- Arthur III, Duke of Brittany
Arthur III (in breton Arzhur III) (
August 24 1393 –December 26 1458 ), known as "the Justicier" and as Arthur de Richemont, was Lord of Parthenay and titular Count (Earl) of Richmond in England and, for eleven months at the very end of his life,Duke of Brittany andCount of Montfort after inheriting those titles upon the death of his nephew.Belonging to the family of Montfort, he was a younger son of Duke John V and his third wife
Joanna of Navarre . Just a year before his own death, Arthur succeeded his nephew Peter II as Duke. Arthur was also titularEarl of Richmond ; the earldom had often been granted to the Dukes of Brittany, but after the death of Arthur's father, the English refused to recognize his heirs as earls. Nevertheless, they continued to style themselves "Count of Richmond", while the English title was given toJohn, Duke of Bedford in 1414.Arthur was an important figure of the French court even before becoming duke of Brittany. He was one of the supporters of the charismatic
Joan of Arc . Arthur was known for his tenacity and bad temper, characteristics that led to his expulsion from the court in 1427. By 1435, however, he had regained influence, enabling him to orchestrate theTreaty of Arras betweenCharles VII of France andPhilip III, duke of Burgundy .Arthur sided with the Armagnac faction against the Burgundians during the civil conflict in France between 1410 and 1414. He fought at the
battle of Agincourt , where he was wounded and captured. He was released by the English in 1420 and helped persuade his brother, Duke John, to sign theTreaty of Troyes . In 1422, the English created himDuke of Touraine . However, he subsequently returned to the allegiance of the Dauphin in 1424, was madeConstable of France with support fromYolande of Aragon in 1425 and fought alongside Joan of Arc at thebattle of Patay in 1429. He then helped arrange theTreaty of Arras (1435) , which cemented the peace between France and Burgundy leading to the eventual defeat of the English. He was commander of the French army at theBattle of Formigny , which sealed the reconquest ofNormandy .Marriages
Arthur was married three times but had no legitimate children although he had a natural daughter named Jacqueline who was legitimatized in 1443. He was succeeded as Duke of Brittany by his nephew Francis II, count of Étampes.
His wives were as follows:
# married inDijon onOctober 10 ,1423 Marguerite of Burgundy (d. 1441), daughter ofJohn the Fearless ,Duke of Burgundy and widow of DauphinLouis, Duke of Guyenne .
# married inNérac c.August 29 ,1442 Jeanne d'Albret (d. 1444), daughter of Charles II, Count of Dreux
# married onJuly 2 ,1445 Catherine of Saint Pol (d. 1492), daughter ofPeter I, comte de St-Pol ee also
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Dukes of Brittany family tree External links
* [http://xenophongroup.com/montjoie/richmond.htm Arthur de Richemont]
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