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75-576: The three styles laid claim to by pretenders to the French throne are: The Latin term Francorum Rex was the official Latin title of the " King of the Franks " after the accession of the Carolingian dynasty (sometimes taking the form of Rex Francorum ); this title was used in official documents until French replaced Latin as the formal language of legal documents, and remained used on coins until

150-461: A vassal of the king of France, and to expel foreign princes and troops from Brittany. It also restricted his ability to marry his children to suitors of his choosing and required that he cede territory in Saint-Malo , Fougères , Dinan , and Saint-Aubin to the king as a guarantee that in the absence of a male successor the king would determine the succession. Francis died a few months later as

225-485: A door to enter into our Kingdom". By this "perpetual and irrevocable Edict", Navarre, Béarn, Andorra and Donezan were united and incorporated into the crown of France: although, as in the case of Scotland and England in 1707, whilst the Navarrese domains were politically and monarchically united with France, they retained their separate institutions—thus, they were bound irrevocably to France, but not merged into it. Unlike

300-484: A fleet of transport ships. Henry's fleet of 15 chartered vessels was scattered by a storm, and his ship reached the coast of England in company with only one other vessel. Henry realised that the soldiers on shore were the men of the new Yorkist king, Richard III of England , and so he decided to abandon the invasion and return to Brittany. As for Henry's main conspirator in England, Henry Stafford, Duke of Buckingham , he

375-627: A member of the League of the Public Weal . This was an alliance of feudal nobles organized in 1465 in defiance of the centralized authority of King Louis XI of France, whose declared aim was to enlarge the French royal domain by annexing all of the duchies – Burgundy, Berry, Normandy, Orléans, Brittany, etc. It was masterminded by Charles the Bold , Count of Charolais, son of the Duke of Burgundy , with

450-722: A part of the feudal boundaries of France, were independent sovereignties; and, under crown jurisdiction, the duchies of Albret, Beaumont, Vendôme, and the counties of Foix, Armagnac, Comminges, Bigorre and Marle. By established tradition, lands within the legal borders of France (thus, Henry's duchies and counties) would merge into the crown when the holder became king; independent lordships, whether they were or were not part of France's feudal borders, would remain distinct possessions. Henry, however, refused to follow this tradition: having no legitimate sons to pass his possessions onto, and forced to fight to secure his rule over France, he wanted to ensure that if he died without legitimate children, in

525-506: A rebel lord, believing he would marry Francis' daughter Anne, reinforced the Breton army with 5000 troops supplied by the king of Spain. Maximilian I of Austria also sent 1500 men, and Edward Woodville, Lord Scales , brought over a force of archers from Britain. Francis, however, was defeated on 28 July 1488 in the Battle of Saint-Aubin-du-Cormier . This battle also destroyed the power-base of

600-431: A result of a fall from his horse during a leisurely ride. He left only a daughter, Anne of Brittany , so the treaty was used to force her, as his successor, to marry Charles VIII, and later Louis XII. Despite the French victory and the signing of the treaty, la Guerre Folle dragged on beyond Francis' death for three more years until December 1491, when Anne married Charles VIII. Francis is interred in an elaborate tomb in

675-482: A state separate from the French nation. Although the last Bourbons titled themselves 'King of France and Navarre' once more, it was a title only, 'Navarre' having ceased to exist as anything more than a name. The king of France was also at times ruler of lands outside France itself. If he would not or could not merge these lands into the French crown, and thus the French state, he would legally be sovereign of those lands separately to his role as French king. In such cases,

750-400: A title of the king of France after the death of Claude of France . When it appeared, the title was bestowed by the king of France to one of his direct descendants and was in any event titular in status. (See Duchy of Brittany .) Navarre was twice united with France: from 1314 to 1328 (effectively from 1284, upon the marriage of Philip IV of France to Joan I of Navarre ), and from 1589 to

825-520: Is by us otherwise ordered, or unless God bestows on us the grace of having children we desire to provide thereto." The Paris Parlement refused to register these Letters, stating that French public law did not allow the division of a monarch's public and private possessions; instead, Henry had them registered at the Parlements of Bordeaux and Toulouse. Thus, from 1589 to 1607, the King of France and Navarre

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900-634: Is the title to which the Bonapartists and their supporters continue to lay claim. In addition to the titles above, the kings of France at one point or another held others attached to the Crown. During the Middle Ages, the kings of France considered that the Duchy of Brittany was feudally a part of their Kingdom of France (i.e. it was within the traditional borders of the realm, and the king of France

975-518: The Kingdom of Italy in the south, and the Kingdom of Provence in the west. West and East Francia soon divided up the area of Middle Francia. The idea of a "King of the Franks" ( Rex Francorum) gradually disappeared. The title "King of the Franks" is attested in the Kingdom of France until 1190, that of "Queen of the Franks" (for queen consorts) until 1227. That represented a shift in thinking about

1050-716: The Nantes Cathedral . His tomb was commissioned by his daughter Anne, and is an important early example of Renaissance sculpture in France. Francis was married twice. His first wife was Margaret of Brittany , the eldest daughter of Francis I, Duke of Brittany (his first cousin) and Isabella of Scotland . They had one son who died shortly after his birth: Francis' second wife was Margaret of Foix , Princess of Navarre , daughter of Gaston IV, Count of Foix and Queen Eleanor of Navarre . They had: Francis also had five illegitimate children with Antoinette de Maignelais ,

1125-551: The Rennes Cathedral , Henry swore an oath to marry King Edward IV's daughter, Elizabeth of York , and thus unite the warring houses of York and Lancaster. Henry's rising prominence made him a great threat to King Richard III, and the Yorkist king made several overtures to Duke Francis II to surrender the young Lancastrian. Francis refused, holding out for the possibility of better terms from the King. In mid-1484, Francis

1200-536: The 18th century. However, from as early as the 12th century, the form Franciae Rex ("King of France") was also used. This title Rex Christianissimus , or Roi Très-chrétien owed its origins to the long, and distinctive, relationship between the Catholic Church and the Franks. France was the first modern state recognised by the Church, and was known as the 'Eldest Daughter of the Church'; Clovis I ,

1275-521: The British Act of Union, however, Navarre lost its independent judiciary, a fact the Navarrese resented for a long time afterwards. Nonetheless, in recognition of the separate nature of the Kingdom of Navarre (and the lordships of Béarn, Andorra and Donezan, which were considered attached to the Crown of Navarre), the Bourbon kings of France customarily used the title 'King of France and Navarre'. In

1350-570: The Duchy's autonomy from France. The Treaty of Chateaubriant was signed with France in 1487 and reaffirmed Brittany's autonomy. Despite the Treaty of Chateaubriant , however, the French continued to harass the Duchy. Under the leadership of Louis II de la Trémoille , the French royal army struck against Vannes and Fougères , controlling access to Brittany. Francis then allied with Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor , against France. Alain d'Albret ,

1425-800: The Frankish Emperor Lothair I . But Charles was killed in 1477 at the Battle of Nancy against René II, Duke of Lorraine and a hired army of Swiss mercenaries, and Louis was saved from his greatest adversary. The great Duchy of Burgundy was then absorbed into the Kingdom of France, and the League of the Public Weal was essentially defeated, although several members would re-ally for the Mad War in 1485. The fortunes of Francis and Brittany would continue to deteriorate after Louis XI's death in 1483, as his daughter Anne of France would serve as regent for putative successor Charles VIII. Francis

1500-549: The French Revolution came the writing of a Constitution for France. As part of the reforms, the monarch ceased to be an absolute ruler of hereditary lands deriving power from God; instead, he became a constitutional ruler ruling by the will of the French people and for the good of the French people. By a decree on 12 October 1789, the king's title was thus changed from 'By the Grace of God, King of France and Navarre' to 'By

1575-549: The French, the Tudors were useful pawns to ensure that King Richard III did not interfere with French plans to acquire Brittany. Thus, the loss of the Lancastrians seriously played against the interests of Francis II. Louis XI was renowned as a cunning adversary and a master at diplomacy, if not the military arts. His contemporary nickname was "The Universal Spider," reflecting his constant political plotting. Francis became

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1650-554: The French, under which title the Bourbons were restored in 1815. However, the constitutional monarchy was revived in 1830, with the Bourbon deposition. Although the Orleanist constitutional monarchy, the so-called " July Monarchy ", was abolished in 1848, the heirs of Louis-Philippe continued to claim the title and legacy. The Bonapartist legacy, the title was instituted in 1804 by Napoleon Bonaparte , who crowned himself emperor. It

1725-488: The Grace of God and by the constitutional law of the State, King of the French' ( French : Par la grâce de Dieu et par la loi constitutionnelle de l'État, Roi des Français ), becoming official with the institution of the new constitution on 1 October 1791. The monarchy was abolished a year later, and the Bourbon supporters supported Louis XVI, and then Louis XVII and Louis XVIII, as King of France and Navarre rather than King of

1800-567: The Saxon Ottonian dynasty. For the continuation, see the list of German monarchs . Sigebert I (Austrasia, 561-575) Francis II, Duke of Brittany Francis II ( Breton : Frañsez II , French : François II ) (23 June 1433 – 9 September 1488) was Duke of Brittany from 1458 to his death. He was the grandson of John IV, Duke of Brittany . A recurring theme in Francis' life would be his quest to maintain

1875-518: The Tudors in time. The Tudors then managed to escape separately, hours ahead of Landais' soldiers, across the nearby border into France. They were received at the court of King Charles VIII of France , who allowed them to stay and provided them with resources. Shortly afterwards, when Francis had recovered, he offered the 400 remaining Lancastrians, still at and around the Château de Suscinio, safe-conduct into France and even paid for their expenses. For

1950-672: The Tudors under his protection. He housed Jasper Tudor, Henry Tudor, and the core of their group of exiled Lancastrians at the Château de Suscinio in Sarzeau , where they remained for 11 years. There, Francis generously supported this group of exiled Englishmen against all the Plantagenet demands that he should surrender them. In October 1483, Henry Tudor launched a failed invasion of England from Brittany. Francis supported this invasion by providing 40,000 gold crowns, 15,000 soldiers, and

2025-550: The Tudors when they tried to flee to France but strong winds in the English Channel forced them to land at Le Conquet in Brittany . Henry Tudor, the only remaining Lancastrian noble with a trace of royal bloodline, had a weak claim to the throne, and King Edward IV regarded him as "a nobody". However, Francis viewed Henry as a valuable bargaining tool for England's aid, when in conflicts with France, and therefore kept

2100-549: The aftermath of the Battle of Tewkesbury. Their deaths left the House of Lancaster with no direct claimants to the throne. Subsequently, the Yorkist king, Edward IV of England , was in complete control of England. He attainted those who refused to submit to his rule, such as Jasper Tudor and his nephew Henry Tudor (later King Henry VII of England), naming them as traitors and confiscating their lands. Francis gained custody over

2175-433: The chief residences. Upon his death, his four sons – and later his grandsons – split the kingdom among them. Every son received a part of the original Frankish territory and also a part of the newly acquired Aquitaine. Chlothar II defeated Brunhilda and her great-grandson, Sigibert II, reunifying the kingdom. By that time the realms of Neustria , Burgundy and Austrasia had developed regional identities. In order to appease

2250-526: The continuation, see the list of French monarchs . After Lothair's death in 855, his realm was divided between his sons: Louis divided his lands between his three sons, but they all ended up in the hands of the youngest by 882: On the deposition of Charles the Fat, East Francia went to his nephew: Louis the Child was the last East Frankish Carolingian ruler. He was succeeded by Conrad of Franconia and then

2325-474: The crown, and not subject to Salic law ; in Letters of 21 December 1596, he further stated that "our ancient domain, in our kingdom of Navarre and sovereign land of Béarn and Donazan, low countries of Flanders, as well as our duchies, counties, viscounties, lands, lordships in this our kingdom, be and remained disunited, disjoint and separate of our house of France not to be in any way included or merged unless it

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2400-630: The descendants of Pepin disputed the succession. Finally, in 747 Pepin the Short  became Mayor of the Palace of Austrasia in addition to that of Neustria, making him ruler of the entire Frankish kingdom. He arranged for the deposition of the Merovingian king Childeric III and in March 752, Pepin was himself anointed King of the Franks. The office of Mayor was absorbed into the Crown, and this marked

2475-402: The ducal bloodline, now held by the House of Montfort . When Anne died, Brittany passed to her daughter and heiress, Claude , rather than remaining with the king of France, her father. Claude married the future king Francis I . By this marriage, and through the succession to the French crown, the king of France became Duke of Brittany jure uxoris once more. Claude's death in 1524 separated

2550-472: The duchy began to come to an end upon the death of Francis II of Brittany . The duchy was inherited by his daughter, Anne , but King Charles VIII of France was determined to bring the territory under royal control. Charles had her marriage annulled and then forced her to marry him in a series of actions that were acknowledged by the Pope. As a result, the Kingdom of France and the Duchy of Brittany were placed in

2625-472: The duchy from the crown once more, and ultimately, for the final time. Because Claude, like her mother, was sovereign Duchess, the title of 'Duke' did not remain with her husband, but instead passed to her son, Francis III of Brittany , who was also Dauphin of France . Legally, the Crown and duchy were again separate, but the Duke was a child, and the duchy had been governed as an integral part of France for years;

2700-562: The duchy. Then in 1492 Henry VII signed the Treaty of Étaples with France, effectively removing England's defense of Breton autonomy in return for promises from the French to no longer support Perkin Warbeck , pretender to the English throne, and to pay a war indemnity. The duchy's autonomy was all but lost as the process of merging it into the French crown began, and Brittany's strongest ally

2775-489: The ensuing division of his inheritance, his sister Catherine would receive all of their parental inheritance (if he allowed his French lands to merge with the crown before dying without legitimate children, the merged lands would go as part of the crown to the next heir to the throne, his cousin Henri, Prince of Condé ). Accordingly, by letters patent of 13 April 1590, he declared that his personal estates would remain separate from

2850-469: The former mistress of King Charles VII of France . Breton nobles acted to safeguard Anne as their Duchess and to protect the Duchy's autonomy for which Francis had fought so hard. In 1489 these nobles signed the Treaty of Redon with Henry VII; that treaty between Brittany and England was intended to prevent the annexation of Brittany by France. However, in 1491 Charles VIII of France invaded Brittany and forced Anne to marry him, thereby gaining control of

2925-535: The granddaughter (and senior heiress) of Joan and Philip, Joan II of Navarre . However, Joan's possessions within France, inherited from her forebears the Counts of Champagne, did not pass with Navarre to Joan's heirs; instead, by treaty, Joan exchanged them for other lands within France, Philip then merging the Champenois inheritance into the French crown. By chance, France and Navarre were united again in 1589, in

3000-478: The king and queen, and in 1498 when Charles VIII died childless, the title Duke of Brittany remained with Anne, rather than passing to the heir of France, Louis XII . Anne of Brittany returned to Brittany and began to re-establish an independent sovereign rule. However, the new French king, Louis XII married Anne himself, and so the king was once more Duke of Brittany jure uxoris . Legally, Brittany still remained distinct, and its future remained dependent on

3075-480: The king had little trouble in maintaining royal control over the duchy. Breton independence was effectively ended when in 1532 the Estates of Brittany proclaimed the perpetual union of Brittany with the French crown. Legally, the duchy was now part of France. Francis III remained Duke of Brittany but died without attaining the French crown in 1536. He was succeeded by his brother, the future Henry II of France . Henry

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3150-467: The king of the Franks, had been recognised by the papacy as a protector of Rome's interests. Accordingly, this title was frequently accorded to the French kings (although on a number of occasions kings of other realms would be addressed as such by the Church), and came into frequent use during the reign of Charles VI ; under his son, Charles VII , it became recognised as a hereditary and exclusive title of

3225-560: The king remained separately the King of Navarre, and Lord of the other domains. In October 1620, the merging of the Navarrese inheritance into France was furthered, when Louis XIII on 20 October had an Edict passed in Pau by the Sovereign Council of Navarre, to prevent "the misfortunes and inconveniences which would occur if, failing a male heir to our Royal House, said countries passed by inheritance to Foreign princes, thereby opening

3300-456: The king's brother Charles, Duke of Berry , as a figurehead. In 1467 Charles the Bold inherited the Duchy of Burgundy, which held fiefs in France that included the counties of Artois and Flanders , and the Imperial lands of Holland , Brabant , and Luxembourg . As Duke of Burgundy, Charles aspired to forge a kingdom of his own between France and Germany, approximating the former domains of

3375-432: The king's styles would be treated differently in the relevant territory. However, the title would be used only within the territory, or in documents relating to the territory; it would not be formally used as part of the king's title outside the relevant lands. In addition, Alsace requested that the king take the title "Landgrave of Upper and Lower Alsace" ( German : Landgraf von Oberelsaß und Unterelsaß ) in relation to

3450-434: The kings of France. Pope Julius II , allied between 1510 and 1513 with Henry VIII of England against Louis XII of France , considered transferring the title from the French monarch to the English monarch, drafting a papal brief to this effect; however, it was never issued. French kings thus continued to use the title, in particular on diplomatic documents, less frequently in France itself or in everyday parlance. The use of

3525-515: The lands east of Lothair's kingdom. The following table does not provide a complete listing for some of the various regna of the empire, especially those who were subregna of the Western, Middle, or Eastern kingdom such as Italy , Provence , Neustria , and Aquitaine . Names marked with an asterisk (*) were not Carolingians, but Robertians . After this, the House of Capet ruled France. For

3600-498: The local nobility, Austrasia was usually ruled by separate king, often a son or brother of the king ruling in Neustria and Burgundy. A similar arrangement for Aquitaine was short-lived. Chlothar II had reunified the kingdom in 613. By that time the realms of Neustria , Burgundy and Austrasia had developed regional identities. In order to appease the local nobility, Clothar made his young son, Dagobert I , king of Austrasia. Austrasia

3675-721: The monarchy from that of a popular monarchy , the leader of a people, sometimes without a defined territory to rule, to that of a monarchy tied to a specific territory. Clovis I united all the Frankish petty kingdoms as well as most of Roman Gaul under his rule, conquering the Domain of Soissons of the Roman general Syagrius as well as the Visigothic Kingdom of Toulouse (Aquitaine). He took his seat at Paris, which along with Soissons , Reims , Metz , and Orléans became

3750-594: The new Carolingian dynasty in the 8th century. By the late 10th century, the Carolingians themselves had been replaced throughout much of their realm by other dynasties. A timeline of Frankish rulers has been difficult to trace since the realm, according to old Germanic practice, was frequently divided among the sons of a king upon the king's death. However, territories were eventually reunited through marriage, treaty or conquest. There were often multiple Frankish kings who ruled different territories, and divisions of

3825-837: The newly created Kingdom of Middle Francia , a corridor of land stretching from Italy to the North Sea, and including the Low Countries, the Rhineland (including Aachen), Burgundy, and Provence. Charles was confirmed in Aquitaine, where Pepin I's son Pepin II was opposing him, and granted West Francia (modern France), the lands west of Lothair's Kingdom. Louis the German was confirmed in Bavaria and granted East Francia (modern Germany),

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3900-562: The only legitimate male heir was his nephew Francis. Francis unexpectedly became the protector of England's House of Lancaster in exile from 1471 to 1484. During the latter half of the 15th century, civil war existed in England as the House of York and House of Lancaster fought each other for the English throne. In 1471, the Yorkists defeated their rivals in the battles of Barnet and Tewkesbury . The Lancastrian king, Henry VI of England and his only son, Edward of Westminster , died in

3975-477: The palace . The Carolingians were initially mayors of the palace under the Merovingian kings, first in Austrasia and later in Neustria and Burgundy. In 687 Pepin of Heristal took the title Duke and Prince of the Franks ( dux et princeps Francorum ) after his conquest of Neustria in at the Battle of Tertry , which was cited by contemporary chroniclers as the beginning of Pepin's reign. Between 715 and 716,

4050-466: The person of Henry IV of France : his mother, Jeanne III of Navarre , had been the queen of Navarre (and senior heiress of Joan II), his father, Antoine de Bourbon , had been the senior-most heir after the House of Valois . He thus became 'King of France and Navarre'. He was also, by inheritance, a holder of other significant lands within France: Béarn, Donnezan and Andorra, which were, although

4125-472: The personal union of their marriage, and the king of France would also hold the title of Duke of Brittany jure uxoris . During their marriage, the Charles VIII prohibited Anne from using the title Duchess of Brittany and imposed a royal governor from the House of Penthievre on the duchy. Legally, however, the duchy remained separate from France proper; the two titles were linked only by the marriage of

4200-413: The present. In the first case, the union was merely that of the two crowns: although the relevant kings held both titles, the two kingdoms were legally distinct, bound only by the descent of the kings from the marriage between Joan and Philip. Accordingly, when their direct male descent died out, the two domains separated, France passing to Philip's nephew, Philip of Valois , and Navarre being inherited by

4275-426: The quasi-independence of Brittany from France . As such, his reign was characterized by conflicts with King Louis XI of France and with his daughter, Anne of France , who served as regent during the minority of her brother, King Charles VIII . The armed and unarmed conflicts from 1465 to 1477 and 1484–1488 have been called the "War of the Public Weal" and the Mad War ( la Guerre Folle ), respectively. Francis

4350-511: The start of the Carolingians as the ruling dynasty. Charlemagne was crowned emperor in the year 800, beginning the line of Holy Roman Emperors that lasted (with some interruptions) until 1806, although the title was held by German monarchs after 962. Louis the Pious made many divisions of his empire during his lifetime. The final division, pronounced at Worms in 838, made Charles the Bald heir to

4425-461: The territories were not very consistent over time. As inheritance traditions changed over time, the divisions of Francia (the lands of the Franks) started to become kingdoms that were more permanent. West Francia formed the heart of what was to become the Kingdom of France ; East Francia evolved into the Kingdom of Germany ; and Middle Francia became the Kingdom of Lotharingia in the north,

4500-509: The territory, but this did not happen. (reign disputed) The monarchs of other countries have received similar titles from the pope: The French Royal Family: Titles and Customs List of Frankish kings The Franks , Germanic-speaking peoples that invaded the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century, were first led by individuals called dukes and reguli . The earliest group of Franks that rose to prominence

4575-459: The title rex christianissimus to refer to the French king was affirmed by medieval French thinkers including Jean Gerson and Nicole Oresme . Both of these men wrote about what they viewed as their king's unique position among the monarchs of Christendom. These philosophers believed that because he was rex christianissimus , the French king played a special role as protector of the Church. With

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4650-602: The troubles of 1789, Navarre—being a distinct kingdom—by order of the Navarrese estates refused to elect representatives to the Estates General of France, instead sending four representatives of the Estates to Versailles at the 'invitation' of the king; these representatives, arriving in July 1789, refused to sit with the National Assembly, and instead the Navarrese estates attempted to revoke the 1620 Union. This

4725-477: The warring noble leaders as Edward Woodville was killed, and Louis of Orléans and John IV of Chalon-Arlay were captured. Alain d'Albret and the Maréchal de Rieux succeeded in escaping, and played an important part in continuing the conflict. A few days later, on 10 August, Francis was forced to sign the Treaty of Verger . Under the terms of the treaty, the duke was compelled to submit himself and his duchy as

4800-407: The west, including Aquitaine, and Lothair heir to the east, including Italy and excluding Bavaria, which was left for Louis the German . However, following the emperor's death in 840, the empire was plunged into a civil war that lasted three years. The Frankish kingdom was then divided by the Treaty of Verdun in 843. Lothair was allowed to keep his imperial title and his kingdom of Italy, and granted

4875-656: Was also the Lord of Béarn, Duke of Albret and Vendôme, Count of Foix, etc. These acts were reversed in 1606–1607: Henry had a legitimate son, and the death of his sister without issue had nullified any need to share the Navarrese inheritance. By an Edict of 1607, the original ruling of the Paris Parlement that lands within France were automatically merged in the Crown was upheld, and the king ceased to be Duke of Albret and Vendôme, Count of Foix, etc. Because Navarre, Béarn, Andorre and Donazan were independent of France, however,

4950-504: Was anxious to maintain his duchy's autonomy during the minority of Charles VIII of France . He aligned himself with Louis, the Duke of Orléans (the future Louis XII) and Charles, Count of Angoulême , against the regency of Anne of France . She had been pursuing the same underhand politics towards Brittany as her father Louis XI. In focusing on relations with his neighbour France, however, Francis II neglected his own realm. His corrupt and oppressive prime minister, Guillaume Chauvin , who

5025-436: Was born on 23 June 1433 to Richard of Brittany, Count of Étampes (1395–1438) and his wife, Margaret of Orléans , Countess of Vertus (1406–1466). Richard of Brittany was the youngest son of Duke John IV of Brittany. Richard's older brothers, John V and Arthur III , both succeeded their father as duke, but upon Arthur's death in 1458 (John V's sons Francis I and Peter II died in 1450 and 1457 respectively, without sons),

5100-407: Was convicted of treason and beheaded on 2 November 1483, way before Henry's ships landed in England. For Henry's conspiracy against King Richard III had been unravelled, and without the Duke of Buckingham or Henry Tudor, the rebellion was easily crushed. Survivors of the failed uprising then fled to Brittany, where they openly supported Henry Tudor's claim to the throne. On Christmas Day in 1483 at

5175-439: Was deemed to be overlord of the Duchy). In fact, however, the Duchy of Brittany was a largely independent sovereign state. It was recognized as independently sovereign and lying outside the Kingdom of France by Louis IV , an ally of Alan II, Duke of Brittany . Subsequent kings of France sought to control Brittany in part because of the attempts of kings of England and Spain to control the duchy. The independent sovereign nature of

5250-411: Was denied, and by vote of the assembly the king's title was changed from 'King of France and Navarre' to 'King of the French' (thus denying the separation between the two kingdoms, and emphasising the—presumed—unity of the French people). By the constitution of 1791, this change was effected, and the merging of Navarre was completed—it lost all of its separate institutions, and was denied any recognition as

5325-419: Was incapacitated by one of his periods of illness, and while recuperating, his treasurer, Pierre Landais , took over the reins of government. Landais reached an agreement with King Richard III to send Henry and his uncle Jasper back to England in exchange for a pledge of 3,000 English archers to defend Brittany against a threatened French attack. John Morton, a bishop of Flanders , learnt of the scheme and warned

5400-421: Was overthrown by treasurer general Pierre Landais in 1477, died in prison on 5 April 1484. A large part of the nobility had been bribed by Anne and Charles and supported them in their eagerness to subjugate Brittany. These nobles performed a coup d'état ousting Landais, who was eventually hanged in 1485. In 1486, the Estates of Brittany confirmed Francis' daughter Anne and heir and successor to further assure

5475-805: Was the Salian Merovingians , who conquered most of Roman Gaul , as well as the Gaulish territory of the Visigothic Kingdom , following the Battle of Vouillé in 507 AD. The sons of Clovis I , the first King of the Franks, conquered the Burgundian and the Alamanni Kingdoms. They acquired Provence , and went on to make the peoples of the Bavarii and Thuringii their clients. The Merovingians were later replaced by

5550-617: Was the French king to become Duke of Brittany in his own right. Any trace of Breton independence ended with the ascension of Henry to the French throne in 1547. The kingdom and duchy were now united by inheritance, and the merging of Brittany into France was thus completed. Notably, when Henry III (the last direct male from Claude of France ) died, Brittany passed as part of the Crown to the next heir of France, Henry IV , rather than to Claude's most senior heirs (either Henry II, Duke of Lorraine or Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia of Spain ). The title Duke of Brittany largely ceased to be used as

5625-432: Was usually ruled by a separate king, often a son or brother of the king ruling in Neustria and Burgundy, for the following decades. Theuderic III was recognized as king of all the Franks in 679. From then on, the kingdom of the Franks can be treated as a unit again for all but a very brief period of civil war. This is the period of the roi fainéant , "do-nothing kings" who were increasingly overshadowed by their mayors of

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