John II, Count of Nevers

Coat-of-arms of John II, Count of Nevers.

John was the son of Philip II, Count of Nevers by his wife, Bonne of Artois,[2] daughter of Philip of Artois, Count of Eu. John's elder brother, Charles I, Count of Nevers and Rethel, had no legitimate children, and so on his death in 1464 his titles passed to John. In 1472, his uncle Charles of Artois, Count of Eu, died, and having no legitimate children, his title also passed to John.

John fought in the army of his stepfather Philip the Good and was active in Picardy (1434), Calais (1436), Luxembourg (1443), and Flanders (1453). But he clashed with Philip's successor, Charles the Bold, and he defected to King Louis XI of France.

He fought alongside Louis XI in the War of the Public Weal and became Lieutenant General of Normandy.

John was first married on 24 November 1435 in Amiens, to Jacqueline d'Ailly, Dame d'Engelmuenster (died 1470),[3] they had two children:

• Elizabeth (c. 1439 – 21 June 1483), who married John I, Duke of Cleves.[3]
• Philip (1446–1452).

Upon Jacqueline's death in 1470 he married secondly on 30 August 1471, in Château de Boussac, to Pauline de Brosse (c. 1450-1479),[3] daughter of Jean II de Brosse. They had one child:

• Charlotte, Countess of Rethel (c. 1472 – 23 August 1500), who married John d'Albret[3] (died 1524; he was a grandson of Charles II of Albret and his wife Anne of Armagnac, and a great-grandson of Marie I, Countess of Auvergne) and had a daughter, Marie d'Albret, Countess of Rethel.

John's final marriage was on 11 March 1480, in the château de Châlus-Chabrol (Limousin), to Marie d'Albret (c. 1454-1521).[3][lower-alpha 1]

• Boltanski, Ariane (2006). Les ducs de Nevers et l'État royal: genèse d'un compromis (ca 1550 - ca 1600) (in French). Librairie Droz S.A.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• de Mandrot, B. (1907). Jean de Bourgogne, Duc de Brabant, Comte de Nevers, et le Proces de sa Succession (1415–1525). Revue Historique (in French). T. 93, Fasc. 1.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Vaughan, Richard (2010). Philip the Good. The Boydell Press.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

• Cawley, Charles, Burgundy Duchy, Nobility, Medieval Lands database, Foundation for Medieval Genealogy