| Constance | |
|---|---|
| Duchess of Brittany | |
| Reign | 1166–1201 |
| Predecessor | Conan IV |
| Successor | Arthur I |
| Co-rulers |
|
| Born | circa 1161 |
| Died | circa 5 September 1201 Nantes |
| Burial | |
| Spouses | |
| Issue more... | |
| House | Penthièvre |
| Father | Conan IV, Duke of Brittany |
| Mother | Margaret of Huntingdon |
Constance (Breton:Konstanza; c. 1161 – c. 5 September 1201) wasDuchess of Brittany from 1166 to her death in 1201[1] andCountess of Richmond from 1171 to 1201.[a] Constance was the daughter ofDuke Conan IV by his wife,Margaret of Huntingdon, a sister of the Scottish kingsMalcolm IV andWilliam I. Her first husband wasGeoffrey, fourth son of KingHenry II of England.
Constance's father Conan IV had reunited theDuchy of Brittany in wars withHenry II of England. After the wars with Henry II, Conan IV faced rebellions from some Breton nobles. He appealed to Henry II for assistance in putting down those rebellions.
In 1166, Henry invaded Brittany in order to punish the local barons' revolt. In order to gain complete control over the duchy, he forced Conan IV into abdicating in Constance's favor and betrothing her to his fourth legitimate sonGeoffrey. Five-year-old Constance succeeded him as Duchess of Brittany.[2] She spent her youth at the English court.[3]
In February 1171, Conan IV died. Although his daughter Constance was the heiress of theEarldom of Richmond, she did not enter her inheritance until 1183/1184.[1]
In 1181, twenty-year-old Constance married Geoffrey. On 19 August 1186 Geoffrey wastrampled to death in a riding accident during atournament in Paris. Constance thereafter became the effective ruler of Brittany.
However, on 3 February 1188, Henry II of England arranged for Constance to marryRanulf de Blondeville, 6th Earl of Chester, one of the most powerful earls in England. Though Ranulf inconsistently called himself duke of Brittany, he never had the control of the duchy and is not known to have played an important role there.[4] Constance and the Bretons never acknowledged him as duke and excluded him from the government of the duchy.[5]
AfterKing Richard I ascended the English throne, he strengthened his intervention in Brittany. Maintaining custody of Geoffrey's and Constance's daughter, Eleanor, might have been a condition for him to allow Constance to continue ruling. In 1190, Constance appeared at Richard's court at Tours.[6]
In 1191, Richard officially proclaimed his nephew, Constance's son,Arthur, as his heir in a treaty signed withPhilip II of France.
To promote her son Arthur's position and inheritance, Constance included him in the government of the duchy in 1196. In response to this act that thwarted his projects, Richard summoned her toBayeux and had her abducted by Ranulf inPontorson and imprisoned inSaint-James de Beuvron. He spread the rumour that Constance had been imprisoned for matrimonial reasons. As a result, rebellions were sparked across Brittany on her behalf and Arthur was sent toBrest. Richard demanded that hostages were delivered to him in exchange for Constance's freedom. The Bretons agreed but Constance and the hostages remained imprisoned and rebellions went on. Richard eventually bowed to growing pressure and had the Duchess released in 1198.[7] Back in Brittany, Constance had her marriage annulled.
On 1 June 1199,Pope Innocent III eventually decided that theArchbishopric of Dol should be subordinated to theMetropolitan of Tours and deprived the archbishop of his title andpallium. The archbishopric then became a bishopric again. Constance disagreed with this decision, which gave an advantage toPhilip Augustus over Brittany, and was consequently excommunicated.[8]
Constance tookGuy of Thouars as her next husband in September or October 1199.[b]
Between 1198 and the time of her death due to complications from delivering twin daughters, Constance ruled with her son Arthur as co-ruler. Throughout these years, Constance advised her son towards a French alliance, pursuing the policy of her late husband Geoffrey II.[c]
At her request Eleanor was released from royal custody and united with her and Arthur in France.[9]
As a girl, Constance could not inherit the duchy at her father's death if she had a brother. A charter by Margaret, Constance's mother, seems to show that she and Conan had more than one child.[10][d] However, two charters made by Constance and her son Arthur towards 1200 mention a brother of Constance, William "clericus". As a boy, William should logically have inherited the duchy after Conan, as theDuchy of Brittany followedmale-preference primogeniture at the time.[citation needed] According to Everard, Henry II's forcing Constance's father into abdicating in 1166 was meant to prevent any son of the Duke from inheriting the duchy.[11][e] Henry also probably used the precedent created byConan III himself when he disinherited his sonHoël in favour of his daughterBertha to impose Constance's succession.
Constance and Geoffrey had three children:
Constance and Guy had two daughters:
Several sources indicate that Constance might have had a third daughter by Guy:[16]
Constance died, age 40, on 5 September 1201 atNantes. She was buried atVilleneuve Abbey nearNantes, which she had founded earlier that year.[22]
Constance's cause of death is debated. TheChronique de Tours indicated that she died ofleprosy but this statement is doubtful.[j][23] It is also believed that she died from complications ofchildbirth, shortly after delivering twin daughters.[k]
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Constance of Brittany appears in several literary works, including:
Constance is also mentioned in the poemLe petit Arthur de Bretagne à la tour de Rouen (1822) byMarceline Desbordes-Valmore, the dramaArthur de Bretagne (1885) byLouis Tiercelin and the novelsLe Loup blanc (1843) byPaul Féval,Le Poids d’une couronne (légende bretonne) (1867–1868) by Gabrielle d’Étampes, the second volume of the trilogyLe Château des Poulfenc (2009) by Brigitte Coppin and, along with her daughters Matilda, Alix and Catherine and her third husband Guy of Thouars in the novelDans l’Ombre du Passé (2020) by Léa Chaillou.
Constance is a character in the playKing John byWilliam Shakespeare, in which she has several very eloquent speeches on grief and death. On screen, she has been portrayed byJulia Neilson in the silent shortKing John (1899), which recreates John's death scene at the end of the play,Sonia Dresdel in theBBC Sunday Night Theatre version (1952), andClaire Bloom in theBBC Shakespeare version (1984). In the ITC seriesThe Adventures of Robin Hood, she appeared in five episodes variously played byDorothy Alison (series 1 and 2), Pamela Alan (series 3) andPatricia Marmont (series 4). She was also played byPaula Williams (as a girl) and Nina Francis (as an adult) in the BBC TV drama seriesThe Devil's Crown (1978).
Constance, Duchess of Brittany Born: 1161 1201 | ||
| Regnal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Duchess of Brittany Countess of Rennes 1166–1201 withGeoffrey II (1181–1186) Arthur I (1196–1201) Guy (1199–1201) | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Countess of Nantes 1185–1201 withGeoffrey II (1185–1186) Arthur I (1196–1201) | |
| Peerage of England | ||
| Preceded by | Countess of Richmond 1171–1201 withGeoffrey II (1181–1186) Arthur I (1196–1201) Guy (1199–1201) | Succeeded by |
