14th century Queen of Germany and Bohemia
Blanche of Valois
(baptised
Marguerite
; 1317?1348) was
Queen of Germany
and
Bohemia
by her marriage to King and later Holy Roman Emperor
Charles IV
. She was the youngest daughter of
Charles of Valois
and his third wife
Mahaut of Chatillon
.
Early life
[
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Born in 1317,
Blanche was the youngest daughter of
Charles of Valois
and his third wife
Mahaut of Chatillon
.
She grew up at the French court of her cousin
Charles IV of France
, who was a nephew to her father. She spent much time with Charles' wife
Marie
, who was an aunt to her future husband.
A betrothal between Blanche and
Charles
, eldest son of
John of Bohemia
was contracted in 1323.
Charles had been staying at the French court as he had been sent by his father to be educated; he had been baptised Wenceslaus but changed his name upon the betrothal in honour of King Charles.
The importance of Blanche's position grew when King Charles died without male heirs and so Blanche's brother succeeded as
Philip VI of France
. He had his son and heir
John
betrothed and later married to Charles' sister,
Jutta
.
Marriage
[
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At
Prague
in May 1329, Blanche and Charles were married. The couple lived apart for the first several years of marriage; Blanche lived in
Luxembourg
whilst Charles was in
Italy
focusing on securing the Empire with his father. The couple began to live together upon Charles' return in 1334, when they are now about 18 years old, at which time, the couple were made Margrave and Margravine of
Moravia
. Blanche entered Prague on 12 June with French ladies and courtiers. The couple clashed with the Bohemian nobility who had gained strength because of King John's frequent trips abroad; despite this challenge, Blanche learned Czech and German, had a social life and would remain in Bohemia when Charles traveled abroad. Within the first year of married life, the couple had a short-lived son.
Blanche was close to her stepmother-in-law,
Beatrice of Bourbon
. As French was the native language of both women, they communicated easily. Blanche was more popular at court than Beatrice; she was always compared unfavourably to Blanche and this was possibly because Beatrice never learned Czech or German whilst Blanche did.
John put pressure on Blanche due to the birth of only a daughter, Margaret, and the absence of a living male child. The pressure resulted in Blanche moving to
Brno
in 1337; for the next several years, Blanche and Charles had no children. However, the couple had a second daughter in 1342 named Katherine. On 11 July 1346, Charles was elected
king of Germany
in opposition to
Holy Roman Emperor
Louis IV
. His election was supported by
Pope Clement VI
, who was at odds with Louis. While the conflict in Germany continued, Blanche's father-in-law John allied himself with Blanche's brother, King Philip. John was killed in the
Battle of Crecy
(26 August 1346). Charles escaped the battlefield relatively unharmed and succeeded to the Kingdom of Bohemia. Blanche became queen.
On 11 October 1347, Louis IV died suddenly and Charles gained wider recognition as king of Germany. However, less than a year later on 1 August 1348, Blanche died after a short illness aged thirty-two. Her death was a large blow to Charles who still did not have a son and heir, large political loss with France and a full-fledged marriage. Desperate for a son, Charles remarried the following year to
Anna of Bavaria
. Seven years after the death of Blanche, Charles became emperor; he was eventually succeeded by his son
Sigismund
, whom he had with his fourth wife
Elizabeth of Pomerania
.
Blanche was buried in Saint Vitus, Prague Castle.
Children
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Blanche and Charles had two daughters:
In media
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Blanche was portrayed by Czech actress
Daniela Kola?ova
in the 1969 film
Slasti Otce vlasti
.
See also
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References
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]
Sources
[
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]
- Dvornik, Francis (1962).
The Slavs in European History and Civilization
. Rutgers University Press.
- Jaschke, Karl-Ulrich (1997). "From Famous Empresses to Unspectacular Queens". In Duggan, Anne J. (ed.).
Queens and Queenship in Medieval Europe
. The Boydell Press.
- Mahoney, William M. (2011).
The History of the Czech Republic and Slovakia
. ABC-CLIO.
- Pavlac, Brian A.; Lott, Elizabeth S., eds. (2019). "Charles IV, King of Bohemia and Holy Roman Emperor (r.1346-1378)".
The Holy Roman Empire: A Historical Encyclopedia
. Vol. I. ABC-CLIO. pp. 191?194.
- de Venette, Jean (1953). Newhall, Richard A. (ed.).
The Chronicle of Jean de Venette
. Translated by Birdsall, Jean. Columbia University Press.
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