ABSTRACT
The Lavals and Rohans were the two most important families of the duchy of Brittany in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Through their affinities they controlled most of the region and their rivalry had far-reaching consequences. The exchanges between two families with such geographic and genealogical proximity over this tumultuous period illustrate the inherent complexity of clientage networks. The analysis of the Lavals and their affinity in this context is particularly revealing.
