User:Jdawson1925/Anne of Brittany

In "Betrothals"

 * Alain I of Albret, son of Catherine of Rohan and Jean I of Albret. Through his mother, he was a great-grandson of Duke John V of Brittany, and thus a possible heir. Although he was an ally of Duke Francis II, Anne refused to marry him because she found him repulsive.
 * Before the papal court, convened by Marshal Rieux, a proponent of Albret's suit, to give the couple a dispensation to marry, Anne declared that she had only entertained his offer of marriage due to the "l'obéissance, crainte & révérence" [obedience, fear, and reverence] due to her father, and that she herself did not want it.

In "Death"

 * presently reads: "Anne's will also conferred the succession of Brittany upon her second daughter, Renée. Her husband ignored this, confirmed Claude as Duchess, and married her to Francis the year following Anne's death. When Francis became king in 1515, the Duchy of Brittany was once again the property of the queen consort of France."
 * "...confirmed Claude as Duchess, put her under the guardianship of Anne's political rival, Louise of Savoy, and married her to Francis, Louise's son, in the year following Anne's death. "
 * "On this occasion, the Herald of arms of Brittany Pierre Choqué pronounced for the first time the traditional lament: La reine est morte!, la reine est morte!, la reine est morte! (The Queen is dead!, The Queen is dead!, The Queen is dead!). Choqué also recorded that two Masses were read, the first by the Cordeliers (i.e., Franciscans) and the second by the Jacobins (i.e., Dominicans). "
 * "...dead!). Choqué, in his record of Anne's funeral commissioned by Louis XII, Récit des Funérailles d'Anne de Bretagne, recorded that..."

In "Personal Characteristics"

 * "She was a devoted mother, spending as much time as possible with her children. She commissioned a book of prayers for her son, Charles-Orland, to use in teaching him how to pray, and as guidance for his role as future King of France. Unfortunately, Charles-Orland died in 1495, and no other son lived more than a few weeks."
 * She also commissioned a primer, yet extant, for her then 8-year-old daughter Claude. The prevalence of Anne's own coat of arms in the illumination, rather than Louis's, marks this book as a mechanism of transmission of values inter-generationally from mother to daughter, and from queen to queen. Clause in her turn will commission such a book for her younger sister, Renée, whom she has raised after Anne's death. The contents of these books produced specifically for children -- Latin, Biblical scenes, models of proper female behavior -- give insight into the priorities of the Princesses' childhood education.
 * By the end of her life, at 36, she had been pregnant at least 11 times, from which only two children survived to adulthood.
 * Anne was trained from a young age to hide her limp, caused by a difference in the length of her legs, linked to a congenital displacement of her hips. She wore special heeled shoes to aid in smoothing her gait. She passed this limp on to her daughter, Claude.

In "Marriage"

 * "The spring of 1491 brought new successes by the French general La Trémoille (the previous victor of the Battle of Saint-Aubin-du-Cormier), and King Charles VIII of France came to lay siege to Rennes, where Anne stayed, to force her to desist from her Habsburg marriage. After two months of siege without assistance and unable to resist any longer, Rennes fell."
 * ... where Anne stayed, to force her to desist from her Habsburg marriage. Aided by troops from England, the Holy Roman Empire, and Aragon and Castile, Rennes lasted through two months of Charles's siege before falling. During this time, Anne's sister Isabelle died.

In "Duchess of Brittany and Remarriage"

 * "Also, she ensured that their second child, son or daughter, would inherit the duchy of Brittany, a clause that would not be respected later."
 * The contract also stipulated that, since Anne personally retained rights to the duchy, the couple's second child, son or daughter, would be Anne's own heir, thus keeping the duchy separate from the throne of France. This clause would not be respected.
 * "As Duchess, Anne fiercely defended the independence of her Duchy. She arranged the marriage of her daughter, Claude, heiress of the Duchy, to Charles of Austria, to reinforce the Franco-Spanish alliance and ensure French success in the Italian Wars. The marriage contract was signed on 10 August 1501 in Lyon by François de Busleyden, Archbishop of Besançon, William de Croÿ, Nicolas de Rutter and Pierre Lesseman, all ambassadors of Duke Philip of Burgundy, Charles' father. However, the engagement was cancelled by Louis XII when it became likely that Anne would not produce a male heir. Instead, Louis XII 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 instead for Claude to marry Charles, or for her other daughter, Renée, to inherit the Duchy. It is at this point that she took the opportunity to tour the Duchy, visiting many places she had never been able to see as a child. Officially it was a pilgrimage to the Breton shrines, but in reality it was a political journey and an act of independence that sought to assert her sovereignty over the Duchy. From June to September 1505, she made triumphal entries into the cities of the Duchy, where her vassals received her sumptuously. In addition, she ensured the proper collection of taxes."
 * "As Duchess, Anne fiercely defended the independence of her Duchy. She arranged the marriage of her daughter Claude, heiress of the Duchy, to Charles of Austria. This match would reinforce the Franco-Spanish alliance and ensure French success in the Italian Wars. The marriage contract was signed on 10 August 1501 in Lyon by François de Busleyden, Archbishop of Besançon, William de Croÿ, Nicolas de Rutter, and Pierre Lesseman, all ambassadors of Duke Philip of Burgundy, Charles' father. Louis XII assented to this plan publicly, but in private worked to match Claude with the heir to the French throne, Francis of Angoulême. Every time Louis' precarious health threatened his death, steps were taken to cement this match between Claude and Francis. Anne, determined to maintain Breton independence, refused to sanction the marriage until her death, pushing instead for Claude to marry Charles, or for her other daughter, Renée, to inherit the Duchy. When Louis XII definitively settled their daughters' dispositions counter to her wishes, Anne left his side to tour the Duchy, visiting many places she had never been able to see as a child. Officially, it was a pilgrimage to the Breton shrines in thanks for one of Louis' recent recoveries, but in reality it was a political journey: an act of independence that sought to assert her sovereignty within the marriage. Letters imply how much Louis took her absence to heart: according to a July letter from Louise of Savoy to Michelle de Saubonne, Louis "could not be more anxious" for Anne's return and "is as wretched as can be without her." By September, he is reported as asking about her return at least six times a day. From June to September 1505, she made triumphal entries into the principal cities of the Duchy, where her vassals received her sumptuously. In addition, she ensured the proper collection of taxes."

Potential Image Additions
1. https://wellcomecollection.org/works/xef7k7r5: not directly related, but I found it pertinent and fascinating

< see how the attitude echoes those of the prayer books, both Anne's book of hours and Claude's primer

2. Then also: in the article, the image "of" Anne's coronation is of wax figurines (?). Cool in its own right, but when we have contemporary depictions, it feels strange to offer this image where extra-chronistic decisions had to be made.

So, there's also this image, from André de La Vigne's manuscript of her coronation, which I referenced in the article: [never mind, they're all under copyright. we'll have to stick to the waxworks. but beautiful!] https://waddesdon.org.uk/the-collection/item/?id=1783#&gid=1&pid=112

also fun: http://api.waddesdon.org.uk/docs/IlluminatedManuscripts/917.pdf for a detailed description of the manuscript, some great high-resolution images,

3. The parallel images of anne and claude in claude's primer are gorgeous and so meaning-laden (the parallels to Anne's own book! the parallels between them! the psychological effect of owning a book which shows you in the proper disposition for its use! the wealth exhibited on every page! the assertions it makes about Anne's power/control over her own children!), but would I think reduplicate pre-existing images in the article.