Anne of Brittany de Dreux 1
- Born: 25 Jan 1477, Nantes, France
- Marriage (1): Maximilian I of Austria Habsburg on 19 Dec 1490 in Rennes
- Marriage (2): Charles VIII of France de Valois on 6 Dec 1491
- Marriage (3): Louis XII of France on 8 Jan 1499
- Died: 9 Jan 1514, Blois aged 36
- Buried: St. Denis, Ile de France, France
Another name for Anne was Anne de Bretagne.
General Notes:
Duchess of Brittany and twice queen consort of France, who devoted her life to safeguarding the autonomy of Brittany within the kingdom of France.
Daughter of Duke Francis II of Brittany and Margaret of Foix, Anne succeeded to her father's duchy on Sept. 9, 1488. The future of the duchy depended on her marriage. In desperation Anne allied herself with Maximilian of Austria, who married her by proxy on Dec. 19, 1490. King Charles VIII of France, fearful that Brittany might pass into the hands of a foreign power, attacked it, and Anne was forced in the end to break with Maximilian and marry Charles (Dec. 6, 1491); the process of the union of Brittany with the French crown was thus begun.
Charles died in 1498 without issue, and Anne, in accordance with an agreement made at the time of their marriage, was married to his successor, Louis XII, on Jan. 8, 1499. The marriage contract declared that Brittany should eventually fall to the second son or to the eldest daughter of the marriage or, failing issue, to Anne's natural heirs; the special rights and privileges of the duchy were to be maintained.
For the remainder of her life, Anne, a woman of great intelligence, devoted herself to the administration of her duchy and jealously guarded its autonomy, but in the end her daughter Claude was betrothed (1506) to Francis of Angoulême, the future Francis I of France.
A patron of artists and poets, Anne commissioned a Book of Hours that is one of the most beautiful of French manuscripts. She also instituted the queen's maids of honour at the French court.
Noted events in her life were:
• Acceded: Duchess of Brittany, 9 Sep 1488.
Anne married Maximilian I of Austria Habsburg, son of Frederick III of Habsburg and Eleanor of Portugal, on 19 Dec 1490 in Rennes. (Maximilian I of Austria Habsburg was born on 22 Mar 1459 in Wiener Neustadt, Austria and died on 12 Jan 1519 in Wels.)
Anne next married Charles VIII of France de Valois, son of Louis XI of France de Valois and Charlotte d' Savoie, on 6 Dec 1491. (Charles VIII of France de Valois was born on 30 Jun 1470 in Amboise, France and died on 7 Apr 1498 in Amboise, France.)
Anne next married Louis XII of France, son of Charles d' Orléans and Marie de Clèves, on 8 Jan 1499. (Louis XII of France was born on 27 Jun 1462 in Blois, France and died on 1 Jan 1515 in Paris, France.)
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