Louise De Brézé
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Louise de Brézé (1521–1577), Duchess of Aumale and ''Dame d'
Anet Anet () is a commune in the Eure-et-Loir department in the Centre-Val de Loire region of north-central France. It lies 14 km north-northeast of Dreux between the rivers Eure and Vesgre, the latter flowing into the former some 4 km n ...
'', was a French noblewoman of the 16th century, the second daughter of
Diane de Poitiers Diane de Poitiers (9 January 1500 – 25 April 1566) was a French noblewoman and courtier who wielded much power and influence as King Henry II of France, Henry II's Maîtresse-en-titre, royal mistress and adviser until his death. Her position inc ...
and
Louis de Brézé Louis de Brézé, Seigneur d'Anet and Comte de Maulevrier ( – 23 July 1531) was a French nobleman, the grandson of King Charles VII of France by his natural daughter with his mistress Agnès Sorel. Early life Louis was the son of Jacques de B ...
.


Early life

Louise was born to the influential Norman landowner
Louis de Brézé Louis de Brézé, Seigneur d'Anet and Comte de Maulevrier ( – 23 July 1531) was a French nobleman, the grandson of King Charles VII of France by his natural daughter with his mistress Agnès Sorel. Early life Louis was the son of Jacques de B ...
, Governor and '' Grand Seneschal'' of
Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...
, and his wife
Diane de Poitiers Diane de Poitiers (9 January 1500 – 25 April 1566) was a French noblewoman and courtier who wielded much power and influence as King Henry II of France, Henry II's Maîtresse-en-titre, royal mistress and adviser until his death. Her position inc ...
. Diane would later become the mistress of
Henry II of France Henry II (; 31 March 1519 – 10 July 1559) was List of French monarchs#House of Valois-Angoulême (1515–1589), King of France from 1547 until his death in 1559. The second son of Francis I of France, Francis I and Claude of France, Claude, Du ...
, a role which gave her immense power and privileges. Louise's older sister was Françoise de Brézé (-1577).


Estates

Part of Louise's dowry included the Barony of Mauny, near
Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine, in northwestern France. It is in the prefecture of Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one ...
. Upon the death of her mother in 1566, her immense estates were divided between Louise and her sister Françoise. Louise inherited the
Château d'Anet The Château d'Anet is a château near Dreux, in the Eure-et-Loir department in northern France, built by Philibert de l'Orme from 1547 to 1552 for Diane de Poitiers, the mistress of Henry II of France. It was built on the former château at the ...
and its estate. In the 1560s, the Duke and Duchess of Aumale expanded their land holdings in Normandy, buying the countship of Maulévrier, the barony of Bec-Crespin, and other estates. This made Claude one of the greatest landowners in
Upper Normandy Upper Normandy (, ; ) is a former administrative region of France. On 1 January 2016, Upper and Lower Normandy merged becoming one region called Normandy. History It was created in 1956 from two departments: Seine-Maritime and Eure, when Norm ...
by the late 1560s. The financial difficulties of Louise's nephew, Henri Robert de la Marck, gave the couple an opportunity to obtain land from Françoise's share of the Brézé inheritance.


Personal life

In 1547, Louise married
Claude, Duke of Aumale Claude II de Lorraine, duc d'Aumale (18 August 1526, Joinville – 3 March 1573, La Rochelle) was a Prince étranger, military commander and French governor, during the latter Italian Wars and the early French Wars of Religion. The son of th ...
, a member of the powerful
House of Lorraine The House of Lorraine () originated as a cadet branch of the House of Metz. It inherited the Duchy of Lorraine in 1473 after the death without a male heir of Nicholas I, Duke of Lorraine. By the marriage of Francis of Lorraine to Maria Ther ...
and son of
Claude, Duke of Guise Claude de Lorraine, Duke of Guise (20 October 1496 – 12 April 1550) was a French aristocrat and general. He became the first Duke of Guise in 1528. He was a highly effective general for the French crown. His children and grandchildren were to ...
. Socially, Louise and the Brézés were considered the inferiors to the Guises.
Gaspard II de Coligny Gaspard de Coligny, seigneur de Châtillon (; 16 February 1519 – 24 August 1572), was a French nobleman, Admiral of France, and Huguenot leader during the French Wars of Religion. He served under kings Francis I and Henry II during the ...
tried to dissuade the Guises from the match, stating that "it was not very honorable for them and that it was worth more to have an inch of authority and favor with honor, than an armful without honor." However, the match gave the Guises the opportunity to strengthen their alliance with Diane, which thus ensured that they would remain in favor with the King. Together, Louise and Claude had at least 7 children. * Henri de Lorraine, Count of Saint Vallier (d. 1559), who died at age 10. * Charles de Lorraine, Duke of Aumale (1566–1631), who married first cousin, Marie de Lorraine, Mademoiselle d'Elbeuf, daughter of the René II de Lorraine, Marquis of Elbeuf and Louise de Rieux, in 1576. * Claude de Lorraine, chevalier d'Aumale (d. 1591), the Abbot of Bec. * Catherine de Lorraine, who married Nicholas de Lorraine, Duc de Mercœur in 1569. * Diane de Lorraine, who married François de Luxembourg, Count of Roucy, in 1576. * Antoinette-Louise de Lorraine, the Abbess of
Notre-Dame de Soissons Notre Dame, French for "Our Lady", a title of Mary, mother of Jesus, most commonly refers to: * Notre-Dame de Paris, a cathedral in Paris, France * University of Notre Dame, a university in Indiana, United States ** Notre Dame Fighting Irish, the ...
. * Marie de Lorraine, the Abbess of Chelles. Louise was widowed after Claude was killed by a cannonball on 1 August 1573, during the
Siege of La Rochelle The siege of La Rochelle (, or sometimes ) was a result of a war between the French royal forces of Louis XIII of France and the Huguenots of La Rochelle in 1627–1628. The siege marked the height of Huguenot rebellions, the struggle between ...
. Louise transferred ownership of Anet to her son Charles at the time of his marriage in 1576.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Breze, Louise de 1521 births 1577 deaths 16th-century French women 16th-century French nobility House of Lorraine House of Guise