Anne, Duchess of Brittany

Anne (Breton: Anna) was born on 25 or 26 January 1477, in Nantes; she was the eldest daughter of Francis II, Duke of Brittany, and his second wife, Margaret of Foix. She had a younger sister, Isabelle. Margaret died when Anne was little, and Francis died when Anne was 11 years old.

It is likely that Anne learned to read and write in French, and perhaps a little Latin. She was also taught music, dance, and singing.

In this period, the law of succession was unclear, but prior to the Breton War of Succession (1341-1365) mainly operated according to semi-Salic Law: women could inherit but only if the male line had died out. The Treaty of Guérande (1365), however, stated that in the absence of a male heir from the House of Monfort, the heirs of Joanna of Penthièvre would succeed. By the time Anne was born, her father was the only male from the House of Monfort, and the Penthièvre heir was a female who had sold her rights over Brittany to King Louis XI of France.

The lack of a male heir gave rise to the threat of a dynastic crisis or to its passing into the royal domain. To avoid this, Francis had Anne officially recognised as heiress on 10 February 1486; however, the question of her marriage remained a diplomatic issue.

Anne was betrothed several times:

• Edward V of England; however, in 1483, the boy disappeared, presumed to have been killed.
• Maximilian, Holy Roman Emperor, the widower of Mary of Burgundy. 
• Alain I of Albret; although he was an ally, Anne refused to marry him because he was repulsive.
• Louis, Duke of Orléans, despite being already married to Charles VIII of France’s sister Joan.
• John IV of Chalon-Arlay, Prince of Orange.
• Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham, but he married the daughter of the Earl of Northumberland, Eleanor, instead.

In 1488, Francis II was defeated at the Battle of Saint-Aubin-du-Cormier, ending the Mad War between Brittany and France. In the Treaty of Sablé (1488), which concluded the peace settlement, Francis was forced to accept clauses stipulating that his daughters were not to marry without the King of France’s approval.

With the death of Francis soon afterwards, Brittany was plunged into a crisis, leading to the final Franco-Breton war. On his deathbed, the Duke made Anne promise never to consent to the subjugation of the Duchy to France.

After fleeing Nantes following the division of her advisors over the issue of her marriage, Anne was crowned Duchess of Brittany in Rennes, on 10 February 1489. At the age of 13, on 19 December 1490, she was married by proxy to Maximilian I of Austria. The French regarded it as a serious provocation – not only it violated the Treaty of Sablé, it introduced an enemy of the French as a ruler of Brittany.

Although both Castile and England sent small numbers of troops to supplement the Ducal army, neither wanted open warfare with France. The spring of 1491 brought new successes to the French, and King Charles VIII came to lay siege to Rennes, where Anne stayed, to force her to desist from her marriage.

After two months of siege, Rennes fell. On 15 November, Charles VIII entered the city and both parties signed the Treaty of Rennes. After refusing all proposed marriages with French princes, Anne became engaged to the King on 17 November 1491. Then, escorted by her army (to show that she had willingly consented to the marriage), Anne went to Langeais to be married.

The official marriage between Anne and King Charles VIII was celebrated on 6 December 1491, at dawn. The ceremony was concluded discreetly and urgently because it was technically illegal until Pope Innocent VIII validated the union on 15 February 1492.The marriage contract provided that the spouse who outlived the other would retain possession of Brittany; however, it also stipulated that if Charles VIII died without male heirs, Anne would marry his successor, thus ensuring the French kings a second chance to annex Brittany.

After her marriage, Anne became Queen consort of France. She was crowned on 8 February 1492, at the St Denis Basilica. Her husband forbade her to use the title of Duchess of Brittany and it became a bone of contention between the two. When Charles VIII conquered Naples and Jerusalem, she became Queen consort of Naples and Jerusalem.

Anne’s marriage began badly: the King and Queen often lived apart. Despite this, she was pregnant for most of her married life (a child every 14 months on average). When her husband fought in Italy, the regency was exercised by his sister, Anne of France. Anne had a limited role in France and Brittany and sometimes had to accept being separated from her children.

When King Charles died as a result of an accident on 4 April 1498, Anne was 21 years old and without surviving children. She then personally took charge of the administration of the Duchy of Brittany. 

Three days after her husband’s death, the terms of her marriage contract came into force; however, the new King, Louis XII, was already married to Joan. On 19 August 1498, Anne agreed to marry King Louis if he obtained an annulment from Joan within a year. Days later, the process for the annulment began; meanwhile, Anne returned to Brittany.

If Anne was gambling that the annulment would be denied…she lost. Louis’ first marriage was dissolved by Pope Alexander VI before the end of the year. Her third marriage contract was concluded under conditions radically different from those of the second – she was no longer a child, she was a Dowager Queen determined to ensure the recognition of her rights as sovereign Duchess of Brittany from that point forward. Although Louis exercised the ruler’s power in Brittany, he formally recognised her right to the title “Duchess of Brittany” and issued decisions in her name. She also ensured that their second child (boy or girl) would inherit the Duchy (this clause would not be respected later). Anne’s second coronation as Queen consort of France, took place on 18 November 1504.

As Duchess, Anne fiercely defended the independence of her Duchy. She arranged the marriage of her daughter, Claude, heiress to the Duchy, to the future Charles V, to reinforce the Franco-Spanish alliance and ensure French success in the Italian Wars. This engagement, however, was cancelled by Louis XII when it became likely that Anne would not produce a male heir. Instead, the King arranged a marriage between Claude and the heir to the French throne, Francis of Angoulême. Anne, determined to maintain Breton independence, refused until death to sanction the marriage, pushing for Claude to marry Charles or for her other daughter, Renée, to inherit the Duchy. At this point, she took the opportunity to tour the Duchy – officially it was a pilgrimage to the Breton shrines, but it was a political journey and an act of independence that sought to assert her sovereignty over the Duchy.

Exhausted by many pregnancies and miscarriages, Anne, Duchess of Brittany and Queen of France, died of a kidney-stone attack on 9 January 1514, aged 36. Anne’s will conferred the succession of Brittany upon her second daughter, Renée. Her husband ignored this and confirmed Claude as Duchess, marrying her to Francis the year following Anne’s death. When Francis became King of France in 1515, the Duchy of Brittany was once again the property of the Queen consort of France.

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. She made the safeguarding of Breton autonomy, and the preservation of the Duchy outside the French crown, her life’s work. Anne was also a devoted mother, spending as much time as possible with her children. She was pregnant 16 times! But only two girls survived childhood: Claude and Renée. With each miscarriage or stillbirth, Louise of Savoy was delighted as her son Francis was one step closer to the throne.

Anne, Duchess of Brittany in prayer

Grandes Heures d'Anne de Bretagne

1503-1508