After an absence of twelve years[[26]] Maximilian returned to the Empire in December 1488, leaving Duke Albert of Saxony as his representative in the Netherlands. The latter showed his zeal by his promise "so to serve his master that men should write of it for 1,000 years," and displayed great ability both as a commander and an organizer. The cause of peace was furthered by the Treaty of Frankfort (July 7, 1489), in accordance with which Charles VIII. was to use his influence with the Flemings, and an interview was to be arranged between him and Maximilian for the settlement of the Burgundian question. As a result of this treaty, Flanders again recognized Maximilian as lawful Regent and guardian of his son, and granted him the sum of 300,000 gold thalers in token of their submission.
The readiness with which Charles VIII. concluded peace was due to the recent turn of affairs in Brittany, to which country his rivalry with Maximilian was now transferred. During the aggressive war waged by France in the Netherlands the King of the Romans had found a natural ally in the Duke of Brittany, who dreaded the expansive policy of the French King. The death of Francis II. (September, 1488) left the Breton throne to his young daughter Anne; and Ferdinand V. and Henry VII. united to protect her against her dangerous neighbour. But this protection was on the whole rather sympathetic than practical; and the insecurity of her position led the young Duchess to search the political horizon for some efficient defender. She turned to Maximilian as the sovereign most interested in resistance to France and most likely to afford her practical aid. It seemed as though the romantic episode of his first marriage was to be re-enacted in a new quarter. On March 20, 1490, Anne and Maximilian were betrothed, and towards the end of the year the marriage was formally celebrated by proxy.[[27]] Anne openly assumed the title of Queen of the Romans, and Maximilian's diplomacy was for the time triumphant. But the acquisition of Brittany was a matter of supreme importance to the French Crown; and Charles VIII. strained every nerve to secure the discomfiture of his rival. Brittany was overrun by French troops, Nantes surrendered after a feeble resistance, and Anne found herself closely besieged in Rennes, with little prospect of timely relief, and with a strong French faction within the walls. Maximilian's hands were tied down by the necessities of the Hungarian war, and, confident in the validity of his union with Anne, and relying on the promised aid of Henry VII., he stirred not a muscle in her defence. At last Anne found herself forced to come to terms. Brittany was to remain in the hands of the French, and free passage was granted to her through French territory, on her way to join Maximilian. But her feeling as a Princess overcame her feeling as a woman. She was naturally reluctant to leave her ancestral dominions in hostile hands for the sake of a man whom she had never seen and who was her senior by seventeen years; and her offended pride at Maximilian's inexcusable absence at her time of need led her footsteps to Chateau Langeais rather than to the German frontier. The cunning Charles had all prepared, and was able to produce the double dispensation of Innocent VIII.[[28]] On December 6, 1491, the marriage of Charles VIII. and Anne of Brittany was duly solemnized at Langeais, and Brittany was finally incorporated with France.
ANNE OF BRITTANY
Maximilian, mainly owing to his dilatory conduct, thus found himself exposed to the most unpardonable of insults at the hands of a mere stripling. Not merely had Charles VIII. deprived him of his lawful wife and her inheritance, but in so doing he repudiated Maximilian's daughter Margaret, who, since 1482, had been educated at the Court of Charles as the future Queen of France. To aggravate matters, Charles showed no inclination to restore Margaret's magnificent dowry, which consisted of Artois, Picardy and Franche Comté. Nothing could exceed Maximilian's indignation, and, full of threats of vengeance, he entered into an offensive alliance against France with the Kings of England and Spain.
But the acquisition of Brittany had set a seal to the internal consolidation of France, and Charles, having deprived his enemies of an excellent base for hostile operations, was now free to indulge in his golden dreams of foreign conquest. No concession was thought too great to secure the neutrality of his neighbours. Henry VII. was bought off by hard cash and by the promise of a yearly pension; Ferdinand was appeased by the cession of the coveted provinces of Roussillon and Cerdagne. Maximilian, whose troops were meeting with some success in Franche Comté,[[29]] saw himself deserted by his allies, and consented to pocket his outraged dignity in return for the substantial concessions of the Peace of Senlis (May 23, 1493). His daughter Margaret was restored, and the French evacuated Franche Comté, Artois and Nevers, in favour of the young Archduke Philip.
[[1]] Saints Bonosus and Maximilian, martyrs A.D. 360 (day, August 21).
[[2]] Library, Siena Cathedral.
[[3]] Janssen, Gesch. des deutschen Volkes, i. page 593.