100 things challenge - 18: Jacqueline of Wittelsbach

[birdienl]

Jacqueline of Wittelsbach (Jacoba van Beieren in Dutch) was a powerful Countess in the late Middle Ages and the 'Dutch Henry VIII', with her four marriages!

Jacqueline (1401-1436) was born and grew up in France, but was the heiress of her father's estates in Holland and Zeeland. At a young age she was betrothed to John, the fourth son of King Charles VI of France. The children grew up together at the castle of Jacqueline's father and in 1415, when Jacqueline was just 14 they were married. They didn't have a long marriage, as John died in 1417. Jacqueline also lost her father in that year.

As she was now sovereign in Holland and Zeeland, she was expected to seek a new husband and in 1418 she married her cousin John, Duke of Brabant. It was at this time that Jacqueline's problems with her uncle (another John....) began, when he claimed her counties and fuelled a civil war. As her marriage was not happy either, Jacqueline left him to reside in England at the invitation of Henry V. Here she got to know Humphrey, the younger brother of King Henry V with whom she fell in love.

In 1422, Jacqueline obtained a dubious divorce from John of Brabant and secretly married Humphrey. She hoped he would help to restore her to her counties, but he soon distanced himself from her cause. In 1426 he returned to England, never to see Jacqueline again. In the same year, her second husband John of Brabant died and the pope declared that her marriage to Humphrey had never been legal.

Now without allies, Jacqueline realized she had no chance of regaining her counties and reconciled with her uncle's heir Philip. She was allowed to keep her titles, but the counties would be ruled by Philip. She was also not allowed to marry without permission of Philip and her counties.

Nonetheless, in 1432, she secretly married Francis, Lord of Borselle and with him she tried once more time to forment a rebellion against the rule of Philip. But Philip threw Francis in prison and only on the condition that Jacqueline abdicate her estates would he let him go again. Jacqueline thereupon renounced her titles and lived on her husband's estates in retirement. Their marriage was happy, but Jacqueline was already gravely ill with tuberculosis and died in 1436.

Comments

[ladyadeone.livejournal.com]

Embarrassingly, I'd never heard of her before.
What a depressing story! At least she had a couple of peaceful years at the end of her life...

[birdienl.livejournal.com]

I don't think you have to be embarassed, Dutch history is not that well known around the world. In fact, though I had heard of her name and that she was a fierce lady before, I didn't know this whole story until I recently rented a book from the library called something like '100 interesting stories from Dutch history'