alternatehistory.com
1328-30: France
1328-30: A VERY LONG INHERITANCE SUIT
"The sudden death of Clementia of Hungary[1] is often cited as a turning point in the early Johanine monarchy, and it is tempting to see it so. After all, what young man would not be profoundly affected by the death of his mother? And yet we are in fact trapped here by the conventions of medieval histories--children, even kings, seem to rarely attract the notice of those chroniclers, and so we see much of their activity through a veil. John rarely rates a mention in much of the contemporary references, save as little more than a glorified prop of the French court. And John himself, that man who made so free with his confidences and opinions as to actually serve as a source of embarrassment in later generations, seems to have been utterly conventional in this manner--he speaks little of his childhood, and then always in vague generalities and platitudes.
"His mother likewise labors under this cloud--nothing John says of her gives any hint of a genuine emotional attachment, or for that matter, even an opinion. We must judge by his actions, and again, little we see here is exceptional. Clementia was extravagantly mourned, as demanded by convention, and either the King or the Regent. In later years, John regularly had masses held for her, frequently in extravagant amounts, which would be noteworthy if not for his habit of doing likewise for most of his other departed friends and relations. The only noteworthy thing we can eke out is his mother's famous bequest of her jewels to him[2] on the condition that they never be given to John's wife, something the accounts of the court tells us the king went along with. Much has been written about this, most of it speculation, and much of that foolish. We do not know if Clementia's reasons for this were personal, political, both, or neither, and as for John, he seems to have thought little enough about the affair as to have never mentioned it, leaving us to speculate as to his motives as well...
"...If a turning point was reached in these years, it was due to the simple fact that John was becoming a young man, and thus increasingly playing a personal role in royal affairs. This was to be seen prior to Clementia's death, in the end of the Flemming matter, and the Prince of Wales' homage, and hints of it in the early stages of one of the great affairs of John's reign, the so-called Artois feud.
"The origins of the feud--or at least, the proximate trouble that so many other personal squabbles would attach themselves to--lay in a somewhat irregular inheritance. When Robert II, Count of Artois, died in 1302, he left a young grandson the future Robert III, the only male offspring of his late son. He also left a daughter, Mahaut, who swiftly claimed the County on the basis of proximity of blood[3]. As a child, Robert's ability to contest this was limited--as a grown man, it would be limitless. For most of his adult life, Robert would scheme, plot, and occasionally fight to regain what he saw as his proper inheritance, frequently with an enthusiasm that outpaced his competence. Robert would suffer during the Count of Poitiers' regency, and flourish during the regencies of both Counts of Valois, having married one of Charles' daughters and tied himself to that sizable clan. But despite his hopes, both Charles and Philip never put themselves wholly behind him in the matter. After all, Robert may have been Philip's brother-in-law, but so was Eudes, Duke of Burgundy--and Eudes' case, it was because his sister was Philip's beloved wife. And so first Charles and then Philip managed to placate both sides with vague promises, and the occasional gift and favor.
"The situation could not maintain itself indefinitely. By 1328, Mahaut was no longer the formidable countess she had been, but a dying old woman. Robert's pressing for another look into the inheritance succeeded in bringing the estate under royal custody until the matter was settled. The death of Mahaut followed swiftly by that of her only surviving child and heir, Joan, Countess-Dowager of Poitiers and Countess-Palatine of Burgundy left the inheritance between Robert, and the young Philip, Count of Poitiers, the King's cousin, and by most reckonings, his heir[4]..."
--John I of France, Vol. 1; A King in His Cradle, Antony Oates (1978)
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[1] Clementia died at this point IOTL as well.
[2] Louis gave Clementia an enormous amount of jewels during their marriage, something we know thanks to the incredibly detailed inventory of them that was made after her death.
[3] The Artois case is a good example of the various quirks of medieval inheritance.
[4] Mahaut and Joan died within a year of each other IOTL as well, though there, Joan's heir was her eldest daughter, Joan, Duchess of Burgundy.
"The sudden death of Clementia of Hungary[1] is often cited as a turning point in the early Johanine monarchy, and it is tempting to see it so. After all, what young man would not be profoundly affected by the death of his mother? And yet we are in fact trapped here by the conventions of medieval histories--children, even kings, seem to rarely attract the notice of those chroniclers, and so we see much of their activity through a veil. John rarely rates a mention in much of the contemporary references, save as little more than a glorified prop of the French court. And John himself, that man who made so free with his confidences and opinions as to actually serve as a source of embarrassment in later generations, seems to have been utterly conventional in this manner--he speaks little of his childhood, and then always in vague generalities and platitudes.
"His mother likewise labors under this cloud--nothing John says of her gives any hint of a genuine emotional attachment, or for that matter, even an opinion. We must judge by his actions, and again, little we see here is exceptional. Clementia was extravagantly mourned, as demanded by convention, and either the King or the Regent. In later years, John regularly had masses held for her, frequently in extravagant amounts, which would be noteworthy if not for his habit of doing likewise for most of his other departed friends and relations. The only noteworthy thing we can eke out is his mother's famous bequest of her jewels to him[2] on the condition that they never be given to John's wife, something the accounts of the court tells us the king went along with. Much has been written about this, most of it speculation, and much of that foolish. We do not know if Clementia's reasons for this were personal, political, both, or neither, and as for John, he seems to have thought little enough about the affair as to have never mentioned it, leaving us to speculate as to his motives as well...
"...If a turning point was reached in these years, it was due to the simple fact that John was becoming a young man, and thus increasingly playing a personal role in royal affairs. This was to be seen prior to Clementia's death, in the end of the Flemming matter, and the Prince of Wales' homage, and hints of it in the early stages of one of the great affairs of John's reign, the so-called Artois feud.
"The origins of the feud--or at least, the proximate trouble that so many other personal squabbles would attach themselves to--lay in a somewhat irregular inheritance. When Robert II, Count of Artois, died in 1302, he left a young grandson the future Robert III, the only male offspring of his late son. He also left a daughter, Mahaut, who swiftly claimed the County on the basis of proximity of blood[3]. As a child, Robert's ability to contest this was limited--as a grown man, it would be limitless. For most of his adult life, Robert would scheme, plot, and occasionally fight to regain what he saw as his proper inheritance, frequently with an enthusiasm that outpaced his competence. Robert would suffer during the Count of Poitiers' regency, and flourish during the regencies of both Counts of Valois, having married one of Charles' daughters and tied himself to that sizable clan. But despite his hopes, both Charles and Philip never put themselves wholly behind him in the matter. After all, Robert may have been Philip's brother-in-law, but so was Eudes, Duke of Burgundy--and Eudes' case, it was because his sister was Philip's beloved wife. And so first Charles and then Philip managed to placate both sides with vague promises, and the occasional gift and favor.
"The situation could not maintain itself indefinitely. By 1328, Mahaut was no longer the formidable countess she had been, but a dying old woman. Robert's pressing for another look into the inheritance succeeded in bringing the estate under royal custody until the matter was settled. The death of Mahaut followed swiftly by that of her only surviving child and heir, Joan, Countess-Dowager of Poitiers and Countess-Palatine of Burgundy left the inheritance between Robert, and the young Philip, Count of Poitiers, the King's cousin, and by most reckonings, his heir[4]..."
--John I of France, Vol. 1; A King in His Cradle, Antony Oates (1978)
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[1] Clementia died at this point IOTL as well.
[2] Louis gave Clementia an enormous amount of jewels during their marriage, something we know thanks to the incredibly detailed inventory of them that was made after her death.
[3] The Artois case is a good example of the various quirks of medieval inheritance.
[4] Mahaut and Joan died within a year of each other IOTL as well, though there, Joan's heir was her eldest daughter, Joan, Duchess of Burgundy.
- Space Oddity
- Word Count: 840