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Anne Of Brittany




Anne of Brittany ( January 25 , 1477January 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 .


POSITION

Anne was her parents' only child who survived childhood, and her marriage was therefore of immense political importance. When her father died after falling from a horse on September 9 , 1488 , Anne became the Duchess Of Brittany . This caused an enormous disruption in the internal politics of Brittany because Anne was then only eleven years old and still single, which meant that several Breton factions were able to struggle for control of the duchy.

The ducal house of Dreux, rulers of 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.


MARRIAGES


Anne was initially marked as a wife for Edward , the young Prince of Wales. Following his disappearance in 1483, she was betrothed to Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I and the marriage was performed by proxy on 19 December , 1490 .

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 , 1491 at the Château De Langeais , causing Brittany to come under French control.

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.

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.

She had two surviving daughters by Louis XII:

Anne died on January 9 , 1514 , in the Chateau De Blois . Her death signified the end of the independence of the duchy of Brittany from the French throne, and from 1514 the title was only conferred on French princes.


PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS


Anne was a highly intelligent woman and spent most of her time on the administration of Brittany, as well as guarding its autonomy. This was futile in the end, however, as the duchy was eventually fully merged with the French crown by her daughter Claude.

Anne was also a patron of the arts and enjoyed music. She commissioned a book of French manuscripts, known as the '' Book Of Hours ''. She also instituted the Queen's Maids Of Honour at the court.

One of Anne's legs was shorter than the other (a common ailment affecting many people), causing a Limp . To fix the problem, she wore a higher heel on that leg.

Anne kept a box of Precious Stone s and Semi-precious Stone s. She would randomly pick one and give it to her visitors.

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