A promise fulfilled – An Arthur of Brittany timeline

[kasumigenx]

Arthur I of Brittany making homage to Philip II of France

Elvira of Sicily and her mother would go to the domains of Arthur I of Brittany in 1199 after going to France as she had remembered the treaty where in a Sicilian Princess was promised to Arthur I of Brittany and secured a betrothal with him, Philip II of France would recognize Arthur I of Brittany as the Count of Anjou but not the King of England and the heir to Aquitaine ruled by Eleanor of Aquitaine and for that reason he would later sign the treaty of Le Goulet with King John of England and marry his son to Blanche of Castile, the betrothal between Arthur I of Brittany and Elvira of Sicily would surprise both Philip II and John I of England.

The marriage between Elvira of Sicily and Arthur I of Brittany would be celebrated in the end of 1200, Arthur of Brittany would accept the marriage with Elvira of Sicily as she can provide heirs to him as soon as possible, he would refrain from going to war and decided to be neutral as long as he is not secure of the succession of his own domains as his sister is his only heir at that time.

Constance I of Brittany and Arthur I of Brittany would say that this is a promise that has been fulfilled.

 

[kasumigenx]

Eleanor of Brittany, Queen of Aragon

As Arthur I of Brittany would decide to be neutral and abstain from the war between Philip II of France and John I of England which was the byproduct of John and Isabella of Angouleme marrying which would result in Hugh IX of Lusignan’s revolt alliance with Philip II, which would guarantee that Anjou, Maine, and Brittany to be spared by the destruction caused by this war in Normandy and Poitou, this war would result in the capture of Hugh X of Lusignan.

In 1203, John would ally with Peter II of Aragon by marrying his niece, Eleanor of Brittany to Peter II of Aragon which would be supported by his nephew, Arthur I of Brittany in exchange, John I of England would gain support of Aragon against the French which would include their financial support of Aragon to the Angevins against Philip II of France, Eleanor of Brittany would be given the claims to Toulouse of England which were the claims of Philippa of Toulouse and the English claims to Val D’Aran which is between the Duchy of Aquitaine, Catalonia, and Aragon and a large dowry which would satisfy Peter II of Aragon.

On 1204, Eleanor of Aquitaine would die and Poitou would be occupied by the forces of Philip II of France, the Aragonese led by Peter II of Aragon would also support John I of England against the French knowing that their lands in the County of Toulouse and Gevaudan could be seized later by Philip II of France, Poitou would be lost by John I of England but the Aragonese were able to repel the french and keep the English and Angevin suzerainty in Auvergne which is vital to the Aragonese rule in Gevaudan as the English are a useful buffer for the Aragonese.

John I of England would be able to maintain his own rule in Aquitaine with the exception of Poitou with the help of the Aragonese as he is forced to give up Poitou for ceasefire.

In France, Philip II would be satisfied with his gaining the County of Poitou which would disgust Arthur I of Brittany which he would express in the French court as he had not respected the partition of the Angevin possessions and took Normandy and Poitou from his uncle John I of England, Philip II would remain his betrothal of William the Lion of Scotland with Marie of France, the daughter of Agnes of Merania with Philip II of France since 1200 which would guarantee that the Scots would be hostile against England in the wars of the English and Angevins against the French until the death of Philip II of France.

 

[kasumigenx]

On 1206 after the birth of a healthy daughter named Constance(1205) named after his own mother, Constance I of Brittany who had died in 1201, Arthur of Brittany would plan a war to gain his wife’s rightful inheritance of Sicily and planned it with his brother in law, Peter II of Aragon which would happen in 1209 as he would wait when the succession of Aragon was secure after the birth of his children with Eleanor of Brittany which were Sanchia(1205) and James(1208), John I of England would proclaim support to Arthur I of Brittany’s claim to Sicily himself.

On the beginning of 1209, Peter II and Arthur I of Brittany would send troops in Sicily to claim the rights of Arthur’s wife, Elvira only to be greeted by armies of the alliance between Frederick I of Sicily, Philip II of France, and John I of England against the Breton and Aragonese forces which would overwhelm the Aragonese and Breton forces in Sicily and would also cause the excommunication of Arthur I of Brittany and Peter II of Aragon by Pope Innocent III.

The surviving troops Arthur I of Brittany and Peter II of Aragon were forced to retreat and inform Peter II of Aragon and Arthur I of Brittany and they were forced to sign a cease fire on the return of the survivors and Peter II of Aragon would marry his sister, Constance of Aragon, the Dowager Queen of Hungary to Frederick I of Sicily as a condition of the cease fire between the Aragonese and Bretons with the Sicilians and Swabians and the release of any prisoners of war in Sicily.

Arthur I of Brittany would not expect that he would be betrayed by his uncle in this war for his wife’s claims to Sicily, he realized that his uncle would think that he would betray him and claim both England and Aquitaine which he thinks is absurd himself, in this time he would start to plan his moves against his own uncle.

This battle was said to be a prelude to the Partition of Sicily after the demise of Hohenstauffens.

 

[kasumigenx]

On 1215, Arthur of Brittany would be invited by the barons in England so that he can take control of England

On 1217, Arthur I, Duke of Brittany, Count of Maine, Anjou, and Tourraine would die in action, being defeated by the troops of the regents of Henry III after John I died of dysentery, the regents would include William Marshall, his daughter Constance II of Brittany(12105) would inherit the domains of her father and her sisters, Eleanor(1210), Matilda(1215) and Elvira(1217) would one of the eligible heiresses of in Europe and her sister, Eleanor was given the Counties of Anjou, Maine, and Touraine the Kingdom of France would arrange more tighter ties between Brittany and France, notably, Philip II and negotiated the marriage between Matilda of Brittany, Countess of Anjou, Maine, and Touraine to the future Louis IX of France, only Constance, Matilda, and Eleanor are the ones of the children of Arthur I, Duke of Brittany that survived infancy.

Arthur I, duke of Brittany had decided to focus in Sicily, he would decide not to declare a war with his uncle nor participate in annexation of Poitou and Normandy in 1202-1204 and the battle of Bouvines in 1214, and did not even participate in Muret in which his sister is associated with and he would remain neutral until there is a war of the barons in 1215 as he would not trust his liege Philip II as he had double crossed him in the treaty of Le Goulet, he only declared a war against his uncle as he is chosen as king by the barons of his uncle in England in 1215, he would come to England to take what is rightfully his.

Note:
This is the end of the first arc, it would depend on me if I create a sequel of this as I am focused on another timeline.