Anne of Armagnac, Dame d'Albret, Countess of Dreux (1402 – before March 1473) was a French noblewoman and a member of the powerful Gascon Armagnac family which played a prominent role in French politics during the

Hundred Years War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a series of armed conflicts between the kingdoms of England and France during the Late Middle Ages. It originated from disputed claims to the French throne between the English House of Plantagen ...

and were the principal adversaries of the Burgundians throughout the Armagnac-Burgundian Civil War. Anne was the wife of

Charles II d'Albret Charles II d'Albret (1407–1471) was a French magnate, administrator, and soldier. He was the son of Charles I of Albret and Marie de Sully. His father died in 1415 at the Battle of Agincourt, leaving the younger Charles as lord of Albret and t ...

Family

Anne was born in 1402 in Gages, near

Rodez Rodez ( or ; oc, Rodés, ) is a small city and commune in the South of France, about 150 km northeast of Toulouse. It is the prefecture of the department of Aveyron, region of Occitania (formerly Midi-Pyrénées). Rodez is the seat of the ...

, France, the daughter of

Bernard VII of Armagnac Bernard VII, Count of Armagnac (1360 – 12 June 1418) was Count of Armagnac and Constable of France. He was the son of John II, Count of Armagnac, and Jeanne de Périgord. He succeeded in Armagnac at the death of his brother, John III, in ...

Count of Charolais Charolais (; also Charollais) is a historic region of France, named after the central town of Charolles, and located in today's Saône-et-Loire ''département'', in Burgundy. History It was held by the French noble house of Chalon-Arlay, until ...

Count of Armagnac The following is a list of rulers of the county of Armagnac: House of Armagnac *William Count of Fézensac and Armagnac ?– 960 * Bernard the Suspicious, First count privative of Armagnac 960– ? * Gerald I Trancaléon ? –1020 * Bernard ...

, and Bonne de Berry. Anne had six siblings, these included

John IV of Armagnac John IV (15 October 1396 – 5 November 1450) was a Count of Armagnac, Fézensac, and Rodez from 1418 to 1450. He was involved in the intrigues related to the Hundred Years' War and in conflicts against the King of France. Biography Born 15 Oc ...

, Bernard of Armagnac, and

Bonne of Armagnac Bonne of Armagnac (19 February 1399 – 1430/35) was the eldest daughter of Bernard VII, Count of Armagnac and Constable of France, and his wife Bonne of Berry. Marriage On 15 April 1410 at the age of 11, she married Charles, Duke of Orléans ...

, wife of Charles, Duke of Orléans. She had three half-siblings from her mother's marriage to Count Amadeus, including

Amadeus VIII of Savoy Amadeus VIII (4 September 1383 – 7 January 1451), nicknamed the Peaceful, was Count of Savoy from 1391 to 1416 and Duke of Savoy from 1416 to 1440. He was the son of Amadeus VII, Count of Savoy and Bonne of Berry. He was a claimant to the papa ...

. Her paternal grandparents were John II of Armagnac and Jeanne de Périgord, and her maternal grandparents were

John, Duke of Berry John of Berry or John the Magnificent (French: ''Jean de Berry'', ; 30 November 1340 – 15 June 1416) was Duke of Berry and Auvergne and Count of Poitiers and Montpensier. He was Regent of France during the minority of his nephew 1380-1388 ...

and Jeanne of Armagnac. Anne's father was head of the powerful, pro-French, pro-

Orléans Orléans (;"Orleans"
(US) and John the Fearless John I (french: Jean sans Peur; nl, Jan zonder Vrees; 28 May 137110 September 1419) was a scion of the French royal family who ruled the Burgundian State from 1404 until his death in 1419. He played a key role in French national affairs durin ...

. On 30 December 1415, her father was appointed

Constable of France The Constable of France (french: Connétable de France, from Latin for 'count of the stables') was lieutenant to the King of France, the first of the original five Great Officers of the Crown (along with seneschal, chamberlain, butler, and ...

. He controlled the government of the Dauphin Charles (the future King Charles VII of France). On 12 June 1418, he was assassinated by rioting Parisians. Anne died on an unknown date sometime before March 1473. Her husband Charles died in 1471. The lordship of Albret passed to Alain, the grandson of Charles and Anne; the county of Dreux went to Arnaud Amanieu, but was later seized by Alain.

Marriage and issue

On 28 October 1417, a marriage contract was drawn up and signed, and less than six months later, on 23 April 1418, Anne married

, Sire d'Albret and titular Count of Dreux (1401–1471). He was the eldest son of

Charles d'Albret Charles I d'Albret (December 1368 – 25 October 1415) was the Lord of Albret and the Constable of France from 1402 until 1411, and again from 1413 until 1415. He was also the co-commander of the French army at the Battle of Agincourt where he ...

, Constable of France who had been killed at the Battle of Agincourt on 25 October 1415, and of Marie de Sully, Princess of Boisbelle. Charles and Anne together had: * Jean I d'Albret, Sire d'Albet, Viscount of Talvas (died 3 January 1468), married Charlotte de Rohan in 1447, by whom he had four children, including

Alain I of Albret Alain I of Albret (1440–1522), called "The Great", was a powerful French aristocrat. He was 16th Lord of Albret, Viscount of Tartas, the 2nd Count of Graves and the Count of Castres. He was the son of Catherine de Rohan and Jean I of Albret.Ach ...

, father-in-law of Cesare Borgia. * Arnaud Amanieu d'Albret, Sire d'Orval (died 1463), married 25 November 1457, as her second husband, Isabelle de

La Tour d'Auvergne La Tour d'Auvergne () was a noble French dynasty. Its senior branch, extinct in 1501, held two of the last large fiefs acquired by the French crown, the counties of Auvergne and Boulogne, for about half a century. Its cadet branch, extinct in 1802 ...

(died 8 September 1488), daughter of Bertrand V de La Tour,

Count of Auvergne This is a list of the various rulers of Auvergne. History In the 7th century Auvergne was disputed between the Franks and Aquitanians. It was later conquered by the Carolingians, and was integrated for a time into the kingdom of Aquitaine. The ...

and Boulogne and Jacquette du Peschin, by whom he had three children, including Jean d'Albret, Sire of Orval, father of Marie of Albret, Countess of Rethel. * Charles d'Albret, Seigneur de Sainte-Bazielle (beheaded 7 April 1473), married Marie d'Astarac * Louis d'Albret (1422- 4 September 1465), Cardinal, Bishop of Cahors * Gilles d'Albret, Seigneur Castelmoron (died 8 August 1479), married Anne d'Aguillon, by whom he had issue. * Marie d'Albret (died after 4 January 1485), on 11 June 1456 married Charles de Nevers, Count of Nevers and Count of Rethel. The marriage was childless. *

Jeanne II d'Albret Arthur III ( br, Arzhur), more commonly known as Arthur de Richemont (24 August 139326 December 1458), was briefly Duke of Brittany from 1457 until his death. He is noted primarily, however, for his role as a leading military commander during ...

, Countess of Dreux (died 20 September 1444), in 1442 married, as his second wife,

Arthur III, Duke of Brittany Arthur III ( br, Arzhur), more commonly known as Arthur de Richemont (24 August 139326 December 1458), was briefly Duke of Brittany from 1457 until his death. He is noted primarily, however, for his role as a leading military commander during ...

. The marriage was childless.

Later years and death

In 1470, Anne is recorded as having owned ''une pierre pour toucher les yeux, enchassié en or'' (a stone for touching the eyes, set in gold). It is not known how or where she acquired this "magical stone" which allegedly had healing powers.Evans, Joan (2004). ''Magical Jewels in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, Particularly in England (1922)''. Kessinger Publishing. p.118 She died sometime before March 1473.

Ancestry

References

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Anne Of Armagnac 1402 births 1473 deaths 15th-century French people Armagnac faction French countesses Medieval French nobility 15th-century French women Year of death unknown