View source for Anne of Burgundy, Lady of Ravenstein

{{Infobox person
| name               = Anne of Burgundy
| image              = Anna van bourgondië.jpg
| native_name        = Anna van Bourgondië
| native_name_lang   = nl
| birth_date         = circa 1435
| death_date         = 14 January 1508
| known_for          = [[Governess]] of [[Mary of Burgundy]], illegitimate child of [[Philip the Good]]
| title              = Lady of Ravensburg
| spouse             = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|Adriaan van Borselen|1457|1468}}
* {{marriage|[[Adolph of Cleves, Lord of Ravenstein]]|1470|1492}}
}}
| parents            = [[Philip the Good]]<br />Jacqueline van Steenberghe
| family             = [[House of Valois-Burgundy]]
}}
'''Anne, Lady of Ravenstein,''' previously '''Anna van Borselen''' (circa 1435 – 14 January 1508), was the [[governess]] of [[Mary of Burgundy|Mary]], ''[[suo jure]]'' Duchess of Burgundy, herself a member of the [[House of Valois-Burgundy]] as an [[illegitimate daughter]] of [[Philip the Good|Philip III]], [[Duke of Burgundy]] ("Philip the Good").
== Life ==
=== Early life ===
Anne was born around 1435 as one of the numerous [[illegitimate children]] of [[Philip the Good|Philip III]], [[Duke of Burgundy]] ("Philip the Good"; 1396–1467). She had three older legitimate half-brothers and at least seventeen illegitimate half-siblings. Her mother was one of the duke's twenty-four documented [[Mistress (lover)|mistresses]], Jacqueline van [[Steenbergen|Steenberghe]], of whom not much else is known. Anne was acknowledged as the duke's child and raised in her father's [[Royal court|court]].
=== First marriage ===
In 1457, around the age of 22, Anne married Adriaan van [[Borsele|Borselen]], her father's [[Chamberlain (office)|chamberlain]], a [[Dutch people|Dutch]] [[nobleman]] from [[Zeeland]]. Van Borselen had been [[Knight|knighted]] in 1426, and owned numerous [[manor house|manors]] on the island of [[Walcheren]] in Zeeland ([[Brigdamme]], [[West-Souburg]], [[Oost-Souburg]], [[Sint Laurens|Sint-Laurens]], Popkensburg, [[Koudekerke]], [[Zoutelande]], [[Kleverskerke]], [[Grijpskerke]], [[Meliskerke]], and [[Ritthem]]). The couple lived in the one in [[West-Souburg]], and had no children together. Around the time of her first wedding, Anne was put in charge of the education of her niece, [[Mary of Burgundy|Mary]], daughter of her legitimate half-brother [[Charles the Bold|Charles I]], Duke of Burgundy ("Charles the Bold"; 1433–1477). She appointed Jeanne de Clito to teach her.
Anne and her husband founded villages and financed the construction of churches such as the ones in [[Sommelsdijk]] (1464) and [[Bruinisse]] (1466), working together with other landowners. She was also active in the impoldering and diking of [[Salt marsh|salt marshes]]. In 1468, Adriaan van Borselen died and Anne inherited all of his possessions.
=== Second marriage ===
In 1470, now aged 35, Anne remarried to her cousin, [[Adolph of Cleves, Lord of Ravenstein|Adolph of Cleves]], Lord of [[Ravenstein, Netherlands|Ravenstein]] and [[Wijnendale]] (1425–1492). He was the younger son of [[Adolph I, Duke of Cleves]] (1373–1448) and his consort, [[Mary of Burgundy, Duchess of Cleves|Mary of Burgundy]] (1393–1466), Anne's paternal aunt. Adolph was also widowed and had previously been married to ''[[Infanta]]'' [[Beatrice of Coimbra]] (1435–1462), a granddaughter of [[John I, King of Portugal]]. He had one surviving child from this marriage, 14-year-old [[Philip of Cleves, Lord of Ravenstein|Philip]] (1456–1528) and an illegitimate son, John of Cleves, bastard of Ravenstein.
Shortly after 1470, Anne acquired ''Hof van Leffinge'' (Leffinge House) in Molenmeers, renaming it ''Hof van Ravenstein'' (Ravenstein House), a palace that she kept at least until 1501 and possibly until her death. In 1475, Adolph became [[Stadholder-general|stadtholder-general]] ([[Steward (office)|steward]]) of the Low Countries, and in 1483, he was appointed a member of the [[Regent|regency]] council which governed during the minority of [[Philip I of Castile|Philip IV]], Duke of Burgundy ("Philip the Handsome"; 1478–1506). Anne worked on [[land reclamation]] in Zeeland, giving her name to a [[polder]] known as [[Sint-Annaland]] in 1476. By 1486, she had had a new church built and by 1487, a second polder, [[Sint Philipsland (village)|Sint Philipslan]]. She was widowed for a second time in 1492. In 1498 she transferred Sint-Annaland, Hannevosdijk and Moggershil to her half-brother Baudouin of Burgundy, Lord of Fallais (1446–1508), another illegitimate child of Philip the Good.
Anne died on 14 January 1508. Her body was buried next to her second husband's in the [[Dominican Republic|Dominican]] church in [[Brussels]], which has since been demolished. Her heart was placed in the church of [[West-Souburg]] with the body of her first spouse. The castle in West-Souburg and the Zeeland polders were inherited by her (also illegitimate) half-brother, [[Philip of Burgundy (bishop)|Philip of Burgundy]] (1464–1524), a [[priest]] and [[Admiral of Flanders]]. Another one of her siblings, Baudouin, who had already received some lands from her while she was alive, inherited ''Hof van Leffinge.''
==References==
* Guy Dupont, 'Bourgondië, Anna van', in het Nationaal Biografisch Woordenboek, dl. 18, Brussel, 2007.
[[Category:Nobility of the Burgundian Netherlands]]
[[Category:Governesses]]
[[Category:Ladies-in-waiting]]
[[Category:1430s births]]
[[Category:1508 deaths]]
[[Category:House of Valois-Burgundy]]
[[Category:Illegitimate children of monarchs]]
[[Category:Philip the Good (Duke of Burgundy)]]
[[Category:15th-century French people]]
[[Category:15th-century French women]]
[[Category:16th-century French nobility]]
[[Category:16th-century French women educators]]
[[Category:16th-century French educators]]
[[Category:Daughters of dukes]]
[[Category:Daughters of counts]]