King Edward IV | Letter signed, to the Duke of Brittany, confirming a commercial treaty, 15 March 1476

King Edward IV

Letter signed ("Edoward R"), to Francis, Duke of Brittany

thanking him for letters ratifying a commercial treaty ("...lettres ratificatoires de la treuve et entrecours de marchandie aultress[es] prins[es]...") negotiated on his behalf by his French secretary Olivery King and responding with his own confirmation of the terms of the treaty ("...semblablement avons fair bailler au porteur de cestes les nostres confirmatoires affin qu'il les vous Delivre pour nostre part ainsi comme Il appartient..."), in French, 1 page, oblong folio, Windsor Castle, 15 March [1476], integral address panel, slightly defective in lower margin, remains of guard

Francis II (1433-1488) was the last quasi-independent Duke of Brittany, and close relations with the English were crucial to maintaining his independence from France. This letter relates to a thirty-year Anglo-Breton mercantile agreement, which was the first step in a deeper alliance. In 1480 Francis further cemented his relationship with the ruling House of York by betrothing his daughter Anne to Edward IV's ill-starred son, Edward, Prince of Wales (the elder of the "Princes in the Tower"). However, Francis was well aware that a certain versatility was advisable when dealing with the English crown through the tumults of the Wars of the Roses: throughout this period he also provided long-term refuge to Edward's Lancastrian enemy, Henry Tudor.