Source: National Archives & Historic Records of Duchy of Brittany
Prophets & Divine Messengers • Historical Archive • 🇫🇷 France • 2 views

Anne of Brittany 🇫🇷

Anne de Bretagne (Known as "Good Duchess Anne (La Bonne Duchesse)")
Sovereign Duchess of Brittany, Two-Time Queen of France (Charles VIII, Louis XII)
Born Jan 25, 1477 🇫🇷 Nantes (Château des Ducs de Bretagne), France
Passed Away Jan 09, 1514 Blois (Château de Blois), France
Lifespan 36 years old
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Notice / Correction
"Potius mori quam foedari (Rather death than dishonour; the ermine coat remains spotless)."

Archival Overview

Sovereign Duchess of Brittany and the only woman in history crowned Queen of France twice (to Charles VIII and Louis XII), who fiercely guarded Breton autonomy and patronized Renaissance art and manuscripts.

Biographical Record

Succeeding her father Duke Francis II at age eleven, Anne was besieged in Rennes by French forces and compelled to marry King Charles VIII of France in 1491 to settle the War of the Breton Succession. Following Charles' death at Amboise, she married his successor Louis XII in 1499, insisting upon Brittany's autonomous administration.

A brilliant patron of Northern and Italian Renaissance arts, she commissioned Jean Perréal, illuminated the Great Hours of Anne of Brittany (Bourdichon), and established court schools for noble women. Upon her death, her heart was placed in a golden reliquary in Nantes while her body rested at Saint-Denis.

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Final Resting Place

Perpetual Memorial
Basilica of Saint-Denis (Reliquary of her heart in Nantes Dobrée Museum)
Saint-Denis, France
GPS: 48.9356, 2.3597
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