Initial campaign of the War of the Breton Succession 1341
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Year | 1341 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
|---|---|---|
| Era | Medieval (500–1499) | derived from year |
| Location | France | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Europe | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | War of the Breton Succession | Wikidata P361 |
| Coordinates | 47.3160, -1.2929 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The initial campaign of the Breton Civil War took place in 1341 when a French royal army intervened in a succession war between two claimants to the Duchy of Brittany. Brittany was a province of France, but although the dukes of Brittany were vassals of the French kings they governed the duchy as independent rulers. When Duke John III (r. 1312–1341) died childless on 30 April 1341, title to the duchy was claimed by both his niece, Joan of Penthièvre, and his younger half-brother, John of Montfort. Joan's claim was exercised through her husband, Charles of Blois, a nephew of the king of France, Philip VI (r. 1328–1350). A complicating factor was the ongoing Hundred Years' War between France and England that had broken out in 1337. A truce was in place which was due to expire in June 1341 but was extended to June 1342.
It was generally assumed that Joan's claim would prevail and that Charles would become the new duke, but John acted quickly and installed friendly garrisons in most of the towns and castles of Brittany by August. He discussed the possibility of a military treaty with English emissaries but made no move towards effecting one. Rumours of these discussions reached Philip, causing him to turn against John and in September Charles was recognised as the new duke.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Initial campaign of the War of the Breton Succession (revision 1370623667), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Battle of La Rochelle (1419) 1420 · 9 km
- Battle of Nantes 1793 · 22 km
- Battle of Tiffauges 1793 · 34 km
- Battle of Montaigu 1793 · 38 km
- Battle of Blain 843 · 39 km
- First Battle of Cholet 1793 · 42 km
Other battles of the War of the Breton Succession
- Battle of Morlaix 1342
- Siege of Brest (1342) 1342
- Siege of Hennebont 1342
- Sieges of Vannes (1342) 1342
- Battle of Cadoret 1345
- Battle of Saint-Pol-de-Léon 1346
- Combat of the Thirty 1351
- Battle of Mauron 1352
- Siege of Rennes (1356–1357) 1356
- Battle of Auray 1364
All 11 battles of the War of the Breton Succession →
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