Historical Figures

Jean de Montfort(1294 - 1345)

His half-brother Jean III, Duke of Brittany, had appointed his niece Jeanne de Penthièvre to succeed him, the spreading. However, when John III died, he was in Nantes and had himself proclaimed Duke of Brittany, seizing the ducal treasury. Charles de Blois appealed to the Court of Peers, which ruled in his favour. A certain number of Breton barons joined Charles de Blois, the husband of Jeanne de Penthièvre. A war ensued for twenty years, called the War of the British Succession. Jean de Montfort was supported by the King of England, and Charles by the King of France. Jean laid siege to Nantes in 1341, but was taken prisoner by the French. He managed to escape in 1344, laid siege to Quimper, but was repulsed, fell ill and died at Hennebon in 1345.