Peter II (in Breton Pêr II, in French Pierre II) (1418–1457), was

Duke of Brittany This is a list of rulers of Brittany. In different epochs the rulers of Brittany were kings, princes, and dukes. The Breton ruler was sometimes elected, sometimes attained the position by conquest or intrigue, or by hereditary right. Hereditary ...

, Count of Montfort and titular

earl of Richmond The now-extinct title of Earl of Richmond was created many times in the Peerage of Peerage of England, England. The earldom of Richmond, North Yorkshire, Richmond was initially held by various Breton people, Breton nobles; sometimes the holde ...

, from 1450 to his death. He was son of Duke John VI and Joan of France, and a younger brother of Francis I.

Biography

While he was Count of Guingamp, he fought against the English in

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 ...

in 1449 and in 1450 with his brother, Francis I, Duke of Brittany, and his uncle the Constable de Richemont. They took several cities, including

Coutances Coutances () is a commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France. History The capital of the Unelli, a Gaulish tribe, the town was given the name of ''Constantia'' in 298 during the reign of Roman Emperor Constantius ...

Saint-Lô Saint-Lô (, ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in northwest France, the capital of the Manche department in the region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy.Treaty of Guerande (1365) that did not allow the succession of girls, he appointed Peter in preference to his own daughters,

Margaret Margaret is a feminine given name, which means "pearl". It is of Latin origin, via Ancient Greek and ultimately from Iranian languages, Old Iranian. It has been an English language, English name since the 11th century, and remained popular thro ...

and Marie, to succeed him. Peter II then pursued the murderers of his other brother, Gilles. By 1455, Peter II and his wife, Frances d'Amboise, had failed to produce offspring. Given the health problems of Peter II, this raised the question of succession. To prevent the throne of

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

from falling into foreign hands, the Duke decided to marry his niece, Margaret, the eldest daughter of his deceased brother Francis, to his cousin, Francis, Count of Étampes. To seal the marriage, the Duke summoned the Estates of Brittany, a sovereign court, at Vannes to meet on November 13, 1455, in the upper room of la Cohue. The court, composed of the main Breton lords bishops, abbots and representatives of cities approved the marriage. The wedding started on November 16 with a grand mass in Saint Peter's cathedral in

Vannes Vannes (; , , ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Departments of France, French department of Morbihan, Brittany (administrative region), Brittany, northwestern mainland France. It was founded over 2,000 years ago. History Celtic ...

, presided over by the Bishop of Nantes, Guillaume de Malestroit. Further celebrations subsequently took place including banquets, dances and jousts. The relatively short reign of the Duke did not make a mark on history. His contemporaries described Peter II as simple, well advised by his wife, but little suited to the ducal function, heavy mind as body, prone to mood swings. He participated in the

Battle of Castillon The Battle of Castillon was a battle between the forces of England and France which took place on 17 July 1453 in Gascony near the town of Castillon-sur-Dordogne (later Castillon-la-Bataille). On the day of the battle, the English commande ...

in 1453. While he was still only Count of Guingamp, he had a tomb carved from himself in the Notre-Dame de Nantes which was lost during the French Revolution. It is said that, in 1803, when the church was being destroyed, the engineer Pierre Fournier opened the tomb but found only a mannequin. It is unknown whether the Duke was actually buried in the tomb.

Family

In June 1442 he married

Françoise d'Amboise Françoise d'Amboise, O.Carm (9 May 1427 – 4 November 1485) was a French Carmelite nun. Biography D'Amboise was born in the castle of Thouars. She was the daughter of the rich noble Louis d'Amboise, prince of Talmont and Viscount of Thou ...

(1427–1485), daughter of Louis d'Amboise, Viscount of Thouars and Prince of Talmond,Diane E. Booton. ''Manuscripts, Market and the Transition to Print in Late Medieval Brittany'', (Ashgate Publishing, 2010), 147. Françoise was later

beatified Beatification (from Latin , "blessed" and , "to make") is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their name. ''Beati'' is the ...

by the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. The marriage never produced any children.

Succession

Peter II died in 1457 with no known issue. He was succeeded by his uncle

Arthur Arthur is a masculine given name of uncertain etymology. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. A common spelling variant used in many Slavic, Romance, and Germanic languages is Artur. In Spanish and Ital ...

Biography

Family

Succession

References

See also