Anne of Brittany

Anne of Brittany (January 25, 1477 – January 9, 1514) was also known as Anna of Brittany and Anne de Bretagne. She was born in Nantes, France on January 25, 1477 and was the daughter of Francis II, Duke of Brittany and Margaret of Foix.

Marriages

The ducal house of Dreux, rulers of Brittany since their ancestress Duchess Constance (1203), was going extinct: Francis seemed to be the last male. The duchy had been inherited under Salic succession (though no written law existed) and one succession war confirmed that principle: the war between Jeanne of Penthievre and her uncle John of Montfort in 1340's, won by Montfort. Now Montfort's male line of descent was going extinct, too. In the peace treaty, it had actually been stipulated that if Montfort's male descent failed, Jeanne's heirs would inherit. No one however remembered or put forth such claim, after more than a century. It was felt natural that Anne succeed her father as his closest relative (a typical Semi-Salic solution favoring pragmatic succession) when no male lines were left. The family of Brosse, Counts of Penthievre, would have been the heirs of Jeanne at that time.

Related Topics:
Brittany - Salic - Semi-Salic

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Anne was initially betrothed to Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I and the marriage was performed by proxy on 19 December, 1490.

Related Topics:
Holy Roman Emperor - Maximilian I - 19 December - 1490

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Charles VIII, King of France, fearful of Brittany falling under foreign control, invaded Brittany in 1491 and forced Anne to break her marriage and marry him on 6 December at the Château de Langeais, causing Brittany to come under French control.

Related Topics:
Charles VIII - 1491 - 6 December - Château de Langeais - Brittany

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A law was created which forced Anne, in the event of her having no issue with Charles, to marry the next heir to the throne.

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Anne had four children by Charles VIII. However, none survived childhood, and when Charles died in an accident in 1498, he therefore had no direct male heir to succeed him. This meant that the throne went to his cousin, Louis XII, who was the next in line to the throne. On January 8, 1499, Anne married him. She wore white, thus setting a new precedent for brides worldwide.

Related Topics:
1498 - Louis XII - January 8 - 1499

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She had two surviving daughters by Louis XII:

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• Claude of France (1499 -1524) became her heir and also Queen Consort of Francis I.
• Renée of France (1510 - 1575) married the Duke of Ferrara and became the Duchess of Chartres.