John I, Count of Dammartin

Who is John I, Count of Dammartin?

Jean II de Trie was the first of his name and second of his house to be Count of Dammartin. He succeeded his father, Mathieu, in Dammartin and as lord of Trie and Mouchy, on the latter's death in 1272. He is the same person as the trouvère Jehan de Trie, to whom two surviving chansons courtoises have been attributed. One of these, Bone dame me prie de chanter, is also sometimes attributed to Theobald I of Navarre or Gace Brulé. The other, Li lons consirs et la grans volentés, is undisputed. Both are isometric, decasyllabic, and Dorian, set in bar form and beginning with the leading-tone. At one place in Bone dame there occurs the highly unusual octave leap downwards.

John died near Courtrai in the Battle of the Golden Spurs, fighting on the side of the French against the Flemings, on 11 July 1302. He had married first Ermengarde, then Yolande, daughter of John I of Dreux. The latter bore him two children: Renaud, who succeeded him, and Mahaut, who in 1298 married Henry de Vergy.