Claudine de Brosse

Claudine de Brosse (1450 – 13 October, 1513), was a French noblewoman and Duchess Consort of Savoy in 1496–1497 by marriage to Philip II, Duke of Savoy. She was regent of Savoy during the minority of Philibert II, Duke of Savoy between 1497 and 1498.

Early life Claudine was born in Brittany to Jean II de Brosse and Nicole de Châtillon in 1450.

The daughter of a countess and a jure uxoris count, Claudine was exposed to political manoeuvring in her youth. She adopted a motto from one of her grandfathers: encore est vive la souris ("the mouse is still alive"), itself likely taken from a ballad by Charles, Duke of Orléans. She was his second wife, following the death of Margaret of Bourbon in 1483. Early in their marriage, she was frustrated to find competition for her husband's favour with existing members of his inner circle. She also assumed responsibility for raising Philip's children from a previous marriage, and had six children with him, three of whom survived infancy. Their eldest was Charles III, who succeeded his half-brother as duke of Savoy; their youngest was Philiberta of Savoy, eventual Duchess of Nemours. Son Philip later became duke of Nemours. His reign was short-lived: he died in November 1497, while Claudine was still pregnant with their daughter, Philiberta.

Claudine acted as regent of the duchy of Savoy until her husband's successor, Philibert II, came of age. The wax seal she used during this period depicted a combined coat of arms representing the families Savoy, Brosse, and Brittany. Of these, her favourite was Billiat; she retreated to an estate there in 1498, where she largely spent the rest of her life.

In widowhood, Claudine concentrated on spiritual affairs. She particularly revered the Shroud of Turin, a relic believed by some Catholics to be the burial shroud of Jesus, which was in the House of Savoy's possession. She believed it was capable of miracles, such as protecting those who viewed it from illness, and kept it with her at Billiat for a time. At the time of Charles' ascension, nearly two-thirds of Savoy's annual revenues were committed to payments for widows of previous dukes, of which Claudine was one, alongside Blanche de Montferrat and Marguerite d’Autriche. The Catholic Church has not maintained its explicit endorsement of the relic's authenticity in the centuries since, though the feast day continues.

Later life and death

With the urging of the French crown, Philiberta was engaged to Italian nobleman Giuliano de' Medici in 1513. Giuliano was the brother of Pope Leo X, and the marriage between the House of Savoy and House of Medici was seen as politically advantageous for both France and Italy. In one of her final acts before her death, Claudine approved the engagement.

Claudine died on 13 October, 1513 in Chambéry. She was initially buried at the Sainte-Chapelle, the chapel at the House of Savoy's Château des ducs de Savoie complex in Chambéry.

Some time before the late 19th century, her remains were relocated to the Chapel of Nemours at the same complex to rest beside those of her daughter, Philiberta.