1 00:00:00,800 --> 00:00:04,400 Speaker 1: Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of I Heart Radio 2 00:00:04,640 --> 00:00:10,240 Speaker 1: and grim and Mild from Aaron Manky. Listener discretion advised. Hi, 3 00:00:10,440 --> 00:00:12,680 Speaker 1: thank you so much for listening to Noble Blood. If 4 00:00:12,720 --> 00:00:15,040 Speaker 1: you want to support the show, we have a Patreon 5 00:00:15,320 --> 00:00:20,360 Speaker 1: Patreon dot com slash Noble Blood Tales where I upload episodes, scripts, 6 00:00:20,400 --> 00:00:24,520 Speaker 1: and recently sort of intermittently uploaded bonus episodes where my 7 00:00:24,600 --> 00:00:27,480 Speaker 1: friends and I watched through shows like The Tutors and 8 00:00:27,720 --> 00:00:30,520 Speaker 1: Rain on the CW to talk about their lack of 9 00:00:30,760 --> 00:00:34,640 Speaker 1: historical consistency. But anyway, there's also merch if you're a 10 00:00:34,640 --> 00:00:37,360 Speaker 1: fan of the show at d f tb a dot com. 11 00:00:37,360 --> 00:00:39,680 Speaker 1: But as always, the best support for the show is 12 00:00:39,720 --> 00:00:42,440 Speaker 1: just listening, and I'm so grateful, Thank you so much. 13 00:00:52,200 --> 00:00:56,520 Speaker 1: The summer of thirty had been a mild one in Brittany, 14 00:00:56,800 --> 00:00:59,840 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 00:01:04,520 --> 00:01:08,840 Speaker 1: Back in the fourteenth century, Brittany was an independent feudal 17 00:01:08,920 --> 00:01:12,600 Speaker 1: state and its capital not sat three hundred or so 18 00:01:12,760 --> 00:01:17,200 Speaker 1: miles southwest of Paris. It served as a natural crossroads 19 00:01:17,200 --> 00:01:21,240 Speaker 1: between the rest of Brittany and the separate kingdom of France. 20 00:01:21,920 --> 00:01:25,720 Speaker 1: In early August thirty three, a woman named Jean de 21 00:01:25,760 --> 00:01:29,319 Speaker 1: Clissa and her two sons, seven year old Olivier fifth 22 00:01:29,520 --> 00:01:32,760 Speaker 1: and five year old Guillaume, arrived at the main gates 23 00:01:32,880 --> 00:01:36,360 Speaker 1: of Nantes. If you were imagining the scene, the three 24 00:01:36,440 --> 00:01:39,320 Speaker 1: of them would have stopped there for a moment there 25 00:01:39,360 --> 00:01:42,600 Speaker 1: at the stone archoy to the city, and gazed up 26 00:01:42,720 --> 00:01:48,400 Speaker 1: to see a horrific sight the rotting decapitated head of 27 00:01:48,480 --> 00:01:53,240 Speaker 1: Jean's husband, the boy's father. His head was impaled on 28 00:01:53,320 --> 00:01:57,200 Speaker 1: a pike and gently swaying in the salt breeze. And 29 00:01:57,280 --> 00:02:00,680 Speaker 1: because Olivier the Fourth's head had travel old there to 30 00:02:00,760 --> 00:02:04,400 Speaker 1: not from Paris, three d miles away, the head would 31 00:02:04,400 --> 00:02:09,919 Speaker 1: have been swollen, rotting foul. Olivier the Fourth's body remained 32 00:02:09,919 --> 00:02:13,800 Speaker 1: behind in Paris in a gibbet or barred cage, but 33 00:02:13,960 --> 00:02:18,320 Speaker 1: his head was here in Brittany to send a message. 34 00:02:18,919 --> 00:02:23,880 Speaker 1: Days earlier, on August second, forty three, Olivier the Fourth 35 00:02:23,919 --> 00:02:28,079 Speaker 1: had been tried and found guilty on several counts of treason. 36 00:02:28,760 --> 00:02:32,320 Speaker 1: He was executed at Leal by the King of France. 37 00:02:33,240 --> 00:02:37,480 Speaker 1: Despite Olivier the Fourth's rank, King Philip the sixth of France, 38 00:02:37,520 --> 00:02:41,079 Speaker 1: had humiliated him in death in an attempt to dissuade 39 00:02:41,200 --> 00:02:45,080 Speaker 1: other would be traders in his midst. But the king's 40 00:02:45,120 --> 00:02:50,919 Speaker 1: actions were shocking and unconventional to both Breton and French nobility. 41 00:02:51,080 --> 00:02:54,400 Speaker 1: After all, Olivia the fourth Decklessan had been a wealthy 42 00:02:54,480 --> 00:02:58,240 Speaker 1: Breton lord, and night after death his body had been 43 00:02:58,280 --> 00:03:02,519 Speaker 1: displayed in a public manner only reserved for low class criminals. 44 00:03:03,160 --> 00:03:08,760 Speaker 1: Olivier the Fourth's trial was also alarming, even suspicious. He 45 00:03:08,919 --> 00:03:12,480 Speaker 1: was accused of treason, but any evidence of his guilt 46 00:03:12,720 --> 00:03:18,280 Speaker 1: was not publicly demonstrated. Allegedly it had been privately confessed, 47 00:03:18,800 --> 00:03:22,360 Speaker 1: but no one had seen any evidence of that. Jean 48 00:03:22,480 --> 00:03:25,520 Speaker 1: and her two sons had traveled some twenty miles from 49 00:03:25,560 --> 00:03:29,160 Speaker 1: their castle, the Chateau de Clissan, to see Olivier the 50 00:03:29,200 --> 00:03:33,280 Speaker 1: Fourth's head. Why Jean brought two of her children from 51 00:03:33,320 --> 00:03:36,280 Speaker 1: the confines of the castle to see the rotting head 52 00:03:36,360 --> 00:03:40,560 Speaker 1: of their father is unclear. Perhaps to see his face, 53 00:03:40,960 --> 00:03:47,240 Speaker 1: however foul one last time, or perhaps knowing Jean's character 54 00:03:47,440 --> 00:03:50,640 Speaker 1: and what she would do next, It was to instill 55 00:03:51,000 --> 00:03:55,600 Speaker 1: a need for revenge. Do not forget this, her actions 56 00:03:55,680 --> 00:04:00,760 Speaker 1: might have said, do not forgive this. When Jean and 57 00:04:00,800 --> 00:04:04,360 Speaker 1: her two sons left the countryside that day, Jean cut 58 00:04:04,400 --> 00:04:09,320 Speaker 1: ties with proper noble society. With the Loire River flowing 59 00:04:09,440 --> 00:04:12,760 Speaker 1: just beyond, and the head of her husband of thirteen 60 00:04:12,840 --> 00:04:17,320 Speaker 1: years swaying in tandem with the breeze, Jean swore bloody 61 00:04:17,360 --> 00:04:22,240 Speaker 1: revenge on the King of France, and she kept her promise. 62 00:04:23,480 --> 00:04:33,920 Speaker 1: I'm Danis Schwartz, and this is noble blood. Jean de 63 00:04:34,040 --> 00:04:38,320 Speaker 1: Clisson was born in thirteen hundred into an aristocratic family. 64 00:04:38,880 --> 00:04:42,360 Speaker 1: Her parents were among the most powerful nobles in Brittany. 65 00:04:42,839 --> 00:04:46,560 Speaker 1: Their lands were extensive, stretching all across southern Brittany to 66 00:04:46,720 --> 00:04:51,160 Speaker 1: the Atlantic Ocean. Her family virtually controlled access to the sea, 67 00:04:51,240 --> 00:04:53,839 Speaker 1: and they had ruled the area for hundreds of years. 68 00:04:54,920 --> 00:04:58,719 Speaker 1: We know very little about Jean's early life. Most likely 69 00:04:58,880 --> 00:05:03,919 Speaker 1: she enjoyed a relatively bucolic aristocratic childhood at the castle 70 00:05:04,000 --> 00:05:06,799 Speaker 1: fortress on the western coast of France that she would 71 00:05:06,800 --> 00:05:11,039 Speaker 1: eventually inherit. But however adelic it might have been, her 72 00:05:11,120 --> 00:05:15,640 Speaker 1: childhood did not last long. In thirteen twelve, when Jean 73 00:05:15,800 --> 00:05:18,359 Speaker 1: was twelve years old, she was married off to a 74 00:05:18,440 --> 00:05:22,920 Speaker 1: Breton nobleman, Jeoffrey de chateaubriand the eighth, the nineteen year 75 00:05:22,920 --> 00:05:25,840 Speaker 1: old heir to one of the key estates in Brittany. 76 00:05:26,080 --> 00:05:29,600 Speaker 1: When Jean was fourteen and again at sixteen, she gave 77 00:05:29,680 --> 00:05:34,920 Speaker 1: birth to two surviving children, a son, Geoffrey and a daughter, Louise. 78 00:05:35,720 --> 00:05:39,440 Speaker 1: After over a decade of marriage, her first husband died 79 00:05:39,560 --> 00:05:43,120 Speaker 1: in thirteen twenty six, leaving Jean a twenty six year 80 00:05:43,160 --> 00:05:47,280 Speaker 1: old widow. A woman of high birth and wealth, Jean 81 00:05:47,440 --> 00:05:51,240 Speaker 1: was also a noted beauty. Historian Richard Bentley called her 82 00:05:51,400 --> 00:05:54,520 Speaker 1: quote one of the most beautiful women of her day, 83 00:05:54,640 --> 00:05:57,640 Speaker 1: and she had reddish brown hair and fair skin, which 84 00:05:57,720 --> 00:06:01,800 Speaker 1: was a symbol of status at the time. Still, unmarried 85 00:06:01,880 --> 00:06:05,640 Speaker 1: women in the fourteenth century, even women of noble standing, 86 00:06:05,800 --> 00:06:09,080 Speaker 1: had close to no power, and to insure the safety 87 00:06:09,160 --> 00:06:12,640 Speaker 1: and well being of herself and her children, Jean needed 88 00:06:12,680 --> 00:06:17,800 Speaker 1: to remarry. Two years later, in thirteen twenty eight, Jean 89 00:06:17,920 --> 00:06:21,839 Speaker 1: married the son of the Duke of Brittany, Guy of Penthief, 90 00:06:22,240 --> 00:06:26,640 Speaker 1: which should have been a coup. However, factions of Guy's 91 00:06:26,680 --> 00:06:31,800 Speaker 1: family opposed the union. On February tenth, thirteen thirty, within 92 00:06:31,960 --> 00:06:36,520 Speaker 1: two years of the relationship, the marriage was scandalously annulled 93 00:06:36,560 --> 00:06:40,360 Speaker 1: by Pope John the twenty second, allegedly because the marriage 94 00:06:40,400 --> 00:06:43,559 Speaker 1: was never consummated, but it's difficult to know the truth 95 00:06:43,600 --> 00:06:47,479 Speaker 1: of that. Jean was remarried once more, this time to 96 00:06:47,520 --> 00:06:51,480 Speaker 1: Olivier the Fourth de Clessent, a wealthy Breton nobleman, lord 97 00:06:51,560 --> 00:06:54,960 Speaker 1: and knight. Olivier the fourth was a widower as well, 98 00:06:55,040 --> 00:06:57,920 Speaker 1: and it seems like he was almost exactly the same 99 00:06:57,960 --> 00:07:01,200 Speaker 1: age as Jean. Upon their marria rich the pair became 100 00:07:01,360 --> 00:07:05,360 Speaker 1: one of the wealthiest and most influential couples in Brittany, 101 00:07:05,560 --> 00:07:09,320 Speaker 1: with control of a number of estates and vast properties. 102 00:07:10,000 --> 00:07:13,600 Speaker 1: Jean and Olivier the Fourth were married for thirteen years 103 00:07:13,640 --> 00:07:17,400 Speaker 1: and had five children. Their eldest child, Isabella, was born 104 00:07:17,480 --> 00:07:22,360 Speaker 1: in thirteen thirty one, and then came Maurice, Olivier the five, Guillaume, 105 00:07:22,400 --> 00:07:26,480 Speaker 1: and little baby Jean born thirteen forty. By the time 106 00:07:26,560 --> 00:07:29,040 Speaker 1: Jean was thirty years old, she was the mother to 107 00:07:29,320 --> 00:07:34,560 Speaker 1: seven children. Now for a little bit of geographical context, 108 00:07:35,080 --> 00:07:38,840 Speaker 1: Brittany was at the time an independent medieval feudal state 109 00:07:39,040 --> 00:07:43,400 Speaker 1: located in the western tip of modern France, south of England. 110 00:07:43,920 --> 00:07:46,680 Speaker 1: Parts of Brittany and some nobles at the time were 111 00:07:46,720 --> 00:07:50,000 Speaker 1: loyal to the English, while other parts and other people 112 00:07:50,120 --> 00:07:53,240 Speaker 1: were loyal to the French. But the majority of Breton's 113 00:07:53,280 --> 00:07:57,840 Speaker 1: considered themselves first and foremost Bretons loyal to the Duke 114 00:07:57,920 --> 00:08:01,600 Speaker 1: of Brittany over the kings of England or France. But 115 00:08:01,720 --> 00:08:06,880 Speaker 1: outside of Brittany, tensions between England and France continued to brew, 116 00:08:07,360 --> 00:08:10,239 Speaker 1: which finally set the stage for an all out war. 117 00:08:10,640 --> 00:08:14,640 Speaker 1: Was a succession crisis. Charles the Fourth of France died 118 00:08:14,760 --> 00:08:18,320 Speaker 1: childless in thirteen twenty eight, and his closest heir was 119 00:08:18,480 --> 00:08:22,119 Speaker 1: his nephew, the English king Edward the third. His claim 120 00:08:22,160 --> 00:08:25,440 Speaker 1: to the throne was his mother, Isabella of France. Yet 121 00:08:25,480 --> 00:08:28,800 Speaker 1: the French nobility at the time rejected Edward the Third's 122 00:08:28,840 --> 00:08:32,640 Speaker 1: claim in favor of a native French ruler. One of 123 00:08:32,679 --> 00:08:37,200 Speaker 1: the longest and bloodiest conflicts of the Middle Ages, this brutal, 124 00:08:37,400 --> 00:08:41,960 Speaker 1: epic turning struggle became known as the Hundred Years of War. 125 00:08:42,840 --> 00:08:46,360 Speaker 1: To complicate matters, in thirteen forty one, the Duke of 126 00:08:46,400 --> 00:08:50,120 Speaker 1: Brittany also died without an air. Both the French and 127 00:08:50,360 --> 00:08:54,480 Speaker 1: English claimed his lands in northwestern France. The War of 128 00:08:54,520 --> 00:08:58,840 Speaker 1: Breton succession officially became a proxy conflict of the Hundred 129 00:08:58,920 --> 00:09:03,319 Speaker 1: Years War. Jehan's husband, Olivier the Fourth, was a descendant 130 00:09:03,480 --> 00:09:06,480 Speaker 1: of English knights who were awarded estates in Brittany to 131 00:09:06,600 --> 00:09:09,359 Speaker 1: preserve the claim of the English crown on the province 132 00:09:09,960 --> 00:09:13,600 Speaker 1: by the thirteen forties. Olivier the Fourth was a loyal 133 00:09:13,679 --> 00:09:16,440 Speaker 1: vassal of the King of France, King Philip the Fourth. 134 00:09:17,240 --> 00:09:21,000 Speaker 1: That was at least in part a pragmatic decision. In 135 00:09:21,040 --> 00:09:24,720 Speaker 1: addition to their Breton lands, the de Clissons possessed extensive 136 00:09:24,800 --> 00:09:27,680 Speaker 1: lands in the Kingdom of France. If they sided with 137 00:09:27,720 --> 00:09:31,400 Speaker 1: the English in the Breton succession, it would immediately lead 138 00:09:31,440 --> 00:09:34,760 Speaker 1: to the seizure of their estates outside of Brittany. So, 139 00:09:35,000 --> 00:09:39,920 Speaker 1: despite ancestral ties to England, Olivier the Fourth loyally joined 140 00:09:40,000 --> 00:09:43,400 Speaker 1: the French in thirteen forty two to defend Brittany from 141 00:09:43,400 --> 00:09:46,360 Speaker 1: the English and to back the French claimant to the 142 00:09:46,400 --> 00:09:50,480 Speaker 1: Breton throne. Charles du Blois. Olivier the Fourth and a 143 00:09:50,520 --> 00:09:53,520 Speaker 1: man named Hervey the seventh a Lyon, were acting as 144 00:09:53,640 --> 00:09:56,840 Speaker 1: military commanders in defense of the French city of Vant 145 00:09:57,080 --> 00:10:00,200 Speaker 1: until the city fell to English control in November of 146 00:10:00,280 --> 00:10:05,120 Speaker 1: thirteen forty two. The two commanders were captured. Two months 147 00:10:05,200 --> 00:10:09,560 Speaker 1: went by until on January nine, thirteen forty three, a 148 00:10:09,679 --> 00:10:12,720 Speaker 1: new peace treaty between the English and the French was 149 00:10:12,840 --> 00:10:17,000 Speaker 1: mediated by Pope Clement the sixth, King Edward of England 150 00:10:17,080 --> 00:10:20,840 Speaker 1: and King Philippa France agreed to the truth. But while 151 00:10:20,920 --> 00:10:25,240 Speaker 1: Hervey the seventh day Leon remained in English custody, Olivier 152 00:10:25,320 --> 00:10:28,640 Speaker 1: the fourth was released in exchange for an English prisoner 153 00:10:28,760 --> 00:10:33,520 Speaker 1: and payment, but the ransom for Olivier the fourth was 154 00:10:33,760 --> 00:10:38,880 Speaker 1: surprisingly low. Suspiciously, according to Charles de Blois, who was 155 00:10:39,000 --> 00:10:42,720 Speaker 1: by then established as the Duke of Brittany, he became 156 00:10:42,800 --> 00:10:46,439 Speaker 1: convinced that Olivier the fourth was a trader and had 157 00:10:46,520 --> 00:10:51,400 Speaker 1: defected to the English. Exactly why he believed this is unclear. 158 00:10:52,160 --> 00:10:54,640 Speaker 1: Some versions of the story say that Olivier the Fourth 159 00:10:54,679 --> 00:10:58,800 Speaker 1: actually did switch sides, although those accounts are much rarer. 160 00:11:00,080 --> 00:11:03,160 Speaker 1: In the summer of thirteen forty three, Olivier the fourth 161 00:11:03,240 --> 00:11:05,920 Speaker 1: was invited to attend a tournament in the Kingdom of 162 00:11:05,960 --> 00:11:10,640 Speaker 1: France in celebration of the truce. However, when he arrived, 163 00:11:10,920 --> 00:11:14,840 Speaker 1: he was immediately arrested and taken to Paris, where he 164 00:11:14,920 --> 00:11:19,319 Speaker 1: was tried. Before fifteen noble peers, including his accuser Charles 165 00:11:19,400 --> 00:11:23,360 Speaker 1: du Bois, and the King himself. After her husband's arrest, 166 00:11:23,520 --> 00:11:26,400 Speaker 1: they said, Jean bribed a royal sergeant to try to 167 00:11:26,440 --> 00:11:30,679 Speaker 1: get Olivier released. Her plan failed, and the sergeant was arrested. 168 00:11:31,360 --> 00:11:36,160 Speaker 1: Olivier the Fourth's trial on August second, thirty three was 169 00:11:36,280 --> 00:11:40,319 Speaker 1: a quick matter with a foregone conclusion. It was followed 170 00:11:40,400 --> 00:11:44,800 Speaker 1: immediately by his beheading. Here's the part in the story 171 00:11:44,880 --> 00:11:47,360 Speaker 1: where we get to Jean and her kids taking that 172 00:11:47,480 --> 00:11:50,000 Speaker 1: family trip to the gates of Nantes to see their 173 00:11:50,000 --> 00:11:54,439 Speaker 1: father's decapitated head. After that, Jean was summoned to Paris 174 00:11:54,679 --> 00:11:58,200 Speaker 1: to face trial for her attempted bribery of the king's sergeant, 175 00:11:59,320 --> 00:12:02,800 Speaker 1: but she never went. Rather than report to Paris to 176 00:12:02,960 --> 00:12:07,400 Speaker 1: face continued punishment for her husband's trumped up charges, Jehan 177 00:12:07,480 --> 00:12:11,720 Speaker 1: sold jewelry, furniture, and, according to some accounts, even her 178 00:12:11,720 --> 00:12:15,840 Speaker 1: body to raise money for a small army. Jean and 179 00:12:15,880 --> 00:12:21,880 Speaker 1: her troops traveled throughout Brittany, rallying unhappy wealthy nobles supporters 180 00:12:21,920 --> 00:12:25,079 Speaker 1: of her husband. The couple had had plenty of powerful 181 00:12:25,120 --> 00:12:29,160 Speaker 1: friends and the friends and families of other executed nobles 182 00:12:29,200 --> 00:12:31,840 Speaker 1: or nobles who had been mistreated by the French king. 183 00:12:32,640 --> 00:12:36,080 Speaker 1: Jean rallied her troops with the common goal of ridding 184 00:12:36,280 --> 00:12:40,480 Speaker 1: Brittany of the French King. Philip the fourth declared Jean 185 00:12:40,520 --> 00:12:44,640 Speaker 1: de Cleissent a trader and confiscated her lands. They had 186 00:12:44,679 --> 00:12:47,719 Speaker 1: said the same thing about her husband. The forty three 187 00:12:47,800 --> 00:12:50,400 Speaker 1: year old widow was going to show the French the 188 00:12:50,559 --> 00:12:57,679 Speaker 1: meaning of the word trader and let fall carnage. The 189 00:12:57,760 --> 00:13:02,160 Speaker 1: Chateau de Toufu sat about twin dekilometers southeast of Nantes, 190 00:13:02,240 --> 00:13:04,559 Speaker 1: and it was under the command of a man named 191 00:13:04,559 --> 00:13:09,240 Speaker 1: Galois de Laharius, an officer loyal to Charles de Bois. 192 00:13:09,480 --> 00:13:12,720 Speaker 1: In one episode of the tale, Jean was invited to 193 00:13:12,800 --> 00:13:16,080 Speaker 1: the castle. Galois had not yet heard the news of 194 00:13:16,080 --> 00:13:19,680 Speaker 1: Olivier the Fourth's trial and execution, and so he was 195 00:13:19,760 --> 00:13:23,800 Speaker 1: just inviting a noble woman to enjoy his hospitality. In 196 00:13:23,880 --> 00:13:27,920 Speaker 1: another version of the story, Jean arrived seemingly in need, 197 00:13:27,960 --> 00:13:31,840 Speaker 1: with tears streaming down her cheeks. None the wiser Galwah 198 00:13:31,920 --> 00:13:35,800 Speaker 1: welcomed John inn and why not. The very garrison he 199 00:13:35,880 --> 00:13:38,599 Speaker 1: had commanded had once been a former post under the 200 00:13:38,640 --> 00:13:42,960 Speaker 1: control of her now decapitated husband. As soon as the 201 00:13:43,000 --> 00:13:46,200 Speaker 1: main gate was opened, Jean and her four hundred or 202 00:13:46,200 --> 00:13:52,240 Speaker 1: so men launched their guerrilla insurgency, storming the castle. Her 203 00:13:52,280 --> 00:13:57,000 Speaker 1: forces massacred almost the entire garrison. Jean engaged in the 204 00:13:57,040 --> 00:14:02,240 Speaker 1: slaughter right alongside her soldiers. As French historian Maurice Julesabelle 205 00:14:02,320 --> 00:14:06,600 Speaker 1: Lefranc described quote, the blood of all the other keepers 206 00:14:06,720 --> 00:14:10,640 Speaker 1: or inhabitants of the castle was mercilessly shed, like a 207 00:14:10,720 --> 00:14:15,320 Speaker 1: first exputory sacrifice offered in memory of Olivier de Clisson. 208 00:14:16,240 --> 00:14:19,680 Speaker 1: As you can imagine, the story of the vengeful widow 209 00:14:19,840 --> 00:14:24,720 Speaker 1: has veered into the apocryphal over the centuries. A version 210 00:14:24,840 --> 00:14:27,480 Speaker 1: of the story mentioned that gal Woas was the only 211 00:14:27,520 --> 00:14:32,400 Speaker 1: one to escape Gendrath, and thus inadvertently established what would 212 00:14:32,440 --> 00:14:36,480 Speaker 1: become her future modus operandi. A single person would be 213 00:14:36,560 --> 00:14:39,360 Speaker 1: left alive after a raid to tell the King of 214 00:14:39,400 --> 00:14:42,880 Speaker 1: France of the carnage. By the time Charles de Brans 215 00:14:42,920 --> 00:14:46,720 Speaker 1: and his army arrived at the castle, Jean's forces, along 216 00:14:46,760 --> 00:14:51,880 Speaker 1: with everything of value within the fortress, had disappeared. Pulling 217 00:14:51,960 --> 00:14:55,120 Speaker 1: together the rest of her money and whatever they had plundered, 218 00:14:55,520 --> 00:14:59,040 Speaker 1: Jean sailed to England with two of her sons, Olivier, 219 00:14:59,120 --> 00:15:02,280 Speaker 1: the fifth and Um in order to assemble a small 220 00:15:02,320 --> 00:15:07,400 Speaker 1: fleet of three massive warships. Where her other children were 221 00:15:07,560 --> 00:15:12,320 Speaker 1: during this time is unknown. John's priorities had shifted away 222 00:15:12,360 --> 00:15:16,440 Speaker 1: from the domestic. She had sworn revenge on the French king, 223 00:15:16,880 --> 00:15:20,520 Speaker 1: and so to the sea she went. She christened her 224 00:15:20,520 --> 00:15:25,840 Speaker 1: fleet fittingly enough, my Revenge. She hired the best captains 225 00:15:25,880 --> 00:15:29,760 Speaker 1: and crews, a mix of Breton's English and rogue French, 226 00:15:30,240 --> 00:15:34,800 Speaker 1: and she armed them well. Jean personally commanded the Black Fleet, 227 00:15:35,240 --> 00:15:38,760 Speaker 1: beginning her career as a pirate, taking refuge in the 228 00:15:38,760 --> 00:15:42,920 Speaker 1: fog enshrouded coves and inlets of the Brittany coast, raiding 229 00:15:43,000 --> 00:15:48,320 Speaker 1: coastal villages along Normandy, and plundering French supply ships and vessels. 230 00:15:52,880 --> 00:15:56,280 Speaker 1: Despite her pattern of leaving at least one personal live 231 00:15:56,400 --> 00:15:59,320 Speaker 1: to report her vengeance to the king, there are not 232 00:15:59,440 --> 00:16:04,760 Speaker 1: many reviving accounts of Jean's exploits. However, according to legend, 233 00:16:05,320 --> 00:16:09,920 Speaker 1: the survivors of her massacres always told a similar story. 234 00:16:10,120 --> 00:16:14,000 Speaker 1: The stories begin with these pitiful two or three survivors, 235 00:16:14,440 --> 00:16:17,840 Speaker 1: their close smelling of the briny sea air, and covered 236 00:16:17,880 --> 00:16:22,000 Speaker 1: in blood. They'd have already been stripped of their weapons, armor, 237 00:16:22,360 --> 00:16:26,040 Speaker 1: and French insignia, and they'd be bleeding from cuts and 238 00:16:26,200 --> 00:16:30,360 Speaker 1: heavily bruised altogether, just shaken from the massacre they had 239 00:16:30,400 --> 00:16:36,160 Speaker 1: witnessed and had at random survived. To whoever would listen, 240 00:16:36,560 --> 00:16:40,720 Speaker 1: these desperate souls would recount how three black ships on 241 00:16:40,800 --> 00:16:45,840 Speaker 1: the horizon had appeared in the fog. Three massive haunting 242 00:16:46,200 --> 00:16:51,480 Speaker 1: warships with pitch black wood crimson sails read as blood, 243 00:16:52,000 --> 00:16:56,840 Speaker 1: propelled the ships through the water. The friendships, being overtaken, 244 00:16:56,880 --> 00:17:00,840 Speaker 1: would try to defend themselves. They had launched fire, arrows, 245 00:17:00,920 --> 00:17:05,520 Speaker 1: fault with swords, spears, axes, but inevitably they would be 246 00:17:05,600 --> 00:17:12,400 Speaker 1: overrun in minutes, the invading forces proving too ferocious. Striding 247 00:17:12,480 --> 00:17:17,560 Speaker 1: along the conquered deck wielding a well worn axe behind her, 248 00:17:18,080 --> 00:17:22,280 Speaker 1: the captain, a woman, would appear and she would quickly 249 00:17:22,359 --> 00:17:27,280 Speaker 1: survey her captives. As the stories go, she would point, 250 00:17:27,640 --> 00:17:32,760 Speaker 1: seemingly at random to two or three men, the sole survivors. 251 00:17:32,800 --> 00:17:35,560 Speaker 1: She would need to leave two or three enough to 252 00:17:35,720 --> 00:17:39,359 Speaker 1: sail back to French soil to spread her tale of terror. 253 00:17:40,119 --> 00:17:43,800 Speaker 1: On her signal, her men would massacre the remaining crew. 254 00:17:44,600 --> 00:17:48,760 Speaker 1: She herself would raise her axe and behead every person 255 00:17:48,840 --> 00:17:53,399 Speaker 1: of nobility aboard the vessel. Remember, beheading a man was 256 00:17:53,480 --> 00:17:58,480 Speaker 1: something that even strong professional executioners had trouble doing in 257 00:17:58,520 --> 00:18:01,960 Speaker 1: a single stroke, and so we can imagine that Jean's 258 00:18:02,000 --> 00:18:06,440 Speaker 1: victims most likely endured several hacks before their heads were 259 00:18:06,520 --> 00:18:10,840 Speaker 1: dislodged from their bodies. The French historian Lefranc claims that 260 00:18:10,920 --> 00:18:14,720 Speaker 1: she quote mercilessly put to death all the French who 261 00:18:14,720 --> 00:18:18,760 Speaker 1: fell into her hands, despite the money that she could 262 00:18:18,760 --> 00:18:22,560 Speaker 1: have made ransoming nobles, Jean de Clisson severed the heads 263 00:18:22,640 --> 00:18:26,919 Speaker 1: of any and all French nobility. She saw a fitting 264 00:18:26,920 --> 00:18:30,760 Speaker 1: revenge for her husband's demise. She would then toss their 265 00:18:30,840 --> 00:18:35,240 Speaker 1: lifeless bodies overboard. From there, Genred had below deck to 266 00:18:35,359 --> 00:18:39,320 Speaker 1: plunder for valuables. Before leaving the conquered ship, she would 267 00:18:39,359 --> 00:18:42,760 Speaker 1: look the two to three survivors in the eyes with cold, 268 00:18:43,160 --> 00:18:47,680 Speaker 1: hateful stairs. You've been left alive, she'd say, to tell 269 00:18:47,760 --> 00:18:52,040 Speaker 1: your king that the Lioness of Brittany claimed another of 270 00:18:52,160 --> 00:18:56,840 Speaker 1: his ships. And thus the legend of the Lioness was born. 271 00:18:57,400 --> 00:19:01,120 Speaker 1: Among the common Breton people and the English allies of Brittany, 272 00:19:01,560 --> 00:19:06,199 Speaker 1: Jean's popularity grew. I do think it is important to 273 00:19:06,280 --> 00:19:09,959 Speaker 1: remember that you should probably take the sheer drama of 274 00:19:09,960 --> 00:19:13,800 Speaker 1: her story with a grain of sea salt. Remember this 275 00:19:13,880 --> 00:19:16,760 Speaker 1: is kind of exactly the sort of propaganda story that 276 00:19:16,800 --> 00:19:20,840 Speaker 1: would get exaggerated on both sides. Both her enemies and 277 00:19:21,000 --> 00:19:24,000 Speaker 1: supporters would want to play up how brutal she was, 278 00:19:24,400 --> 00:19:27,960 Speaker 1: her enemies to paint her as barbaric, and her allies 279 00:19:28,000 --> 00:19:31,919 Speaker 1: to make her seem scarier for future opponents. But even 280 00:19:32,000 --> 00:19:36,320 Speaker 1: if the details have probably been distorted over the centuries, 281 00:19:37,000 --> 00:19:40,280 Speaker 1: the spine of the story is true. After the death 282 00:19:40,320 --> 00:19:43,639 Speaker 1: of her husband, Jean had hatred in her heart for 283 00:19:43,680 --> 00:19:47,280 Speaker 1: the French king and in turn hatred for any noble 284 00:19:47,400 --> 00:19:51,240 Speaker 1: loyal to the king. And in the waters between France 285 00:19:51,320 --> 00:19:55,919 Speaker 1: and England, Jean de Clisson, a noble woman born in Brittany, 286 00:19:55,960 --> 00:20:00,000 Speaker 1: avenged the death of her husband one bloody French mass 287 00:20:00,119 --> 00:20:04,600 Speaker 1: her at a time. Two years into her pirate ng in, 288 00:20:06,240 --> 00:20:09,800 Speaker 1: the French finally managed to engage her fleet and sink 289 00:20:09,800 --> 00:20:13,560 Speaker 1: her flagship. Jean and her two sons, Olivier the fifth 290 00:20:13,600 --> 00:20:17,800 Speaker 1: and Guillaume, escaped the assault by rowboat, adrift on the 291 00:20:17,920 --> 00:20:21,639 Speaker 1: violent waves for five or six days without food or water. 292 00:20:22,280 --> 00:20:26,320 Speaker 1: Young Guillaume died of exposure. Jean and Olivier the Fifth 293 00:20:26,400 --> 00:20:31,159 Speaker 1: were ultimately rescued by allies, and years later young Olivier 294 00:20:31,280 --> 00:20:34,160 Speaker 1: would grow up into a soldier so brutal he would 295 00:20:34,160 --> 00:20:37,879 Speaker 1: be nicknamed the Butcher. But this is a story about 296 00:20:38,000 --> 00:20:41,600 Speaker 1: his mother arriving in England. It seems that from this 297 00:20:41,640 --> 00:20:47,120 Speaker 1: point the noblewoman turned bloody pirate transitioned into privateering, which 298 00:20:47,160 --> 00:20:49,320 Speaker 1: meant that she would be acting as a pirate, but 299 00:20:49,520 --> 00:20:53,440 Speaker 1: legally on behalf of a nation, in this case England, 300 00:20:53,800 --> 00:20:56,879 Speaker 1: who was eager to have as many vessels as possible 301 00:20:57,200 --> 00:20:59,320 Speaker 1: joining with them in the fight against the French and 302 00:20:59,359 --> 00:21:03,200 Speaker 1: the Hundred Years War. King Edward the third of England 303 00:21:03,320 --> 00:21:06,240 Speaker 1: granted John land in the areas of Brittany that the 304 00:21:06,280 --> 00:21:09,679 Speaker 1: English controlled, along with titles, and he supplied her with 305 00:21:09,800 --> 00:21:12,879 Speaker 1: money and ships as a thank you for clearing the 306 00:21:12,920 --> 00:21:17,000 Speaker 1: English channel of the French. In turn, Jean ferried supplies 307 00:21:17,040 --> 00:21:20,720 Speaker 1: and men from England to France in support of the English, 308 00:21:21,160 --> 00:21:24,960 Speaker 1: and of course, all the while she continued her carnage. 309 00:21:25,280 --> 00:21:29,840 Speaker 1: Jean continued for the next several years plundering and massacring 310 00:21:29,880 --> 00:21:33,040 Speaker 1: all ships owned by or allied with the French Crown. 311 00:21:33,760 --> 00:21:36,760 Speaker 1: And even when King Philip the six of France, her 312 00:21:36,760 --> 00:21:41,639 Speaker 1: bitter enemy, died in thirteen fifty, Jean continued privateering for 313 00:21:41,720 --> 00:21:47,240 Speaker 1: the English for an additional six years. Jean's pirate slash 314 00:21:47,280 --> 00:21:53,280 Speaker 1: privateer career lasted for thirteen blood soaked years, and there's 315 00:21:53,320 --> 00:21:57,800 Speaker 1: a coincidence there that seems too fitting to dismiss, whether 316 00:21:57,880 --> 00:22:01,439 Speaker 1: she did it purposefully or not. Jean massacred the French 317 00:22:01,480 --> 00:22:04,639 Speaker 1: by sea for one year for every year she had 318 00:22:04,680 --> 00:22:16,160 Speaker 1: been married to her beloved husband. In thirteen fifty six, Jean, 319 00:22:16,320 --> 00:22:19,439 Speaker 1: then fifty six years old, took refuge in England and 320 00:22:19,640 --> 00:22:23,720 Speaker 1: married Sir Walter Bentley, a lieutenant to King Edward the Third. 321 00:22:24,240 --> 00:22:27,119 Speaker 1: Like Jean, Bentley had served valiantly on the side of 322 00:22:27,160 --> 00:22:30,320 Speaker 1: the English during the Hundred Years War. The two retired 323 00:22:30,359 --> 00:22:32,600 Speaker 1: at the castle of Hennebont, a port town on the 324 00:22:32,640 --> 00:22:36,400 Speaker 1: Brittany coast, which was at the time controlled by the English, 325 00:22:36,480 --> 00:22:39,200 Speaker 1: and they remained there for the rest of Jean's life. 326 00:22:40,080 --> 00:22:44,040 Speaker 1: Jean passed away in thirteen fifty nine, fifty nine years old. 327 00:22:44,760 --> 00:22:47,960 Speaker 1: The cause of her death isn't known specifically, and so 328 00:22:48,119 --> 00:22:52,800 Speaker 1: it's most likely disease or natural causes. The story of 329 00:22:52,880 --> 00:22:56,959 Speaker 1: Jean de Clisson, noble woman turned pirate, is I admit, 330 00:22:57,080 --> 00:23:01,960 Speaker 1: almost unbelievable, and it has been argued frequently that such 331 00:23:01,960 --> 00:23:06,280 Speaker 1: a figure couldn't possibly have existed, and yet there are 332 00:23:06,400 --> 00:23:11,159 Speaker 1: several historical sources which confirm her existence, like a French 333 00:23:11,240 --> 00:23:15,280 Speaker 1: court document from thirteen forty three confirming the confiscation of 334 00:23:15,400 --> 00:23:18,280 Speaker 1: Jehan's lands due to her being labeled as a traitor 335 00:23:18,359 --> 00:23:21,800 Speaker 1: to France, and there's an English document that same year 336 00:23:22,119 --> 00:23:25,040 Speaker 1: indicating that she earned money from said land under the 337 00:23:25,080 --> 00:23:29,160 Speaker 1: English crown. Likewise, there's an English document from thirteen forty 338 00:23:29,240 --> 00:23:33,400 Speaker 1: seven listing her as an English ally. Other documents confirm 339 00:23:33,480 --> 00:23:37,720 Speaker 1: her marriage to Bentley as well, despite the relative dearth 340 00:23:37,840 --> 00:23:41,240 Speaker 1: of other primary sources. After all, the sea doesn't lend 341 00:23:41,280 --> 00:23:46,160 Speaker 1: itself to preserved paper artifacts or diaries, and legal piracy 342 00:23:46,320 --> 00:23:49,520 Speaker 1: was not an occupation in which people were fastidious about 343 00:23:49,520 --> 00:23:52,840 Speaker 1: record keeping. Jean de Clissan and the legend of the 344 00:23:52,920 --> 00:23:57,359 Speaker 1: Lioness of Brittany lives on in French folklore. Once again, 345 00:23:57,440 --> 00:23:59,920 Speaker 1: I want to flag, especially with this sort of store, 346 00:24:00,560 --> 00:24:03,879 Speaker 1: it's challenging to tease out what exactly was true and 347 00:24:04,080 --> 00:24:07,240 Speaker 1: what was legend. But we know that Jean de Cleisson 348 00:24:07,480 --> 00:24:10,679 Speaker 1: was a real person, while the truth of some of 349 00:24:10,720 --> 00:24:14,879 Speaker 1: the more dramatic flourishes of the tale remained nebulous. We 350 00:24:14,960 --> 00:24:18,480 Speaker 1: know that she grieved and mourned the beheading of her husband, 351 00:24:18,960 --> 00:24:22,600 Speaker 1: and then we know she decided to take revenge into 352 00:24:22,640 --> 00:24:32,320 Speaker 1: her own hands however she could. That's the story of 353 00:24:32,400 --> 00:24:35,720 Speaker 1: Jean de Clisson, the Lioness of Brittany. But stick around 354 00:24:35,800 --> 00:24:38,800 Speaker 1: after a brief sponsor break to hear how the woman 355 00:24:38,840 --> 00:24:51,000 Speaker 1: who so terrified France lives on today. Jean de Cleisson 356 00:24:51,119 --> 00:24:55,320 Speaker 1: survived seven childbirths without the aid of medicine. She lived 357 00:24:55,320 --> 00:24:58,800 Speaker 1: through the Black Death and spent thirteen dangerous years as 358 00:24:58,840 --> 00:25:02,879 Speaker 1: a pirate. She lived a very long, full life until 359 00:25:03,040 --> 00:25:06,679 Speaker 1: she was fifty nine years old, a fairly old age 360 00:25:06,720 --> 00:25:11,240 Speaker 1: given the dangerous life she lived, despite her relatively homey 361 00:25:11,320 --> 00:25:13,919 Speaker 1: and calm final years that she spent married in a 362 00:25:13,960 --> 00:25:18,280 Speaker 1: Brittany port town. Reportedly, after her death, Jean is not 363 00:25:18,520 --> 00:25:22,800 Speaker 1: resting in peace. It said that after her death, Jean 364 00:25:22,960 --> 00:25:26,639 Speaker 1: spirit traveled to the Chateau de Clisson. The ruins of 365 00:25:26,680 --> 00:25:30,919 Speaker 1: the castle, which was destroyed during the French Revolution, still 366 00:25:30,960 --> 00:25:35,840 Speaker 1: tower over the Severnantes River today within its stone walls. 367 00:25:36,280 --> 00:25:41,440 Speaker 1: Visitors have reported seeing Jean's restless ghost haunting the ruins. 368 00:25:41,480 --> 00:25:44,680 Speaker 1: Some say she's reunited with Olivia, the fourth de Clissons 369 00:25:44,760 --> 00:25:49,000 Speaker 1: spirit there, as well the tortured lovers walking the halls 370 00:25:49,040 --> 00:26:03,160 Speaker 1: side by side. Noble Blood is a production of iHeart 371 00:26:03,280 --> 00:26:06,800 Speaker 1: Radio and Grimm and Mild from Aaron Mankey. Noble Blood 372 00:26:06,880 --> 00:26:10,840 Speaker 1: is hosted by me Danish Wartz. Additional writing and researching 373 00:26:11,040 --> 00:26:15,280 Speaker 1: done by Hannah Johnston, hannah's Wick, Mura Hayward, Courtney Sender, 374 00:26:15,320 --> 00:26:19,680 Speaker 1: and Laurie Goodman. The show is produced by Rema al Kali, 375 00:26:20,000 --> 00:26:24,959 Speaker 1: with supervising producer Josh Thayne and executive producers Aaron Mankey, 376 00:26:25,240 --> 00:26:29,679 Speaker 1: Alex Williams, and Matt Frederick. For more podcasts from iHeart Radio, 377 00:26:29,960 --> 00:26:33,520 Speaker 1: visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you 378 00:26:33,640 --> 00:26:34,840 Speaker 1: listen to your favorite shows.