Margaret III, Countess of Flanders

Margaret III
Margaret III
	Countess of Flanders
	Margaret of Dampierre, Countess of Flanders
Born	13 April 1350; Male Castle, West Flanders, Belgium
Died	16 March 1405 (aged 54); Arras, Artois, France.
Noble family	Dampierre
Spouse(s)	Philip I, Duke of Burgundy (m. 1355; died 1361) Philip the Bold (m. 1369; died 1404)
	Issue John I, Duke of Burgundy; Margaret, Duchess of Bavaria; Catherine, Duchess of Austria; Bonne of Burgundy; Mary, Duchess of Savoy; Antoine, Duke of Brabant; Philip II, Count of Nevers;
Father	Louis II, Count of Flanders
Mother	Margaret of Brabant

Margaret III (13 April 1350 – 16/21 March 1405) was the last countess of Flanders of the House of Dampierre, as well as countess of Artois and Burgundy (as Margaret II).

Biography

Margaret was the only surviving child and heir of Count Louis II of Flanders (1346–1384) and Margaret of Brabant.[1] In 1355,[2] Margaret of Flanders married Philip of Rouvres,[3] grandson and heir of Odo IV, Duke of Burgundy. Philip was Count of Burgundy and Artois (1347–1361), Duke of Burgundy (1350–1361), and became Count of Auvergne and Boulogne (1360–1361).

Following Philip's death from a riding accident in 1361,[4] Margaret was widowed and had no issue by him. King John II of France then claimed the Duchy of Burgundy for the kingdom of France.[4] In 1364, Philip the Bold, King John's youngest son, was granted the duchy,[5] and subsequently married Margaret.[6] Margaret's second marriage to Philip the Bold took place in 1369.[7]

When Margaret's father, the Count of Flanders, died in 1384, she and Philip inherited the counties of Artois, Burgundy, Flanders, Nevers, and Rethel.[8] Philip died in 1404, and Margaret died the following year. With her death, the House of Dampierre came to an end, and the County of Flanders lost its (relative) independence to Burgundy. It came under the rule of her son, John the Fearless, and later to the House of Habsburg.

Issue

Margaret and Philip had the following children:

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

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.

Residences

The Château de Germolles

In Burgundy, the Château de Germolles, offered to Margaret of Flanders by Philip the Bold in 1381, was transformed by the Duchess of Burgundy into a sumptuous country estate. It was a large rectangular building, surrounded by a moat, that enclosed a courtyard. The south and east wings contained the living apartments, while the west wing held the reception rooms. Margaret, being energetic and a country lover, decided to develop at the estate some rustic activities that would create a pleasant environment around this favourite residence of hers, as well as developing local agriculture and providing some income for the maintenance of the domain. Thus, she planted a large rose garden, and the petals were sent to Flanders to be used to make rose water. Largely preserved, the Château is today one of the best examples 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 I, 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. Marie of Brabant, Queen of France

7. Marie d'Évreux

30. Philip of Artois

15. Margaret of Artois

31. Blanche of Brittany

References

Sergio Boffa, Warfare in Medieval Brabant, 1356-1406, (Boydell & Brewer, 2004), xvii.
Wim Blockmans and Walter Prevenier, The Promised Lands: The Low Countries Under Burgundian Rule, 1369-1530, transl. Elizabeth Fackelman, ed. Edward Peters, (University of Pennsylvania Press, 1999), 13.
David M Nicholas, Medieval Flanders, (Routledge, 1992), 225-226, 442.
W. Mark Ormrod, Edward III, (Yale University Press, 2011), 417
Richard Vaughan, Philip the Bold: The Formation of the Burgundian State, Vol. 1, (The Boydell Press, 2005), 152
Mapping Family Lines: A Late Fifteenth Century Example of Genealogical Display, Charlotte Bauer-Smith, Reputation and Representation in Fifteenth Century Europe, ed. Douglas L. Biggs, Sharon D. Michalove, Albert Compton Reeves, (Brill, 2004), 130.
Wim Blockmans, Walter Prevenier, The Promised Lands: The Low Countries Under Burgundian Rule, 1369-1530, ed. Edward Peters, transl. Elizabeth Fackelman, (University of Pennsylvania Press, 1988), 1.
Duchy of Burgundy, Cathal J. Nolan, The Age of Wars of Religion, 1000-1650: An Encyclopedia of Global Warfare and Civilization, Vol. 1, (Greenwood Publishing, 2006), 100.

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

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[1] Sergio Boffa, Warfare in Medieval Brabant, 1356-1406, (Boydell & Brewer, 2004), xvii.

[2] Wim Blockmans and Walter Prevenier, The Promised Lands: The Low Countries Under Burgundian Rule, 1369-1530, transl. Elizabeth Fackelman, ed. Edward Peters, (University of Pennsylvania Press, 1999), 13.

[3] David M Nicholas, Medieval Flanders, (Routledge, 1992), 225-226, 442.

[Ormrod417-4] W. Mark Ormrod, Edward III, (Yale University Press, 2011), 417

[5] Richard Vaughan, Philip the Bold: The Formation of the Burgundian State, Vol. 1, (The Boydell Press, 2005), 152

[6] Mapping Family Lines: A Late Fifteenth Century Example of Genealogical Display, Charlotte Bauer-Smith, Reputation and Representation in Fifteenth Century Europe, ed. Douglas L. Biggs, Sharon D. Michalove, Albert Compton Reeves, (Brill, 2004), 130.

[7] Wim Blockmans, Walter Prevenier, The Promised Lands: The Low Countries Under Burgundian Rule, 1369-1530, ed. Edward Peters, transl. Elizabeth Fackelman, (University of Pennsylvania Press, 1988), 1.

[8] Duchy of Burgundy, Cathal J. Nolan, The Age of Wars of Religion, 1000-1650: An Encyclopedia of Global Warfare and Civilization, Vol. 1, (Greenwood Publishing, 2006), 100.