Jeanne de Divion
Jeanne de Divion was a French forger.
Jeanne was the daughter of the impoverished noble Havet de Divion and Sara Louchard, and married the knight Pierre de Broyes. She was known for her knowledge of astrology, and made a scandal by living openly with her lover, Thierry Larchier d'Hirson. When d'Hirson, then the Bishop of Arras, died, he left Jeanne 3000 livres. The executor of his will, Mahaut, Countess of Artois, paid the inheritance but later challenged it as being based on an adulterous liaison with a bishop, and obtained the restitution.
In 1331, Robert III of Artois used a forgery created by Jeanne attesting to the will of his father as a means to reclaim the County of Artois from his aunt, the same Mahaut, Countess of Artois. This deception was discovered, and Robert lost any hope of acquiring Artois. Jeanne was condemned and burned at the stake for forgery on 6 October 1331, at the Place aux Pourceaux in Paris.In fiction
Jeanne de Divion is a minor character in Les Rois maudits, a series of French historical novels by Maurice Druon which includes a retelling of her forgery. She was played by Annie Bertin in the 1972 French miniseries adaptation of the series, and by in the 2005 adaptation.
