House of Dreux

Cadet branch of the Capetian dynasty

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House of Dreux

Arms of House of Dreux

Parent house| Capetian dynasty
Country|  France
England
Founded| 1137
Founder| Robert I, Count of Dreux
Final ruler| Anne, Duchess of Brittany
Titles|

* Count of Dreux
* Count of Penthièvre
* Earl of Richmond
* Duke of Brittany

Dissolution| 1514
Cadet branches|

* Lords of Beu
* Lords of Bossart
* Breton House of Dreux
* Montfort of Brittany
* Lords of Machecoul

The House of Dreux was a cadet branch of the Capetian dynasty. It was founded by Robert I, Count of Dreux, a son of Louis VI of France, who was given the County of Dreux as his appanage.

The Counts of Dreux were relatively minor nobles in France. The senior comital line became extinct in 1345. In 1212 the French king needed an obedient vassal to marry Alix, Duchess of Brittany and turned to his cousin Peter, a younger son of the Count of Dreux. Peter's marriage to the heiress of Brittany placed the House of Dreux in one of the most important fiefs of France. Brittany became a lay peerage of the France in 1297 and was formally recognised as a duchy (rather than a county) by the French court.

The Dreux rulers of Brittany descending from Peter used a canton ermine to mark them as cadets of the House of Dreux. Sometime in 1316, John III, Duke of Brittany adopted the plain ermine as the arms of the Duchy of Brittany.

At the death of John III in 1341, the succession to the duchy was contested by the duke's niece, Joan of Penthièvre, daughter of his full-brother, and John of Montfort, the duke's younger half-brother. Traditionally, females had been able to succeed as duchesses, but this practice was not consistent with most apanages granted by the French crown, which usually preferred male-only succession. Joan had married Charles of Blois, a nephew of King Philip VI, who supported their cause. Edward III of England, meanwhile, supported the Montforts. John died in 1345 from an illness caught while besieging Quimper. His young children were placed into English custody. John's son, John was allowed to return to Brittany in 1362. Meanwhile, Charles was captured by the English in 1347 and imprisoned until 1356. Charles ultimately died at the Battle of Auray in 1364, fighting the forces of the younger John.

In the Treaty of Guérande, which ended the War of the Breton Succession, the Duchy of Brittany was made hereditary in the males of the Montfort line, at the termination of which it was to pass to the males of Blois-Penthièvre. In 1420 the Penthièvre family imprisoned the duke in a failed attempt to regain Brittany. When the last male Montfort duke, Francis II of Brittany, died, the duchy passed to his daughter, Anne of Brittany.

## Arms[edit]

Arms of the House of Dreux

Count of Dreux

Duke of Brittany
Breton coat of arms from 1212 to 1316

Duke of Brittany
Breton coat of arms after 1316. These are still in use today by the government of Brittany.

Count of Penthièvre
Arms of Guy, Count of Penthièvre son of Arthur II, Duke of Brittany

## Family tree of House of Dreux[edit]

Louis VI
King of France
HOUSE OF CAPET

| | | | | | | |
| | | |
Louis VI
King of France| | Robert I
Count of Dreux
HOUSE OF DREUX
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | |
| | | | Robert II
Count of Dreaux| | Philip
Bishop of Beauvais
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | Robert III
Count of Dreux| | | | | | | | | | | | | | Peter I
Duke of Brittany
BRANCH OF BRITTANY| | Henry
Archbishop of Reims| | John
∞ Alix, Countess of Mâcon, Vienne
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | John I
Count of Dreux| | | | | | | | | | | | | | John I
Duke of Brittany
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | Robert IV
Count of Dreux| | | | | | | | | | | | | | John II
Duke of Brittany
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | John II
Count of Dreux| | | | | | | | | | | | | | Arthure II
Duke of Brittany
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Robert V
Count of Dreux| | John III
Count of Dreux| | Peter
Count of Dreux| | John III
Duke of Brittany| | Guy
Count of Penthièvre| | John of Montfort
Earl of Richmond
House of Montfort-Brittany
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | John IV
Duke of Brittany
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | John V
Duke of Brittany| | Arthur III
Duke of Brittany| | Richard
Count of Étampes
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | Francis I
Duke of Brittany| | Peter II
Duke of Brittany| | Gilles
Lord of Chantocé| | Francis II
Duke of Brittany