The last reigning Duke of Brittany. Pierre Landais, master of Briord, was his all-powerful treasurer. His reign ended with Breton independence.
Francis II is the duke whose right-hand man, treasurer and favourite was Pierre Landais — lord of Briord. Their fates were linked: the fall of one brought about the fall of the other.
The last duke
Born in 1435, Francis II became Duke of Brittany in 1458. He would be the last reigning duke of an independent Brittany. His reign was one of struggle, often desperate, to preserve the autonomy of the duchy against an ever more powerful Kingdom of France, notably under Louis XI and then under the regency of Anne de Beaujeu.
Landais, the trusted man
To govern and finance his struggle, Francis II relied on Pierre Landais, treasurer general of Brittany and master of Briord since 1469. A formidable financier, Landais concentrated immense power in his hands — to the point of turning the whole of the Breton nobility against him.
In 1485, that nobility secured the downfall of Landais, who was hanged at Nantes. Francis II could not save his faithful servant.
The end of a world
Three years later, in 1488, Francis II was defeated at Saint-Aubin-du-Cormier. Forced to sign the Treaty of Le Verger, which made the marriage of his daughters subject to the goodwill of the King of France, he died shortly afterwards, that same year, leaving the duchy to his daughter, the young Anne of Brittany.
With him ended Breton independence. And for the Land of Briord, so too ended the age when its lord could be the most powerful man in the duchy.