Alix, Duchess of Brittany

Alix
Alix
	Alix represented on a window; in Chartres Cathedral
Duchess of Brittany
Reign	April 1203 – 21 October 1221
Predecessor	Arthur I
Successor	John I
Co-ruler	Peter I
Regent	Guy of Thouars (1203–1206); Philip II of France (1206–1213)
Born	1200; Brittany
Died	21 October 1221 (aged 20–21)
Burial	24 November 1225; Villeneuve Abbey, Nantes
Spouse	Peter I, Duke of Brittany (m. 1213)
Issue	John I, Duke of Brittany; Yolande, Countess of Penthièvre
House	Thouars
Father	Guy of Thouars
Mother	Constance, Duchess of Brittany

Alix of Thouars^[a] (1200 – 21 October 1221) (in Breton Alis) ruled as Duchess of Brittany from 1203 until her death. She was also Countess of Richmond in the peerage of England.^[b]

Life

Alix was born in 1200. She was the daughter of Constance, Duchess of Brittany and Guy of Thouars.^[2] According to several French historians, Constance died after giving birth to Alix's sisters Catherine and Margaret.^[c] Alix's older half-brother was Arthur I, Duke of Brittany and her half-sisters were Eleanor, Fair Maid of Brittany and Matilda of Brittany, the children of Constance and Geoffrey Plantagenet. Upon the death of Richard I of England, a power struggle commenced between her half-brother Arthur and John, King of England. At the Battle of Mirebeau in 1202, Arthur and Eleanor were captured. Arthur was imprisoned at the Château de Falaise and in 1203 disappeared. Eleanor was imprisoned at Corfe Castle.

The Breton barons recognized Alix as Duchess of Brittany after the presumed death of Arthur, instead of Eleanor. This was due to fears that John might claim to rule Brittany as regent for the imprisoned Eleanor. Alix's father Guy became regent for Alix until 1206, when Philip II of France made himself the regent of the duchy in Alix's name. King Philip II broke off the betrothal of Alix and the Breton prince Henry of Penthièvre, ^[d] and turned to his French cousin Peter of Dreux, as Alix's husband.^[3] In 1208, John permitted Eleanor to style herself Duchess of Brittany and Countess of Richmond, but gave her no lands of Richmond Earldom. Pierre married Alix on 27 January 1213, and paid homage to the French king for Brittany. In 1214 John recognized Alix as Duchess of Brittany, renouncing the claim of Eleanor.

In 1218 Peter and Alix were recognised by William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke regent of England as Earl and Countess of Richmond in place of Eleanor, who would never be released from imprisonment.

Alix died on 21 October 1221,^[4] without having exercised much control over her own inheritance. She was succeeded in the duchy by her son John I,^[4] but Peter remained the de facto ruler of Brittany as John I's regent until 1237.

Children

Alix and Peter had:

John I, Duke of Brittany (c. 1217–1286), married Blanche of Navarre,^[5] daughter of the king of Navarre, Theobald I of Navarre.
Yolande of Brittany, (1218–1272), married Hugh XI of Lusignan,^[5] Count of Angoulême and Count of Marche
Arthur of Brittany (1220–1224), betrothed to Jeanne de Craon,^[6] daughter of Amaury I de Craon and Jeanne des Roches

Portrayals in literature

Alix of Thouars is the heroine of the novel Le Poids d’une couronne (légende bretonne) (1867–1868) by Gabrielle d’Étampes and is mentioned in the novel Dans l’Ombre du Passé (2020) by Léa Chaillou, where it is revealed that the heroine is named after her.

Notes

^ Her name is sometimes spelt Alice.^[1]
^ Although Eleanor of Brittany was styled Countess of Richmond as well as titular Duchess of Brittany from 1203 to 1219 by her uncle John, this was only a titular title, as Alix herself was styled Countess of Richmond and even made charters about this estate.^[1]
^ According to historian Arthur Le Moyne de La Borderie, Constance and Guy had a third daughter, Margaret.
^ Henry and his family would later become dispossessed of the Countship of Penthièvre by Pierre Mauclerc, who would then bestow the title on Alix's daughter Yolande of Brittany

References

^ ^a ^b Everard & Jones 1999, p. 169.
^ Baldwin 1986, p. 239.
^ Smith 1995, p. 148.
^ ^a ^b Painter 2020, p. 28.
^ ^a ^b Richard 1983, p. xxviii.
^ Morvan 2009, Genealogie n2.

Sources

Baldwin, John W. (1986). The Government of Philip Augustus: Foundations of French Royal Power in the Middle Ages. University of California Press.
Everard, Judith; Jones, Michael, eds. (1999). The Charters of Duchess Constance of Brittany and her Family (1171-1221. The Boydell Press.
Morvan, Frederic (2009). La Chevalerie bretonne et la formation de l'armee ducale (in French). Presses Universitaires de Rennes.
Painter, Sidney (2020). The Scourge of the Clergy: Peter of Dreux, Duke of Brittany. Johns Hopkins University Press.28
Richard, Jean (1983). Lloyd, Simon (ed.). Saint Louis: Crusader King of France. Translated by Birrell, Jean. Cambridge University Press.
Smith, Julia M.H. (1995). "Brittany". In Kibler, William W. (ed.). Medieval France: An Encyclopedia. Garland Publishing Inc.