bear, he let it loose amongst Joinville’s chickens, and it killed a dozen
before it was driven off by a serving woman.^24 This sort of heavy medi-
eval humour has not aged well, but it was clearly highly entertaining–
and even tension relieving–at the time.
The most important way for King Louis to advance the young
Briennes was, of course, to help them to make excellent marriages. In
due course, all three of the brothers would wed notable heiresses.
Alfonso did best in this respect. Whilst he was growing up, as we shall
see, the senior line of the house of Brienne had married into the royal
family of Cyprus–that is, into the Lusignan dynasty–and stood a good
chance of inheriting the crown there. Alfonso followed in these foot-
steps.HisbridewasMaryofLusignan,heiresstothecountyofEuin
Normandy, as well as to a number ofother lordships much further
south, in Poitou. In this way, Alfonso founded a line of counts of Eu,
and later of Guînes too, that continued until the last was dramatically
executed in 1350.^25 The wedding of the middle brother, Louis, was not
quite so starry, but it was still highlydistinguished. Likewise, through
marriage to an heiress, Louis became viscount of Beaumont: that is,
modern Beaumont-sur-Sarthe, not far from Le Mans. Not long before
the nuptials, this lordship had passed under the suzerainty of Louis IX’s
younger brother, Charles of Anjou–afigure who would become pivotal
in Brienne history. Much like his elder brother Alfonso, Louis was the
founder of a famous dynasty: the new Brienne line of the house of
Beaumont.^26 The youngest brother, John, made not just one buttwo
fine marriages. Thefirst was arranged by his sister, Empress Mary of
Constantinople–an inveterate marriage broker, as we shall see.^27 The
bride was Jeanne of Châteaudun, the former wife of the count of
Montfort. Through marriage, John acquired the title and position of
count, to hold whilst Jeanne’sdaughtergrewup.AfterJeanne’s
premature death, John’s second wife was, again, a widow, but far more
prestigious this time: Mary of Coucy, who had been the queen of King
Alexander II of Scotland.^28 However, John’sposteritywasnotascele-
brated as those of his brothers. He had a daughter, Blanche, by hisfirst
marriage, who inherited the lordship of Louplande, in Maine, from her
mother. Blanche went on to marry William of Fiennes, lord of Tingry, a
(^24) Ibid., section 583.
(^25) For the marriage, see theChronique des comtes d’Eu,inRHGF, xxiii, 443. This chronicle
also contains an account of the early life of Alfonso’s father, which is clearly derived from
26 Récits d’un ménestrel de Reims au treizième siècle, ch. 16.
28 See below,^113 – 14.^27 Joinville,‘Life’, section 139; and below, 97–8.
The curious circumstances of this marriage are summarized in Stringer’s article in Mary,
which can be found in theODNB. For more on the couple, see below, 82–3.
80 In the Pages of Joinville (c. 1237–1267)