Jeanne de Béthune, Viscountess of Meaux

Jeanne de Béthune, Viscountess of Meaux, Countess of Ligny (- late 1450), was a French noblewoman, the suo jure Viscountess of Meaux, having inherited the title upon her father's death in 1408. Her father was Robert VIII de Béthune, Viscount of Meaux. Jeanne married twice; firstly to Robert of Bar, and secondly John II of Luxembourg, Count of Ligny who held Joan of Arc prisoner following her capture by the Burgundians in May 1430. Jeanne was one of the three women who cared for Joan during her imprisonment.

Family Jeanne was born in about 1397, the eldest daughter of Robert VIII de Béthune, Viscount of Meaux, and his third wife Isabelle de Ghistelles. She had one younger sister, Jacqueline de Béthune who married Raoul d'Ailly, with whom she had a daughter. Her paternal grandparents were Jean de Béthune, Lord of Locres (Loker in Flemish), and his wife Jeanne de Coucy, while her maternal grandparents were Jean de Ghistelles (Gistel in Flemish) and Marguerite de Reingleset (Reigersvliet in Flemish). She was held in his castle of Beaurevoir, close to Saint-Quentin. Jeanne was one of the three women in whose custody Joan was placed. The ladies earned Joan's gratitude for their kindness to her whilst in their care.

Due to pressure from England and Burgundy, John sold Joan to the English for 10,000 livres despite the protests of the three women. Joan was tried by an ecclesiastical court and burned at the stake in Rouen on 30 May 1431.

Legacy and death On 18 September 1430, John's aunt, Jeanne of Luxembourg died. She left him the county of Ligny, thus Jeanne was styled henceforth as Countess of Ligny.

Jeanne married her only daughter to Louis of Luxembourg, Count of Saint-Pol, who was John's nephew and designated heir; he had been brought up under his uncle's provision at Beaurevoir Castle therefore the young couple were well-acquainted with one another. The marriage, which took place on 16 July 1435, produced seven children.

Widowed a second time in 1441 when aged about 44, it was proposed that Jeanne should marry Jean d'Orléans, Count of Angoulême and of Périgord, a prisoner in England since 1412. When he did get back to France after 33 years' captivity, he married a younger woman who gave him three children.

Jeanne de Béthune died in late 1450, almost ten years after her husband, John. Her daughter Jeanne succeeded her as suo jure Viscountess of Meaux.