44. Jeanne de Clisson - France's fiercest female pirate

44. Jeanne de Clisson - France's fiercest female pirate

Paname Podcast

Jeanne de Clisson,  also known as Jeanne de Belleville, or by her nickname ‘The Lioness of Brittany’ and was France's first and fiercest female pirate driven to war with the French king in order to avenge her husband's death. She became a pirate and in a ship painted black with blood-red sails and called called ‘my revenge’ she wrought havoc on the French. She was renowned for her cruelty. Upon capturing a French vessel she would mercilessly kill the whole crew, especially any nobles - usually decapitating them herself with an axe and then throwing their bodies into the sea, but she was always sure to leave one survivor to spread the gruesome tale,  warn others of what awaited them should they cross her path and above all to send a message back to the king… but is it just a legend? Find out in this episode.

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  • Jeanne de Belleville Gibet de Montfaucon.
    ​

    You are listening to Paname, a podcast about Paris, the people who have lived here, the events that have taken place and the traces they’ve left behind. I’m Amber and today we are heading back to the Gallows of Montfaucon specifically to the 2nd of August 1343. Had we been standing here all those years ago we would have witnessed the displaying of the headless body of Olivier de Clisson the IV, executed first in Paris for being a traitor, then decapitated, his head sent to Nantes in Brittany to be displayed on the city walls and his body brought here to be hung. It was his execution that put into motion a whole host of events, at least, according to legend. You see Oliver was married to Jeanne de Clisson, also known as Jeanne de Belleville, or by her nickname ‘The Lioness of Brittany’ and was France's first and fireces female pirate driven to the high seas and to war with the French king in order to avenge her husband's death.

    so come with me to find out just how much of this remarkable revenge story is true.

    So let's find out a little bit about her and how her life took such an unexpected turn. Jeanne was born around 1300 in Brittany to a noble and wealthy family. She was first married at the tender age of 12 to a young Breton nobleman. At 14 and then at 16 she had 2 children, Joffery and Louise. But then in 1327, her husband died leaving her a wealthy and by all accounts beautiful widow. She was then briefly married a second time, but without going into too many details this was annulled by the pope, apparently the family opposed the union and it caused quite the scandal. Her 3rd husband was Olivier de Clisson IV another wealthy Breton, nobleman and knight. And they were a good team apparently similar in age and both bringing to the marriage wealth and land Jeanne from both her inheritance (she was an only child) and from her first husband and it was not just any land a lot of it was salt marshes at a time when salt was considered to be ‘white gold’ as it was the only way of preserving food. . Together they had 5 children: Isabeau, maurice, Oliverer and Guillaume and baby Jeanne So by the age of 30 Jeanne had 3 marriages and 7 children under her belt, no mean feat considering that childbirth was often fatal at this time. From the book ‘Pirate Women: The Princesses, Prostitutes, and Privateers Who Ruled the seven seas’ by Laura Sook Duncombe we have these terrifying statistics:

    “an estimated 20 per cent of all women in the middle ages died in childbirth, 5 per cent during the birth itself, and another 15 per cent due to complications after labour”

    Jeanne, however, was clearly a survivor. So here we have a wealthy, landowning, child-birth-surviving woman who was also very independent. this was because Oliver was often away at war. Keep in mind that at this time Brittany was an independent Feudal state and Breton's loyalties were often divided - some to the English, some to the French but the majority considered themselves neither and were rather loyal to the duke of Brittany. So when in 1341 the Duke of Brittony dies without an heir both the French and the English claimed his lands. Because of course they do. This is known as the war of Breton succession and is being fought simultaneously as the 100 years' war.

    Oliver was loyal to France, the king and the French candidate for the post of Duke of Britanny Charles de Blois





    Then in 1342 things went very wrong for Jeanne and Oliver and thier family. Following the defeat at Vannes, Oliver was taken prisoner by the English but he was released, as was the custom with high-ranking prisoners in a sort of prisoner swap in exchange for the Earl of Stafford. However, the low ransom that accompanied this deal made Charles de Blois, who was the French candidate for the Duke of Brittany, suspicious that Oliver was a traitor. I have read both that he did actually switch sides to support the English, it is true that Oliver’s brother was fighting for the English, but more often I have seen the contrary and that he was loyal to France and to Charles. Don't worry if this all sounds rather confusing just know that Oliver’s loyalty to France is in question.

    Charles unfortunately, had the ear of the king and whispered his suspicions to him. The king at the time if you are wondering is none other than Philip VI of Valois. Now whether the king believed Oliver to be a traitor or saw an opportunity to take control of Olivier de Clisson’s vast and lucrative lands in Brittany I do not know, maybe both are true there is certainly those who think so but who is to say.

    Anyway, in 1343 King Philip hatched a rather ignoble plan. He invited Oliver to Paris to take part in a tournament ostensibly to celebrate the truce with England. So far so medieval. Oliver is happy as he likes nothing better than a fun day of jousting so off he heads off to Paris leaving Jeanne, once again, in charge. But it is a dastardly trick! there is no jousting. Upon his arrival in Paris, he is arrested for treason and likely tortured. There followed a sham trial and Oliver, along with a handful of other nobles who had the misfortune of being blamed for France’s recent defeats at the hands of the English, were sentenced to death, and you know the rest: decapitation, display, head to Brittany to be put on a pike as a warning to other would be ‘traitors’. From the book “Jeanne de Belleville, by Emile Péhant.” a book that tells her story though written in 1868 so by no means contemporary but rather an imagined and helped make this story famous let me quote

    “Arrested under the eyes and by the order of the King;
    Scourged with the name of traitor and, without further proof”,

    “Then, to put the final touch to so much ignominy,
    For every corpse has a right to the blessed earth, -
    Serving, on two gibbets! as a pasture for the vulture,
    The body to Montfaucon, the head to Sauvetour”.


    Jeanne, now widowed and outraged by this unfair treatment of her husband then apparently takes her 2 sons… where are all her other children, there is no mention of them, I know at least one had died quite young but as to the other 4 not a word. But she takes her 2 sons, Oliver and Guillaume to Nantes to see their fathers head and swears vengeance. And there, looking upon that grusome sight curses the king and all involved in her husbands murder.

    just a word on the king. As I have said It is Philippe the VI, first of the new dynasty of the Valois and thus known as ‘the fortunate’ after the last ‘cursed kings’ had died out following all that drama of the knight's templar and the curse of Jaques de Molay - find out more about this in my episode on the knight's Templar. Imagine my pleasure then to find out that Jeanne, upon seeing her beloved husband's head cursed Philippe, are all the kings of France cursed one wonders?

    Anyway, unlike JDM who kept it snappy, probably due to the flames leaping up around him Jeanne, at least according to fiction, took her time, and to give you a flavor of her, supposed, curse here it is because if you are going to curse someone you may as well do it properly (my own translation as I could not find it in English from our friend Emile’s book. for you but here goes:

    Deceivers of Clisson, Philippe de Valois,
    You judges, you executioners, and you Charles de Blois,
    page 39
    All that on earth took part in the torment,
    As author, as actor, instrument or accomplice,
    Those who will join in what has been done,
    Those who will prevent me from avenging the crime:
    Be cursed, in the name of all nature,
    Cursed by God, cursed by every creature;
    Cursed in every place where you are,
    In the city, in the army, in the fields where you flee;
    Cursed in your homes and cursed in the church;
    Cursed by the hurricane and cursed by the breeze,
    By the stars of the night and by the sun;
    Cursed in the daytime, cursed in sleep;
    Cursed in your pleasures, cursed on your bed,
    Cursed in the kisses of your mouth,
    Cursed in your children, cursed in your loves;
    Cursed in all your goods, cursed, cursed always;
    From the soles of your feet to the tops of your heads;
    In all that you dream or do on earth;
    Cursed in your thirst, cursed in your hunger,
    Cursed, cursed everywhere. What shall I tell you at last?

    Cursed in your body and cursed in your soul!

    Let nothing remain healthy, let everything be infamous;
    May your name be an object of horror to all;
    May God become a terror to you in prayer;
    And, when the last hour dawns on your forehead,
    Let no priest say a prayer for you;
    Let your bodies, pushed far, far away from the Christians,
    Let your bodies rot in the air where dogs rot;
    Then, when you ascend to the supreme judge,
    May Jesus, Jesus himself, in his majesty

    Rise up against you and plunge you at once
    Into the eternal fires, where Judas awaits you!"

    When Joan fell silent, panting and broken,
    Her cup of fury was not exhausted;
    She was still thirsty for curses:
    The volcano was preparing other explosions.



    She was angry. It is worth noting that Jeanne herself is, as the wife of a traitor, also considered a traitor and thus her titles, property and land were confiscated. This meant that she would have no more income, and her sons could not become knights or really progress in any real meaningful way in society. As the widow of a traitor; she would be shunned everywhere. She could have retired to a convent which was what was expected of her but that was not her style. She has nothing and so nothing to lose so, Instead brimming with rage, and fury at the injustice of it all, she decides to fight to regain her honour and her property, and goes to war against the king of France. This is the supposed tale of what happened next.

    Her first move was to attack a castle which was loyal to the crown and Charle de Bois. They knew her at the castle so when she showed up at their door they let her in, but little did they know that she had managed to raise an army and so once she was in she let they promply set about killing everyone and ransaking the place. It seems to have no real tactical purpose other than letting the king know she was angry and out for vengeance. She then was able to raise funds to buy 3 ships, which she painted black giving them the name ‘the Black Fleet’ and to make them even more distinctive and terrifying she painted the sales blood red. She herself could be found in the flagship named ‘my revenge.’ Then for the next 13 years she operated as a pirate in the English Channel, sometimes even attacking towns along the coast of France. She was renowned for her cruelty. Upon capturing a French vessel she would mercilessly kill the whole crew, especially any nobles - usually decapitating them herself with an axe and then throwing their bodies into the sea, but she was always sure to leave one survivor to spread the gruesome tale, warn others of what awaited them should they cross her path and above all to send a message back to the king. Hell hath no fury like a Breton woman scorned. Finally, the French fleet were able to sink her; but she managed to escape with her two children Charles and Guillaume, though sadly Guillaume died from exposure. She was able to make it to England where she was welcomed with open arms by the English king, the enemy of my enemy and all that. Ultimately she married an English nobleman, returned to France, and was able to recuperate most of her land. That’s the story But how much of this is true? and how much is legend?

    Alas, as I am sure you have realized a lot of this information comes from legend and you can see why a vengeful pirates its a great yarn. But what real facts do we actually have or do we have any at all? Was she even really a pirate. and the answer is yes she was and although there is not much we do have some that prove she was a real person and at least in part this is true.

    By all accounts, Jeanne did indeed raise an army and invade a castle loyal to the crown by pretending to be just passing by and bloodily take it down in an act of vengeance. Then, since she had no land or resources she did take to the sea, and get up to some pirate-like activities which included stealing, plundering and killing. Did she paint her ships black and dye the sales blood red? This it seems was, sadly, a fantasy, did she personally chop off heads of French sailors and nobles loyal to the king with an axe.. maybe and if she did it must have been a brutal affair as head chopping is not easy.

    What is known is that in England she had friends, including her brother-in-law and we even have court records that show that she was indeed welcomed by the English king, who called her ‘my chere cousine Bretonne’ and that she attended court and advised the English on the ongoing 100 years war. That she did it seems work as a privateer - a sort of mercenary pirate employed by the British, She then did marry a British man, moved back to France and was able to regain some land before dying at the age of about 60 of what we do not know but 60 is not bad for the time.

    Interestingly it is her son, Oliver de Clisson the V that will bring this story full circle. Although He grew up in the English court as an adult he returned to France, the war is still going on and will continue for some time. but he, ultimately ends up switching sides and joining the French and through various friendships and alliances he is able to move up the ranks until he is named as the ‘connetable’ which is the First Officer of the Crown, and in charge of the army and a pretty big deal. He is able to regain his parents lands, titles and more and re-stablishes the name of ‘de Clisson’.

    His methods were often brutal, and he was even nicknamed, ‘the Butcher’. Maybe he did learn a thing or two at his mothers side, maybe some of those stories are real after all.

    Now I was just about to wrap up this episode when I stumbled upon something fabulous. As you know I love to be able to visit something in Paris, something tangible that links us to the past and the story we are exploring. Obviously, I am not keen to see a gibbet and luckily there is none left, but because Oliver V became so powerful he built a rather fancy house for himself in Paris, and today a little corner of that building still exists. So let's head off to the Marais to check it out.

    Here at no 58 rue des Archives 2 satisfyingly medieval-looking little turrets stick out of what is today known as the hotel de soubise and is part of the building of the National Archives, you can visit them, the gardens are especially pleasant. They are all that remains of what would have been a rather grand abode built by Oliver in the 14th century and known then as the Hotel de Clisson. And while Oliver’s story and certainly that of his mothers is rather exciting this address has also seen quite a lot of drama. In 1533 the hotel passed into the hands of the Guise family, a prominent and important catholic family - it has even been speculated that the St Bart Massacre may have been organized here. Today when we look up we can see above the grand doorway various heraldic symbols. Although they are not from the 14th Century they have been made in the style to fit in with the architecture, and probably date from restoration work that took place in 1847. They show the emblems of olivier de clisson so a lion on a shield and a crowned m which seem to both refer to his wife ‘Marguerite’ and the Virgin. We also see on the door the painted arms of the Guise family, but that’s another story for another day.
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