John V, Duke of Brittany

John V
Seal of Jean V
Duke of Brittany Count of Montfort
Reign	1 November 1399 – 29 August 1442
Coronation	28 March 1402
Predecessor	John IV
Successor	Francis I
Regents	Joan of Navarre Philip the Bold
Born	Peter of Montfort 24 December 1389 Château de l'Hermine, Vannes
Died	29 August 1442 (aged 52) Manoir de La Touche, Nantes
Burial	Notre
Spouse	Joan of France ​ ​ (m. 1396; died 1433)​
Issue more...	Isabelle, Countess of Laval Francis I, Duke of Brittany Peter II, Duke of Brittany Gilles, Lord of Chantocé
Family	Montfort
Father	John IV, Duke of Brittany
Mother	Joan of Navarre

John V, sometimes numbered as VI, (24 December 1389 – 29 August 1442) bynamed John the Wise (Breton: Yann ar Fur ; French: Jean le Sage), was Duke of Brittany and Count of Montfort from 1399 to his death. His rule coincided with the height of the Hundred Years' War between England and France. John's reversals in that conflict, as well as in other internal struggles in France, served to strengthen his duchy and to maintain its independence.^[1]

His alternative regnal name, John VI, as he is known traditionally in old English sources, comes from English partisan accounting as to who was the rightful duke of Brittany during the War of the Breton Succession (1341–65), which had preceded the rule of his father. Although he faced problems which had lingered from it, his rule as duke was mostly unchallenged. Without significant internal and foreign threats, John V reinforced ducal authority, reformed the military, constructed a coherent method of taxation, and established diplomatic and trade contacts with most of Western Europe.^[1]

John V was also a patron of the arts and the Church, and funded the construction of several cathedrals. He is known for creating the "Lycée Lesage" in Vannes.^{[citation needed]}