Joan , often called Joan of Constantinople c. He arranged her marriage to Infante Ferdinand of Portugal in Ferdinand quickly turned against Philip, starting a war that ended with the defeat of Bouvines and his imprisonment. Joan then ruled her counties alone from the age of After the end of the war, Ferdinand was released but died soon after. Joan then married Thomas of Savoy. She died in at the Abbey of Marquette near Lille , having survived her only child, a daughter by Ferdinand.
Joan's policies favored economic development in her counties; in fact, she granted several charters to the Flemish cities. She played an important role in the development of the Mendicant orders , the Beguines , the Victorines and hospital communities in her domains without neglecting the traditional religious orders.
Under her reign, women's foundations increased, transforming the place of women in both society and the church. Martha of Wauchier de Denain. The first novel in Dutch, Van den vos Reynaerde , was written by a cleric of her court. Joan's exact date of birth is unknown.
Contemporary sources indicate that, like her younger sister Margaret , she was baptized in the Church of St. John of Valenciennes. After the capture of Constantinople , he was proclaimed emperor by the crusaders on 9 May Marie decided to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land before reuniting with her husband, but died after her arrival at Acre in August His fate is unknown. After the news of Baldwin's disappearance reached Flanders in February , Joan succeeded her father as countess of Flanders and Hainaut.
Because she was still a child, the administration of both counties was assumed by a council composed of the chancellor of Flanders, the provost of Lille and the castellans of Lille and Saint-Omer. The guardianship and education of both Joan and her sister was supervised by their uncle Philip, [ 4 ] who soon put his nieces in a difficult position.
