English Bouvines

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English Bouvines

Eleanor of Brittany on her meeting with her uncle negotiating her release

The restoration of Princess Eleanor

On 1206, Eleanor of Brittany would decide to deal with her uncle rather than escape her uncle, after she would know what happened in her duchy and decided to ally with her uncle, Eleanor would find out that Philippe Auguste either wanted to eliminate her or marry her himself which she would be against and that would make her tell her uncle that Philippe is a threat to her duchy and affirm her loyalty to him and she would tell him that her first daughter would marry his son, Henry for their claims to unite.

Eleanor of Brittany and John would talk regarding the situation of her duchy and she would tell John, that she would be willing to ally with him in exchange of her alliance to him due to the threat of Philippe to her duchy that she would notice and her uncle would tell that her brother and her uncle were manipulated by Philippe Auguste of France and she would accept compensation on the loss of her claims to the Kingdom of England and the other Angevin realms as she is concerned of the future of the Duchy of Brittany.

Eleanor of Brittany

“My brother has been killed due to Philippe Auguste’s schemes and he is most likely wanting to marry me himself”

King John I

“I will help you as long as you pledge your loyalty.”

Eleanor of Brittany would accept her loyalty as the Duchess of Brittany and a member of the House of Plantagenets.

Eleanor of Brittany would send a letter to her supporters in the Duchy of Brittany to resist Philippe and Guy de Thouars who are their enemies, not their friends and never had the best interests of the Duchy of Brittany.

On her arrival to the Duchy of Brittany in 1206, she would exile the supporters of Alix of Thouars and Philippe Auguste

The Bishops of Dol and Nantes would greet her after her arrival and the Bishop of Nantes would say.

Bishop of Nantes

“I am happy that you have returned as the ruler of Brittany after your brother had died.”

Eleanor of Brittany

“It is Philippe Auguste that killed my brother not my uncle as he is the one that provoked my brother.”

Eleanor of Brittany married Theobald VI of Blois, a cousin of hers who she had in mind when she arrived herself, he is a dashing young prince.



Eleanor of Brittany would arrange her marriage to Theobald VI of Blois, a cousin of hers which she would have arranged after she was released by her uncle, she would find out that her sister was used by Philippe Auguste against her uncle and she would be a staunch ally of her uncle and focused on securing her duchy, during the time of the negotiation and expelled Guy de Thouars from the court of Brittany who she considered a spy of Philippe Auguste and betrothed Alix to Hugh X of Lusignan in order to silence his dissent against the Plantagenets.

Eleanor of Brittany’s children with Theobald VI of Blois

*Geoffrey III of Brittany b. 1207 – Blanche of France

*Constance of Brittany b. 1208 – Henry III of England

*Eleanor of Brittany b. 1209 – Philippe III of France

*Theobald VII of Blois b. 1211

*Arthur of Brittany, count of Nantes b. 1217

*Mathilde of Brittany b. 1220

 

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The marriage of Joan of Flanders

Joanna of Flanders and Hainault and her regents would also successfully gain an alliance against Philippe and betroth herself to Richard who is a close relative and son of her uncle which would establish a strong alliance between the England and Flanders and Hainault and protect its independence and she would arrange her marriage to Richard, the eldest bastard son of John, who is not completely acknowledged by his father causing fewer complications in the dispensation and he would arrange his arrival on the County of Flanders on 1209 for Countess Joanna to be oriented on her future marriage with Prince Richard.

On the arrival of Richard Fitzroy, Joanna would be uneasy but her marriage would be the one that would determine the future of her duchy.

On 1210, Joanna of Flanders would celebrate her marriage with Richard Fitzroy, the illegitimate son of her Grand-Uncle, which would set the ire of Pope Innocent III, it was said that when the two met, the two were not that good terms but they would consummate the marriage out of duty for the Duchy of Flanders to have heirs.

Children of Joanna I of Flanders with Richard Fitzroy

*Mary of Flanders b. 1213

*Eleanor of Flanders b. 1216

*John of Flanders b. 1216

It was said that the two nieces of John made good decisions that would have saved the Angevin Empire in the longer term.

 

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Constance of Sicily

On 1204, Ladislaus IV of Hungary would recover and Constance of Aragon and her son, Ladislaus would be forced to be returned to Hungary as he would be ruled by his uncle, while his mother would be forced to be returned to Aragon, during that time she would give birth to a posthumous daughter named Constance of Hungary, which was also separated from her mother as well.

When Constance returned to Aragon, she took up residence with her mother, Queen Sancha, in the Abbey of Nuestra Senora, at Sijena; Sancha had founded the abbey after her husband's death, and now lived there in retirement. Constance spent the next five years in the abbey with her mother, until her fate, again, was changed by her brother.

Peter II wanted to be on good terms with Pope Innocent III since he wanted an annulment of his marriage with Maria of Montpellier and needed the blessing of the Pope. The Pope solicited the hand of the Dowager Queen of Hungary for his pupil, the young King Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor. The Aragonese King accepted the proposal; Constance left her mother and the abbey of Nuestra Senora and began her trip to Sicily (1208). She never returned to Aragon or saw her mother again. Sancha died shortly after the departure of her daughter.

Constance and Frederick were married in the Sicilian city of Messina on 15 August 1209. In the ceremony, she was crowned Queen of Sicily. By this time, Constance was thirty years old and her new husband only fourteen, she would hold the power in Sicily until her death in 1220 instead of her husband.

Constance of Sicily’s children with Frederick I of Sicily would be as follows

Henry b. 1211

Conrad b. 1212

Maria b. 1213

Philip b. 1216

 

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The fateful wedding

While on their way to Flanders, the Joanna and Richard Fitzroy were captured by Joan's first cousin Louis of France (the future Louis VIII), eldest son of King Philip II. The French prince intended to recover a large portion of the territory that he considered as belonging to his late mother's dowry, including the Artois that Joan's father had taken back by force after the death of Louis' mother in 1190.

Eleanor of Brittany and Theobald VI would war with Philippe Auguste to demand the release of their cousin, Joanna of Flanders and Theobald VI would occupy Philippe II’s territory of Paris capturing Louis the Lion and Blanche of Castile, which would result in the release of Joanna, countess of Flanders and her husband and the heirs of the French throne would only be released when Joanna of Flanders and her husband was released and Eleanor and Theobald would occupy Normandy with the support of John.

Eleanor of Brittany

“We are allies of our uncle, King John.”

Joanna of Flanders

“Yes, we are allies of our uncle John and we are going to help him rather than Philippe Auguste”

The French would have seen more of the destabilizing effects of the Plantagenets and the Blois the Kingdom of France due to the win of Eleanor of Brittany and her allies in France in freeing Countess Joanna.

In the end, the French would be forced to agree in a treaty giving Normandy back to the Plantagenets by the partisans of King John.

 

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The dispensation of the marriage of the Duchess of Brittany

On 1211, Eleanor of Brittany would send to Innocent II about the dispensation of her marriage supported by John and the children born before this would be considered legitimate, this was the price of the loyalty of Princess Eleanor to her uncle John, it was already several years after her marriage and the dispensation was retroactive for her and her children would be considered as legitimate.

The two were happy of their new dispensation that they are already have three children and Eleanor of Brittany herself is now expecting another child who would turn into a child that would be the new duke of Brittany.

Eleanor of Brittany would say to her husband.

“I am pregnant and blessed and the dispensation has already granted to our marriage.”

Theobald of Blois would comfort his wife, Eleanor of Brittany

“You will be alright my wife.”

John I would be quite unhappy because Eleanor has been out of his control but Eleanor have already promised her daughter, Constance to his son so it was less of his own problem.