Beatrice, Countess of Montfort

Beatrice de Montfort
Beatrice de Montfort
suo jure Countess of Montfort-l'Amaury; Countess of Dreux; Countess of Braine
Born	December 1248 – December 1249; France
Died	9 March 1312
Noble family	House of Montfort
Spouse(s)	Robert IV, Count of Dreux, Braine and Montfort-l'Amaury
Issue	Marie of Dreux; Yolande of Dreux, Queen of Scotland; John II, Count of Dreux and Braine; Jeanne of Dreux, Countess of Braine; Beatrice of Dreux, Abbess of Port-Royal; Robert of Dreux, Seigneur of Chateau-du-Loire
Father	John I of Montfort
Mother	Jeanne, Dame de Chateaudun

Beatrice de Montfort, Countess of Montfort-l'Amaury (December 1249 – 9 March 1312) was a ruling sovereign countess of Montfort from 1249 until 1312. She was also countess of Dreux by marriage to Robert IV, Count of Dreux. She was the ancestor of the Dukes of Brittany from the House of Montfort-Dreux which derived its name from her title.

Life

Beatrice was born sometime between December 1248 and 1249, the only child of John I of Montfort, Count of Dreux and Jeanne, Dame de Chateaudun.

Reign

In 1249, Beatrice's father died in Cyprus, while participating in the Seventh Crusade. Thus, Beatrice succeeded her father as ruling countess of Montfort at the age of about one year old.

In 1251, Jeanne married her second husband, John II of Brienne, Grand Butler of France. Jeanne and John had a daughter, Blanche de Brienne, Baroness Tingry (1252–1302); Blanche married William II de Fiennes, Baron of Tingry.^[1] Jeanne died sometime after 1252, leaving Beatrice and her half-sister Blanche as her co-heiresses.

Beatrice was married to Robert IV, Count of Dreux, Braine and Montfort-l'Amaury in 1260, when she was about eleven years old.^[2] He was the son of John I, Count of Dreux and Braine,^[3] and Marie de Bourbon.^[4] As was the custom for female rulers at this point in time, he became the co-ruler with Beatrice and Count of Montfort by right of his wife after their wedding.

Death

Beatrice died on 9 March 1312 at the age of around sixty-three. She was buried in the Abbaye de Haute-Bruyère.

Issue

Beatrice and Robert had:

Marie of Dreux (1261/62–1276), in 1275 married Mathieu de Montmorency^[5]
Yolande de Dreux (1263–1323), Countess of Montfort, married, firstly, on 15 October 1285, King Alexander III of Scotland,^[6] and, secondly, in 1292, Arthur II, Duke of Brittany^[7]
John II of Dreux (1265–1309)
Joan of Dreux, Countess of Braine, married, firstly, Jean IV de Roucy,^[5] and, secondly, John of Bar
Beatrice of Dreux, abbess of Port-Royal-des-Champs (1270–1328)
Robert of Dreux, seigneur of Chateau-du-Loire.

Ancestry

Ancestors of Beatrice, Countess of Montfort

Simon de Montfort

Simon de Montfort, 5th Earl of Leicester

Amicia de Beaumont

Amaury de Montfort

Bouchard III de Montmorency

Alix de Montmorency

Laurence of Hainault

John I of Montfort

Hugh III, Duke of Burgundy

André Guigues VI, Dauphin of Viennois

Beatrice of Albon, Countess of Albon and Dauphine of Viennois

Beatrice of Burgundy

Rainon I de Sabran

Beatrix de Sabran

Garsende de Forcalquier

Beatrice de Montfort

Hughes V, Viscount of Chateaudun

Geoffrey V, Viscount of Châteaudun

Jeanne de Preuilly

Geoffrey VI, Viscount of Châteaudun

Ursion II, Seigneur de Fréteval

Alix de Fréteval

Gracia, Dame de Faye

Jeanne, Dame de Chateaudun

Baudoin des Roches

William des Roches, Seneschal of Anjou

Alix de Châtellerault

Clémence des Roches

Robert IV of Sablé

Marguerite de Sablé

Clémence de Mayenne

References

^ Richardson 2004, p. 155.
^ Pollock 2015, p. 188.
^ Bubenicek 2002, p. 54-55.
^ Newman 1935, p. 411.
^ ^a ^b de Boos 2004, p. 155.
^ Connolly 2017, p. 116.
^ Bubenicek 2002, p. 54.

Sources

de Boos, Emmanuel (2004). L'armorial le Breton (in French). Somogy editions d'art.
Bubenicek, Michelle (2002). Quand les femmes gouvernent: droit et politique au XIVe siècle:Yolande de Flandre, Droit et politique au XIV siecle (in French). Ecole des Chartes.
Connolly, Sharon Bennett (2017). Heroines of the Medieval World. Amberley Publishing.
Newman, William Mendel (1935). Les seigneurs de Nesle en Picardie (XIIe-XIIIe siècle): leurs chartes et leur histoire (in French). Vol. 91, Part 2. American Philosophical Society.
Pollock, M. A. (2015). Scotland, England and France After the Loss of Normandy, 1204-1296: "Auld Amitie". The Boydell Press.
Richardson, Douglas (2004). Everingham, Kimball G.; Faris, David (eds.). Plantagenet Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, Royal Ancestry series. Genealogical Publishing Co.

Regnal titles
Beatrice, Countess of Montfort House of Dreux Born: 1248 Died: 1312
Preceded by John I	Countess of Montfort 1249–1312 with Robert (1260–1282)	Succeeded by Yolande