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| Francis II Duke of Brittany |
An Heir to the Dukedom
Anne of Brittany was the child of Francis II, Duke of Brittany and his second wife Margaret de Foix, Infanta of Navarre. Francis’ first wife had been his cousin Margaret of Brittany, the daughter of Francis I Duke of Brittany. On the death of
Francis I, his brother Peter II inherited the dukedom. When Peter II
died an uncle Arthur of Richemont inherited the duchy for eleven
months and his nephew Francis II ruled after his death.
From his
first marriage to Margaret Francis II had a son Jean, Count of Montfort,
but Jean died young. Brittany was an independent dukedom and, unlike the rest
of France, had a variation of Salic Law which allowed for women to succeed to the dukedom if there were no male
heirs.
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| Charles VII |
Anne was
born on 25th January 1477; her sister Isabeau was born the following
year. Anne also had four half-siblings from her father’s relationship with Antoinette de Maignelais, a former mistress of King Charles VII of France[i]. One son, François, was
made Baron d’Avagour[ii].
Anne’s mother Margaret died on 15th May 1486, when Anne was nine.
Anne’s
governess Françoise de Dinan, was a member of the powerful d’Albret family, and was Lady of Chateaubriant in her own right and Countess of Laval by marriage[iii].
Anne was taught Greek and Latin and it is believed that she had some knowledge
of Italian and Hebrew. She was also an accomplished needlewoman and horse
rider. In addition to her governess, Anne had several tutors, including her butler and court poet, Jean Meschinot, who is thought to have taught her dancing,
singing and music.
Independence
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| Louis XI |
Brittany had
supported the English in their fight to subdue France and even before the Treaty of Picquingy that formally ended the 100 Years War, on 29th August 1475, the
kings of France had been eager to extend their rule over the whole of France.
Francis II was committed to maintaining Brittany’s independence and fought two
wars with France, becoming a member of the League of the Public Weal. The league opposed the centralising
aims of Louis XI[iv].
At the
beginning of his reign Francis II had been welcomed by his subjects; but his
popularity lessened as he came under the sway of his favourites, Antoinette de
Maignelais and Peter Landais, who was the keeper of the duke’s wardrobe despite
being only of merchant stock. Francis II was believed to be
‘More occupied in pleasure
than in the care of his duchy.’[v]
A tax on
wine and cider to fund the Breton army did not find many supporters. Following
the arrest and imprisonment of the Chancellor Chauvain, at Landais’ behest, the
Breton nobility united against the favourite and he was hanged.
Marshall Jean IV de Rieux[vi], along with his brother Peter, equerry to the duke, was among a considerable number of Breton courtiers who
took pensions from the French crown. Françoise de Dinan was another French
pensioner. The pensions ranged from 250 livres[vii] to 12,000 livres[viii].
Suitors
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| Arms of John of Chalons-Arlay |
One of Anne’s cousins; John IV of
Chalon-Arlay, Prince of Orange[ix] was also under consideration as Anne’s husband.
Following his support for Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, John was exiled
in Brittany.
Viscount Jean II of Rohan[x], also in line to the Breton duchy offered with the
support of Marshal de Rieux, a double marriage of his sons François and Jean with
Anne and her sister Isabeau, but Francis II was opposed to this plan.
Death of the Spider
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| Charles VIII |
With the
death of Louis XI, on 30th August 1483, his son Charles VIII became king. As he was too young to
rule his sister Anne of Beaujeu was made Regent and ruled with the
assistance of her husband, Peter II, Duke of Bourbon.
‘Madam de Beaujeu, his
sister, was with the king all the time…nor was anything touching the king and
his kingdom done except with her knowledge, approval and consent.’[xi]
In 1484
Charles was introduced to the Estates General by his chancellor who promised them
a leader whose sagacity belied his years;
‘Look with joy, then, upon
his face. How radiantly it displays such beauty, such serenity! How clearly it
reflects a noble and illustrious nature! Is it not worthy to be obeyed: to
deliver you from fear, to bring perpetual calm from the terrors of the whole
world?’[xii]
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| Anne de Beaujeu |
Anne of
Beaujeu’s regency was not acceptable to many of the nobility, not least among
them her cousin, Louis,
Duke of Orléans next
in line for the throne. Supported by Francis and a number of other lords Louis
made an attempt to seize the regency but failed. The revolt was put down
without much fighting and the Peace of Bourges was agreed in November 1485.
Louis d’Orléans
was another aspirant for Anne’s hand, despite being already married to the king's
sister Jeanne[xiii]. Louis requested an annulment of his
marriage from Pope Innocent VIII. Anne met Louis
d’Orléans[xiv], who was to be her second husband, for the first time
in 1485.
The Mad War
During the second
Franco-Breton or Mad War the King of the Romans[xv]; Maximilian I invaded northern France into Artois, momentarily distracting attention from the Bretons. Maximilian then had
to divert his armies northwards to Switzerland where a rebellion was in the
offing.
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| France during the Mad War |
A suggestion
was made that Anne marry Alain I d’Albret[xvi]. Although d’Albret was an ally of
her father’s and commanded an army of his own, he was regarded by his
contemporaries as greedy, fickle and unscrupulous. Anne refused to marry
d’Albret as she found him repulsive; a contemporary Jaligny described the
forty-five year old as having;
‘[A] spotted face, harsh
voice, fierce expression, and still fiercer temper’[xvii]
making him
an unattractive suitor for a thirteen year old despite the encouragement of her
governess, d’Albret’s sister.
In 1487
Louis d’Orléans returned to the Breton court
accompanied by 400 lancers and rebellious French nobles; he was on the run from
the French Regent. Rumours were spread that Louis had come to court Anne and he
was obliged to refute them, saying
‘That his visits were solely
for business with her [Anne’s] father.’[xviii]
In fact
Louis had suggested to Anne de Beaujeu that his duchy of Orléans revert to
Charles and in return she support Louis’ marriage to Anne of Brittany.
Resentful of the French nobles at the Breton court a number of the Breton
nobility came to an agreement in March 1487 with the French crown that in
return for 6,000 troops and a subsidy they would help drive out the French
rebels from Brittany.
Bibliography
Louis XII –
Frederic J Baumgartner, MacMillan Press Ltd 1996
Renaissance
Europe – JR Hale, Wm Collins Sons and Co Ltd 1971
Louis XI –
Paul Murray Kendall, Sphere Books Ltd 1974
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)
[i]
Antoinette became Charles’ mistress after the death of Agnès Sorel in 1450.
Charles married Antoinette off to one of his retainers André, Baron de
Villequier. Antoinette’s relationship with Francis began after the king’s death
[ii]
A title awarded to his son by Francis; the rights to the title and to countship
and rights of Penthièvre
were lost after Olivier d’Avagour attempted and failed to take John VI, duke
of Brittany prisoner in 1420
[iv]
Known as the Spider
[v]
Anne of Brittany - Sanborn
[vi]
Commander of the Breton army
[vii]
In 2013
the relative: historic standard of living
value of that income or wealth is £167,500.00
economic status value of that income or wealth is £5,369,000.00 economic power value of that income or wealth is £78,410,000.00 www.measuringworth.com
economic status value of that income or wealth is £5,369,000.00 economic power value of that income or wealth is £78,410,000.00 www.measuringworth.com
[viii]
In 2013
the relative: historic standard of living
value of that income or wealth is £8,039,000.00
economic status value of that income or wealth is £257,700,000.00 economic power value of that income or wealth is £3,764,000,000.00 www.measuringworth.com
economic status value of that income or wealth is £257,700,000.00 economic power value of that income or wealth is £3,764,000,000.00 www.measuringworth.com
[ix]
A grandson of Richard, Count of Étampes, he was one of
Anne’s cousins and third in line to the duchy after Anne and Isabeau.
[xi]
Louis XII - Baumgartner
[xii]
Renaissance Europe - Hale
[xiii]
Louis XI had deliberately forced Louis d’Orléans to marry Jean, who was
severely physically handicapped and it was believed (probably correctly) that
she was barren and the Orléans line would die out
[xv]
The title given to the chosen heir of the Holy Roman Emperor
[xvi]
Son of Catherine of Rohan and Jean
I of Albret. Through his mother, he was a great-grandson of Duke John V of Brittany
[xvii]
Twice Crowned Queen – de la Warr
[xviii]
Anne of Brittany - Sanborn
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