Union of the Duchy of Brittany with the Crown of France
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The union of the Duchy of Brittany with the Crown of France was the culmination of a political process begun at the end of the 15th century in the wake of the Mad War. It resulted in the Edict of Union of 13 August 1532 and the incorporation of the duchy into the Crown lands of France, a critical step in the formation of modern-day France.
As a territorial principality of the
Historical context
Roman times through the 13th century
According to
In the 9th century, with chaos spreading over Brittany, the
In 942
During the expansion of the
The Plantagenet regime came to an end in 1203, in consequence of
14th and 15th centuries
In the 14th century, the
In the 15th century, the more recent dukes of Brittany rendered homage to the French king, although
The territorial expansion of France brought it to the borders of Brittany and led to the goal of
- destroy the threat of encirclement of the French kingdom between the Duchy of Burgundy (and subsequently the Burgundian Netherlands and the County of Burgundy, which passed to the archduke of Austria) to the north and east, and Brittany to the west.
- consolidate the power of the king in the face of Francis II, who, like the other nobles, had profited from the historic enfeeblement of the monarchy to endue himself with symbols of sovereignty, such as a royal seal, a royal crown, the adoption of the principle of lèse-majesté, the establishment of a sovereign parliament (or court of justice), the establishment of a university (at Nantes), independent and direct diplomatic relations with the then major powers, and the eviction of the King's tax collectors.
- punish those nobles, including Francis II, who had fought on the anti-royalist side in multiple conflicts, such as the League of the Public Weal(1465), the conquest of Normandy in 1467-68 for Charles of France (1446–1472), the war of 1471-1473, the Mad War (La Guerre Folle) (1484–85), and the Franco-Breton War (1487–1488).
The French Chancery justified its sovereignty over Brittany based on historical precedent:[citation needed]
- In 497, Clovis I united the Franks into a single kingdom.
- In the late 8th century, Charlemagne incorporated Brittany into the Carolingian Empire.
- In the 11th century, William the Conqueror expanded into Brittany.
The Breton chroniclers and the Breton Chancellery of the 14th-16th centuries defended the opposite view, arguing mainly from settlement of the territory by Bretons at an earlier date than by the Franks; but conveniently forgetting the lack of a treaty with the Roman Empire permitting the settlement in Brittany and the settlement of the Franks in the Vannes region, as well as agreements with the Frankish kings in authority following the advent of Clovis. They also argued for the sovereignty of Brittany based on its status as an ancient kingdom, although Nominoe, who had won considerable autonomy for the administration of Britain, never had the title of king, and the fact that the homage paid by the dukes to the kings was one of alliance rather than as lieges. This last point was not recognized by the King of France.
In the second half of the 15th century, the kings of France had multiple events work to their advantage in the quest to acquire Brittany:
- England, a traditional ally of the Counts of Tudor dynasty did send an English force under the command of Edward Woodville, Lord Scales to fight in the Battle of Saint-Aubin-du-Cormier (1488), in which they were wiped out and Lord Scales killed. Following this defeat, the Tudors did not dare intervene in Breton affairs once again.
- Brittany lost another important ally with the 1477 death of the Duke of Burgundy, Charles the Bold, whose domain was in part incorporated into the French crown and otherwise inherited by his daughter.
- The end of the dynasty of Anjou in 1482 gave the king control of the border between Anjou and Brittany.
- The Breton nobility had many interests in the kingdom and, like other nobles, those concerning pensions related to their titles. In addition, the nobles envied the influence of the Valois and of the treasurer of the administrative divisionin southern France), who was a simple commoner.
- Valoisat the French court (hence the unfortunate coalitions during the feudal revolts against the king).
- This lack of authority over his upper aristocracy and his government in general deprived Francis II, and later Anne of Brittany, of support. The nobility preferred to respect royal power, and only associated themselves weakly with the revolt of the great feudal lords during the Mad War (La Guerre Folle) revolt against Anne of France's regency.
- Francis II had no legitimate male heir, so his two daughters, Anne and Isabeau, were proclaimed heirs before the Estates of Brittany (the Breton council) in conformity with the Duchy's semi-Alain d'Albret, and the King of France, who had purchased an inheritance claim from the Penthièvre family (arising from the treaty signed at the end of the Breton War of Succession).
Treaty of Sablé
Following the
Unfortunately, this violated the Treaty of Sablé as the king of France did not consent to this marriage, and it also placed the rule of Brittany in the hands of an enemy of France. As a result, France resumed its armed conflict with Brittany. The spring of 1491 brought new successes by the French general La Trémoille, and Charles VIII of France came to lay siege to Rennes. Maximilian failed to come to his bride's assistance (the Habsburgs were too busy in Hungary to pay serious attention to Brittany), and Rennes fell. Anne became engaged to Charles in the vault of the Jacobins in Rennes and traveled to Langeais to be married. Although Austria made diplomatic protests, claiming that the marriage was illegal because the bride was unwilling, that she was already legally married to Maximilian, and that Charles was legally betrothed to Margaret of Austria (Maximilian's daughter), Anne was wed to Charles VIII on 6 December 1491. The marriage was subsequently validated by Pope Innocent VIII on 15 February 1492.
The King of France as Duke of Brittany jure uxoris
Charles VIII's successor,
The King of France as hereditary Duke of Brittany
The Union of Brittany and France was nearly perfected through Francis III, Duke of Brittany, the eldest son of Francis I of France and Claude of France, and therefore the Dauphin of France. Francis III inherited the Duchy when he was 6 years old after the death of his mother in 1524. That Francis I allowed his eldest son to carry the title of the Duke of Brittany supports the perception that the Duchy of Brittany remained separate from the Kingdom of France. However, before the kingship and dukedom could be joined in one person, Francis III died in 1536, never to inherit the French crown. The duchy then passed to Henry, the second son of Francis I and Claude. When Francis I died in 1547, Henry succeeded him as Henry II of France, and the kingdom and dukedom were united in ruler.
Francis I also sought to enfold Brittany into the Kingdom of France through parliamentary maneuvers. Francis formally invited the Duchy of Brittany to join the French crown. On 13 August 1532, an edict of union was signed by the Estates of Brittany in Nantes.[4][5] Some members of the parliament (the Estates of Brittany) were either intimidated into co-operation with the union or bought off, with the demand for union in fact being inspired by Francis I.[6] It has been argued that the legal validity of the union is doubtful on such grounds.[7]
Regardless of the validity of the Edict of Union of 1532, four years later in 1536, Henry became the Duke of Brittany upon the death of his brother. Thereby the Duchy of Brittany was considered incorporated into the Kingdom of France upon the death of his mother.[8][9]
The crowns of Brittany and France differed principally in the application of Salic Law, and this difference remained to challenge the permanent union of the two crowns. Before this legal challenge ever surfaced, however, centuries passed, and King
Political and economic factors
The duchy could only submit, in spite of its occasional resistance, in the face of one of Europe's strongest armies. The Breton elite were attracted by France's royal court, but the Breton merchant bourgeoisie in Saint-Malo did not identify with the interests of the Dukes of Brittany.
See also
- Breton people
- Brittany
- Duchy of Brittany
- List of Breton monarchs
- List of French monarchs
- Kings of France family tree
- Territorial formation of France
References
- ^ Smith, Julia M. H. Province and Empire: Brittany and the Carolingians. Cambridge University Press: 1992, 97.
- ^ Michael Jones, The Creation of Brittany: A Late Medieval State, (Hambledon Press, 1988), 4.
- ^ a b Elizabeth Hallam, Capetian France 987–1328, (Longman, 1980), 64.
- ISBN 2-87747-527-1.
- ^ Yves Henri Nouailhat. Bretagne: écologie, économie, art, littérature, langue, histoire, traditions populaires, vol. 16. d'Encyclopédies régionales. C. Bonneton, 1979. p. 27.
- ISBN 2-7373-2187-5.
- ^ http://www.gwalarn.org/diellou/1532.pdf[permanent dead link] Louis Melennec, doctoral dissertation on the union between Brittany and France
- ISBN 2-7068-1219-2.
- ^ A Short History of Brittany Archived July 21, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
Bibliography
- Gabory, Émile. L'Union de la Bretagne à la France: Anne de Bretagne, duchesse et reine. Plon, 1941.
- Germain, José, and Stéphane Faye. Bretagne en France et l'union de 1532. Tallandier, 1931.
- Le Page, Dominique, and Michel Nassiet. L'union de la Bretagne à la France. Éditions Skol Vreizh, 2003.
- Leguay, Jean-Pierre. "La fin de l'indépendance bretonne." Fastes et malheurs de la Bretagne ducale 1213–1532. Ouest-France Université, 1992. pp. 434–435.
- de Mauny, Michel. 1532: le grand traité franco-breton. On account of the author, 1971.
- de Mauny, Michel. 1532–1790, les dessous de l'union de la Bretagne à la France. ISBN 2-7048-0510-5.
- de Mauny, Michel. Traité d'union de la Bretagne à la France. Celtics Chadenn, 2002. ISBN 2-84722-016-X.