Continental Plantagenets

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Continental Plantagenets


A marriage alliance

After the signing of the Treaty of Le Goulet, and feeling offended by Philip, Arthur fled to John, his uncle, and was treated kindly, at least initially. However, he later became suspicious of John and fled back to Angers, both he and his mother were surprised of the betrayal by Philip, which would cause Arthur and his mother to find someone to help him in his claims to England, his mother would recover from the birth of his two youngest sisters, Margaret and Catherine.

On the end of 1201 Arthur of Brittany would marry his eldest sister Eleanor of Brittany to Peter II of Aragon, this would give Arthur of Brittany a supporter in his own claim to Aquitaine which is now controlled by John of England and also the legitimacy of Peter II to claim the lands of the Count of Toulouse which are from his ancestor Philippa, the late Countess of Toulouse who was disinherited by her father, the marriage between Eleanor of Brittany and Peter II of Aragon ruined the alliance between Peter II and Raymond VI of Toulouse denying the marriage match between Eleanor of Aragon and Raymond VI of Toulouse because Peter II is now a claimant to the county.

Arthur of Brittany was advised by his mother to step aside from the conflicts of John with the crown and the Lusignans and be a loyal vassal of Philippe Auguste by his mother, Constance of Brittany, him stepping aside from the conflict would mean that Arthur would not claim the throne of England.

Eleanor of Brittany would provide Peter II a daughter named Sancha of Aragon (1202) and a son named James(February 2, 1208), the marriage would stabilize the alliance between Aragon and the Duke of Anjou and the case of Arthur against King John in Aquitaine, Eleanor of Brittany would die on 1213 and Peter II would take Alice of Champagne as his second wife, while Arthur of Brittany would take Eleanor of Aragon as his own wife on 1203.

Maria of Montpellier would take Ferran of Aragon, a younger brother of Peter II as her husband in order to advance an alliance between her and the Aragonese, he was originally supposed to be a priest after her claim was advanced by Peter II.

 

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Aquitaine and Aragon
On 1204, Eleanor of Aquitaine would die on Fontravraud Abbaye after she wore the veil as a nun in 1202 which would leave the Duchy of Aquitaine contested between Arthur and John, however, the marriage of Eleanor of Brittany to Peter II worked in favor of Arthur as Peter II of Aragon defeated the forces of John in Aquitaine and expelled him from Aquitaine.
Eleanor of Aragon would send letters to her brother about her union with her husband Arthur and how it helped the Kingdom.
In Aquitaine, Eleanor of Aragon would give birth to a couple of sons and daughters namely, Geoffrey II of Brittany (1206), William XI of Aquitaine(1207), Elias III Count of Maine(1213) and Sanchia of Anjou (1210).
The French led by Philippe Auguste on 1205 would modify the terms of the Treaty of Goulet wherein John would have England and the Norman Islands, Philippe Auguste has the Normandy inheritance while Arthur would have the inheritance of Anjou and Aquitaine under the vassalage of the French King, something that both Arthur and John would be forced to accept in the end in order to prevent the fights among the Plantagenets and the French as between John and Arthur.