As I was researching my new novel I reflected on the importance of male heirs for Brittany and France. I had been reading an article that electrified me in the book Noblesse de Bretagne du Moyen Age à Nos Jours. Failures in the male line One article in particular challenges several standard interpretations of Breton …
Jasper is a Tudor story with a Breton flavour by Tony Riches. Its full title is Jasper: Book Two of the Tudor Trilogy. Riches continues the Tudor story from Owen, Book One. He takes us from father to the son, Jasper and his wanderings with his nephew, Henry Tudor. Not only was I entertained by …
The Dukes and Duchesses of Brittany between 1485 to 1559 were also kings and queens of France from the time France conquered Brittany to the death of King François II of France. Anne of Brittany, the last truly independent Duchess of Brittany, fought her whole life to keep her duchy separate from France. She had …
As befitted her role as Queen of France, Anne of Brittany passed her life travelling among the royal chateaux of Brittany and France. It could easily not have happened. When her father died shortly after the disastrous the battle of St. Aubin de Cormier in July 1488, Anne was not yet 12. She became ruler …
Anne of Brittany among the Chateaux of Brittany and France Read More »
The monumental calvaries of Brittany are extraordinary granite sculptures, whose carved figures depict scenes from Christ’s life. They are traditional elements of the Brittany landscape. Clustered in the west of Brittany, most represent the crucifixion. During a period of peace and prosperity for Brittany, small rural towns built their elaborate calvaries in their churchyards. The …
Anne de Beaujeu aka Madame la Grande was a remarkable French woman of the 15th-century. She became regent of France for her brother. Under the next kings, she maintained her power. As regent of the Bourbonnais for her daughter, she wrote her a book of advice. Anne de Beaujeu aka Madame la Grande Anne’s father, Louis …
