2 - The Printed Book in Brittany during the Reign of Anne de Bretagne

Summary

Anne de Bretagne's patronage of the arts has attracted much scholarly interest. In particular, her relationship with contemporary authors and her love of books have been the subject of sustained research. The large number of surviving books (both manuscript and printed) that she owned or that were dedicated to her represent a treasure trove for those studying the initial decades of the French Renaissance. She acted as a protector and patron to authors such as Antoine Dufour, André de la Vigne, Jean Lemaire de Belges – who dedicated his Tiers livre des illustrations de Gaule et singularitez de Troye to her – and the poet Jean Marot. She also commissioned a number of manuscripts, some of which were sumptuously illuminated by talented artists such as Jean Bourdichon. All these aspects of her interaction with books have been the subject of some excellent studies. Such analysis has given us fascinating insights into the artistic and intellectual patronage of the French royal court, but they seldom consider Anne's impact on the book in her native duchy: research has concentrated on Anne as queen of France rather than in her capacity of duchess of Brittany.

Anne's reign is much celebrated in Brittany; it has come to represent the glorious but tragic final years of Breton independence. But often Anne's name is used simply as a means of popularizing cultural events rather than being a genuine celebration of her role within the duchy. Thus in 1977 the Bibliothèque Municipale in Brest organized an exhibition entitled 1477– 1977 Anne de Bretagne – Thomas More that was meant to commemorate the quincentenary of the birth of Thomas More. The connection with Anne was tenuous at best: they were born the same year and apparently shared the same star sign. In reality, the event was no more than an excuse to exhibit a panoply of sixteenth-century printed books preserved in the collections of the city. Overall, very little has been done to understand the place of printed books in Brittany during Anne's reign. Though the major exhibition entitled Anne de Bretagne et son temps, organized by the Musée Dobrée in Nantes in 1961, included an impressive array of original documents, paintings and other artifacts taken from collections situated in Britain, France, Italy and Belgium, it only featured one printed book. In contrast, the catalogue lists twenty-two illuminated manuscripts amongst the ninety-seven items on display.