Guillemette of Neuchâtel

Who is Guillemette of Neuchâtel?

Guillemette de Neufchâtel was a daughter of Amadeus, Count of Neufchâtel and his wife, Jordanna of Arberg.

In 1259, Guillemette's great-aunt Margaret, married Richard of Neufchâtel-en-Bourgogne. As her dowry, she brought the Lordships of Blamont, Châtelot, Belmont, and Cuisance into the marriage. The Lords of Neufchâtel-en-Bourgogne placed Blamont under the protection of the Duke of Burgundy and thus detached it from Montbéliard.

In 1282, Guillemette married Reginald of Burgundy. They had five children:

⁕Othenin "the Mad", who succeeded her as Count of Montbéliard

⁕Agnes, married Henry I, Count of Montbéliard, who inherited Montbéliard after Othenin's death

⁕Joanna, married:

⁕Ulrich III, Count of Pfirt

⁕Rudolf Hesso, Margrave of Baden-Baden

⁕William, Count of Katzenelnbogen

⁕Margaret, married William of Antigny, Prince of Sainte-Croix

⁕Adelaide, married John II, Count of Chalon-Auxerre

In 1283, her great-grandfather Theodoric III died. He had outlived all his children and in his will, he left the County of Montbéliard to his great-granddaughter Guillemette. Theobald III of Neufchâtel, who was a grandchild of Theodoric III and who wanted Montbéliard for himself, conspired with Reginald's brother Otto IV to have Montbéliard recognized as a fief of Burgundy. If they had succeeded, Otto would have been able to enfeoff Theobald with Montbéliard. To resolve this problem, Reginald ceded Blamont and Châtelot to Theobald.