton nobility, which Konstanze also joined because of their aversion to the Plantagenets. Since then, she has been held like a prisoner by her husband.

Nevertheless, with the support of her vassals, Konstanze managed to break away from the Plantagenets in the following years. This brought her into enmity with her former brother-in-law Richard the Lionheart , who had designated her son Arthur as his heir. In return, Constanze came closer to the French King Philip II , who in turn was an enemy of the Lionheart. In April 1196 Löwenherz marched into Brittany with a mercenary army and demanded guardianship for his nephew, but Konstanze holed up with her son in the fortress of Brest . Near Carhaix her Seneschal Alain de Dinan was able to win a victory over Richard the Lionheart, who then had to withdraw from Brittany. Konstanze then brought her children to the court of King Philip II in Paris, where they were safe.

In 1198 her marriage to the Earl of Chester was annulled, whereupon she married the vice count Guido von Thouars in 1199 . From this marriage there were two daughters:

• Alix (Alice) (* 1200, † November 21, 1221), ⚭ 1213 with Peter Mauclerc
• Katharina (* 1201, † 1237/1240), ⚭ 1212 with André III., Sire de Vitré ( House Vitré )
• Perhaps Margarete (* 1201, † 1216/1220), ⚭ with Gottfried I, Vice Count of Rohan

Together with her third husband, Konstanze exercised the reign in Brittany. She probably died in childbed in the autumn of 1201 and was buried in the Abbey of Villeneuve in Nantes. Guido continued the reign alone and was made duke by the Breton nobility after Arthur's assassination in 1203. In 1206, under pressure from King Philip II, he had to give up the ducal dignity in favor of her daughter Alix.

Remarks

1. ^ According to the historians Morice, Dom Charles Taillandiers, Prudence-Guillaume de Roujoux, Arthur Le Moyne de La Borderie, Pierre Daru and François Manet, Constance and Guy's daughter was Margarete.
2. ↑ Pierre-Hyacinthe Morice, Histoire ecclésiastique et civile de Bretagne , I, p 129 i 150
3. ^ Charles Taillandier, Histoire ecclésiastique et civile de Bretagne , II, p IX
4. ↑ Prudence Guillaume de Roujoux, Histoire des rois et des ducs de Bretagne , II, p 231
5. ↑ Arthur Le Moyne de La Borderie, Histoire de Bretagne , III, p 288
6. ↑ Pierre Daru, Histoire de Bretagne , I, p 407
7. ^ François Manet, Histoire de la Petite-Bretagne, ou Bretagne Armorique, depuis ses premiers habitans connus , II, p 308
8. ↑ The Medieval Lands website, according to what Konstances and Guys daughter Margaret.

Web link

• Personal data on www.fmg.ac (English)

predecessor	Office	successor
Conan IV.	Duke of Bretagne 1166–1201 with Heinrich (Regent) 1166–1181 Gottfried II. (De iure uxoris) 1181–1186 Arthur I 1196–1201 Guido (de iure uxoris) 1199–1201	Arthur I.