LOUIS XII AND ANNE DE BRETAGNE 1498-1515 + FELICE. LVDOVICO. REGNATE.DVODECIMO. CESARE. ALTERO. GAVDET. OMNIS. NACIO. "Under the happy reign of Louis XII all nations enjoy another Caesar". Bust of King Louis XII, wearing the crowned mortarboard and the collar of the Order of Saint Michael. Fleurdelisé field. Below, lion walking left. R/. + LVGDUN. REPUBLICA. GAVDETE. BIS. ANNA. REGNANTE. BENIGNE. SIC. FVI. CONFL. ATA. 1499. "When the Republic of Lyon was rejoicing in the second reign of the good Queen Anne, I was cast in 1499. Crowned and veiled bust of Queen Anne. Field strewn with lilies and ermine spots. Below, lion walking left (emblem of the city of Lyon). Mazerolle 27. 140. Bronze medal 1499. Later cast. Ø 113.68 mm; 472 g Two beautiful realistic portraits. A fine example of this very rare medal with an attractive brown patina. (The blanks have been cleaned and scraped; a few knocks on the edge and scratches behind the portrait of Anne of Brittany). This medal was presented to the sovereigns by the city of Lyon in 1499 when they entered the city on 15 March 1500. It was produced by several Lyon artists: Nicolas Leclerc, Jean de Saint-Priest, Jean and Colin Lepère. Background: In 1491, Anne of Brittany married Charles VIII. However, she remained Duchess and Sovereign of Brittany. Then in 1498, Charles VIII died accidentally. Anne returned to her duchy. In 1499, Anne became Queen of France again by marrying Louis XII, who had hastily repudiated his first wife. The duchy remained separate from the crown. Finally, in 1514, Anne of Brittany died and her daughter, Claude de France, inherited the duchy. She married François d'Angoulême, the future François I. In 1532 Claude ceded her duchy to the crown. François I had this definitive union of Brittany and France ratified by the Parliament of Vannes. A bronze medal depicting the King and Queen Louis XII and Anne of Brittany, 1498-1515