 |
| Louis de la Tremoille |
Outnumbered and Outgunned
Charles’
general Louis de La Trémoille led a French army of 15,000 to
besiege Ploȅrmel[i] which fell on 1st June.
Louis d’Orléans and his small army retreated to Vannes closely followed by the
French, where the majority of rebels surrendered. Louis fled to Nantes which was immediately besieged by La Trémoille. François
d'Orléans-Longueville[ii], the Comte de Dunois led an army of 10,000 to harry the French besiegers.
The war
continued throughout the summer of 1488 and Charles wrote to La Trémoille;
‘Make war as vigorously as
you can and give them no leave to make repairs, get provisions or prepare.’[iii]
 |
| St Malo |
The French
were the victors of the Battle of St Aubin du Cormier on 29th June. Louis and
his men deferred to the most experienced captain on their side d’Albret who
insisted on ensuring that everything was positioned perfectly before attacking,
despite having the initial advantage. It is possible that he was bribed to lose
the battle. The French army then moved on to take St Malo forcing Francis to come to terms.
The Treaty of Sablé[iv] signed on 20th August
1488 saw Francis submit as a vassal of the throne of France. He promised to
obtain Charles’ permission before arranging a marriage for Anne. He also agreed
to remove all foreign troops from Brittany and stop supporting the English. The
rebel Louis d’Orléans was imprisoned and he did not see Anne again until after
she was married to his cousin.
A Death in the Family
 |
| Arms of the Counts of Comminges |
With
Francis’ death on 4th September 1488, following a fall from his
horse, Anne became sovereign Duchess of Brittany, Countess of Nantes, Montfort and Richmond and Viscountess of Limoges. On his deathbed Francis appointed
Marshall Rieux and Odet d’Aydie, the Comte de Comminges and Governor of Guyenne, as Anne’s guardians.
The eleven year old duchess was beset by enemies, not only the French but her
former ally d’Albret who conspired and fought with them.
Anne was now a prize to be
fought over by the rulers of Europe; Henry VII
suggested a marriage between Anne and Edward
Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham, but
in December 1489 the executors of Henry
Percy, 4th Earl of Northumberland,
paid the King £4000[v]
to allow Buckingham to marry Percy's eldest daughter Eleanor. The Spanish sovereigns Ferdinand
and Isabella were
also interested in gaining Anne’s dominions for their son Juan Prince of the Asturias, and
Maximilian too was looking for a well-endowed wife.
 |
| Rennes |
Following
divisions amongst her advisers and still hopeful of marrying Anne, by force if
necessary, d’Albret laid siege to Nantes and Anne had to flee to Rennes.
‘While aid from England was
delayed….she [Anne] sent for de Rieux and Commines to conduct her to Nantes.
Instead of obeying they remained with d’Albret.’[vi]
She was
crowned duchess of 10th February 1489 in Rennes. Her cousin John
became Anne’s heir presumptive and a member of her high council. In August 1490
Anne lost her sister Isabeau; always a sickly child.
In a
desperate attempt to find allies, John was instrumental in arranging Anne’s
marriage to Maximilian. Anne was married by proxy to Maximilian on 19th December 1490 at Rennes cathedral. The marriage was regarded as
consummated when Maximilian’s proxy, in a ceremony new to western Europe, laid
his leg naked to the knee under the sheets of the bed in which the 14 year old
Anne lay. The French viewed the marriage as illegal as Charles’ consent had not
been requested or given.
Invasion
 |
| Chateau de Ducs de Bretagne |
With the
proxy marriage to Maximilian as their justification the French intensified
their efforts to subjugate Brittany[vii]. D’Albret, captain of
the garrison in Nantes and disappointed in his hopes of Anne, handed over the
town to the French in return for a full pardon, the return of his confiscated
lands and a large sum of money. The French entered Nantes in February 1491.
Maximilian and Henry VII promised aid but before either could act the French
were besieging Anne’s capital of Rennes.
Maximilian was
too engrossed fighting in Hungary to spare troops to support Anne in Brittany.
Her English and Castilian allies sent a nominal number of
troops to fight in the siege of Rennes. The chances of surviving the siege were
minimal and there was no money to pay for an army to relieve the city. Charles
offered Anne 1200,000 livres[viii] and a free pass to
travel to join Maximilian, an offer it was easy for Anne to refuse as it meant
the loss of her duchy.
Anne’s
advisers suggested that Anne agree to marry Charles. Angry with Maximilian for
his failure to come to her aid and persuaded by her confessor and governess
that the proxy marriage was not binding, Anne agreed. Louis d’Orléans worked to bring
about his cousin’s marriage; he had been freed from his imprisonment by Charles
after Louis agreed to plead his cousin’s case. In July 1491 Louis and Dunois
travelled to Rennes.
 |
| Margaret of Austria |
Reflecting
the helplessness of Anne’s position the contract was one sided and Anne had to
agree to marry Charles’ successor if he should die without a son, a twist of
fate that was to reunite Anne with Louis.
‘She was beautiful, young and
full of graces, so that it was a pleasure to look on her.’[x]
While
Charles has been described as
‘A young and licentious
hunchback of doubtful sanity.’[xi]
Maximilian’s
daughter Margaret who had been betrothed to Charles in
1483 and was living at the French court, was now repudiated[xii].
Queen of France
 |
| Chateau de Langeais |
Dispensation
for the marriage was required from the pope Innocent VIII and the couple were married at the Chateau de Langeais[xiii]. Charles became Duke of Brittany; if
Anne died before Charles and any children of the marriage, and the duchy was to
become part of France. If Charles died before Anne then she regained her duchy.
In France it
was recorded that;
‘There is no sign of rejoicing
over this marriage [at court] on the part of the king or anyone else.’[xiv]
Following
the wedding on 6th December 1491, the couple went to Tours, before travelling on to Paris. Anne was crowned at the Basilica of St Denis on 8th February 1492 and
the following day Anne made her official entry into the city.
Charles and
Anne lived at the Hôtel des Tournelles[xv], but neither of the couple liked
Paris and Charles had the Chateau d’ Amboise, where he had spent much of his
childhood, extended. At the same time Anne had the chateau at Nantes refurbished.
A Valois Dauphin
 |
| Charles Orlando |
In the
autumn of 1492 a pregnant Anne and Charles travelled to the Chateau de Plessis les Tours where Anne gave birth to her first
child on 11th October 1492, Charles Orlando.. The name was a compromise; Anne,
Charles and his godmother, Jeanne de Laval, widow of King René I
of Naples wanted the
Dauphin to be called Orlando, a variant of
the name Roland the French hero of the battle of Roncevaux Pass as glorified in the Chanson de Rolande[xvi].
Louis
d’Orléans and Peter II, Duke of Bourbon, as godfathers refused to allow the
future king of France to receive such an outlandish name. Anne was still
recovering from giving birth and did not attend the christening the Church of
Saint Jean of Plessisour. The Dauphin was held during the service by his
mother’s cousin John IV.
When Charles
Orlando was 18 months old he was
installed in the castle at Amboise. He had two governors, the Lord de Boissy and That-Guénant. His governess was
Madam de Bussière and he surrounded by a multitude of servants. Charles Orlando
was the pride and joy of his parents. His mother doted on him, buying him
presents; his father described him as the;
 |
| Lord de Boissy |
‘Most beautiful of gems.’[xvii]
Both parents
insisted on being kept informed of his health and his progress, by means of
letters and messages. To protect Charles Orlando his father decreed that there
was to be no hunting in the fôret d’Amboise and that the city be reduced to
having only four gates, impeding access to the castle.
Bibliography
Louis XII –
Frederic J Baumgartner, MacMillan Press Ltd 1996
Renaissance
Europe – JR Hale, Wm Collins Sons and Co Ltd 1971
The Rise and
Fall of Renaissance France – RJ Knecht, Fontana Press 1996
Absolute
Monarchs – John Julius Norwich, Random House 2011
A History of
France 1460-1560 – David Potter, MacMillan Press Ltd 1995
Anne of
Brittany – Helen Josephine Sanborn, General Books 2012
The March of
Folly – Barbara W Tuchman, Sphere Books Ltd 1984
Twice
Crowned Queen – Constance de la Warr, Eveliegh Nash 1905 (Reprint 2015)
www.wikipedia.en
[i]
Between Vannes and Rennes
[ii]
Son of Jean de Dunois
who was a cousin of Louis’ father Charles and one of Joan of Arc’s captains
[iii]
Louis XII - Baumgartner
[iv]
Also known as the Treaty of La Verger
[v]
In 2013 the relative: historic standard of
living value of that income or
wealth is £2,664,000.00 economic status
value of that income or wealth is £85,390,000.00 economic power value of that income or wealth is £1,240,000,000.00 www.measuringworth.com
[vi]
Anne of Brittany - Sanborn
[vii]
Claiming that Anne had not received permission from Charles to marry Maximilian
[viii]
In 2013 the relative: historic standard of
living value of that income or
wealth is £76,710,000.00 economic status
value of that income or wealth is £2,399,000,000.00 economic power value of that income or wealth is £34,620,000,000.00 www.measuringworth.com
[ix]
One of Charles’ courtiers
[x]
Anne of Brittany - Sanborn
[xi]
Absolute Monarchs - Norwich
[xii]
Her first husband was Juan, Prince of the Asturias
[xiv]
The Rise and Fall of Renaissance France - Knecht
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