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Monday, August 10, 2020

Duke Pierre Mauclerc de Dreux & Duchesse Alix of Brittany

 19989754. Duke Pierre Mauclerc de Dreux & 19989755. Duchesse Alix of Brittany

9/18/1180, Philip Augustus succeeded as King of France.

~1186, Pierre born in France, 2nd s/o 47277614. Comte Robert II de Dreux & 47277615. Yolande de Coucy.

4/6/1199, King John succeeded Richard I as King of England. [Richard made his brother John his heir, but previously had named Arthur of Brittany, who was next in line as s/o Duchess Constance (39979511) & Geoffrey (deceased) s/o King Henry II.]

11/1200 at Paris, Peter, son of Robert, count of Dreux, bound himself to hold to an agreement between King Philip and Guy of Thouars, count of Brittany. (S) The Loss of Normandy, P212.

7/1201, Arthur of Brittany, age 14, led a force into the Norman territory of King John, and was captured.

9/5/1201, Alix born in Brittany, France, d/o 39979510. Guy of Thoars & 39979511. Duchess Constance of Brittany.

Alix 1st betrothed to Henry of Penthievre.

1202, King John refused King Philip’s summons to Paris as his vassal. The French court awarded his lands to his nephew Arthur of Brittany. King Philip attacked Norman territories capturing most of Brai.

4/3/1203 at Rouen, King John killed his prisoner Arthur of Brittany, age 16, rightful heir to the throne of England.

1203, With the death of her half-brother Arthur, and her half-sister Eleanor a captive of King John, Alix was designated the heir-apparent in Brittany.

1212, King Philip II of France arranged for Pierre, his cousin, to marry Alix. [Pierre a ggs/o King Louis VI.]

[––Pierre & Alix––]

1/27/1213, Pierre married Alix and became duke of Brittany in her right; doing homage to King Philip II.

6/1214, King John attacked Peter de Dreux at Nantes in Brittany. After capturing Peter’s brother, John withdrew upon making a peace agreement.

10/28/1216, Henry III, age 9, crowned king of England.

1216-17, Marshall John Clement waged a campaign that devasted Champagne. Pierre lost the castle of Belleme.

1217, Pierre began an aggressive attack on the bishop of Nantes; who denied the sovereignty of the count. (S) Social France at the Time of Philip Augustus, 1912, P300.

1218, After Pierre negotiated peace between the kings of England and France, William Marshall, regent of King Henry III, recognized Pierre as Earl of Richmond in England; receiving all properties not in Yorkshire.

1218, Pierre reproached by Pope Honorius III and ordered to abstain “from these works of death.”

12/28/1218, Peter’s father died; his brother Robert succeeding.

5/1219, Pierrre, count of Brittany, the count of Guines, and Guillaume des Roches (39979486), seneschal of Anjou, accompanied Prince Louis on crusade at the siege of Marmande, which they captured. After failing to capture Toulouse, they returned home. (S) The Government of Philip Augustus, Baldwin, 1991, P338.

1219, Peter de Dreux had livery of all the lands of the honour of Richmond.

11/9/1219, … Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire to inquire diligently which knights’ fees are held in chief of the honour of Brittany in the aforesaid counties, and they are to retain 30 …, and the rest of the fees are to remain to [Peter] the count of Brittany. (S) FrsHIII.

1219-21, Pierre, implementing new rules in Brittany, was excommunicated by the church.

1/28/1220, Peter submitted to the church to have his excommunicated lifted.

10/21/1221, Alix died in childbirth of twin girls; Pierre was no longer Duke; but continued to rule as regent to his small son John.

[––Pierre––]

1221-22, Peter desired to wed Joan of Flanders, divorced from Count Ferrand of Flanders; but it was not approved by the pope.

By 1223, Pierre had subjugated his barons to new rules giving him more power by military conflict.

3/3/1223 at Touffeau near Nantes, Aimery de Craon (19989758), at the head of a large force in Brittany, was captured by Pierre de Dreux, count of Brittany. (S) The Life and Times of Margaret of Anjou, V1, Hookham, 1872, P29.

7/14/1223, Louis VIII succeeded as king of France.

1226, At Corbeil, many barons pledged support to Peter, count of Brittany, if he should rebel against King Louis. Count Thibaut of Champagne came in support of the king with 300 knights, and Peter was forced to yield to the king’s mercy. (S) Chronicles of the Crusades, Joinville, 2010, P122. [As part of a reconcilation, Thibaut agreed to a marriage with Peter’s daughter. King Louis intervened and prevented the marriage, setting off a war by the barons against Thibaut.]

11/8/1226, King Louis VIII died at Chateau Montpensier; his son Louis IX succeeding, Queen Blanche became regent. By his will, Peter was conceded possession of Angers [and Le Mans in certain contingencies.] (S) The History of France, V1, 1858, P207.

1226, King Henry III agreed to wed Yolanda, daughter of Peter Mauclerc, Count of Brittany. [Hoping the allicance would help him recover Normandy. Queen Blanche of France stopped the marriage by capturing Pierre Mauclerc.]

3/1227, Pierre did homage to King Louis IX. [But was not happy with his mother Blanche as Regent.]

4/1228, Queen Blanche, regent for Louis IX, assembled an army and marched on Bellesme, considered impregnable. After 2 assualts the fortress fell to Blanche, taking Pierre Mauclere, duke of Brittany hostage. (S) History of France, V1, 1856, P259.

1229, Pierre with the counts of Boulogne and Dreux [Robert, Peter’s brother] attacked Champagne. (S) Aristocratic Life in Medieval France, Baldwin, 2002, P64.

4/30/1230 from Portsmouth, King Henry III, with his brother Richard, Earl of Cornwall, and with the help of Pierre Mauclerc, Count of Brittany, invaded Brittany in hopes of recovering Normandy.

7/1231, A 3-year truce arranged between Pierre, count of Brittany and the earl of Chester for the English, and the count of Boulogne and the archbishop of Rheims for the French.

1231, By a council of bishops, counts and barons, Pierre, duke of Brittany and earl of Richmond, was removed as bailiff of Brittany. Pierre pledged to King Louis that he would take the cross of a crusader at his own expense for 5 years. (S) Francogallia, 2010, P385. [Fougeres, previously captured by Pierre Mauclerc, taken under control of Louis IX.]

1234, Pierre, at the end of the 3-year truce, looked to and received support for a new war from King Henry III. Before he could put his plans in motion, King Louis invaded Brittany.

8/1234, Pierre de Dreux reconciled with King Louis and allowed to rule as vassal until his son John reached full age.

1235, Pierre stripped of his lands and title of earl of Richmond by King Henry III for his support of King Louis. (S) Feudal Cambridgshire, P82.

1236, Pierre, count of Brittany, ordered to escort Thibaut, king of Navarre, from the royal court to Nantes.

1237, Pierre granted his son John some of his titles and went to live in Outremer. From there he was committed to his work as general-in-chief of the new crusade as appointed by Pope Gregory. (S) History of France, V1, Michelet, 1845, P296.

6/1237, The executors of Ranulf of Chester made a payment of £200 to Pierre of Dreux, count of Brittany, to settle a debt. (S) Simon de Montfort, Maddicott, 1996, P24.

2/1238, Pierre of Dreux, count of Brittany, acknowledged by Pope Gregory that he had a prior claim on the revenues of the diocese of Poitiers for money for the crusade. (S) A History of the Crusades, VII, Setton, 2006, P465.

1239, The forces of the Thibaut IV (23638796), King of Navarre, Count Peter of Brittany, Amaury of Montfort, the counts of Macon, Bar and Nevers, and many of the baronage of France assembled at Lyons.

1239, The French crusaders traveled down the Rhone and sailed from Marseilles to Acre. The King of Navarre was elected their leader.

9/1239, Saracen horsemen surprised their forces near Gaza. The Count of Bar and the Lord of Clerment were killed. Amaury of Montfort was captured.

1242, Pierre supported King Louis against the English invasion. (S) Saint Louis, Perry, 1901, P119.

5/20/1242, King Henry III arrived at Royen, France with a small contingent; but with 30 tons of gold. They were soon joined by French nobles against the forces of the Count of Poitou and King Louis IX.

7/21/1242, The English army met the Count of Poitou and King Louis IX at Taillebourg, but King Henry retreated.

7/22/1242 at Saintes, the 2 armies met with the superior sized French force winning. [Ironically, many of the French nights opposing King Henry had been rescued by King Richard I from prison in the crusades.]

1245, Peter took the cross of a crusader. (S) The Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs, … V8, Butler, P339.

6/12/1248, After 3 years of preparation, Louis IX left Paris on the 7th crusade with his family and brothers, leaving his mother as regent of France.

8/25/1248, Louis and his forces set sail from Aigures-Mortes near Marsailles, where Louis had built his fleet of ships.

9/1248, The fleet of Louis, carrying 2500 knights, 10,000 men at arms, and 5000 cross-bow men, arrived at Cyprus. [Supplies had been sent ahead and were waiting when they arrived.]

5/13/1249, An estimated 1800 ships carrying the forces left Cyprus for Damietta in Egypt. A storm caused half the ships off course. These landed in Acre.

6/23/1249, Louis, with a force of 15,000 captured Damietta.

1249, The Nile at flood stage, Pierre suggested to Louis that they should take Alexandria. (S) Lives of the Kings and Queens of France, 1979, Dobell, P78. [Louis decided to wait for the flooding to recede.]

2/1250, A place to cross the Nile at Bhar es Seghir was found.

4/6/1250, King Louis defeated and captured at the battle of Fariskur by Egyptian forces.

1250, Pierre acted as the king’s negotiator with the Saracen captors, eventually arranging for a ransom to be paid.

1250, Pierre died on crusade in Egypt. (S) The Saturday Review, V92, 1902, P625.

Children of Pierre and Alix:

i. Yolande de Dreux (9994877), born 1218 in Brittany.

ii. John de Dreux, born ? in Brittany.

7/6/1268, John restored to the title of earl of Richmond by King Henry III.

1286, John died.

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