Union of the Duchy of Brittany with the Crown of France

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.

As a territorial principality of the Kingdom of France, Brittany had enjoyed varying degrees of autonomy since Clovis I was given authority over the Gallo-Roman domain during the 5th century.

[1] Over the centuries, the fealty demonstrated by the Duchy of Brittany toward the French king depended significantly on the individuals holding the two titles, as well as the involvement of the English monarchy at that particular time.

The reign of Francis II, Duke of Brittany, was at an especially crucial time, as the nobles struggled to maintain their autonomy against the increasing central authority desired by Louis XI of France.

However, because of the different systems of inheritance between the two realms, the crown and the duchy were not held by the same hereditary claimant until the reign of Henry II, beginning 1547.

Clovis received the titles of Honorary Consul and Patricius, thus assuring the legitimacy of his authority over the ancient Gallo-Roman domain.

Thus Nominoë was designated as Missus Imperatoris (emissary of the emperor) by King Louis the Pious, and then as Ducatus Ipsius Gentismissus of the Bretons, before he rebelled against royal power and obtained a degree of autonomy for Brittany.

The Plantagenet regime came to an end in 1203, in consequence of King John’s murder of his nephew Arthur, the son of Duke Geoffrey and Constance.

The territorial expansion of France brought it to the borders of Brittany and led to the goal of overlordship or direct control of the peninsula.

Louis and his successors, the regent Anne de Beaujeu and Charles VIII, wished to: The French Chancery justified its sovereignty over Brittany based on historical precedent:[citation needed] 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.

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.

During their marriage, Charles prohibited Anne from using the title of Duchess of Brittany, and imposed his own rule on the Duchy through a Royal Governor from the House of Penthièvre.

Before this legal challenge ever surfaced, however, centuries passed, and King Louis XVI of France, who remained Duke of Brittany in his own right, was deposed and beheaded during the French Revolution.