John II, called John the Good, was King of France from 1350 until his death in 1364. When he came to power, France faced several disasters: the Black Death, which killed between a third and a half of its population; popular revolts known as Jacqueries; free companies of routiers who plundered the country; and English aggression that resulted in catastrophic military losses, including the Battle of Poitiers of 1356, in which John was captured.
Constance was Duchess of Brittany from 1166 to her death in 1201 and Countess of Richmond from 1171 to 1201. Constance was the daughter of Duke Conan IV by his wife, Margaret of Huntingdon, a sister of the Scottish kings Malcolm IV and William I.
The War of the Breton Succession was a conflict between the Counts of Blois and the Montforts of Brittany for control of the Sovereign Duchy of Brittany, then a fief of the Kingdom of France. It was fought between 1341 and 12 April 1365. It is also known as the War of the Two Jeannes due to the involvement of two rival duchesses of that name.
John of Montfort, sometimes known as John IV of Brittany, and 6th Earl of Richmond from 1341 to his death. He was the son of Arthur II, Duke of Brittany and his second wife, Yolande de Dreux. He contested the inheritance of the Duchy of Brittany by his niece, Joan of Penthièvre, which led to the War of the Breton Succession, which in turn evolved into being part of the Hundred Years' War between England and France. John's patron in his quest was King Edward III of England. He died in 1345, 19 years before the end of the war, and the victory of his son John IV over Joan of Penthièvre and her husband, Charles of Blois.
John V, sometimes numbered as VI, bynamed John the Wise, was Duke of Brittany and Count of Montfort from 1399 to his death. His rule coincided with the height of the Hundred Years' War between England and France. John's reversals in that conflict, as well as in other internal struggles in France, served to strengthen his duchy and to maintain its independence.
Francis II was Duke of Brittany from 1458 to his death. He was the grandson of John IV, Duke of Brittany. A recurring theme in Francis' life would be his quest to maintain the quasi-independence of Brittany from France. As such, his reign was characterized by conflicts with King Louis XI of France and with his daughter, Anne of France, who served as regent during the minority of her brother, King Charles VIII. The armed and unarmed conflicts from 1465 to 1477 and 1484–1488 have been called the "War of the Public Weal" and the Mad War, respectively.
The first phase of the Hundred Years' War between England and France lasted from 1337 to 1360. It is sometimes referred to as the Edwardian War because it was initiated by King Edward III of England, who claimed the French throne in defiance of King Philip VI of France. The dynastic conflict was caused by disputes over the French feudal sovereignty over Aquitaine and the English claims over the French royal title. The Kingdom of England and its allies dominated this phase of the war, and Edward's sovereignty over Aquitaine was confirmed in the Treaty of Brétigny (1360), although he renounced his claim to the French throne.
Olivier V de Clisson, nicknamed "The Butcher", was a Breton soldier, the son of Olivier IV de Clisson. His father had been put to death by the French in 1343 on the suspicion of having willingly given up the city of Vannes to the English.
Gilles de Rais, Baron de Rais, was a knight and lord from Brittany, Anjou and Poitou, a leader in the French army during the Hundred Years' War, and a companion-in-arms of Joan of Arc. He is best known for his reputation and later conviction as a confessed serial killer of children.
The former Breton and French diocese of Tréguier existed in Lower Brittany from about the sixth century, or later, to the French Revolution. Its see was at Tréguier, in the modern department of Côtes-d'Armor.
The Breton and French Catholic diocese of Dol, situated in the northern part of the department of Ille-et-Vilaine, 6 km (3.8 mi) from the English Channel coast and 22 km (14 mi) southeast of Saint-Malo, existed from 848 until the French Revolution. It was suppressed by the Concordat of 1801.
The Diocese of Saint-Brieuc and Tréguier is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in France. The diocese comprises the department of Côtes d'Armor in the Region of Brittany. The diocese is currently suffragan to the Archdiocese of Rennes, Dol, and Saint-Malo. The current bishop is Denis Moutel, appointed in 2010.
The medieval castle of Pouancé is located in Pouancé, Maine-et-Loire, France, at the western border of the old province of Anjou, where it was built as a defence against Brittany. Along with the remains of the city walls, it covers a surface of three hectares. It is nicknamed the "second castle of Anjou" because of its size, which is just less than that of the castle of Angers. It belongs to the Breton march, facing the Breton castle of Châteaubriant.
Jeanne de Clisson (1300–1359), also known as Jeanne de Belleville and the Lioness of Brittany, was a French/Breton noblewoman who became a privateer to avenge her husband after he was executed for treason by King Philip VI of France. She crossed the English Channel targeting French ships and often slaughtering their crew. It was her practice to leave at least one sailor alive to carry her message of vengeance.
Jean de Malestroit was a pseudo-cardinal who served as Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Nantes from 17 July 1419 until 1443 AD when he resigned.
The sieges of Vannes of 1342 were a series of four sieges of the town of Vannes that occurred throughout 1342. Two rival claimants to the Duchy of Brittany, John of Montfort and Charles of Blois, competed for Vannes throughout this civil war from 1341 to 1365. The successive sieges ruined Vannes and its surrounding countryside. Vannes was eventually sold off in a truce between England and France, signed in January 1343 in Malestroit. Saved by an appeal of Pope Clement VI, Vannes remained in the hands of its own rulers, but ultimately resided under English control from September 1343 till the end of the war in 1365.
The Chapel of the Madeleine, formerly the Priory of the Madeleine or Malestroit Priory, is a ruined chapel in Malestroit in the department of Morbihan, Brittany, France.
Robert VIII Bertrand de Bricquebec, also known as Robert Bertrand, Baron of Bricquebec, Viscount of Roncheville, was a 14th century Norman noble. He served as Marshal of France from 1325 until 1344.
Olivier IV de Clisson, was a Breton Marche Lord and knight who became embroiled in the intrigue of Vannes and was subsequently executed by the King of France for perceived treason. He was the husband of Jeanne de Clisson who eventually became known as the Lioness of Brittany.
Amaury de Clisson (1304–1347), was a Breton knight who became the chief emissary for Jeanne de Penthièvre to the court of Edward III of England.
