One more decade for Duke Arthur I of Brittany

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Arthur I of Brittany paying homage to Philip II of France. Chroniques de St Denis, British Library

On 1217, Arthur I, Duke of Brittany, Count of Maine, Anjou, and Tourraine would die in action, being defeated by the troops of the regents of Henry III after John I died of dysentery, the regents would include William Marshall, his daughter Constance II of Brittany(1211) would inherit the domains of her father and her sisters, Matilda(1215) and Eleanor(1217) would one of the eligible heiresses of in Europe and her sister, Matilda was given the Counties of Anjou, Maine, and Touraine the Kingdom of France would arrange more tighter ties between Brittany and France, notably, Philip II and negotiated the marriage between Matilda of Brittany, Countess of Anjou, Maine, and Touraine to the future Louis IX of France, only Constance, Matilda, and Eleanor are the ones of the children of Arthur I, Duke of Brittany that survived infancy.

Arthur I, duke of Brittany had decided to remain silent as one of the loyal vassals of Philip II as one of his vassals even if his liege had double crossed him, he would decide not to declare a war with his uncle nor participate in annexation of Poitou and Normandy in 1202-1204 and the battle of Bouvines in 1214, and did not even participate in Muret in which his sister is associated with and he would remain neutral until there is a war of the barons in 1215 as he would not trust his liege Philip II as he had double crossed him in the treaty of Le Goulet, he only declared a war against his uncle as he is chosen as king by the barons of his uncle in England in 1215, he would come to England to take what is rightfully his.

Eleanor, the sister of Arthur I, Duke of Brittany would marry Peter II of Aragon in 1203 as a part of an alliance between England with Aragon and has provided him with three children, Infanta Sanchia(1205), Infante James(1208), and Infanta Constance(1212) she is the current regent of the Kingdom in the minority of her son after her husband was defeated in the battle of Muret, the English would have aided Aragon since the marriage of Eleanor of Brittany to Peter II of Aragon but this would end due to Peter II aiding an excommunicated count in France.

 

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Eleanor of Brittany who is the current regent of Aragon was not able to predict that her brother would die on the hands of her cousin’s soldiers, but she knows that her brother was betrayed by the French due to the cancelation of their interests of her betrothal to Prince Louis in favor of the Castilian Princess Blanche, she departed to Aragon two years after that marriage and felt the betrayal of the Capets to her brother, Arthur, she sent Aragonese troops in the struggle against King John but that would fail.

During the 1202-4 in the invasion and annexation of Normandy and Poitou by Philip II of France, Arthur of Brittany would choose not to participate in the fight between King John and Philip II as Philip II had betrayed him in the Treaty of Le Goulet and Philip II would have no qualms betray him from time and time again so he would wait until the English would actually revolt against John and his kin in 1215 and he also married Maria of Brabant in 1206 so that he would have allies in case of a future claim to England.

Blanche of Castile would see that the betrothal of her young son, Louis with the young Constance of Brittany be cancelled as she would now reign as Constance II of Brittany on the death of her father and instead, Mathilde, Countess of Anjou, Maine, and Touraine would be betrothed and later marry Prince Louis.

 

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On 1209, Frederick II of HRE would marry Margaret of Namur in order to further ally with Philip II of France and the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem, the marriage would strengthen the relationship between the Capetians and Hohenstauffens as long as she lived and she would have many children with her husband Frederick II of HRE and created relations between the Holy Roman Empire and the Latin Empire.

Margaret of Namur would give birth to many children that would live to adulthood particularly, Margaret (1215), Henry(1217), Conrad(1219), Elizabeth(1221), Yolande(1223), and Philip(1226).

Margaret of Namur would support the neutralization of the Welfs via a marriage alliance between the Hohenstauffens and the English via the match of Henry III and Elizabeth of Swabia.

The birth of their many sons ensure that the territories of Frederick II would be divided on his death on 1250, Margaret of Namur would live until 1245.

Note: This marriage butterflies the existence of Yolande of Hungary as Yolande of Courtenay takes the place as the bride of her second marriage.

 

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On 1220, having already setup a marriage between France and Holy Roman Empire, Frederick II would decide to have a match that would neutralize the English alliance with the Welfs, Frederick II would pick Elizabeth of Swabia as the bride of Henry III of England and also to prevent the match between Agnes of Bohemia and Henry III.

This marriage was also supported by Blanche of Castile as it would prevent a possible marriage between Henry III and Constance II of Brittany.

Elizabeth of Swabia would arrive in England in 1221, she would marry Henry III in the same year as she entered England and she would prove to be fertile.

Elizabeth of Swabia and Henry III would have a great relationship with each other and would have not fought with each other, although she would have died in 1240, Henry III would refuse to remarry after her death and treasured their relationship with each other and would have created further relationship between England and Swabia.

Children of Elizabeth of Swabia and Henry III
John II of England b. 1223
Henry of England b. 1225 d. 1230
Margaret b. 1227
Henry b. 1230 d. 1233
Elizabeth b. 1234

 

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John I of England d. 1223 m. Isabella of Angouleme

1a. Henry III of England b. 1207 m. Elizabeth of Swabia

2a. Richard II of Aquitaine b. 1209

3a. Joan b. 1210 m. Amalric of Jerusalem

4a. Isabella b. 1214 m. Henry of Swabia

5a. Eleanor b. 1215 m. Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester



Constance I of Brittany m. Geoffrey II of Brittany(a) Ranulf of Blondeville(b) Guy of Thouars(c)

1a. Eleanor of Brittany m. Peter II of Aragon d. 1213(a)

1a1a. Sanchia b. 1205 m. Ferdinand III of Castile

1a2a. James b. 1208 m. Eleanor of Castile

1a3a. Constance b. 1212 m.

2a. Matilda of Brittany d. 1189

3a. Arthur I, Duke of Brittany d. 1217 m. Maria of Brabant(a)

3a1a. Constance II of Brittany b. 1211 m. John Dreux

3a2a. Matilda of Brittany, Countess of Anjou, Maine, and Touraine b. 1215 m. Louis XI of France

3a3a. Eleanor of Brittany b. 1217

4c. Alix of Brittany b. 1200 m. Henry, Count of Penthievre

5c. Margaret of Brittany b. 1201 m. Andrew of Vitre


Children of Blanche of Castile that survived infancy

Louis VIII m. Blanche of Castile

1a. Philip b. 1209 d. 1218 b. Agnes de Donzy

2a. Louis b. 1214 m. Matilda, Countess of Anjou, Maine, and Tourraine b. 1215

3a. Robert, Count of Artois b. 1216

4a. Alphonse, Count of Poitou and Auvergne b. 1220 m. Joanna, Count of Toulouse

5a. Isabella b. 1224 d. 1270

6a. Charles b. 1226 m. Margaret I, Countess of Provence

 

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In 1219, during a conflict with Joan, Bouchard of Avesnes was seized and held captive for two years. His release in 1221 was contingent upon him parting ways with his wife and embarking on a journey to Rome for absolution from the Pope. Seizing the opportunity, Joan persuaded Margaret, who had relocated to her court after Bouchard's capture, to arrange a new marriage for herself, leaving her two sons in France. Eventually, succumbing to her sister's persuasion, Margaret agreed to the new wedding in 1223 but this time she would mean an alliance with England with Margaret of Flanders remarrying to the second son of the English King in 1224, who was later invested by the English King with the Duchy of Aquitaine.

On 1224, Philip II of France and Richard II of Aquitaine would be in an agreement to accept the loss of Poitou and Auvergne and he would hold Aquitaine as a vassal of Philip II, he would have issues with the sovereignty of Gascony due to the Castilian claims to Gascony which would be later resolved by a marriage of one of his successors, he would the rights of the future wife of Prince Louis(Louis XI), Matilda, Countess of Anjou, Maine, and Touraine and Constance II, Duchess of Brittany were superior to his and his brother’s rights to Aquitaine.

On 1230, Joanna, Countess of Flanders would send her daughter with Ferdinand of Portugal and successor Mary to be raised by her aunt Margaret of Flanders in Aquitaine until she reached majority.

Margaret of Flanders would bear Richard II, Duke of Aquitaine three children namely:

William XI of Aquitaine b. 1226

Richard of Aquitaine b. 1229

Joanna of Aquitaine b. 1231

 

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Following the demise of Arthur I of Brittany, numerous suitors sought the hand of Constance II of Brittany. However, their advances were thwarted by Constance II's regents. Eventually, Constance II had the freedom to choose her husband and selected John of Dreux. To marry Constance II, John of Dreux needed to annul his previous marriage with Alix of Macon. Since Alix hadn't borne any children and was deemed barren, John of Dreux successfully petitioned the pope for an annulment in 1227. This request was supported by Philip II and, after 1226, by Louis VIII, citing that the marriage with Alix of Macon was within prohibited degrees.

Consequently, the annulment was granted in 1227, paving the way for Constance II of Brittany to wed John of Dreux. On the other hand, Alix of Macon lived her life as a childless heiress and, upon her death, bequeathed her lands to the French King. In contrast, Constance II of Brittany enjoyed a fruitful marriage with John of Dreux and had two surviving children, namely, John I of Brittany (born in 1228) and Peter of Brittany (born in 1233).

 

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1202

Arthur I of Brittany refuses to participate in the war between Philip II of France and John I of England.

1203

Eleanor of Brittany is married to Peter II of Aragon to ally England and Aragon, her dowry included the English claims to the County of Toulouse to guarantee the loyalty of the count of Toulouse loyalty to Aragon and England.

1204

Fourth Crusade, the sacking of Constantinople and establishment of the Kingdom of the Latin Kingdom.

1206

Arthur I of Brittany marries Maria of Brabant.

1208

James I of Aragon is born from Eleanor of Brittany and Peter II of Aragon

1211

Constance of Brittany, later Constance II of Brittany is born from Arthur of Brittany and Maria of Brabant.

1213

Peter II of Aragon dies in the battle of Muret.

1216

Arthur I of Brittany is invited to claim England by rebel barons, his wife, Matilda of Brabant would join him in his claim in England, which would cause his last daughter, Eleanor to be born in England.

1217

Arthur I of Brittany dies in action after claiming England after the barons invited him.

1220

Isabella of Angouleme remarries to Hugh X of Lusignan.

 

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I will restart this timeline with Elvira of Sicily as the Bride of Arthur with another name, Arthur of Brittany was once promised to a Sicilian Princess by Richard I of England, so we have another POD.