The early fourteenth century, a period of economic boom for Brabant, marks the rise of the duchy's towns, which depended on imports of English wool for their essential cloth industry. During John's minority, the major towns of Brabant had the authority to appoint councillors to direct a regency, under terms of the Charter of Kortenberg granted by his father in the year of his death (1312). By 1356 his daughter and son-in-law were forced to accept the famous Joyous Entry as a condition for their recognition, so powerful had the states of Brabant become.
The marital alignment with France was tested and failed as early as 1316, when Louis X requested Brabant to cease trade with Flanders and to participate in a French attack; the councillors representing the towns found this impossible, and in reprisal Louis prohibited all French trade with Brabant in February 1316, in violation of a treaty of friendship he had signed with Brabant in the previous October.
The French alliance, 1332–1337Edit
After his initial period of maintaining independent neutrality from both France and England failed,[2] neighbouring sovereigns in the Low Countries, stimulated as a matter of policy by Philip VI of France, became John's enemies; among the adversaries of John were the Count of Flanders, the prince-bishop of Liège, and counts of Holland and Guelders. In 1332, a crisis with the king of France arose over John's hospitality to Robert, count of Artois, during his journey to eventual asylum at the English court. In response to French pressure John reminded Philip that he did not hold Brabant from him but from God alone.[3] A brief campaign of a coalition of Philip's friends came to a truce, followed by a pact at Compiègne by which John received a fief from Philip worth 2000 livres and declared himself a vassal of France. His oldest son, Jean, was betrothed to Philip's daughter Marie, and it was agreed that the Brabançon heir would complete his education at the French court in Paris and that Robert of Artois would be expelled from Brabant.
The support of France strengthened John's hand with his feudal suzerain, the Holy Roman Emperor. Though he was technically the Emperor's feudal vassal, John had been able to ignore Emperor Louis IV's summons to join him in his intended invasion of Lombardy (1327).[4] The separation of Brabant from the Empire was completed by the Burgundian dukes of Brabant in the fifteenth century.
Meanwhile, the princes of the Low Countries settled their differences and formed a coalition against Brabant with a defensive alliance in June 1333. War was briefly brought to the Duchy of Brabant in the summer of 1334, but resolved by a peace brokered by Philip at Amiens. The French king declared that John had to hand over the town of Tiel and its neighbouring villages Heerewaarden and Zandwijk to the count of Guelders and to betroth his daughter Marie to the count's son, Reinoud.
The English alliance, 1337–1345Edit
When Edward III of England decided to press his claim to the crown of France in 1337, John, who was his first cousin, became an ally of England during the first stage of the Hundred Years' War. King Edward's diplomatic offensive to draw Brabant away from France, produced a sympathetic response from Duke John.[5] Disrupting the staple connection between the towns of Flanders and the sources of English wool should divert it to the towns of Brabant, notably the recently established wool exchange. Edward protected Brabançon merchants in England from arrest or the confiscation of their goods, and he sweetened his offers with a promise of £60,000, an immense sum, and to make good any losses of revenue that might result from penalties by the king of France. The same month of July 1337 John promised Edward 1,200 of his men-at-arms in the event of an English campaign in France, Edward to pay their salary. In August Edward pledged not to negotiate with the king without prior consultation with the duke. The alliance, kept secret at John's insistence, came into the open when Edward landed with his troops at Antwerp July 1338. John received the promised subsidy (March 1339) and agreed in June to betroth John's second daughter, Margaret, to Edward, the Black Prince, heir to the English throne. Two seasons of inconclusive campaigning that ravaged the north of France left Edward penniless at the end of 1341; he returned home, and when he returned to the fray, it was to Brittany: he never returned to the Low Countries.
The French alliance, 1345–1355Edit
Though John was requesting papal dispensation for the marriage of Margaret and the Black Prince in 1343, the alliance with England unravelled as Edward's coffers emptied and his attentions turned elsewhere. In September 1345 representative of France and Brabant met at the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye to sign preliminary agreements, and by a treaty signed at Saint-Quentin, June 1347, Brabant was retained as an ally by France. Margaret was now to marry Louis of Male, who had inherited the title of count of Flanders, but whose power over the Flemish communes was virtually nil. A point of dispute with the count of Flanders had been the Lordship of Mechelen, a strategic enclave within Brabant: it was agreed that it would now come under full Brabançon control. Despite the diplomacy of Edward, John remained true to his French commitments until his death in December 1355.
FamilyEdit
In 1311, as his father's gesture of rapprochement with France, John married Marie d'Évreux (1303–1335), the daughter of Count Louis d'Évreux and Margaret of Artois. They had six children:
John of Brabant (1327–1335/36), married Marie of France (1326–1333), daughter of King Philip VI of France, but died soon after with no issue, buried in Tervueren.
Henri of Brabant (d. 29 October 1349), Duke of Limburg and Lord of Mechelen in 1347. Died young and buried in Tervuren in 1349.
Godfrey of Brabant (d. aft. 3 February 1352), Lord of Aarschot in 1346. Also died young and buried in Tervuren.
In 1355, after all of his three legitimate sons had died, John was forced to declare his eldest daughter Joanna his heiress,[7] which provoked a succession crisis after his death. John III was buried in the CistercianAbbey of Villers, Belgium.
The standard history is Piet Avonds, Brabant tijdens de regering van Hertog Jan III (1312–1356) (Koninglijke Academie, Brussels) 1991.
NotesEdit
^Biographical details can be found in (Alphonse Wauters), Biographie nationale (Académie royale de Belgique), vol. 10, 1889, s.v. "Jean III" pp 237-274
^The following details are drawn from Sergio Boffa, "The Duchy of Brabant caught between France and England: geopolitics and diplomacy during the first half of the Hundred Years' War", in The Hundred Years War: A Wider Focus, L. J. Andrew Villalon, Donald J. Kagay, eds. vol. I, 2005.
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This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources John III Duke of Brabant news newspapers books scholar JSTOR July 2008 Learn how and when to remove this template message John III Dutch Jan 1300 5 December 1355 was Duke of Brabant Lothier 1312 1355 and Limburg 1312 1347 then 1349 1355 1 He was the son of John II Duke of Brabant and Margaret of England John IIIDuke of BrabantDuke of LothierDuke of LimburgJohn s effigy in a sealBorn1300Died5 December 1355BrusselsBuriedVillers AbbeyNoble familyHouse of ReginarSpouse s Marie d EvreuxIssueJoanna Duchess of BrabantMargaret of BrabantMarie of BrabantJohnHenryGodfreyFatherJohn II Duke of BrabantMotherMargaret of EnglandHalf groat or demi gros of John III struck Brussels 1326 Contents 1 John and the towns of Brabant 2 The French alliance 1332 1337 3 The English alliance 1337 1345 4 The French alliance 1345 1355 5 Family 6 NotesJohn and the towns of Brabant EditThe early fourteenth century a period of economic boom for Brabant marks the rise of the duchy s towns which depended on imports of English wool for their essential cloth industry During John s minority the major towns of Brabant had the authority to appoint councillors to direct a regency under terms of the Charter of Kortenberg granted by his father in the year of his death 1312 By 1356 his daughter and son in law were forced to accept the famous Joyous Entry as a condition for their recognition so powerful had the states of Brabant become The marital alignment with France was tested and failed as early as 1316 when Louis X requested Brabant to cease trade with Flanders and to participate in a French attack the councillors representing the towns found this impossible and in reprisal Louis prohibited all French trade with Brabant in February 1316 in violation of a treaty of friendship he had signed with Brabant in the previous October The French alliance 1332 1337 EditAfter his initial period of maintaining independent neutrality from both France and England failed 2 neighbouring sovereigns in the Low Countries stimulated as a matter of policy by Philip VI of France became John s enemies among the adversaries of John were the Count of Flanders the prince bishop of Liege and counts of Holland and Guelders In 1332 a crisis with the king of France arose over John s hospitality to Robert count of Artois during his journey to eventual asylum at the English court In response to French pressure John reminded Philip that he did not hold Brabant from him but from God alone 3 A brief campaign of a coalition of Philip s friends came to a truce followed by a pact at Compiegne by which John received a fief from Philip worth 2000 livres and declared himself a vassal of France His oldest son Jean was betrothed to Philip s daughter Marie and it was agreed that the Brabancon heir would complete his education at the French court in Paris and that Robert of Artois would be expelled from Brabant The support of France strengthened John s hand with his feudal suzerain the Holy Roman Emperor Though he was technically the Emperor s feudal vassal John had been able to ignore Emperor Louis IV s summons to join him in his intended invasion of Lombardy 1327 4 The separation of Brabant from the Empire was completed by the Burgundian dukes of Brabant in the fifteenth century Meanwhile the princes of the Low Countries settled their differences and formed a coalition against Brabant with a defensive alliance in June 1333 War was briefly brought to the Duchy of Brabant in the summer of 1334 but resolved by a peace brokered by Philip at Amiens The French king declared that John had to hand over the town of Tiel and its neighbouring villages Heerewaarden and Zandwijk to the count of Guelders and to betroth his daughter Marie to the count s son Reinoud The English alliance 1337 1345 EditWhen Edward III of England decided to press his claim to the crown of France in 1337 John who was his first cousin became an ally of England during the first stage of the Hundred Years War King Edward s diplomatic offensive to draw Brabant away from France produced a sympathetic response from Duke John 5 Disrupting the staple connection between the towns of Flanders and the sources of English wool should divert it to the towns of Brabant notably the recently established wool exchange Edward protected Brabancon merchants in England from arrest or the confiscation of their goods and he sweetened his offers with a promise of 60 000 an immense sum and to make good any losses of revenue that might result from penalties by the king of France The same month of July 1337 John promised Edward 1 200 of his men at arms in the event of an English campaign in France Edward to pay their salary In August Edward pledged not to negotiate with the king without prior consultation with the duke The alliance kept secret at John s insistence came into the open when Edward landed with his troops at Antwerp July 1338 John received the promised subsidy March 1339 and agreed in June to betroth John s second daughter Margaret to Edward the Black Prince heir to the English throne Two seasons of inconclusive campaigning that ravaged the north of France left Edward penniless at the end of 1341 he returned home and when he returned to the fray it was to Brittany he never returned to the Low Countries The French alliance 1345 1355 EditThough John was requesting papal dispensation for the marriage of Margaret and the Black Prince in 1343 the alliance with England unravelled as Edward s coffers emptied and his attentions turned elsewhere In September 1345 representative of France and Brabant met at the Chateau de Saint Germain en Laye to sign preliminary agreements and by a treaty signed at Saint Quentin June 1347 Brabant was retained as an ally by France Margaret was now to marry Louis of Male who had inherited the title of count of Flanders but whose power over the Flemish communes was virtually nil A point of dispute with the count of Flanders had been the Lordship of Mechelen a strategic enclave within Brabant it was agreed that it would now come under full Brabancon control Despite the diplomacy of Edward John remained true to his French commitments until his death in December 1355 Family EditIn 1311 as his father s gesture of rapprochement with France John married Marie d Evreux 1303 1335 the daughter of Count Louis d Evreux and Margaret of Artois They had six children Joanna Duchess of Brabant 24 June 1322 1406 Married first to William IV Count of Holland and second to Wenceslaus I Duke of Luxembourg 6 Margaret of Brabant 9 February 1323 1368 married at Saint Quentin on 6 June 1347 Louis II Count of Flanders Marie of Brabant 1325 1 March 1399 Lady of Turnhout married at Tervuren on 1 July 1347 to Reginald III of Guelders John of Brabant 1327 1335 36 married Marie of France 1326 1333 daughter of King Philip VI of France but died soon after with no issue buried in Tervueren Henri of Brabant d 29 October 1349 Duke of Limburg and Lord of Mechelen in 1347 Died young and buried in Tervuren in 1349 Godfrey of Brabant d aft 3 February 1352 Lord of Aarschot in 1346 Also died young and buried in Tervuren John also had a son born from Maria van Huldenberg who founded the House of Brant John I Brant 1st Lord of Ayseau In 1355 after all of his three legitimate sons had died John was forced to declare his eldest daughter Joanna his heiress 7 which provoked a succession crisis after his death John III was buried in the Cistercian Abbey of Villers Belgium The standard history is Piet Avonds Brabant tijdens de regering van Hertog Jan III 1312 1356 Koninglijke Academie Brussels 1991 Notes Edit Biographical details can be found in Alphonse Wauters Biographie nationale Academie royale de Belgique vol 10 1889 s v Jean III pp 237 274 The following details are drawn from Sergio Boffa The Duchy of Brabant caught between France and England geopolitics and diplomacy during the first half of the Hundred Years War in The Hundred Years War A Wider Focus L J Andrew Villalon Donald J Kagay eds vol I 2005 Boffa 2005 216 Boffa 2005 214 Material in this paragraph is drawn from Boffa 2005 9f Sergio Boffa Warfare in Medieval Brabant 1356 1406 Boydell Press 2004 3 Sergio Boffa Warfare in Medieval Brabant 1356 1406 3 Regnal titlesPreceded byJohn II Duke of Brabant Lothier and Limburg1312 1355 Succeeded byJoan Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title John III Duke of Brabant amp oldid 1178210663, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
