Margaret III, Countess of Flanders

Margaret III, Countess of Flanders
Margaret of Dampierre, Countess of Flanders
Spouse(s)	Philip I, Duke of Burgundy Philip the Bold
Noble family	Dampierre
Father	Louis II of Flanders
Mother	Margaret of Brabant, Countess of Flanders
Born	(1350-04-13)13 April 1350
Died	16 March 1405(1405-03-16) (aged 54) Arras

Margaret III (13 April 1350 – 16/21 March 1405) was the last Countess of Flanders of the House of Dampierre, as well as Countess of Artois and Countess Palatine of Burgundy (as Margaret II). She was the only surviving child and heir of Louis II (1346–1384); and his wife Margaret of Brabant.

In 1355, the young Margaret married Philip of Rouvres, grandson and heir of Odo IV, Duke of Burgundy. He was count of Burgundy and Artois (1347–1361), Duke of Burgundy (1350–1361), and became Count of Auvergne and Boulogne (1360–1361).

Following Philip's death from a riding accident in 1361, Margaret was widowed. King John II of France claimed the duchy for the kingdom of France. In 1364 Philip the Bold, John's youngest son, was granted the duchy, and subsequently married Margaret. Margaret's second marriage to Philip the Bold took place in 1369.

When Margaret's father died in 1384, she and Philip inherited the counties of Artois, Burgundy, Flanders, Nevers, and Rethel. Philip died in 1404, and Margaret died the next year. With her death, the House of Dampierre came to an end and the County of Flanders lost its (relative) independence to Burgundy. It came under the rule of her son, John the Fearless, and later of the House of Habsburg.

Margaret and Philip had the following children:

The main line of the House of Dampierre ended with Margaret III. The Dampierres, originally only counts of Flanders, had through a clever marriage policy managed to inherit the counties of Nevers (1280) and Rethel (1328). Through her grandmother, a daughter of King Philip V of France, the counties of Artois and Burgundy (the "Franche Comté") were added to this (1382). These lands were to provide the core of the dominions of the House of Valois-Burgundy, which were, together with the Duchy of Burgundy, to provide them with a power base to challenge the rule of their cousins, the Valois kings of France in the 15th century.