← Who Did What Now With Katie Charlwood
Who Did What Now With Katie Charlwood
172. Jeanne de Clisson - Lioness of Brittany
01:06:42
The Pirate Tigresse
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Let's be real. When it comes to your health, authenticity matters. For nearly 30 years, Iherb has quietly built one of the world's leading online wellness destinations. Trusted by millions of customers in 180 countries. At iHerb, every product comes from verified top rated brands, stored, handled and shipped directly from our own climate controlled, state of the art facilities. No third party sellers, no shortcuts, just the highest standards of quality and transparency from cart to doorstep. That's why more and more people are turning to iHerb, where wellness and integrity meet. Visit iHerb.com, trusted wellness delivered worldwide. Hey, Ryan Reynolds here wishing you a very happy half off holiday. Because right now Mint Mobile is offering you the gift of 50% off unlimited. To be clear, that's half price, not half the service. Mint is still premium unlimited wireless for a great price. So that means a half day. Yeah. 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Discover the collection@lenox.com SpiceVillage hello delicious friends, and welcome to who did what Now? The history podcast. That's not your history class with me, your host, Katie Charlewood, history harlot and reader of books. So if you're thinking, oh, you're sounding a wee bit horse there, Katie. I am a wee bit horse. A little horse. A miniature horse, like little Sebastian. That's where I'm at. So I was at a CG5 concert last night. I took my boy to CCG5. He's like a big fan. And so like we got like a super VIP like ticket. It was not cheap, but it was his birthday present from earlier in the year. This was all he wanted. And so I was like, yeah, sure, let's, let's, let's do it. Let's save up. Let's do the thing. And so my mum, my kids and I, we all went down to Dublin because I was like, let's make like a Christmas thing of it. Okay, so we go to Dublin. We go to Dublin Zoo. We see the lights of Dublin Zoo, the wild lights. And it's like very pretty. And it'll be on my Instagram at some point because it was very nice. And then the following day, like, we did a little, you know, trip round trip around Dublin. We got some nice hot chocolate and a wee Italian place. And we took a walk around Steven's Green because my kids were like, oh, wow. As if they've never seen a park before. But I think just the idea of it being like in a city was just kind of like, wow, there is a park. And so we did like some shopping and we picked up some like Christmas presents for the dad and stuff because, you know, we co parent, so like, we're nice like that, you know, and they wanted to get him something. And so we did. And then we got some more decorations for our tree. So my Christmas tree, it is not organized in any way. It's. It's very full of memories and nothing is coordinated. And I love it. I love its sort of chaos, but it's also like our history. So, yeah, we went to see CG5. It was my son's first concert. And there's like a whole thing where you have to scream and shout. It's like his penultimate show of his European tour. He's got like one more left, which is, I think tonight of time of recording. And so we went, we saw that it was a great time. It was, it was great. I think it was a really good experience for his first concert. Turns out I knew some of the songs because he did a few covers. And also he sang. He sang a song by Fleetwood Mac. And I was like, I know of that one. But also like, I actually knew one of his own songs, which I was shocked at because I don't know new things. Like, I. I don't know new things. I'm an old lady. I like My Murder, she Wrote, my Werther's originals, a jigsaw. Like, I. I have Kate Bush LPs. Granted, I inherited them from my mother. She's not dead, she just doesn't own a record player. I mean, neither do I, but I'm gonna get one that's cute as fuck. But Anyway, I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, katie, quit your jibber jabber and fact me and fact you I will. But first we've gotta get our source. Our sources are the Hundred Years War by Anne Currie. The Flame of Brittany by Niels Wisson and Wilke Snyder. The Language and Meaning of Treason in Later Medieval France by Michael Jones. Le Femme de Bordage by Gerard A. Jaeger Femme de la Mer by Anne de Tourville. Jean de Berville. La Variable Histoire by Astrid de Belvy Femme Pirate, Les Ecumusees des Mer by Marie Ave Stenui. Jean de Bevouis by Emile Perron and Medieval Elite Women and the Exercises of Power, 1100-1400 by Catherine E Searsen. And of course, we have our old friends biography.com and history.com. are you sitting comfortably? Good. Then let's begin. As we continue our month of piracy, we have sailed away from the Caribbean and gone back in time to the medieval period, which is like an era of time that I don't talk about too much because my sort of main focus of history actually starts sort of after the medieval period. But some of this stuff is so interesting and there's some people in this story that we will be talking about another time, but. The Lioness of Brittany, how could I not. How could I not talk about the Lioness of Brittany when we're talking about pirates? I mean, a lot of her life is now just mythologised. So I've tried to stick with as much sort of verifiable evidence as I could. That being said, anything that I do think is a bit fluffy, I will. I will mention. And also, when you don't have enough facts to prove something, either way, I think we just go with whatever's coolest. I mean, if we do it for men all the time, why not women? So I hope you're ready for Jean de Clisson, the Lioness of Brittany. Jean Louise de Bervy, Dame de Montague was born in 1300 in Belleville Surville. This is in Vendi, in the Cartin Vendinier in Brittany. I love that sort of a. It's such a habit of. As we continue our piracy month this December, we sail away from the Caribbean and go back in time a few centuries to medieval Europe. Now, this is. This is a really fun treat for me because I never usually go that far back. It's rare for me to do anything this medieval and I've touched on a few things, like, I think, Eleanor of Aquadine, as we continue Our piracy month. We sail away from the Caribbean and go back in time a few centuries to medieval Europe, an area where I don't get to spend a lot of time because a lot of my education and knowledge would start that sort of modern period, sort of like Renaissance onwards, really. So this would not be what I would call like tip of my tongue history. So I had to do a lot more like background checking and, you know, correlating and just making sure that everything made a bit more sense. So that was really fun for me. But pirates? How could I talk about pirates and not mention the lioness of Brittany? Oh, am I ready to talk about Jean de Clissant? I would also like to formally apologise to any French speakers or people from France, because I know I'm hoarse, but my accent is gonna go wibbly wobbly wonders here. So just remember I'm trying my best. Jean Louise de Belleville, Dame de Montagu, was born in 1300 in Belleville survie. This is like in the Vendi and Garcinet vend in Britney. So she was born to Leticia de Partenay of Parthenay, which is from the nouveautain region in western France, and she was the second wife of Maurice Montagu of Bervy Empero. So you know that Jeanne is from a noble family because one of how long her surname is and two, because we have a year of birth of a woman. Oh yeah. In the 14th century of all things. Woohoo. The de Montague family, they were noble, they were known as a signor family. So signor means sort of lord. They would have a tidy income from things like wine making in France. I know you're shocked. So because of the region they were in, they would have sort of like merchants winemaking, all these kind of things, because they would trade a lot with like the Iberian Peninsula because it's just over there and it's good for trade. So she was the second child to make it to adulthood of Maurice Carte Montagu. So he's the fourth cat. She had an older brother, also called Maurice, because lineage is a thing. So Maurice Gatte Montague, he was from her father's first marriage to Sibi de Chateaubriand, who died at some point of what I'm guessing in all likelihood childbirth related. I mean, it could have been sweat and sickness for all I know. But like, maybe. I mean, chances are it's likely. It's likely, that's all I'm saying. So that Montague title and all that Goethe, all the estates and all of the Hoopla they would pass to her half brother when their father died, which happened when Jean was four years old. Her mother, Lettice de Bertinet, was widowed at the age of 28 and never remarried. An interesting thing is it depends on how his estate was willed, because as the widow of a nobleman, there's a possibility that she would be entitled to an income from his estate if she did not remarry. Like this can be common in certain levels of nobility. There's also the possibility that being from this area in France, that she had an inheritance in her own right. Like she could have been okay. But back to the Montague. The Montague family, they had been doing well for themselves thanks to their support of Henry II of England, Richard the Lionheart, Jean Sant. Like, lots. Lots of Plantagenet support. Right? So their allegiance to the Plantagenet, like what, for nearly a century, it really helped the family flourish. Right. Being a lady from this well to do family, the senior family, Jean would have received an education relevant to her social class. Now, that means she could have had a private governess or a teacher of some kind, or there is the possibility that she was educated at a convent. Like, this was common for ladies of this era. I mean, remember as well that this is super Catholic France. So religion was a very important part of life. In fairness, for quite a lot of Europe, they were super Catholic. Still, at this point, the elite were taught religious instruction, basically trained to be pious and to have an understanding of Catholicism and how to be respectful of Catholic teachings. And it's likely as well that she would have understood Latin as it was the only language the Catholic Bible was printed in at the time I say printed in, it was written in like it was written and it was in Latin. Like you. It's actually sidebar. This is one of the reasons why Welsh has a greater distribution rate, for example, than say, Irish does. And yes, I'm saying it in English. Oh, Right. So international, guys, we can use the English word when we're speaking English. So in Wales, because it was not a Catholic country, the Bible was printed in Welsh. But because at the time, like, the Catholic Bible could only be printed in Latin America, like, if it had been printed in Irish, there would have been a greater spread of the Irish language because Ireland was also a super Catholic country. But that's just. That's just a fact. Okay, back to this. Right? So in this sort of education of young ladies, they were also trained in domestic management, basically how to manage large households and how to run it. If the husband was Absent, like if he was away at war, for example. And the higher a woman was in the nobility, the higher the likelihood was that she was literate. Now, of course, there were skills that other noble women, like, learned like a musical instrument or embroidery. Like these were like just expected of you at the time. And that's a very, very typical education. Now, sometimes as well, they'd be taught languages because, I mean, if you've got all these neighboring countries, like you've got, or I say countries, countries, principalities, all that stuff, you've got people speaking German and French and Spanish and Italian and English, all of these languages that you are conversing in, that you are trading in, that you are meeting dignitaries in, it's wise to know at least some of the languages. And also if you're expected as a young lady to marry another noble of another nation, then you need to have those language skills. So, yeah, as typical. And it's likely that she would have had that type of education to be a respectable wife of a nobleman. Like, that's the whole thing. It's like this whole thing. Sidebar. I've done it again. It's like this thing with Mary, Queen of Scots. It's like everyone forgets that she wasn't trained. She wasn't raised to be a Scottish queen. She wasn't raised to be a queen. She was raised to be a French princess, right? She was raised to serve a king and not be a queen in her own right, even though she was one, because it was expected that those would amalgamate. But of course that didn't happen and all chaos ensued and we were left with fucking James. Seems to come up in every episode. But anyway, as I was saying, it's no surprise then that when Jean reached the ripe old age of 12, that she married her first husband, the 19 year old Breton noble and widower. Gevre de Chateaubriand, vite. I had to count there because I was like, une de toit sang sis vite neuf dit et vit. So, yes, a Chateaubriand that's come back again, like Sibylle de Chateaubriand, who's the first wife of her father. What? This noble family has shown up again? Geoffrey had previously been married to Alix du Tuyet, so this was his second marriage. Although this feels a little bit like keeping it in the family moment. Like I've said it before and I'll say it again, your family tree should not be a wreath when it comes to nobility, right? Young betrothals are not unusual. What is unusual is, you know, the actual like face to face wedding happening and then them having children. Cuz like you weren't expected to actually have children at that young an age. That being said, Jean and Jeffrey, they do go on to have children. Jean gives birth to her first child, a son at age 14. 14. He is Geoffrey Nui, so he's Geoffrey the ninth. And then two years later she has a daughter, Louise. If they had any more children, they did not survive into adulthood because I could not find any records of any more. Now in 1326, Jean is widowed and her 12 year old son Jeffrey inherits his father's estates and titles. So she's 26. Okay, she's wedded, she's wedded earlier than her mum was and he was also widowed her husband. So like there's a lot of widowing happening, like not unusual. People think blended families are a new thing. They're not new, it's just the older ones involved a lot more death. So Jean, she's a widow and she's got a widow's entitlement, which is fine. But the following year her 37 year old half brother Maurice dies without any heirs. So it's Jean who inherits the Signore of Montague and Belleville. She has money, she has land, she has estates. But also she's a woman in the past, so she remarries. And I feel like this was another one of those strategic moves because the guy she marries is the second son of the Duke of Brittany. So two years after her husband's death, she marries Guy de Bretin de Pentierville. She's 29, he's like 51, which is not a great age gap, but it's, it's not terrible. Like it's not the worst. So Guy here, he is also a widower. I know, right? Like I said, so many widows in this story. Now Guy, he had been married to Jean. There's a lot of genes in these stories. There's so many. Now they get married when she was 18 and he was 40 because he thought that was a good time and age to settle down. Funny how times have changed and yet have stayed exactly the same. So they are married up until her death in 1327. He did not wait long to get remarried because again this is, this is 1328, so it's like a year after. So he and Jean, they had a daughter together, also called Jean. Now remember her because she's going to come up later. Jean de Pentivier. So he was probably trying to remarry to get a legitimate heir, because men have, again, like I said earlier, a weird thing about lineage, because I don't know, because as we know, heritage comes from the balls. So actually, no, before I do need to tell you this about Guy for a second, because these people, they're so interesting. So he is the great grandson of Henry III of England and Eleanor of Provence. So in being the second son of the Duke of Brittany, he's given, like, the Viscounty of Limerges, and he's the Vicomte de Limerges. And that's fine until his older brother, John III of Brittany, marries Isabella of Castile. Not. Not that one, by the way, but he gives her the Viscounty of Limoges as a marriage gift. And Guy is like, absolutely not. That is mine. And see, Guy, he had inherited the property from his mother. And so John really didn't have a right to give it away. And so Isabella complains to the Pope, who I'm fairly certain she's related to, and so he issues a papal bill that granted her the domain. And so the duke, right, he ends up, like, compensating his brother with the county of Penthevres. So he's got, you know, he's now of de Penthieres. Like, he's like, you're not of my count, you're a counter. Tada. So when Guy marries the daughter of the Lord of Avaugur, he combines his estates with Gaillot or Saint Parilleu, making him quite the powerful player. So when he marries Jeanne d' Iberville de Montagu or de Chateaubriand, it is clear to some that. That this looks like a bit of a massive play for political power. And it's actually his relatives who complain, right? His relatives put in an official complaint to the bishops of Vannes and Rennes because they were worried about their heritage. And thanks to this complaint by the House of Chatillon, an investigation was conducted from the 10th of February, 1330. Now, they've been married sort of two years at this point, and it's taken them this long to be like, hey, we don't like this. So this investigation, like, results with the Pope, Pope John the 22nd, annulling the marriage. He's like. Because whatever way, this marriage sort of absorbed all of the. All of the areas, right, because of this, it meant that, like, certain branches of the family could be cut off from stuff which should be theirs. It's like a whole thing. And so Jean and the marriage is annulled. They don't have any kids together. There's nothing really to worry about. I mean, she's like, oh, the marriage is over. Okay, bye. Because here's the thing as well, right? She's not too fussed because she is ready to marry the love of her life, Olivier declison. A marriage that's going to shape her future. Let's be real. When it comes to your health, authenticity matters. For nearly 30 years, Iherb has quietly built one of the world's leading online wellness destinations. Trusted by millions of customers in 180 countries. At IHERB, every product comes from verified top rated brands, stored, handled and shipped directly from our own climate controlled, state of the art facilities. No third party sellers, no shortcuts, just the highest standards of quality and transparency from cart to doorstep. That's why more and more people are turning to Iherb, where wellness and integrity meet. Visit iherb.com, trusted wellness delivered worldwide. Hey, Ryan Reynolds here for Mint Mobile. You know, one of the perks about having four kids that you know about is actually getting a direct line to the big man up north. And this year he wants you to know the best gift that you can give someone is the gift of Mint Mobile's unlimited wireless for $15 a month. Now you don't even need to wrap it. Give it a try@mintmobile.com Upfront payment of $45 for three month plan equivalent to $15 per month required new customer offer for first three months only. Speed slow after 35 GB if network's busy, taxes and fees extra. See mintmobile.com. So there is some evidence that Jean and Olivier go way back, right? And you may be thinking, why didn't she marry him instead of Guy in the first place? Well, that's because he was already married with his first wife, Blanche de Bouvie, who died in 1329. Oh, just months before the complaints were Lord to the Bishops of Vannes and Rennes regarding Guillain Jean's marriage. Huh? Convenient. Now they end up, you know, they get annulled and so Guy, actually I'm just gonna tell you a bit more about him. So he actually gets a special dispensation from the Pope to get married during Lent. Here's also sidebar. Fun fact. You're not supposed to get married during Lent because you're not supposed to have sex and you have to consummate a marriage. Like that's how Catholicism works, right? Because you're supposed to abstain throughout the month of Lent. So if you're gonna get married during Lent, you technically should have you Know, permission from the Pope to shag. So that's what that's about. And so he actually ends up dying not long after that. Not murder, not a murder. He's just an old dude and there's a lot of old timey diseases. Anyway, so Olivier, Olivier Carte de Clisson, he was a seigneur of Butembarche, which is an area that bordered sort of like the Frankish region. So he had some decent connections. Like at one point he had squired on an expedition with the French king's cousin, the Philippe de Valois, in his younger days, which is, you know, kind of a big deal. And so with his first wife, he had a son who would inherit his maternal grandfather's title of Signeur Dimillet le Fore, which he would, you know, get. But then unfortunately, die young. Youngish. He was an adult, but he would die, die young, comparatively speaking. Now, after the death of his first wife, Olivier waited a year and then got married Jean de Belvou. And together they were a powerful couple. Their combined assets of, like, areas like Poitou, Bret on March, Blen, etc. Etc. It gave them considerable senorial power. I was trying to say senorial, but it just sounds weird no matter which way I say it. So they basically have all of this lordy power, right? As in, I've been talking about Catholicism so much like they own an area, not they have deity powers over the area. So yeah, they, they have considerable power. What is during a, I'm gonna say, politically tumultuous time, but we will get back to that. So the couple have what is very rare in this era and what some might say many eras, a happy marriage. So, like, sidebar. There was this period of time where a lot of comedians, their main shtick was hating their spouse. And it was very much an accepted form of comedy. And one, that's just lazy. And two, it's such a weird thing to me. Like, I don't understand, like, choosing to be with someone who you don't like or who doesn't like you. Like, why don't you want to spend time in the company of someone who enjoys your company and whose company you enjoy? Like, you should want to spend time with people. Like, you should. I'm. I say that as someone who struggles to spend time with people. And like, I'm fine when I'm doing it, right? I'm fine when I'm in it. But like, getting to it and getting around it, I'm so dodgy. But like, you should enjoy, like, having things to talk about, you should enjoy. Like, there's so many different parts of it, but if you don't even get on, like, what is the point? Like, it doesn't make any sense to me whatsoever. But, yes, these two have a happy marriage. They genuinely love and care for each other. Now, it's really interesting because when they're, like, sorting out the marriage contract, like, she is making sure that her children from her previous marriage, Geoffrey and Louise, she is ensuring that their inheritance is secure. She's like, their stuff is for them. Don't be touching it. But when it comes to these two, well, it doesn't take long for her to start popping out puppies because she gives birth to a son and then another son, and then another son, then a daughter. Right? So their first son, Maurice, he's born in 1333, but he dies within his first year. Their next son, Olivier, he was born in 1336, so he's Olivier Cinq. And two years later, Guillaume was born. And two years after that, Jean, their daughter, came into the world. So many jeans in the story. So many jeans. Now the declassant. They are very happy together. Although I would like to state that Jean takes no shit. So, like, obviously before, like I was saying in their marriage contract, like, she was ensuring that her children's inheritance was secure, but also, but also she took Olivier to court because he promised her certain financial contributions from his estates, like, end their marriage contract. And she wanted to make sure she got it because she was like, I haven't got it yet. So they end up going to court and it's actually Philippe Cat. No. Is it Philippe Cat? No, Philippe. Philippe Sis. Philippe Cat was a baby who. He died quite young. So Philip Sis, he is like the one who kind of goes, ah, now make sure you give her her stuff approved. And he does it like she gets it. And there was, like, no animosity. It's very amicable. It's almost as if it was, like, done deliberately and locking it in just in case. Like, it feels like that was something done specifically to ensure security. Now, remember all of those, like, political issues I mentioned earlier? Well, you know what? It's probably best that we slip into some context. So the couple were married seven years, and this is when Edward III of England officially claimed the French crown on the grounds of him being the grandson of Philippe Quatre. So Philip iv. This, however, was not appreciated by the crowned French king, Philippe Sis, who was the nephew of Philippe Quatre. So he's like, I'm the nephew, I'M king now, basically, it's Edward's mother was the daughter of Philippe Quatre. So that's where we're at. So Philippe. Philippe, sis. He was the son of Charles de Voilet, who was kind of a big deal. And this is one of the other people. I mean, I don't talk a lot about men on this podcast, but I think I am gonna have to, like, cover these guys at some point because there's a lot of interesting stuff here. Now, I say this nearly every week at this point, but geography is political, right? What we refer to as France today, wasn't France back then. Like, I think I covered this bit a bit back. Back in the. Was the Eleanor of Aquitaine episode, I think. So there was, like, the kingdom of France, but there were also these, like, separate, basically independent regions, and they would have, like, dukes and princes and all this kind of stuff. Right. So our princes are more like a principality, which is a lot of, like, you know, Monaco, Germany, all those places in there. In France, you had a lot of dukes and counts and viscounts and all this jazz, Right? So as well, I should clarify, like, you didn't, like, owe fealty to the land. Like, you wouldn't owe fealty to France per se. You would owe fealty to the king of France. Right? So that's why, like, there's an area, I think, in. Is it not Calais? In Calais, like, Calais was known. It was owned by sort of the English king. And that's why when Henry VIII lost it, it was like, oh, no, it's such a big insult. And that's because, like, that was an English territory. So you would be swearing fealty to the English king. Like, that's how that worked. Even though it's, like, in France, you know, it's a whole. It's a whole thing. Now, one such region, like I mentioned before, was Britannia, which was of strategic importance whenever it came to wars between England and France. Now, Britannia, it had a substantial coastline which offered safe harbor for English ships carrying English archers, men at arms, and, of course, knights. And the situation in Brittany was that basically. Okay, okay, so this brings us to a political issue number two, which was Brittany was an absolute Jackson Pollock. Right. The previous Duke of Brittany, Arthur ii, he was married twice. He had three sons from his first marriage. He had John Guy de Pentivre. Yes. Jean de Clisson's second husband, whom the marriage was annulled. That Guy, Right. He's from this family. So, yeah, Arthur ii. Arthur Duke, he had three sons. So his first marriage, he had John, he had Guy and Peter. Right? So John, Guy and Peter. Now, in his second marriage, he had another son, also called John. Right. Like, I mean, listen, it's bad enough, right, to name your child after yourself, but to name two, he's like, just in case this one doesn't stick. He's an adult now. He's there. So, yes, you have John, and then you have three daughters, Beatrice Alice and Blanche Marie. So John from the first marriage, John iii, he was recognized as Arthur's heir. And when Arthur died, he inherited his father's estates and titles. Now, Arthur, John, he. He inherited the title of the Count de Montfort from his mother, right? So he got it from that side, he got it from the other. Now, John iii, John Troy, he absolutely hated his half siblings, like, he despised them. And he spent quite a lot of time and energy trying to delegitimize them and to brand them as bastards. Like, this was something he actively put a lot of effort into. Unfortunately, I guess for John, that didn't pan out. Right. He didn't manage to delegitimize them because there was nothing to, like, make them less legitimate. Right. It just wasn't. The dad remarried, everything was fine. There was nothing to really contest. Now remember, John is the one who also married Isabella of Castile, and she was, I think she was his second wife. She was, yeah, she was, yeah. Because Joan of Savoy, that was his first wife, Isabella of Castile, Queen of Aragon, she was his second wife. And then Isabelle de Voila, she was his third wife. Now, out of all of these marriages, John did not produce any heirs. He had no children. So because he didn't have any children, and both of his full brothers were, I believe, dead at this point. Because. Was it Guy de Pentheville? He had died in what, 1331 or 32. Like, he. He was gone for a while. And Pierre Peter, I think he's already gone too. Yes, he was, yes. So this meant that his heir should have been his younger brother, Jean de Maufaunt, and he fucking hated the idea. And so he named his niece, Jeanne de Pensivier, as his heir. Yes. Guy de Printivire's daughter from his first marriage, who we'd mentioned earlier. It's all coming around. So she was married to Char Dubois, who was absolutely delighted at the notion of. Of becoming Duke of Brittany. Now, it appears that perhaps, quite possibly, maybe John III may have changed his mind regarding his heir upon his death. Because when he died in 1341, Charles Dubois claimed the ducal throne on behalf of his wife. And, well, Jean de Montfort was not giving up the dukedom without a fight. So he had Edward III of England in his corner, while Charles Dubois was supported by Philippe Sis de France. Like that. That's the basics. But let's slip into a little more context. The Duchy of Britanny traditionally followed a semi salic system of inheritance. So what that means is the title passed down to the eldest mayor heir whenever possible, and only when there were no surviving direct male descendants could a woman inherit the duchy. The duchy. The duchy. If I say it like this, it said D, but Duche d' or dough, it does sound a bit D, doesn't it? Oh, look at me. So when it comes to this, like if that was the case, the woman would rule as duchess and the husband governed as duke by right of representation. Jean de Montfort based his claim on the idea that a brother, in even a gasp, half brother, was a closer and more legitimate heir than a niece. He also argued that Britannia should follow the Salic Law used in the Kingdom of France, which strictly excluded women from inheriting. His reasoning rested on the fact that Britannia had been a Ducheper for the last almost 50 years, meaning it was formally considered part of the French crown. And as such, French inheritance laws should apply. Now here's the thing. Historically, France had upheld Salic law like it had been used to justify Philippe Cinq's ascension to the throne in 1316. And more recently, Philippe ceases rise to power. So this makes Philippe's support of Jean de Pentivray practically ironic, right? Because Philippe vi, he had obtained the French crown on the basis that royal authority could not pass through the female line. An argument that directly contradicted his backing of Jean de Pentierre's claim to Britannia, like it is in complete opposition to what put him on the throne. But because of this whole situation, and now you have the nobility taking sides in the war of the Breton succession. A lot of supplement brands chase trends. But if you're serious about your health, we know research backed science is what actually moves the needle. Momentous works with the best brains in human science to create every formula. And every batch is made of pure ingredients tested for safety and does not contain fillers. So you get the best long term results possible. Creatine isn't just for muscle gains. It's essential daily fuel for your brain, body, body and long term performance. 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Yeah, give it a try@mintmobile.com Switch upfront payment of $45 for three month plan equivalent to $15 per month required new customer offer for first three months only. Speed slow. 135 gigabytes of network's busy. Taxes and fees extra. See mintmobile.com. All three of the de Clisson brothers took a side in this war. Olivier, Gaultier and Omar, every single one of them. They supported Charles Dubois and of course Philippe. Initially all three were on the same side. And then Omari de Clisson, he ended up supporting Jean de Montfant. Now with these nobles like taking sides, you've got King Edward III vs Philip VI and you have Charles Dubois vs Jean de Montfant and all of these nobles choosing a side. And this is going to lead to a long war with many bloody battles. And this whole thing about the war of the Breton succession, like it will lead to the Hundred Years War, like this is leading up to that. So Olivier, he goes to fight for Philippe and Charles Dubois, he's ordered to defend Vannes against an English attack, like so for the record actually as well, right, the de Grison castle, it is being used as a headquarters for the Dubois faction, right? The, the whole shebang, it is being set up from there, right? So with this family, they are fighting on the side of Charles Dubois and Philippe, that's what they're doing. And Gaultier, he dies defending Brest and Omarais, he's captured defending Jogan. Now Omari, like again, he's originally team Dubois, but after being captured, he becomes pro de Montfant. And Omri de Clisson, what he does here is he makes a deal with Edward III, or the court of Edward III, and he returns to. To Brittany with 6,000 archers, right? And he ends up saving the de Montfort, who were under siege at Gandbon, which is this. It's this castle on the Brittany coast, right? And in late 1342, Olivier de Clisson, he raised about, what was it, 12,600 men. And he headed to Van, right, because it has been captured by English forces. And he's being sent there and he's like, okay, let's go. Because they go, they capture the city, right? But after capturing the city of Vannes, it was then recaptured the following month. So it was like November 1342 is when they get it. And it is recaptured in December 1342. And when it was captured or recaptured, I should say Olivier de Clisson and Herve de Lyon, they are both captured and taken prisoner. Now, Olivier Carte de Clisson, he was the only one released in a prisoner exchange with Ralph Stafford, the first Earl of Stafford, a man famous for two things. One, being an active participant in the tunnel plot which led to Roger Mortimer's arrest and execution in 1330, therefore allowing Edward III to finally rule in his own name. And two, going off seven brides for seven brothers and abducting a woman to make her his bride. So that's this guy, he's also like a super duper great friend of Edward iii. So, yeah, so Olivier, he is exchanged for Ralph Stafford and a ransom, a suspiciously low ransom, according to Philippe, who presumed Olivier was in cahoots with Edward III and Jean de Montfant, even though he has no, no evidence that this is such a thing, right? And so the King of France, being a slick at boy, right, he and Edward III, they sign a treaty in 1343, a moment of respite in the ongoing war. And with this truce, right, under the false pretense of the truce of Malestroit, he hosts a tournament, right? He's like, oh, what a break. What a truce. This is wonderful. And so he invites a whole bunch of Breton lords, this signor, a bunch of them, and he invites them to a tournament. So, like, I think all in all, it was like 16 Breton seniors, including Olivier, who were expecting to, you know, feast, drink, be merry, and of course, joust at this tournament, all on French soil. However, when they arrive, he and the 15 other Breton lords, they are arrested, hauled off to Paris, where he was tried by his peers and then sentenced to death. Now, Jean de Clissant, when she hears about this, she's like trying everything to get him out. Now, allegedly, allegedly she tries to like bribe one of one of the deputies. She's like trying to get him out, but it doesn't work, right? She is like, she's just discovered that her beloved husband has been arrested and he's being sentenced to death. And so she's like, oh, no, we gotta get him out here. And she is trying in vain to set him free. On 2 August 1343, under the white flag of peace, Olivier de Clisson was accused of several treasons and then beheaded. His body was drawn to the gibet of Paris and hanged. Now, a gibet or a gibbet, which you might know it as, it's kind of like a gallows without the noose. It's like this big gallows like structure, like an upside down L, but made of wood. And you would hang a body there, either someone dying or dead, as a sort of deterrent for other crimes. Now, you actually see this in one of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. It's the first movie, actually. It's the opening scene. No, it's not the opening scene. It is the second scene in the movie where the one where Jack Sparrow comes in and the ship is sinking and he sees the hanging bodies of the pirates and I think it's in like a little cage. So it's that sort of thing. But like that's obviously several hundred years later and fiction. But yeah, so you've got this gallows type thing where the body is hung, now the head, it's taken somewhere else. Olivier de Clisson's decapitated head was sent to Nantes to be put on a lance over the sort of gate. Now placing bodies on a GB and a gibbet or a head on a spike, as I said earlier, they were used as deterrents for other criminals. But here's the thing. In France at this time, this kind of public display of a nobleman's body was practically unheard of. It. It was not the done thing thing, right, this was something you did to lowly criminals, not a member of the nobility. Obviously, a couple hundred years later, it's not going to be an issue because they're doing it all the time. But back then this was just. No, this was out of propriety. This was not something that was socially acceptable, even for the king, really, you know. Now on top of that, right, there was no evidence that Olivier ever committed any of the crimes he was accused of. And unsurprisingly, other nobles were concerned that the king had Just ordered this execution on a man who was both. Like, he was known to be not only innocent, but loyal. Like he was loyal to his king through all of this and. And it got him killed. Now, back in Britannia, Jean, when the news reaches her of the execution of again her loyal and innocent husband, the widow takes both of her sons, her surviving sons, aged only seven and five, to Nantes to see Olivier's severed head upon that lance displayed in disrespect over the Sauvetu Gate. And it was here, in this moment that Jean de Crisson, the 43 year old widow, decided, fuck this for a game of soldiers and swore revenge against Philip, the Six of France and of course, Charles Dubois. Now, it's hard to do revenge without fortifying yourself. So first things first. She sells everything of value, like, everything. Now the King actually tries to get her arrested, which, like, she manages to evade arrest thanks to Olivier's like, eldest son Jean. Like, him and then a bunch of other people, like, they managed to get her out of there. And like, this is such a power grab, like, as her property is like confiscated and she was banished. Banished. And like, it's for. She's accused of like, rebellion, disobedience and excesses against the King. Like, she hasn't even done anything yet, right? She's accused of la zer majesty. So because she's accused of all this, she just like, says no and doesn't show up. And because she doesn't show up, she's basically, she's basically deemed guilty in absence, right? And so, yeah, she sells everything, anything that she has of value, like the de Glissant estates especially. And then she armed herself, now according to legend, with a massive axe, which honestly would be cool as hell. But it wasn't just that. She raised a force of about 400 strong. These were loyal men. And she started her own personal war with the French. Now, allegedly, allegedly, she attacked some castles, including a castle at Trophou and Chateau Thibault, where she annihilated the garrisons, leaving only one or two alive to tell the tale of what happened, right? And also to share her open declaration of support of Jean de Montfort and Edward iii. So when it comes to the castle of Toufou, so she arrives and like the guy who owns the castle, he recognizes her as Olivier's widow and he's like, oh no, it's the poor widow, we better let her in. And so he lets her in and she's like, ah, psych, everybody's dead. So after this, Jean de Clissant with the help of some extra funding from Edward, she purchases three converted merchant ships. So these were painted black and fitted with crimson sails. Now, here's the thing. Red dye wasn't cheap. Like, that's an expensive die. Like, this is done. If. If it's true, right? There are many reports of the red sales existing. Like, there are. There are reports and documents and tales of this. And if that's true, this is drama. Like, this is a deliberate, like, not only a fear tactic, but it's like having the power and the finances to dye your sails red. Like, that is money. And it's just this terrifying, terrifying, like, styleship. And that's amazing. Like, this was a statement. And with her Black Fleet, Jean de Clisson began to wreak absolute havoc on the French. Also, in addition, furthermore, like it said that she named the flagship so her own ship, she named my revenge Moravange. Like, like, she's making a statement like that. Like, she's like, I'm making it clear what my purpose is. I don't want anyone to be confused. Like, was I not clear? I'm sorry, was I not clear that this is about vengeance? I mean, what did I name my ship? So this was not a pirate looking for booty and loot, although she would take it, obviously, because she needs to continue funding the English effort. So Jean attacked friendships, not really to plunder, but to massacre. This was vengeance. French nobles would not receive mercy, no matter how much they begged or pleaded or how large a ransom they offered. They were sitting ducks. Unfortunately, much of the French fleet had been lost to the Battle of Sluys, like, what was it, three years earlier. And it was not getting restocked, shall we say, because war is expensive. And Philippe was really feeling the pinch now, like, he wasn't able to restock, like, rebuild the ships or even have the men for these ships. And the way that the Black Fleet would work is it would sort of swarm ships coming out of the fog, like guerrilla warfare, but on the sea, right? And all that is going on. But back in Bretagne, like, by 1345, Charles Dubois, he seems to be winning, right? Everyone thinks he's got the upper hand because Jean de Montfort dies. And, like, who's everyone going to put their support behind? Jean de Montfort, son, maybe. That being said, Charles wasn't really liked by the Bretons after, you know, he would, like, capture a town like Quimpe, and when he went there, he kinda sorta massacred all of the civilians, which, honestly, not all of them, but like, most of them, which doesn't really make you seem like a good leader or a just leader because you've just murdered a bunch of people who are just living their lives. It's not really a good look. And so Jean, right, all this is going on and when she's not pirating, she's helping transport provisions across the Channel for like, the Cresse campaign, for example. So like 1346, 1347, she's dropping this stuff off and 1347, Char du Bois, he's captured when the French were defeated at Cressay by English forces. So she continued to attack in like, was it the Bay of Biscay, the English Channel? She's even in like the Charente Estuary, the Grand Estuary. Seas around like Aire Re Auiron and y. Like all through there. And in this period of time, this like 36, 30, sorry. 46, 47. Jean de Clisson was finally outmaneuvered by the French and they sank her flagship. Now Jean and her two sons, Olivier and Grienne, they are adrift for five days. And eight year old Guillain, he dies from exposure before the rescued Jean and Olivier, they are rescued and taken to Morlais in Brittany by Montfort supporters. And it's here that she decides that this life, it's not safe for her son. And she decides it's best for her to send her surviving son to England to be raised in a household of King Edward. And with her son safe, she just returns to piracy. Although some have suggested it could be privateering because, you know, she's doing it for the English crown. I mean, it's mainly for herself. But they are also helping because they just want her to fuck shit up. So she continues to be an absolute scourge for the French for another few years, right? She is just a thorn in their sides. And then one day, after 13 years of piracy, just as quickly as she started, she stopped. Like, maybe she had her fall of vengeance. Maybe she was cleansed in the blood of her enemies. Maybe it's because she knew her son was safe in England and a good friend of Jean Catre. So Jean de Montfort, also known as Jean the Conqueror, Duke of Brittany, Count of Montfort and Earl of Richmond, and eventually Olivier, he would go on to become the Constable of France, like he does well now in her 50s, I mean, maybe it's. Her back is probably done and that's why she can't really be sleeping on those wee ships anymore. But she moved in with her fourth husband, a military deputy for Edward iii, William Bentley. And they settled down in Hennebont, right? The castle that, like her husband's brother, her brother in law, had actually gone to save before. So Henbon in Brittany was a castle by the sea, and that's where they lived out the rest of their days. Walter and Jean, they died within weeks of each other in December 1359. Of what? Whom's to say? Like, could have been a flu, could have been the plague. Like, could have been anything these days. But after her death, her legend grew. La Tigresse, Britannia, the lioness of Brittany. Because there is nothing more dangerous than a woman scorned. And so ends our story of the lioness of Brittany. Another pirate for our piracy month. I'm losing my voice. But that is that. There's going to be more piracy talk over the next two weeks. I forgot how many weeks there are. There will be a few Christmasy things happening as well. Just because it's the season. I'm gonna try not to lose my voice over the next few days, but whom's to say? And, oh, I do hope everyone has had those Santa lists ready. Or Hanukkah lists or Kwanzaa. That's all I know. I don't. I don't know any other holidays that are at this time of year. If there are any, let me know, because I. I don't know what they are. But, yeah, follow me on the socials. I'll be doing my thing. I'll be being annoying if there's a pirate. Like, this is not going to be the only pirate month I do because there's so much. And there's so many things I want to talk about and get into, and I'll have some more time to do it in the future. So it's really, really exciting. And there's the news and stuff. Oh, and if you're in Belfast, get tickets to my show because I'm going to be there February 1st. And with that, I shall say good night to you all. No, I won't, because I haven't done recommendations. Recommendation time for watching Cutthroat Island. See how there was no pausing with that whatsoever. I'm like, woman, pirate. You know what people talk about that movie. I love a swashbuckler, right? I love the ridiculousness of it. Like, go to town. Okay? That is our watching for listening. You know what? Screw it. Listen to CG5, right? Some of his stuff's actually really catchy. And for reading, I'm gonna go completely left field here because it's got nothing to do with pirates, but I'm gonna go with the Murder of Roger Ackroyd. It's one of my favorite books. It's not my most favourite book, but it's. It's one of them. And I was reminded of it this week specifically. So, yeah, go read that. And with that, I will say good night. Adios. Au revoir. Au vuitize, my friends. Bye Bye. I'm Martha Stewart and I believe the best gifts are not only beautiful, but useful every single day. And Lenox has brought timeless beauty and lasting quality to our tables for generations. And their Lenox Spice Village is the perfect holiday gift for someone you love or for yourself. Spice Village transforms everyday spices into inspired memories filled with warmth and joy all year long. Give a gift that lasts beyond the holidays. Discover the collection@lenox.com SpiceVillage Acast powers the world's best podcasts. Here's a show that we recommend. In 1995, the world's most successful actor strapped himself to the mast of a catamaran in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. A helicopter nearly decapitated him and he almost drowned. He did it for his art. He did it for what he loved. He did it for Waterworld. My name is Chris Winterbauer, and I believe that every movie is a miracle, even the bad ones. Join me every other week on what Went Wrong, a podcast dedicated to finding the chaos and humanity in Hollywood's biggest flops and most shocking successes. ACAST helps creators launch, grow and monetize their podcasts everywhere. Acast. Com.