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Monday, October 8, 2012

[October 8] John I, duke of Brittany

Local Name: Yann Iañ
Surnamed: "The Red" (Le Roux)
Parents: Peter, earl of Richmond, and Alix, duchess of Brittany
House: Dreux
Spouse(s): Blanche, daughter of Theobald I, king of Navarre, and Agnes of Beaujeu
Predecessor: Alix
Reign: 1221 – 1286
Brief: Surnamed for the color of the beard he frequently sported, John I is a long-ruling but little discussed duke of Brittany. Until 1237, his father, Peter, ruled as regent for him after his mother, Alix, the heiress and duchess died. The year before he took over the government, he married the daughter of the Navarrese king. Much of his reign was consumed by a feud with the bishopric of Nantes and the Breton clergy, though it never became violent. In 1240, John exiled the Jews from Brittany, though he did cancel all debts owed by the Jews to the state. In 1270, he joined the Eighth Crusade with King Louis IX and survived the plague that took the life of the king. He died sixteen years later in the midst of a century of relative peace in Brittany.
Date of Death: 8 October 1286
Successor: John II

Other Monarchs Who Died Today:

  • Fushimi, emperor of Japan (1317)
  • John George I, elector of Saxony (1656)
  • Yongzheng, emperor of China (1735)

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