Claudine de Brosse

Claudine de Brosse
Duchess consort of Savoy
Tenure16 April 1496 – 7 November 1497
Born1450 (1450)
Died1513 (aged 62–63)
SpousePhilip II, Duke of Savoy
IssueCharles III, Duke of Savoy
Philippe, Duke of Nemours
Philiberta, Duchess of Nemours
Housede Brosse
FatherJean II de Brosse
MotherNicole, Countess of Penthièvre

Claudine de Brosse (1450 – 13 October, 1513), was a French noblewoman and Duchess Consort of Savoy in 1496-1497 by marriage to Philip II, Duke of Savoy. She was regent of Savoy during the minorty of Philibert II, Duke of Savoy betwen 1497 and 1498.

Early life

Claudine was born in Brittany to Jean II de Brosse and Nicole de Châtillon in 1450.[1][2]

The daughter of a countess and a jure uxoris count, Claudine was exposed to political manoeuvring in her youth.[3] She adopted a motto from one of her grandfathers: encore est vive la souris ("the mouse is still alive"), itself likely taken from a ballad by Charles, Duke of Orléans.[4][3]

Marriage

Claudine married Philip II, Count of Bresse on 11 November, 1485.[3][5][6] She was his second wife, following the death of Margaret of Bourbon in 1483.[5][7] Early in their marriage, she was frustrated to find competition for her husband's favour with existing members of his inner circle.[3] Nonetheless, she made reference to her motto ("the mouse is still alive") in a letter to a friend, and suggested she was confident that she could secure her position.[3]

Through marrying Philip, Claudine became the step-grandmother of Francis I of France, then heir presumptive to the throne.[8] She also assumed responsibility for raising Philip's children from a previous marriage,[9] and had six children with him, three of whom survived infancy.[10][11] Their eldest was Charles III, who succeeded his half-brother as duke of Savoy; their youngest was Philiberta of Savoy, eventual Duchess of Nemours.[10][12] Son Philip later became duke of Nemours.[10] Of their remaining children, Louis (1488–1502), died as a teenager, and two died shortly after birth: Assolone (1494) and Giovanni Amedeo (1495).[11]

Claudine would develop an especially close relationship with Philiberta, who served as her "constant companion" until Claudine's death in 1513.[9]

Duchess and dowager

In April 1496, Claudine's husband became duke of Savoy, and she became duchess consort.[13] His reign was short-lived: he died in November 1497, while Claudine was still pregnant with their daughter, Philiberta.[13][14] Upon Philip's death, she became the usufructuary dowager of several territories throughout Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.[3][15] Of these, her favourite was Billiat; she retreated to an estate there in 1498, where she largely spent the rest of her life.[16][17]

She also acted as regent of the duchy of Savoy until her husband's successor, Philibert II, came of age.[18][19] The wax seal she used during this period depicted a combined coat of arms representing the families Savoy, Brosse, and Brittany.[19]

In widowhood, Claudine concentrated on spiritual affairs.[9] She donated a vineyard in the parish of Bassens in return for an understanding that its canons end every mass with an antiphon in honour of the Virgin Mary.[20] She particularly revered the Shroud of Turin, a relic believed by some Catholics to be the burial shroud of Jesus, which was in the House of Savoy's possession.[20][21] She believed it was capable of miracles, such as protecting those who viewed it from illness, and kept it with her at Billiat for a time.[16][17] Her strong religious convictions greatly influenced Philiberta.[9][16]

In 1504, Philibert II died, and her eldest son Charles became the duke of Savoy.[22] At the time of Charles' ascension, nearly two-thirds of Savoy’s annual revenues were committed to payments for widows of previous dukes, of which Claudine was one, alongside Blanche de Montferrat and Marguerite d’Autriche.[22]

In 1506, Claudine and Charles successfully petitioned Pope Julius II to declare that the shroud was a true relic of Jesus.[16][17] They also convinced the Catholic Church to introduce the Feast of the Holy Winding Sheet of Christ.[16][23] The Catholic Church has not maintained its explicit endorsement of the relic's authenticity in the centuries since, though the feast day continues.[23][24]

Later life and death

With the urging of the French crown, Philiberta was engaged to Italian nobleman Giuliano de' Medici in 1513.[6][25] Giuliano was the brother of Pope Leo X, and the marriage between the House of Savoy and House of Medici was seen as politically advantageous for both France and Italy.[12][26] In one of her final acts before her death, Claudine approved the engagement.[27]

Claudine died on 13 October, 1513 in Chambéry.[28] She was initially buried at the Sainte-Chapelle, the chapel at the House of Savoy's Château des ducs de Savoie complex in Chambéry.[28] Her eldest son, Charles, organised a grand funeral for her.[29]

Some time before the late 19th century, her remains were relocated to the Chapel of Nemours at the same complex to rest beside those of her daughter, Philiberta.[30][31]

References

  1. ^ Little Chute Historical Society (21 July 2022). "Claudine of Brosse b. 1450 Penthièvre, Morbihan, Bretagne, France d. 13 Oct 1513 Savoy, Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes, France". littlechutehistory.org. Retrieved 15 March 2026.
  2. ^ Martelain, Alphonse (1 January 1993). Lagnieu et sa région (1). Au fil du temps, des origines à 1601 (in French). FeniXX. p. 257. ISBN 978-2-307-59867-1.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Nestor, Charles (1844). Recherches historiques sur le département de l'Ain (in French). P.-F. Bottier. pp. 56, 78.
  4. ^ Chagny, André; Gorrevod, Laurent de (1913). Correspondance politique et administrative de Laurent de Gorrevod, conseiller de Marguerite d'Autriche et Gouverneur de Bresse (PDF) (in French). Librairie H. Lardanchet. pp. 66–67.
  5. ^ a b Caille du Fourny, Honoré (1730). Histoire Généalogique Et Chronologique De La Maison Royale De France, Des Pairs, Grands Officiers de la Couronne & de la Maison du Roy [Genealogical and Chronological History of the Royal House of France, of the Peers, Great Officers of the Crown & of the King's Household] (in French). Paris: Compagnie des Libraires. p. 574.
  6. ^ a b "The mysterious death of Ippolito de' Medici". FIREFIANDRE. 15 December 2020. Retrieved 15 March 2026.
  7. ^ Woodward, Bernard Bolingbroke (1872). Encyclopædia of chronology, historical and biographical. London: Longmans, Green and co. p. 1252. LCCN 08022453 – via Library of Congress.
  8. ^ Encyclopaedia Britannica (1894). The Encyclopaedia Britannica: A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and General Literature. Vol. 21. Maxwell Sommerville. p. 355.
  9. ^ a b c d Freer, Martha Walker (1854). The Life of Marguerite D'Angoulême, Queen of Navarre, Duchess D'Alençon and de Berry, Sister of Francis I., King of France. Hurst and Blackett. pp. 4, 156.
  10. ^ a b c Kolk, Caroline zum; Wilson-Chevalier, Kathleen (5 November 2018). Femmes à la cour de France: Charges et fonctions (XVe - XIXe siècle) [Women at the French court: Positions and functions (15th - 19th centuries)] (in French). Presses Univ. Septentrion. p. 232. ISBN 978-2-7574-2380-6.
  11. ^ a b Strafforello, Gustavo (1891). La Patria: geografia dell'Italia. Provincia di Torino. 2 [The Homeland: Geography of Italy. Province of Turin. Volume 2] (in Italian). Unione Tipogr. Editrice. p. 395.
  12. ^ a b "Peltro William Tomkins and Leonardo da Vinci - An Allegorical Composition In His Majesty's Collection Allegory of the Wolf and the Eagle". www.artoftheprint.com. Archived from the original on 10 November 2023. Retrieved 15 March 2026.
  13. ^ a b Knowledge, Society for the Diffusion of Useful (1841). The Penny Cyclopaedia of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge: Richardson - Scander-Beg. Knight. p. 440.
  14. ^ Brero, Thalia (2017). Rituels dynastiques et mises en scène du pouvoir: le cérémonial princier à la cour de Savoie (1450-1550) (in French). SISMEL - Edizioni del Galluzzo. p. 320. ISBN 978-88-8450-806-5.
  15. ^ "Marguerite of Austria: Life Story - Chapter 6 : Return to the Low Countries". Tudor Times. 23 November 2018. Retrieved 15 March 2026.
  16. ^ a b c d e Nicolotti, Andrea; Hunt, Jeffrey Michael; Smith, R. Alden; Nicolotti, Andrea (2019). The Shroud of Turin: the history and legends of the world's most famous relic. Waco, Texas: Baylor University Press. pp. 154–160. ISBN 978-1-4813-1147-2.
  17. ^ a b c Duncan, Hugh (December 2015). "The Turin Shroud in Billiat 1503-1506" (PDF). BSTS Newsletter. 1 (82): 1–6 – via British Society for the Turin Shroud.
  18. ^ Florimontane Academy of Annecy (1893). Revue savoisienne (in French). Annecy: Imprimerie F. Abry. p. 92.
  19. ^ a b CNRS. "Claude de Brosse - sceau - Duchesse de Savoie - 1499". Sigilla (in French). Retrieved 15 March 2026.
  20. ^ a b de Jussieu, Alexis (1869). "La Sainte-Chapelle du château de Chambéry" [The Sainte-Chapelle of Chambéry Castle]. Mémoires de l'Académie des sciences, belles-lettres et arts de Savoie [Memoirs of the Academy of Sciences, Fine Arts and Letters of Savoy] (in French). Vol. 2. Chambéry: Imprimerie de F. Puthod. pp. 86–89 – via Internet Archive.
  21. ^ Sundell, Carl (17 December 2024). "The Holy Shroud of Turin, Revisited - Catholic Insight". Retrieved 15 March 2026.
  22. ^ a b Vester, Matthew (2020). Transregional lordship and the Italian Renaissance: René de Challant, 1504-1565. Renaissance history, art and culture. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press. pp. 53, 227. ISBN 978-90-485-5067-8.
  23. ^ a b Kosloski, Philip (3 May 2024). "Did you know May 4 is the feast of the Shroud of Turin?". Aleteia. Retrieved 15 March 2026.
  24. ^ "How did the Turin Shroud get its image?". BBC News. 18 June 2015. Retrieved 15 March 2026.
  25. ^ d'Aubigné, Jean Henri Merle (1863). History of the Reformation in Europe in the Time of Calvin: Geneva and France. R. Carter. p. 34.
  26. ^ Clough, Cecil H. (1981). The Duchy of Urbino in the Renaissance. Variorum Reprints. p. 35. ISBN 978-0-86078-075-5.
  27. ^ Charvin, Marcel (1981). Val d'Isère, Tignes et fantaisie-- (in French). Imprimeries réunies de Chambéry. p. 187.
  28. ^ a b Magny, Vicomte Ludovic de (1868). Le Nobiliaire universel: ou Recueil général des généalogies historiques et véridiques des maisons nobles de l'Europe [The Universal Nobility: or General Collection of Historical and True Genealogies of the Noble Houses of Europe] (in French). Editeur non identifié. p. 8.
  29. ^ Merlotti, Andrea, ed. (27 March 2019). The Shroud at Court: History, Usages, Places and Images of a Dynastic Relic (in French). BRILL. p. 71. ISBN 978-90-04-39050-8.
  30. ^ Giniaux, Jean-Claude (1992). Chambéry: a town to explore. Chambéry: Guides-conférenciers de Chambéry. p. 16. ISBN 9782908701029.
  31. ^ Greyfie de Bellecombe, Viscount (1928). Arminjon, Charles (ed.). Mémoires de l’Académie royale de Savoie (in French). Chambéry: Imprimeries Réunies. pp. 201–206, 423–430.
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