Margaret III, Countess of Flanders
Encyclopedia
Margaret of Dampierre was Countess of Flanders
Count of Flanders
The Count of Flanders was the ruler or sub-ruler of the county of Flanders from the 9th century until the abolition of the position by the French revolutionaries in 1790....

 (as Margaret III), Countess of Artois and Countess Palatine of Burgundy (as Margaret II) and twice Duchess consort of Burgundy
Duke of Burgundy
Duke of Burgundy was a title borne by the rulers of the Duchy of Burgundy, a small portion of traditional lands of Burgundians west of river Saône which in 843 was allotted to Charles the Bald's kingdom of West Franks...

. Through her mother, Margaret of Brabant, daughter of John III
John III, Duke of Brabant
Jan III van Brabant , also called John III, the Triumphant , was Duke of Brabant, Lothier, and Limburg...

, Duke of Brabant
Duke of Brabant
The Duchy of Brabant was formally erected in 1183/1184. The title "Duke of Brabant" was created by the German Emperor Frederick Barbarossa in favor of Henry I, son of Godfrey III of Leuven . The Duchy of Brabant was a feudal elevation of the since 1085/1086 existing title of Landgrave of Brabant...

, the younger Margaret was also an heiress of the Duchies of Brabant and Limburg
Duke of Brabant
The Duchy of Brabant was formally erected in 1183/1184. The title "Duke of Brabant" was created by the German Emperor Frederick Barbarossa in favor of Henry I, son of Godfrey III of Leuven . The Duchy of Brabant was a feudal elevation of the since 1085/1086 existing title of Landgrave of Brabant...

.

History

She was the daughter and heir of Louis de Mâle
Louis II of Flanders
Louis II of Flanders , also Louis III of Artois and Louis I of Palatine Burgundy, known as Louis of Male, was the son of Louis I of Flanders and Margaret I of Burgundy, and Count of Flanders.On his father's death at the Battle of Crécy in 1346, he inherited the counties of Flanders, Nevers, and...

, Count of Flanders, Count of Nevers, and Count of Rethel (1346–1384); and his wife Margaret of Brabant. Through his mother, Margaret I
Margaret I, Countess of Artois
Margaret of France was a medieval noblewoman, reigning Countess Palatine of Burgundy and Countess of Artois, ruling both as Margaret I, as well as countess-consort of Flanders, Nevers and Rethel...

, Louis was also Count of Burgundy and Count of Artois (1382–1384).

In 1357, the young Margaret, then seven, married Philip of Rouvres
Philip I, Duke of Burgundy
Philip I of Burgundy, also Philip II of Palatine Burgundy, Philip III of Artois, Philip III of Boulogne and Auvergne, nicknamed Philip of Rouvres was Duke of Burgundy from 1350 until his death. Philip was the only son of Philip of Burgundy, heir to the Duchy of Burgundy, and Joanna I, Countess of...

, grandson and heir of Odo IV, Duke of Burgundy. Philip was eleven years old and her second cousin. He was count of Burgundy and Artois (1347–1361), Duke of Burgundy (1350–1361), and became yet Count of Auvergne
Rulers of Auvergne
-History:In the 7th century Auvergne was disputed between the Franks and Aquitanians. It was later conquered by the Carolingians, and was integrated for a time into the kingdom of Aquitaine...

 and Boulogne
Count of Boulogne
The county of Boulogne was a historical region in the Low Countries. It consisted of a part of the present-day French département of the Pas-de-Calais , in parts of which there is still a Dutch-speaking minority....

 (1360–1361).

Margaret was widowed in 1361, and with the death of her husband the duchy of Burgundy was inherited by John II of France
John II of France
John II , called John the Good , was the King of France from 1350 until his death. He was the second sovereign of the House of Valois and is perhaps best remembered as the king who was vanquished at the Battle of Poitiers and taken as a captive to England.The son of Philip VI and Joan the Lame,...

 (as John I of Burgundy). In 1363 Philip the Bold
Philip the Bold
Philip the Bold , also Philip II, Duke of Burgundy , was the fourth and youngest son of King John II of France and his wife, Bonne of Luxembourg. By his marriage to Margaret III, Countess of Flanders, he also became Count Philip II of Flanders, Count Philip IV of Artois and Count-Palatine Philip IV...

, John's youngest son, was granted the duchy as Philip II, and subsequently married its former duchess, Margaret. Margaret's second marriage to Philip II took place in 1369. Philip had earlier been Duke of Touraine
Duke of Touraine
Duke of Touraine was a title in the Peerage of France, relating to Touraine.It was first created in 1360 for Philip, youngest son of King John II of France. He returned the duchy to the Crown in 1363 on being made Duke of Burgundy and died in 1404....

 (1359–1363), and became later also Count of Charolais (1390–1404). When Margaret's father died in 1384, she and Philip inherited the counties of Artois, Burgundy, Flanders, Nevers, and Rethel. Philip died in 1404, and Margaret died the next year.

According to Guizot, her father had not wished her to marry a Frenchman, being more friendly to England; he was persuaded to agree to the marriage by his mother, Margaret of France
Margaret I, Countess of Artois
Margaret of France was a medieval noblewoman, reigning Countess Palatine of Burgundy and Countess of Artois, ruling both as Margaret I, as well as countess-consort of Flanders, Nevers and Rethel...

.

Family

Margaret and Philip had the following children:
  • John the Fearless (1371–1419, murdered at Montereau
    Montereau-Fault-Yonne
    Montereau-Fault-Yonne, or simply Montereau, is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France.-Name:...

    ), her eldest son and successor in Flanders, Artois and Burgundy
  • Charles (1372–1373)
  • Margaret of Burgundy (October 1374 – March 8, 1441, Le Quesnoy
    Le Quesnoy
    Le Quesnoy is a commune in the Nord department in northern France.Le Quesnoy's inhabitants are known as Quercitains.- Economy :The town of Le Quesnoy has somehow missed much of the Industrial Revolution. Unlike the neighboring towns of Valenciennes or Maubeuge, iron/steel works did not take hold...

    ), Countess of Mortain married William VI, Count of Holland and Duke of Bavaria-Straubing
  • Louis (1377–1378)
  • Catherine of Burgundy (April 1378, Montbard
    Montbard
    Montbard is a commune and subprefecture of the Côte-d'Or department in the Bourgogne region in eastern France.Montbard is a small industrial town on the river Brenne. The Forges de Buffon, ironworks established by Buffon, are located in the nearby village of Buffon...

     – January 24, 1425, Gray, Haute-Saône
    Gray, Haute-Saône
    Gray is a commune in the Haute-Saône department in the region of Franche-Comté in eastern France. It has a population of 6,175 inhabitants .-Geography:Gray is situated on the banks of the Saône River...

    ), married Leopold IV, Duke of Austria
  • Bonne (1379–1399, Arras
    Arras
    Arras is the capital of the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France. The historic centre of the Artois region, its local speech is characterized as a Picard dialect...

    )
  • Antoine, Duke of Brabant
    Duke of Brabant
    The Duchy of Brabant was formally erected in 1183/1184. The title "Duke of Brabant" was created by the German Emperor Frederick Barbarossa in favor of Henry I, son of Godfrey III of Leuven . The Duchy of Brabant was a feudal elevation of the since 1085/1086 existing title of Landgrave of Brabant...

     (August, 1384 – October 25, 1415, at Agincourt
    Battle of Agincourt
    The Battle of Agincourt was a major English victory against a numerically superior French army in the Hundred Years' War. The battle occurred on Friday, 25 October 1415 , near modern-day Azincourt, in northern France...

    )
  • Mary of Burgundy (September 1380, Dijon
    Dijon
    Dijon is a city in eastern France, the capital of the Côte-d'Or département and of the Burgundy region.Dijon is the historical capital of the region of Burgundy. Population : 151,576 within the city limits; 250,516 for the greater Dijon area....

     – October 2, 1422, Thonon-les-Bains
    Thonon-les-Bains
    Thonon-les-Bains is a town in the Haute-Savoie department in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department.-History:...

    ), married Amadeus VIII, Duke of Savoy
  • Philip
    Philip II, Count of Nevers
    Phillip II, Count of Nevers was the youngest son of Philip the Bold and Margaret III of Flanders....

    , her successor in Nevers and Rethel
    Counts and dukes of Rethel
    This is a list of counts and dukes of Rethel. The first counts of Rethel ruled independently, before the county passed first to the Counts of Nevers, then to the Counts of Flanders, and finally to the Dukes of Burgundy. In 1405 the County became part of the Peerage of France, and in 1581 it was...

     (1389–1415, at Agincourt
    Battle of Agincourt
    The Battle of Agincourt was a major English victory against a numerically superior French army in the Hundred Years' War. The battle occurred on Friday, 25 October 1415 , near modern-day Azincourt, in northern France...

    )

Legacy

The main line of the House of Dampierre
House of Dampierre
The Dampierre family played an important role during the Middle Ages. They were Count of Flanders and later also Count of Nevers, Rethel, Artois and Franche-Comté. The senior line of the House died out with Margaret III...

 ended with Margaret III. The Dampierres, originally only counts of Flanders, had through a clever marriage policy managed to inherit the counties of Nevers
County of Nevers
The County of Nevers is a historic county of Burgundy in central France. It is the location of the town, Nevers. It roughly corresponds to the later province of Nivernais and the modern of department of Nièvre.- History :...

 (1280) and Rethel (1328). Through her grandmother, a daughter of King Philip V of France
Philip V of France
Philip the Tall was King of France as Philip V and, as Philip II, King of Navarre and Count of Champagne. He reigned from 1316 to his death and was the penultimate monarch of the House of Capet. Considered a wise and politically astute ruler, Philip took the throne under questionable...

, the counties of Artois
County of Artois
The County of Artois was an historic province of the Kingdom of France, held by the Dukes of Burgundy from 1384 until 1477/82, and a state of the Holy Roman Empire from 1493 until 1659....

 and Burgundy
County of Burgundy
The Free County of Burgundy , was a medieval county , within the traditional province and modern French region Franche-Comté, whose very French name is still reminiscent of the unusual title of its count: Freigraf...

 (the "Franche Comté") were added to this (1382). These lands were to provide the core of the dominions of the House of Valois-Burgundy
House of Valois-Burgundy
The term "Valois Dukes of Burgundy" is employed to refer to the dynasty which began after John II of France granted the Duchy of Burgundy to his youngest son, Philip the Bold...

, which were, together with the Duchy of Burgundy
Duchy of Burgundy
The Duchy of Burgundy , was heir to an ancient and prestigious reputation and a large division of the lands of the Second Kingdom of Burgundy and in its own right was one of the geographically larger ducal territories in the emergence of Early Modern Europe from Medieval Europe.Even in that...

, to provide them with a power base to challenge the rule of their cousins, the Valois kings of France in the 15th century.

Her eldest son, John the Fearless, succeeded her husband in 1404 as Duke of Burgundy and her as Count of Burgundy, Count of Artois, and Count of Flanders. In 1406 her younger son Anthony
Anthony, Duke of Brabant
Anthony, Duke of Brabant, also known as Antoine de Brabant, Antoine de Bourgogne and Anthony of Burgundy , was Duke of Brabant, Lothier and Limburg. Anthony was the son of Philip II, Duke of Burgundy and Margaret III of Flanders, and brother of John the Fearless...

 inherited Brabant and Limburg. Nevers and Rethel were at first, in her lifetime, given to her eldest sons John (Nevers) and Anthony (Rethel), but after John's accession to the duchy, Nevers went to her youngest son Philip. Rethel was given to Philip in 1402 when it became clear that Anthony would inherit Brabant.

Her residences

In Burgundy, the château de Germolles
Château de Germolles
The château is situated in Burgundy, not far from Beaune and Chalon-sur-Saône. It is the best preserved residence of the Dukes of Burgundy. Built during the second part of the 14th century, this château is important for the history of the region...

 offered by Philip the Bold
Philip the Bold
Philip the Bold , also Philip II, Duke of Burgundy , was the fourth and youngest son of King John II of France and his wife, Bonne of Luxembourg. By his marriage to Margaret III, Countess of Flanders, he also became Count Philip II of Flanders, Count Philip IV of Artois and Count-Palatine Philip IV...

 to Marguaret of Flanders in 1381 was embellished by the princess. Largely preserved, it is today one of the best example of the princely residences in France at the end of the Middle Ages.

Ancestry

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