***THE DAUGHTER OF THE SPIDER KING.***
I was born in Genappe, Burgundy, the daughter of king Louis XI and queen Charlotte de Savoie, in the year of 1461. The exact date remains unknown but scholars believe I was born in the summer time.Back in 1461, my father was the Dauphin (Crown Prince) for my grandfather King Charles VII was still alive. My parents lived in exile and under the protection of the Duke Philip the Good of Burgundy since my father and my grand father were on bad terms.But in August of that year Charles VII died and my father was crowned King of France. From then on I'd be known as "Anne of France". This painting represents my parents :
I was raised by my mother Charlotte who made sure I developed a passion for books. I read everything from religious works to poetry and history. We lived in the fortress of Amboise and my father was often absent: he was constantly conquering new territories for the French Crown.He expanded the royal domain the same way a spider expands its arms, hence his nickname. I inherited his cunning, ruthlessness, and unscrupulous ambition as well as his long nose, but my fair hair and milky skin made me a beautiful young lady.
My mother gave birth to my poor deformed sister Jeanne in 1463, but it was only on June 30 1470 that she gave birth to a male heir, my brother Charles. Edward IV of England became his god father. When I came of age at merely 12 (under Middle Ages standards) many suitors asked for my hand in marriage, including Charles the Bold and Edward IV of England.My father decided to marry me to Pierre de Bourbon, Lord of Beaujeu and younger brother of Jean duke of Bourbon.He also married my deformed sister Jeanne to my cousin (and heir to the throne after my brother), Louis of Orleans, as a way to destroy the Orleans lineage for no one thought that Jeanne could breed.
So in 1474 I married Pierre.He was 35 and I was merely 12. I didn't complain once since as a child I already had a precocious sense of duty.I was titled as "Lady of Beaujeu".This painting represents a typical 15 century banquet, like the ones given during my wedding:
As a married couple we lived between Amboise and Beaujeu. Our marriage took time to be consummated due to my young age.I gave birth to a little boy whom I named Charles in 1476, but he died too soon. I was devastated.In 1477 Charles the Bold was killed by French royal troops and my father began the conquest of Burgundy. Little by little he taught me all about politics as well as the importance of reaffirming royal authority and expanding the royal domain. By 1482 Marie de Bourgogne, Charles the Bold's heiress died from a fall.She was just a few years older than I. My father signed the treaty of Arras with Marie's widower, Maximilian of Austria which stipulated the incorporation of the powerful dukedom of Burgundy to France.
Marguerite, the daughter of Marie de Bourgogne and Maximilian of Austria was betrothed to my brother Charles. She was to be raised at the French court, with me in charge of her education. By 1483, my father's health declined and he named me regent of France in name of my brother Charles VIII who at barely 13, had a fragile health himself.
***THE FIGHT FOR POWER***
Father died in August 1483.Many nobles took advantage of this to rebel against royal authority foolishly thinking the times of ruthless monarchic rule were over.My cousin and brother in law Louis of Orleans lead other magnates like the duke of Bretagne (Brittany), Alain d'Albret and Philippe de Commynes to oppose me as regent of France. They wanted to monopolize the royal council.Louis went as far as suggesting my mother Charlotte as regent instead of myself. But mother died in December of that same year.I cunningly assembled the General States in the city of Tours in 1484. This painting represents the type of Castles in the 15 century where these kind of events were held:
I negotiated my regency while granting the position of head of the Royal Council to Louis of Orleans. In fact, I was named regent along with my husband Pierre de Beaujeu in order settle down my chauvinistic opponents. After Charles VIII's Coronation, I was in total control of the administration of the Kingdom. Little by little, Pierre gave me full authority to make decisions regarding the Government of France.
I kept a close eye on my enemies such as Louis of Orleans.I tried to politically isolate him but my network of spies discovered that he had secretly signed a marriage contract with the duke Francois II of Bretagne that would marry him to the duke's heiress, Anne.The bastard wanted to divorce my sister Jeanne! If Orleans and Bretagne united against me I 'd be in serious trouble. Nevertheless, Francois II's favorite, Pierre de Landais, won the antipathy of many powerful Breton nobles who were jealous of Landais's power. Needless to say, I formed alliances with the Breton nobles, notably with the powerful Francois de Rohan.
***THE "CRAZY WAR" AND THE CONQUEST OF BRETAGNE***
I ordered the arrest of Louis of Orleans. By the end of 1485, I invaded the city of Orleans and the rebel prince was forced to come back to court under strict supervision. Meanwhile, Francois II of Bretagne became allies with Maximilian of Austria who threatened to invade France from the East.I negotiated the peace of Bourges to gain time. Yet, by 1487 Orleans fled to Nantes in Bretagne as a sign of rebelion against my authority.This miniature represents my enemy entering Nantes as a "hero":
Indeed, Louis of Orleans soon became deeply disliked by Breton nobles due to his arrogance and pride. In addition to this, allies of the duke Francois II didn't want Anne de Bretagne to marry him since the little girl had other suitors. Suitors included Juan of Aragon, Maximilian of Austria, and Henry Tudor. Breton magnates lead by Francois de Rohan and Francoise de Dinan, Lady of Laval, decided to betray their Duke by signing the treaty of Chateaubriant which pretty much gave me green light to conquer Bretagne. This time Francois II and Louis of Orleans would pay for rebelling against me!
I immediately took lead of the French army with captain La Tremoille from Laval in 1488. The Royal Troops outnumbered the Breton army which consisted mainly of mercenaries from Spain and England.Breton lords were fighting on my side.Francois II waited for more help from Spain, England and Austria; help that never came. And so Bretagne fell, city by city until Louis of Orleans was captured along with his friend the prince of Orange. I sent them both to my dungeons at the Castle of Bourges, where Louis grew old prematurely due to the terrible conditions of his captivity. I used him as example for people who dared to challenge my authority. This painting represents my conquest of Bretagne:
By 1490, Francois II died making his eldest daughter Anne the new duchess of Bretagne.As a last attempt to safeguard her independence, The little girl married Maximilian of Austria by proxy.This violated the treaty of Verger, in which Anne de Bretagne could marry only whomever the Kingdom of France chose for her. So I pushed towards a marriage between my brother Charles VIII and Anne de Bretagne. The little Duchess took refuge at the city of Rennes which I quickly conquered leaving her no choice but to marry my brother. I also had to send Marguerite of Austria, Charles VIII's fiancee, back to her father Maximilian.Can you imagine the double humiliation for Austria?!
And so Anne de Bretagne married Charles VIII of France during a secret ceremony at the Chateau de Langeais. I wasn't at all worried about the proud and arrogant little Breton queen for her mere role was to breed. I was in charge of politics still! She gave birth to the Dauphin Charles Orland in 1492.Bretagne became a French province thanks to me.Another reason of joy was the birth of my daughter Suzanne in 1491. With an heiress, the wealthy duchy of Bourbonnais (Central France) was secured for me.
***THE CONQUEST OF ITALY***
My brother Charles VIII was always fascinated with stories of Crusades and Knighthood. He was a dreamer who dreamed of conquering far away lands, so when the enemies of Ludovic Sforza offered him the thrones of Jerusalem, Naples and Milan, he accepted without thinking twice. I was more of the realistic type, so a war against Italy was not one of my priorities.In an attempt to emulate our ancestor Saint Louis, Charles was already in Lyons by 1495(South East France) preparing an army to cross the Alps southwards and conquer Lombardy. Of course I was named regent during Charles's absence for Anne de Bretagne was judged to be too young. She came to Moulins (capital of my duchy of Bourbon) where I once again ruled France.This is a picture of my pavilion at the Bourbon ducal palace in Moulins:
Moulins became the unofficial capital of France under my rule. My brother managed to conquer Milan and Naples quite easily and fairly rapidly. The anti-French league composed by Pope Alexander VI Borgia, Isabel of Castile, and Maximilian of Asutria proved to be no match for the French army. By the end of 1495, Charles VIII returned from Italy all victorious of course. Sumptuous celebrations took place in order to celebrate his conquests which included lavish masque balls, plays, jousts and tournaments.Our celebrations were tarnished with the death of the Dauphin the same year, victim of the measles. My enemy Louis of Orleans became heir to the throne.
I got rather close to Anne de Bretagne. Her numerous miscarriages and my brother's constant debauchery made me feel protective over her.After a match of Tennis, Charles VIII suddenly died in 1498 making Anne de Bretagne queen dowager. She resumed the administration of Bretagne and in order to remain queen, she married Louis of Orleans who became King of France under the name of Louis XII.Louis had divorced my poor sister Jeanne who became a nun and was canonized 400 years later. I wisely decided to stay in Moulins. My Bourbonnais dukedom was the last great fief of France to remain independent.
***GLORY IN RETIREMENT, ANNE THE TEACHER***
My personal domains were huge. They extended from Guyana to Burgundy. They were comparable to a small kingdom within the Kingdom of France.I devoted myself to its administration. I improved the roads to encourage trade, I restored and embellished cities, castles, and fortresses, I founded hospitals and convents.I also took writers, poets, painters, architects, under my patronage. I had a fascination for gardens and fish ponds. Lorenzo the Magnificent sent many exotic animals, including a giraffe.In order words, I held a court of Royal proportions as duchess of Bourbon.Here is my personal medal:
My husband Pierre died in 1503 making me the wealthiest and most prestigious widow in France . By that time I wrote the "Teachings for my daughter Susanne de Bourbon" book, which was a guide for noble ladies concerning manners and life in general. Soon many young ladies were sent to me for their education, including the young queen of France Mary Tudor in 1514.I married my daughter Susanne to her cousin Charles de Bourbon in order to maintain the unity of my duchy.
As I approached old age, I saw many contemporary people die before me like my sister Jeanne in 1505, Anne de Bretagne in 1514, my enemy Louis XII in 1515 and my dear daughter Susanne in 1521. Times changed with the new king Francois 1er and my turn to go came in 1522.After my death, my son in law Charles betrayed Francois I who humiliated him constantly with his mother Louise de Savoie.He joined forces with Charles V which gave Louise de Savoie and Francois I an excuse to incorporate the Bourbounnais duchy to the French Crown.I thank God I didn't get to see the disaster of Pavia!
***MY LEGACY***
As the daughter of Louis XI, I continued his politics of expanding the royal domain and undermining the power of feudal lords. I was regent of France for ten years and under my reign I managed to crush rebellions, conquer Bretagne, restore the finances, and reaffirm Royal Authority to a higher level. France was the wealthiest, largest, and most powerful kingdom in Western Europe thanks to me. I also worked for the prestige of the house of Bourbon which would rule France from Henry IV to Louis Philippe. It is also the current ruling family of Spain.This statue represents me in all my majesty: