Anne de Bretagne, reine de France

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_of_Brittany

and in French; http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_de_Bretagne

http://genealogics.org/getperson.php?personID=I00003789&tree=LEO

https://www.thevintagenews.com/2018/04/17/museum-theft-2/

Anne, Duchess of Brittany (25 January 1477 – 9 January 1514),[1] also known as Anna of Brittany (French: Anne de Bretagne; Breton: Anna Vreizh), was a Breton ruler, who was to become queen to two successive French kings. She was born in Nantes, Brittany, and was the daughter of Francis II, Duke of Brittany and Margaret of Foix. Her maternal grandparents were Queen Eleanor of Navarre and Gaston IV, Count of Foix. Upon her father's death, she became sovereign Duchess of Brittany, Countess of Nantes, Montfort and Richmont and Viscountess of Limoges. In her time, she was the richest European woman.

Early life

Anne was the only child of Francis and Margaret to survive childhood (she had a younger sister, Isabeau, who died in 1490). Accordingly, she was brought up as the heiress to the Duchy. She was given a good education under the guidance of Françoise de Dinan, Lady of Laval and Chateaubriant, and the poet Jean Meschinot.

Since the Breton War of Succession, Brittany had been understood to operate according to semi-Salic Law – women could only inherit if the male line had died out. By the time Anne was born, her father was the only male left of the Breton House of Dreux. The War of Succession had ended with an agreement that, in the absence of a male heir, the heirs of Joanna of Penthievre would succeed. After a century, however, this agreement had been forgotten. Thus, in 1486 Anne's father had her recognised as heiress by the Breton estates; however, the question of her marriage remained a diplomatic issue. Francis had no intention of allowing Brittany to be absorbed by France. Therefore, he sought for his daughter a marriage with a figure capable of withstanding French power.

Brittany being an attractive prize, Anne had no shortage of suitors. She was officially promised in marriage to Edward, Prince of Wales, son of Edward IV of England in 1483; however, the boy disappeared, and was presumed dead, soon after the death of Edward IV and the accession of his brother, Richard III. Others who bid for her hand included Maximilian of Austria (the widower of Mary of Burgundy, another heiress), Alain d'Albret, Jean de Châlons (Prince of Orange) and even the married Louis, Duke of Orleans.

In 1488, however, the armies of Francis II were defeated at the Battle of Saint-Aubin-du-Cormier, ending the Guerre folle between Brittany and France. In the Treaty of Sablé, which concluded the peace settlement, the Duke was forced to accept clauses stipulating that his daughters were not to marry without the approval of the King of France. Francis died soon afterward, on 9 September 1488, as a result of a fall from his horse. Anne became Duchess, and Brittany was plunged into fresh crisis, leading to the last Franco-Breton war.

[edit] Duchess of Brittany

The first necessary move for Anne was to secure a husband, preferably anti-France and powerful enough to maintain Breton independence. Maximilian I of Austria was considered to be the most suitable candidate. Her marriage with Maximilian, which took place at Rennes by proxy on 19 December 1490, conferred upon Anne the title Queen of the Romans, but proved to have serious consequences. The French regarded it as a serious provocation—it not only violated the Treaty of Verger (the King of France not having consented to the marriage), but also placed the rule of Brittany in the hands of an enemy of France. The marriage also proved ill-timed: the Habsburgs were too busy in Hungary to pay any serious attention to Brittany, and the Castilians were busy fighting in Granada. Although both Castile and England sent small numbers of troops to supplement the Ducal army, neither wished for open warfare with France. The spring of 1491 brought new successes by the French general La Trémoille, and Charles VIII of France came to lay siege to Rennes.

After Maximilian failed to come to his bride's assistance, Rennes fell. Anne became engaged to Charles in the vault of the Jacobins in Rennes. Then, escorted by her army (ostensibly to show that she had willingly consented to the marriage), Anne went to Langeais to be married. Although Austria made diplomatic protests, claiming that the marriage was illegal because the bride was unwilling, that she was already legally married to Maximilian, and that Charles was legally betrothed to Margaret of Austria, Maximilian's daughter, Anne celebrated her second wedding to Charles VIII at the castle of Langeais on 6 December 1491.

The marriage was subsequently validated by Pope Innocent VIII on 15 February 1492. The marriage contract provided that whichever spouse outlived the other would retain possession of Brittany; however, it also stipulated that if Charles died without male heirs, Anne would marry his successor, thus ensuring the French kings a second chance to permanently annex Brittany.

[edit] Queen of France

Anne's first marriage began badly: she brought two beds with her when she came to marry Charles, and the King and Queen often lived apart. She was anointed and crowned Queen of France at Saint-Denis on 8 February 1492; she was forbidden by her husband to use the title "Duchess of Brittany", which became a bone of contention between the two. When her husband fought in the wars in Italy, the regency powers were exercised by his sister Anne of Beaujeu. Pregnant for most of her married life, Anne lived primarily in the royal castles of Amboise, Loaches and Plessis or in the towns of Lyon, Grenoble or Moulins (when the king was in Italy). She became Queen of Sicily and titular Queen of Jerusalem with the conquest of Naples by Charles VIII.

The marriage produced four living children, none of whom survived early childhood. Only the first, Charles Orland (11 October 1492 – 16 December 1495), survived infancy. A healthy and intelligent child, he was doted on by his parents, who both suffered terrible grief when he died suddenly of the measles. After him was born Charles, who lived for less than a month; and Francis and Anne, who each died almost immediately after being born. These tragedies caused a great deal of pain to Anne, who prayed openly for a son after the death of Francis.

[edit] Widowhood and remarriage

When Charles VIII died in 1498, Anne was 21 years old and childless. Legally, she was now obliged to marry the new king, Louis XII; however, he was already married, to Joan, daughter of Louis XI and sister to Charles VIII. On 19 August 1498, at Étampes, she agreed to marry Louis if he obtained an annulment from Joan within a year. If she was gambling that the annulment would be denied, she lost: Louis's first marriage was dissolved by the Pope before the end of the year.

In the interim, in October 1498, Anne returned to rule Brittany. She restored the faithful Philippe de Montauban to the chancellery of Brittany, named the Prince of Orange as Hereditary Lieutenant General of Brittany, convened the Estates of Brittany, and ordered production of a coin bearing her name. She took the opportunity to tour the Duchy, visiting many places she had never been able to see as a child. She made triumphal entries into the cities of the duchy, where her vassals received her sumptuously.

Anne's third marriage ceremony, on 8 January 1499 (she wore white, setting a precedent for future brides), was concluded under conditions radically different from those of the second. She was no longer a child, but was a dowager queen, and was determined to ensure the recognition of her rights as sovereign duchess from now on. Although her new husband exercised the ruler's powers in Brittany, he formally recognized her right to the title "Duchess of Brittany" and issuing decisions in her name.

As Duchess, Anne fiercely defended the independence of her Duchy. She arranged the marriage of her daughter, Claude, to Charles of Luxembourg in 1501, to reinforce the Franco-Spanish alliance and ensure French success in the Italian Wars; however, Louis broke off the marriage when it became likely that Anne would not produce a male heir. Instead, Louis arranged a marriage between Claude and the heir to the French throne, Francis of Angouleme. Anne, determined to maintain Breton independence, refused until death to sanction the marriage, pushing instead for Claude to marry Charles, or for the Duchy to be inherited by her other daughter, Renee. The marriage of Claude and Francis eventually took place in the year following Anne's death.

[edit] Death

Anne failed to survive the winter of 1513-1514, dying of a kidney-stone attack at the Chateau of Blois. She was buried in the necropolis of Saint Denis. Her funeral was of exceptional length, lasting 40 days, and inspiring all future French royal funerals until the 18th century. The Requiem for Anne was probably composed by the famous composer Johannes Prioris.

According to her will, her heart was placed in a raised enamel gold reliquary, then transported to Nantes to be deposited, on 19 March 1514, in the vault of the Carmelite friars, in the tomb made for her parents, later being transferred to the Saint-Pierre cathedral. The reliquary of the heart of the Anne, Duchess of Brittany is a box oval, bivalvular, made of a sheet of gold pushed back and guilloched, articulated by a hinge, broadside of a gold cordelière and topped by a crown of lily and clover. It is inscribed as follows:

   En ce petit vaisseau

De fin or pur et munde
Repose ung plus grand cueur
Que oncque dame eut au munde
Anne fut le nom delle
En France deux fois royne
Duchesse des Bretons
Royale et Souveraine.[3]
It was made by an anonymous goldsmith of the court of Blois, perhaps drawn by Jean Perréal. In 1792, by order of the National Convention, the reliquary was exhumed, emptied, and seized as part of a collection of precious metals pertaining to churches, and sent to Nantes to be melted down. However, it was instead kept in the National Library, and was returned to Nantes in 1819, being kept in various museums, and in the Dobrée Museum since 1896.

Anne's will also conferred the succession of Brittany upon her second daughter, Renee. This was ignored by her husband, who confirmed Claude as Duchess and married her to Francis.

[edit] Personal characteristics

Anne was a highly intelligent woman who spent much of her time on the administration of Brittany. She was described as shrewd, proud and haughty in manner.[4] She made the safeguarding of Breton autonomy, and the preservation of the Duchy outside the French crown, her life's work, although that goal would prove failed shortly after her death.

Anne was also a patron of the arts and enjoyed music. A prolific collector of tapestries, it is very likely that the unicorn tapestries now on view at The Cloisters museum in New York City were commissioned by her in celebration of her wedding to Louis XII.[5] She also commissioned a book of French manuscripts (a Book of Hours), known as The Great Hours of Anne of Brittany. She also instituted the Queen's Maids of Honour at the court.

One of Anne's legs was shorter than the other, causing a limp. To fix the problem, she wore a higher heel on that leg.[citation needed]

Anne kept a box of gemstones. She would randomly pick one and give it to her visitors.[citation needed]

She was a devoted mother, spending as much time as possible with her children. For her son, Charles-Orland, she commissioned a book of prayers, intended to be used in teaching him how to pray, and as a guidance to him as the future King of France; unfortunately, Charles-Orland died in 1495, and no other son lived more than a few weeks.

At her marriage to Charles VIII, aged 14, Anne was described as a young and rosy-cheeked girl; by the time of her marriage to Louis, aged 22, after seven pregnancies with no surviving children, she was described as pale-faced and wan. By the end of her life, at 36, she had been pregnant 14 times, with seven of the children stillborn. Of the remaining seven, only two survived childhood.

[edit] Marriages and Issue

Anne's first marriage ceremony, on 19 December 1490, was a marriage by proxy to Maximilian of Habsburg. It was dissolved by the Pope in the following year; because it was only by proxy (rather than in person), it is not generally considered a 'real' marriage.

Her second husband was Charles VIII of France, whom she married at Chateau Langeais on 6 December 1491. She was pregnant by him seven times:

   * Charles Orlando, Dauphin of France. Her only healthy son, he lived 1492-1495, but died of the measles.

* A still-born son. She became pregnant in late 1492/early 1493, but travelled with her husband from castle to castle; she went into labour during a drive in the forest of Courcelles, and the child was premature and stillborn (August 1493).
* A still-born girl. Anne became pregnant again five months after her miscarriage, and avoided travel (instead residing in Amboise near the Dauphin). However, in February 1494, she accompanied the King to Lyons, where he was preparing to depart for the Italian Wars, and after arriving on 15 March, attended all the ceremonies; the stress of the occasion caused her to go into premature labour, and she gave birth to a still-born girl.
* A still-born child. She became pregnant again in August 1494, but lost the baby soon after.
* Charles, Dauphin of France. He lived from 8 September to 2 October 1496. His death prompted Anne to withdraw to Moulins temporarily in despair.
* Francis, Dauphin of France. He died several hours after his birth in 1497.
* Anne of France. She died on the day of her birth, 20 March 1498 at Plessis les Tours.
Her third husband was Louis XII of France. She was pregnant by him seven times:

   * Claude of France (1499 -1524) became her heir and also Queen Consort of Francis I.

* Stillborn son (1500).
* Stillborn son (21 January 1503).
* Some sources cited a miscarriage by the end of 1503.
* In 1505 she suffered a miscarriage.
* Stillborn son (1508) -some sources cited this was a miscarriage-.
* Some sources cited a miscarriage in 1509.
* Renée of France (1510 - 1575) married Ercole II d'Este, the Duke of Ferrara, and became the Duchess of Chartres.
* Stillborn son (January 1512).
[edit] Cultural symbolism of Anne

Even while she was alive, the royal propaganda of Charles VIII and of Louis XII introduced Anne of Brittany as a perfect queen, a symbol of union and peace between the kingdom of France and the duchy of Brittany. In the following centuries, historians and popular culture sometimes presented Anne of Brittany in differing fashions, ascribing to her physical and psychological characteristics that are not necessarily supported by historical evidence.

In 1991, the five-hundredth anniversary of the marriage of Anne of Brittany and Charles VIII of France was celebrated in Langeais. In Rennes, which had paid the price of this marriage by siege, food shortage, and an occupation, it was hardly mentioned.

[edit] Anne in Breton culture

Anne of Brittany is one of Brittany's most renowned historical figures, second perhaps only to Saint Yves. In testimony exist a large number of trades, hotels and street names bearing her name. Anne is also referred to by:

   * The folksong "Anne de Bretagne: duchess en sabots" which imagines her wearing rustic clogs at her first meeting with the king.

* a song of Gilles Servat which evokes her life: Koc'h ki gwenn ha koc'h ki du
* Duchesse Anne, name of a beer produced in Brittany
* the square three-masted ship Duchesse Anne, currently moored in the Port of Dunkirk.
* Anne de Bretagne, an opera composed by Louis-Albert Bourgault-Ducoudray in the 1870s. Bourgault, himself distantly related to Anne, was also born in Nantes and aimed to promote Breton culture throughout much of his music.
* Anne de Bretagne, an opera by Breton composer Pierick Houdy, libretto by M. Fournereau, first performed in Rennes 2001, featuring Agnès Bove in the title role.
* Anna Vreiz, a rock opera by Alan Simon, first performed in Nantes in June 2009 starring James Wood, Cecile Corbel, Fairport Convention, Nilda Fernandez, Tri Yann, Les Holroyd.
* If dead died, an anonymous poem going back to her funeral, and now performed by the popular Breton folk musicians Tri Yann. Another song of their repertory refers to the Duchess.
There are several explanations for this: the destiny of this duchess who married three kings, including two kings of France, and who was only a child when she had to marry the first (even if early engagements were normal at that time); the historical role of Anne in the union of the duchy to the kingdom of France; the fact that very little of the history of Brittany is taught in Breton schools (the official school syllabus being written in Paris for all the French territory -territories of overseas included - those retain only Anne as a notable Breton). This established fact leads some to experience the History of Brittany starting and finishing with Anne.

Reign 9 September 1488 – 9 January 1514

Predecessor Francis II

Successor Claude

Queen consort of France

Reign 6 December 1491 – 7 April 1498

8 January 1499 – 9 January 1514

Coronation 8 February 1492

Spouse Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor

Charles VIII of France

Louis XII of France

Issue

Claude, Queen of France

Renée, Duchess of Ferrara

House Dreux-Montfort

Father Francis II, Duke of Brittany

Mother Margaret of Foix

Born 25 January 1477(1477-01-25)

Nantes, Brittany

Died 9 January 1514 (aged 36)

Blois, France

---

Anne of Brittany

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Anne of Brittany (25 January 1477 – 9 January 1514 [1]), also known as Anna of Brittany (French: Anne de Bretagne; Breton: Anna Vreizh), was a Breton aristocrat, who was to become queen to two successive French kings, and ruling Duchess of Brittany. She was born in Nantes, in Brittany, and was the daughter of Francis II, Duke of Brittany and Margaret of Foix. Her maternal grandparents were Gaston IV of Foix and Eleanor of Navarre. Upon her father's death, she became sovereign Duchess of Brittany, Countess of Nantes, Montfort and Richmont and Viscountess of Limoges. In her time, she was the richest European woman.

Early life

Anne was the only child of Francis and Margaret to survive childhood (she had a younger sister, Isabeau, who died in 1490). Accordingly, she was brought up as the heiress to the Duchy. She was given a good education under the guidance of Françoise de Dinan, Lady of Laval and Chateaubriant, and the poet Jean Meschinot.

Since the Breton War of Succession, Brittany had been understood to operate according to semi-Salic Law – women could only inherit if the male line had died out. By the time Anne was born, her father was the only male left of the Breton House of Dreux. The War of Succession had ended with an agreement that, in the absence of a male heir, the heirs of Jeanne of Penthievre would succeed. After a century, however, this agreement had been forgotten. Thus, in 1486 Anne's father had her recognised as heiress by the Breton estates; however, the question of her marriage remained a diplomatic issue. Francis had no intention of allowing Brittany to be absorbed by France. Therefore, he sought for his daughter a marriage with a figure capable of withstanding French power.

Brittany being an attractive prize, Anne had no shortage of suitors. She was officially promised in marriage to Edward, Prince of Wales, son of Edward IV of England in 1481; however, the boy disappeared, and was presumed dead, soon after the death of Edward IV and the accession of his brother, Richard III. Others who bid for her hand included Maximilian of Austria (the widower of Mary of Burgundy, another heiress), Alain d'Albret, Jean de Châlons (Prince of Orange) and even the married Louis, Duke of Orleans.

In 1488, however, the armies of Francis II were defeated at Saint-Aubin-of-Cormier, ending the Guerre folle between Brittany and France. In the Treaty of Sablé, which concluded the peace settlement, the Duke was forced to accept clauses stipulating that his daughters were not to marry without the approval of the King of France. Francis died soon afterward, on 9 September 1488, as a result of a fall from his horse. Anne became Duchess, and Brittany was plunged into fresh crisis, leading to the last Franco-Breton war.

[edit]Duchess of Brittany

The first necessary move for Anne was to secure a husband, preferably anti-France and powerful enough to maintain Breton independence. Maximilian I of Austria was considered to be the most suitable candidate. The marriage with Maximilian, which took place at Rennes by proxy on 19 December 1490, gained Anne the title Queen of the Romans but proved to have serious consequences. The French regarded it as a serious provocation: it not only violated the Treaty of Verger (the King of France not having consented to the marriage), but also placed the rule of Brittany in the hands of an enemy of France. The marriage also proved ill-timed: the Habsburgs were too busy in Hungary to pay any serious attention to Brittany, and the Castilians were busy fighting in Granada. Although both Castile and England sent small numbers of troops to supplement the Ducal army, neither wished for open warfare with France. Thus, the Spring of 1491 saw new successes by the French general La Trémoille, and Charles VIII of France came to lay siege to Rennes, where Anne was.

After Maximilian failed to come to his bride's assistance, Rennes fell. Anne gave in and was engaged to Charles in the vault of the Jacobins in Rennes. Then, escorted by her army (and thus apparently set free, in order to prove that she willingly consented to the marriage), Anne went to Langeais, to be married. Although Austria made diplomatic protests, claiming that the marriage was illegal because the bride was unwilling, that she was already legally married to Maximilian, and that Charles was legally betrothed to Margaret of Austria, Maximilian's daughter, Anne celebrated her second wedding at the castle of Langeais on 6 December, and married King Charles VIII of France.

The marriage was subsequently validated by Pope Innocent VIII on February 15, 1492. The marriage contract provided that whichever spouse outlived the other would retain possession of Brittany; however, it was also agreed that if Charles died without male heirs, Anne would marry his successor, thus ensuring the French Kings a second chance to permanently annex Brittany.

Queen of France

Anne's first marriage began badly: she brought two beds with her when she came to marry Charles, and the King and Queen often lived apart. She was anointed and crowned Queen of France at Saint-Denis on 8 February 1492; she was forbidden by her husband to use the title "Duchess of Brittany", which became a bone of contention between the two. When her husband fought in the wars in Italy, the regency powers were exercised by his sister Anne of Beaujeu. Pregnant for most of her married life, Anne lived primarily in the royal castles of Amboise, Loaches and Plessis or in the towns of Lyon, Grenoble or Moulins (when the king was in Italy). She became Queen of Sicily and Jerusalem with the conquest of Naples by Charles VIII.

The marriage produced four living children, none of whom survived early childhood. Only the first, Charles Orland (11 October 1492 – 16 December 1495), survived infancy. A healthy and intelligent child, he was doted on by his parents, who both suffered terrible grief when he died suddenly of the measles. After him was born Charles, who lived for less than a month; and Francis and Anne, who each died almost immediately after being born. These tragedies caused a great deal of pain to Anne, who prayed openly for a son after the death of Francis.

Widowhood and remarriage

When Charles VIII died in 1498, Anne was 21 years old and childless. Legally, she was now obliged to marry the new king, Louis XII; however, he was already married, to Jeanne, daughter of Louis XI and sister to Charles VIII. On 19 August 1498, at Étampes, she agreed to marry Louis if he obtained an annulment from Jeanne within a year. If she was gambling that the annulment would be denied, she lost: Louis's first marriage was dissolved by the Pope before the end of the year.

In the interim, in October 1498, Anne returned to rule Brittany. She restored the faithful Philippe de Montauban to the chancellery of Brittany, named the Prince of Orange as Hereditary Lieutenant General of Brittany, convened the Estates of Brittany, and ordered production of a coin bearing her name. She took the opportunity to tour the Duchy, visiting many places she had never been able to see as a child. She made triumphal entries into the cities of the duchy, where her vassals received her sumptuously.

Anne's third marriage ceremony, on 8 January 1499 (she wore white, setting a precedent for future brides), was concluded under conditions radically different from those of the second. She was no longer a child, but was a Queen dowager, and was determined to ensure the recognition of her rights as sovereign duchess from now on. Although her new husband exercised the ruler's powers in Brittany, he accepted the title of duke consort, formally recognizing her right to the title "Duchess of Brittany" and issuing decisions in her name.

As Duchess, Anne fiercely defended the independence of her Duchy. She arranged the marriage of her daughter, Claude, to Charles of Luxembourg in 1501, to reinforce the Franco-Spanish alliance and ensure French success in the Italian Wars; however, Louis broke off the marriage when it became likely that Anne would not produce a male heir. Instead, Louis arranged a marriage between Claude and the heir to the French throne, Francis of Angouleme. Anne, determined to maintain Breton independence, refused until death to sanction the marriage, pushing instead for Claude to marry Charles, or for the Duchy to be inherited by her other daughter, Renee. The marriage of Claude and Francis eventually took place in the year following Anne's death.

[edit]Death

Anne failed to survive the winter of 1513-1514, dying of a kidney-stone attack at the Chateau of Blois. She was buried in the necropolis of Saint Denis. Her funeral was of exceptional length, lasting 40 days, and inspiring all future French royal funerals until the 18th century.

According to her will, her heart was placed in a raised enamel gold reliquary, then transported to Nantes to be deposited, on March 19, 1514, in the vault of the Carmelite friars, in the tomb made for her parents, later being transferred to the Saint-Pierre cathedral. The reliquary of the heart of the Anne, Duchess of Brittany is a box oval, bivalvular, made of a sheet of gold pushed back and guilloched, articulated by a hinge, broadside of a gold cordelière and topped by a crown of lily and clover. It is inscribed as follows: En ce petit vaisseau De fin or pur et munde Repose ung plus grand cueur Que oncque dame eut au munde Anne fut le nom delle En France deux fois royne Duchesse des Bretons Royale et Souveraine. It was made by an anonymous goldsmith of the court of Blois, perhaps drawn by Jean Perréal. In 1792, by order of the National Convention, the reliquary was exhumed, emptied, and seized as part of a collection of precious metals pertaining to churches, and sent to Nantes to be melted down. However, it was instead kept in the National Library, and was returned to Nantes in 1819, being kept in various museums, and in the Castle of the dukes of Brittany since 2007.

Anne's will also conferred the succession of Brittany upon her second daughter, Renee. This was ignored by her husband, who confirmed Claude as Duchess and married her to Francis.

Personal characteristics

Anne was a highly intelligent woman who spent much of her time on the administration of Brittany. She made the safeguarding of Breton autonomy, and the preservation of the Duchy outside the French crown, her life's work: although that goal would prove failed shortly after her death.

Anne was also a patron of the arts and enjoyed music. A prolific collector of tapestries, it is very likely that the unicorn tapestries now on view at The Cloisters museum in New York City were commissioned by her in celebration of her wedding to Louis XII.[2] She also commissioned a book of French manuscripts (a Book of Hours), known as The Great Hours of Anne of Brittany She also instituted the Queen's Maids of Honour at the court.

One of Anne's legs was shorter than the other, causing a limp. To fix the problem, she wore a higher heel on that leg.

Anne kept a box of precious stones and semi-precious stones. She would randomly pick one and give it to her visitors.

She was a devoted mother, spending as much time as possible with her children. For her son, Charles-Orland, she commissioned a book of prayers, intended to be used in teaching him how to pray, and as a guidance to him as the future King of France; unfortunately, Charles-Orland died in 1495, and no other son lived more than a few weeks.

At her marriage to Charles VIII, aged 14, Anne was described as a young and rosy-cheeked girl; by the time of her marriage to Louis, aged 22, after seven pregnancies with no surviving children, she was described as pale-faced and wan. By the end of her life, at 36, she had been pregnant 14 times, with seven of the children stillborn. Of the remaining seven, only two survived childhood.

Marriage and issue

Anne's first marriage ceremony, on 19 December 1490, was a marriage by proxy to Maximilian of Habsburg. It was dissolved by the Pope in the following year; because it was only by proxy (rather than in person), it is not generally considered a 'real' marriage.

Her second husband was Charles VIII of France, whom she married at Chateau Langeais on 6 December 1491. She was pregnant by him seven times:

Charles Orlando, Dauphin of France. Her only healthy son, he lived 1492-1495, but died of the measles.

A still-born son. She became pregnant in late 1492/early 1493, but travelled with her husband from castle to castle; she went into labour during a drive in the forest of Courcelles, and the child was premature and stillborn (August 1493).

A still-born girl. Anne became pregnant again five months after her miscarriage, and avoided travel (instead residing in Amboise near the Dauphin). However, in February 1494, she accompanied the King to Lyons, where he was preparing to depart for the Italian Wars, and after arriving on 15 March, attended all the ceremonies; the stress of the occasion caused her to go into premature labour, and she gave birth to a still-born girl.

A still-born child. She became pregnant again in August 1494, but lost the baby soon after.

Charles, Dauphin of France. He lived from 8 September to 2 October 1496. His death prompted Anne to withdraw to Moulins temporarily in despair.

Francis, Dauphin of France. He died several hours after his birth in 1497.

Anne of France. She died on the day of her birth, 20 March 1498 at Plessis les Tours.

Her third husband was Louis XII of France. She was pregnant by him seven times:

Claude of France (1499 -1524) became her heir and also Queen Consort of Francis I.

Stillborn son (1500).

Stillborn son (21 January 1503).

Some sources cited a miscarriage by the end of 1503.

In 1505 she suffered a miscarriage.

Stillborn son (1508) -some sources cited this was a miscarriage-.

Some sources cited a miscarriage in 1509.

Renée of France (1510 - 1575) married Ercole II d'Este, the Duke of Ferrara, and became the Duchess of Chartres.

Stillborn son (January 1512).

Cultural symbolism of Anne

Even while she was alive, the royal propaganda of Charles VIII and of Louis XII introduced Anne of Brittany as a perfect queen, a symbol of union and peace between the kingdom of France and the duchy of Brittany. In the following centuries, historians and popular culture sometimes presented Anne of Brittany in differing fashions, ascribing to her physical and psychological characteristics that are not necessarily supported by historical evidence.

In 1991, the five-hundredth anniversary of the marriage of Anne of Brittany and Charles VIII of France was celebrated in Langeais. In Rennes, which had paid the price of this marriage by siege, food shortage, and an occupation, it was hardly mentioned.

Anne in Breton culture

Anne of Brittany is one of Brittany's most renowned historical figures, second perhaps only to Saint Yves. In testimony exist a large number of trades, hotels and street names bearing her name. Anne is also referred to by:

a song of Gilles Servat which evokes his life: Koc'h ki gwenn ha koc'h ki du

Duchesse Anne, name of a beer produced in Brittany

the square three-masted ship Duchesse Anne, currently moored in the Port of Dunkirk.

Anne of Brittany, a Breton opera featuring Agnès Bove in the title role

If dead died, an anonymous poem going back to her funeral, and now performed by Breton singer Tri Yann. Another song of the repertory refers to the Duchess.

There are several explanations for this: the destiny of this duchess who married three kings, including two kings of France, and who was only a child when she had to marry the first (even if early engagements were normal at that time); the historical role of Anne in the union of the duchy to the kingdom of France; the fact that very little of the history of Brittany is taught in Breton schools (the official school syllabus being written in Paris for all the French territory -territories of overseas included - those retain only Anne as a notable Breton). This established fact leads some to experience the History of Brittany starting and finishing with Anne.

---

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_of_Brittany

Anne of Brittany

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

Anne

Duchess of Brittany

Reign 9 September 1488 – 9 January 1514

Predecessor Francis II

Successor Claude

Queen consort of France

Reign 6 December 1491 – 7 April 1498

8 January 1499 – 9 January 1514

Coronation 8 February 1492

Spouse Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor

Charles VIII of France

Louis XII of France

Issue

Claude, Queen of France

Renée, Duchess of Ferrara

House Dreux-Montfort

Father Francis II, Duke of Brittany

Mother Margaret of Foix

Born 25 January 1476(1476-01-25)

Nantes, Brittany

Died 9 January 1514 (aged 36)

Blois, France

Anne, Duchess of Brittany (25 January 1477 – 9 January 1514),[1] also known as Anna of Brittany (French: Anne de Bretagne; Breton: Anna Vreizh), was a Breton ruler, who was to become queen to two successive French kings. She was born in Nantes, Brittany, and was the daughter of Francis II, Duke of Brittany and Margaret of Foix. Her maternal grandparents were Queen Eleanor of Navarre and Gaston IV, Count of Foix. Upon her father's death, she became sovereign Duchess of Brittany, Countess of Nantes, Montfort and Richmont and Viscountess of Limoges. In her time, she was the richest European woman.

Contents

[show]

   * 1 Early life

* 2 Duchess of Brittany
* 3 Queen of France
* 4 Widowhood and remarriage
* 5 Death
* 6 Personal characteristics
* 7 Marriages and Issue
* 8 Cultural symbolism of Anne
* 9 Depictions in fiction
* 10 Anne in Breton culture
* 11 Ancestors
* 12 References
* 13 External links
[edit] Early life

Anne was the only child of Francis and Margaret to survive childhood (she had a younger sister, Isabeau, who died in 1490). Accordingly, she was brought up as the heiress to the Duchy. She was given a good education under the guidance of Françoise de Dinan, Lady of Laval and Chateaubriant, and the poet Jean Meschinot.

Since the Breton War of Succession, Brittany had been understood to operate according to semi-Salic Law – women could only inherit if the male line had died out. By the time Anne was born, her father was the only male left of the Breton House of Dreux. The War of Succession had ended with an agreement that, in the absence of a male heir, the heirs of Joanna of Penthievre would succeed. After a century, however, this agreement had been forgotten. Thus, in 1486 Anne's father had her recognised as heiress by the Breton estates; however, the question of her marriage remained a diplomatic issue. Francis had no intention of allowing Brittany to be absorbed by France. Therefore, he sought for his daughter a marriage with a figure capable of withstanding French power.

Brittany being an attractive prize, Anne had no shortage of suitors. She was officially promised in marriage to Edward, Prince of Wales, son of Edward IV of England in 1483; however, the boy disappeared, and was presumed dead, soon after the death of Edward IV and the accession of his brother, Richard III. Others who bid for her hand included Maximilian of Austria (the widower of Mary of Burgundy, another heiress), Alain d'Albret, Jean de Châlons (Prince of Orange) and even the married Louis, Duke of Orleans.

In 1488, however, the armies of Francis II were defeated at the Battle of Saint-Aubin-du-Cormier, ending the Guerre folle between Brittany and France. In the Treaty of Sablé, which concluded the peace settlement, the Duke was forced to accept clauses stipulating that his daughters were not to marry without the approval of the King of France. Francis died soon afterward, on 9 September 1488, as a result of a fall from his horse. Anne became Duchess, and Brittany was plunged into fresh crisis, leading to the last Franco-Breton war.

[edit] Duchess of Brittany

Marriage to Charles VIII of France

at the Château de Langeais.

The first necessary move for Anne was to secure a husband, preferably anti-France and powerful enough to maintain Breton independence. Maximilian I of Austria was considered to be the most suitable candidate. Her marriage with Maximilian, which took place at Rennes by proxy on 19 December 1490, conferred upon Anne the title Queen of the Romans, but proved to have serious consequences. The French regarded it as a serious provocation—it not only violated the Treaty of Verger (the King of France not having consented to the marriage), but also placed the rule of Brittany in the hands of an enemy of France. The marriage also proved ill-timed: the Habsburgs were too busy in Hungary to pay any serious attention to Brittany, and the Castilians were busy fighting in Granada. Although both Castile and England sent small numbers of troops to supplement the Ducal army, neither wished for open warfare with France. The spring of 1491 brought new successes by the French general La Trémoille, and Charles VIII of France came to lay siege to Rennes.

After Maximilian failed to come to his bride's assistance, Rennes fell. Anne became engaged to Charles in the vault of the Jacobins in Rennes. Then, escorted by her army (ostensibly to show that she had willingly consented to the marriage), Anne went to Langeais to be married. Although Austria made diplomatic protests, claiming that the marriage was illegal because the bride was unwilling, that she was already legally married to Maximilian, and that Charles was legally betrothed to Margaret of Austria, Maximilian's daughter, Anne celebrated her second wedding to Charles VIII at the castle of Langeais on 6 December 1491.

The marriage was subsequently validated by Pope Innocent VIII on 15 February 1492. The marriage contract provided that whichever spouse outlived the other would retain possession of Brittany; however, it also stipulated that if Charles died without male heirs, Anne would marry his successor, thus ensuring the French kings a second chance to permanently annex Brittany.

[edit] Queen of France

The porcupine of Brittany, triumphantly displayed over the main portal of the Château de Blois

Anne's first marriage began badly: she brought two beds with her when she came to marry Charles, and the King and Queen often lived apart. She was anointed and crowned Queen of France at Saint-Denis on 8 February 1492; she was forbidden by her husband to use the title "Duchess of Brittany", which became a bone of contention between the two. When her husband fought in the wars in Italy, the regency powers were exercised by his sister Anne of Beaujeu. Pregnant for most of her married life, Anne lived primarily in the royal castles of Amboise, Loaches and Plessis or in the towns of Lyon, Grenoble or Moulins (when the king was in Italy). She became Queen of Sicily and titular Queen of Jerusalem with the conquest of Naples by Charles VIII.

The marriage produced four living children, none of whom survived early childhood. Only the first, Charles Orland (11 October 1492 – 16 December 1495), survived infancy. A healthy and intelligent child, he was doted on by his parents, who both suffered terrible grief when he died suddenly of the measles. After him was born Charles, who lived for less than a month; and Francis and Anne, who each died almost immediately after being born. These tragedies caused a great deal of pain to Anne, who prayed openly for a son after the death of Francis.

[edit] Widowhood and remarriage

Court of the Ladies of Queen Anne of Brittany, Miniature representing this lady weeping on account of the absence of her husband during the Italian war.--Manuscript of the "Epistres Envoyées au Roi" (Sixteenth Century), obtained by the Coislin Fund for the Library of Saint-Germain-des-Prés in Paris, now in the Library of St. Petersburg.

When Charles VIII died in 1498, Anne was 21 years old and childless. Legally, she was now obliged to marry the new king, Louis XII; however, he was already married, to Joan, daughter of Louis XI and sister to Charles VIII. On 19 August 1498, at Étampes, she agreed to marry Louis if he obtained an annulment from Joan within a year. If she was gambling that the annulment would be denied, she lost: Louis's first marriage was dissolved by the Pope before the end of the year.

In the interim, in October 1498, Anne returned to rule Brittany. She restored the faithful Philippe de Montauban to the chancellery of Brittany, named the Prince of Orange as Hereditary Lieutenant General of Brittany, convened the Estates of Brittany, and ordered production of a coin bearing her name. She took the opportunity to tour the Duchy, visiting many places she had never been able to see as a child. She made triumphal entries into the cities of the duchy, where her vassals received her sumptuously.

Anne's third marriage ceremony, on 8 January 1499 (she wore white, setting a precedent for future brides), was concluded under conditions radically different from those of the second. She was no longer a child, but was a dowager queen, and was determined to ensure the recognition of her rights as sovereign duchess from now on. Although her new husband exercised the ruler's powers in Brittany, he formally recognized her right to the title "Duchess of Brittany" and issuing decisions in her name.

As Duchess, Anne fiercely defended the independence of her Duchy. She arranged the marriage of her daughter, Claude, to Charles of Luxembourg in 1501, to reinforce the Franco-Spanish alliance and ensure French success in the Italian Wars; however, Louis broke off the marriage when it became likely that Anne would not produce a male heir. Instead, Louis arranged a marriage between Claude and the heir to the French throne, Francis of Angouleme. Anne, determined to maintain Breton independence, refused until death to sanction the marriage, pushing instead for Claude to marry Charles, or for the Duchy to be inherited by her other daughter, Renee. The marriage of Claude and Francis eventually took place in the year following Anne's death.

[edit] Death

Anne failed to survive the winter of 1513-1514, dying of a kidney-stone attack at the Chateau of Blois. She was buried in the necropolis of Saint Denis. Her funeral was of exceptional length, lasting 40 days, and inspiring all future French royal funerals until the 18th century. The Requiem for Anne was probably composed by the famous composer Johannes Prioris[2].

Reliquary of Anne of Brittany.

According to her will, her heart was placed in a raised enamel gold reliquary, then transported to Nantes to be deposited, on 19 March 1514, in the vault of the Carmelite friars, in the tomb made for her parents, later being transferred to the Saint-Pierre cathedral. The reliquary of the heart of the Anne, Duchess of Brittany is a box oval, bivalvular, made of a sheet of gold pushed back and guilloched, articulated by a hinge, broadside of a gold cordelière and topped by a crown of lily and clover. It is inscribed as follows:

   En ce petit vaisseau

De fin or pur et munde
Repose ung plus grand cueur
Que oncque dame eut au munde
Anne fut le nom delle
En France deux fois royne
Duchesse des Bretons
Royale et Souveraine.[3]
It was made by an anonymous goldsmith of the court of Blois, perhaps drawn by Jean Perréal. In 1792, by order of the National Convention, the reliquary was exhumed, emptied, and seized as part of a collection of precious metals pertaining to churches, and sent to Nantes to be melted down. However, it was instead kept in the National Library, and was returned to Nantes in 1819, being kept in various museums, and in the Dobrée Museum since 1896.

Anne's will also conferred the succession of Brittany upon her second daughter, Renee. This was ignored by her husband, who confirmed Claude as Duchess and married her to Francis.

[edit] Personal characteristics

Anne as Queen

Anne was a highly intelligent woman who spent much of her time on the administration of Brittany. She was described as shrewd, proud and haughty in manner.[4] She made the safeguarding of Breton autonomy, and the preservation of the Duchy outside the French crown, her life's work, although that goal would prove failed shortly after her death.

Anne was also a patron of the arts and enjoyed music. A prolific collector of tapestries, it is very likely that the unicorn tapestries now on view at The Cloisters museum in New York City were commissioned by her in celebration of her wedding to Louis XII.[5] She also commissioned a book of French manuscripts (a Book of Hours), known as The Great Hours of Anne of Brittany. She also instituted the Queen's Maids of Honour at the court.

One of Anne's legs was shorter than the other, causing a limp. To fix the problem, she wore a higher heel on that leg.[citation needed]

Anne kept a box of gemstones. She would randomly pick one and give it to her visitors.[citation needed]

She was a devoted mother, spending as much time as possible with her children. For her son, Charles-Orland, she commissioned a book of prayers, intended to be used in teaching him how to pray, and as a guidance to him as the future King of France; unfortunately, Charles-Orland died in 1495, and no other son lived more than a few weeks.

At her marriage to Charles VIII, aged 14, Anne was described as a young and rosy-cheeked girl; by the time of her marriage to Louis, aged 22, after seven pregnancies with no surviving children, she was described as pale-faced and wan. By the end of her life, at 36, she had been pregnant 14 times, with seven of the children stillborn. Of the remaining seven, only two survived childhood.

[edit] Marriages and Issue

Medal of Anne of Brittany

Tomb of the children at Tours Cathedral

Anne's first marriage ceremony, on 19 December 1490, was a marriage by proxy to Maximilian of Habsburg. It was dissolved by the Pope in the following year; because it was only by proxy (rather than in person), it is not generally considered a 'real' marriage.

Her second husband was Charles VIII of France, whom she married at Chateau Langeais on 6 December 1491. She was pregnant by him seven times:

   * Charles Orlando, Dauphin of France. Her only healthy son, he lived 1492-1495, but died of the measles.

* A still-born son. She became pregnant in late 1492/early 1493, but travelled with her husband from castle to castle; she went into labour during a drive in the forest of Courcelles, and the child was premature and stillborn (August 1493).
* A still-born girl. Anne became pregnant again five months after her miscarriage, and avoided travel (instead residing in Amboise near the Dauphin). However, in February 1494, she accompanied the King to Lyons, where he was preparing to depart for the Italian Wars, and after arriving on 15 March, attended all the ceremonies; the stress of the occasion caused her to go into premature labour, and she gave birth to a still-born girl.
* A still-born child. She became pregnant again in August 1494, but lost the baby soon after.
* Charles, Dauphin of France. He lived from 8 September to 2 October 1496. His death prompted Anne to withdraw to Moulins temporarily in despair.
* Francis, Dauphin of France. He died several hours after his birth in 1497.
* Anne of France. She died on the day of her birth, 20 March 1498 at Plessis les Tours.
Her third husband was Louis XII of France. She was pregnant by him seven times:

   * Claude of France (1499 -1524) became her heir and also Queen Consort of Francis I.

* Stillborn son (1500).
* Stillborn son (21 January 1503).
* Some sources cited a miscarriage by the end of 1503.
* In 1505 she suffered a miscarriage.
* Stillborn son (1508) -some sources cited this was a miscarriage-.
* Some sources cited a miscarriage in 1509.
* Renée of France (1510 - 1575) married Ercole II d'Este, the Duke of Ferrara, and became the Duchess of Chartres.
* Stillborn son (January 1512).
[edit] Cultural symbolism of Anne

Even while she was alive, the royal propaganda of Charles VIII and of Louis XII introduced Anne of Brittany as a perfect queen, a symbol of union and peace between the kingdom of France and the duchy of Brittany. In the following centuries, historians and popular culture sometimes presented Anne of Brittany in differing fashions, ascribing to her physical and psychological characteristics that are not necessarily supported by historical evidence.

In 1991, the five-hundredth anniversary of the marriage of Anne of Brittany and Charles VIII of France was celebrated in Langeais. In Rennes, which had paid the price of this marriage by siege, food shortage, and an occupation, it was hardly mentioned.

[edit] Depictions in fiction

   * Anne of Brittany is the subject of Eleanor Fairburn's historical novel, Crowned Ermine, pub. 1968

[edit] Anne in Breton culture

Anne depicted by the Breton sculptor Jean Boucher in 1915

Anne of Brittany is one of Brittany's most renowned historical figures, second perhaps only to Saint Yves. In testimony exist a large number of trades, hotels and street names bearing her name. Anne is also referred to by:

   * The folksong "Anne de Bretagne: duchess en sabots" which imagines her wearing rustic clogs at her first meeting with the king.

* a song of Gilles Servat which evokes her life: Koc'h ki gwenn ha koc'h ki du
* Duchesse Anne, name of a beer produced in Brittany
* the square three-masted ship Duchesse Anne, currently moored in the Port of Dunkirk.
* Anne de Bretagne, an opera composed by Louis-Albert Bourgault-Ducoudray in the 1870s. Bourgault, himself distantly related to Anne, was also born in Nantes and aimed to promote Breton culture throughout much of his music.
* Anne de Bretagne, an opera by Breton composer Pierick Houdy, libretto by M. Fournereau, first performed in Rennes 2001, featuring Agnès Bove in the title role.
* Anna Vreiz, a rock opera by Alan Simon, first performed in Nantes in June 2009 starring James Wood, Cécile Corbel, Fairport Convention, Nilda Fernandez, Tri Yann, Les Holroyd.
* If dead died, an anonymous poem going back to her funeral, and now performed by the popular Breton folk musicians Tri Yann. Another song of their repertory refers to the Duchess.
There are several explanations for this: the destiny of this duchess who married three kings, including two kings of France, and who was only a child when she had to marry the first (even if early engagements were normal at that time); the historical role of Anne in the union of the duchy to the kingdom of France; the fact that very little of the history of Brittany is taught in Breton schools (the official school syllabus being written in Paris for all the French territory -territories of overseas included - those retain only Anne as a notable Breton). This established fact leads some to experience the History of Brittany starting and finishing with Anne.

References

  1. ^ Anne of Brittany at Genealogics

2. ^ For a historical and musicological perspective on Prioris's Requiem, read Schreurs, Eugeen; Snellings, Dirk (2007). "Requiem voor Anna van Bretagne, koningin van Frankrijk". La polyphonie Française. Festival van Vlaanderen 2007. pp. 185–187. Recording: Johannes Prioris, Missa pro Defunctis, Capilla Flamenca, 2003 (Eufoda 1349).
3. ^ Meaning: "In this little vessel of fine gold, pure and clean, rests a heart greater than any lady in the world ever had. Anne was her name, twice queen in France, Duchess of the Bretons, royal and sovereign."
4. ^ De La Warr, Constance, A Twice Crowned Queen: Anne of Brittany, p.41.
5. ^ "Tapestry in the Renaissance: Art and Magnificence". The Metropolitan Museum of Art. http://www.metmuseum.org/Special/Tapestry/5.r.htm. Retrieved 2008-01-09.
[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Anne de Bretagne

   * LebrelBlanco.com, Anne de Bretagne in Medieval History of Navarre

* Jean-Luc Deuffic: Les manuscrits d'Anne de Bretagne
* Faksimile.ch
This page was last modified on 2 August 2010 at 23:32.

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Anne, Duchess of Brittany (25 January 1477 – 9 January 1514),[1] also known as Anna of Brittany (French: Anne de Bretagne; Breton: Anna Vreizh), was a Breton ruler, who was to become queen to two successive French kings. She was born in Nantes, Brittany, and was the daughter of Francis II, Duke of Brittany and Margaret of Foix. Her maternal grandparents were Queen Eleanor of Navarre and Gaston IV, Count of Foix. Upon her father's death, she became sovereign Duchess of Brittany, Countess of Nantes, Montfort and Richmont and Viscountess of Limoges. In her time, she was the richest European woman.

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Anne de Dreux, Duchesse de Bretagne F, #103187, b. 25 January 1476, d. 9 January 1514

Anne de Dreux, Duchesse de Bretagne|b. 25 Jan 1476\nd. 9 Jan 1514|p10319.htm#i103187|François II de Dreux, Duc de Bretagne|b. 23 Jun 1435\nd. 9 Sep 1488|p10826.htm#i108256|Marguerite de Foix|b. 1449\nd. 1486|p40321.htm#i403209|||||||Gaston I. de Grailly, Comte de Foix|d. 1472|p11327.htm#i113268|Eleanor, Reina de Navarre|b. 1420\nd. 1479|p11328.htm#i113272|

Last Edited=9 Oct 2009

Anne de Dreux 1 Anne de Dreux, Duchesse de Bretagne was born on 25 January 1476. She was the daughter of François II de Dreux, Duc de Bretagne and Marguerite de Foix.2,1 She married, firstly, Charles VIII, Roi de France, son of Louis XI, Roi de France and Charlotte di Savoia, on 6 December 1491 at Langeais, France. She married, secondly, Louis XII, Roi de France, son of Charles d'Orléans, Duc d'Orléans and Maria von Kleve, on 8 January 1499 at Chateau de Nantes. She died on 9 January 1514 at age 37 at Chateau de Blois. She was buried at Saint-Denis, Île-de-France, France.

    Anne de Dreux, Duchesse de Bretagne gained the title of Duchesse de Bretagne. Children of Anne de Dreux, Duchesse de Bretagne and Charles VIII, Roi de France 1.François de Valois 2.Anne de Valois 3.Charles-Orlando de France, Dauphin de France b. 1492, d. 16 Dec 1495 4.Charles de Valois b. 1496 Children of Anne de Dreux, Duchesse de Bretagne and Louis XII, Roi de France 1.Claude de Valois, Duchesse de Bretagne+ b. 13 Oct 1499, d. 20 Jul 1524 2.Renée de Valois+2 b. 1510, d. 1575 Citations 1.[S3409] Caroline Maubois, "re: Penancoet Family," e-mail message to Darryl Roger Lundy, 2 December 2008. Hereinafter cited as "re: Penancoet Family." 2.[S16] Jirí Louda and Michael MacLagan, Lines of Succession: Heraldry of the Royal Families of Europe, 2nd edition (London, U.K.: Little, Brown and Company, 1999), table 67. Hereinafter cited as Lines of Succession.

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Anne de Dreux, Duchesse de Bretagne F, #103187, b. 25 January 1476, d. 9 January 1514

Anne de Dreux, Duchesse de Bretagne|b. 25 Jan 1476\nd. 9 Jan 1514|p10319.htm#i103187|François II de Dreux, Duc de Bretagne|b. 23 Jun 1435\nd. 9 Sep 1488|p10826.htm#i108256|Marguerite de Foix|b. 1449\nd. 1486|p40321.htm#i403209|||||||Gaston I. de Grailly, Comte de Foix|d. 1472|p11327.htm#i113268|Eleanor, Reina de Navarre|b. 1420\nd. 1479|p11328.htm#i113272|

Last Edited=9 Oct 2009

Anne de Dreux 1 Anne de Dreux, Duchesse de Bretagne was born on 25 January 1476. She was the daughter of François II de Dreux, Duc de Bretagne and Marguerite de Foix.2,1 She married, firstly, Charles VIII, Roi de France, son of Louis XI, Roi de France and Charlotte di Savoia, on 6 December 1491 at Langeais, France. She married, secondly, Louis XII, Roi de France, son of Charles d'Orléans, Duc d'Orléans and Maria von Kleve, on 8 January 1499 at Chateau de Nantes. She died on 9 January 1514 at age 37 at Chateau de Blois. She was buried at Saint-Denis, Île-de-France, France.

    Anne de Dreux, Duchesse de Bretagne gained the title of Duchesse de Bretagne. Children of Anne de Dreux, Duchesse de Bretagne and Charles VIII, Roi de France 1.François de Valois 2.Anne de Valois 3.Charles-Orlando de France, Dauphin de France b. 1492, d. 16 Dec 1495 4.Charles de Valois b. 1496 Children of Anne de Dreux, Duchesse de Bretagne and Louis XII, Roi de France 1.Claude de Valois, Duchesse de Bretagne+ b. 13 Oct 1499, d. 20 Jul 1524 2.Renée de Valois+2 b. 1510, d. 1575 Citations 1.[S3409] Caroline Maubois, "re: Penancoet Family," e-mail message to Darryl Roger Lundy, 2 December 2008. Hereinafter cited as "re: Penancoet Family." 2.[S16] Jirí Louda and Michael MacLagan, Lines of Succession: Heraldry of the Royal Families of Europe, 2nd edition (London, U.K.: Little, Brown and Company, 1999), table 67. Hereinafter cited as Lines of Succession.

Under Charles VIII., Louis XII., and Francis I., the service of the young nobility, which was called "apprenticeship of honour or virtue," had taken a much wider range; for the first families of the French nobility were most eager to get their children admitted into the royal household, either to attend on the King or Queen, or at any rate on one of the princes of the royal blood. Anne of Brittany particularly gave special attention to her female attendants (Fig. 56). "She was the first," says Brantôme in his work on "Illustrious Women," "who began to form the great court of ladies which has descended to our days; for she had a considerable retinue both of adult ladies and young girls. She never refused to receive any one; on the contrary, she inquired of the gentlemen of the court if they had any daughters, ascertained who they were, and asked for them." It was thus that the Admiral de Graville (Fig. 57) confided to the good Queen the education of his daughter Anne, who at this school of the Court of Ladies became one of the most distinguished women of her day. The same Queen, as Duchess of Brittany, created a company of one hundred Breton gentlemen, who accompanied her everywhere. "They never failed," says the author of "Illustrious Women," "when she went to mass or took a walk, to await her return on the little terrace of Blois, which is still called the Perche aux Bretons. She gave it this name herself; for when she saw them she said, 'There are my Bretons on the perch waiting for me.'"

We must not forget that this queen, who became successively the wife of Charles VIII. and of Louis XII., had taken care to establish a strict discipline amongst the young men and women who composed her court. She rightly considered herself the guardian of the honour of the former, and of the virtue of the latter; therefore, as long as she lived, her court was renowned for purity and politeness, noble and refined gallantry, and was never allowed to degenerate into imprudent amusements or licentious and culpable intrigues.

Unfortunately, the moral influence of this worthy princess died with her. Although the court of France continued to gather around it almost every sort of elegance, and although it continued during the whole of the sixteenth century the most polished of European courts, notwithstanding the great external and civil wars, yet it afforded at the same time a sad example of laxity of morals, which had a most baneful influence on public habits; so much so that vice and corruption descended from class to class, and contaminated all orders of society. If we wished to make investigations into the private life of the lower orders in those times, we should not succeed as we have been able to do with that of the upper classes; for we have scarcely any data to throw light upon their sad and obscure history. Bourgeois and peasants were, as we have already shown, long included together with the miserable class of serfs, a herd of human beings without individuality, without significance, who from their birth to their death, whether isolated or collectively, were the "property" of their masters. What must have been the private life of this degraded multitude, bowed down under the most tyrannical and humiliating dependence, we can scarcely imagine; it was in fact but a purely material existence, which has left scarcely any trace in history.