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Catherine of Thouars

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Catherine of Thouars
Baroness consort of Vitré
Born1201
Died1237/1240
SpouseAndrew III, Baron of Vitré
IssuePhilippa, Baroness of Vitré
Eustachie of Vitré
Alix of Vitré
HouseThouars
FatherGuy of Thouars
MotherConstance, Duchess of Brittany

Catherine of Thouars was the daughter of Constance, suo jure Duchess of Brittany and Countess of Richmond, and her third husband Guy of Thouars. She was the first wife of Andrew III, Baron of Vitré.

Family

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Catherine was the second daughter of Constance, Duchess of Brittany, and Guy of Thouars. Her mother died soon after she was born. Catherine had a twin sister, Margaret, and their mother might have died because of a difficult delivery[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] After her mother's death, her father married Eustachie of Chemillé, and had two sons, Peter and Thomas.

Catherine was the younger half-sister of Eleanor, Matilda and Arthur, Constance and Geoffrey of England's children, the sister of Alix and Margaret, and the elder half-sister of Peter and Thomas of Chemillé, Guy and Eustachie of Chemillé's sons.

Union and issue

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In 1212, Catherine married Andrew III, Baron of Vitré, whose father Andrew II had been Constance's ally. They had three children:

Portrayals in literature

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Catherine of Thouars is a secondary character in the novel Le Poids d’une couronne (légende bretonne) (1867-1868) by Gabrielle d’Étampes and is mentioned in the novel Dans l’Ombre du Passé (2020) by Léa Chaillou, where it is revealed that the heroine's sister is named after her.

References

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  1. ^ Chaillou, Léa (2017). On Constance of Brittany's Family. Published in Foundations volume 9, 2017, Foundation for Medieval Genealogy, pp 35-46).
  2. ^ Margaret is named as Constance and Guy's daughter by historians Dom Morice, Dom Charles Taillandiers, Prudence-Guillaume de Roujoux and Arthur Le Moyne de La Borderie.
  3. ^ Pierre-Hyacinthe Morice, Histoire ecclésiastique et civile de Bretagne, Tome premier, p. 129 and 150
  4. ^ Charles Taillandier, Histoire ecclésiastique et civile de Bretagne, Tome second, p. IX
  5. ^ Prudence Guillaume de Roujoux, Histoire des rois et des ducs de Bretagne, Tome second, p. 231
  6. ^ Margaret is mentioned, though not named, as Constance and Guy's daughter by historians Pierre Daru and François Manet.
  7. ^ Pierre Daru, Histoire de Bretagne, Tome premier, p. 407
  8. ^ François Manet, Histoire de la Petite-Bretagne, ou Bretagne Armorique, depuis ses premiers habitans connus, Tome second, p. 308

See also

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