Constance, Duchess of Brittany
Also known as: Constance / Constance of Brittany / duches of Britaine / duchesse Constance · Family: Brittany · Role: mother of Arthur · First appears: King John 1
Life events
- c. 1199 · Constance entrusted Arthur to Philip II, who promised to defend him.(King John 1 · 📍 Britaine)
- With: Arthur of Brittany Philip II of France
- “she doubting the suertie of hir sonne, committed him to the trust of the French king, who receiuing him into his tuition, promised to defend him from all his enimies, and foorthwith furnished the holds in Britaine with French souldiers.”
- c. 1199 · Arthur and Constance fled King John; at Angiers, Constance married Guy de Tours by papal dispensation.(King John 3 · 📍 Angiers)
- With: Arthur of Brittany Guy de Tours
- “both the said Arthur, with his mother Constance, the said vicount of Tours, and diuerse other, fled awaie secretlie from the king, and got them to the citie of Angiers, where the mother of the said Arthur refusing hir former husband the earle of Chester, married hir selfe to the lord Guie de Tours, brother to the said vicount, by the popes dispensation.”
- c. 1202 · Guy of Thouars married Constance of Brittany and obtained the dukedom of Britaine through her.(King John 8)
- With: Guy of Thouars
- “The Lord Guie, sonne to the vicount of Touars, who had taken Arthurs mother Constance to wife, after the diuorse made betwixt hir and the earle of Chester, in right of hir obteined the dukedome of Britaine.”
King John 1
- child: Arthur of Brittany “she doubting the suertie of hir sonne, committed him to the trust of the French king”
- enemies with Eleanor of Aquitaine “Surelie quéene Elianor the kings mother was sore against hir nephue Arthur, rather mooued thereto by enuie conceiued against his mother,”
King John 3
- child: Arthur of Brittany “both the said Arthur, with his mother Constance”
- married with Guy de Tours “the mother of the said Arthur refusing hir former husband the earle of Chester, married hir selfe to the lord Guie de Tours, brother to the said vicount, by the popes dispensation”
King John 6
- parent: Margaret of Scotland “Margaret mother of Constance, duches of Britaine”
King John 8
- married with Guy of Thouars “The Lord Guie, sonne to the vicount of Touars, who had taken Arthurs mother Constance to wife, after the diuorse made betwixt hir and the earle of Chester, in right of hir obteined the dukedome of Britaine.”
- child: Arthur of Brittany “king Philip after he was aduertised of Arthurs death, tooke the matter verie gréeuouslie, and vpon occasion therof, cited king John to appeare before him at a certeine day, to answer such obiections as Constance the duches of Britaine mother to the said Arthur should lay to his charge, touching the murther of hir sonne.”
King John 11
- married with Guy of Thouars “for that Guie duke of Britaine, who had married the duches Constance”
- child: Arthur of Brittany “who had married the duches Constance, and succéeded in the duchie after hir son Arthur”
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Extracted from the original text of Holinshed's Chronicles — the reigns Shakespeare dramatized. Made with Rho MD.