The other Son of Brittany

The other son of Brittany
The other Son of Brittany

The other son of Brittany


Nantes, 1200

Constance of Brittany

"Is my child born alive."

Guy of Thouars

"Yes, you did give birth to our child who is alive and I heard him cry and he looks healthy as well."

Maid

"The child is a boy"

Constance of Brittany

"I would name him Conan, after my father since he would have a great fate in the future."

A year after Constance of Brittany would die on September of 1201 due to giving birth to a daughter and a son, namely Catherine and Guy of Brittany.



London, October 1200

John I of England

"I would want my niece, Eleanor to marry Alfonso of Portugal now that she is no longer a threat if her brother disappears, this alliance is important to England as my marriage to Isabella of Angouleme is important as well."

Eleanor of Aquitaine

"Yes, you can use her as an alliance bait as Constance of Brittany already has another son, she is not a threat if Arthur dies since she will have no lands to inherit."

John I of England

"I know that Philippe wants to marry my niece, Eleanor and this would block his plans to marry her and I don't think I can allow that to happen, I had plans to marry, a Portuguese Princess but now I will use my beloved niece as the treaty and marriage bait with Portugal, my niece is not the heiress of Brittany, she can be used for a marriage alliance since the heir of Brittany at this point is Conan, the younger brother of Arthur.”

@Brita @isabella @The Professor
 
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Treaty of Le Goulet and Blanche of Castile
Treaty of Le Goulet and Blanche of Castile

The Treaty of Le Goulet was signed by Kings John of England and Philip II of France in May 1200. It concerned bringing an end to the war over the Duchy of Normandy and finalizing the new borders of what was left of the duchy. The treaty was a victory for Philip in asserting his legal claims to over lordship over John's French lands. A consequence of the treaty was the separation of the Channel Islands from Normandy.

The terms of the treaty signed at Le Goulet, an island in the middle of the Seine river near Vernon in Normandy, included clarifications of the feudal relationships binding the monarchs. Philip recognized John as King of England, heir to his brother Richard I, and thus formally abandoned his prior support for Arthur I, Duke of Brittany, the son of John's late brother, Geoffrey II of Brittany. John, meanwhile, formally recognized the new status of the lost Norman territories by acknowledging the Counts of Boulogne and Flanders as vassals of the kings of France, not those of England, and recognized Philip as the suzerain of the continental lands in the Angevin Empire. John also bound himself not to support any rebellions on the part of the counts of Boulogne and Flanders.



Philip had previously recognized John as suzerain of Anjou and the Duchy of Brittany, but with the treaty of le Goulet he extorted 20,000 marks sterling as "relief" in payment for recognition of John's sovereignty of Brittany.

The treaty also included territorial concessions by John to Philip. The Vexin (except for Les Andelys, where Château Gaillard, vital to the defence of the region, was located) and the Évrécin in Normandy, as well as Issoudun, Graçay, and the fief of André de Chauvigny in Berry were to be removed from Angevin suzerainty and put directly into that of France.

The Duchy of Aquitaine was not included in the treaty. It was still held by John as heir to his still-living mother, Eleanor. The treaty would confirm the earlier agreement made by Richard wherein Blanche of Castile, married Philip's eldest son, Louis VIII of France (to be eventually known as Louis the Lion). Philip declared John deposed from his fiefs for failure to obey a summons in 1202 and war broke out again. Philip moved quickly to seize John's lands in Normandy, strengthening the French throne in the process.



Children of Blanche of Castile and Louis VIII

Philip III of France b. September 9, 1206 married to Infanta Sancha of Aragon

Louis, Count of Provence and Toulouse b. April 25, 1210 married to Margaret of Provence

Robert b. September 25, 1215 d. 1216

Philip b. February 1218 – 1220

John b. July 21, 1219

Alphonse November 11, 1220 - abbot

Philip Dagobert b. d. February 20, 1222

Isabelle b. March 1224 abbess, saint
 
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Eleanor of Brittany
Eleanor of Brittany

During the time after Arthur felt betrayed by Philippe after the Treaty of Le Goulet, Arthur would go to John and in this time, he would prepare the retinue to marry off his sister, Eleanor of Brittany.

John I would send emissaries to Portugal in order to advance an alliance and marriage between Eleanor of Brittany and the future Alfonso II of Portugal, John would send a retinue to send Eleanor of Brittany to Portugal for her to meet Alfonso II of Portugal, she would not see her brother, her sister or step-father again, nor know about the death of her full-blooded brother due to his defeat and death in the battle of Mirabeau, the marriage was a diplomatic success as she would be distanced away from the crown of England and would not be married to Philippe Auguste as he is said to be trying.

On her arrival in Portugal before the autumn of 1201, the King and Queen of Portugal would gladly see her as she would be ready to give birth to heirs with her husband, however, her English retinue were dismissed.

In 1212 her husband became king and she became queen. Afonso II indicated in his will in 1214 that Eleanor of Brittany should be the regent for his heir should he pre-decease her, which would not happen as her husband would live long.

Issue

Constance of Portugal, Queen of Castile b. 1202 m. Ferdinand III of Castile and Leon

Sancho II of Portugal b. 1203

Enrique of Portugal, Duke of Boulogne and Evreux b. 1204 m. Matilda II of Boulogne

Matilda of Portugal, Queen of Navarre b. 1209

Eleanor of Portugal, Queen of Denmark b. 1211

Fernando, Lord of Serpa b. 1212

Gofofredo b. 1216
 
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Death of Arthur of Brittany
Death of Arthur of Brittany

After the signing of the Treaty of Le Goulet, and feeling offended by Philip, Arthur fled to John, his uncle, and was treated kindly, initially, John was kind and even married his sister, Eleanor to the future King of Portugal, Alfonso II. However, he later became suspicious of John and fled back to Angers. Some unidentified source said that in April 1202, Arthur was again betrothed, this time to Marie of France, a daughter of Philip II and Agnes of Andechs-Merania due to him being unsatisfied with the possible arrangement with John in the division of inheritance concerning of Anjou and Normandy.

After his return to France, and with the support of Philip II, Arthur planned to cooperate against John in 1203 and have a betrothal with Philip II’s daughter, Marie of France, however, he would die in action during the war of John I with Philipp Auguste, Conan V of Brittany, with his father, Guy of Thouars would take over the Duchy and Eleanor of Brittany would be distanced from the crown of England due to her marriage with the King of Portugal herself and this would solidify the reign of John I of England until 1216 as well as his alliance with the Portuguese.
 
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Son of Flanders
Son of Flanders

Marie of Champagne set sail from the port of Marseille and landed in Acre. It was only when she arrived in Outremer that the news reached her of the fall of Constantinople and the election of Baldwin as the new Emperor of the East. There as an Empress of Constantinople she received the homage of the Prince Bohemond IV of Antioch, She successfully sailed to the Holy Land and was able to meet her husband, Baldwin where she would be pregnant again and give birth to a son named Henry who would be named as the heir to the County of Flanders on 1205.

During the following winter (1204–1205) the Franks prosecuted conquests in Bithynia, in which Henry, Baldwin's brother, took part. But in February the Greeks revolted in Thrace, relying on the assistance of Kaloyan, tsar of Bulgaria, whose overtures of alliance had been rejected by the emperor. The garrison of Adrianople was expelled. Baldwin along with Dandolo, the count of Blois, and Marshal Villehardouin, the historian, marched to besiege that city. The Frankish knights were defeated; the count of Blois was slain, and the emperor captured by the Bulgarians (see Battle of Adrianople).

For some time his fate was uncertain, and in the meanwhile Henry, his brother, assumed the regency. Not until the middle of July the following year was it ascertained that he was dead. The circumstances of Baldwin's death are not exactly known. It seems that he was at first treated well as a valuable hostage, but was sacrificed by the Bulgarian monarch in a sudden outburst of rage, perhaps in consequence of the revolt of Philippopolis, which passed into the hands of the Franks. According to a Bulgarian legend, Baldwin had caused his own downfall by trying to seduce Kaloyan's wife. The historian George Acropolites reports that the Tsar had Baldwin's skull made into a drinking cup, just as had happened to Nicephorus I almost four hundred years before.

Back in Flanders, however, there seemed to be doubt whether Baldwin was truly dead. In any case, Baldwin's other brother Philip of Namur remained as regent, and eventually Baldwin's son Henry, was able to rule as count of Flanders.
 
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Sanchia of Aragon
Sanchia of Aragon

Constance of Aragon found refuge in the court of Leopold VI, Duke of Austria, but Constance of Aragon would soon die (7 May 1205). The former Regent and now King Andrew II of Hungary took his nephew and started to rule as the regent for his nephew.

Peter II wanted to ally 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 Sanchia of Aragon for his pupil, the young King Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor. The Aragonese King accepted the proposal.

Sanchia 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 twenty-two years old and her new husband only fourteen. Two years later, in 1211, Sanchia gave birth to a son, called Henry and another son named Frederick On 1213 after her husband was crowned.
 
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A missed Daisy
A missed Daisy

On 1202, as Matilda of Saxony has been married many times, she became unattractive for marriage a marriage alliance between the King of Denmark and the King of England was signed and, Princess Urraca of Castile, the woman who was not chosen to marry Louis VIII was chosen to marry Valdemar II of Denmark, she would bring her own Spanish or Iberian sensibilities in the Danish court, Urraca would take the name Dagmar on the Danish court, she would give birth to five children named Valdemar (1206), Eric (1209), Sophie (1211), Abel (1214) and Christopher (1216).

Ferdinand of Castile would secure the hand of Princess Marketa of Bohemia on 1205 as they were interested in finding a bride that would be unrelated to him and not on forbidden degrees of relation, on her arrival and marriage she would give birth to two sons named Alfonso(1209) and Ferdinand(1212).

By 1205, John I would break the betrothal between Conan V of Brittany with Marie of France and have him betrothed to Berengaria of Portugal.

@krieger @Jan Olbracht
 
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Philippe Auguste
Philippe Auguste

Freepedia

“In May 1200, Philip signed the Treaty of Le Goulet with Richard's successor John Lackland. The treaty was meant to bring peace to Normandy by settling the issue of its much-reduced boundaries. The terms of John's vassalage were not only for Normandy, but also for Anjou, Maine, and Touraine. John agreed to heavy terms, including the abandonment of all the English possessions in Berry and 20,000 marks of silver, while Philip in turn recognised John as king of England, formally abandoning Arthur of Brittany's candidacy, whom he had hitherto supported, recognising instead John's suzerainty over the Duchy of Brittany. To seal the treaty, a marriage between Blanche of Castile, John's niece, and Louis the Lion, Philip's son, was contracted.

After the marriage of Eleanor of Brittany with Alfonso of Portugal, Ingeborg of Denmark further an alliance with John I to encourage him to come back to her which did happen in 1204 but would remain childless.

This agreement did not bring warfare to an end in France, however, since John's mismanagement of Aquitaine led the province to erupt in rebellion later in 1200, a disturbance that Philip secretly encouraged and increased by the marriage of John I and Isabella of Angoulee. To disguise his ambitions, Philip invited John to a conference at Andely and then entertained him at Paris, and both times he committed to complying with the treaty In 1202, disaffected patrons petitioned the French king to summon John to answer their charges in his capacity as John's feudal lord in France. John refused to appear, so Philip again took up Arthur of Brittany's claims to the English throne and betrothed his six-year-old daughter Marie. In riposte John crossed over into Normandy. His forces soon captured Arthur, and in 1203, the young man disappeared, with most people believing that John had had him murdered. The outcry over Arthur's fate saw an increase in local opposition to John, which Philip used to his advantage. He took the offensive and, apart from a five-month siege of Andely, swept all before him. After Andely surrendered, John fled to England. By the end of 1204, most of Normandy and the Angevin lands, including much of Aquitaine, had fallen into Philip's hands.

By 1205, John I successfully negotiated with Brittany to end the betrothal of Marie of France with Conan V and instead have Berengaria of Portugal marry Conan V of Brittany instead.

What Philip had gained through victory in war, he sought to confirm by legal means. Philip, again acting as John's liege lord over his French lands, summoned him to appear before the Court of the Twelve Peers of France to answer for the murder of Arthur of Brittany. John requested safe conduct, but Philip only agreed to allow him to come in peace, while providing for his return only if it were allowed to after the judgment of his peers. Not willing to risk his life on such a guarantee, John refused to appear, so Philip summarily dispossessed the English of all lands. Pushed by his barons, John eventually launched an invasion of northern France in 1206. He disembarked with his army at La Rochelle during one of Philip's absences, but the campaign was a disaster. After backing out of a conference that he himself had demanded, John eventually bargained at Thouars for a two-year truce, the price of which was his agreement to the chief provisions of the judgment of the Court of Peers, including a loss of his patrimony.”
 
Barons war and Louis VIII
Barons war and Louis VIII

Freepedia

“In 1215, the English barons rebelled against the unpopular King John in the First Barons' War. The barons offered the throne to Prince Louis, who landed unopposed on the Isle of Thanet in eastern Kent, England, at the head of an army on 21 May 1216. There was little resistance when the prince entered London, and Louis was proclaimed king at Old St Paul's Cathedral with great pomp and celebration in the presence of all of London. Even though he was not crowned, many nobles, as well as King Alexander II of Scotland on behalf of his English possessions, gathered to give homage.

On 14 June 1216, Louis captured Winchester and soon controlled over half of the English kingdom. But just when it seemed that England was his, King John's death in October 1216 caused many of the rebellious barons to desert Louis in favour of John's nine-year-old son, Henry III, however some of the barons would go to Henry of Portugal, the son of Eleanor of Brittany and Alfonso II of Portugal but they would not pursue their claims.

With the Earl of Pembroke acting as regent, a call for the English "to defend our land" against the French led to a reversal of fortunes on the battlefield. After his army was beaten at the Battle of Lincoln on 20 May 1217 and his naval forces were defeated at the Battle of Sandwich on 24 August 1217, Louis was forced to make peace on English terms. In 1216 and 1217, Prince Louis also tried to conquer Dover Castle, but without success.

The principal provisions of the Treaty of Lambeth were an amnesty for English rebels, a pledge from Louis not to attack England again, and 10,000 marks to be given to Louis. In return for this payment, Louis agreed he had never been the legitimate king of England.”
 
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Jeanne of Burgundy
Jeanne of Burgundy

On 1204, Jeanne, Countess Palatine of Burgundy would marry Robert of Dreux, a minor kin of the French Kin and Beatrice of Burgundy would be sent to Paris, by 1206, Ingeborg of Denmark would be found dead and Beatrice of Burgundy would be the bride of Philippe Auguste, Princess Beatrice would give birth to two daughters named Margaret(1207) and Alix(1212), who would be used by the French King as his own marriage pawns.

Jeanne, Countess Palatine would give birth to three children, Eudes(1208), Marie(1211) and Robert(1213).

Joanna of Flanders would enter a betrothal with the future Amadeus IV of Savoy which would end in a marriage.

On 1210, Margaret of Flanders would start her betrothal with Henry, son of King John I in order to enforce ties between Flanders and England which was brokered by the regents of Henry I of Flanders, the betrothal and future marriage was approved and given dispensation by Pope Honorius III on 1217 when the dowry talks were clarified.
 
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Bouvines and Muret
Bouvines and Muret

“Montfort led his knights and horse sergeants out of the walled town and divided his cavalry army into three lines, with his half-brother William of Barres commanding the first line and Montfort himself commanding the third for purposes of tactical command and control. King Peter had arranged his men in the same formation, with the Count of Foix commanding the first line and the King disguising himself in a borrowed suit of armor in the second line. Once deployed, Peter's army remained stationary and waited for the Crusaders' approach.

Crossing a stream, William of Barres' cavalry rode for the center of the Count of Foix's line, with the second Crusader line following him. The coalition's first line was crushed by the impetus of the charge and the Crusaders broke through to the second. At the same time, Montfort maneuvered his unit to outflank the coalition cavalry from the left and crashed into them. Confused and disorganized, the coalition cavalrymen began to retreat.

King Peter may have been killed in the initial clash or the Crusaders may have headed for his standard in the second line during the battle, seeking to kill him. According to one contemporary account, he shouted "Here is your King!", but was not heard. Knowledge of his death contributed to the rout of his army.

Montfort's first two lines pursued the defeated coalition cavalry, while Montfort himself rallied his third line and kept them in reserve in case the pursuers encountered resistance. This proved unnecessary, as the fleeing cavalrymen put up no such effort.

Montfort then returned to the besieged Muret. The militia from Toulouse renewed their assault on the city. When they saw the Crusader horsemen returning and learned that Raymond V of Toulouse had been killed they broke and fled their fortified camp toward the Garonne River, but were slaughtered in the rout, the King of Aragon would return as a defeated King but he would enter a marriage and betrothal with Alice of Champagne, a daughter with Isabella of Jerusalem once he learned that his first wife is dead, the son of Raymond V of Toulouse would die of a fever after the death of Raymond V of Toulouse causing Toulouse to go to the royal domain.“

Freepedia



“The Battle of Bouvines was fought on 27 July 1214 near the town of Bouvines in the County of Flanders. It was the concluding battle of the Anglo-French War of 1213–1214. A French army of approximately 7,000 men commanded by King Philip Augustus defeated an Allied army of approximately 9,000 commanded by Holy Roman Emperor Otto IV.

In early 1214, a coalition was assembled against King Philip Augustus of France, consisting of Otto IV, King John of England, Duke Henry I of Brabant , Count William I of Holland, Duke Theobald I of Lorraine, and Duke Henry III of Limburg. Its objective was to reverse the conquests made by Philip earlier in his reign.



After initial manoeuvring in late July, battle was offered near Bouvines on 27 July. The long allied column deployed slowly into battle order, leaving the Allies at a disadvantage. The superior discipline and order of the French knights allowed them to carry out a series of devastating charges, shattering the Flemish knights on the allied left wing. In the centre, the Allied knights and infantry under Otto enjoyed initial success, scattering the French urban infantry and nearly killing Philip. A counterattack by French knights smashed the isolated Allied infantry and Otto's entire centre division fell back. Otto fled the battle and his knightly followers were defeated by the French knights, who went on to capture the Imperial eagle standard. With the Allied centre and left wing routed, only the soldiers of the right wing under Renaud of Boulogne and William de Longespee held on. They were killed, captured or driven from the field. A pursuit was not conducted as it was nearly dark.

The crushing French victory dashed English and Flemish hopes of regaining lost territories. Frederick II Hohenstaufen deposed Otto as emperor after the battle. King John was forced to agree to the Magna Carta in 1215 by his discontented barons and hand over English-occupied Anjou to Philip in a peace settlement. Counts Renaud and Longespee were captured and imprisoned. The balance of power in Europe shifted, with the popes of the 13th century increasingly seeking the support of a powerful France.”

Freepedia
 
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Matilda of Boulogne
Matilda of Boulogne

In 1220, Matilda married her first husband, Henry of Portugal, a son of Eleanor of Brittany and he would be given the County of Evreux. By marriage to her, Henry became her co-ruler of Boulogne, Mortain, Aumale and Dammartin-en-Goële.

The marriage would merge the Blois claim with the the line of Eleanor of Brittany as it would mean that they would have a better claim to the crown of England than the rulers of England, the Beautiful Matilda and Henry of Portugal would have many children and descendants who would primarily rule England, Portugal and parts of France as well.

The marriage would have shocked eyebrows and the marriage was brokered by Princess Therese of Portugal and Princess Blanche of Castile, Matilda was old enough to marry and she chose the younger brother of the King of Portugal, the King of England, Henry III’s impending marriage with Margaret of Flanders would push through as it would mean that the balance between the continental and insular powers, Henry of Portugal would remain without a power base would remain but for sixty years and he would not be a threat to the English King, however, Henry of Portugal would have four surviving children named Joanna of Portugal(1221), Alfonso of Boulogne(1224) and Ferdinand of Boulogne(1226)(abbot), Eleanor of Portugal(1230) who would survive infancy and were carried to term and they would betroth Alfonso of Boulogne to Isabella of France and Joanna to a son of Margaret of Flanders and Henry III of England to settle the English succession.
 
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Margaret of Flanders, Queen of England
Margaret of Flanders, Queen of England

On 1210, Margaret of Flanders would start her betrothal with Henry, son of King John I in order to enforce ties between Flanders and England which was brokered by the regents of Henry I of Flanders, the betrothal and future marriage was approved and given dispensation by Pope Honorius III on 1217 when the dowry talks were clarified, she was fifteen and he was ten during that time and on 1221, Margaret of Flanders would embark to England to marry Henry III of England, she was eighteen and Henry III of England was 13 already and was said to start his own puberty.

Margaret married Henry III at York Minster, on January 24, 1221, she is nineteen and he was fourteen, Unlike many of her predecessors, Margaret did not alienate the English people by retaining her foreign retinue upon her marriage or by bringing large numbers of foreigners to the English court. She was crowned queen on 4 March 1221 at Westminster Abbey.

She would have five children and she would negotiate the betrothal between Joanna of Boulogne and Portugal with Edward I, she and her husband would send a crown to Eleanor of Brittany the now queen of Portugal as one of her initial initiatives, the crown which she would send to Joanna of Boulogne on her marriage with Edward I, the marriage would seal the merger of the two claims.

Surviving Children of Henry III and Margaret of Flanders

Edward I (1223) m. Joanna of Boulogne and Portugal

-Stephen II(1243)

Joanna of England (1225)

Mary of England (1230)

Richard, Duke of Aquitaine (1233) m. Eleanor of Ponthieu and Castile.
 
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Stephen II of England, the son of Joanna of Boulogne and Edward I
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Claim settlement
Claim settlement

In 1252, Alfonso X had resurrected another ancestral claim, this time to the duchy of Gascony, in the south of Aquitaine, last possession of the kin of the Kings of England in France, which he claimed had formed part of the dowry of Eleanor of England. Henry III of England swiftly countered Alfonso's claims with both diplomatic and military moves. Early in 1253 the two kings began to negotiate; after haggling over the financial provision for Eleanor, Henry and Alfonso agreed she would marry Henry's son Richard, the duke of Aquitaine and the brother of Edward I, and Alfonso would transfer his Gascon claims to Richard. Henry was so anxious for the marriage to take place that he willingly abandoned elaborate preparations already made for Edward's knighting in England and agreed that Alfonso would knight Edward on or before the next Feast of Assumption.

The young couple were married at the monastery of Las Huelgas, Burgos, on 1 November 1254. Richard and Eleanor were second cousins once removed, as Richard's grandfather King John of England and Eleanor's great-grandmother Eleanor of England were the son and daughter of King Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. During this time Eleanor, aged thirteen and a half, almost certainly gave birth to her first child, a short lived daughter.

Henry III took pride in resolving the Gascon crisis so decisively. Eleanor's mother had been spurned in marriage by Henry III and her great-grandmother, Alys of France, Countess of Vexin, had been spurned in marriage by Richard I of England.
 
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Berengaria of Portugal, Duchess of Brittany
Berengaria of Portugal, Duchess of Brittany

Berengaria’s betrothal with Conan V was suggested by King John I of England to break the alliance between France and Brittany, Berengaria’s arrival on Brittany would have brought joy, since she is a sister in law of the Duke’s sister, this would have helped her relations with her new husband, Conan V.

Conan V and Berengaria of Portugal would have a proven that they would have good relationship and she would be blamed by the King of France as the reason why the relationship between France and Brittany has been broken but John I of England has gotten his goals in marrying Berengaria and Conan V.

The two would have three surviving children, namely.

Berengaria of Portugal, Duchess of Brittany

Berengaria’s betrothal with Conan V was suggested by King John I of England to break the alliance between France and Brittany, Berengaria’s arrival on Brittany would have brought joy, since she is a sister in law of the Duke’s sister, this would have helped her relations with her new husband, Conan V.

Conan V and Berengaria of Portugal would have a proven that they would have good relationship and she would be blamed by the King of France as the reason why the relationship between France and Brittany has been broken but John I of England has gotten his goals in marrying Berengaria and Conan V.

The two would have four children, namely.

Arthur II, Duke of Brittany (ca. 1217-1286)

Matilda of Brittany, (1218 - 1272), married Hugh XI of Lusignan, Count of Angoulême and Count of Marche

Conan (1220–1224), betrothed to Jeanne de Craon, daughter of Amaury I de Craon and Jeanne des Roches

Constance of Brittany (1223) married to Philip, Count of Anjou
 
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