Jeanne de Fougères
Encyclopedia
Jeanne de Fougères, suo jure
Suo jure
Suo jure is a Latin phrase meaning "in her [or his] own right".It is commonly encountered in the context of titles of nobility, especially in cases where a wife may hold a title in her own right rather than through her marriage....

 Lady of Fougères, Countess of La Marche and Angoulême (died after 1273), was a Breton
Breton people
The Bretons are an ethnic group located in the region of Brittany in France. They trace much of their heritage to groups of Brythonic speakers who emigrated from southwestern Great Britain in waves from the 3rd to 6th century into the Armorican peninsula, subsequently named Brittany after them.The...

 noblewoman and heiress. She was the wife of Hugh XII of Lusignan
Hugh XII of Lusignan
Hugh XII de Lusignan, Hugh VII of La Marche or Hugh III of Angoulême or Hugues XII & VII & III de Lusignan . He succeeded his father Hugh XI as seigneur of Lusignan, Couhe, and Peyrat, Count of La Marche and Count of Angoulême in 1250.He married at Fougères 29 January 1253/4 Jeanne de Fougères...

, Count of La Marche and Count of Angoulême. Jeanne was responsible for the later additions and fortifications of the Chateau of Fougères
Fougères
Fougères is a commune and a sub-prefecture of the Ille-et-Vilaine department in Brittany, in north-western France.-Sights:Fougères' major monument is a medieval stronghold built atop a granite ledge, which was part of the ultimately unsuccessful defence system of the Duchy of Brittany against...

 which provided a greater stability for the town.

Family

Jeanne was born at the Chateau of Fougères
Fougères
Fougères is a commune and a sub-prefecture of the Ille-et-Vilaine department in Brittany, in north-western France.-Sights:Fougères' major monument is a medieval stronghold built atop a granite ledge, which was part of the ultimately unsuccessful defence system of the Duchy of Brittany against...

, in Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...

 on an unknown date, the only daughter and surviving child of Raoul III, seigneur of Fougères and Isabelle de Craon
Isabelle de Craon
Isabelle de Craon, Dame de Fougères , was a French noblewoman, being the daughter of Amaury I, Sire de Craon, a wealthy baron who was the possessor of many lordships in Anjou and Maine...

 (born 1212).

Her paternal grandparents were Geoffrey, seigneur of Fougères and Mathilde de Porhoet, and her maternal grandparents were Amaury I, seigneur of Craon (1175–1226) and Jeanne des Roches
Jeanne des Roches
Jeanne des Roches, Dame de Sablé, de La Suze, de Briollay, de Mayet, de Loupeland, de Chateauneuf-sur-Sarte, de Genneteil, de Precigné, de Agon, and de Craon was a wealthy French noblewoman and heiress. She was also the suo jure seneschal of Anjou, which she had inherited from her father,...

 (c.1195- 28 September 1238), daughter of Guillaume des Roches, seneschal of Anjou
Seneschal of Anjou
A seneschal was an officer of an aristocratic household assigned to manage the domestic affairs of the lord...

, and Marguerite de Sablé
Marguerite de Sablé
Marguerite de Sablé, Dame de Sablé , was a French noblewoman and one of the wealthiest heiresses in the counties of Anjou and Maine...

.

Jeanne had a brother Jean de Fougères, but he died immediately after his birth on 6 December 1230. As no more sons were born to her mother, Jeanne became the heiress to her father's lordship of Fougères, which she inherited suo jure upon the death of her father on 24 February 1256. She thereafter held the title of Dame de Fougères.

That same year 1256, she issued orders for the expansion of the chateau of Fougères, adding the Melusine and Gobelin towers as well as fortifying the ramparts
Defensive wall
A defensive wall is a fortification used to protect a city or settlement from potential aggressors. In ancient to modern times, they were used to enclose settlements...

 and gates. Her efforts provided a greater stability for the town.

Marriage and issue

On 29 January 1254, Jeanne was married to Hugh XII de Lusignan, seigneur of Lusignan, Couhe, and Peyrat, Count of La Marche and Angoulême. She became the Countess of La Marche and Angoulême upon her marriage, which was recorded in the Chronicon Savigniacense on 4 February 1254.

Hugh and Jeanne together had six children:
  • Yolande de Lusignan (24 March 1257- 30 September 1314), suo jure Countess of La Marche, Heiress of Fougères, married firstly Helie-Rudel, seigneur of Pons, by whom she had issue; and secondly Robert, seigneur of Mathe.
  • Hugh XIII of Lusignan
    Hugh XIII of Lusignan
    Hugh XIII of Lusignan, Hugh VIII of La Marche or Hugh IV of Angoulême or Hugues XIII & VIII & IV de Lusignan succeeded his father Hugh XII as Seigneur de Lusignan, Count of La Marche and Count of Angoulême in 1270.He married at Pau on July 1, 1276 Beatrix de Bourgogne, Dame de Grignon Hugh XIII of...

    , Count of La Marche and Angoulême (25 June 1259- 1 November 1303), on 1 April 1276 married Beatrice of Burgundy. Their marriage was childless.
  • Guy I de Lusignan
    Guy of Lusignan, Count of Angoulême
    Guy of Lusignan, Guy of La Marche or Guy of Angoulême or Guy I & I & I de Lusignan , Seigneur de Couhe et de Peyrat c...

     (died 1308), Count of La Marche and Angoulême, died unmarried and without legitimate issue.
  • Jeanne of Lusignan
    Jeanne of Lusignan
    Joan of Lusignan was a French noblewoman. She succeeded her uncle, Guy de la Marche, Knt., sometime in the period, 1310/13, as Lady of Couhe and Peyrat, but not as Countess of La Marche since after her sister, Yolande's death, it was annexed by Philip IV of France and given as an appanage to...

     (1260- 13 April 1323), married firstly Bernard Ezi III, Lord of Albret, by whom she had two daughters; she married secondly Sir Piers de Geneville of Trim
    Trim Castle
    Trim Castle , Trim, County Meath, Ireland, on the shores of the Boyne has an area of 30,000 m². It is the remains of Ireland's largest Anglo-Norman castle...

     and Ludlow
    Ludlow Castle
    Ludlow Castle is a large, partly ruined, non-inhabited castle which dominates the town of Ludlow in Shropshire, England. It stands on a high point overlooking the River Teme...

    , by whom she had another three daughters, including the eldest Joan de Geneville, who in her turn married Roger de Mortimer, 1st Earl of March
    Roger de Mortimer, 1st Earl of March
    Roger de Mortimer, 3rd Baron Mortimer, 1st Earl of March , was an English nobleman and powerful Marcher lord, who had gained many estates in the Welsh Marches and Ireland following his advantageous marriage to the wealthy heiress Joan de Geneville, 2nd Baroness Geneville. In November 1316, he was...

    .
  • Isabelle de Lusignan (died 1309), before 1288 in Cognac
    Cognac
    Cognac is a commune in the Charente department in southwestern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department.-Geography:Cognac is situated on the river Charente between the towns of Angoulême and Saintes. The majority of the town has been built on the river's left bank, with the smaller right...

     married Jean de Vesci. She later became a nun at Fontevrault Abbey
  • Marie de Lusignan (died 1322), in 1288 married Etienne II, Count of Sancerre.


Shortly after 25 August 1270, Jeanne became a widow when her husband Hugh was killed while on Crusade
Crusades
The Crusades were a series of religious wars, blessed by the Pope and the Catholic Church with the main goal of restoring Christian access to the holy places in and near Jerusalem...

 with King Louis IX of France
Louis IX of France
Louis IX , commonly Saint Louis, was King of France from 1226 until his death. He was also styled Louis II, Count of Artois from 1226 to 1237. Born at Poissy, near Paris, he was an eighth-generation descendant of Hugh Capet, and thus a member of the House of Capet, and the son of Louis VIII and...

. Jeanne was granted the wardship of her minor children in Nov. 1271. She died on an unknown date after 1273. She left a will dated 20 May 1269. She was buried in Savigny.

Upon Jeanne's death, her eldest daughter Yolanda became the Heiress of Fougères.

Ancestry

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