 1362 - 1425
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| Suffix |
(IV) |
| Birth |
1362 |
Grainville-la-Teinturière, Cany-Barville, Dieppe, Seine-Maritime, France  |
| Gender |
Male |
| Died |
1425 |
Grainville-la-Teinturière |
| Buried |
1425 |
Grainville-la-Teinturière |
| Person ID |
I12148 |
ROJAS-SPENCER |
| Last Modified |
14 Jun 2019 |
| |
| Father |
Bethencourt Jean de, (III), b. Abt 1339, Normandy, France , d. 13 Mar 1365, Battle of Cocherel, France |
| Mother |
Bracquemont Marie de, b. Abt 1330, Traversain, Normandy, France |
| Married |
Jun 1358 |
Normandy, France |
| Family ID |
F3226 |
Group Sheet |
| |
| Family 1 |
Ayala e Vargas MarÃa de, b. Abt 1370, Sevilla, España |
| Notes |
- had a relationship which produced a son
|
| Family ID |
F139 |
Group Sheet |
| |
| Family 2 |
Fayel Jeanne de, b. Aft 1370, Champagne, France , d. Bef 1425 |
| Married |
30 Jan 1392 |
Paris, France |
| Notes |
- The marriage of Jean and Jeanne was not a happy one||
|| The marriage of Jean and Jeanne was not a happy one, and in 1405,
Jeanne complained to the parlement that her husband had
ordered her to be confined, not permitting her to leave the house or to
speak with her father and friends
An indiscreet, though perfectly innocent, word from Madame
de Bethencourt with reference to her brother-in-law, Regnault de
Bethencourt, produced an estrangement between her and her husband whose
jealous cruelty would seem to have brought about her early death. At a
festivity in honor of her husband upon his return to France from the
Canary Islands, she commented to him that she should have married his
brother Regnault, while Jean should have married her sister who was much
older, more of an age with Jean himself.
http://web.meganet.net/bettenco/
|
| Family ID |
F9591 |
Group Sheet |
| |
-
| Notes |
- In the second half of 1425, as he was preparing to visit the Canary
Islands again, he died, attended at his death-bed by his chaplain, Jean
Le Verrier. Although the text of the manuscript of Bontier and Verrier
places the death of Jean de Bethencourt in 1422, Bergeron, who was not an
idle investigator, in fixing the date at 1425, says, "comme il appert par
plusieurs actes" (as appears in several documents). So we may reasonably
accept his decision
He developed the desire to explore the Canary Islands
in the castle
in the choir of the church
Returning to Lanzarote, he arranged everything for the good government of
the islands which he had conquered and civilized, and leaving his nephew,
Maciot de Bethancourt, as governor-general, he departed universally
regretted on 15 Dec 1406
It was resolved that Bethencourt should go to Spain to get
together what was necessary to complete the enterprise
Meanwhile, Bethencourt was obtaining from Henry III, King of Castile, the
supplies he wanted, on condition of doing homage. Castilian documents of
26-28 Nov 1402 refer to the lordship of the Canary Islands and the
requested aid: 20,000 maravedis (old Gothic coin formerly used in
Portugal and Spain), soldiers, arms, and provisions. Having sent his wife
home in the charge of Enguerrand de la Boissière, he preferred to return
to Lanzarote
had children; among his descendents was the venerable Pedro de
Bettencourt, great apostle of America in the seventeenth century
Two early manuscripts exist detailing the story of Le
Canarien. One is ms. Egerton 2709 in the British Library in London
which gives preference to Gadifer de La Salle. The other, ms. mm 129 of
the Bibliothèque municipale in Rouen, France, gives preference to Jean de
Bethencourt. It was this latter copy which was formerly in the possession
of the Béthencourt family
He spent his infancy in the castle of Grainville-la-Teinturière in the
company of his mother and her brother, Mathieu de Braquemont, who was
also his grandmother's second husband, and later in the company of his
stepfather, Roger Suhart
he began to take care of the larder of the Duke of Anjou as the person in
charge of the distribution of bread ("pannetier")
he obtained from the King permission to rebuild and fortify the castle||
previously destroyed as a consequence of civil war (confirmed 18 Jul
1388). On 9 Dec 1388, he obtained permission from Pope Clement VII to
erect a chapel in the castle
he was standard-bearer in the expedition organized by the Duke of Orleans
to battle the Moorish pirates that infested the Mediterranean, an
expedition that ended in a fiasco, but brought him into contact with
African lands
Having conceived the project of conquering the Canaries, which were then
only frequented by merchants or Spanish pirates, he assembled a body of
adventurers, among whom was a knight named Gadifer de La Salle, who
joined him at La Rochelle, France. Bethencourt took with him his two
chaplains, Brother Pierre Bontier, a Franciscan monk of St. Jouin de
Marnes who later officiated at Lanzarote in the church of St. Martial de
Rubicon which Bethencourt built in the castle of that name, and Jean le
Verrier, a priest who was later installed at Fuerteventura as vicar in
the chapel of Our Lady of Bethencourt; they were the historians of the
expedition
they started the expedition|| putting in at Corunna and at Cadiz, where
they stayed till the month of July, the party meanwhile becoming reduced
by the desertion of twenty-seven men to only fifty-three in number. Eight
days from Cadiz brought them to the island of Graciosa; from there they
went to Lanzarote, landing on 30 Jun 1402, where they were well received
and obtained permission to build a fort which they named Rubicon. Leaving
Bertin de Berneval in charge, Bethencourt went with Gadifer to
Fuerteventura but was obliged to return to Lanzarote on account of mutiny
among his sailors and lack of provisions. While at Fuerteventura, Robin
le Brument, master mariner of a ship which Gadifer affirmed to be his
own, refused admission to Gadifer and his companions, but agreed, on
condition of receiving hostages, to carry them over to Lanzarote
Gadifer remained as lieutenant, and while he was absent at the Isle of
Lobos, Bertin excited disaffection against him, drew together a faction
of his own with which he pillaged the castle of Rubicon and took a number
of natives prisoner on 25 Nov 1402, including Guardarifa, the King of
Lanzarote, who had already made friendly submission to Bethencourt. Two
Spanish ships had arrived meanwhile, and Bertin, having gained over
Ferdinand Ordoñez, captain of the Tranchemar, took his spoils and
prisoners on board, abandoned his followers to perish miserably in
Africa, and went himself to Spain.The unfortunate Gadifer
was left by this treachery on the island of Lobos without the supplies he
expected to follow him, until the captain of the other Spanish ship, the
Morelle, sent a canoe to his rescue and he returned to Rubicon. Here he
found affairs in a sad state, no provisions, no stores, and an
insufficient number of men to keep the natives in check
Bethencourt had learned the state of affairs on the arrival of the ship
Morelle in Spain, which preceded by a short time the Tranchemar, in which
the traitor Bertin arrived with his captives, and sent help to Gadifer
from the king with directions to follow up the
explorations.Gadifer had been to Fuerteventura, Gran
Canaria, Ferro, Gomera, and Palma (all part of the Canary Islands), and
returned to Rubicon after a voyage of three months. He had sent a ship to
Spain with the account of his expedition, but Bethencourt himself now
arrived at Rubicon (Os Bettencourt gives the date as 19 Apr
1404 but this appears to be too late, a date earlier in Feb seeming more
likely) where he was received with great demonstrations of joy. He
proceeded vigorously with the conquest of the natives. Finally, the king
of Lanzarote submitted and asked for baptism on 20 Feb 1404, which he
received with many of his people. After this, Bethencourt and Gadifer
were only withheld from further conquest by want of aid from the courts
of France and Spain, though application was made especially to the
former. On their return from an expedition to the coast of Africa in
1404, Gadifer showed discontent that Bethencourt had not considered his
interests when he did homage to the King of Castile for the government of
the islands. However, he took part in an expedition against Gran Canaria
on 25 Jul 1404, but the dispute was afterwards renewed, and on 9 Oct
Gadifer set out for Castile to plead his case with the King. Finally,
however, Gadifer, unable to prevail against Bethencourt's greater
influence at the court of Castile, gave up his own cause in despair and
returned to France
Bethencourt was solemnly invested by Henry III, King of Castile, with the
government of the Canary Islands
Bethencourt had several encounters with the natives, but
maintained his authority successfully, and the two kings of
Fuerteventura, together with their people, became Christian in Jan 1405
(Os Bettencourt gives the dates as 18 and 25 Feb 1405 for
each king). On 31 Jan 1405, he went to France to obtain the materials for
forming a colony, was warmly welcomed at Grainville, and obtained all he
required.He left Honfleur on 9 May 1405 and returned to
Lanzarote with his nephew, Maciot de Bethencourt, and was received with
great joy by his own people, as well as by the inhabitants of
Fuerteventura
he set out on his expedition to Gran Canaria which was unsuccessful from
various causes, but in Palma and Ferro, after some opposition, he formed
colonies
He went to Spain where the king received him warmly and gave him letters
of recommendation to the Pope, from whom he was anxious to obtain the
appointment of a bishop for the islands. At Rome, he was well received by
the Pope, who granted all he required. He then returned to France by way
of Florence where he was feted by the government. Then he went to Paris
and so to his own house
Messire Jean de Bethencourt held the title of Baron in right of the
Barony of Saint-Martin-le-Gaillard in the Comté d'Eu, where he had a
strong castle which was taken and retaken several times in the wars with
England. Monstrelet speaks of its final siege and ruin in 1419. It came
by inheritance to Messire de Bethencourt from his grandmother Dame
Isabeau de St. Martin
A feeling of revenge led Jean to impoverish as far as possible the
property to which his brother would be the successor. It is but justice
to say that before his death he saw his error, and on his death-bed was
anxious to declare repentance to the brother whom he had injured
he sold his house in Paris, valued at 200 gold francs, and some other
small pieces of property to obtain the necessary financing for his
expedition to the Canary Islands. Since the amount realized was
insufficient, his uncle, Robert de Braquemont, loaned him 5,000 pounds
(to which he later added another 2,000), Jean to all intents mortgaging
to him the fiefs of Béthencourt and Grainville
Bethencourt remained in Grainville for several years, receiving from the
bishop news of the islands and the good government of his nephew
Jean de Bethencourt pledged fealty to King Henry V of England. The wars
between England and France had already caused Bethencourt many problems
and, after the capture of Caudebec in Normandy in September 1418, this
pledge of fealty was the only way to safeguard his possessions
Jean de Bethencourt paid homage to King Charles VI of France
for his feudal benefice of Bethencourt in Normandy
Jean confirmed the powers previously granted to his nephew Maciot,
permitting him to sell the Canary Islands with the exception of
Fuerteventura which was to remain for his heirs
The museum of the church of Santa MarÃa de Betancuria in Bethencuria,
Fuerteventura, contains a replica of the banner carried by Bethencourt
when he seized Fuerteventura.
http://web.meganet.net/bettenco/
Occupation:
a squire of Charles VI of France
Béthencourt; Occupation: Lord||Saint Saire, Lincourt, Riville, Grand Quesnoy, Huqueleu
Grainville-la-Teinturière; Occupation: Lord
Islas Canarias; Occupation: Governor
Lord chamberlain of the royal household for Charles VI, King of France
the Palace of Saint Paul, Paris, France; Occupation: chamberlain of Charles VI of France
chamberlain of Louis de Valois, Duke of Touraine and later Duke of- Bet. 1387 - 1391
a squire of Philip , Duke of Burgundy- Abt. 1400
Islas Canarias; Occupation: King and Lord - Bet. 1404 - 1406
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