Duchy of Brittany: Ducal banners (part 1)

Last modified: 2004-02-28 by ivan sache
Keywords: ermine (black) | vermandois | dreux | olivier de braine | pierre mauclerc | leopard (yellow) | chevron (red) | crown prince | jean i |
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• Early history
• The banner of Pierre I
  • Variant of the banner
  • Origin of the banner
• The banner of Jean I
  • Variant of the banner
  • The banner of Jean I as count of Brittany
  • The banner of Jean I as crown prince
• The banner of Olivier de Braine

See also:

• Brittany (Traditional province, France)
• Duchy of Britanny (1188-1532)

Early history

The first known king of Brittany is Nominoé( 831-851 ), a prince of the County of Vannes. Erispoë (851-857) and Salomon (857-874) succeeded to him and made of Brittany a powerful state which conquered Normandy, Maine and Anjou. Later on, the Houses of Rennes, Cornouaille, Plantagenêt, Porhoët and Rohan succeeded to eachother.
In 1212, Pierre de Dreux came to power and his dynasty ruled over the duchy until 1532, date of the treaty of forced union between Brittany and France.

The banner of Pierre I

by Michel Bolloré

Pierre Mauclerc (litt. Bad Clerk) was appointed count of Brittany by the king of France Philippe-Auguste. He was married to the duchess Alix of Brittany and became duke after the death of her father-in-law in1213.
The banner includes the coat of arms of Dreux House and the ermine spots (distinctive of the clergy) in canton.

Variant of the banner

by Michel Bolloré

Origin of the banner

by Michel Bolloré

The coat of arms of Dreux House has for origin the arms of Vermandois county in Picardie. This family having died out in the XIIth century, Vermandois was incorporated to the the knigdom of France and granted to Dreux, cousins of Vermandois.

by Michel Bolloré

Robert I of Dreux, count of Braine, added a red border all around the coat of arms of Vermandois. His son Robert II, father of Pierre Mauclerc used the same arms.

Robert of Dreux ( Gâteblé) used his own banner before the death of his father Robert II, and later on Robert II's banner.

by Michel Bolloré

The banner of Jean I

Jean I, duke of Brittany, used the banner of his father Pierre I.

Variant of the banner

by Michel Bolloré

The banner of Jean I as count of Brittany

by Michel Bolloré

The banner was granted by king Albert the Great to the eldest son of Pierre Mauclerc. The leopards probably refer to the British fief of Richemont.

The banner of Jean I as crown prince

by Michel Bolloré

The banner of Olivier de Braine

by Michel Bolloré

Olivier de Braine was the son of Pierre de Braine (formerly duke of Britanny as Pierre I)

Michel Bolloré, 14 June 2000
Based on Généalogie et vexillologie des ducs de Bretagne by B. Le Brun, Ar Banniel [arb] #9, 1999.