Margaret III, Countess of Flanders

Margaret of Dampierre, Countess of Flanders

Margaret of Dampierre (13 April 1350 – 16/21 March 1405) was Countess of Flanders (as Margaret III), Countess of Artois and Countess Palatine of Burgundy (as Margaret II) and twice Duchess consort of Burgundy. Through her mother, Margaret of Brabant, daughter of John III, Duke of Brabant, the younger Margaret was also an heiress of the Duchies of Brabant and Limburg.

History

She was the daughter and heir of Louis de Mâle, Count of Flanders, Count of Nevers, and Count of Rethel (1346–1384); and his wife Margaret of Brabant. Through his mother, Margaret I, Louis was also Count of Burgundy and Count of Artois (1382–1384).

In 1357, the young Margaret, then seven, married Philip of Rouvres, grandson and heir of Odo IV, Duke of Burgundy. Philip was eleven years old and her second cousin. He was count of Burgundy and Artois (1347–1361), Duke of Burgundy (1350–1361), and became yet Count of Auvergne and Boulogne (1360–1361).

Margaret was widowed in 1361, and with the death of her husband the duchy of Burgundy was inherited by John II of France (as John I of Burgundy). In 1363 Philip the Bold, John's youngest son, was granted the duchy as Philip II, and subsequently married its former duchess, Margaret. Margaret's second marriage to Philip II took place in 1369. Philip had earlier been Duke of Touraine (1359–1363), and became later also Count of Charolais (1390–1404). 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.

According to Guizot, her father had not wished her to marry a Frenchman, being more friendly to England; he was persuaded to agree to the marriage by his mother, Margaret of France.

Family

Margaret and Philip had the following children:

• John the Fearless (1371–1419, murdered at Montereau), her eldest son and successor in Flanders, Artois and Burgundy
• Charles (1372–1373)
• Margaret of Burgundy (October 1374 – March 8, 1441, Le Quesnoy), Countess of Mortain married William VI, Count of Holland and Duke of Bavaria-Straubing
• Louis (1377–1378)
• Catherine of Burgundy (April 1378, Montbard – January 24, 1425, Gray, Haute-Saône), married Leopold IV, Duke of Austria
• Bonne (1379–1399, Arras)
• Antoine, Duke of Brabant (August, 1384 – October 25, 1415, at Agincourt)
• Mary of Burgundy (September 1380, Dijon – October 2, 1422, Thonon-les-Bains), married Amadeus VIII, Duke of Savoy
• Philip, her successor in Nevers and Rethel (1389–1415, at Agincourt)

Legacy

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.

Her eldest son, John the Fearless, succeeded her husband in 1404 as Duke of Burgundy and her as Count of Burgundy, Count of Artois, and Count of Flanders. In 1406 her younger son Anthony inherited Brabant and Limburg. Nevers and Rethel were at first, in her lifetime, given to her eldest sons John (Nevers) and Anthony (Rethel), but after John's accession to the duchy, Nevers went to her youngest son Philip. Rethel was given to Philip in 1402 when it became clear that Anthony would inherit Brabant.

Her residences

The château de Germolles château de Germolles

In Burgundy, the château de Germolles offered by Philip the Bold to Marguaret of Flanders in 1381 was embellished by the princess. Largely preserved, it is today one of the best example of the princely residences in France at the end of the Middle Ages.

Ancestry

Ancestors of Margaret III, Countess of Flanders

16. Robert III of Flanders

8. Louis, Count of Nevers

17. Yolande, Countess of Nevers

4. Louis I of Flanders

18. Hugh IV, Count of Rethel

9. Joan, Countess of Rethel

19. Isabelle de Grandpré

2. Louis II of Flanders

20. Philip IV of France

10. Philip V of France

21. Joan I of Navarre

5. Margaret I, Countess of Burgundy

22. Otto IV, Count of Burgundy

11. Joan II, Countess of Burgundy

23. Mahaut, Countess of Artois

1. Margaret of Flanders

24. John I, Duke of Brabant

12. John II, Duke of Brabant

25. Margaret of Flanders

6. John III, Duke of Brabant

26. Edward I of England

13. Margaret of England

27. Eleanor of Castile

3. Margaret of Brabant

28. Philip III of France

14. Louis d'Évreux

29. Maria of Brabant

7. Marie d'Évreux

30. Philip of Artois

15. Margaret of Artois

31. Blanche of Brittany

Margaret III, Countess of Flanders House of Dampierre Born: 13 April 1350 Died: 21 March 1405
Regnal titles
Preceded by Louis of Mâle	Countess of Artois and Flanders , Countess Palatine of Burgundy 30 January 1384 – 21 March 1405	Succeeded by John the Fearless
	Countess of Nevers 1384
	Countess of Rethel : 30 January 1384 – 1402	Succeeded by Anthony of Burgundy
French nobility
Preceded by Joan III, Countess of Burgundy	Duchess Consort of Burgundy 1357–1404	Succeeded by Margaret of Bavaria