Mahaut, Countess of Artois

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Coat of arms of the county of Artois (azure semé-de-lis or, a label gules, each point charged with three castles or).
Coat of arms of the county of Artois (azure semé-de-lis or, a label gules, each point charged with three castles or).

Mahaut of Artois (1268October 28, 1329, Paris), also known as Mathilda, was the only daughter, and eldest child of Robert II, Count of Artois and Amicie de Courtenay.

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[edit] Lineage

Her paternal grandparents were Robert I, Count of Artois and Mathilde of Brabant. Her maternal grandparents were Pierre de Courtenay, Seigneur de Conches, and Perronelle de Joigny.[1]

[edit] Siblings

  1. Philip of Artois (1269- 1298. Married Blanche de Dreux, daughter of John II, Duke of Brittany, by whom he had five children.
  2. Robert of Artois. (Born 1271). Died young.

[edit] Marriage

In 1291[2], Mahaut married Otto IV, Count of Burgundy, to whom she bore three children, including two girls who married kings of France, Blanche and Jeanne. Her married name became de Chalon. Because of the premature death of her brother Philip in 1298, she inherited the County of Artois at her father's death in 1302, rather than her nephew Robert (her inheritance being based upon proximity of blood). Although he repeatedly challenged the decision, her rights to the County were consistently upheld. She was an able administrator and managed to defeat the many rebellions perpetrated by members of the nobility. Upon her death in 1329, the county was inherited by her daughter Jeanne II, Countess Palatine of Burgundy (d 1329), who was married to Philip V of France. She was one of the fortunate few, because despite being female, she held land in her own right.

[edit] In fiction

She was portrayed by Jeanne Moreau in the 2005 French miniseries Les Rois Maudits.

[edit] References

  1. Burke's Peerage
Preceded by
Robert II
Countess of Artois
1302–1329
Succeeded by
Jeanne
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