Joan of Savoy

Who was Joan of Savoy?

Joan of Savoy also known as Giovanna di Savoia, was Duchess consort of Brittany, wife of John III, Duke of Brittany. Joan was also a claimant to the County of Savoy upon the death of her father. She was a member of the House of Savoy and married into the House of Dreux. Joan was born in 1310, she was the only child of Edward, Count of Savoy and his wife Bianca of Burgundy.

The same year as Joan's marriage, her father died, being his only child she was his supposed successor. However, Savoy had never had a female ruler, leading to a dispute in the succession. Joan's uncle Aimone bypassed her rights and succeeded as Count.

Joan married in 1329 aged nineteen to the forty-three-year-old, childless John III, Duke of Brittany; she was his third wife, John's second wife Isabella had died the previous year. Joan and John were married for twelve years but produced no offspring, this led to a disputed succession in Brittany between John's half-brother of the same name and John's niece Joanna.

John supported Joan's rights on Savoy. After the marriage, Joan renewed her claim on Savoy and allied herself with the Dauphin de Viennois against her uncle. By agreement settled by the French King on 22 November 1339, she renounced her rights of succession in return for an annual income of 6,000 livres.