page_title: Joan, Countess of Flanders
section_title: Religion
hierarchical_section_title: Joan, Countess of Flanders / Political role / Religion
caption_attribution_description: Français&#160;: Manuscrit issu de l'abbaye cistercienne de Marquette-lès-Lille.
context_page_description: Joan, often called Joan of Constantinople, ruled as Countess of Flanders and Hainaut from 1205 until her death. She was the elder daughter of Baldwin IX, Count of Flanders and Hainaut, and Marie of Champagne.
  Orphaned during the Fourth Crusade, Joan was raised in Paris under the tutelage of King Philip II of France. He arranged her marriage to Infante Ferdinand of Portugal in 1212. 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 young age of 14. She faced the rivalry of her younger sister, Margaret, as well as the revolt of her domains – guided by a man who claimed to be her father. After the end of the war, Ferdinand was released but died soon after. Joan then married Thomas of Savoy. She died in 1244 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.
context_section_description: On good relations with the Cistercians, Joan founded the Abbey of Marquette-lez-Lille, and confirmed, supported or helped the foundation of several other monasteries of Cistercian nuns. Until the 12th century, the abbeys of both Flanders and Hainaut were exclusively male; however, twenty female monasteries in Flanders (most notably the Abbey of La Byloke in Ghent), and five in Hainaut were founded during the 13th century. They were supported by Joan and her sister Margaret – for some of them, the role of foundresses was assigned a posteriori in modern times.
  Joan also supported the foundation of the Mendicant orders in her counties. At Valenciennes, (to which a small community of Franciscans moved in 1217), she granted them the usufruct of the old Donjon of the city with for the foundation of a convent there; however, she had to face the resistance of the local Franciscan community. Finally, the two communities merged before 1241. In the case of the Franciscans of Lille, Joan sent her general contractor and carpenters to help build the church and convent.
  The Countess also promoted and established several monasteries, abbeys and Béguinages in her domains: the most notable of them were located in Mons and Valenciennes (in Hainaut), Bruges, Ghent and Ypres (in Flanders), all founded between 1236 and 1244. Douai and Lille were founded in 1245 by her sister Margaret. It is possible that the influence of the Dominicans played a role in these foundations, some of which are under their spiritual direction.
  By the end of the 12th century, the religious Victorines are implanted in Flanders and Hainaut. A dozen monasteries were founded between 1217 and 1262. Joan encouraged this movement, and directly supported, in 1244 the creation of the Bethlehem Priory at Mesvin in the Diocese of Cambrai. These monasteries, which enjoyed considerable autonomy, had a charitable and urban land use. They responded well to the demands of the new women's spirituality of the 13th century.
  Joan also supported hospitals (including Saint-Sauveur and Saint-Nicolas in Lille) and leper colonies. In 1228, with her husband Ferrand, she provided a way for the founding of the Biloke in Ghent. In February 1237, she founded the Hospice Comtesse, for which she donated the gardens of her residence in the castrum of Lille at the site of the old donjon which was destroyed by the French in 1213. She also founded the Hospital of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary in Valenciennes, four years after her canonization. This foundation was used by the beguines.
caption: A Cistercian nun praying at the foot of the Cross. Manuscript of the 13th century that belonged to the Cistercian Abbey of Marquette-lez-Lille. Bibliothèque municipale de Cambrai, ms. 99.
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