Born Jeanne-Louise de Belleville, in 1300, to Maurice IV of Belleville-Montaigu & Letice de Parthenay. At only 12, she married 19 year old, Geoffrey de Chateaubriant. Together they had 2 children, Louise & Geoffrey. In 1326, Chateaubriant died, ending their marriage. Four years later, in 1330, she married her second husband, Olivier III de Clisson. Their's was a intimate union; Jeanne & Olivier were the same age & seemed happy together. They had 5 children: Maurice, Guillaume, Olivier, Isabeau & Jeanne. Olivier was a wealthy nobleman and held a castle at Clisson, a manorhouse in Nantes & lands in Blain. In 1342, he joined forces with Charles de Bois in defending Brittany against the English & their sympathiser, John de Montfort, who were trying to claim lands there.
During the War of Breton Succession (1341-64), Olivier III came under the suspicion of Charles de Bois who criticized him for failing to hold Vannes, against the invasion of English forces. In the summer of 1343, while he was at a tourney in French territory, Olivier was arrested & taken to Paris, to be tried. 15 of his associates including his friend, Charles de Bois found him guilty of treason & he was beheaded at Les Halles, on August 2, 1343, on the orders of King Philip VI. Olivier's head was sent to Nantes & displayed on a pole outside of Castle Bouffay. When Jeanne learned of this, she was enraged & perplexed by the news of her husband's execution & swore revenge on all who had caused the death of her beloved husband, including the king but none moreso than Charles de Bois. She sold the remaining lands of Clisson and began raising money with the help of wealthy nobleman, eventually collecting enough to build three warships. Jeanne also gained the support of the lords and people of Brittany, with the hope of their independence.
The ships Jeanne purchased were painted all black & the sails dyed red, like a pirate ship. Her fleet, called the "Black Fleet" set sail & began hunting down and destroying the ships of King Philip, treating the crewmen mercilessly, only leaving 2-3 on board alive, so they could relay the story back to the king. It was at this time she gained the nomer, Lioness of Brittany. Jeanne and her supporters also helped to keep the English channel, free of French warships, it's also highly possible that as a privateer, Jeanne played a key role in keeping supplies accessible during the Battle of Crecy, in 1346.
When Philip IV died in 1350, Jeanne's reign of terror did not cease. She continued wreaking havoc for French ships, it's said that she took special joy in hunting down & capturing ships of French nobleman, as long as they were on board. She would than behead the nobleman with an axe and toss their bodies overboard. In 1356, after 13 years of piracy, Jeanne de Clisson took refuge in England & married Sir Walter Bentley, a lieutenant to King Edward III of England, who fought against Charles de Bois. She later returned to France, where she stayed in Hennebont, a commune in Northern Brittany, since Blain was inaccessible to her. The lands had been given to Louis de Poitiers, after Olivier's execution. Jeanne de Clisson reportedly died in 1359. Her son, Olivier later returned to France & fought in the War of Breton Succession.
Side notes:
War of the Breton Succession- when the Counts of Blois & Montforts of Brittany fought over the Duchy of Brittany, the Blois were backed by the French & the Montforts were backed by the English.
Battle of Crecy- taking place in Northern France, it proved to be one of the most important battles of the 100 Years War because of new battle tactics and weaponry that was used.
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We Won't Stay Silent
Non-Fiction"We need women who are so strong they can be gentle, so educated they can be humble, so fierce they can be compassionate, so passionate they can be rational and so disciplined they can be free" ...
