1 00:00:00,840 --> 00:00:05,240 Speaker 1: Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of iHeartRadio and Grim 2 00:00:05,240 --> 00:00:10,680 Speaker 1: and Mild from Aaron Manky. Listener discretion advised. Hi, thank 3 00:00:10,680 --> 00:00:12,799 Speaker 1: you so much for listening to Noble Blood. If you 4 00:00:12,840 --> 00:00:15,920 Speaker 1: want to support the show, we have a Patreon Patreon 5 00:00:16,000 --> 00:00:20,400 Speaker 1: dot com slash Noble Blood Tales where I upload episodes, scripts, 6 00:00:20,440 --> 00:00:24,560 Speaker 1: and recently sort of intermittently uploaded bonus episodes where my 7 00:00:24,600 --> 00:00:27,520 Speaker 1: friends and I watch through shows like The Tutors and 8 00:00:27,760 --> 00:00:30,560 Speaker 1: Rain on the CW to talk about their lack of 9 00:00:30,840 --> 00:00:34,680 Speaker 1: historical consistency. But anyway, there's also merch if you're a 10 00:00:34,680 --> 00:00:38,160 Speaker 1: fan of the show at DFTBA dot com. But as always, 11 00:00:38,240 --> 00:00:40,839 Speaker 1: the best support for the show is just listening, and 12 00:00:40,880 --> 00:00:52,879 Speaker 1: I'm so grateful, Thank you so much. The summer of 13 00:00:52,960 --> 00:00:56,440 Speaker 1: thirteen forty three had been a mild one in Brittany, 14 00:00:56,840 --> 00:00:59,880 Speaker 1: which is located in the northwest of France near the 15 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:03,920 Speaker 1: Atlantic Ocean, and summers there were typically warm with heavy rain. 16 00:01:04,600 --> 00:01:08,880 Speaker 1: Back in the fourteenth century, Brittany was an independent feudal 17 00:01:08,959 --> 00:01:12,640 Speaker 1: state and its capital Nant sat three hundred or so 18 00:01:12,800 --> 00:01:17,160 Speaker 1: miles southwest of Paris. It served as a natural crossroads 19 00:01:17,240 --> 00:01:21,240 Speaker 1: between the rest of Brittany and the separate kingdom of France. 20 00:01:21,959 --> 00:01:25,640 Speaker 1: In early August thirteen forty three, a woman named Jean 21 00:01:25,680 --> 00:01:28,840 Speaker 1: de Clissant and her two sons, seven year old Olivier 22 00:01:28,880 --> 00:01:32,040 Speaker 1: the Fifth and five year old Guillaume, arrived at the 23 00:01:32,080 --> 00:01:35,679 Speaker 1: main gates of Nant. If you were imagining the scene, 24 00:01:36,040 --> 00:01:38,280 Speaker 1: the three of them would have stopped there for a 25 00:01:38,319 --> 00:01:41,760 Speaker 1: moment there at the stone archway to the city, and 26 00:01:41,959 --> 00:01:47,480 Speaker 1: gazed up to see a horrific sight the rotting decapitated 27 00:01:47,560 --> 00:01:52,440 Speaker 1: head of Jean's husband, the boy's father. His head was 28 00:01:52,480 --> 00:01:56,720 Speaker 1: impaled on a pike and gently swaying in the salt breeze. 29 00:01:57,120 --> 00:02:00,760 Speaker 1: And because Olivier the Fourth's head had traveled there to 30 00:02:00,840 --> 00:02:04,400 Speaker 1: not from Paris, three hundred miles away, the head would 31 00:02:04,440 --> 00:02:09,960 Speaker 1: have been swollen, rotting foul. Olivier the Fourth's body remained 32 00:02:09,960 --> 00:02:13,840 Speaker 1: behind in Paris in a gibbet or barred cage, but 33 00:02:13,960 --> 00:02:18,840 Speaker 1: his head was here in Brittany to send a message. 34 00:02:18,960 --> 00:02:23,560 Speaker 1: Days earlier, on August second, thirteen forty three, Olivier the 35 00:02:23,600 --> 00:02:27,440 Speaker 1: Fourth had been tried and found guilty on several counts 36 00:02:27,480 --> 00:02:31,560 Speaker 1: of treason. He was executed at l'al by the king 37 00:02:31,720 --> 00:02:36,480 Speaker 1: of France. Despite Olivier the fourth's rank, King Philip the 38 00:02:36,600 --> 00:02:39,760 Speaker 1: sixth of France, had humiliated him in death in an 39 00:02:39,800 --> 00:02:43,600 Speaker 1: attempt to dissuade other would be traders in his midst. 40 00:02:44,400 --> 00:02:48,600 Speaker 1: But the king's actions were shocking and unconventional to both 41 00:02:48,639 --> 00:02:52,760 Speaker 1: Breton and French nobility. After all, Olivier the fourth de 42 00:02:52,840 --> 00:02:57,239 Speaker 1: Cloissent had been a wealthy Breton lord and knight. After death, 43 00:02:57,360 --> 00:03:00,440 Speaker 1: his body had been displayed in a public manner only 44 00:03:00,480 --> 00:03:05,120 Speaker 1: reserved for low class criminals. Olivier the Fourth's trial was 45 00:03:05,240 --> 00:03:10,880 Speaker 1: also alarming, even suspicious. He was accused of treason, but 46 00:03:11,080 --> 00:03:16,160 Speaker 1: any evidence of his guilt was not publicly demonstrated. Allegedly 47 00:03:16,360 --> 00:03:19,919 Speaker 1: it had been privately confessed, but no one had seen 48 00:03:20,000 --> 00:03:23,760 Speaker 1: any evidence of that. Jean and her two sons had 49 00:03:23,800 --> 00:03:27,680 Speaker 1: traveled some twenty miles from their castle, the Chateau de Clisson, 50 00:03:28,000 --> 00:03:32,239 Speaker 1: to see Olivier the Fourth's head. Why Jean brought two 51 00:03:32,280 --> 00:03:34,960 Speaker 1: of her children from the confines of the castle to 52 00:03:35,080 --> 00:03:39,480 Speaker 1: see the rotting head of their father is unclear, Perhaps 53 00:03:39,520 --> 00:03:44,520 Speaker 1: to see his face, however foul one last time, or 54 00:03:44,800 --> 00:03:48,960 Speaker 1: perhaps knowing Jean's character and what she would do next, 55 00:03:49,600 --> 00:03:53,800 Speaker 1: it was to instill a need for revenge, do not 56 00:03:53,920 --> 00:03:58,480 Speaker 1: forget this. Her actions might have said, do not forgive this. 57 00:04:00,120 --> 00:04:03,360 Speaker 1: When Jean and her two sons left the countryside that day, 58 00:04:03,720 --> 00:04:08,520 Speaker 1: Jean cut ties with proper noble society, With the Loire 59 00:04:08,640 --> 00:04:12,080 Speaker 1: River flowing just beyond, and the head of her husband 60 00:04:12,120 --> 00:04:16,359 Speaker 1: of thirteen years swaying in tandem with the breeze. Jean 61 00:04:16,480 --> 00:04:20,839 Speaker 1: swore bloody revenge on the King of France, and she 62 00:04:21,080 --> 00:04:32,640 Speaker 1: kept her promise. I'm Danish schwartz and this is noble blood. 63 00:04:33,640 --> 00:04:37,000 Speaker 1: Jean de Clissan was born in thirteen hundred into an 64 00:04:37,040 --> 00:04:41,640 Speaker 1: aristocratic family. Her parents were among the most powerful nobles 65 00:04:41,680 --> 00:04:46,000 Speaker 1: in Brittany. Their lands were extensive, stretching all across southern 66 00:04:46,040 --> 00:04:50,679 Speaker 1: Brittany to the Atlantic Ocean. Her family virtually controlled access 67 00:04:50,720 --> 00:04:52,760 Speaker 1: to the sea, and they had ruled the area for 68 00:04:52,920 --> 00:04:57,800 Speaker 1: hundreds of years. We know very little about Jean's early life. 69 00:04:58,080 --> 00:05:03,440 Speaker 1: Most likely she enjoyed a relatively bucolic aristocratic childhood at 70 00:05:03,440 --> 00:05:06,240 Speaker 1: the castle fortress on the western coast of France that 71 00:05:06,400 --> 00:05:10,680 Speaker 1: she would eventually inherit. But however adylic it might have been, 72 00:05:10,920 --> 00:05:15,320 Speaker 1: her childhood did not last long. In thirteen twelve, when 73 00:05:15,440 --> 00:05:18,279 Speaker 1: Jean was twelve years old, she was married off to 74 00:05:18,360 --> 00:05:22,719 Speaker 1: a Breton nobleman, Jeffrey de chateaubriand the eighth the nineteen 75 00:05:22,800 --> 00:05:25,400 Speaker 1: year old heir to one of the key estates in Brittany. 76 00:05:26,120 --> 00:05:29,640 Speaker 1: When Jean was fourteen, and again at sixteen, she gave 77 00:05:29,720 --> 00:05:34,960 Speaker 1: birth to two surviving children, a son, Geoffrey and a daughter, Louise. 78 00:05:35,800 --> 00:05:39,520 Speaker 1: After over a decade of marriage, her first husband died 79 00:05:39,600 --> 00:05:43,160 Speaker 1: in thirteen twenty six, leaving Jean a twenty six year 80 00:05:43,200 --> 00:05:47,320 Speaker 1: old widow. A woman of high birth and wealth, Jean 81 00:05:47,480 --> 00:05:51,280 Speaker 1: was also a noted beauty. Historian Richard Bentley called her 82 00:05:52,080 --> 00:05:54,760 Speaker 1: one of the most beautiful women of her day, and 83 00:05:54,800 --> 00:05:57,800 Speaker 1: she had reddish brown hair and fair skin, which was 84 00:05:57,880 --> 00:06:02,200 Speaker 1: a symbol of status at the time. Still, unmarried women 85 00:06:02,320 --> 00:06:06,039 Speaker 1: in the fourteenth century, even women of noble standing, had 86 00:06:06,080 --> 00:06:09,279 Speaker 1: close to no power, and to ensure the safety and 87 00:06:09,400 --> 00:06:13,480 Speaker 1: well being of herself and her children, Jean needed to remarry. 88 00:06:14,760 --> 00:06:18,719 Speaker 1: Two years later, in thirteen twenty eight, Jean married the 89 00:06:18,760 --> 00:06:22,559 Speaker 1: son of the Duke of Brittany, Gui of Penthieve, which 90 00:06:22,880 --> 00:06:27,080 Speaker 1: should have been a coup. However, factions of GHI's family 91 00:06:27,200 --> 00:06:32,160 Speaker 1: opposed the union on February tenth, thirteen thirty. Within two 92 00:06:32,320 --> 00:06:36,760 Speaker 1: years of the relationship, the marriage was scandalously annulled by 93 00:06:36,800 --> 00:06:40,520 Speaker 1: Pope John the twenty second, allegedly because the marriage was 94 00:06:40,560 --> 00:06:43,920 Speaker 1: never consummated, but it's difficult to know the truth of that. 95 00:06:44,800 --> 00:06:48,279 Speaker 1: Jean was remarried once more, this time to Olivier the 96 00:06:48,279 --> 00:06:52,080 Speaker 1: fourth de Clisson, a wealthy Breton nobleman, lord and knight. 97 00:06:52,600 --> 00:06:55,279 Speaker 1: Olivier the fourth was a widower as well, and it 98 00:06:55,360 --> 00:06:58,680 Speaker 1: seems like he was almost exactly the same age as Jean. 99 00:06:59,320 --> 00:07:01,960 Speaker 1: Upon their marriage, rich the pair became one of the 100 00:07:02,000 --> 00:07:06,440 Speaker 1: wealthiest and most influential couples in Brittany, with control of 101 00:07:06,480 --> 00:07:11,000 Speaker 1: a number of estates and vast properties. Jean and Olivier 102 00:07:11,200 --> 00:07:15,120 Speaker 1: Fourth were married for thirteen years and had five children. 103 00:07:15,240 --> 00:07:18,840 Speaker 1: Their eldest child, Isabeau, was born in thirteen thirty one, 104 00:07:19,240 --> 00:07:23,040 Speaker 1: and then came Maurice Olivier the fifth, Guillaume, and little 105 00:07:23,040 --> 00:07:27,040 Speaker 1: baby Jian born thirteen forty. By the time Jean was 106 00:07:27,080 --> 00:07:31,360 Speaker 1: thirty years old, she was the mother to seven children. 107 00:07:31,840 --> 00:07:35,960 Speaker 1: Now for a little bit of geographical context, Brittany was 108 00:07:36,040 --> 00:07:39,720 Speaker 1: at the time an independent medieval feudal state located in 109 00:07:39,760 --> 00:07:44,239 Speaker 1: the western tip of modern France, south of England, parts 110 00:07:44,280 --> 00:07:47,120 Speaker 1: of Brittany and some nobles at the time were loyal 111 00:07:47,160 --> 00:07:50,360 Speaker 1: to the English, while other parts and other people were 112 00:07:50,400 --> 00:07:53,800 Speaker 1: loyal to the French. But the majority of Bretons considered 113 00:07:53,840 --> 00:07:58,040 Speaker 1: themselves first and foremost Bretons loyal to the Duke of 114 00:07:58,080 --> 00:08:02,480 Speaker 1: Brittany over the kings of England or France. But outside 115 00:08:02,560 --> 00:08:06,920 Speaker 1: of Brittany, tensions between England and France continued to brew. 116 00:08:07,400 --> 00:08:10,320 Speaker 1: What finally set the stage for an all out war 117 00:08:10,720 --> 00:08:14,679 Speaker 1: was a succession crisis. Charles the Fourth of France died 118 00:08:14,800 --> 00:08:18,360 Speaker 1: childless in thirteen twenty eight, and his closest heir was 119 00:08:18,480 --> 00:08:22,160 Speaker 1: his nephew, the English king Edward the third. His claim 120 00:08:22,200 --> 00:08:25,480 Speaker 1: to the throne was his mother, Isabella of France. Yet 121 00:08:25,520 --> 00:08:28,880 Speaker 1: the French nobility at the time rejected Edward the Third's 122 00:08:28,880 --> 00:08:32,680 Speaker 1: claim in favor of a native French ruler. One of 123 00:08:32,720 --> 00:08:37,240 Speaker 1: the longest and bloodiest conflicts of the Middle Ages, this brutal, 124 00:08:37,480 --> 00:08:42,000 Speaker 1: epic turning struggle became known as the One hundred Years War. 125 00:08:42,920 --> 00:08:46,400 Speaker 1: To complicate matters, in thirteen forty one, the Duke of 126 00:08:46,440 --> 00:08:50,200 Speaker 1: Brittany also died without an heir. Both the French and 127 00:08:50,400 --> 00:08:54,520 Speaker 1: English claimed his lands in northwestern France. The war of 128 00:08:54,600 --> 00:08:58,480 Speaker 1: Breton succession officially became a proxy conflict of the One 129 00:08:58,559 --> 00:09:02,680 Speaker 1: Hundred Years War. Jehn's husband, Olivier the Fourth, was a 130 00:09:02,720 --> 00:09:06,280 Speaker 1: descendant of English knights who were awarded estates in Brittany 131 00:09:06,480 --> 00:09:08,840 Speaker 1: to preserve the claim of the English crown on the 132 00:09:08,880 --> 00:09:13,160 Speaker 1: province by the thirteen forties. Olivier the Fourth was a 133 00:09:13,280 --> 00:09:16,480 Speaker 1: loyal vassal of the King of France, King Philip the Fourth. 134 00:09:17,280 --> 00:09:21,080 Speaker 1: That was at least in part a pragmatic decision. In 135 00:09:21,120 --> 00:09:24,720 Speaker 1: addition to their Breton lands, the de Clissons possessed extensive 136 00:09:24,840 --> 00:09:27,680 Speaker 1: lands in the Kingdom of France. If they sided with 137 00:09:27,760 --> 00:09:31,440 Speaker 1: the English in the Breton succession, it would immediately lead 138 00:09:31,480 --> 00:09:34,680 Speaker 1: to the seizure of their estates outside of Brittany. So, 139 00:09:35,080 --> 00:09:40,000 Speaker 1: despite ancestral ties to England, Olivier the Fourth loyally joined 140 00:09:40,040 --> 00:09:43,400 Speaker 1: the French in thirteen forty two to defend Brittany from 141 00:09:43,440 --> 00:09:46,400 Speaker 1: the English and to back the French claimant to the 142 00:09:46,440 --> 00:09:50,560 Speaker 1: Breton throne. Charles de Blois, Olivier the Fourth and a 143 00:09:50,600 --> 00:09:53,559 Speaker 1: man named Hervey the seventh de Lyons were acting as 144 00:09:53,679 --> 00:09:56,839 Speaker 1: military commanders in defense of the French city of Vant 145 00:09:57,120 --> 00:10:00,280 Speaker 1: until the city fell to English control. In November of 146 00:10:00,320 --> 00:10:05,160 Speaker 1: thirteen forty two, the two commanders were captured. Two months 147 00:10:05,240 --> 00:10:09,640 Speaker 1: went by until on January nineteenth, thirteen forty three, a 148 00:10:09,720 --> 00:10:12,800 Speaker 1: new peace treaty between the English and the French was 149 00:10:12,920 --> 00:10:17,040 Speaker 1: mediated by Pope Clement the sixth. King Edward of England 150 00:10:17,120 --> 00:10:20,560 Speaker 1: and King Philip of France agreed to the truth. But 151 00:10:20,679 --> 00:10:24,120 Speaker 1: while Herve the seventh de Lyon remained in English custody, 152 00:10:24,720 --> 00:10:28,160 Speaker 1: Olivier the fourth was released in exchange for an English 153 00:10:28,200 --> 00:10:32,960 Speaker 1: prisoner and payment, but the ransom for Olivier the fourth 154 00:10:33,480 --> 00:10:38,679 Speaker 1: was surprisingly low. Suspiciously, according to Charles de Blois, who 155 00:10:38,840 --> 00:10:42,240 Speaker 1: was by then established as the Duke of Brittany, he 156 00:10:42,400 --> 00:10:46,240 Speaker 1: became convinced that Olivier the fourth was a traitor and 157 00:10:46,320 --> 00:10:50,480 Speaker 1: had defected to the English. Exactly why he believed this 158 00:10:50,679 --> 00:10:54,240 Speaker 1: is unclear. Some versions of the story say that Olivier 159 00:10:54,280 --> 00:10:58,000 Speaker 1: the Fourth actually did switch sides, although those accounts are 160 00:10:58,120 --> 00:11:02,680 Speaker 1: much rarer. In the summer of thirteen forty three, Olivier 161 00:11:02,720 --> 00:11:05,439 Speaker 1: the fourth was invited to attend a tournament in the 162 00:11:05,520 --> 00:11:09,800 Speaker 1: Kingdom of France in celebration of the truce. However, when 163 00:11:09,800 --> 00:11:14,480 Speaker 1: he arrived, he was immediately arrested and taken to Paris, 164 00:11:14,559 --> 00:11:18,440 Speaker 1: where he was tried before fifteen noble peers, including his 165 00:11:18,480 --> 00:11:22,480 Speaker 1: accuser Charles du Bois, and the King himself. After her 166 00:11:22,559 --> 00:11:26,000 Speaker 1: husband's arrest, they say, Jean bribed a royal sergeant to 167 00:11:26,120 --> 00:11:29,440 Speaker 1: try to get Olivier released. Her plan failed, and the 168 00:11:29,480 --> 00:11:34,280 Speaker 1: sergeant was arrested. Olivier the Fourth's trial on August second, 169 00:11:34,480 --> 00:11:38,640 Speaker 1: thirteen forty three was a quick matter with a foregun conclusion. 170 00:11:39,320 --> 00:11:44,280 Speaker 1: It was followed immediately by his beheading. Here's the part 171 00:11:44,320 --> 00:11:46,160 Speaker 1: in the story where we get to Jean and her 172 00:11:46,240 --> 00:11:49,440 Speaker 1: kids taking that family trip to the gates of Nantes 173 00:11:49,480 --> 00:11:53,560 Speaker 1: to see their father's decapitated head. After that, Jean was 174 00:11:53,559 --> 00:11:57,120 Speaker 1: summoned to Paris to face trial for her attempted bribery 175 00:11:57,200 --> 00:12:01,640 Speaker 1: of the King's sergeant, but she never went. Rather than 176 00:12:01,720 --> 00:12:05,480 Speaker 1: report to Paris to face continued punishment for her husband's 177 00:12:05,480 --> 00:12:10,680 Speaker 1: trumped up charges, Jean sold jewelry, furniture, and, according to 178 00:12:10,720 --> 00:12:13,760 Speaker 1: some accounts, even her body to raise money for a 179 00:12:13,880 --> 00:12:19,160 Speaker 1: small army. Jean and her troops traveled throughout Brittany, rallying 180 00:12:19,320 --> 00:12:23,839 Speaker 1: unhappy wealthy nobles supporters of her husband. The couple had 181 00:12:23,880 --> 00:12:27,400 Speaker 1: had plenty of powerful friends and the friends and families 182 00:12:27,440 --> 00:12:30,880 Speaker 1: of other executed nobles or nobles who had been mistreated 183 00:12:30,920 --> 00:12:34,480 Speaker 1: by the French king. Jean rallied her troops with the 184 00:12:34,559 --> 00:12:38,920 Speaker 1: common goal of ridding Brittany of the French King. Philip 185 00:12:38,960 --> 00:12:43,040 Speaker 1: the fourth declared Jean de Clissan a trader and confiscated 186 00:12:43,080 --> 00:12:46,520 Speaker 1: her lands. They had said the same thing about her husband. 187 00:12:47,080 --> 00:12:49,600 Speaker 1: The forty three year old widow was going to show 188 00:12:49,600 --> 00:12:53,120 Speaker 1: the French the meaning of the word trader and let 189 00:12:53,200 --> 00:13:00,920 Speaker 1: fall carnage. The Chateau de Touffu sat about empty kilometers 190 00:13:01,040 --> 00:13:03,640 Speaker 1: southeast of Nantes, and it was under the command of 191 00:13:03,720 --> 00:13:07,680 Speaker 1: a man named Galois de la Harius, an officer loyal 192 00:13:07,800 --> 00:13:11,079 Speaker 1: to Charles de Bois. In one episode of the tale, 193 00:13:11,480 --> 00:13:15,240 Speaker 1: Jean was invited to the castle. Galois had not yet 194 00:13:15,280 --> 00:13:18,480 Speaker 1: heard the news of Olivier the Fourth's trial and execution, 195 00:13:18,720 --> 00:13:21,960 Speaker 1: and so he was just inviting a noble woman to 196 00:13:22,080 --> 00:13:25,920 Speaker 1: enjoy his hospitality. In another version of the story, Jean 197 00:13:26,120 --> 00:13:30,000 Speaker 1: arrived seemingly in need, with tears streaming down her cheeks. 198 00:13:30,600 --> 00:13:34,199 Speaker 1: None the wiser Galois welcomed Jean inn and why not 199 00:13:34,760 --> 00:13:37,480 Speaker 1: The very garrison he had commanded had once been a 200 00:13:37,520 --> 00:13:41,440 Speaker 1: former post under the control of her now decapitated husband. 201 00:13:42,280 --> 00:13:45,040 Speaker 1: As soon as the main gate was opened, Jean and 202 00:13:45,120 --> 00:13:50,480 Speaker 1: her four hundred or so men launched their guerrilla insurgency, 203 00:13:50,520 --> 00:13:55,600 Speaker 1: storming the castle. Her forces massacred almost the entire garrison. 204 00:13:56,040 --> 00:14:00,240 Speaker 1: Jean engaged in the slaughter right alongside her soldiers. As 205 00:14:00,280 --> 00:14:05,120 Speaker 1: French historian Maurice julesabel Lefranc described quote, the blood of 206 00:14:05,280 --> 00:14:08,680 Speaker 1: all the other keepers or inhabitants of the castle was 207 00:14:08,840 --> 00:14:14,040 Speaker 1: mercilessly shed, like a first expiatory sacrifice offered in memory 208 00:14:14,120 --> 00:14:18,360 Speaker 1: of Olivia de Clisson. As you can imagine, the story 209 00:14:18,480 --> 00:14:22,480 Speaker 1: of the vengeful widow has veered into the apocryphal over 210 00:14:22,560 --> 00:14:26,800 Speaker 1: the centuries. A version of the story mentioned that Galois 211 00:14:26,960 --> 00:14:30,200 Speaker 1: was the only one to escape Jean's wrath, and thus 212 00:14:30,240 --> 00:14:35,240 Speaker 1: inadvertently established what would become her future modus operandi. A 213 00:14:35,280 --> 00:14:38,560 Speaker 1: single person would be left alive after a raid to 214 00:14:38,680 --> 00:14:41,640 Speaker 1: tell the King of France of the carnage. By the 215 00:14:41,680 --> 00:14:44,600 Speaker 1: time Charles de Bois and his army arrived at the castle, 216 00:14:45,000 --> 00:14:49,080 Speaker 1: Jean's forces, along with everything of value within the fortress, 217 00:14:49,560 --> 00:14:53,800 Speaker 1: had disappeared. Pulling together the rest of her money and 218 00:14:53,920 --> 00:14:57,520 Speaker 1: whatever they had plundered, Jean sailed to England with two 219 00:14:57,560 --> 00:15:01,040 Speaker 1: of her sons, Olivier the fifth and Guille in order 220 00:15:01,120 --> 00:15:06,240 Speaker 1: to assemble a small fleet of three massive warships. Where 221 00:15:06,280 --> 00:15:10,560 Speaker 1: her other children were during this time is unknown. John's 222 00:15:10,600 --> 00:15:14,720 Speaker 1: priorities had shifted away from the domestic. She had sworn 223 00:15:14,920 --> 00:15:18,520 Speaker 1: revenge on the French king, and so to the sea 224 00:15:18,680 --> 00:15:23,520 Speaker 1: she went. She christened her fleet fittingly enough, my Revenge. 225 00:15:24,080 --> 00:15:27,440 Speaker 1: She hired the best captains and crews, a mix of 226 00:15:27,520 --> 00:15:31,440 Speaker 1: Breton's English and rogue French, and she armed them well. 227 00:15:32,240 --> 00:15:36,680 Speaker 1: Jean personally commanded the Black Fleet, beginning her career as 228 00:15:36,680 --> 00:15:40,440 Speaker 1: a pirate, taking refuge in the fog and shrouded coves 229 00:15:40,480 --> 00:15:45,080 Speaker 1: and inlets of the Brittany coast, raiding coastal villages along Normandy, 230 00:15:45,360 --> 00:15:54,120 Speaker 1: and plundering French supply ships and vessels. Despite her pattern 231 00:15:54,240 --> 00:15:57,160 Speaker 1: of leaving at least one person alive to report her 232 00:15:57,240 --> 00:16:01,280 Speaker 1: vengeance to the king, there are not many surviving accounts 233 00:16:01,320 --> 00:16:06,320 Speaker 1: of Jean's exploits. However, according to legend, the survivors of 234 00:16:06,360 --> 00:16:11,080 Speaker 1: her massacres always told a similar story. The stories begin 235 00:16:11,480 --> 00:16:15,720 Speaker 1: with these pitiful two or three survivors, their clothes smelling 236 00:16:15,760 --> 00:16:19,240 Speaker 1: of the briny sea air and covered in blood. They'd 237 00:16:19,240 --> 00:16:23,720 Speaker 1: have already been stripped of their weapons, armor, and French insignia, 238 00:16:24,080 --> 00:16:28,200 Speaker 1: and they'd be bleeding from cuts and heavily bruised altogether, 239 00:16:28,360 --> 00:16:32,520 Speaker 1: just shaken from the massacre they'd witnessed and had at 240 00:16:32,640 --> 00:16:38,000 Speaker 1: random survived. To whoever would listen, these desperate souls would 241 00:16:38,000 --> 00:16:42,560 Speaker 1: recount how three black ships on the horizon had appeared 242 00:16:42,640 --> 00:16:48,600 Speaker 1: in the fog. Three massive haunting warships with pitch black wood, 243 00:16:49,040 --> 00:16:53,880 Speaker 1: crimson sails red as blood propelled the ships through the water. 244 00:16:55,040 --> 00:16:59,360 Speaker 1: The friendships, being overtaken, would try to defend themselves. They 245 00:16:59,360 --> 00:17:04,040 Speaker 1: had launched fire arrows, fought with swords, spears, axes, but 246 00:17:04,280 --> 00:17:08,680 Speaker 1: inevitably they would be overrun in minutes, the invading forces 247 00:17:08,880 --> 00:17:15,479 Speaker 1: proving too ferocious. Striding along the conquered deck wielding a 248 00:17:15,760 --> 00:17:20,560 Speaker 1: well worn axe behind her, the captain, a woman, would 249 00:17:20,560 --> 00:17:25,080 Speaker 1: appear and she would quickly survey her captives. As the 250 00:17:25,119 --> 00:17:29,520 Speaker 1: stories go, she would point, seemingly at random to two 251 00:17:29,800 --> 00:17:33,520 Speaker 1: or three men, the sole survivors. She would need to 252 00:17:33,600 --> 00:17:36,960 Speaker 1: leave two or three enough to sail back to French 253 00:17:37,000 --> 00:17:40,960 Speaker 1: soil to spread her tale of terror. On her signal, 254 00:17:41,400 --> 00:17:45,800 Speaker 1: her men would massacre the remaining crew. She herself would 255 00:17:45,880 --> 00:17:50,159 Speaker 1: raise her axe and behead every person of nobility aboard 256 00:17:50,240 --> 00:17:54,440 Speaker 1: the vessel. Remember, beheading a man was something that even 257 00:17:54,640 --> 00:17:59,439 Speaker 1: strong professional executioners had trouble doing in a single stroke, 258 00:17:59,760 --> 00:18:03,600 Speaker 1: and so we can imagine that Jean's victims most likely 259 00:18:03,720 --> 00:18:08,119 Speaker 1: endured several hacks before their heads were dislodged from their bodies. 260 00:18:08,760 --> 00:18:13,200 Speaker 1: The French historian Lafranc claims that she quote mercilessly put 261 00:18:13,280 --> 00:18:15,920 Speaker 1: to death all the French who fell into her hands, 262 00:18:17,080 --> 00:18:20,320 Speaker 1: despite the money that she could have made ransoming nobles. 263 00:18:20,680 --> 00:18:24,119 Speaker 1: Jean de Clisson severed the heads of any and all 264 00:18:24,440 --> 00:18:28,880 Speaker 1: French nobility she saw a fitting revenge for her husband's demise. 265 00:18:29,440 --> 00:18:33,720 Speaker 1: She would then toss their lifeless bodies overboard. From there, 266 00:18:33,840 --> 00:18:37,399 Speaker 1: Jean would had below deck to plunder for valuables. Before 267 00:18:37,520 --> 00:18:40,159 Speaker 1: leaving the conquered ship, she would look the two to 268 00:18:40,240 --> 00:18:45,160 Speaker 1: three survivors in the eyes with cold, hateful stares. You've 269 00:18:45,160 --> 00:18:48,880 Speaker 1: been left alive, she'd say. To tell your king that 270 00:18:48,960 --> 00:18:53,800 Speaker 1: the Lioness of Brittany claimed another of his ships. And 271 00:18:53,960 --> 00:18:57,879 Speaker 1: thus the legend of the Lioness was born among the 272 00:18:57,960 --> 00:19:02,040 Speaker 1: common Breton people and the English allies of Brittany, Jean's 273 00:19:02,040 --> 00:19:06,840 Speaker 1: popularity grew. I do think it is important to remember 274 00:19:07,280 --> 00:19:10,160 Speaker 1: that you should probably take the sheer drama of her 275 00:19:10,200 --> 00:19:14,000 Speaker 1: story with a grain of sea salt. Remember, this is 276 00:19:14,320 --> 00:19:17,040 Speaker 1: kind of exactly the sort of propaganda story that would 277 00:19:17,080 --> 00:19:21,760 Speaker 1: get exaggerated on both sides. Both her enemies and supporters 278 00:19:21,880 --> 00:19:24,600 Speaker 1: would want to play up how brutal she was, her 279 00:19:24,720 --> 00:19:28,119 Speaker 1: enemies to paint her as barbaric, and her allies to 280 00:19:28,160 --> 00:19:32,200 Speaker 1: make her seem scarier for future opponents. But even if 281 00:19:32,240 --> 00:19:37,159 Speaker 1: the details have probably been distorted over the centuries, the 282 00:19:37,240 --> 00:19:40,439 Speaker 1: spine of the story is true. After the death of 283 00:19:40,480 --> 00:19:43,800 Speaker 1: her husband, Jean had hatred in her heart for the 284 00:19:43,840 --> 00:19:47,800 Speaker 1: French king, and in turn hatred for any noble loyal 285 00:19:47,880 --> 00:19:52,080 Speaker 1: to the king. And in the waters between France and England, 286 00:19:52,560 --> 00:19:56,600 Speaker 1: Jean de Clissant, a noble woman born in Brittany, avenged 287 00:19:56,720 --> 00:20:00,520 Speaker 1: the death of her husband one bloody French mass at 288 00:20:00,520 --> 00:20:05,920 Speaker 1: a time. Two years into her pirrating in thirteen forty five, 289 00:20:06,280 --> 00:20:09,639 Speaker 1: the French finally managed to engage her fleet and sink 290 00:20:09,880 --> 00:20:13,600 Speaker 1: her flagship. Jean and her two sons, Olivier the fifth 291 00:20:13,600 --> 00:20:17,679 Speaker 1: and Guillame, escaped the assault by rowboat, a drift on 292 00:20:17,760 --> 00:20:21,160 Speaker 1: the violent waves. For five or six days without food 293 00:20:21,280 --> 00:20:25,960 Speaker 1: or water, Young Guillame died of exposure. Jean and Olivier 294 00:20:26,000 --> 00:20:30,000 Speaker 1: the Fifth were ultimately rescued by allies, and years later 295 00:20:30,400 --> 00:20:33,760 Speaker 1: young Olivier would grow up into a soldier so brutal 296 00:20:33,880 --> 00:20:37,240 Speaker 1: he would be nicknamed the Butcher. But this is a 297 00:20:37,280 --> 00:20:41,200 Speaker 1: story about his mother arriving in England. It seems that 298 00:20:41,240 --> 00:20:45,280 Speaker 1: from this point the noble woman turned bloody pirate transitioned 299 00:20:45,320 --> 00:20:48,600 Speaker 1: into privateering, which meant that she would be acting as 300 00:20:48,600 --> 00:20:52,080 Speaker 1: a pirate, but legally on behalf of a nation, in 301 00:20:52,080 --> 00:20:55,560 Speaker 1: this case England, who was eager to have as many 302 00:20:55,680 --> 00:20:58,840 Speaker 1: vessels as possible joining with them in the fight against 303 00:20:58,840 --> 00:21:02,200 Speaker 1: the French and the one hundred Year War. King Edward 304 00:21:02,240 --> 00:21:05,480 Speaker 1: the third of England granted Jean land in the areas 305 00:21:05,480 --> 00:21:08,760 Speaker 1: of Brittany that the English controlled, along with titles, and 306 00:21:08,880 --> 00:21:11,840 Speaker 1: he supplied her with money and ships as a thank 307 00:21:11,880 --> 00:21:15,440 Speaker 1: you for clearing the English channel of the French. In turn, 308 00:21:15,640 --> 00:21:19,560 Speaker 1: Jean ferried supplies and men from England to France in 309 00:21:19,640 --> 00:21:22,919 Speaker 1: support of the English, and of course all the while 310 00:21:23,080 --> 00:21:28,080 Speaker 1: she continued her carnage. Jean continued for the next several years, 311 00:21:28,200 --> 00:21:32,080 Speaker 1: plundering and massacring all ships owned by or allied with 312 00:21:32,240 --> 00:21:35,920 Speaker 1: the French crown. And even when King Philip the six 313 00:21:35,960 --> 00:21:40,040 Speaker 1: of France, her bitter enemy, died in thirteen fifty, Jean 314 00:21:40,200 --> 00:21:44,280 Speaker 1: continued privateering for the English for an additional six years. 315 00:21:45,880 --> 00:21:51,919 Speaker 1: Jean's pirate slash privateer career lasted for thirteen blood soaked years. 316 00:21:52,640 --> 00:21:57,040 Speaker 1: And there's a coincidence there that seems too fitting to dismiss, 317 00:21:57,560 --> 00:22:01,080 Speaker 1: whether she did it purposefully or not. Jean massacred the 318 00:22:01,119 --> 00:22:04,480 Speaker 1: French by sea for one year for every year she 319 00:22:04,560 --> 00:22:16,200 Speaker 1: had been married to her beloved husband. In thirteen fifty six, Jean, 320 00:22:16,359 --> 00:22:19,439 Speaker 1: then fifty six years old, took refuge in England and 321 00:22:19,680 --> 00:22:23,720 Speaker 1: married Sir Walter Bentley, a lieutenant to King Edward the Third. 322 00:22:24,320 --> 00:22:27,159 Speaker 1: Like Jean, Bentley had served valiantly on the side of 323 00:22:27,200 --> 00:22:29,760 Speaker 1: the English during the One Hundred Years War. The two 324 00:22:29,880 --> 00:22:32,520 Speaker 1: retired at the Castle of Hennebon, a port town on 325 00:22:32,560 --> 00:22:35,600 Speaker 1: the Brittany coast, which was at the time controlled by 326 00:22:35,600 --> 00:22:38,359 Speaker 1: the English, and they remained there for the rest of 327 00:22:38,480 --> 00:22:43,119 Speaker 1: Jean's life. Jean passed away in thirteen fifty nine, fifty 328 00:22:43,200 --> 00:22:47,440 Speaker 1: nine years old. The cause of her death isn't known specifically, 329 00:22:47,520 --> 00:22:52,280 Speaker 1: and so it's most likely disease or natural causes. The 330 00:22:52,359 --> 00:22:56,119 Speaker 1: story of Jean de Clisson, noble woman turned pirate, is 331 00:22:56,480 --> 00:23:01,080 Speaker 1: I admit, almost unbelievable, and it has been argued frequently 332 00:23:01,520 --> 00:23:05,520 Speaker 1: that such a figure couldn't possibly have existed, and yet 333 00:23:05,920 --> 00:23:10,720 Speaker 1: there are several historical sources which confirm her existence, like 334 00:23:10,760 --> 00:23:14,439 Speaker 1: a French court document from thirteen forty three confirming the 335 00:23:14,440 --> 00:23:17,840 Speaker 1: confiscation of Jean's lands due to her being labeled as 336 00:23:17,880 --> 00:23:21,080 Speaker 1: a trader to France, and there's an English document that 337 00:23:21,200 --> 00:23:24,600 Speaker 1: same year indicating that she earned money from said land 338 00:23:24,720 --> 00:23:28,320 Speaker 1: under the English crown. Likewise, there's an English document from 339 00:23:28,400 --> 00:23:32,240 Speaker 1: thirteen forty seven listing her as an English ally. Other 340 00:23:32,400 --> 00:23:36,680 Speaker 1: documents confirm her marriage to Bentley as well, despite the 341 00:23:36,960 --> 00:23:40,600 Speaker 1: relative dearth of other primary sources. After all, the sea 342 00:23:40,680 --> 00:23:44,959 Speaker 1: doesn't lend itself to preserved paper artifacts or diaries, and 343 00:23:45,280 --> 00:23:48,600 Speaker 1: legal piracy was not an occupation in which people were 344 00:23:48,640 --> 00:23:52,560 Speaker 1: fastidious about record keeping. Jean de Clissan and the legend 345 00:23:52,640 --> 00:23:56,159 Speaker 1: of the Lioness of Brittany lives on in French folklore. 346 00:23:56,800 --> 00:23:59,520 Speaker 1: Once again, I want to flag, especially with this sort 347 00:23:59,560 --> 00:24:03,280 Speaker 1: of story It's challenging to tease out what exactly was 348 00:24:03,359 --> 00:24:06,680 Speaker 1: true and what was legend. But we know that Jean 349 00:24:06,720 --> 00:24:10,320 Speaker 1: de Clisson was a real person, while the truth of 350 00:24:10,400 --> 00:24:14,280 Speaker 1: some of the more dramatic flourishes of the tale remained nebulous. 351 00:24:14,840 --> 00:24:17,879 Speaker 1: We know that she grieved and mourned the beheading of 352 00:24:17,880 --> 00:24:21,440 Speaker 1: her husband, and then we know she decided to take 353 00:24:21,520 --> 00:24:31,800 Speaker 1: revenge into her own hands however she could. That's the 354 00:24:31,840 --> 00:24:35,160 Speaker 1: story of Jean de Clisson, the Lioness of Brittany. Would 355 00:24:35,160 --> 00:24:38,360 Speaker 1: stick around after a brief sponsor break to hear how 356 00:24:38,400 --> 00:24:50,480 Speaker 1: the woman who so terrified France lives on today. Jean 357 00:24:50,520 --> 00:24:54,560 Speaker 1: de Clisson survived seven childbirths without the aid of medicine. 358 00:24:54,880 --> 00:24:58,400 Speaker 1: She lived through the Black Death, and spent thirteen dangerous 359 00:24:58,440 --> 00:25:02,080 Speaker 1: years as a pirate. She lived a very long, full 360 00:25:02,160 --> 00:25:05,959 Speaker 1: life until she was fifty nine years old, a fairly 361 00:25:06,080 --> 00:25:10,040 Speaker 1: old age given the dangerous life she lived, despite her 362 00:25:10,240 --> 00:25:13,760 Speaker 1: relatively homey and calm final years that she spent married 363 00:25:13,760 --> 00:25:17,720 Speaker 1: in a Brittany port town. Reportedly, after her death, Jean 364 00:25:18,040 --> 00:25:22,200 Speaker 1: is not resting in peace. It said that after her death, 365 00:25:22,600 --> 00:25:26,560 Speaker 1: Jean spirit traveled to the Chateau de Clisson. The Ruins 366 00:25:26,600 --> 00:25:29,960 Speaker 1: of the castle, which was destroyed during the French Revolution, 367 00:25:30,600 --> 00:25:34,960 Speaker 1: still tower over the Sevre Nantes River today. Within its 368 00:25:35,000 --> 00:25:40,200 Speaker 1: stone walls, visitors have reported seeing Jean's restless ghost haunting 369 00:25:40,240 --> 00:25:44,000 Speaker 1: the ruins. Some say she's reunited with Olivia the Fourth 370 00:25:44,040 --> 00:25:48,280 Speaker 1: to Clisson's spirit there as well the tortured lovers walking 371 00:25:48,320 --> 00:26:02,440 Speaker 1: the halls side by side. Noble Blood is a production 372 00:26:02,560 --> 00:26:05,840 Speaker 1: of iHeart Radio and Grimm and Mild from Aaron Mankey. 373 00:26:06,200 --> 00:26:10,000 Speaker 1: Noble Blood is hosted by me Danish Worts. Additional writing 374 00:26:10,119 --> 00:26:14,280 Speaker 1: and researching done by Hannah Johnston, hannah's Wick, Mira Hayward, 375 00:26:14,400 --> 00:26:18,399 Speaker 1: Courtney Sender, and Lori Goodman. The show is produced by 376 00:26:18,560 --> 00:26:23,600 Speaker 1: Rima el Kali, with supervising producer Josh Thain and executive 377 00:26:23,640 --> 00:26:27,960 Speaker 1: producers Aaron Manke, Alex Williams, and Matt Frederick. For more 378 00:26:28,000 --> 00:26:33,040 Speaker 1: podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or 379 00:26:33,040 --> 00:26:34,919 Speaker 1: wherever you listen to your favorite shows.