Margaret III, Countess of Flanders

Margaret was the only surviving child and heir of Count Louis II of Flanders (1346–1384) and Margaret of Brabant.[1]

Miniature depicting the marriage of Philip and Margaret

Margaret and Philip had the following children:

• John I of Burgundy,[9] Duke of Burgundy (1371–1419, murdered at Montereau), her eldest son and successor in Flanders, Artois, and Burgundy.
• Charles of Burgundy (1372–1373)
• Margaret of Burgundy (October 1374 – March 8, 1441, Le Quesnoy),[9] married William II, Duke of Bavaria.
• Louis of Burgundy (1377–1378)
• Catherine of Burgundy (April 1378, Montbard – January 24, 1425, Gray, Haute-Saône),[9] married Leopold IV, Duke of Austria.
• Bonne of Burgundy (1379–1399, Arras)[9]
• Mary of Burgundy (September 1380, Dijon – October 2, 1422,[9] Thonon-les-Bains), married Amadeus VIII, Duke of Savoy.
• Antoine of Burgundy, Duke of Brabant (August, 1384 – October 25, 1415, at the Battle of Agincourt.)[9]
• Philip II, Count of Nevers and Rethel (1389–1415, at the Battle of Agincourt.), as "Philip II".[9]

The main line of the House of Dampierre ended with Margaret III. The Dampierres, originally only counts of Flanders, had through a clever marriage policy managed to inherit the counties of Nevers (1280) and Rethel (1328). Through her grandmother, a daughter of King Philip V of France, the counties of Artois and Burgundy (the "Franche Comté") were added to this (1382). These lands were to provide the core of the dominions of the House of Valois-Burgundy, which were, together with the Duchy of Burgundy, to provide them with a power base to challenge the rule of their cousins, the Valois kings of France in the 15th century.

Her eldest son, John the Fearless, succeeded her father Louis as Count of Nevers in 1384,[9] her husband in 1404 as Duke of Burgundy and her as Count of Burgundy, Count of Artois, and Count of Flanders. In 1406 her younger son Anthony inherited Brabant and Limburg. Nevers and Rethel were at first, in her lifetime, given to her eldest sons John (Nevers) and Anthony (Rethel), but after John's accession to the duchy, Nevers went to her youngest son Philip. Rethel was given to Philip in 1402 when it became clear that Anthony would inherit Brabant.

The Château de Germolles

In Burgundy, the Château de Germolles, offered to Margaret of Flanders by Philip the Bold in 1381, was transformed by the Duchess of Burgundy into a sumptuous country estate. It was a large rectangular building, surrounded by a moat, that enclosed a courtyard. The south and east wings contained the living apartments, while the west wing held the reception rooms. Margaret, being energetic and a country lover, decided to develop at the estate some rustic activities that would create a pleasant environment around this favourite residence of hers, as well as developing local agriculture and providing some income for the maintenance of the domain. Thus, she planted a large rose garden, and the petals were sent to Flanders to be used to make rose water. Largely preserved, the Château is today one of the best examples of the princely residences in France at the end of the Middle Ages.

• Bauer-Smith, Charlotte (2004). "Mapping Family Lines: A Late Fifteenth Century Example of Genealogical Display". In Biggs, Douglas L.; Michalove, Sharon D.; Reeves, Albert Compton (eds.). Reputation and Representation in Fifteenth Century Europe. Brill.
• Blockmans, Wim; Prevenier, Walter (1999). Peters, Edward (ed.). The Promised Lands: The Low Countries Under Burgundian Rule, 1369-1530. Translated by Fackelman, Elizabeth. University of Pennsylvania Press.
• Boffa, Sergio (2004). Warfare in Medieval Brabant, 1356-1406. Boydell & Brewer.
• Nicholas, David M (1992). Medieval Flanders. Routledge.
• Nolan, Cathal J. (2006). "Duchy of Burgundy". The Age of Wars of Religion, 1000-1650: An Encyclopedia of Global Warfare and Civilization. Vol. 1. Greenwood Publishing.
• Ormrod, W. Mark (2011). Edward III. Yale University Press.
• Vaughan, Richard (2005). Philip the Bold: The Formation of the Burgundian State. The Boydell Press.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Margaret III, Countess of Flanders.