Anne of Burgundy

Anne of Burgundy
Duchess of Bedford
Born	30 September 1404
Died	14 November 1432 (aged 28) Hôtel de Bourgogne, Paris
Burial	Church of the Celestines, Paris Chartreuse de Champnol, Dijon
Spouse	John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford m. 1423; wid. 1432
Father	John II the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy
Mother	Margaret of Bavaria

Anne of Burgundy, Duchess of Bedford (French: Anne de Bourgogne) (30 September 1404 – 14 November 1432) was a daughter of John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy (1371–1419) and his wife Margaret of Bavaria (1363–1423).

Marriage

In June 1423 at Troyes, Anne married John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford, son of Henry IV of England by the 1423 Treaty of Amiens.^[1] The marriage was meant to cement relations between England and Anne's brother Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy.^[2] This alliance was vital for continued English success in French lands, as in 1422 John had been appointed the Regent of France in place of his nephew, the young Henry VI of England.^[3] Burgundy's antagonism with the Valois royal house (which caused the Armagnac–Burgundian Civil War) had been one of the leading factors in the losses faced by the French at the hands of the English.

Death and legacy

John and Anne were happily married, despite being childless. In 1432, Anne died of the plague at Hôtel d'Orleans in Paris^[4] and was buried there at the Church of the Celestines. Her tomb was designed by Guillaume Vluten and, according to one historian, "ranks among the most important Parisian effigies of the first half of the fifteenth century".^[5] Today, only the statue has survived, and can be found at the Musée de Cluny.

Anne's death signified the beginning of one of two disastrous trends in Lancastrian history. The following year, John remarried to Jacquetta of Luxembourg, but faced opposition for various political reasons in this decision from Anne's brother the Duke of Burgundy.^[4][6] From this time on, relations between the two became cool, culminating in the 1435 peace negotiations between Burgundy and Charles VII, the exiled king of France. Later that year, a letter was dispatched to Henry VI, formally breaking their alliance.^[6]

Ancestry

Ancestors of Anne of Burgundy

16. Philip VI of France               8. John II of France                       17. Joan of Burgundy               4. Philip II, Duke of Burgundy                             18. John I of Bohemia               9. Bonne of Bohemia                       19. Elisabeth of Bohemia               2. John II, Duke of Burgundy                                   20. Louis I of Flanders               10. Louis II of Flanders                       21. Margaret I, Countess of Burgundy               5. Margaret III, Countess of Flanders                             22. John III, Duke of Brabant               11. Margaret of Brabant                       23. Marie d'Évreux               1. Anne of Burgundy                                         24. Louis II, Duke of Bavaria               12. Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor                       25. Matilda of Habsburg               6. Albert I, Duke of Bavaria                             26. William I, Count of Hainaut               13. Margaret II, Countess of Hainault                       27. Joan of Valois               3. Margaret of Bavaria                                   28. Bolesław III the Generous               14. Ludwik I the Fair                       29. Margaret of Bohemia               7. Margaret of Brieg                             30. Henry IV the Faithful               15. Agnes of Głogów                       31. Matilda of Brandenburg

References

1. Griffiths, p. 26.
2. Neillands, p. 231.
3. Weir, p. 73.
4. Chipps Smith, p. 41.
5. Chipps Smith, p. 39.
6. Weir, p. 84.

Sources

• Chipps Smith, Jeffrey (1984). "The Tomb of Anne of Burgundy, Duchess of Bedford, in the Musée du Louvre". Gesta 23 (01): 39–50. JSTOR 766962.
• Griffiths, R.A. (2005). The Reign of King Henry VI. The History Press. ISBN 0-7509-3777-7.
• Neillands, Robin (2001). The Hundred Years War. Routledge. ISBN 0-415-26131-7.
• Weir, Alison (1996). The Wars of the Roses: Lancaster and York. London: Ballantine Books. ISBN 0-345-40433-5.

External links

• Media related to Anne of Burgundy at Wikimedia Commons