Francis II , Duke of Brittany Francis II of Brittany ( in Breton Frañsez II , in French François II ) ( 23 June 1433 – 9 September 1488 ) was Duke of Brittany from 1458 to his death . He was the son of Richard of Brittany and the grandson of the late Duke John V . Francis ' life was characterised by conflicts with King Louis XI of France ( War of the Public Weal ) and with his son King Charles VIII . Life . A recurring theme in Francis II ' s life was his quest to assure the independence of Brittany from France . Relationship with Henry Tudor . " Protector of the House of Lancaster " . Francis II was protector of the House of Lancaster in exile . During the 15th century , civil war raged across England as the Houses of York and 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 and his only son , Edward of Lancaster , died in the aftermath of the Battle of Tewkesbury . Their deaths left the House of Lancaster with no direct claimants to the throne . The Yorkist king , Edward IV , was in complete control of England . He attainted those who refused to submit to his rule , such as Jasper Tudor and his nephew Henry , naming them traitors and confiscating their lands . The Tudors tried to flee to France but strong winds forced them to land in Brittany , then a semi - independent duchy , where they were taken into the custody of Francis II . Henry ' s mother , Lady Margaret Beaufort , was a great - granddaughter of John of Gaunt , uncle of King Richard II and father of King Henry IV . The Beauforts were originally bastards , but Henry IV legitimised them on the condition that their descendants were not eligible to inherit the throne . Henry Tudor , the only remaining Lancastrian noble with a trace of the royal bloodline , had a weak claim to the throne , and Edward regarded him as " a nobody " . Francis II , however , viewed Henry as a valuable tool to bargain for England ' s aid in conflicts with France and kept the Tudors under his protection . From Brittany , Henry launched a failed invasion of England . He had attempted a landing on 10 October ( or 19 October ) , but his fleet was scattered by a storm . He reached the coast of England ( at either Plymouth or Poole ) , and a group of soldiers hailed him to come ashore . They were , in truth , Richard III ' s men , prepared to capture Henry once he set foot on English soil . Henry was not deceived and returned to Brittany , abandoning the invasion . Henry ' s conspiracy against Richard III unravelled , and the Duke of Buckingham was executed . Without Buckingham or Henry , the rebellion was easily crushed by Richard . The survivors of the failed uprisings fled to Brittany , where they openly supported Henry ' s claim to the throne . On Christmas Day in 1483 at Rennes Cathedral , Henry Tudor swore an oath to marry Edward IV ' s daughter , Elizabeth of York , to unite the warring houses of York and Lancaster . Henry ' s rising prominence made him a great threat to Richard , and the Yorkist king made several overtures to Francis II to surrender the young Lancastrian . Francis II refused , holding out for the possibility of better terms from Richard . In mid - 1484 , Francis was incapacitated by illness and while recuperating , his treasurer , Pierre Landais , took over the reins of government . Landais reached an agreement with Richard III to send Henry and his uncle back to England in exchange for military and financial aid . John Morton , a bishop of Flanders , learned of the scheme and warned the Tudors ; the Tudors then who fled to France . The French court allowed them to stay and provided resources . For the French , the Tudors were useful pawns to ensure that Richard ' s England did not interfere with French plans to annex Brittany . This unwittingly played against the interests of Francis II . " Titular Earl of Richmond " . Since John IV and John V , the English kings had begun to bestow the title Earl of Richmond and its possessions ( the Honour of Richmond ) on others than the Dukes of Brittany , including Edmund Tudor , Henry Tudor ' s father . Francis II ' s immediate predecessors , however , used the titulary Earl of Richmond . It is possible that Francis willed whatever remained of his claims to the Earldom and the Honour of Richmond to Henry Tudor . On successfully gaining the English crown after the Battle of Bosworth Field , Henry merged the Earldom and its possessions into the crown . Brittany ' s traditional allies , the English , were embroiled in the Wars of the Roses . They provided little assistance as Francis saw his duchy ravaged in what is known as the " Mad War " ( " La Guerre Folle " ) . Wars with France . Louis XI . Louis XI was renowned as a cunning adversary and a master at diplomacy , if not the military arts . League of the Public Weal Francis II became 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 . It was masterminded by Charles the Bold , Count of Charolais , son of the Duke of Burgundy , with the king ' s brother Charles , Duke of Berry , as a figurehead . Charles the Bold , was heir to the duke of Burgundy , held fiefs in France which included Flanders , and held the Imperial lands of Holland and Brabant . As Duke of Burgundy Charles aspired to forge a kingdom of his own between France and Germany , approximating the former domains of the Frankish Emperor Lothair I . Charles himself was killed in the Battle of Nancy against the Swiss , and Louis was saved from his greatest adversary . He had already taken his revenge on Charles ' s allies within France . The great duchy of Burgundy was then absorbed into the Kingdom of France . The League of the Public Weal was routed in its every objective . The fortunes of Francis II and Brittany would continue to suffer after Louis XI ' s death at the hands of Louis ' daughter Anne of France . Anne would serve as regent to Louis XI ' s successor , Charles VIII . Anne of France Charles VIII . During the minority of Charles VIII of France , Francis II was anxious to maintain his duchy ' s independence . He aligned himself with the Duke of Orléans , the future Louis XII and the count of Angoulême against the regency of Anne of France . Anne of France had been pursuing the same underhand politics as her father , Louis XI , towards Brittany . In intervening in the politics of his neighbour France , however , Francis II neglected his own realm . His corrupt and oppressive prime minister , Guillaume Chauvin , was overthrown by treasurer general Pierre Landais . 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 " against Landais , who was eventually hanged . In 1486 , the Estates of Brittany confirmed the succession of Brittany on Francis ' daughter Anne , Duchess of Brittany , to further assure the Duchy ' s independence from France . The Treaty of Chateaubriant was signed in 1487 with France and reaffirmed Brittany ' s independence . Francis then allied with Maximilian I , Holy Roman Emperor , against France ; however , Brittany was defeated 28 July in the Battle of Saint - Aubin - du - Cormier . 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 a vassal of the king of France . " La Guerre Folle ( The Mad War ) " . Despite the Treaty of Chateaubriant , the French continued to harass the Duchy . Under the leadership of Louis II de la Trémoille , the French royal army had struck against Vannes and Fougères , controlling access to Brittany . Alain d ' Albret , a rebel lord , believing he would marry Francis II ' s daughter Anne , had 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 . The defeat of Francis II forced him to accept a treaty which deprived him of power by requiring him 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 , Ferns , 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 leaving only a daughter , Anne of Brittany , so the treaty was used to force her , as his successor , to marry King Charles VIII , and then Louis XII . The Battle of Saint - Aubin - du - Cormier also destroyed the power - base of the warring noble leaders . Edward Woodville was killed . Louis of Orleans ( the future Louis XII ) , and Jean , Prince of Orange were captured . Alain d ' Albret and the Maréchal de Rieux succeeded in escaping , and played an important part in continuing the conflict . Despite the French victory , La Guerre Folle dragged on beyond Francis II ' s death for three more years until December 1491 , when Charles VIII married Anne . Family . Francis II was married twice . His first wife was his cousin Margaret of Brittany , the first daughter of Duke Francis I . They had one son who died shortly after his birth : His second wife was Margaret of Foix , Princess of Navarre . They had two children : Francis II also had several illegitimate children with Antoinette de Maignelais , the former mistress of Charles VII of France . Succession . Francis II died in 1488 shortly after signing the Treaty of Verger . His death was caused by a fall from his horse during a leisurely ride . His daughter Anne was his sole heir and became Duchess of Brittany . Legacy . Breton nobles acted to safeguard Anne as their Duchess and protect the Duchy ' s independence as Francis II had fought for it . In 1489 these nobles signed the Treaty of Redon with Henry Vii ; that treaty between Brittany and England was meant to prevent the annexation of Brittany by France . However in a short time , in 1491 , Henry VII signed the Treaty of Etaples with France , effectively neutralizing England ' s defence of Breton independence . Charles VIII of France invaded Brittany and forced Anne to marry him , thereby gaining control of the duchy . The Duchy ' s independence was all but lost as the process of merging it into the French crown began . Anne , however , would become a formidable Queen Consort and fight to preserve Brittany ' s independence and Francis II ' s legacy for herself , the Breton people , and her descendants . Francis ' tomb , an important early example of Renaissance sculpture in France , was commissioned by his daughter Anne . It is located in Nantes Cathedral .