Anne of Brittany - Duchess of Brittany

Duchess of Brittany

The first necessary move for Anne was to secure a husband, preferably anti-France and powerful enough to maintain Breton independence. Maximilian I of Austria was considered the most suitable candidate. Her marriage with Maximilian, which took place at Rennes by proxy on 19 December 1490, conferred upon Anne the title Queen of the Romans, but proved to have serious consequences. The French regarded it as a serious provocation—it not only violated the Treaty of Verger (the King of France not having consented to the marriage), but also placed the rule of Brittany in the hands of an enemy of France. The marriage also proved ill-timed: the Habsburgs were too busy in Hungary to pay any serious attention to Brittany, and the Castilians were busy fighting in Granada. Although both Castile and England sent small numbers of troops to supplement the Ducal army, neither wished for open warfare with France. The spring of 1491 brought new successes by the French general La Trémoille, and Charles VIII of France came to lay siege to Rennes.

After Maximilian failed to come to his bride's assistance, Rennes fell. Anne became engaged to Charles in the vault of the Jacobins in Rennes. Then, escorted by her army (ostensibly to show that she had willingly consented to the marriage), Anne went 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 celebrated her second wedding to Charles VIII at the castle of Langeais on 6 December 1491.

The marriage was subsequently validated by Pope Innocent VIII on 15 February 1492. The marriage contract provided that the spouse who outlived the other would retain possession of Brittany; however, it also stipulated that if Charles died without male heirs, Anne would marry his successor, thus ensuring the French kings a second chance to permanently annex Brittany.