2-651-818 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

'Madame de Montfort astonishing the French Fleet', c1860, (c1860). Joanna of Flanders (c1295-1374) was Duchess of Brittany by her marriage to John of Montfort. At the Siege of Hennebont of 1342, part of the succession of the War of Bretagne, the forces of Charles of Blois kept her in the city. She took up arms and, dressed in armour, conducted the defence of the town, encouraging the people to fight, and urging the women to "cut their skirts and take their safety in their own hands". When she looked from a tower and saw that the enemy camp was almost unguarded, she led three hundred men on a charge, burned down Charles' supplies and destroyed his tents. After this she became known as "Jeanne la Flamme". From "The Comic History of England, Volume I", by Gilbert A A'Beckett. [Bradbury, Agnew, & Co., London] In the siege of Hennebont,