You've asked an excellent question. Thank you for bringing this
matter to my attention.
Maud de Holand, King Richard II's half-sister, is known to have
married twice, her second husband being Waleran III de Luxembourg,
Count of Ligny and Saint-Pol, who died in 1417. Waleran and Maud are
known to have married at Windsor, Berkshire in Easter week, 1380.
Maud was Count Waleran's first wife. She was buried at Westminster
Abbey 23 April 1392.
One of the pieces of evidence proving Maud and Waleran's marriage can
be found in Barante, Histoire des ducs de Bourgogne de la maison de
Valois, 1364-1477, 2 (1824): 450-451, which presents the transcript of
a contemporary letter of Waleran de Luxembourg dated 1403 written to
King Henry IV of England, in which Waleran specifically states:
"... moi, Waleran de Luxembourg, comte de Ligny et de Saint-Pol,
considérant l'affinité, amour, et confédération que j'avais avec très-
haut et puissant prince Richard, roi d'Angleterre, dont j'ai eu la
soeur pour épouse.").
Count Waleran subsequently married as his 2nd wife, Bonne of Bar,
daughter of Robert I, Duke of Bar, which wife survived him.
Count Waleran is known to have had one legitimate daughter, Jeanne,
wife of Antoine de Bourgogne, who was his heiress, and two
illegitimate sons, Jean [seigneur of Hautbordin] and Simon [prévôt of
Saint-Omer] by different mistresses (see Mémoires de la Societé des
antiquaires de Picardie, 3rd ser. 6 (1880): 387-388).
The sources that I've checked have generally stated that Count Waleran
died with male issue, that he was married twice, and that he left a
legitimate daughter and heiress, Jeanne, without naming which wife was
the mother of Jeanne (see, for example, Count Waleran's biography in
Michaud, Biographie universelle, ancienne et moderne, 28 (1820): 464-
466). The confusion over which wife was the mother of Jeanne is
probably due to the lack of available information as to when Waleran's
first wife, Maud de Holand, died, and also as to when his second
marriage to Bonne of Bar occurred. One source I checked actually
stated that Maud de Holand died without issue.
All the sources I checked agree that Count Waleran's daughter, Jeanne,
married in1402 Antoine de Bourgogne. I assume the concrete date of
this marriage comes from a published marriage settlement for this
couple.
My previous research established that Waleran's first wife, Maud de
Holand, was buried at Westminster Abbey 23 April 1392 (see, for
example, Hector Westminster Chronicle 1381-1394 (1982): 450-451, 488-
489; Taylor ed. The St. Albans Chronicle 1 (2003): 238).
It appears that Count Waleran married his second wife, Bonne of Bar,
about March 1401, when Bonne's father, Duke Robert, settled the
castle, ville, and dependencies of Nogent-le-Rotrou on Waleran and his
wife on "the occasion of their marriage." [Reference: Fret, Antiquités
et chroniques percheronnes (1840): 247-248]. Fret further discusses
the subsequent history of Bonne, wife of Count Waleran. He says
specifically that she died without issue ("... elle ne laissa point de
posterité"). On Bonne's death, she was succeeded at Nogent by her
brother, Louis, Cardinal of Bar.
Given these facts, it seems obvious that Maud de Holand, the first
wife of Count Waleran, was the mother of Waleran's daughter and
heiress, Jeanne de Luxembourg. The chronology is certainly
acceptable. Also, we have a clear statement in print that Count
Waleran's second wife, Bonne of Bar, died without issue and that
Bonne's successor at Nogent was her brother, Louis, Cardinal of Bar.
Interestingly, in the course of my research, I learned that it was an
incident at Countess Maud's house at Lucheu in the county of Saint-
Pol, followed by a duel for the honor of French knighthood, that was
said to have given rise to the holding of the famous jousts at St.
Inglebert in March-April 1390.
Lastly, for those interested in such matters, a seal of Count Waleran
has been preserved. A record of it can be found in De Raadt, Sceaux
Armoriés des Pays-Bas et de Pays Avoisinants, 2 (1899): 396, as
follows:
Seal dated 1390: un lion couronné, à la queue fourchée, C: un dragon
issant d'une cuve, S. deux griffons accroupis.
Likewise, a second letter of Count Waleran dated 1406 can be found in
Duchet & Giry, Cartulaires de l'église de Térouane (1881): 285-286.
Best always, Douglas Richardson, Salt Lake City, Utah.
On Aug 17, 12:13 pm, WJhonson <wjhon...@aol.com> wrote:
Douglas can you confirm for us *how* you know that Maud had no issue
by either marriage?
Thanks
Will Johnson