when the county passed to her daughter, the duchess of Burgundy. Philip was extremely
close to Eudes IV of Burgundy, who was his brother-in-law. Eudes’s sister was the
second Jeanne of Burgundy (a granddaughter of St. Louis through her mother, Agnes),
who had married Philip of Valois in 1313. After Philip became king in 1328, the queen
was a highly influential figure in royal politics. She and Philip corresponded frequently
when they were separated, and he delegated important authority to her.
Devoted to all that was Burgundian, Jeanne is said to have strongly disliked people
from northwestern France, especially Normans. For much of Philip VI’s reign,
Burgundians had considerable influence at court, while men of the west were seriously
underrepresented. The disaffection of the northern and western nobility, a significant
political factor in the reigns of Philip VI and John II, may have been related to the
influence that this remarkable queen was able to exert on the policies of her husband and
the attitudes of her son.
John Bell Henneman, Jr.
[See also: BURGUNDY (genealogical table); PHILIP VI]
Cazelles, Raymond. La société politique et la crise de la royauté sous Philippe de Valois. Paris:
Argences, 1958.
JEANNE OF NAVARRE
(1273–1305). Queen of France. The daughter of Henri III of Champagne and Navarre and
Blanche of Artois, granddaughter of Louis VIII, Jeanne inherited her father’s lands in
- Plans for her to marry the heirs, first of Edward I of England and then the king of
Aragon, failed after problems in Spain led Blanche and Jeanne to seek asylum with Philip
III. In May 1275, Blanche put Navarre under Philip’s protection and affianced Jeanne to
one of his sons. Raised at the French court, Jeanne was declared of age on May 17, 1284,
and on August 16 married Philip IV the Fair, who on October 6, 1285, succeeded his
father as king. Jeanne was closely involved with the administration of Champagne and
Navarre, but Philip effectively controlled them.
Jeanne was a popular queen, and Philip was devoted to her. In 1288, he deferred until
after her death collection of money owed for the defense of Navarre. In October 1294, he
appointed her regent of France if he died before their eldest son came of age. Her name
was associated with Philip’s in important acts, and she accompanied him on his grand
tour of the Midi in 1303–04. She showed independence in supporting the Franciscan
Bernard Délicieux and accepting gifts from citizens of Béziers, whose orthodoxy and
loyalty were suspect. She pressed the prosecution of Guichard, bishop of Troyes, accused
of cheating her and her mother (and later charged with killing Jeanne by sorcery). A
woman of considerable culture, she commissioned Joinville’s Vie de saint Louis; Ramon
Lull and her confessor Durand de Champagne dedicated works to her, and Raymond of
Béziers began for her his translation of Kalila et Dimna. She was godmother of
Enguerran de Marigny’s wife, and Enguerran was the officer in charge of Jeanne’s pantry
before joining Philip’s service in 1302.
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