Joan, Countess of Flanders

Not to be confused with Joanna of Flanders.

Statue of Joan of Flanders

Silver denier, struck in Valenciennes under Joan of Constantinople.

Joan, often called Joan of Constantinople (1200? – 5 December 1244) ruled as Countess of Flanders and Hainaut from 1205 until her death. She was the elder daughter of Baldwin IX, Count of Flanders and Hainaut, and Marie of Champagne.

Her parents were dead during the Crusades, she was raised in Paris under the tutelage of King Philip II of France, who arranged her marriage with Infante Ferdinand of Portugal in 1212. The latter quickly turns against the French King, originating a war that ends with the defeat of Bouvines and his imprisonment. Joan then ruled her Counties alone, facing the rivalry of her sister Margaret, the revolt of her domains aimed by an imposter who claimed to be her father. After the end of the war, her husband Ferdinand was released, but he died soon after. Joan then married secondly with Thomas of Savoy. Jeanne died without surviving issue from any of her marriages in 1244 at the Abbey of Marquette near Lille.

Joan led a policy favorable to the economic development of her Counties, granting several charters to the Flemish cities. She played an important role in the development of the Mendicant orders, the Beguines, the Victorines and hospital communities in her domains, without neglecting the traditional orders. Under her reign, women's foundations, previously rare, have increased, transforming the place of women in both society and Church.

The Manessier's Continuation (also called the Third Continuation), one of the novels of the Story of the Grail was written for Joan, as well as the Life of St. Martha of Wauchier de Denain. The first novel in Dutch, Van den vos Reynaerde, was written by a cleric of her court.

Until the 19th century, Joan kept a very negative image, until she was rehabilitated by modern historians. There are several painted or sculpted representations of the Countess in France and Belgium, as well as two Géants du Nord.

Life

Childhood

Joan's exact date of birth is unknown, although several hypotheses have been advanced without tangible evidence. From contemporary sources is know that, like her younger sister Margaret, she was baptized in the Church of St. John of Valenciennes.

In 1202 Joan's father Baldwin left his lands to participate on the Fourth Crusade. After the capture of Constantinople, he was proclaimed Emperor by the Crusaders on 9 May 1204. His wife Marie joined him shortly after his departure, leaving their daughters Joan and Margaret in the care of their paternal uncle, Philip I, Marquis of Namur. Before joining her husband, she decided to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land before joining, but died after her arrival at Acre in August 1204. One year later, Baldwin disappears during the Battle of Adrianople against Bulgarians and Cumans under Tsar Kaloyan of Bulgaria on 14 April 1205. His exact fate, dead or captured, is unknown, and his body was never found.

After the news of Baldwin's fate reached Flanders in February 1206, Joan succeeded her father as Countess of Flanders and Hainaut, but because she was still a child, the administration of both Counties was assumed by a Council composed by the Chancellor of Flanders, the Provost of Lille and the Castellans of Lille and Saint-Omer. The guardianship and education of both Joan and her sister was retained by their uncle Philip I of Namur, who soon put his nieces in a difficult position. He became betrothed to Marie of France, a daughter of King Philip II, and gave his future father-in-law the custody of the two girls, who were raised in Paris alongside the young Theobald IV of Champagne (later King of Navarre). During their time in France, they became familiar with the Cisterian Order, probably under influence of the future French Queen Blanche of Castile.

From 1206 the French King demanded from Philip I of Namur not to marry his nieces without his consent. Two years later (1208) an agreement was settled with the King of France under which both Joan and Margaret were forbidden to marry before their legal majority without the consent of the Marquis of Namur, but he agreed to not oppose to the royal choice of husbands after majority. Finally, in case that either of the two sisters refuse to marry with the candidate chosen by King Philip II, the agreement provides that the responsibility to find husbands for the sisters would be handed to the Marquis of Namur, after the payment to a monetary compensation to the French King.

In 1211 Enguerrand III of Coucy offers to the King the sum of 50,000 livres to marry Joan, while his brother Thomas would marry Margaret. However, the Flemish nobility was hostile to the project. Infanta Theresa of Portugal (renamed Mathilde), Dowager Countess of Flanders through her first marriage with Philip of Alsace, then offers his nephew, Infante Ferdinand of Portugal, as Joan's husband for the same amount. The marriage was celebrated in Paris in January 1212. After this date the Portuguese Infante was known as Ferrand, Count of Flanders and Hainaut, by right of his wife.

Youth

While on their way to Flanders, the newlyweds were captured by Joan's first cousin Louis of France (the future Louis VIII), eldest son of King Philip II. The French prince had the purpose to recover a large portion of the territory whom he considered his late mother's dowry, including the Artois that Joan's father had taken back by force after the death of Louis' mother in 1190.

Joan and Ferrand only could obtain their release after signing the Treaty of Pont-à-Vendin (25 February 1212), under which they were forced to surrender the towns of Aire-sur-la-Lys and Saint-Omer to France, recognizing the previous occupation of Prince Louis over that lands. After this event, Joan and Ferrand decided to joined in an alliance with the former allies of Baldwin IX, King John of England and Otto IV, Holy Roman Emperor. They obtained the support of the powerful bourgeoisie of Ghent (who initially refused to recognized Ferrand as Count) after Joan and Ferrand granted the annual election of four prudhommes chosen among the aldermen of the city, the consent to the people of Ghent and Ypres to fortify their cities, and the resignation of the castellans of Bruges and Ghent, deemed pro-French.

Joan with her imprisoned husband Ferdinand after the Battle of Bouvines.

In retaliation for this alliance, King Philip II attacked Lille, who was burned (with the exception of the fortified castrum and churches) in 1213. In Damme, the French fleet was destroyed by the English. At the Battle of Roche-au-Moine (2 July 1214), Prince Louis defeated the English army. Then King Philip II inflicts to its opponents a decisive defeat at the Battle of Bouvines (27 July 1214), where Ferrand was captured. During the twelve years that Ferrand remains a prisoner of the French, Joan governed alone.

One of her first rulings was to exempted certain groups from taxes to encourage industry: an example is that of settlers in Kortrijk, who did not have to pay property tax, to promote woolen weaving in the town. Also, she ordened the reconstruction of Lille ramparts, but fearing a new French offensive, she eventually was forced to sign the Treaty of Paris (24 October 1214), under which major fortresses in southern Flanders were destroyed, property restored to French partisans, and Flanders in effect ruled from Paris.

In the meanwhile, the Countess began her efforts to obtain the annulment of her marriage with the Pope, arguing that was never consummated. In 1221, she notably seek to marry Peter Mauclerc (Duke-Regent of Brittany and widower of Alix of Thouars) but King Philip II refused.

Conflict with Margaret

Before 23 July 1212, Joan's younger sister Margaret married Bouchard of Avesnes, Lord of Etroen. The French King, seeing this union with suspicion, informed Pope Innocent III that Bouchard before his wedding have already received holy orders as sub-deacon. In 1215, at the Fourth Council of the Lateran, the Pope annulled the marriage on this ground; however, Margaret and Bouchard refused to submit: they take refuge at the Castle of Houffalize in the Ardennes under the protection of Waleran, Count of Luxembourg. In the following four years, they had three sons: Baldwin (who died in infancy), John and Baldwin.

In 1219, during a battle in Flanders against Joan, Bouchard was captured and imprisoned. Two years later (1221), he was released after acepting to separated from his wife. Between 18 August and 15 November 1223, Margaret married with William II of Dampierre.

The next conflict who will shake Joan's rule took place in 1224, when she wanted to acquire, through her advisor Arnoul of Audernarde, the castellany of Bruges, who King Philip II entrusted to John of Nesle, bailiff of Flanders, after the Battle of Bouvines. She challenges the excessive amount requested by the bailiff, and the conflict was judged by two knights. Joan then appealed to the new King Louis VIII of France at a meeting in his court at Melun, considering that, due to her rank, she only can be judged by the peers. The King finally gave the reason to John of Nesle, which was a cause of further humiliation for the Countess.

The return of Baldwin

According to the Chroniques de Hainaut, the governor of Flanders and Hainaut Arnulf of Gavre would have recognized his uncle Josse Materne, who was now a Franciscan monk at Valenciennes. In his questioning to him, he would have learned that Baldwin IX and his companions were able to escape from the Bulgarians after twenty years of captivity. The Chronique rimée of Philippe Mouskes reports at the same time that a mysterious stranger distributed large sums of money announcing the return of Baldwin. In 1225, a hermit living near Mortagne-du-Nord, in the forest between Valenciennes and Tournai, admits being actually Baldwin IX. He claims the restitution by Joan of his sovereign rights over the Counties of Flanders and Hainaut.

The supposed Baudouin creates knights, seal acts and behaves like a real Count. Quickly, he was supported by the nobility of Hainaut, including Jean of Nesle and Robert III of Dreux. Then he receives the support of the majority of the cities of Flanders and Hainaut, including Lille and Valenciennes. King Henry III of England even offers to him the renewal of an alliance against Louis VIII, counting with the support of Dukes Henry I of Brabant and Waleran III of Limburg. Joan send her advisor Arnold of Oudenaarde to meet the hermit; however, he returned convinced that he was the true Baldwin IX. Other witnesses are more skeptical, but they are accused by the people of being bribed by the Countess.

Joan was forced to take refuge in Mons, the only city that remains faithful to her. Against the promise of 20,000 livres and the pledge of the cities of Douai and Lécluse, Louis VIII agrees to take his army to restore Joan's rights. The French King negotiated fiercely his support: Joan agrees to reimburse the costs of war, and confirm the pledge over Douai and Lécluse.

Before launching military operations, Louis VIII sent his aunt Sybille of Hainaut, Dowager Lady of Beaujeu and sister of Baldwin IX, to meet the hermit. This develops doubts about his identity. On 30 May 1225 the King meets the hermit at Péronne and interrogated him about details of Baldwin IX's life: he was unable to remember when and where he was knighted and even he didn't remember his own wedding night. Philippe of Jouy (Bishop of Orléans) and Milo of Nanteuil (Bishop of Beauvais), recognize him as a juggler who already tried to pass him for Louis I, Count of Blois, who also disappeared at the Battle of Adrianople.

Convinced that he is an impostor, Louis VIII gave him three days to flee. The false Baldwin IX took refuge with his supporters to Valenciennes, but the city was quickly retaken by the French. Joan requires unconditional surrender. The impostor then take refuge with Engelbert II of Berg, Archbishop of Cologne, but there he lost his last followers and flees. Caught near Besançon, he was send to Joan. Despite the promise of respect his life, he was put in a pillory between two dogs and then hanged at the gates of Lille. It's likely that Bouchard of Avesnes, the former husband of Margaret, was the soul of the plot: the false Baldwin IX had recognized the legitimate rights of his eldest son as heir of Flanders and Hainaut.

Following the recapture of the rebellious cities, Joan imposes heavy fines to them. This allows her not only to pay her debts to the King of France the next year (instead of the 20 years previously agreed), but also to pay the ransom of her husband Ferrand.

The release of Ferrand

A ploy or real willingness to turn the page, Joan intensified her intentions to marry with Peter Mauclerc, the widower Duke-Regent of Brittany. She then requested the annulment of her marriage under grounds of consanguinity from Pope Honorius III, who accepted her petition. However, King Louis VIII refused the consent for a marriage between Mauclerc and the Countess, fearing that the royal demesne, squeezed between their domains, would be too dangerous. To finally ended Joan's marital pretentions, the French King obtained from the Pope the renewal of her marriage with Ferrand, while forcing her to a treaty and a ransom for her imprisoned husband.

In April 1226, the Treaty of Melun was signed between Joan and Louis VIII, under which Ferrand's ransom was fixed in 50,000 livres parisis payable in two installments. The Treaty also stipulated that the cities of Lille, Douai and Lécluse would be surrender to France as a pledge until the full payment of this considerable amount. Joan was also forced to maintain her marital bond with Ferrand. Both Joan and Ferrand could be excommunicated if they betrayed the King, a fact what constitutes perjury in feudal law. Finally, the knights and representatives of the main Flemish cities must also swear allegiance to the King of France: at all, 27 cities and 350 nobles paid homage. After the death of Louis VIII on 8 November, his widow Blanche of Castile and his son and successor Louis IX finally released Ferrand in January 1227 after Joan pay half of the ransom, reduced to 25,000 livres.

In late 1227 or early 1228, Joan gave birth to a daughter, Marie. A few years later, on 27 July 1233 Ferrand died in Noyon from urinary stones, a disease that he suffered since his capture at Bouvines. His heart was buried in Noyon Cathedral, while his body was interred in the Abbey of Marquette, in Flanders. After the death of her husband, Joan wants to marry Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester, but since he was still loyal to the English crown at this point, this did not sit well to Louis IX, who refused to gave his consent. It was during that year of 1233 that Bouchard of Avesnes, jailed since his plot of the false Baldwin was released.

After the death of her father Marie of Portugal was send to Paris to be educated there, following Louis IX's demands. In June 1235 she was betrothed with Prince Robert of France, Louis IX's brother; however, she died shortly after this date and before 1236, leaving Joan without direct heirs.

Marriage with Thomas of Savoy. Death

Following Blanche of Castile's suggestion, Joan agrees to marry Thomas of Savoy, Count of Maurienne and Lord of Piedmont, maternal uncle of Margaret of Provence, wife of Louis IX. They wed on 2 April 1237, although without Papal dispensation despite consanguinity within the prohibited degrees between them (both are descendants of Humbert II, Count of Savoy). For this marriage, Joan was forced to pay 30,000 livres to the King of France and made the renewal of her oath of loyalty. With her new husband, they gave support to Louis IX against the rebellion led by Hugh X of Lusignan.

Joan died on 5 December 1244 at the Abbey of Marquette near Lille, where she retired shortly before as a nun. Without surviving issue, she was succeeded by her sister Margaret, while her widower Thomas returns to Savoy. Her tomb was rediscovered in 2005 on the site of the later destroyed Abbey of Marquette; however, further excavations in 2007 revealed that the Countess' remains weren't present in this tomb.

Political role

Economy

Countess Joan, in the early years of her personal reign (1214-1226), conducted a policy favorable to the development of Flemish cities. She provides legal and tax privileges to Dunkirk, Ghent, Lille, Mardyck, Seclin (1216), Biervliet and Ypres (1225). In Kortrijk, in 1217, she promotes the influx of workers for the wool industry by exempting from the taille tax to people who come to settle in this city. After the return of her husband Ferrand, she confirms this political orientation, by granting Douai, Ghent, Ypres, Bruges and Lederzeele new privileges, which give them greater autonomy vis-à-vis from the Comital power. After the death of Ferrand (1233), she still promulgates the Lille Charter and authorizes the construction of a belfry at Valenciennes.

Then, after her marriage with Thomas of Savoy (1237-1244), she complements this policy through tax exemptions, reorganization of the judicial system, measures to promote river commerce and sea ports, concerning the cities of Bergues, Bourbourg, Bruges, Damme, Veurne, Muiden and Kaprijke. In less urban areas, particularly in Hainaut, the Comital power remains strong. Under constant pressure from the Flemish bourgeoisie, aware of the Joan's need of their support against the King of France, she pursued a policy that promoted economic development and urban autonomy, not without tax counterparties.

To promote river commerce, Joan ordened in 1237 the construction of water gates at Menen and Harelbeke, making the Leie river navigable. Then in 1242, with Thomas of Savoy, she authorizes the aldermen of Lille to create three locks in Marquette-lez-Lille to Wambrechies and Lille himself, extending the network to the Deûle river. The latter will ultimately not built, but replaced by a double door in Le Quesnoy.

Religion

In good relations with the Cistercians, Joan founded the Abbey of Marquette-lez-Lille, and confirmed, supported or helped the foundation of several other monasteries of Cistercian nuns. Until the 12th century, the abbeys of both Flanders and Hainaut were exclusively male; however, twenty female monasteries in Flanders (most notably the Abbey of La Byloke in Ghent), and five in Hainaut were founded during the 13th century. They are supported by Joan and her sister Margaret – for some of them, the role of foundresses was assigned a posteriori in modern times.

Joan also supports the foundation of the Mendicant orders in her counties. At Valenciennes, (where a small community of Franciscans moved there in 1217), she granted to them the usufruct of the old Donjon of the city with the purpose to found a convent there; however, she had to faced the resistance of the local Franciscan community. Finally, the two communities merged before 1241. In the case of the Franciscans of Lille, we know that Joan sends her general contractor and carpenters to help build the church and convent.

Countess Joan promoted and established several monasteries, abbeys and Béguinages around Flanders. There are statues of her in the béguinage of Kortrijk and the Old Saint Elisabeth in Ghent. She also supported hospitals and leper colonies.

Sources

• Abulafia, David. The New Cambridge Medieval History: c. 1198-c. 1300, 1999.
• Fegley, R. (2002). The Golden Spurs of Kortrijk: How the Knights of France Fell to the Foot Soldiers of Flanders in 1302, 2007. McFarland and Company Inc.
• Goldstone, Nancy (2009). Four Queens: The Provençal Sisters Who Ruled Europe. Phoenix Paperbacks, London.
• Mortimer, I. (2010). Medieval Intrigue: Decoding Royal Conspiracies. Continuum International Publishing Group.
• Weiler, B, Burton, J, Schofield, P and Stöber, K (2007). Thirteenth century England: Proceedings of the Gregynog Conference, 2007. The Boydell Press.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
• Wheeler, B.; Parsons, J (2002). Eleanor of Aquitaine: Lord and Lady. Palgrave Macmillan.
• Nicholas, David. (1992). Medieval Flanders. Longman Group UK Limited, London.
• Cox, Eugene L. (1974). The Eagles of Savoy. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0691052166. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)

External links

• Women's Biography: Joan of Constantinople, Countess of Flanders