Jeanne d'Angoulême, Countess of Bar-sur-Seine (c. 1490 – after 1531/1538), Dame de Givry, Baroness of Pagny and of Mirebeau, was a half-sister of King Francis I of France and princess Marguerite de Navarre. She was created suo jure Countess of Bar-sur-Seine in 1522. She was the wife of Jean de Longwy, Seigneur of Givry, Baron of Pagny and of Mirebeau.

Jeanne
Countess of Bar-sur-Seine
Bornc. 1490 (legitimised August 1501)
Angoulême, France
Died1531/1538
France
Noble familyHouse of Valois-Angoulême
Spouse(s)Jean Aubin
Jean de Longwy
IssueFrançoise, Dame de Pagny and de Mirebeau
Claude Louise, Abbess of Jouarre
Jacqueline, Duchess of Montpensier
FatherCharles, Count of Angoulême
MotherAntoinette de Polignac, Dame de Combronde
Jeanne of Orléans, 16th-century limestone statue, from Petit-Clairvaux priory of Metz, kept in Musées de la Cour d'Or (Metz, Moselle, France)

Life

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Jeanne was born in Angoulême about 1490, the illegitimate daughter of Charles, Count of Angoulême and his mistress Antoinette de Polignac.[1] Antoinette served as the chatelaine of the Charles' chateaux, and became a lady-in-waiting and confidante to his young wife Louise of Savoy whom he married on 16 February 1488.[2]

When Charles died on 1 January 1496, Jeanne, her sisters, and her mother Antoinette were allowed to remain in the Angoulême household now presided over by Louise of Savoy, the widowed Countess. In 1499, Louise moved the family from the chateau of Cognac to the court of King Louis XII, who was her father's cousin. Jeanne was raised alongside her legitimate Angoulême siblings, Francis, who was now the Count of Angoulême, Duke of Valois and heir presumptive to the Kingdom of France, and Marguerite. She was legitimised in Lyon in August 1501 by Louis XII on the occasion of her marriage.

Jeanne had a full sister, Madeleine (died 26 October 1543), who became Abbess of Fontevrault[1] and another half-sister, Souveraine (died 23 February 1551), from Charles' relationship with Jeanne le Conte.[1] By her mother's marriage to Béraud of L'Espinasse, Seigneur de Combronde, Jeanne had another half-sister, Françoise of L'Espinasse. Jeanne's half-brother, Francis was crowned King of France on 25 January 1515.[3] On 24 March 1522, she was created suo jure Countess Bar-sur-Seine by her half-brother Francis, who had succeeded Louis as King in 1515.

Jeanne married her first husband, Jean Aubin, Seigneur de Malicorne, in August 1501. The marriage was childless. Sometime after his death, she married Jean IV de Longwy, Seigneur de Givry, Baron of Pagny and of Mirebeau,[4] by whom she had three daughters:

Jeanne's husband died in 1520. His titles were inherited by their eldest daughter, Françoise.

Jeanne served as Première dame d'honneur to the queen of France, Eleanor of Austria, in 1535–1538.[7]

Jeanne died on an unknown date sometime after 1538. Her youngest daughter, Jacqueline succeeded her as Countess of Bar-sur-Seine.

References

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  1. ^ a b c Knecht 1982, p. 2.
  2. ^ Knecht 1982, p. 1.
  3. ^ Knecht 1982, p. 16, 465.
  4. ^ a b Potter 2004, p. 65.
  5. ^ Armstrong 2003, p. 6.
  6. ^ Couchman 1997, p. 104.
  7. ^ Aline Roche, "Une perle de pris" : la maison de la reine Eléonore d'Autriche, Paris, Cour de France.fr, 2010. Article inédit publié en ligne le 1er octobre 2010 (http://cour-de-france.fr/article1646.html).

Sources

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  • Armstrong, Alastair (2003). France, 1500-1715. Heinemann.
  • Couchman, Jane (1997). "Charlotte of Bourbon's Correspondence: Using Words to Implement Emancipation". In Winn, Colette H.; Kuizenga, Donna (eds.). Women Writers in Pre-revolutionary France: Strategies of Emancipation. Garland Publishing Inc.
  • Knecht, R.J. (1982). Francis I. Cambridge University Press.
  • Potter, David (2004). Foreign Intelligence and Information in the Elizabethan England:Two English Treatises on the State of France, 1580-1584. Cambridge University Press.