Jeanne de Clisson

Jeanne de Clisson
Coat of Arms Clisson Family
Born	1300 Belleville-sur-Vie
Died	1359 Hennebont
Piratical career
Nickname	Lioness of Brittany
Type	Privateer
Allegiance

Jeanne de Clisson (1300–1359), also known as Jeanne de Belleville and the Lioness of Brittany, was a Breton privateer who plied the English Channel.

Jeanne Louise de Belleville, de Clisson, Dame de Montaigu, was born in 1300 in Belleville-sur-Vie in the Vendee, a daughter of nobleman Maurice IV Montaigu of Belleville and Palluau (1263-1304) and Létice de Parthenay of Parthenay (1276-?) in the Gâtine Vendéenne.

In 1312, Jeanne married her first husband, 19-year-old Geoffrey de Châteaubriant VIII, a Breton nobleman, and had two children:

In 1326, Geoffrey VIII died.

In 1328, Jeanne married, Guy of Penthièvre, widower of Joan of Avaugour. The union was short lived because after an investigation, the marriage was annulled by Pope John XXII in 1330.

In 1330, Jeanne remarried to Olivier de Clisson IV, a wealthy Breton, holding a castle at Clisson, a manor house in Nantes and lands at Blain. Olivier was initially married to Blanche de Bouville (died 1329). Jeanne and Olivier together had five children:

During the Breton War of Succession, the de Clissons sided with the French choice for the empty Breton ducal crown, Charles de Blois, against the English preference, John de Montfort. The larger de Clisson family was not in full agreement in this matter and Olivier IV's brother, Amaury de Clisson embraced the de Montfort party.

In 1342, the English, after four attempts, captured Vannes. Her husband Olivier and Hervé VII de Léon, the military commanders defending this city, were captured. Olivier was the only one released after an exchange for Ralph de Stafford, 1st Earl of Stafford (a prisoner of the French), and a surprisingly low sum was demanded. This led Olivier to be subsequently suspected of not having defended the city to his fullest, and he was alleged by Charles de Blois to be a traitor.