One of my favorite historical blog sites is written by my friend, Susan Abernethy (“The Freelance History Writer”). She primarily writes about medieval Europe and in particular, England. Her blogs are professionally written, interesting, and well researched. She recently wrote a blog entitled Swashbuckling Personalities in History.
Her blog reminded me of a woman I highlighted in my recent book, Where Did They Burn the Last Grand Master of the Knights Templar?—A Walking Tour of Medieval Paris.
“The Lioness of Brittany” was Jeanne de Clisson (1300–1359).
The lords of Clisson came from Brittany dating to the 10th century. Olivier IV de Clisson (1264–1343) was married to Jeanne when he was beheaded on orders from King Philippe VI the Fortunate (I suppose Olivier wasn’t as fortunate as the king).
De Clisson had secretly sided with the English monarch, Edward III, after vowing his loyalty to Philippe. The French king discovered the treachery and invited Olivier to a jousting tournament whereupon Olivier was arrested and imprisoned in the Grand Châtelet in Paris. Read More The Lioness of Brittany
