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diff --git a/48191-0.txt b/48191-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..1d95726 --- /dev/null +++ b/48191-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,20515 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 48191 *** + + CHRISTINA OF DENMARK + + DUCHESS OF MILAN AND LORRAINE + + 1522-1590 + +[Illustration: _Christina, Duchess of Milan_] + + + + + CHRISTINA OF DENMARK + DUCHESS OF MILAN AND + LORRAINE + + 1522-1590 + + + BY JULIA CARTWRIGHT + (MRS. ADY) + + AUTHOR OF "ISABELLA D'ESTE," "BALDASSARRE CASTIGLIONE," + "THE PAINTERS OF FLORENCE," ETC. + + "Dieu, qu'il la fait bon regarder, + La gracieuse, bonne et belle! + Pour les grans biens qui sont en elle, + Chacun est prest de la louer. + Qui se pourrait d'elle lasser? + Toujours sa beauté renouvelle. + Dieu, qu'il la fait bon regarder, + La gracieuse, bonne et belle! + Par deça, ne delà la mer, + Ne sçay Dame ne Damoiselle + Qui soit en tous biens parfais telle; + C'est un songe que d'y penser, + Dieu, qu'il la fait bon regarder!" + + CHARLES D'ORLÉANS + + NEW YORK + E. P. DUTTON AND COMPANY + 1913 + + + + +PREFACE + + +Christina of Denmark is known to the world by Holbein's famous portrait +in the National Gallery. The great Court painter, who was sent to +Brussels by Henry VIII. to take the likeness of the Emperor's niece, +did his work well. With unerring skill he has rendered the "singular +good countenance," the clear brown eyes with their frank, honest gaze, +the smile hovering about "the faire red lips," the slender fingers of +the nervously clasped hands, which Brantôme and his royal mistress, +Catherine de' Medici, thought "the most beautiful hands in the world." +And in a wonderful way he has caught the subtle charm of the young +Duchess's personality, and made it live on his canvas. What wonder +that Henry fell in love with the picture, and vowed that he would +have the Duchess, if she came to him without a farthing! But for all +these brave words the masterful King's wooing failed. The ghost of his +wronged wife, Katherine of Aragon, the smoke of plundered abbeys, and +the blood of martyred friars, came between him and his destined bride, +and Christina was never numbered in the roll of Henry VIII.'s wives. +This splendid, if perilous, adventure was denied her. But many strange +experiences marked the course of her chequered life, and neither beauty +nor virtue could save her from the shafts of envious Fortune. Her +troubles began from the cradle. When she was little more than a year +old, her father, King Christian II., was deposed by his subjects, and +her mother, the gentle Isabella of Austria, died in exile of a broken +heart. She lost her first husband, Francesco Sforza, at the end of +eighteen months. Her second husband, Francis Duke of Lorraine, died in +1545, leaving her once more a widow at the age of twenty-three. Her +only son was torn from her arms while still a boy by a foreign invader, +Henry II., and she herself was driven into exile. Seven years later she +was deprived of the regency of the Netherlands, just when the coveted +prize seemed within her grasp, and the last days of her existence were +embittered by the greed and injustice of her cousin, Philip II. + +Yet, in spite of hard blows and cruel losses, Christina's life was +not all unhappy. The blue bird--the symbol of perpetual happiness in +the faery lore of her own Lorraine--may have eluded her grasp, but +she filled a great position nobly, and tasted some of the deepest and +truest of human joys. Men and women of all descriptions adored her, and +she had a genius for friendship which survived the charms of youth and +endured to her dying day. A woman of strong affections and resolute +will, she inherited a considerable share of the aptitude for government +that distinguished the women of the Habsburg race. Her relationship +with Charles V. and residence at the Court of Brussels brought her +into close connection with political events during the long struggle +with France, and it was in a great measure due to her exertions that +the peace which ended this Sixty Years' War was finally concluded at +Câteau-Cambrésis in 1559. + +Holbein's Duchess, it is evident, was a striking figure, and her +life deserves more attention than it has hitherto received. Brantôme +honoured her with a place in his gallery of fair ladies, and the sketch +which he has drawn, although inaccurate in many details, remains true +in its main outlines. But with this exception Christina's history has +never yet been written. The chief sources from which her biography +is drawn are the State Archives of Milan and Brussels, supplemented +by documents in the Record Office, the Bibliothèque Nationale, the +Biblioteca Zelada near Pavia, and the extremely interesting collection +of Guise letters in the Balcarres Manuscripts, which has been preserved +in the Advocates' Library at Edinburgh. A considerable amount of +information, as will be seen from the Bibliography at the end of +this volume, has been collected from contemporary memoirs, from the +histories of Bucholtz and Henne, and the voluminous correspondence of +Cardinal Granvelle and Philip II., as well as from Tudor, Spanish, and +Venetian State Papers. + +In conclusion, I have to acknowledge the kind help which I have +received in my researches from Monsignor Rodolfo Maiocchi, Rector +of the Borromeo College at Pavia, from Signor O. F. Tencajoli, and +from the keepers of English and foreign archives, among whom I must +especially name Signor Achille Giussani, of the Archivio di Stato +at Milan, Monsieur Gaillard, Director of the Brussels Archives, and +Mr. Hubert Hall. My sincere thanks are due to Count Antonio Cavagna +Sangiuliani for giving me permission to make use of manuscripts in his +library at Zelada; to Monsieur Leon Cardon for leave to reproduce four +of the Habsburg portraits in his fine collection at Brussels; and to +Mr. Henry Oppenheimer for allowing me to publish his beautiful and +unique medal of the Duchess of Milan. I must also thank Sir Kenneth +Mackenzie and the Trustees of the Advocates' Library for permission +to print a selection from the Balcarres Manuscripts, and Mr. Campbell +Dodgson and Mr. G. F. Hill for the kindness with which they have placed +the treasures of the British Museum at my disposal. Lastly, a debt +of gratitude, which I can never sufficiently express, is due to Dr. +Hagberg-Wright and the staff of the London Library for the invaluable +help which they have given me in this, as in all my other works. + + JULIA CARTWRIGHT. + + OCKHAM, + _Midsummer Day, 1913_. + + + + +CONTENTS + + + BOOK I + PAGE + ISABELLA OF AUSTRIA, QUEEN OF DENMARK, THE MOTHER + OF CHRISTINA: 1507-1514 1 + + BOOK II + + CHRISTIAN II., KING OF DENMARK, THE FATHER OF + CHRISTINA: 1513-1523 17 + + BOOK III + + KINGS IN EXILE: 1523-1531 36 + + BOOK IV + + CHRISTINA, DUCHESS OF MILAN: 1533-1535 71 + + BOOK V + + THE WIDOW OF MILAN: 1535-1538 111 + + BOOK VI + + THE COURTSHIP OF HENRY VIII.: 1537-1539 144 + + BOOK VII + + CLEVES, ORANGE, AND LORRAINE: 1539-1541 207 + + BOOK VIII + + CHRISTINA, DUCHESS OF LORRAINE: 1541-1545 256 + + BOOK IX + + CHRISTINA, REGENT OF LORRAINE: 1545-1552 298 + + BOOK X + + THE FRENCH INVASION: 1551-1553 354 + + BOOK XI + + CHRISTINA AT BRUSSELS: 1553-1559 382 + + BOOK XII + + THE PEACE OF CÂTEAU-CAMBRÉSIS: 1557-1559 419 + + BOOK XIII + + THE RETURN TO LORRAINE: 1559-1578 450 + + BOOK XIV + + THE LADY OF TORTONA: 1578-1590 496 + + APPENDIX: A SELECTION OF UNPUBLISHED DOCUMENTS 516 + + BIBLIOGRAPHY 528 + + GENEALOGICAL TABLES 533 + + INDEX 541 + + + + +LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS + + + TO FACE PAGE + + CHRISTINA OF DENMARK, DUCHESS OF MILAN _Frontispiece_ + + By HOLBEIN (National Gallery). + + CHARLES V. 4 + + By B. VAN ORLEY (Cardon Collection, Brussels). + + ELEANOR OF AUSTRIA 6 + + By B. VAN ORLEY (Cardon Collection, Brussels). + + ISABELLA OF AUSTRIA, QUEEN OF DENMARK 12 + + By B. VAN ORLEY. + + CHRISTIAN II., KING OF DENMARK 30 + + London Library. + + THE CHILDREN OF CHRISTIAN II., KING OF DENMARK 54 + + By JEAN MABUSE (Hampton Court Palace). + + FRANCESCO SFORZA, DUKE OF MILAN 92 + + British Museum. + + CHRISTINA, DUCHESS OF MILAN 92 + + Oppenheimer Collection, London. + + FREDERIC, COUNT PALATINE 106 + + Ascribed to A. DÜRER (Darmstadt). + + MARY, QUEEN OF HUNGARY 188 + + By B. VAN ORLEY (Cardon Collection, Brussels). + + GRANDE PORTERIE, PALAIS DUCAL, NANCY 260 + + CHARLES V. 322 + + By TITIAN (Munich). + + HÔTEL-DE-VILLE, BRUSSELS 332 + + S. GUDULE, BRUSSELS 332 + + PALAIS DUCAL, NANCY 364 + + PHILIP II. AND MARY 412 + + By JACOPO DA TREZZO (British Museum). + + ANTOINE PERRENOT, CARDINAL GRANVELLE 412 + + By LEONE LEONI (British Museum). + + MARGARET, DUCHESS OF PARMA 412 + + By PASTORINO (British Museum). + + WILLIAM, PRINCE OF ORANGE 456 + + By ADRIAAN KEY (Darmstadt). + + MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS 466 + + By FRANÇOIS CLOUET (Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris). + + CHARLES III., DUKE OF LORRAINE 472 + + British Museum. + + THE THREE DUCHESSES 508 + + Prado, Madrid. + + CHRISTINA OF DENMARK + + + + +BOOK I + +ISABELLA OF AUSTRIA, QUEEN OF DENMARK, THE MOTHER OF CHRISTINA + +1507-1514 + + +I. + +The 19th of July, 1507, was a memorable day in the history of Malines. +A solemn requiem Mass was sung that morning in the ancient church of +S. Rombaut for the soul of Philip, King of Castille and Archduke of +Austria, and, by right of his mother, Duke of Burgundy and Count of +Flanders and Brabant. The news of this young monarch's sudden death +at Burgos had spread consternation throughout the Netherlands, where +the handsome, free-handed Prince was very popular with the subjects +who enjoyed peace and prosperity under his rule. "Never," wrote a +contemporary chronicler, "was there such lamentation made for any +King, Duke, or Count, as for our good King Philip. There was no church +or monastery in the whole land where solemn Masses were not said for +the repose of his soul, and the mourning was greatest in the city of +Antwerp, where all the people assembled for the yearly Fair wept over +this noble young Prince who had died at the age of twenty-eight."[1] +The King's corpse was laid in the dark vaults of Miraflores, where his +widow, the unhappy Queen Juana, kept watch by her husband's grave night +and day; while, in obedience to his last wishes, his heart was brought +to the Netherlands and buried in his mother's tomb at Bruges. Now the +States-General and nobles were summoned by Margaret of Austria, the +newly-proclaimed Governess of the Netherlands, to attend her brother's +funeral at Malines. + +[Sidenote: JULY, 1507] MARGARET OF AUSTRIA] + +From the gates of the Keyserhof, through the narrow streets of the old +Flemish city, the long procession wound its way: Knights of the Golden +Fleece, nobles, deputies, Bishops and clergy, merchants, artisans, and +beggars, all clad in deep mourning. Twelve heralds, followed by a crowd +of gentlemen with lighted torches, bore the armour and banners of the +dead King to the portals of S. Rombaut. There an immense catafalque, +draped with cloth of gold and blazing with wax lights, had been erected +in the centre of the nave. Three golden crowns, symbols of the three +realms over which Philip held sway, hung from the vault, and the +glittering array of gold and silver images on the high-altar stood +out against the sable draperies on the walls. A funeral oration was +pronounced by the late King's confessor, the Bishop of Arras chanted +the requiem Mass, and when the last blessing had been given, Golden +Fleece threw his staff on the floor, crying: "The King is dead!"[2] +At the sound of these thrice-repeated words the heralds lowered their +banners to the ground, and there was a moment of profound silence, +only broken by the sound of weeping. Then Golden Fleece cried in +a ringing voice: "Charles, Archduke of Austria!" and all eyes were +turned to the fair, slender boy, who, robed in a long black mantle, +knelt alone before the altar. "My lord lives! long may he live!" cried +the King-at-Arms; and a great shout went up on all sides: "Long live +Charles, Archduke of Austria and Prince of Castille!" A sword blessed +by the Bishop of Arras was placed in the boy's hands, and the heralds +of Burgundy, Flanders, Holland, and Friesland, raising their fallen +pennons, each in turn proclaimed the titles of the youthful Prince, who +was to be known to the world as Charles V. + +No one wept more bitterly for King Philip than his only sister, +Margaret, the widowed Duchess of Savoy, as she knelt in her oratory +close to the great church. Although only twenty-seven, she had known +many sorrows. After being wedded to the Dauphin at two years old, and +educated at the French Court till she reached the age of thirteen, she +was rejected by Charles VIII. in favour of Anne of Brittany, and sent +back to her father, the Emperor Maximilian. Three years afterwards +she went to Spain as the bride of Don Juan, the heir to the crowns of +Castille and Aragon, only to lose her husband and infant son within a +few months of each other. In 1501 she became the wife of Duke Philibert +of Savoy, with whom she spent the three happiest years of her life. But +in September, 1504, the young Duke died of pleurisy, the result of a +chill which he caught out hunting, and his heart-broken widow returned +once more to her father's Court. + +[Sidenote: FEB., 1509] MAXIMILIAN'S GRANDCHILDREN] + +On the death of Philip in the following year, Maximilian prevailed +upon his daughter to undertake the government of the Netherlands, +and in April, 1507, Margaret was proclaimed Regent, and took up her +abode at Malines. She was a singularly able and gifted woman, and her +personal charms and rich dowry soon attracted new suitors. Before +she became Regent she had received proposals of marriage from Henry +VII. of England, which Maximilian urged her to accept, saying that +she might divide the year between England and the Netherlands. Louis +XII., who in his boyhood had played with the Archduchess at Amboise, +would also gladly have made her his second wife, but, as he remarked: +"Madame Marguerite's father has arranged marriages for her three times +over, and each time she has fared badly." Margaret herself was quite +decided on the subject, and declared that she would never marry again. +Henceforth she devoted herself exclusively to the administration of +the Netherlands and the guardianship of her brother's young family. Of +the six children which Juana of Castille had borne him, two remained +in Spain, the younger boy Ferdinand and the infant Katherine, who did +not see the light until months after her father's death. But the elder +boy, Charles, and his three sisters, grew up under their aunt's eye +in the picturesque old palace at Malines, which is still known as the +Keyserhof, or Cour de l'Empereur. The eldest girl, Eleanor, afterwards +Queen of Portugal and France, was two years older than her brother; +the second, Isabella, the future Queen of Denmark, born on the 15th +of August, 1501, was nearly six; and Mary, the Queen of Hungary, who +was to play so great a part in the history of the Netherlands, had +only just completed her first year. Margaret, whose own child hardly +survived its birth, lavished all a mother's affection on her youthful +nephew and nieces. If the boy was naturally the chief object of her +care, the little girls held a place very near to her heart. This was +especially the case with "Madame Isabeau," her godchild, who was born +when Margaret was living at Malines before her second marriage. A +gentle and charming child, Isabella won the hearts of all, and became +fondly attached to the brother who was so nearly her own age. + +[Illustration: CHARLES V. (1515) + +By Bernard van Orley (Cardon Collection) + +_To face p. 4_] + +Margaret's letters to the Emperor abound in allusions to these +children, whose welfare was a matter of deep interest to their +grandfather. In the midst of the most anxious affairs of State, when +he was presiding over turbulent Diets or warring beyond the Alps, +Maximilian was always eager for news of "our very dear and well-beloved +children." The arrangements of their household, the choice of their +tutors and companions, their childish maladies and amusements, were all +fully reported to him. One unlucky day, when the royal children had +just recovered from measles, Madame Isabeau caught the smallpox, and +gave it to Madame Marie. Then Madame Leonore complained of her head, +and since Margaret had been told that the malady was very contagious, +and especially dangerous in winter, she felt it advisable to keep her +nephew at Brussels out of reach of infection. But this precaution +proved fruitless, for presently the boy sickened and became dangerously +ill. Great was the alarm which his condition excited, and it was only +at the end of three weeks that Margaret was able to inform the Emperor, +who was in Italy fighting against the Venetians, that his grandson was +out of danger.[3] + +[Sidenote: MAY, 1509] A SFORZA DUKE] + +The education of Charles and his sisters was the subject of their +guardian's most anxious consideration. A lady of Navarre, Dame Anne +de Beaumont, took charge of the little girls from their infancy, +and watched over them with a tenderness which earned their lifelong +gratitude. The old King of Aragon rewarded this lady with the Order +of S. Iago, while Margaret begged that she might be allowed to spend +her old age in one of the Archduke's houses at Ghent, seeing that +she had served "Mesdames mes nièces" so long and so well, and had +been but poorly paid for her trouble. Among their teachers was Louis +Vives, the learned friend of Erasmus, who afterwards became tutor to +their cousin, the Princess Mary of England, and took Sir Thomas More's +daughters as his models. Vives taught his pupils Greek and Latin, and +made them study the Gospels, and St. Paul's Epistles, as well as some +parts of the Old Testament. French romances, then so much in vogue, +were banished from their schoolroom, and the only tales which they were +allowed to read were those of Joseph and his brethren, of the Roman +matron Lucretia, and the well-known story of Griselda. Madame Leonore +was fond of reading at a very early age, but Madame Isabeau was more +occupied with her dolls, and is represented holding one in her arms in +the triptych of Charles and his sisters at Vienna. All the children +were very fond of music, in which they were daily instructed by the +Archduchess's organist, and there is a charming portrait of Eleanor +playing on the clavichord in Monsieur Cardon's collection at Brussels. +When, in 1508, the Spanish Legate, Cardinal Carvajal, visited Malines, +Charles and his sisters were confirmed by him in the palace chapel, +and the Archduke addressed a letter of thanks to Pope Julius II. in his +childish round hand. + +[Illustration: ELEANOR OF AUSTRIA, QUEEN OF PORTUGAL AND FRANCE + +By Bernard van Orley (Cardon Collection) + +_To face p. 6_] + +Margaret was careful to provide her young charges with suitable +companions. A niece of Madame de Beaumont and a Spanish girl of noble +birth were brought up with the Archduchesses, while the sons of the +Marquis of Brandenburg and Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg were among Charles's +playmates. Another youth whom the Emperor sent to be educated at +Malines in 1509 was his godson, Maximilian Sforza, the eldest son of +the unfortunate Duke Lodovico and Beatrice d'Este. While his younger +brother, Francesco, afterwards the husband of Christina of Denmark, +remained at Innsbruck with his cousin, the Empress Bianca, Maximilian +grew up with Charles, and throughout his life never ceased to regard +Margaret as a second mother. The young Duke of Milan's name often +figures in the Archduchess's correspondence with her father. One day +Maximilian tells her to borrow 3,000 livres from the Fuggers, and give +them to the Duke, who has not enough to buy his own clothes, let alone +those of his servants.[4] At another time we find Margaret appealing +to her father to settle the disputes of precedence which have arisen +between the Dukes of Milan and Saxe-Lauenburg, upon which Maximilian +replied that they were too young to think of such matters, and that for +the present they had better take the place of honour on alternate days. + +It was a free and joyous life which these young Princes and Princesses +led at the Court of Malines. If they were kept strictly to their +lessons, they also had plenty of amusements. They played games, shot +with bows and arrows, and looked on at stag-hunts from the balcony of +the Swan, an old hostelry in the market-place. Charles had a little +chariot, drawn by two ponies, in which he often drove his sisters +through the town and out into the open country. Above all they enjoyed +the visits which they paid to the Castle of Vueren, near Brussels, +where Charles often went by his grandfather's orders to enjoy fresh air +and take hunting expeditions. The old Emperor was delighted to hear of +his grandson's taste for sport, and wrote from Augsburg that, if the +Archduke had not been fond of hunting, people would have suspected him +of being a bastard.[5] + +[Sidenote: JUNE, 1512] "FELIX AUSTRIA NUBE"] + +When, in 1512, Maximilian came to Brussels, and Charles was sent to +meet him, he begged Margaret to bring the three Princesses, without +delay, to "amuse themselves in the park at Vueren," and sent the haunch +of a stag which he had killed that day as a present to his "dear little +daughters." At the children's urgent entreaty, the Emperor himself rode +out to join them at supper, and invited them to a banquet in the palace +at Brussels on Midsummer Day. When the English Ambassador, Sir Edward +Poynings, came to pay the Emperor his respects, he found His Majesty +in riding-boots, standing at the palace gates, with the Lady Regent, +the Lord Prince and his sisters, looking on at a great bonfire in the +square. The Ambassador and his colleague, Spinelli, were both invited +to return to the palace for supper, and had a long conversation with +the Lady Margaret, in whom they found the same perfect friend as ever, +"while the Prince and his sisters danced gaily with the other young +folk till between nine and ten o'clock."[6] + +But this merry party was soon to break up. Before the end of the year +Maximilian Sforza crossed the Brenner, and entered Milan amidst the +acclamations of his father's old subjects, and eighteen months later +two of the young Archduchesses were wedded to foreign Kings. + + +II. + +[Sidenote: MAY, 1514] MARRIAGE-MAKING] + +While her nieces were still children Margaret was busy with plans +for their marriage. Her views for them were ambitious and frankly +expressed. "All your granddaughters," she wrote to her father, "should +marry Kings." The old Emperor himself was an inveterate matchmaker, +and the House of Austria had been proverbially fortunate in its +alliances. _Tu felix Austria nube_ had passed into a common saying. +By his marriage with Mary of Burgundy, Maximilian entered on the vast +inheritance of Charles the Bold, and his grandson was heir to the +throne of Spain by right of his mother Juana. In 1509 proposals for +two of the Archduchesses came from Portugal, and Margaret urged her +father to accept these offers, remarking shrewdly that King Emanuel +was a wealthy monarch, and that there were few marriageable Princes +in Europe. If both Madame Leonore and Madame Marie were betrothed to +the two Portuguese Princes, there would still be two of her nieces +to contract other alliances. But Maximilian's thoughts were too much +occupied with his war against Venice to consider these proposals +seriously, and the matter was allowed to drop.[7] Meanwhile Madame +Isabeau's hand was in great request. In March, 1510, Maximilian +received offers of marriage for his second granddaughter from the +King of Navarre's son, Henri d'Albret, but this project was nipped in +the bud by the jealousy of Isabella's other grandfather, Ferdinand of +Aragon, and Francis I.'s sister, Margaret, Duchess of Alençon, became +Queen of Navarre in her stead. A new and strange husband for the +nine-year-old Princess was now proposed by the Regent herself. This +was none other than Charles of Egmont, Duke of Guelders, the turbulent +neighbour who had been a thorn in Margaret's side ever since she became +Governess of the Netherlands. It is difficult to believe that Margaret +ever really intended to give her beloved niece to the man whom she +openly denounced as "a brigand and a felon," but it was necessary to +cajole Guelders for the moment, and conferences were held in which +every detail of the marriage treaty was discussed, and the dowry and +fortune of the bride and the portions of her sons and daughters were +all minutely arranged. But when the deputies of Guelders asked that +Madame Isabeau should be given up to the Duke at once to be educated +at his Court, the Regent met their demands with a flat refusal. +The negotiations were broken off, and war began again.[8] Another +matrimonial project, which had been discussed ever since King Philip's +lifetime, was the union of the Archduchess Eleanor with the young Duke +Antoine of Lorraine. Maximilian seems to have been really eager for +this marriage, which he regarded as a means of detaching a neighbouring +Prince from the French alliance, but was so dilatory in the matter that +Margaret wrote him a sharp letter, asking him if he ever meant to +marry his granddaughters. Upon this the affronted Emperor rebuked her +for these undutiful remarks, and asked peevishly "if she held him for +a Frenchman who changed his mind every day."[9] But in spite of these +protestations he took no further steps in the matter, and in 1515 Duke +Antoine married Renée de Bourbon, a Princess of the blood royal of +France. + +The marriage of Louis XII. to Henry VIII.'s handsome sister Mary was +a more serious blow. Six years before the English Princess had been +wedded by proxy to the Archduke Charles, and Margaret, whose heart was +set on this alliance, vainly pressed her father to conclude the treaty. +Meanwhile, in January, 1514, Anne of Brittany died, and the widowed +King sent offers of marriage, first to Margaret herself, and then to +her niece Eleanor.[10] A few months later news reached Brussels that +Louis had made a treaty with Henry, and was about to wed the Princess +Mary. So the Archduke lost his promised bride, and his sister was +once more cheated of a husband. The Lady Regent was deeply hurt, but +found some consolation for her wounded feelings in the double marriage +that was arranged in the course of the same year between the Archduke +Ferdinand and Anna, daughter of Ladislaus, King of Hungary, and between +this monarch's son Louis and the Archduchess Mary. In May, 1514, the +little Princess was sent to be educated with her future sister-in-law +at Vienna, where the wedding was celebrated a year afterwards.[11] + +At the same time marriage proposals for another of his granddaughters +reached Maximilian from a new and unexpected quarter. The young King +of Denmark, Christian II., on succeeding to the throne, declined the +French marriage which had been arranged for him by his father, and +conceived the ambitious design of allying himself with the Imperial +Family. In March, 1514, two Danish Ambassadors, the Bishop of Schleswig +and the Court-Marshal Magnus Giœ, were introduced into Maximilian's +presence by Christian's uncle, the Elector of Saxony, and asked for +the Archduchess Eleanor's hand on behalf of their royal master. The +prospect of an alliance with Denmark met with the Emperor's approval, +and could not fail to be popular in the Low Countries as a means +of opening the Baltic to the merchants of Bruges and Amsterdam. +Accordingly the envoys met with a friendly reception, and were told +that, although the elder Archduchess was already promised to the Duke +of Lorraine, the Emperor would gladly give King Christian the hand +of her sister Isabella. The contract was signed at Linz on the 29th +of April, 1514, and the dowry of the Princess was fixed at 250,000 +florins, an enormous sum for those times. Only three-fifths of his +sister's fortune, however, was to be paid by Charles, and the remainder +by her grandfather, the King of Aragon.[12] + +[Illustration: ISABELLA OF AUSTRIA, QUEEN OF DENMARK + +By Bernard van Orley (Cardon Collection) + +_To face p. 12_] + +[Sidenote: JUNE, 1514] A ROYAL WEDDING] + +From Linz the Ambassadors travelled by slow stages to Brussels, where +they were received with great honour. But Margaret was scarcely +prepared for the proposal which they made, that the wedding might take +place on the following day, when King Christian was to be crowned at +Copenhagen. It was, however, impossible to refuse such a request, and +on Trinity Sunday, the 11th of June, the marriage was solemnized with +due splendour. At ten o'clock a brilliant assembly met in the great +hall of the palace, which had been hung for the occasion with the +famous tapestries of the Golden Fleece, and Magnus Giœ, who represented +the King, appeared, supported by the Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg and the +Marquis of Brandenburg. Presently a flourish of trumpets announced the +bride's coming, and Charles led in his sister, a tall, slender maiden +of thirteen, robed in white, with a crown of pearls and rubies on her +fair locks. "Madame Isabeau," as Margaret wrote with motherly pride to +her father, "was certainly good to see."[13] They took their places +under a baldacchino near the altar, followed by the Regent, who led +her niece Eleanor by the hand. The Archbishop of Cambray, clad in rich +vestments of purple and gold, performed the nuptial rites, and the +Danish Ambassador placed a costly ring, bearing three gold crowns set +round with large sapphires and the motto _Ave Maria gratia plena_, on +the finger of the bride, who plighted her faith in the following words: + +"Je, Isabelle d'Autriche et de Bourgogne, donne ma foi à très hautt et +très puissant Prince et Seigneur, Christierne roy de Danemarck, et à +toy Magnus Giœ, son vrai et léal procureur, et je le prens par toy en +époux et mari légitime."[14] + +Then the Mass of the Holy Ghost was chanted, the Spanish Ambassador +being seated at the Archduke's side, and the others according to their +rank, all but the English Envoy, who refused to be present owing to +a dispute as to precedence. Afterwards the guests were entertained by +the Regent at a banquet, followed by a tournament and a state ball, +which was kept up far into the night. Finally all the chief personages +present escorted the bride with lighted torches to her chamber, and +Magnus Giœ, in full armour, lay down on the nuptial bed at her side +in the presence of this august company. Then, rising to his feet, he +made a deep obeisance to the young Queen and retired. During the next +three days a succession of jousts and banquets took place, and on the +Feast of Corpus Christi a public reception was held in the palace, at +which the bride appeared wearing the ring of the three kingdoms and +a jewelled necklace sent her by King Christian. Unfortunately, the +Archduke danced so vigorously on the night of the wedding that this +unwonted exertion brought on a sharp attack of fever. + +"Monseigneur," wrote his aunt to the Emperor, "fulfilled all his +duties to perfection, and showed himself so good a brother that he +overtaxed his strength, and fell ill the day after the wedding. Not," +she hastened to add, "that his sickness is in any way serious, but that +the slightest ailment in a Prince of his condition is apt to make one +anxious."[15] + +[Sidenote: AUG., 1515] EVIL OMENS] + +On the 4th of July the Danish Ambassadors took their leave, but +Isabella remained in her home for another year. She and Eleanor shared +in the fêtes which celebrated the Archduke's coming of age, and were +present at his _Joyeuse Entrêe_ into Brussels. But in the midst of +these festivities the Danish fleet, with the Archbishop of Drondtheim +on board, arrived at Veeren in Zeeland, and on the 16th of July, 1515, +the poor young Queen took leave of her family with bitter tears, and +sailed for Copenhagen. On the day of Isabella's christening, fourteen +years before, the ceremony had been marred by a terrific thunderstorm, +and now the same ill-luck attended her wedding journey. A violent +tempest scattered the Danish fleet off the shores of Jutland, and the +vessel which bore the Queen narrowly escaped shipwreck. When at length +she had landed safely at Helsingfors, she wrote a touching little +letter to the Regent: + + "MADAME, MY AUNT AND GOOD MOTHER, + + "I must tell you that we landed here last Saturday, after + having been in great peril and distress at sea for the last ten + days. But God kept me from harm, for which I am very thankful. + Next Thursday we start for Copenhagen, which is a day's journey + from here. I have been rather ill, and feel weak still, but + hope soon to be well. Madame, if I could choose for myself I + should be with you now; for to be parted from you is the most + grievous thing in the world to me, and the more so as I do not + know when there is any hope of seeing you again. So I can only + beg you, my dearest aunt and mother, to keep me in your heart, + and tell me if there is anything that you wish me to do, and + you shall always be obeyed, God helping me. That He may give + you a long and happy life is the prayer of your humble and + dutiful niece + + "ISABEAU.[16] + "August 7, 1515." + + +Two days later Isabella continued her journey to Hvidore, the royal +country-house near Copenhagen. There she was received by King +Christian, who rode at her side, a splendid figure in gold brocade and +shining armour, when on the following day she made her state entry into +the capital in torrents of rain. On the 12th of August the wedding was +celebrated in the great hall of the ancient castle, which had been +rebuilt by King Christian's father, and was followed by the coronation +of the young Queen. But Isabella was so much exhausted by the fatigue +which she had undergone, that before the conclusion of the ceremony she +fell fainting into the arms of her ladies. Her illness threw a gloom +over the wedding festivities, and seemed a forecast of the misfortunes +that were to darken the course of her married life and turn her story +into a grim tragedy. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[1] L. Gachard, "Voyages des Souverains des Pays-Bas." i. 455. + +[2] "Bulletins de la Commission Royale d'Histoire," 2^{ième} série, v. +113-119. Jehan Le Maire, "Les Funéraux de Feu Don Philippe." + +[3] E. Le Glay, "Correspondance de l'Empereur Maximilien I. et de +Marguerite d'Autriche," i. 203. + +[4] Le Glay, i. 393. + +[5] Le Glay, i. 241. + +[6] Calendar of State Papers, Henry VIII., i. 369. + +[7] Le Glay, i. 165. + +[8] Le Glay, i. 281, 399-441. + +[9] Le Glay, ii. 205. + +[10] H. Ulmann, "Kaiser Maximilian," ii. 484, 498. + +[11] Le Glay, ii. 252; A. Henne, "Histoire du Règne de Charles V.," i. +96. + +[12] Le Glay, ii. 383. + +[13] Le Glay, ii. 256. + +[14] J. Altmeyer, "Isabelle d'Autriche," 53. + +[15] Le Glay, ii. 257. + +[16] Altmeyer, "Isabelle d'Autriche," 43. + + + + +BOOK II + +CHRISTIAN II., KING OF DENMARK, THE FATHER OF CHRISTINA + +1513-1523 + + +I. + +Christian II., King of Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, as the proud title +ran, was in many respects a remarkable man. His life and character +have been the subject of much controversy. Some historians have held +him up to admiration as a patriot and martyr who suffered for his +love of freedom and justice. Others have condemned him as a cruel and +vindictive tyrant, whose crimes deserved the hard fate which befell +him. Both verdicts are justified in the main. On the one hand, he was +an able and enlightened ruler, who protected the liberties of his +poorer subjects, encouraged trade and learning, and introduced many +salutary reforms. On the other, he was a man of violent passions, +crafty and unscrupulous in his dealings, cruel and bloodthirsty in +avenging wrongs. His career naturally invites comparison with that +of Lodovico Sforza, whose son became the husband of his daughter +Christina. Both Princes were men of great ability and splendid dreams. +In their zeal for the promotion of commerce and agriculture, in their +love of art and letters, both were in advance of the age in which +they lived. Again, their vices and crimes, the cunning ways and +unscrupulous measures by which they sought to attain their ends, were +curiously the same. No doubt Christian II., born and bred as he was +among the rude Norsemen, belonged to a coarser strain than the cultured +Duke of Milan, and is hardly to be judged by the same standard. But +the two Princes resembled each other closely, and the fate which +eventually overtook them was practically the same. Both of these able +and distinguished men lost their States in the prime of life, and were +doomed to end their days in captivity. This cruel doom has atoned in +a great measure for their guilt in the eyes of posterity, and even in +their lifetime their hard fate aroused general compassion. + +[Sidenote: JAN., 1516] THE KING'S DOVE] + +Certainly no one could have foreseen the dismal fate which lay in store +for Christian II. when he ascended the throne. Seldom has a new reign +opened with fairer promise. His father, good King Hans, died in 1513, +lamented by all his subjects, and leaving his successor a prosperous +and united kingdom. Christian was thirty-two, and had already shown +his courage and ability in quelling a revolt in Norway. A man of noble +and commanding presence, with blue eyes and long fair hair, he seemed +a born leader of men, while his keen intelligence, genial manners, +and human interest in those about him, early won the affection of his +subjects. Unfortunately his own passions proved his worst enemies. In +Norway he had fallen in love with a beautiful girl named Dyveke--the +Dove--whose mother, a designing Dutchwoman named Sigebritt Willems, +kept a tavern at Bergen. On his accession he brought Dyveke and her +mother to Hvidore, and gave them a house in the neighbourhood. This +illicit connection excited great scandal at Court, and the Chancellor, +Archbishop Walkendorf of Drondtheim, exhorted the King earnestly to put +away his mistress on his marriage. Even before Isabella left Brussels, +the Archbishop wrote glowing accounts of her beauty and goodness to +his master, and told the King of the romantic attachment which she +cherished for her unknown lord. After her arrival at Copenhagen he did +his utmost to insure her comfort, and see that she was treated with +proper respect. + +For a time Christian seems to have been genuinely in love with his +young wife, whose innocent charm won all hearts in her new home. In +his anxiety to please her, he furnished his ancestral castle anew, +and sent to Germany for musicians, fearing that the rude voices +of Danish singers might sound harsh in her ears. A young Fleming, +Cornelius Scepperus, was appointed to be his private secretary, and +the Fuggers of Antwerp were invited to found a bank at Copenhagen. At +the same time twenty-four Dutch families, from Waterland in Holland, +were brought over in Danish ships, and induced to settle on the +island of Amager, opposite the capital, in order that the royal table +might be supplied with butter and cheese made in the Dutch fashion. +This colony, imported by Christian II., grew and flourished, and to +this day their descendants occupy Amager, where peasant women clad +in the national costume of short woollen skirts, blue caps, and red +ribbons, are still to be seen. Unfortunately, the influence which +Sigebritt and her daughter had acquired over the King was too strong +to be resisted. Before long they returned to Court, and, to the +indignation of Isabella's servants, Sigebritt was appointed Mistress +of her household. Rumours of the slights to which the young Queen was +exposed soon reached the Netherlands, and when Maximilian informed +Margaret that he intended to marry her niece Eleanor to the King +of Poland, she replied with some asperity that she could only hope +the marriage would turn out better than that of her unhappy sister. +The Emperor expressed much surprise at these words, saying that he +considered his granddaughter to be very well married, since the King +of Denmark was a monarch of the proudest lineage, and endowed with +noble manners and rare gifts, if his people were still somewhat rude +and barbarous.[17] But, in spite of Maximilian's protests, the reports +of King Christian's misconduct soon became too persistent to be +ignored. When, in October, 1516, Charles, who had assumed the title +of King of Spain on his grandfather Ferdinand's death, held his first +Chapter of the Golden Fleece, the Knights with one accord refused to +admit the King of Denmark to their Order, because he was accused of +adultery and ill-treated his wife.[18] At length Maximilian was moved +to take action, and wrote to his grandson Charles in sufficiently plain +language, saying: + +[Sidenote: 1513-23] ELEANOR'S ROMANCE] + + "The shameful life which our brother and son-in-law, the King + of Denmark, is leading with a concubine, to the great sorrow + and vexation of his wife, our daughter and your sister, is + condemned by all his relatives; and in order to constrain him + to abandon this disorderly way of living, and be a better + husband to our said daughter, we are sending Messire Sigismund + Herbesteiner to remonstrate with him, and have begged Duke + Frederic of Saxony, his uncle, who arranged the marriage, to + send one of his servants on the same errand. And we desire + you to send one of your chief councillors to help carry out + our orders, and induce the King to put away his concubine and + behave in a more reasonable and honourable manner."[19] + +But none of these remonstrances produced any effect on the misguided +King. When Herbesteiner reproached him with sacrificing the laws of +God and honour and the Emperor's friendship to a low-born woman, he +shook his fist in the imperial Envoy's face, and bade him begone from +his presence.[20] At the same time he showed his resentment in a more +dangerous way by making a treaty with France and closing the Sound to +Dutch ships. He even seized several trading vessels on pretence that +the Queen's dowry had not been paid, and when Archbishop Walkendorf +ventured to expostulate with him on his misconduct, banished the +prelate from Court.[21] + +Meanwhile Isabella herself bore neglect and insults with the same +uncomplaining sweetness. But we see how much she suffered from a +private letter which she wrote to her sister Eleanor about this time. +This attractive Princess, who at the age of eighteen still remained +unmarried, had fallen in love with her brother's brilliant friend, +Frederic, Count Palatine, the most accomplished knight at Court, and +the idol of all the ladies. The mutual attachment between the Palatine +and the Archduchess was the talk of the whole Court, and met with +Margaret's private approval, although it was kept a secret from Charles +and his Ministers. Eleanor confided this romantic story to her absent +sister, and expressed a secret hope that the popular Count Palatine +might succeed her aunt as Regent when the young King left Brussels for +Spain. In reply Isabella sent Eleanor the warmest congratulations on +her intended marriage, rejoicing that her sister at least would not be +forced to leave home, and would be united to a husband whom she really +loved. The poor young Queen proceeded to lament her own sad fate in the +following strain: + + "It is hard enough to marry a man whose face you have never + seen, whom you do not know or love, and worse still to be + required to leave home and kindred, and follow a stranger to + the ends of the earth, without even being able to speak his + language."[22] + +[Sidenote: 1513-23] A LOVE-LETTER] + +She goes on to describe the misery of her life, even though she bears +the title of Queen. What is she, in fact, but a prisoner in a foreign +land? She is never allowed to go out or appear in public, while her +lord the King spends his time in royal progresses and hunting-parties, +and amuses himself after his fashion, apart from her. Far better would +it be for Eleanor to follow her own inclination, and choose a husband +who belongs to her own country and speaks her language, even if he were +not of kingly rank. Unfortunately, the pretty romance which excited +Isabella's sympathy was doomed to an untimely end. The death of Mary +of Castille, Queen of Portugal, in May, 1517, left King Emanuel a +widower for the second time. He had married two of Charles's aunts in +turn, and was now over fifty, and a hunchback into the bargain. None +the less, the plan of a marriage between him and his niece Eleanor +was now revived, and in August these proposals reached the young King +at the seaport of Middelburg, where he and his sister were awaiting +a favourable wind to set sail for Spain. Filled with alarm, Frederic +implored Eleanor to take a bold step, confess her love to Charles, +and seek his consent to her marriage with his old friend. In a letter +signed with his name, and still preserved in the Archives of Simancas, +the Palatine begged his love to lose no time if she would escape from +the snare laid for them both by "the Uncle of Portugal." + + "Ma mignonne," he wrote, "si vous voulez, vous pouvez être la + cause de mon bien ou de mon mal. C'est pourquoi je vous supplie + d'avoir bon courage pour vous et pour moi. Cela peut se faire + si vous voulez. Car je suis prêt, et ne demande autre chose, + sinon que je sois à vous, et vous à moi."[23] + +Accordingly, on the Feast of the Assumption Eleanor approached her +brother after hearing Mass in the abbey chapel. But while she was +gathering all her courage to speak, Charles caught sight of the +Palatine's letter in her bosom, and, snatching it from his sister's +hands, broke into furious reproaches, swearing that he would avenge +this insult with the traitor's blood. As Spinelli, the English Envoy, +remarked, "The letter was but honest, concerning matters of love and +marriage,"[24] but the young King would listen to no excuses, and, in +spite of the Regent's intervention, Frederic was banished from Court +in disgrace. A fortnight later Charles and his sister sailed for +Castille, and in the following summer Madame Leonore became the bride +of "l'Oncle de Portugal," King Emanuel. + + +II. + +The death of Christian II.'s mistress, Dyveke, in the summer of 1517 +produced a change in the situation at Copenhagen. This unfortunate +girl, a victim of her ambitious mother's designs, died very suddenly +one afternoon after eating cherries in the royal gardens. The King's +suspicions fell on his steward, Torben Axe, who was brutally put to +death in spite of his protestations of innocence. But the Queen's +position was distinctly improved. Christian now treated his wife with +marked kindness, and appointed her Regent when, early in the following +year, he went to Sweden to put down a rising of the nobles. Sigebritt +Willems's influence, however, still remained paramount, and, in a +letter to the Queen from Sweden, Christian begged her to consult the +Dutchwoman in any difficulty, and ended by wishing her and "Mother +Sigebritt" a thousand good-nights. Stranger still to relate, when, on +the 21st of February, Isabella gave birth to a son, the infant Prince +was entrusted to Sigebritt's care. + +[Sidenote: 1513-23] BIRTH OF PRINCES] + +This happy event, combined with Isabella's unfailing affection for +her wayward lord, led to improved relations between Christian and his +wife's family. After the death of Maximilian, Charles became anxious +to secure his brother-in-law's support in the imperial election, and +in February, 1519, a treaty was concluded between the two monarchs at +Brussels.[25] The Danish Envoys, Anton de Metz and Hermann Willems, +Sigebritt's brother, received rich presents from Margaret, who was +once more acting as Regent of the Netherlands, and she even sent a +silver-gilt cup to the hated Dutchwoman herself.[26] A month later the +King of Denmark was elected Knight of the Golden Fleece at a Chapter of +the Order held at Barcelona, and in a letter which Charles addressed to +him he expressed his pleasure at hearing good accounts of his sister +and little nephew, and promised to pay the arrears of Isabella's dowry +as soon as possible.[27] + +On the 28th of June, 1519, Charles was elected King of the Romans, and +the formal announcement of his election was brought to Barcelona by +Eleanor's rejected suitor, the Palatine Frederic, whom he received with +open arms. A few days after this auspicious event the Queen of Denmark, +on the 4th of July, 1519, gave birth to twin sons, who received the +names of Philip and Maximilian. Both, however, died within a week of +their baptism, upon which Sigebritt is said to have remarked that this +was a good thing, since Denmark was too small a realm to support so +many Princes. + +With the help of Dutch ships and gold, Christian succeeded in subduing +the Swedish rebels, and was crowned with great solemnity in the +Cathedral of Upsala on the 4th of November, 1520. But the rejoicings +on this occasion were marred by the execution of ninety Swedish nobles +and two Bishops, who were treacherously put to death by the King's +orders. This act, which earned for Christian the title of the Nero +of the North, is said to have been instigated by Sigebritt and her +nephew Slagbök, a Westphalian barber, who had been raised from this low +estate to be Archbishop of Lunden. The insolent conduct of these evil +counsellors naturally increased the King's unpopularity in all parts of +the kingdom. Yet at the same time Christian II. showed himself to be an +excellent and enlightened ruler. He administered justice strictly, and +introduced many salutary reforms. + +[Sidenote: 1513-23] BIRTH OF DOROTHEA] + +The common practice of buying and selling serfs was prohibited, +Burgomasters and Town Councils were appointed to carry out the laws, +and a system of tolls and customs was established. Schools and +hospitals were founded, inns were opened in every town and village +for the convenience of travellers, piracy and brigandage were sternly +repressed. An Act was passed ordering that all cargoes recovered from +wrecks were to be placed in the nearest church, and, if not claimed by +the end of the year, divided between the Crown and the Church. When the +Bishops complained of the loss thus inflicted on them, the King told +them to go home and learn the Eighth Commandment. Still greater was +the opposition aroused when he attempted to reform clerical abuses. +Early in life Christian showed strong leanings towards the doctrines of +Luther, and on his return from Sweden he asked his uncle, the Elector +of Saxony, to send him a Lutheran preacher from Wittenberg. Although +these efforts at proselytizing met with little success, the King openly +professed his sympathy with the new Gospel. He had the Bible translated +into Danish, bade the Bishops dismiss their vast households, issued +edicts allowing priests to marry, and ordered the begging friars to +stay at home and earn their bread by honest labour.[28] + +All these reforms could not be effected without vigorous opposition, +and the discontent among the nobles and clergy became every day more +active. In the spring of 1521 a young Swedish noble, Gustavus Wasa, +raised the standard of revolt in Dalecarlia, and led his peasant bands +against Stockholm. Upon this Christian decided to pay a visit to the +Low Countries to meet the new Emperor, who was coming to be crowned at +Aix-la-Chapelle, and seek his help against the citizens of Lübeck and +the Swedish rebels. The government was once more placed in the hands +of Isabella. A few months before this, on the 10th of November, 1520, +while Christian was absent in Sweden, the Queen had given birth to a +daughter, named Dorothea after the King's grandmother, the able and +ambitious Princess of Brandenburg, who married two Kings of Denmark +in succession. Now she followed her husband with wistful thoughts as +he started on his journey, attended only by his Chamberlain, Anton de +Metz, and three servants, and rode all the way to her old home in the +Netherlands. + +On the 20th of June nine Danish ships sailed into the port of Antwerp, +and a few days afterwards Christian II. rode into the town. His fine +presence and the courage which he had shown in riding through Germany +with this small escort excited general admiration. + + "I noted," wrote Albert Dürer in his Journal, "how much the + people of Antwerp marvelled at the sight of this manly and + handsome Prince, who had come hither through his enemies' + country, with these few attendants."[29] + +[Sidenote: 1513-23] KING CHRISTIAN AT BRUSSELS] + +The Nuremberg master had been spending the winter in the Low +Countries, paying his respects to the Regent at Malines, and conversing +with Erasmus of Rotterdam and Lucas van Leyden. He was starting on his +journey home, when, on the Feast of the Visitation, he was sent for +by the King of Denmark, who received him very graciously, and asked +him to dine at his table and to take his portrait. So great was the +interest which Christian showed in the painter's work, that Dürer gave +him a fine set of his prints, which are still preserved in the museum +at Copenhagen, and accepted an invitation to accompany him to Brussels +the next day. Thus Albert Dürer was a witness of the meeting between +Christian and his brother-in-law Charles V., who had just arrived +from his coronation at Aix-la-Chapelle, and had been received with +great rejoicing by his subjects. At five that summer evening Charles +rode out from Brussels at the head of a brilliant cavalcade, and met +his royal brother-in-law in a meadow, where they embraced each other +and conversed with the help of an interpreter, Christian speaking in +German, and Charles in French. They entered Brussels after sunset, and +found the streets hung with tapestries and lighted with innumerable +torches and bonfires. The Emperor escorted Christian to the Count of +Nassau's palace on the top of the hill, which Dürer describes as the +finest house that he had ever seen. The next morning Charles brought +his guest to the palace gates, where the Regent and Germaine de Foix, +King Ferdinand's widow, were awaiting them, and for the first time +Margaret came face to face with her niece's husband. Christian kissed +the two ladies in French fashion, and after dinner the two Princes +spent the evening dancing with the Court ladies. + + "Now," wrote the Venetian Ambassador, Gaspare Contarini, + "at two hours after dark, they are still dancing, for young + monarchs such as these are not easily tired."[30] + +The impression which the Danish King made on the learned Italian was +very favourable. He describes him as a fine-looking Prince, with an +earnest, animated expression, long locks, and a beard curled after +the Italian fashion. In his black satin doublet, Spanish cloak, and +jewelled cap, he looked every inch a King. On the Sunday after his +arrival Christian entertained the Emperor, the Lady Margaret, and +the Queen-Dowager of Spain, at dinner. Albert Dürer was present on +this occasion, and was afterwards employed to paint a portrait of the +King in oils, for which Christian gave him thirty florins, an act of +liberality which contrasted favourably with Margaret's parsimony. "The +Lady Margaret in particular," remarks the painter in his Journal, "gave +me nothing for what I made and presented to her." Another personage in +whose society the King took pleasure was Erasmus, who discussed the +reform of the Church with him, and was much struck by the monarch's +enlightened opinions. On the 12th of July Christian accompanied his +brother-in-law to Antwerp, to lay the foundations of the new choir of +Our Lady's Church, and went on to Ghent, where he paid formal homage +for the duchy of Holstein, and was confirmed in his rights over the +Hanse towns, but could not persuade Charles to join him in making war +on the friendly citizens of Lübeck. At Ghent the King sent for the +English Ambassador, Sir Robert Wingfield, with whom he had a long +and friendly conversation, expressing great anxiety to meet King +Henry VIII. In reply, Wingfield told him that he would soon have the +opportunity of seeing the English monarch's powerful Minister, Cardinal +Wolsey, to whom he could speak as frankly as to the King himself.[31] +Accordingly, on the 5th of August Christian accompanied Charles and +Margaret to the Prinzenhof at Bruges, where Wolsey joined them a week +later. The regal state of the English Cardinal formed a striking +contrast to the King's simplicity. He arrived with a train of over +a thousand followers, clad in red satin, and twenty English nobles, +wearing gold chains, walked at his horse's side. On Sunday he rode to +Mass with the Emperor, and dined with Charles and Margaret, "praising +the delicate and sumptuous manner" in which he was entertained. When +the King of Denmark sent to ask him to come to his lodgings, the +Cardinal demurred, saying that, as he represented His Majesty of +England, the King must be the first to visit him, but that if Christian +preferred he would meet him in the palace garden. Christian, however, +waived ceremony, and called on Wolsey the next morning. The interview +was a very friendly one. Christian expressed his anxiety to enter into +a close alliance with England, and begged King Henry to be a good uncle +to his young kinsman, James V. of Scotland. Wolsey on his part was much +impressed by the King's good sense and peaceable intentions. + +[Sidenote: 1513-23] REVOLT IN DENMARK] + + "Surely, Sir," he wrote to his royal master, "the King of + Denmark, though in appearance he should be judged to be a + rash man, yet he is right wise, sober, and discreet, minding + the establishing of good peace betwixt Christian Princes, + wherein he right substantially declared his mind to me at good + length."[32] + +[Illustration: CHRISTIAN II., KING OF DENMARK + +_To face p. 30_] + +But the next day the King sent the Cardinal word that he had received +such bad news from his own country that he must return without delay. +He actually left Bruges that day, and was escorted to the city gates +by the Papal Nuncio Caracciolo and Contarini, who took leave of the +King, and returned to dine with Erasmus and his English friend, _Messer +Toma Moro_.[33] Unfortunately, Christian's visit to the Low Countries +produced no good result, and there was some justification for the +Imperial Chancellor's cynical remark: "It would have been better to +keep the King here, where he can do no harm, than to let him go home +to make fresh mischief."[34] He left Bruges dissatisfied with the +Emperor, and on reaching Copenhagen his first act was to dismiss the +Queen's confessor, Mansueri. When the Emperor begged him to leave his +sister free in matters of conscience, he broke into a passionate fit of +rage, tore the Golden Fleece from his neck, and trampled it underfoot, +cursing his meddlesome brother-in-law. What was worse, he seized +several Dutch ships in the Sound, and drew upon himself the serious +displeasure of the Regent and her Council. + +Meanwhile Gustavus Wasa had laid siege to Stockholm, and there was a +rising in Jutland. A Papal Legate arrived at Copenhagen to inquire into +the judicial murder of the Swedish Bishops and demand the punishment +of Slagbök. The unfortunate Archbishop was made a scapegoat, and put +to death in January, 1522. Stones were thrown at Sigebritt when she +drove out in the royal carriage, and one day she was thrown into a pond +by some peasants, and only rescued with difficulty. Even Christian +began to realize the danger of the situation, and wrote to Isabella +from Jutland, begging her to "bid Mother Sigebritt hold her tongue, +and not set foot outside the castle, if she wished him to return home +alive." In another letter, written on the 4th of February, 1522, from +the Convent of Dalin, the King congratulates his wife on her safe +deliverance, and the birth of "a marvellously handsome child."[35] +This is the only intimation we have of the birth of Isabella's second +daughter, Christina. The exact date is not to be found in the Danish +archives, and has hitherto eluded all research. The child who saw the +light in these troubled times received the name of Christina from her +grandmother, the Queen-Dowager of Denmark, a Princess of Saxon birth, +who still resided at King Hans's favourite palace of Odensee. All we +know of Queen Christina is that, on the 2nd of April, 1515, two years +after her husband's death, she addressed an urgent prayer to King Henry +VIII., begging him to send her a relic of St. Thomas of Canterbury.[36] +We are not told if a phial containing a drop of the saint's blood was +sent to Denmark in response to this entreaty, but the request is of +interest as a proof of the English martyr's widespread renown. + +A few weeks after the birth of her little daughter Isabella wrote a +touching appeal to her aunt, imploring the Regent's help against the +Danish rebels: + +[Sidenote: 1513-23] CHRISTIAN II. DEPOSED] + + "We have sad news from my lord in Jutland. The nobles there + have rebelled against him, and seek to deprive him and our + children of their crown and their lives. So we entreat you to + come to our help, that we may chastise these rebels."[37] + +Anton de Metz was sent to Brussels on the same errand, but could obtain +small hopes of assistance. The Regent's Council complained that King +Christian had damaged the trade of the Low Countries and ill-treated +their sailors, and the temper of the Court was reflected in Sir Robert +Wingfield's despatches to England. + + "The Easterlings," remarked the Ambassador, "handle the King + of Denmark roughly, and his own people are said to have killed + the Woman of Holland, who was mother to his Dove, as the King's + mistress was called, whereby it appeareth that ill life and + like governance often cometh to a bad end."[38] + +King Christian's affairs, as Wingfield truly said, were in an evil +plight. In June Stockholm surrendered to Gustavus Wasa, and the +citizens of Lübeck sent a fleet to burn Helsingfors and threaten +Copenhagen. To add to the unfortunate King's difficulties, his uncle +Frederic, Duke of Holstein, who had always nursed a grievance against +his elder brother, the late King Hans, now took up a hostile attitude, +and made common cause with the rebels. On the 20th of January, 1523, +the nobles of Jutland met at Viborg, deposed Christian II. formally, +and elected his uncle Frederic to be King in his stead. In vain +Christian endeavoured to raise fresh forces, and sent desperate appeals +to his kinsfolk in the Low Countries and Germany, and to his allies in +England and Scotland. + +Margaret replied curtly that the Emperor himself needed all the +men and ammunition that could be obtained in those parts. The young +King of Scotland's Chancellor, the Archbishop of Glasgow, sent a +sympathetic message, regretting that the enmity of England prevented +him from helping King Christian against his rebel subjects. When the +Dean of Roskild appeared in London with a letter from the Danish +monarch, begging King Henry to induce Margaret to help him against the +Easterlings, Wolsey sent a splendid barge to conduct the Ambassador +to Greenwich, but gave him little encouragement beyond fair words. +"So I hope," wrote Sir Robert Wingfield, who, in spite of Christian's +civilities at Ghent, had little pity for him, "that this wicked King +will fail."[39] + +[Sidenote: 1513-23] FLIGHT OF THE ROYAL FAMILY] + +The unhappy monarch was at his wits' end. Yet many of his subjects were +still loyal. The bulk of the middle and lower classes, the burghers, +artisans, and country-folk, looked on him as their best friend; and +when he appeared at the fair of Ringsted, a thousand strong arms +were raised, and a thousand lusty voices swore fealty to Christian, +the peasants' King. Copenhagen was strongly fortified, and as long +as he stayed there he was safe from his foes. But an unaccountable +panic seized him. Whether, as in the case of Lodovico Sforza, whom he +resembled in so many ways, remorse for past crimes enfeebled his will, +or whether his nerves gave way, he could not summon up courage to meet +his foes, and decided to fly. A fleet of twenty ships was equipped, +fully supplied with arms and ammunition, and laden with the crown +jewels, archives, and treasures. The Queen and her young children--the +five-year-old Prince John, the two little Princesses, Dorothea and +Christina (a babe of fifteen months)--went on board the finest vessel +of the fleet, the _Great Mary_, and Mother Sigebritt was hidden in a +chest to save her from the fury of the people, who regarded her as the +chief cause of the King's unpopularity. But the greatest compassion was +felt for Isabella and her innocent babes; and even the usurper Frederic +wrote to beg the Queen to remain in Denmark, assuring her that she and +her children would be perfectly safe. On the 14th of April the fleet +set sail. An immense crowd assembled on the ramparts to see the last +of the royal family. The King made a farewell speech, exhorting the +garrison to remain loyal to his cause, and promising to return in three +months with reinforcements. Then the ships weighed anchor, and neither +Isabella nor her children ever saw the shores of Denmark again. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[17] Le Glay, ii. 336. + +[18] De Reiffenberg, "Histoire de l'Ordre de la Toison d'Or," 307. + +[19] Le Glay, ii. 337. + +[20] L. Van Bergh, "Correspondance de M. d'Autriche," ii. 135. + +[21] Ulmann, ii. 510. + +[22] Hubertus Leodius Thomas, "Spiegel des Humors grosser Potentaten," +79. E. Moeller, "Éléonore d'Autriche," 307. + +[23] Moeller, 327. L. Mignet, "Rivalité de Francis I. et Charles V.," +i. 140. + +[24] Calendar of State Papers, Henry VIII., ii. 2, 1151. H. Baumgarten, +"Geschichte Karl V.," i. 58. + +[25] Henne. ii. 249. + +[26] Archives du Royaume: Bruxelles Régistre des Revenus et Dépenses de +Charles V., ii. 72. + +[27] J. Altmeyer, 46. + +[28] F. Dahlmann, "Geschichte von Dänemark," iii. 359. + +[29] M. Conway, "Literary Remains of Albert Dürer," 124. + +[30] Venetian State Papers, iii. 139. + +[31] Calendar of State Papers, Henry VIII., iii. 2, 555, 561, 582. + +[32] Calendar of State Papers, Henry VIII., iii. 2, 614. + +[33] Venetian State Papers, iii. 162. + +[34] Calendar of State Papers, Henry VIII., iii. 2, 576. + +[35] Altmeyer, 23. Reedtz Manuscripts, xiii. 28. + +[36] Calendar of State Papers, Henry VIII., ii. 191. + +[37] Altmeyer, "Isabelle d'Autriche," 23. + +[38] Calendar of State Papers, Henry VIII., iii. 2, 1086. + +[39] Calendar of State Papers, Henry VIII., iii. 2, 1189. Altmeyer, +"Relations Commerciales du Danemark et des Paysbas," 105. + + + + +BOOK III + +KINGS IN EXILE + +1523-1531 + + +I. + +[Sidenote: 1523-31] VISIT TO LONDON] + +The troubles of the Danish royal family were not over when they left +Copenhagen. A violent storm scattered the fleet in the North Sea, and +drove several of the ships on the Norwegian coast, where many of them +were lost with all their cargo. The remaining eleven or twelve ships +entered the harbour of Veeren, in Walcheren, on the 1st of May. Here +the King and Queen were kindly received by Adolf of Burgundy, the +Admiral of the Dutch fleet, who kept them for a week in his own house, +and then escorted them to the Regent's Court at Malines. Margaret +welcomed her niece with all her old affection, and took her and the +royal children into her own house. But she met the King's prayer for +help coldly, saying that it was beyond her power to give him either men +or money. The moment, it is true, was singularly unpropitious. Not only +were all the Emperor's resources needed to carry on his deadly struggle +with France, but nearer home the Regent was engaged in a fierce +conflict with her old enemy, Charles of Guelders, for the possession +of Friesland. As Adolf of Burgundy wrote to Wolsey: "We need help so +much ourselves that we are hardly in condition to help others."[40] +Christian soon realized this, and determined to apply to Henry VIII., +relying on his former assurances of brotherly affection, and feeling +confident of Wolsey's support. The scheme met with Margaret's approval, +and, since Isabella had only brought one Dutch maid and the children's +nurses from Copenhagen, the Regent lent her several ladies, in order +that she might appear in due state at the English Court.[41] + +On the 5th of June the King and Queen left Malines with a suite of +eighty persons and fifty horses, and, after waiting some time at Calais +to hear the latest news from Denmark, crossed the Channel, and reached +Greenwich on the 19th. Wolsey had already told the Imperial Ambassador, +De Praet, that the King of Denmark would receive little encouragement +from his master, and had expressed a hope that he would not give them +the trouble of coming to England. He met the royal travellers, however, +at the riverside, and conducted them to the palace, where they dined +in the great hall with the King on the following day, Henry leading +Christian by the hand, and Queen Katherine following with Isabella and +her sister-in-law, Mary, Duchess of Suffolk, the widow of Louis XII., +who was still known as _la Reine blanche_. From Greenwich the King and +Queen of Denmark moved to Bath Place, where they were lodged at Henry's +expense. Katherine welcomed her great-niece with motherly affection, +but both Henry and Wolsey told Christian plainly that he had made a +fatal mistake in deserting his loyal subjects, and advised him to +return at once and encourage them by his presence. + +All the English monarch would do was to send Envoys to Denmark to urge +the usurper Frederic and his supporters to return to their allegiance. + + "For," as Henry himself wrote to the Emperor, "this perfidy + of the King's subjects is a most fatal example, if for the + most trifling cause a Prince is to be called in question, and + expelled and put from his crown."[42] + +The futility of these measures was evident to De Praet, who wrote to +Charles at Toledo, saying that unless he took up the exiled monarch's +cause for his sister's sake he would never recover his kingdom. +Copenhagen was now besieged by land and sea, and if the garrison +were not relieved by Michaelmas they would be forced to surrender, +and Christian's last hope would be gone. The King himself, De Praet +owned, seemed little changed, and he advised the Emperor to insist on +Sigebritt's removal before giving him any help. + + "Your Majesty," wrote the Ambassador, "ought first of all to + have the Woman of Holland sought out and punished, an act which + in my small opinion would acquire great merit in the eyes of + both God and man."[43] + +At Isabella's request, both Margaret and King Henry had spoken +strongly to Christian on this subject, but he still persisted in his +infatuation, and it was not till after he had left the Netherlands, and +his wife and aunt were dead, that this miserable woman was arrested in +Ghent and burnt as a witch.[44] + +[Sidenote: 1523-31] A NOBLE WIFE] + +As for the Queen, no words could express De Praet's admiration for her +angelic goodness. "It is indeed grievous," he wrote, "to see this poor +lady in so melancholy a plight, and I cannot marvel too much at her +virtues and heroic patience." Henry was equally moved, and wrote to +Charles in the warmest terms of his sister's noble qualities, but did +not disguise his contempt for her husband.[45] + +There was, clearly, nothing more to be gained by remaining in England, +and on the 5th of July the King and Queen returned to the Low +Countries. Isabella joined her children at Malines, and Christian went +to Antwerp to equip ships for the relief of Copenhagen. But he soon +quarrelled with Margaret, and left suddenly for Germany. In September +he appeared at Berlin, having ridden from Brussels attended by only +two servants, and succeeded in raising a force of 25,000 men, with +the help of his brother-in-law, the Marquis of Brandenburg, and Duke +Henry of Brunswick. But when the troops assembled on the banks of the +Elbe, King Christian was unable to fulfil his promises or provide the +money demanded by the leaders, and he was glad to escape with his +life from the angry hordes of soldiers clamouring for pay. By the end +of the year Copenhagen capitulated, and in the following August the +usurper Frederic was elected King by the General Assembly, and solemnly +crowned in the Frauenkirche.[46] The crimes of the unhappy Christian +recoiled on his own head, and in the Act of Deprivation by which he +was formally deposed, it was expressly stated that his neglect of his +noble and virtuous wife, and infatuation for the adventuress Sigebritt +and her daughter, had estranged the hearts of his people. But through +all these troubles Isabella clung to him with unchanging faithfulness. +She followed him first to Berlin, then to Saxony, where he sought his +uncle's help. In March she went to Nuremberg on a visit to her brother, +King Ferdinand, and pleaded her husband and children's cause before the +Diet in so eloquent a manner that the assembled Princes were moved to +tears. + + "Everyone here," wrote Hannart, the minister whom Charles V. + had sent to his sister's help, "is full of compassion for the + Queen, but no one places the least trust in the King. If it + were not for her sake, not a single man would saddle a horse on + his behalf." + +Hannart, in fact, confessed that he had done his utmost to keep +Christian away from Nuremberg, feeling sure that his presence would do +more harm than good. Even Isabella's entreaties were of no avail. She +begged her brother in vain for the loan of 20,000 florins to satisfy +the Duke of Brunswick, whose angry threats filled her with alarm. + + "I am always afraid some harm may happen to you when I am + away," she wrote to her husband. "I long to join you, and would + rather suffer at your side than live in comfort away from + you."[47] + +But Christian, as Hannart remarked in a letter to the Regent Margaret, +had few friends. Even his servants did not attempt to deny the charges +that were brought against him, and the Queen alone, like the loyal wife +that she was, sought to explain and excuse his conduct. + +[Sidenote: 1523-31] MARTIN LUTHER] + +To add to Isabella's troubles, her brother Ferdinand was seriously +annoyed at the leanings to the Lutheran faith which she now displayed. +Christian's Protestant tendencies had been greatly strengthened by +his residence in Saxony during the winter of 1523. He heard Luther +preach at Wittenberg, and spent much time in his company, dining +frequently with him and Spalatin, the Court chaplain, and making +friends with the painter Lucas Cranach. The fine portrait of King +Christian by this artist forms the frontispiece of a Danish version +of the New Testament published by Hans Mikkelsen, the Burgomaster of +Malmoë, who shared his royal master's exile. When the Marquis Joachim +of Brandenburg remonstrated with his brother-in-law for his intimacy +with the heretic Luther, Christian replied that he would rather lose +all three of his kingdoms than forsake this truly Apostolic man.[48] +Isabella's naturally religious nature was deeply impressed by these +new influences, and both she and her sister-in-law, Elizabeth of +Brandenburg, secretly embraced the reformed doctrine. At Nuremberg she +attended the sermons of the Lutheran doctor Osiander, and received +Communion in both kinds from his hands on Maundy Thursday, to the great +indignation of King Ferdinand, who told her he could not own a heretic +as his sister. Isabella replied gently that if he cast her off God +would take care of her. Luther on his part was moved by the apparent +sincerity of his royal convert. + + "Strange indeed are the ways of God!" he wrote to Spalatin. + "His grace penetrates into the most unlikely places, and may + even bring this rare wild game, a King and Queen, safely into + the heavenly net."[49] + +While Luther addressed a strong remonstrance to the newly-elected +King of Denmark and the citizens of Lübeck, Christian's Chancellor, +Cornelius Scepperus, drew up an eloquent memorial to Pope Clement +VII. on the exiled King's behalf, and travelled to Spain to seek the +Emperor's help. By Hannart's exertions a Congress was held at Hamburg +in April, which was attended by representatives of the Emperor, the +Regent of the Netherlands, the Imperial Electors and Princes, as well +as by deputies from Denmark, England, Poland, and Lübeck. Isabella +accompanied her husband on this occasion, at Hannart's request. + + "I hear on all sides," he wrote to Charles, "that the people of + Denmark would gladly welcome the return of the Queen and her + children if the King would not meddle with public affairs, and + a good Governor appointed by Your Majesty should act as Regent + until the young Prince is of age."[50] + +But when, by way of compromise, some members of the Congress proposed +that Frederic should retain the throne, and recognize Prince John as +his successor, Christian rejected this offer angrily, and negotiations +were soon broken off. Both Charles and Margaret now gave up all hope +of effecting Christian's restoration, and concluded a treaty in the +following August with King Frederic, by which his title was recognized, +and the Baltic was once more opened to the merchants of the Low +Countries. + + +II. + +[Sidenote: 1523-31] THE CHILDREN OF DENMARK] + +The exiled monarch, now compelled to realize the hopelessness of his +cause, returned sorrowfully with his wife to the Low Countries, and +Isabella had at least the joy of embracing her children once more. +During this long absence the faithful servants who had followed their +King and Queen into exile had kept her well supplied with news of their +health and progress. + + "Prince John," wrote Nicolas Petri, Canon of Lunden, "learns + quickly, and begins to speak French. He is already a great + favourite with the Lady Margaret. His sisters, the Princesses, + are very well, and are both very pretty children. The youngest, + Madame Christine, has just been weaned. Madame Marguerite says + that she will soon be receiving proposals of marriage for the + elder one. These are good omens, for which God be praised. It + is a real pleasure to be with these children, they are so good + and charming. If only Your Grace could see them, you would soon + forget all your troubles."[51] + +But not all Margaret's affection for Isabella and her children could +reconcile her to the King's presence. Christian was, it must be +confessed, a troublesome guest. His restless brain was always busy +with new plots and intrigues. At first he announced his intention of +taking Isabella to visit the Emperor in Spain, but, after spending some +weeks in Zeeland fitting out ships, he suddenly changed his mind, and +took Isabella, whose health had suffered from all the hardships and +anxiety that she had undergone, to drink the waters at Aix-la-Chapelle. +On his return he wished to settle at Ghent, but the Regent and her +Council, fearing that his presence would excite sedition in this city, +suggested that the Castle of Gemappes should be offered him instead. +Charles replied that if the King lived at Gemappes he would certainly +spoil his hunting, and thought that Lille or Bruges would be a better +place. In the end Lierre, a pleasant city halfway between Malines and +Antwerp, was chosen for the exiled Princes' home. Towards the end of +1524 Christian and his family took up their abode in the old castle +which still goes by the name of _Het Hof van Denemarken_, or _Cour de +Danemarck_. A guard of fifty halberdiers and a considerable household +was assigned to them by the Emperor's order. A monthly allowance of 500 +crowns was granted to the King, while the Queen received a yearly sum +of 2,000 crowns _pour employer en ses menus plaisirs_. But Christian's +reckless and disorderly conduct soon landed him in fresh difficulties. +Isabella cut up her husband's old robes to make clothes for her +little girls, and was reduced to such penury that she was compelled +to pledge, not only her jewels, but the children's toys. Meanwhile +Margaret's letters to her imperial nephew were filled with complaints +of the Danish King's extravagance. She declared that he was spending +800 crowns a month, and perpetually asking for more. When she sent +her _maître d'hôtel_, Monsieur de Souvastre, to set his affairs in +order, he was confronted with a long list of unpaid bills from doctors, +apothecaries, saddlers, masons, carpenters, tailors, and poulterers. +But accounts of the straits to which the Queen and her children were +reduced had evidently reached Spain, and Charles felt it necessary to +remind his aunt gently that, after all, Isabella was his own sister, +and that many pensioners whom he had never seen received many thousands +of crowns a year from his purse.[52] + +[Sidenote: 1523-31] A ZEALOUS LUTHERAN] + +Another cause of perpetual irritation was the favour shown by the +King to the Lutherans, whom the Regent was trying to drive out of +Flanders. The Court of Lierre became the refuge of all who professed +the new doctrine. Margaret insisted on the banishment of several of the +King's servants, including the chaplain, Hans Monboë, and Prince John's +tutor, Nicolas Petri, and sent others to prison. But these high-handed +acts only strengthened Christian's zeal in the cause of reform. "The +word of God," he wrote to his friend Spalatin, "waxes powerful in +the Netherlands, and thrives on the blood of the martyrs."[53] The +letters which he addressed to his old subjects were couched in the +same strain. He confessed his past sins, and prayed that he might be +restored to his kingdom, like David of old, declaring that his sole +wish was to live for Christ and do good to his enemies. At the same +time he hired freebooters to ravage the coast of Denmark, and provoked +King Frederic to close the Sound, an act which aroused widespread +discontent in the Low Countries. In August, 1525, he sent a herald +to England, begging King Henry and his good friend the Cardinal to +intercede with the Regent, and induce her to lend him men and money for +a fresh expedition. But Margaret turned a deaf ear to all entreaties, +and when Isabella's physician recommended her to try the waters of +Aix-la-Chapelle again, she declined to sanction this journey on the +score of expense. She sent her own doctor, however, to Lierre, and at +his suggestion the invalid was moved for change of air to Swynaerde, +the Abbot of St. Peter's country-house near Ghent. But Isabella's ills +were beyond the reach of human skill, and she soon became too weak to +leave her room. On the 12th of December Christian sent for his old +chaplain from Wittenberg, begging him to return without delay. + + "DEAR BROTHER IN CHRIST," he wrote, + + "Here we forget Christ, and have no one to preach the word + of God. I implore you to come and give us the comfort of the + Gospel. Greet our brothers and sisters." + +Upon receiving this summons, Monboë and Hans Mikkelsen hastened +to Ghent, at the peril of their lives, and administered spiritual +consolation to the dying Queen. On the 19th of January she received +the last Sacraments from the priest of Swynaerde, and saw Monsieur de +Souvastre, by whom she sent her aunt affectionate messages, commending +her poor children to Margaret's care. A few hours afterwards she passed +quietly away. Both Catholics and Lutherans bore witness to her angelic +patience, and a letter which Christian addressed to Luther, ten days +later, gives a touching account of his wife's last moments: + +[Sidenote: 1523-31] DEATH OF ISABELLA] + + "As her weakness increased, Frau Margaret sent her servant, + Philippe de Souvastre, and other excellent persons, to admonish + her after the fashion of the Popish Anti-Christ's faith and the + religion of his sect. But Almighty God in His mercy deprived + my wife of her powers of speech, so that she made no reply, + and they gave up speaking, and only anointed her with oil. But + before this she had received the Blessed Sacrament in the most + devout manner, with ardent longing, firm faith, and stedfast + courage; and when one of our preachers exhorted her, in the + words of the Gospel, to stand fast in the faith, she confessed + her firm trust in God, and paid no heed to the superstitious + mutterings of the others. After this she became speechless, but + gave many signs of true faith to the end, and took her last + farewell of this world on the 19th of January. May God Almighty + be gracious to her soul, and grant her eternal rest! We are + strong in the sure and certain hope that she has entered into + eternal bliss, unto which God bring us all!"[54] + +On the 4th of February the dead Queen, who had not yet completed her +twenty-fifth year, was buried with great pomp in the cloisters of the +Abbey of St. Peter at Ghent, where a stately marble tomb was raised +over her ashes. The painter Mabuse was employed to design the monument, +as we learn from a letter which the King addressed to the Abbot of +St. Peter's in 1528, complaining of his delay in completing the work. +A Latin inscription by Cornelius Scepperus, giving Isabella's titles +in full, and recording her virtues and the sufferings which she had +endured during her short life, was placed on the monument, which is +described by an English traveller of the sixteenth century, Philip +Skippon.[55] Unfortunately, the tomb was rifled by the mob at the time +of the French Revolution, but the ashes of the Queen were carefully +preserved by a pious Curé, and afterwards restored to their former +resting-place. + +Isabella's early death was deeply lamented, not only in the Low +Countries, where she was so beloved, but in her husband's kingdoms. +Funeral services were held throughout the land, and all men wept for +the good Princess "who had been the mother of her people." On all sides +testimonies to her worth were paid. Henry of England wrote to King +Christian that the late Queen had been as dear to him as a sister, and +Luther paid an eloquent tribute to her memory in his treatise on Holy +Women: + + "Of such Kings' daughters there was indeed one, of the noblest + birth, Isabella, Queen of Denmark, a Princess of the royal + house of Spain. She embraced the Gospel with great ardour, and + confessed the faith openly. And because of this she died in + want and misery. For had she consented to renounce her faith, + she would have received far more help and much greater kindness + in this life."[56] + + +III. + +The news of the Queen of Denmark's death reached her brother, the +Emperor, on the eve of his marriage to Isabella of Portugal. Guillaume +des Barres, the bearer of Margaret's letters, found him at a village in +Andalusia, on his way to Seville, where the wedding was to take place +on the following day, and had a long interview with his imperial master +before he left his bed on the 9th of March. Charles spoke with deep +feeling of his sister, and inquired anxiously if the Regent had been +able to obtain possession of her children--"a thing," wrote Des Barres, +"which His Majesty desires greatly, because of the King's heretical +leanings."[57] + +[Sidenote: 1523-31] MARGARET INTERVENES] + +Margaret had certainly not been remiss in this matter. But Christian +was more intractable than ever. He took his children to Ghent +immediately after their mother's death, and refused to give them up +until the Regent had paid all his debts, including 7,000 florins for +the funeral expenses, and 2,000 more which he owed to the landlord of +the Falcon at Lierre for Rhine-wine and fodder. His language became +every day more violent. He threatened to cut off the Governor of +Antwerp's head, and appealed to his comrades of the Golden Fleece for +the redress of his supposed grievances. At length Margaret, seeing that +none of her Court officials and Councillors could bring him to reason, +rode to Lierre herself on the 2nd of March, and made a last attempt to +obtain possession of the children _par voye aimable_. The King, she +found, had already packed up his furniture and plate, even the chalice +which was used in the royal chapel, and was about to start for Germany. + +After prolonged discussion, the Regent succeeded in persuading +Christian to leave his children with her, on condition that she +paid his debts in Lierre, and provided for the late Queen's funeral +expenses--"a thing which must be done," she wrote to Charles, "out +of sheer decency." But she quite refused the King's demand for an +increased allowance, saying that he could not require more money +than he had received in his wife's lifetime. Christian then left the +Netherlands for Saxony, saying that he intended to raise a fresh army +and invade Denmark. "He is confident of recovering his kingdoms," +wrote Margaret to the Emperor, "but my own impression is that his +exploits will be confined to plundering and injuring your subjects." +This prophecy was literally fulfilled, and during the next four years +the peaceful folk in Friesland were harassed by turbulent freebooters +in the King of Denmark's pay, while pirates ravaged the coasts of the +North Sea, and led the Hanse cities to make severe reprisals on the +Dutch ships. + +[Sidenote: 1523-31] THE PALACE OF MALINES] + +Margaret's chief object, however, was attained. On the 5th of March +she returned to Malines with the Prince of Denmark and his little +sisters. "Henceforth, Monseigneur," she wrote to Charles, "you will +have to be both father and mother to these poor children, and must +treat them as your own."[58] The Regent herself nobly fulfilled the +sacred trust committed to her by the dying Queen. From this time +until her own death, four and a half years later, Isabella's children +were the objects of her unceasing care, and lacked nothing that money +could provide or love suggest. They lived under her own roof in the +Palace of Malines, that city of wide streets and canals, with the fine +market-place and imposing cathedral, which many called the finest town +in Flanders. Margaret's first care was to arrange the royal children's +household. Prince John was placed in the charge of a governess, +Mademoiselle Rolande de Serclaes, who superintended his meals and +taught him "Christian religion and good manners," while he had for +his tutor Cornelius Agrippa, the distinguished scholar and defender +of women's rights, who dedicated his book, "On the Pre-excellence of +Women," to the Regent. In Lent the Prince and his sisters received +regular instruction in the palace chapel, and one year Friar Jehan de +Salis received thirty-six livres for preaching a course of Lent sermons +before the Prince and Princesses of Denmark. Margaret herself kept +a watchful eye on the children. A hundred entries in her household +accounts show how carefully she chose their nurses and companions, +their clothes and playthings. One of her first gifts to the Prince +was a handsome pony, richly harnessed with black and gold trappings. +Another was a dwarf page, who became his constant playfellow, and +in his turn received good Ypres cloth and damask for his own wear. +Italian merchants from Antwerp often came to lay their wares before the +Regent. We find her choosing black velvet and white satin for Prince +John's doublet, and pearl buttons and gold fringe to trim his sleeves, +and ordering the goldsmith, Master Leonard of Augsburg, to supply +an antique silver dagger and an image of Hercules for the Prince's +cap. Or else a merchant is desired to send her two pairs of cuffs of +exquisitely fine "toile de Cambray," embroidered with gold thread, for +the young Princesses' wear,[59] and twenty gold balls for the fringe +of their bed. Amid all the anxious cares of State which filled her +time, this great lady seldom allowed a day to pass without seeing her +nephew and nieces. Their innocent prattle and merry laughter cheered +her lonely hours, while the Prince and his sisters found plenty to +amuse them in their great-aunt's rooms. The halls were hung with costly +Arras tapestries of David killing Goliath, stories of Alexander and +Esther, hunting scenes and Greek fables, or adorned with paintings +by the best masters. Van Eyck's "Merchant of Lucca, Arnolfini with +his Wife," and "Virgin of the Fountain," Rogier Van der Weyden's and +Memling's Madonnas, Jerome Bosch's "St. Anthony," Jacopo de' Barbari's +"Crucifixion," were all here, as well as Michel van Coxien's little +Virgin with the sleeping Child in her arms, which Margaret called her +_mignonne_.[60] The library contained a complete collection of family +portraits, chiefly the work of the Court painter, Bernard van Orley or +Jehan Mabuse. + +[Sidenote: 1523-31] MABUSE'S PICTURE] + +Among these were pictures of Margaret's parents, Maximilian and Mary +of Burgundy; of her second husband, Monsieur de Savoie, a brilliant +cavalier clad in a crimson mantle sown with daisies in allusion to his +wife's name; and of her brother, King Philip, with his children, the +young Archduke Charles and the future Queens of France and Denmark. +Prince John and his sisters would recognize the portraits of their +own father and mother, King Christian and his gentle wife, which hung +over the mantelpiece, together with those of their great-grandparents, +Ferdinand and Isabella, the Kings of France and England, and the +Grand Turk. But better in the children's eyes than all the pictures +and bronzes, the marble busts and ivories, the silver mirrors and +chandeliers, better even than the Chinese dragons and stuffed +birds-of-Paradise from the New World, were the live pets with which +their aunt loved to be surrounded. The famous green parrot which once +belonged to Mary of Burgundy had lately died, to her great sorrow. +Margaret herself had written its epitaph, and the Court poet, Jehan Le +Maire, had sung the bird's descent into the Elysian fields, and its +converse with Charon and Mercury, in his elegy of "L'Amant Vert." But +in its stead she had cages full of parakeets and singing birds, which +were carefully tended by her ladies, and fed with white loaves newly +baked every morning. There was an Italian greyhound in a white fur +tippet, and a number of toy-dogs in baskets lined with swansdown, and +a marmoset that she had bought from a French pedlar, which afforded +the Court ladies as much amusement as the royal children. Nor were +other diversions wanting. Margaret was very fond of music, and not +only kept a troop of viol and tambourine players, but often sent for +the town band of Ghent and Brussels, or the Prince of Orange's fife +and organ players, to beguile her evenings. Sometimes the children +of S. Rombaut and the choir-boys of Notre Dame du Sablon in Brussels +would sing chorales during dinner, or strolling players and German +marionettes, Italian jugglers, or Poles and Hungarians with tame bears, +would be allowed to perform in her presence. On one occasion a famous +lute-player from the Court of Whitehall was sent over by King Henry, +and received seven gold crowns for his pains. Another time three +Savoyards were rewarded with a handful of gold pieces for the tricks +with which they had amused the Court after supper. And every May Day +the archers of the guard marched in procession to plant hawthorn-bushes +covered with blossom under the palace windows.[61] + +In these pleasant surroundings the children of Denmark grew up under +the same roof as their mother and aunts before them, leading the same +joyous and natural life. No wonder that through all her troubled life +Christina looked back fondly to these early times, and never forgot the +happy days which she had spent at Malines. There is a charming picture, +now at Hampton Court, of the three children, painted by Mabuse soon +after their mother's death, and sent to King Henry VIII., whose favour +Christian II. was once more trying to obtain.[62] + +The three children are standing at a table covered with a green cloth, +on which apples and cherries are laid. Prince John, a manly boy with a +thoughtful, attractive face, wearing a black velvet suit and cap and +a gold chain round his neck, is in the centre between his sisters. On +his right, Dorothea, a pretty child with brown eyes and golden curls +frizzled all over her head, reaches out her hand towards the fruit, +while on his left the little Christina grasps an apple firmly in one +hand, and lays the other confidingly on her brother's arm. Both little +girls are dressed in black velvet with white ermine sleeves, probably +made out of their father's old robes. But while Dorothea's curly head +is uncovered, Christina wears a tight-fitting hood edged with pearls, +drawn closely over her baby face. Her tiny features are full of +character, and the large brown eyes, with their earnest gaze, and small +fingers clasping the apple, already reveal the courage and resolution +for which she was to be distinguished in days to come. + +[Sidenote: 1523-31] A PROMISING PRINCE] + +At this early period of their lives it was, naturally enough, Prince +John who chiefly occupied his guardian's thoughts. A boy of rare +promise, studious, intelligent, and affectionate, he had inherited much +of his mother's charm, and soon became a great favourite at Court. +Margaret was never tired of describing his talents and progress to +the Emperor, who took keen interest in his young nephew, and was +particularly glad to hear how fond he was of riding. + +[Illustration: _Copyright, H. M. the King_ + +THE CHILDREN OF CHRISTIAN II., KING OF DENMARK + +By Jean Mabuse (Hampton Court Palace) + +_To face p. 54_] + + "MADAME MY GOOD AUNT," he wrote, + + "I hear with great pleasure of the kindness shown by M. de + Brégilles, the Master of your Household, to my nephew, the + Prince of Denmark, and am very grateful to him for teaching + the boy to ride and mounting him so well. And you will please + tell Brégilles that I beg him to go on from good to better, and + train the boy in all honest and manly exercises, as well as in + noble and virtuous conduct, for you know that he is likely to + follow whatever example is set before him in his youth. And I + have no doubt that, not only in this case, but in all others, + you will not cease to watch over him. + + "Your good nephew, + "CHARLES."[63] + + +When in July, 1528, Margaret's servant Montfort was sent on an +important mission to Spain, the Emperor's first anxiety was to hear +full accounts of Prince John and his sisters from the Envoy's lips. +He expressed great satisfaction with all Montfort told him, saying +that he entertained the highest hopes of his nephew, and would far +rather support his claim to Denmark than help his father to recover the +throne--"the more so," he added, "since we hear that King Christian, to +our sorrow, still adheres to the false doctrine of Luther." + + +IV. + +King Christian, as the Emperor hinted, was still a thorn in the +Regent's side. Although, since his wife's death, most of his time had +been spent in Germany, he remained a perpetual source of annoyance. +In July, 1528, he induced his sister Elizabeth to leave her husband, +Joachim of Brandenburg, and escape with him to Saxony. All Germany rang +with this new scandal, and while the Marquis appealed to Margaret, +begging her to stop Christian's allowance as the only means of bringing +him to his senses, Elizabeth, who had secretly embraced the reformed +faith, implored the Emperor's protection against her husband, and +refused to return to Berlin. At the same time the King did his utmost +to stir up discontent round Lierre, and raised bands of freebooters in +Holland, whose lawless depredations were a constant source of vexation +to Charles's loyal subjects. When the Regent protested, he replied that +he had nothing to do with these levies, and that his intentions were +absolutely innocent, assurances which, Margaret remarked, would not +deceive a child. Under these circumstances, relations between the two +became daily more strained. "Margaret loves me not, and has never loved +me," wrote Christian to his Lutheran friends, while the Regent turned +to Charles in her despair, saying: "Monseigneur, if the King of Denmark +comes here, I simply do not know what I am to do with him!"[64] + +[Sidenote: 1523-31] DEATH OF MARGARET] + +Suddenly a new turn in the tide altered the whole aspect of affairs. On +the 3rd of August, 1529, the Peace of Cambray was finally concluded. +The long war, which had drained the Emperor's resources, was at an end, +and his hands were once more free. Christian lost no time in taking +advantage of this opportunity to secure his powerful kinsman's help. He +addressed urgent petitions to the Emperor and King Ferdinand, and sent +an Envoy to plead his cause at Bologna, where on the 24th of February, +1530, Charles V. received the imperial crown from the hands of Pope +Clement VII. But the only condition on which the exiled monarch could +be admitted into the new confederation was his return to the Catholic +Church. For this, too, Christian seems to have been prepared. On the +2nd of February he signed an agreement at Lierre, in which he promised +to obey the Emperor's wishes, and to hold fast the Catholic faith, if +he should be restored to the throne of Denmark. When Charles crossed +the Brenner, Christian hastened to meet him at Innsbruck, and, throwing +himself at the foot of Cardinal Campeggio, craved the Holy Father's +pardon for his past errors, and received absolution. But, in spite of +this public recantation, the King still secretly preferred the reformed +faith, and continued to correspond with his Lutheran friends. On the +25th of June he arrived at Malines with letters of credit for 24,000 +florins, which he had received from the Emperor as the price of his +submission. But the Council refused to give him a farthing without the +Regent's consent, and Margaret declined to see him, pleading illness +as her excuse. Although only fifty years of age, she had long been +in failing health, and only awaited the Emperor's coming to lay down +her arduous office and retire to a convent at Bruges. An unforeseen +accident hastened her end. She hurt her foot by treading on the broken +pieces of a crystal goblet, blood-poisoning came on, and she died in +her sleep on the 30th of November, without ever seeing her nephew +again. The touching letter in which she bade him farewell was written a +few hours before her death: + + "MONSEIGNEUR, + + "The hour has come when I can no longer write with my own hand, + for I am so dangerously ill that I fear my remaining hours will + be few. But my conscience is tranquil, and I am ready to accept + God's will, and have no regrets saving that I am deprived of + your presence, and am unable to see you and speak with you + before I die.... I leave you your provinces, greatly increased + in extent since your departure, and resign the government, + which I trust I have discharged in such a way as to merit a + Divine reward, and earn the good-will of your subjects as well + as your approval. And above all, Monseigneur, I recommend you + to live at peace, more especially with the Kings of France and + England. Finally I beg of you, by the love which you have been + pleased to bear me, remember the salvation of my soul and my + recommendations on behalf of my poor servants. And so I bid you + once more farewell, praying, Monseigneur, that you may enjoy a + long life and great prosperity. + + "Your very humble aunt, + "MARGARET."[65] + + "From Malines the last day of November, 1530." + + +This letter reached the Emperor at Cologne together with the news of +Margaret's death, and a solemn requiem was chanted for her soul in the +cathedral. Charles and his subjects fully realized the great loss which +his _pays de par-deça_ had suffered by his aunt's death. + +"All the provinces," said Cornelius Agrippa, in the funeral oration +which he pronounced in S. Rombaut of Malines, "all the cities, and all +the villages, are plunged in tears and sorrow. For no greater loss +could have befallen us and our country." + +[Sidenote: 1523-31] MARY OF HUNGARY] + +The young Prince of Denmark, whom Margaret had loved so well, was chief +mourner on this occasion, and rode at the head of the procession which +bore her remains to Bruges. Here they were laid in the Convent of the +Annunciation until the magnificent shrine that she had begun at Brou in +Savoy was ready to receive her ashes and those of her husband. When, in +the following March, the Emperor came to Malines, Prince John welcomed +him in a Latin speech, in which he made a pathetic allusion to the loss +which he and his sisters had sustained in the death of one who had +been to them the wisest and tenderest of mothers. Then, turning to his +uncle with charming grace, he begged the Emperor to have compassion +upon him and his orphaned sisters, and allow them to remain at his +Court until their father should be restored to his rightful throne. +The young Prince's simple eloquence produced a deep impression. The +Emperor with tears in his eyes embraced him, and the magistrates of +Malines presented him with a barrel of Rhenish wine in token of their +regard.[66] + +Fortunately for the children of Denmark, as well as for the provinces +which Margaret had ruled so well, another Habsburg Princess was found +to take her place. This was the Emperor's sister Mary, whose gallant +husband, King Louis of Hungary, had fallen on the field of Mohacz four +years before, fighting against the Turks. The widowed Queen, although +only twenty-one, had shown admirable presence of mind, and it was +largely due to her tact and popularity that her brother Ferdinand +and his wife Anna, the dead King's sister, were recognized as joint +Sovereigns of Bohemia and Hungary. Her own hand was sought in marriage +by many Princes, including the young King James V. of Scotland and her +sister Eleanor's old lover, the Palatine Frederic, whose romantic +imagination was deeply impressed by the young Queen's heroic bearing. +But Mary positively refused to take another husband, saying that, +having found perfect happiness in her first marriage, she had no wish +to try a second. To the end of her life she remained true to her dead +lord, and never put off her widow's weeds. But her courage and spirit +were as high as ever. She was passionately fond of hunting, and amazed +the hardest riders by being all day in the saddle without showing any +trace of fatigue. Her powers of mind were no less remarkable. She was +the ablest of the whole family, and the wisdom of her judgments was +equalled by the frankness with which she expressed them. Like all the +Habsburg ladies, she was highly educated, and spoke Latin as well as +any doctor in Louvain, according to Erasmus, who inscribed her name +on the first page of his "Veuve Chrétienne." Mary shared her sister +Isabella's sympathy with the reformers, and accepted the dedication +of Luther's "Commentary on the Four Psalms of Consolation." When this +excited her brother Ferdinand's displeasure, she told him that authors +must do as they please in these matters, and that he might trust her +not to tarnish the fair name of their house. "God," she added, "would +doubtless give her grace to die a good Christian."[67] + +[Sidenote: 1523-31] THE NEW REGENT] + +In the spring of 1530 Mary met Charles at Innsbruck, and accompanied +him to Augsburg. When, a few months later, the news of Margaret's death +reached him at Cologne, the Emperor begged her to become Regent of the +Low Countries and share the burden of government with him. But Mary had +no wish to enter public life, and asked her brother's leave to retire +to Spain and devote herself to the care of their unhappy mother, Queen +Juana. For some time she resisted the entreaties of both her brothers, +and it was only a strong sense of duty which finally overcame her +reluctance to assume so arduous and ungrateful a task. When at length +she consented, she made it a condition that she should not be troubled +with offers of marriage, and pointed out that her Lutheran sympathies +might well arouse suspicion in the Netherlands. But Charles brushed +these objections lightly aside, saying that no one should disturb her +peace, and that he should never have trusted her with so important +a post if he had regarded her Lutheran tendencies seriously. All he +asked was that the Queen should not bring her German servants to the +Low Countries, lest they should arouse the jealousy of his Flemish +courtiers. + +Mary scrupulously fulfilled these conditions, and on the 23rd +of January, 1531, the new Regent entered Louvain in state, and +was presented to the Council by the Emperor, as Governess of the +Netherlands. Two months later she accompanied Charles to Malines, where +for the first time she embraced her little nieces. For the present, +however, Dorothea and Christina, who were only nine and ten years old, +remained at Malines, while Prince John accompanied his uncle and aunt +on a progress through the provinces. + +Mary soon realized all the difficulties of the task that she had +undertaken with so much reluctance. + + "The Emperor," she wrote to Ferdinand from Brussels, "has + fastened the rope round my neck, but I find public affairs in a + great tangle, and if His Majesty does not reduce them to some + degree of order before his departure, I shall find myself in a + very tight place."[68] + +The Treasury was exhausted, the people groaned under the load of +taxation, and the prodigal generosity of the late Regent had not +succeeded in suppressing strife and jealousy among the nobles. As Mary +wrote many years afterwards to her nephew, Philip II.: + + "No doubt our aunt, Madame Marguerite, ruled the Netherlands + long and well; but when she grew old and ailing she was obliged + to leave the task to others, and when the Emperor returned + there after her death, he found the nobles at variance, justice + little respected, and all classes disaffected to the imperial + service."[69] + +[Sidenote: 1523-31] A FORLORN HOPE] + +But the young Regent brought all her spirit and energy to the task, and +with her brother's help succeeded in reforming the gravest abuses and +restoring some order into the finances. The gravest difficulty with +which she had to contend was the presence of the King of Denmark. Since +Margaret's death this monarch had grown bolder and more insolent in +his demands. With the help of his old ally, Duke Henry of Brunswick, +he collected 6,000 men-at-arms and invaded Holland, spreading fire and +sword wherever he went. In vain Charles remonstrated with him on the +suffering which he inflicted on peaceable citizens. Christian only +replied with an insolent letter, which convinced the Emperor more +than ever of "the man's little sense and honesty." He now feared that +the King would seize one of the forts in Holland and remain there all +the winter, feeding his soldiers at the expense of the unfortunate +peasantry, and infecting them with Lutheran heresy. Under these +circumstances Charles felt that it was impossible to desert his sister, +and decided to put off his departure for Germany until he had got rid +of this troublesome guest. + +At length, on the 26th of October, Christian sailed from Medemblik, in +North Holland, with twenty-five ships and 7,000 men. + + "He has done infinite damage to my provinces of Holland and + Utrecht," wrote Charles to Ferdinand, "treating them as if they + were enemies, and forcing them to provide him with boats and + provisions, besides seizing the supplies which I had collected + for my own journey."[70] + +So great were the straits to which Charles found himself reduced that +he was compelled to raise a fresh loan in order to defray the expenses +of his journey to Spires. But at least the hated adventurer was gone, +and as a fair wind sprang up, and the sails of King Christian's fleet +dropped below the horizon, the Emperor and his subjects felt that they +could breathe freely. + + "The King of Dacia," wrote the Italian traveller Mario + Savorgnano, from Brussels, on the 6th of November, "has sailed + with twenty big ships, thus relieving this land from a heavy + burden. He goes to recover his kingdom of Denmark, a land lying + north of the Cymbric Chersonesus.... But I am sure that when + the people come face to face with these mercenaries, especially + those who have been in Italy and have there learnt to rob, + sack, burn, and leave no cruelty undone, in their greed for + gold, they will rise and drive out the invaders."[71] + +This time Christian determined not to attempt a landing in Denmark, but +to sail straight to Norway, where he had always been more popular than +in any other part of his dominions, and still numbered many partisans. +His expectations were not disappointed. When he landed, on the 5th +of November, the peasantry and burghers flocked to his standard. The +Archbishop of Drondtheim and the clergy declared in his favour, and the +States-General, which met in January, 1532, at Oslo, the old capital, +renewed their oaths of allegiance to him as their rightful King. But +the strong forts of Bergen and Aggershus, at the gates of the town, +closed their gates against him, and his army soon began to dwindle away +for want of supplies. Early in the spring a strong fleet, fitted out +by King Frederic, with the help of the citizens of Lübeck, appeared +before Oslo, and set fire to Christian's ships in the harbour, while +a Danish army, under Knut Gyldenstern, advanced from the south. Once +more the King's nerve failed him. He met the Danish captain in a meadow +outside Oslo, and, after prolonged negotiations, agreed to lay down +his arms and go to Copenhagen, to confer with his uncle. The next day +he disbanded his forces and took leave of his loyal supporters. Thus, +without striking a blow, he delivered Norway into the usurper's hands, +and surrendered his last claim to the three kingdoms.[72] + +[Sidenote: 1523-31] CHRISTIAN II.'S FALL] + +In return for his submission, Gyldenstern had promised the King +honourable entertainment and given him a written safe-conduct. Trusting +in these assurances, Christian went on board a Danish ship, and on the +24th of July arrived before Copenhagen. As the ship sailed up the Sound +in the early summer morning, people flocked from all parts to see their +old King, and many of the women and children wept aloud. His fate, +they realized, was already sealed. Before the arrival of the fleet, +a conference had been held between Frederic and the Swedish and Hanse +deputies, who agreed that so dangerous a foe must not be allowed to +remain at liberty, and condemned the unfortunate monarch to perpetual +imprisonment in the island fortress of Sonderburg. In vain Christian +demanded to be set on shore and conducted into his uncle's presence. +He was told that the King would meet him in the Castle of Flensburg in +Schleswig. But when, instead of sailing in this direction, the ship +which bore him entered the narrow Alsener Sound, and the walls of +Sonderburg came in sight, the unhappy King saw the trap into which he +had fallen, and broke into transports of rage. But it was too late, and +he was powerless in the hands of his enemies. No indignity was spared +him by his captors. As he entered the lonely cell in the highest turret +of the castle, Knut Gyldenstern, who is said to have been one of his +mistress Dyveke's lovers, plucked the fallen monarch by the beard, +and tore the jewel of the Golden Fleece from his neck. None of the +old servants who had clung to their exiled Prince so faithfully were +allowed to share his prison, and for many years a pet dwarf was his +sole companion.[73] + +In this foul and treacherous manner King Christian II. was betrayed +into the hands of his foes and doomed to lifelong captivity. And, by a +strange fate, in these early days of August, at the very moment when +the iron gates of Sonderburg closed behind him, his only son, the +rightful heir to the three kingdoms, died far away in Southern Germany, +within the walls of the imperial city of Regensburg. + +Meanwhile the news of Christian's unexpected success in Norway had +reached Brussels and excited great surprise. + + "The King of Denmark," wrote Mary of Hungary to her brother + Ferdinand, "has done so well by his rashness that he has + actually recovered possession of one of his kingdoms, and his + friends hope that he may be able to stay there."[74] + +[Sidenote: 1523-31] COURT FÊTES] + +This was towards the end of December, when the imperial family had +assembled in the palace to keep Christmas. Prince John had won golden +opinions on the progress which he had made with his uncle and aunt, and +was as much beloved by the Emperor, wrote Mario Savorgnano, as if he +were his own son. Now his little sisters were brought to Brussels by +their uncle's command to share in the festivities. Early in January, +1532, Charles heard that his sister, Queen Katherine of Portugal, had +given birth to a son, and the happy event was celebrated by a grand +tournament on the square in front of the Portuguese Ambassador's +house. The Emperor, accompanied by the Queen of Hungary and the +Prince and Princesses of Denmark, looked on at the jousts and sword +and torch dances from a balcony draped with white and green velvet, +and at nine o'clock sat down to a sumptuous banquet. The Queen was +seated at the head of the table, opposite the fireplace, with the +Emperor on her right and Princess Dorothea at his side. Prince John +was on his aunt's left, and the youthful Christina, who made her first +appearance in public on this occasion, sat between her brother and +the Portuguese Ambassador. Henry of Nassau, the Prince of Bisignano, +and Ferrante Gonzaga, were at the same board, while Nassau's son, +the young Prince René, who had lately inherited the principality of +Orange from his maternal uncle, sat with the Queen's ladies at another +table. Charles was in high spirits. He talked and laughed with all +the lords and ladies who were present during the interminable number +of courses of meat, fish, game, wines, cakes, and fruits, that were +served in succession, with brief interludes of music. When, at eleven, +the Emperor rose from table, an Italian comedy was acted, in which +Ferrante Gonzaga and several Italian and Spanish noblemen took part. +Then King Cupid appeared, riding in a triumphal car, and a troop of +Loves danced hand in hand, until, at a sign from Charles, the actors +removed their masks. A collation of confetti and Madeira and Valencia +wines was then served at a buffet laden with costly gold and silver +cups and precious bowls of Oriental porcelain. When all the guests +had ate and drunk their fill, the finest crystal vases and bottles +of perfume were presented to the Queen and Princesses, and the other +ladies received gifts from the Ambassador. The royal guests joined with +great spirit in the dancing which followed, and did not retire till two +o'clock.[75] Concerts and suppers, jousts and dances, succeeded each +other throughout the week, and the Emperor gave splendid presents to +the Ambassador of Portugal, and sent cordial congratulations to his +royal brother-in-law on the birth of his son and heir. + +A fortnight later Charles left Brussels, taking Prince John with him, +and travelled by slow stages to Regensburg, where the Imperial Diet +was opened in May. Here the Court remained during the next three +months, and the young Prince was sent to receive the Count Palatine, +the Archbishop of Mainz, and other Princes of the Empire, who arrived +in turn to take part in the assembly. Unluckily the weather proved +very disagreeable. "Never," exclaimed the Venetian Ambassador, "was +there such a detestable climate!" A long continuance of heavy rains and +unusual heat was followed by some bitterly cold days, which produced +serious illness. Princes and nobles, Ambassadors and servants, all +succumbed in turn to the same epidemic. The Venetian took to his bed, +and four of his servants became seriously ill. The Emperor himself +was invalided, and left the town to take waters and change of air in +a neighbouring village. "There is hardly a house in the Court," wrote +the Mantuan Envoy, "where some person is not ill. Most people recover, +but a good many die, especially those who are young." Among the victims +was Prince John of Denmark. Charles returned to find his nephew in +high fever and delirium. He was deeply distressed, and when the poor +boy became unconscious, and the doctors gave no hope, he left the town +again, saying that he could not bear to see the child die. The Prince +never recovered consciousness, and passed away at two o'clock on the +morning of the 12th of August. + + "The poor little Prince of Denmark died last night," wrote the + Mantuan Ambassador, "to the infinite distress of the whole + Court, and above all of Cæsar, who bore him singular affection, + not only on account of the close ties of blood between them, + but because of the young Prince's charming nature and winning + manners, which made him beloved by everyone and gave rise to + the highest hopes."[76] + +[Sidenote: 1523-31] THE EMPEROR'S GRIEF] + +By the Emperor's orders an imposing funeral service was held at +Regensburg, after which the Prince's body was taken to Ghent and buried +in his mother's grave. Charles himself wrote to break the sad news to +Mary of Hungary and her poor little nieces: + + "MADAME MY GOOD SISTER, + + "This is only to inform you of the loss we have suffered in the + death of our little nephew of Denmark, whom it pleased God to + take to Himself on Sunday morning, the day before yesterday, + after he had been ill of internal catarrh for a whole week. + This has caused me the greatest grief that I have ever known. + For he was the dearest little fellow, of his age, that it was + possible to see, and I have felt this loss more than I did that + of my son, for he was older, and I knew him better and loved + him as if he had been my own child. But we must bow to the + Divine will. Although I know that God might have allowed this + to happen anywhere, I cannot help feeling that if I had left + the boy at home with you he might not have died. At least his + father will be sure to say so. I expect you know where he is + said to be. Without offence to God, I could wish he were in his + son's place, and his son well received in his own kingdom. All + the same, without pretending to be the judge, perhaps the King + has not deserved to be there, and the little rogue is better + off where he is than where I should have liked to see him, and + smiles at my wish for him, for he was certainly not guilty of + any great sins. He died in so Christian a manner that, if he + had committed as many as I have, there would have been good + hope of his soul's weal, and with his last breath he called on + Jesus. I am writing to my little nieces, as you see, to comfort + them. I am sure that you will try and do the same. The best + remedy will be to find them two husbands."[77] + +When Charles wrote these touching words, he had not yet heard of +the disastrous end to King Christian's campaign, and believed the +Prince's father to be in possession of the Norwegian capital. But +he added a postscript to his letter, telling the Queen of a report +which had just arrived, that the King had been taken prisoner by his +foes. Four days later this report was confirmed by letters from Lübeck +merchants, and no further doubt could be entertained of the doom which +had overtaken the unhappy monarch. His melancholy fate excited little +compassion, either in Germany or in the Netherlands. Luther, to his +credit, addressed an earnest appeal to King Frederic congratulating +him on his victory, and begging him to take example by Christ, who +died for His murderers, and have pity on the unfortunate captive. But +in reply Frederic issued an apology, in which he brought the gravest +charges against the deposed King, and accused him of having preferred +a low woman of worthless character to the noblest and most virtuous of +Queens. Before long the old commercial treaties between Denmark and +the Low Countries were renewed, and the Baltic trade was resumed on +the understanding that no attempt was made to revive King Christian's +claims. + +The prisoner of Sonderburg was forgotten by the world, and the one +being who loved him best on earth, his sister Elizabeth of Brandenburg, +could only commend his little daughters sadly to the Regent, and beg +her to have compassion on these desolate children. Mary replied in a +letter full of feeling, assuring Elizabeth that she need have no fear +on this score, and that her little nieces should be treated as if they +were her own daughters. She kept her word nobly.[78] + +FOOTNOTES: + +[40] Calendar of State Papers, iii. 2, 1270. + +[41] Altmeyer, "Relations Commerciales," 108. + +[42] State Papers, Record Office, vi. 139, 155-158. Calendar of State +Papers, iii. 2, 1293, 1329. + +[43] J. Altmeyer, "Relations," etc., 108. + +[44] D. Schäfer, "Geschichte von Dänemark," iv. 26. + +[45] State Papers, Record Office, viii. 141, 156. + +[46] Altmeyer, "Relations," etc., 112; Schäfer, iv. 44, 48. + +[47] Altmeyer, "Isabelle d'Autriche," 30. + +[48] "Relations," etc., 126; C. Förstemann, "Neues Urkundenbuch z. +Geschichte d. Reformation," i. 269. + +[49] J. Köstlin, "Leben Luthers," i. 66; C. Förstemann, i. 169. + +[50] K. Lanz, "Correspondenz Karls V.," i. 108. + +[51] Altmeyer, "Isabelle d'Autriche," 26. + +[52] Lanz, i. 145, 150, 195; Archives du Royaume: Revenus et Dépenses +de Charles V., 1520-1530, Rég. 1709; Schäfer, iv. 89. + +[53] J. H. Schlegel, "Geschichte der Könige v. Dänemark," 123. + +[54] Schlegel, 124-126. + +[55] 2 Churchill, "Travels," vi. 348. + +[56] Altmeyer, "Isabelle," 35; "Relations," 160. + +[57] Altmeyer, "Relations," etc., 166. + +[58] Lanz, i. 195. + +[59] Archives du Royaume, Bruxelles. Régistre des Dépenses, etc., Nos. +1799, 1800, 1803. + +[60] L. de Laborde, "Inventaire"; Henne, iv. 387-390. + +[61] Henne, iv. 387-391. + +[62] This painting is mentioned in one of Henry VIII.'s catalogues +as "A table with the pictures of the three children of the King of +Denmark, with a curtain of white and yellow sarcenet." In Charles I.'s +inventory it is described as "A Whitehall piece, curiously painted by +Mabusius, wherein two men children and one woman child are playing +with some oranges in their hands by a green table, little half-figures +upon a board in a wooden frame." At the sale of the King's effects it +was called a Mabuse, and valued at £10. In 1743 the same picture hung +in Queen Caroline's closet at Kensington Palace, and was described by +Vertue as "Prince Arthur and his sisters, children of Henry VII." Five +years later it was removed to Windsor and engraved under this name. Sir +George Scharf was the first to correct this obvious error and restore +the original title (see "Archæologia," xxxix. 245). Old copies of the +picture, mostly dating from the seventeenth century, are to be seen at +Wilton, Longford, Corsham, and other places. + +[63] Altmeyer, "Isabelle d'Autriche," 52. + +[64] Lanz, i. 283; Henne. iv. 337. + +[65] Lanz, i. 408; Gachard, "Analecta Belgica," i. 378. + +[66] Schlegel, 126; Altmeyer, "Relations," etc., 186. + +[67] Altmeyer, "Relations," 190. + +[68] T. Juste, "Les Pays-Bas sous Charles V.," 35. + +[69] L. Gachard, "Retraite et Mort de Charles V.," i. 348. + +[70] Lanz, i. 572. + +[71] M. Sanuto, "Diarii," lv. 174. + +[72] Schäfer, iv. 178-194. + +[73] Schlegel, 127-219. + +[74] T. Juste. "Les Pays-Bas sous Charles V.," 49. + +[75] M. Sanuto, lv. 417-419. + +[76] M. Sanuto, lvi. 813-823. + +[77] Lanz, ii. 3. + +[78] Altmeyer, "Relations," etc., 206. + + + + +BOOK IV + +CHRISTINA, DUCHESS OF MILAN + +1533-1535 + + +I. + +In the letter which the Emperor wrote to Mary of Hungary on his +nephew's death, he remarked that the best way of consoling his little +nieces for their brother's loss would be to find them husbands. +The marriages of these youthful Princesses had already engaged his +attention for some time past. While Christina was still a babe in her +nurse's arms, the Regent Margaret had been planning marriages for her +great-nieces. In 1527 Wolsey proposed King Henry's illegitimate son, +the Duke of Richmond, as an eligible suitor for one of them, but the +idea of such a union was scouted by the imperial family.[79] A marriage +between Dorothea and her second cousin, King James V. of Scotland, was +discussed during many years, and only abandoned eventually owing to +the fickle character of the young monarch. After Prince John's death, +this Princess inherited her brother's claims to the Danish throne, and +King Frederic went so far as to propose that she should wed his younger +son John, offering to recognize him as heir to Denmark, and leave the +duchies of Schleswig-Holstein to his elder son Christian. But the +Emperor and Mary of Hungary were both reluctant to treat with the +usurper who had deposed their brother-in-law, and the death of Frederic +in April, 1533, put an end to the scheme.[80] + +[Sidenote: 1533-35] FRANCESCO SFORZA] + +Another suitor now came forward in the person of Francesco Sforza, +Duke of Milan. This Prince was the younger brother of Massimiliano +Sforza, who as a boy had spent several years at the Court of Malines, +and had been deposed by Francis I. after a brief reign of three years. +Born at Milan on the 4th of February, 1495, when his father, Lodovico, +was at the height of his glory, and named after his grandfather, the +great Condottiere, Francesco II. had been the sport of Fortune from +his childhood. Before he was two years old, his mother, the brilliant +Duchess Beatrice, died, and when he was five his father lost both +throne and freedom. While the unfortunate Moro ended his days in the +dungeons of Loches, his young children were brought up in Germany +by their cousin Bianca, the second wife of the Emperor Maximilian. +Francesco spent most of his time at Innsbruck, and, after the brief +interlude of his brother's reign at Milan, retired once more to Trent. +His opportunity came in 1521, when Leo X., in his dread of France, +joined with Charles V. to place the younger Sforza on his father's +throne. A gallant soldier and cultivated man, Francesco II. won the +hearts of all his subjects, who rejoiced to see a Sforza Duke again +among them. But misfortune dogged his footsteps. In 1523 Milan was +once more taken by the French, and after their defeat at Pavia the +Duke incurred the Emperor's displeasure, and was deprived of his +State, chiefly owing to the intrigues of his Chancellor, Morone, +with Pope Clement VII. It was only in December, 1529, when Charles +came to Bologna for his coronation, that, at the intercession of the +Pope and the Venetians, he consented to pardon Francesco, and give +him the investiture of Milan for the enormous sum of 900,000 ducats. +But it was a barren realm to which the Duke returned. His subjects +were ruined by years of warfare, his own health had suffered severely +from the hardships which he had undergone, and he had been dangerously +wounded by the poisoned dagger of an assassin. At thirty-eight he was +a broken man, prematurely old and grey. The Venetian chronicler Marino +Sanuto, who saw the Duke at Venice in October, 1530, describes him +as looking very melancholy, and being only able to walk and move his +hands with difficulty.[81] He applied himself, however, manfully to +the almost hopeless task of relieving the distress of his subjects and +restoring order and prosperity. With great difficulty he succeeded in +raising 400,000 ducats, the first installment of the payment for the +investiture of Milan, upon which the Castello was restored to him. His +loyalty and modesty had gone far to recover the Emperor's confidence, +and Charles treated him with marked favour and kindness. + +[Sidenote: 1533-35] THE DUKE'S COURTSHIP] + +This encouraged Francesco to aspire to the hand of a Princess of the +imperial house. His subjects were exceedingly anxious to see their Duke +married, and already more than one suitable bride had been proposed. +But Margherita Paleologa, the heiress of Montferrat, whom her mother +would gladly have given Francesco in marriage, was wedded to his +cousin Federico, Duke of Mantua, in October, 1531, and the Pope's +niece, the Duchessina Caterina de' Medici, another prize who had been +dangled before the Duke of Milan's eyes, was betrothed to the Duke +of Orleans in the following year. Before this event was announced, +in January, 1532, the Milanese Ambassador, Camillo Ghilino, who had +accompanied Charles to Brussels, ventured to ask the Emperor, on +his master's behalf, for the hand of one of his nieces. Charles was +evidently not averse to the proposal. It was part of his policy to +consolidate the different Italian dynasties, and he was alive to the +advantage of drawing the Duke of Milan into his family circle. But he +returned an evasive answer, saying that Princess Dorothea was already +destined for the King of Scotland, while her sister Christina was too +young, and that he could arrange nothing without the consent of her +father, the King of Denmark, who had gone to Norway to try and recover +his kingdom.[82] When Francesco met Charles at Bologna in the following +December, and was admitted to the newly-formed League of Italian +States, he renewed his suit, and once more asked for Christina's hand. +On the 10th of March Charles came to Milan, and spent four days in +the Castello, after which he accompanied the Duke on a hunting-party +at Vigevano, and enjoyed excellent sport, killing two wild-boars and +three stags with his own hand.[83] During this visit the marriage was +arranged, and on the 10th of June, 1533, the contract was signed at +Barcelona by the Emperor on the one hand, and the Chancellor of Milan, +Count Taverna, and the ducal Chamberlain, Count Tommaso Gallerati, on +the other. Christina was to receive 100,000 ducats out of the sum due +to the Emperor, as her dowry, and in the event of Dorothea succeeding +to the throne of Denmark another 100,000 was to be settled on her. +Hawkins, the English Ambassador, who wrote home from Barcelona to +announce the conclusion of the marriage, remarked that the Milanese had +left well pleased, but that the Duke was somewhat to be pitied, since +he was only to have the younger sister, and no fortune with her. "Dower +getteth he none."[84] + +In spite of this drawback, the Milanese received the news with +great rejoicing, and any regret which they might have felt at the +substitution of the younger for the elder sister was dispelled by the +Spaniards in the Emperor's suite, who informed the Duke's Ambassadors +that Christina was taller and far more beautiful than Dorothea. +Francesco himself wrote to an old friend in Cremona, Giorgio Guazzo, +saying that he would lose no time in telling him of his great good +fortune in winning so high-born and attractive a young lady for his +bride.[85] At the same time he agreed with the Emperor to send Count +Massimiliano Stampa, his intimate friend, to the Netherlands, to wed +the Princess in his name, and bring her to Milan that autumn. Meanwhile +the news of the marriage was received with much less satisfaction +in the Low Countries. Mary had taken the motherless children to her +heart, and was especially attached to Christina, who resembled her in +character and tastes. She inherited the family passion for riding and +hunting, and combined her aunt's intelligence and ability with her +mother's sweetness of disposition. The idea of marrying this charming +child of eleven to a half-paralyzed invalid old enough to be her +father was repulsive, and Mary did not hesitate to protest against the +Emperor's decision with characteristic frankness. + +[Sidenote: 1533-35] MARY'S PROTEST] + + "MONSEIGNEUR," she wrote to Charles on the 25th of August, + "I have received Your Majesty's letters with the copy of the + treaty which you have been pleased to make between our niece, + Madame Chrétienne, and the Duke of Milan, on which point I must + once for all relieve my conscience. I will at least show you + the difficulties which to my mind lie in the way, so that Your + Majesty may consider if any remedy can be devised before the + matter is finally arranged. As for our said niece, I have no + doubt that she will agree to whatever you please to wish, since + she regards you as her lord and father, in whom she places + absolute trust, and is ready to obey you as your very humble + daughter and slave. The child is so good and willing there will + be no need for any persuasion on my part, either as regards + the Count's coming or anything else that you may please to + command; but on the other hand, Monseigneur, since the words of + the treaty clearly show that the marriage is to be consummated + immediately, and she will have to take her departure without + delay, I must point out that she is not yet old enough for + this, being only eleven years and a half, and I hold that it + would be contrary to the laws of God and reason to marry her at + so tender an age. She is still quite a child, and, whatever may + be the custom in yonder country, you are exposing her to the + risk of bearing a child at this tender age, and of losing both + her own life and that of her issue. Monseigneur, I am saying + more than I ought to say, and speaking with a freedom which I + can only beg you to forgive, because both my conscience and the + love which I bear the child constrain me to write thus. On the + other hand, seeing that this treaty requires the two sisters to + make certain promises, I do not think that she is old enough to + enter into these engagements, while her sister, although turned + twelve, is very young of her age, and should hardly make + these promises without the consent of her father, who is still + living. I know that I am meddling with other people's business + by writing to you of those matters which are not, strictly + speaking, my affair. But I feel that I must send you these + warnings, not from any wish to prevent the marriage, if Your + Majesty thinks it well, but in order to give you a reason for + breaking it off, if any difficulties should arise. For it seems + to me, that as people often try to discover the fifth wheel in + the coach, where there is no reason to make any difficulty, it + would be easy to find some excuse for embroiling matters, when + so good a cause exists. I quite understand that it may not be + easy to alter the treaty at this hour, but, since I had not the + opportunity of speaking to you on the subject before, I feel it + to be my duty to warn you of these things, and to remind you of + the child's tender age, of which Your Majesty may not have been + aware. However this may be, Monseigneur, I have written this to + fulfil my duty to God, as well as to Your Majesty, my niece, + and the whole world, and can only beg you not to take what + I have said in bad part, or to believe that any other cause + could have led me to speak so plainly; and I take my Creator to + witness that this is true, begging Him to give you health and + long life, and grant your good and virtuous desires: + + "Your very humble and obedient sister, + "MARIE. + + "From Ghent, August 25, 1533."[86] + + +Charles answered the Queen's protest in the following brief letter, +which showed that his mind was made up, and that he would allow no +change in his plans: + + "MADAME MY GOOD SISTER, + + "I have received your letter, and will only reply briefly, as I + am writing to you at length on other matters by my secretary, + and also because my niece's affair is rather a matter for + priests and lawyers than for me, and I have desired Granvelle + to satisfy your objections. So I will only tell you that, as + the children's father is more dead to them than if he had + ceased to live, I signed the marriage treaty before I left + Barcelona. As for the question of issue, I fear that the Duke's + advanced years will prove a greater barrier than my niece's + tender youth. I am sure that you will act in accordance with my + wishes, and I beg you to do this once more. + + "From Monzone, September 11, 1533."[87] + +There was clearly nothing more to be said; but Mary had secretly +determined, whatever happened, not to allow the actual marriage to take +place until the following year, and in the end she had her way. + + +II. + +[Sidenote: 1533-35] STAMPA'S MISSION] + +When the Emperor wrote this letter to his sister, Count Massimiliano +had already started on his journey. He left Milan on the eve of St. +Bartholomew, taking Count Francesco Sfondrati of Cremona and Pier +Francesco Bottigella of Pavia with him, and travelled by Trent and +Spires to Louvain, where he arrived on the 12th of September. The +next day he was conducted to Ghent by Monsieur de Courrières, the +Captain of the Archers' Guard, and met at the palace gates by Monsieur +de Molembais, the Queen's Grand Falconer, who informed him that Her +Majesty was laid up, owing to a slight accident out hunting, and +could not receive him at present. After many delays, Stampa at length +succeeded in obtaining an audience, and begged the Queen earnestly +to satisfy his master's impatience, and allow the marriage to be +concluded without delay. Mary replied very civilly that, since this +was Cæsar's will, she would certainly put no obstacle in the way, but +explained that affairs of State compelled her to visit certain frontier +towns, and begged the Count to await her return to Brussels. She then +sent for the Princesses, and Stampa was presented and allowed to kiss +their hands. But, as he only saw them for five minutes, all he could +tell his master was that Christina seemed very bright and lively, and +was much better-looking than her sister.[88] + +In spite of the courtesy with which he was entertained by De Courrières +and the Duke of Aerschot, Stampa clearly saw that it was Mary's +intention to delay the marriage as long as possible, and began to +despair of ever attaining his object. Fortunately, by the end of the +week the Emperor's confidential Chamberlain, Louis de Praet, arrived +at Ghent. De Praet had been Ambassador in England and France, and was +now sent from Spain to represent His Majesty at the wedding and escort +the bride to Milan. When he had seen Stampa's copy of the Treaty of +Barcelona, he advised him to join the Queen at Lille and deliver his +credentials. Here the Count accordingly presented himself on the 18th +of September, and was graciously received by Mary, who assured him +that the affair which lay so near his heart would shortly be arranged. +He was conducted into a room where he found the Princesses and their +governess, Madame de Fiennes, and conversed with them for half an hour. +When the Queen rose to attend vespers, she touched the Count's sleeve +and made him walk at her side as far as the chapel, and thanked him +for the fine horse which the Duke had sent her, telling him how fond +she was of hunting. The next day Stampa was invited to supper, and +afterwards ventured to ask if he might see the Princesses dance. To +this request the Queen gave her consent. The flutes and tambourines +struck up a merry tune, and the Princesses danced first a _ballo al +francese_, then a _branle_, and a variety of French and German dances, +in which the gentlemen and ladies-in-waiting took part. The Count was +about to take his leave, since the hour was already late, when De Praet +told him he must first see the Princesses dance a _ballo all'italiano_, +upon which the two sisters rose and, joining hands, danced an Italian +ballet with charming grace. The Ambassador was delighted, and wrote to +tell his master what a favourable impression Christina had made upon +him and his companions: + + "She is hardly shorter than her sister, and much handsomer and + more graceful, and is indeed as well built and attractive a + maiden as you could wish to see. God grant this may lead to a + happy marriage!"[89] + +The next morning business began in good earnest. Prolonged negotiations +were held between Stampa and the Queen's Councillors--Aerschot, De +Praet, and other nobles--and the rights of the Princess Dorothea and +the condition of Denmark were fully discussed. While the Count was at +dinner, De Praet came in, and, to his surprise, informed him that Her +Majesty wished the wedding to be celebrated on the following Sunday, +the 28th of September. The Count asked nothing better, and hastened to +send the good news to Milan. + +[Sidenote: 1533-35] CHRISTINA'S WEDDING] + +On Saturday evening Christina signed the marriage contract before an +illustrious assembly in a hall of the palace at Lille, which was hung +with black and gold damask for the occasion, and between four and five +on Sunday afternoon the wedding was solemnized by the Bishop of Tournay +in the chapel. Count Massimiliano, gallantly arrayed in cloth of gold, +was conducted to the altar by De Praet and the great officers of State; +the violins and drums sounded, and the bridal procession entered, the +Queen leading her niece by the hand. "As the Bishop placed the nuptial +ring on the bride's finger," wrote Stampa to his lord, "she received it +with evident pleasure, and all the Court displayed great satisfaction." + +When the ceremony was over, the bride retired, and Stampa spent some +time in conversation with the Queen, vainly endeavouring to persuade +her to fix a date for the Duchess's journey. But on this point Mary was +inflexible. De Praet, who visited him the next day, explained that the +Queen could not allow this youthful lady to be exposed to the perils +and fatigue of so long a journey in winter, and that her departure must +therefore be put off till the following spring. This was a grievous +disappointment to the Count, who knew how anxious the Duke was to see +his wife. But he had to accept the situation, and could only try and +console his master by repeating the Queen's assurances of good-will and +affection. + +She even begged the Count to join her in a hunting expedition at +Brussels in the following week. But this Stampa firmly declined, saying +that he must return to Milan without delay. On the same evening he had +the honour of a parting interview with the Duchess, and presented her +with a fine diamond and ruby ring and a length of costly brocade in +her lord's name. Christina's eyes sparkled with delight at the sight +of these gifts, and she thanked Count Massimiliano with a warmth which +captivated him. Then he took leave of the Queen, who started at break +of day in torrents of rain, to hunt on her way to Brussels, leaving the +Princesses to return by Tournay. The Count himself went to Antwerp to +raise money for his journey, and despatched a messenger to Milan with +full accounts of the wedding. + + "All this Court and the Queen herself," he wrote, "are + delighted with this happy event. And Your Excellency may + rejoice with good reason, and may rest assured that you have + the fairest, most charming and gallant bride that any man could + desire."[90] + +These despatches reached Milan on the 13th of October, and were +received with acclamation. Guns were fired from the Castello, the bells +of all the churches were rung, and the Senate went in solemn procession +to give thanks to God in the Duomo. "It was indeed good tidings of +great joy," wrote the chronicler Burigozzo, "and such rejoicing had not +been known in Milan for many years."[91] Francesco's own satisfaction +was considerably diminished by hearing that his bride was not to +set out on her journey until the following February. But he took +the Queen's decision in good part, and wrote to express his eternal +gratitude to her and Cæsar for giving him their niece. + + "However anxious I naturally am to have my wife with me," he + added, "I recognize the gravity of the reasons which have made + you put off her journey to a more convenient season, and think, + as you say, this should take place next February."[92] + +[Sidenote: 1533-35] THE DUKE'S APPEAL] + +The Duke sent this letter by a special messenger, and received in reply +the following brief note in Italian from Christina: + + "MOST ILLUSTRIOUS CONSORT, + + "It gave me great pleasure to hear of Your Excellency's good + health from Messer Sasso, and I can assure you that my wish + to join you is no less ardent than your own. But it is only + reasonable that we should bow to the decision of the Most + Serene Queen, who orders everything wisely and well. I will + only add how sincerely I hope that you will keep well, and love + me as much as I love you. + + "Your Excellency's most loving consort, + "CHRISTIERNA, DUCHESS OF MILAN. + + "From Brussels, November 4, 1533."[93] + +On the last day of January, 1534, the Duke held a Council of State to +consider the best means of raising the £100,000 due to Cæsar, which was +assigned to his niece for dower, and the citizens agreed cheerfully to +new taxes on grain and wine in order to provide the necessary amount. +But it was not until the 31st of March that Francesco was able to issue +a proclamation informing the Milanese that his wife had started on her +journey. The Duchess, he told them, would be among them by the end of +April, and he could count on his loyal subjects to receive her with +due honour; but, knowing as he did their poverty, he begged that the +customary wedding gift should be omitted. The Milanese responded with +enthusiasm to their Duke's appeal, and prepared to give his bride a +worthy reception. Their example was followed by the citizens of Novara, +Vigevano, and the other towns along the route between Savoy and Milan. +The roads, which were said to be the worst in the duchy, were mended, +triumphal arches were erected, and lodgings were prepared for her +reception. The following quaintly-worded memorandum was drawn up by +Councillor Pier Francesco Bottigella, to whom these arrangements were +entrusted: + + "(1) Mend the roads and clean the streets through which the + Lady Duchess will pass, and hang the walls with tapestries + and carpets, the largest and widest that you can find. (2) + Paint her arms on all the gates through which she passes. (3) + Provide a baldacchino to be carried over her head. (4) See that + lodgings are prepared for her at Novara, either in the Bishop's + palace or in the ducal hunting-lodge, and let these be cleansed + and decorated. (5) Prepare rooms in the town for the Duchess's + household. (6) Let this also be done in the Castello Vecchio at + Vigevano. (7) Desire that no gifts of any kind should be made + to the Duchess at Novara, Vigevano, or any other place."[94] + +When these instructions had been duly carried out, Bottigella, who had +accompanied Stampa on his mission to the Low Countries, and was already +acquainted with the chief members of the Duchess's suite, set out for +Chambéry by the Duke's orders, to meet the bride on the frontiers of +Savoy and escort her across the Alps. + + +III. + +[Sidenote: APRIL, 1534] A WEDDING JOURNEY] + +Christina had now completed her twelfth year, and Mary of Hungary could +no longer invent any excuse to delay her journey to Milan. The bridal +party finally set out on the 11th of March, conducted by Monseigneur +de Praet, the Emperor's representative, and Camillo Ghilino, the +Duke's Ambassador, with an escort of 130 horse. Madame de Souvastre, +one of Maximilian's illegitimate daughters, whose husband had been one +of the late Regent's confidential servants, was appointed mistress +of the Duchess's household, which consisted of six maids of honour, +six waiting-women, four pages, and ten gentlemen. Christina herself +rode in a black velvet litter, drawn by four horses and attended by +six footmen, and her ladies travelled in similar fashion, followed by +twenty mules and three waggons with the baggage. Mary had taken care +that the bride's trousseau was worthy of a daughter of the imperial +house, and the chests were filled with sumptuous robes of cloth of +gold and silver, of silk, satin, and velvet, costly furs, jewels and +pearls, together with furniture and plate for her table and chapel, and +liveries and trappings for her servants and horses. The Duchess's own +lackeys and all the gentlemen in attendance wore coats and doublets +of black velvet, and the other servants, we learn from John Hackett, +the English Ambassador at Brussels, were clad in suits of "medley +grey," trimmed with velvet, all "very well accounted."[95] The imposing +cortège travelled by slow stages through the friendly duchy of Lorraine +and across the plains of the imperial county of Burgundy, taking +journeys of twelve or fifteen miles a day, until, on the 12th of April, +it halted at Chambéry, the frontier town of Savoy. The reigning Duke, +Charles III., was the Emperor's brother-in-law and stanch ally, and the +travellers were hospitably entertained in his ancestral castle on the +heights. Here Bottigella was introduced into Christina's presence by +his old friend Camillo Ghilino, and found her on the way to attend Mass +in the castle chapel. + + "The Duchess," wrote the Councillor to his lord, "received + me in the most friendly manner, and asked eagerly after you, + and was especially anxious to know where you were now. I told + her that you were at Vigevano, but would shortly return to + Milan, to prepare for her arrival. Mass was just beginning, + so I had to take my leave, but hope for another opportunity + of conversing with her before long, and can see how eager she + is to ask a hundred questions. She is very well and lively, + and does not seem any the worse for the long journey. She has + grown a great deal since I saw her last September, and is as + beautiful as the sun. M. de Praet hopes to reach Turin in seven + days, and will start again to-morrow."[96] + +[Sidenote: APRIL, 1534] BEATRIX OF SAVOY] + +The most arduous part of the journey now lay before the travellers. +Leaving Chambéry, they penetrated into the heart of the Alps, through +the narrow gorge of the Isère, between precipitous ravines with +castles crowning the rocks on either side, until they reached the +impregnable fortress of Montmélian, the ancient bulwark of Savoy, +which had resisted all the assaults of the French. After spending the +night here, they rode up the green pastures and pine-clad slopes of S. +Jean de Maurienne, and began the ascent of the Mont Cenis, over "those +troublesome and horrid ways" of which English travellers complained +so bitterly, where loose stones and tumbled rocks made riding almost +impossible. "These ways, indeed," wrote Coryat, "are the worst I +ever travelled in my life, so much so that the roads of Savoy may be +proverbially spoken of as the owls of Athens, the pears of Calabria, +or the quails of Delos."[97] On the summit of the pass De Praet and +his companions saw with interest the Chapel of Our Lady of the Snows, +where a few years before the famous Constable of Bourbon had offered +up his sword on the altar of the Virgin, as he led the imperial armies +across the Alps. Then they came down into a smiling green valley, with +walnut woods and rushing streams, and saw the medieval towers of Susa +at their feet. Here they were met by the Emperor's Ambassador at the +Court of Savoy, who came to pay his respects to the Duchess, bringing +with him two elegant litters of crimson brocade, sent by Charles's +sister-in-law, Beatrix of Portugal, Duchess of Savoy, for Christina's +use. At Rivoli, two stages farther on, fifty Councillors from Turin, +with the Bishop of Vercelli at their head, appeared on horseback to +escort the Duchess to the city gates. Here Christina mounted her horse +and rode up the steep ascent to the citadel, with De Praet walking at +her side. The beautiful Duchess Beatrix herself awaited her guest at +the castle gates, and, embracing Christina affectionately, led her by +the hand up the grand staircase into the best suite of rooms in the +palace. The travellers spent two days in these comfortable quarters, +and enjoyed the brief interval of rest, although the Duchess, as +Bottigella was careful to tell the Duke, seemed the least tired of the +whole party, and was in blooming health and high spirits. + +On the following Sunday Christina rode into Novara, on a brilliant +spring morning, and was lodged in the Bishop's palace, and received +with the greatest enthusiasm by her lord's subjects. At Vigevano, the +birthplace and favourite home of Lodovico Sforza, the nobles, with +Massimiliano Stampa at their head, rode out to welcome the Duke's +bride, and carried a rich baldacchino over her head. Nevertheless, +halfway between Novara and Vigevano, De Praet complained to the Count +that neither the reception of the Duchess nor the rooms prepared +for her were sufficiently honourable--"in fact, he found fault with +everything." The Count expressed some surprise, since both the Emperor +Maximilian and Charles V. himself had stayed at Vigevano, and the +latter had greatly admired the buildings and gardens laid out by +Bramante and Leonardo. But, to pacify the exacting priest, Stampa +proposed that the Duchess should only take her _déjeuner_ in the +castle, and push on to his own villa of Cussago, where she was to spend +some days before entering Milan. But De Praet replied that the Duchess, +not being yet accustomed to this climate, felt the heat of the sun, +and must on no account ride any farther till evening. So all the Count +could do was to send Bottigella on to see that the Castello was adorned +with wreaths of flowers and verdure, and that a good bed was prepared +for the Duchess.[98] + +[Sidenote: MAY, 1534] CHRISTINA'S HUSBAND] + +At least, De Praet could find nothing to grumble at in Stampa's +country-house at Cussago, the ducal palace and hunting-grounds which +had been given him by Francesco II. in reward for his unwavering +loyalty. The beauty of the spot, the delicious gardens with their sunny +lawns and sparkling fountains, their rose and myrtle bowers, their +bosquets and running streams, enchanted the travellers from the north. +The villa had been adorned with frescoes and marble doorways by the +best Lombard masters of the Moro's Court, and was once the favourite +country-house of Beatrice d'Este, the present Duke's mother, who often +rode out from Milan to hunt in the forests of the Brianza or play at +ball on the terraces. Now her son's child-bride saw these green lawns +in all the loveliness of early summer, and the frescoed halls rang once +more to the sound of mirth and laughter. Music and dancing enlivened +the days, and a drama--_La Sposa Sagace_--was acted one evening to +amuse Christina. At nightfall the guns of the Castello, firing salutes +in her honour, were heard in the distance, and the bonfires on the +towers of Milan lit up the evening sky with crimson glow. Count +Massimiliano took care that nothing should be lacking to the enjoyment +of the Duchess, and begged De Praet to attend to her comfort in every +particular, but, as he told the Duke, it was not always easy to satisfy +these gentlemen. + +One day Christina and her ladies received a visit from the great +Captain Antonio de Leyva, the Duke's old enemy, who now came, cap in +hand, to pay homage to the Emperor's niece. Another day there was +a still greater stir at the villa, for the Duke himself appeared +unexpectedly, having ridden out almost alone, to pay a surprise visit +to his bride. The first sight of her future lord must have given +Christina a shock, and her ladies whispered to each other that this +wan, grey-haired man, who could not walk without the help of a stick, +was hardly a fit match for their fair young Princess. But Francesco's +chivalrous courtesy and gentleness went far to atone for his physical +defects, and nothing could exceed the kindness which he showed his +youthful bride. After all, she was but a child, and the sight of this +new world that was laid at her feet with all its beauties and treasures +was enough to dazzle her eyes and please her innocent fancy. + +On Sunday, the 3rd of May, the Duchess made her state entry into Milan. +Early in the afternoon she rode in her litter to S. Eustorgio, the +Dominican convent outside the Ticino gate, where she was received by +the Duke's half-brother, Giovanni Paolo Sforza, mounted on a superb +charger, and attended by all his kinsmen, clad in white and gold. +After paying her devotions at the marble shrine of S. Pietro Martive, +the Prior and friars conducted her to partake of refreshments in the +guests' hall, and receive the homage of the Bishop and clergy, of the +magistrates and senators. At six o'clock, after vespers, the procession +started from the Porta Ticinese. First came the armourers and their +apprentices, in companies of 200, with coloured flags in their hands +and plumes to match in their caps. One troop was in blue, the other in +green. At the head of the first rode Alessandro Missaglia, a splendid +figure, wearing a silver helmet and shining armour over his turquoise +velvet vest, and mounted on a horse with richly damascened harness. The +green troop was led by Girolamo Negriolo, the other famous Milanese +armourer. Then came 300 archers in pale blue silk, and six bands of +trumpeters and drummers, followed by a great company of the noblest +gentlemen of Milan, all clad in white, with flowing plumes in their +hats and lances in their hands, riding horses draped with silver +brocade. Visconti, Trivulzio, Borromeo, Somaglia--all the proudest +names of Milan were there, and in the rear rode the veteran Antonio de +Leyva, with the Emperor's representative, De Praet, at his side. + +[Sidenote: MAY, 1534] THE BRIDE'S ENTRY] + +Immediately behind them, under a white and gold velvet baldacchino, +borne by the doctors of the University, rode the bride, mounted on +a white horse with glittering trappings, and wearing a rich white +brocade robe and a long veil over her flowing hair--"a vision more +divine than human," exclaims the chronicler who witnessed the sight; +"only," he adds in an undertone, "she is still very young." At the +sight of the lovely child the multitude broke into shouts of joy, +and the clashing of bells, the blare of trumpets, and sound of guns, +welcomed the coming of the Duchess. Close behind her rode Cardinal +Ercole Gonzaga, the Duke's cousin, and on either side a guard of twelve +noble youths, with white ostrich feathers in their caps, so that Her +Excellency "appeared to be surrounded with a forest of waving plumes." +In the rear came Madame de Souvastre and her ladies in litters, +followed by a crowd of senators, bishops, and magistrates. + +Six triumphal arches, adorned with statues and paintings, lined the +route. Peace with her olive-branch, Plenty with the cornucopia, +Prosperity bearing a caduceus, Joy crowned with flowers, welcomed the +bride in turn. Everywhere the imperial eagles were seen together with +the Sforza arms, and countless mottoes with courtly allusions to the +golden age that had at length dawned for distracted Milan. "Thy coming, +O Christina, confirms the peace of Italy!" On the piazza of the Duomo, +a pageant of the Seasons greeted her--Spring with arms full of roses, +Summer laden with ripe ears of corn, Autumn bearing purple grapes, and +Winter wrapt in snowy fur; while Minerva was seen closing the doors of +the Temple of Janus, and Juno and Hymen, with outstretched arms, hailed +Francesco, the son of the great Lodovico, and Christina, the daughter +of Dacia and Austria. At the steps of the Duomo the long procession +halted. Cardinal Gonzaga helped the Duchess to alight, and led her to +the altar, where she knelt in silent prayer, kissed the _pax_ held up +to her by the Archbishop, and received his benediction. The walls of +the long nave were hung with tapestries, and the choir draped with +cloth of gold and adorned with statues of the patron saints of Milan. +"When you entered the doors," wrote the chronicler, "you seemed to be +in Paradise." + +Then the Duchess mounted her horse again, and the procession passed +up the Goldsmiths' Street to the Castello. Here the decorations were +still more sumptuous. One imposing arch was adorned with a painting +of St. John leaning on the bosom of Christ, copied from Leonardo's +"Cenacolo" in the refectory of S. Maria delle Grazie. Another bore a +figure of Christ with the orb and sceptre, and the words "Mercy and +Truth have kissed each other." On the piazza in front of the Castello, +a colossal fountain was erected, and winged children spouted wine and +perfumed water. The Castello itself had been elaborately adorned. The +arms of Denmark and Milan were carved in fine marble over the portals, +the walls were hung with blue draperies studded with golden stars and +wreathed with garlands of myrtle and ivy, and on either side of the +central doorway two giant warriors leaning on clubs supported a tablet +crowned with the imperial eagles, and inscribed with the words: "The +wisest of Princes to-day weds the fairest of Virgins, and brings us the +promise of perpetual peace."[99] + +[Illustration: CHRISTINA, DUCHESS OF MILAN (1534) + +(Oppenheimer Collection)] + +[Illustration: FRANCESCO SFORZA, DUKE OF MILAN (1534) + +(British Museum) + +_To face p. 92_] + +[Sidenote: MAY, 1534] IN THE CASTELLO] + +As the procession reached the gates of the Castello, a triumphant burst +of martial music was sounded by the trumpeters on the topmost tower, +and Count Massimiliano, the Castellan, presented the golden keys of +the gates to the Duchess, on bended knee. Christina received them with +a gracious smile, and, accepting his hand, alighted from her horse, +amid the cheers of the populace, who, rushing in on all sides, seized +the baldacchino, tore the costly brocade into ribbons, and divided the +spoil. Meanwhile the Duke, leaning on a stick, received his wife with +a deep reverence, and led her by the hand into the beautiful suite of +rooms, hung with mulberry-coloured velvet and cloth of gold, which had +been prepared for her use.[100] Cardinal Gonzaga and De Praet supped +with the bride and bridegroom that evening, to the sweet melodies of +the Duke's flutes and viols. The gates of the Castello were closed, +enormous bonfires blazed on the walls, and rockets went up to heaven +from the top of the great tower. Thousands of torches illumined the +darkness, and the streets were thronged with gay crowds, who gladly +took advantage of the Duke's permission and gave themselves up to mirth +and revelry all night long. Long was that day remembered in Milan. +Old men who could recall the reign of Lodovico, and had witnessed the +coming of Beatrice and the marriage of Bianca, wept, and thanked God +that they had lived to see this day. But their joy was destined to be +of short duration. + + +IV. + +At six o'clock on the evening of the 4th of May the marriage of the +Duke was finally celebrated in the hall of the Rocchetta, which was +hung with cloth of gold beautifully decorated with garlands of flowers. +Among the illustrious guests present were the Cardinal of Mantua, the +Legate Caracciolo, Antonio de Leyva, and the chief nobles and senators. +The Bishops of Modena and Vigevano chanted the nuptial Mass, and +Monseigneur de Praet delivered a lengthy oration, which sorely tried +the patience of his hearers. No sooner had he uttered the last words +than the Duke took the bride's hand, and brought the ceremony to an +abrupt conclusion by leading her into the banquet-hall. There a supper +of delicate viands, fruit, and wines, was prepared, and the guests were +entertained with music and songs during the evening.[101] + +[Sidenote: MAY, 1534] ALFONSO D'ESTE] + +Letters of congratulation now poured in from all the Courts of Europe. +Christina's own relatives--Ferdinand and Anna, the King and Queen of +Hungary and Bohemia, the King and Queen of Portugal, the Elector of +Saxony and the Marquis of Brandenburg--all congratulated the Duchess +on her safe arrival and happy marriage; while the Pope, the Doge of +Venice, and other Italian Princes, sent the Duke cordial messages. +One of the most interesting letters which the bridegroom received was +an autograph epistle from his cousin, Bona Sforza, Queen of Poland, +who would probably herself have been Duchess of Milan if Massimiliano +Sforza had reigned longer. It had been the earnest wish of her widowed +mother, Isabella of Aragon, to effect this union, and it was only +after the French conquest of Milan in 1515 that her daughter became the +wife of King Sigismund. From her distant home Bona kept up an active +correspondence with her Italian relatives, and now sent Francesco the +following friendly letter: + + "DEAREST AND MOST ILLUSTRIOUS COUSIN, + + "I rejoice sincerely to hear that your most illustrious wife + has reached Milan safely. I feel the greatest joy at your happy + marriage, and trust that Heaven will send you a fine son. My + husband and children join with me in wishing you every possible + happiness. + + "BONA, QUEEN. + "From Cracow, July 15, 1534."[102] + + +Another of Francesco's illustrious kinsfolk, Alfonso d'Este, Duke +of Ferrara, came to Milan in person to offer his congratulations to +his nephew, although he preferred to remain incognito, and his name +does not figure among the guests who were present at the wedding +festivities. But Ferrarese chroniclers record that the Duke went to +Milan on the 30th of April, to attend the wedding of Duke Francesco +Sforza, who took for wife Madame Christierna, daughter of the King +of Dacia, and returned home on the 6th of May.[103] Forty-four years +before, Alfonso, then a boy of fourteen, had accompanied his sister +Beatrice to Milan for her marriage, and escorted his own bride, Anna +Sforza, back to Ferrara. Now his long and troubled life was drawing to +a close, and he died a few months after this last journey to Milan, +on the 31st of October, 1534. By his last will he left two of his +best horses and a pair of falcons to his beloved nephew, the Duke of +Milan.[104] Some writers have conjectured that Alfonso brought his +favourite painter, Titian, to Milan, and that the Venetian master +painted portraits of the Duke and Duchess on this occasion.[105] No +record of Titian's visit, however, has been discovered, and he probably +painted the portraits of Francesco and Christina from drawings sent to +him at Venice. + +[Sidenote: MAY, 1534] TITIAN'S PORTRAIT] + +Titian's friend, Pietro Aretino, was in constant correspondence with +Count Massimiliano Stampa, who rewarded his literary efforts with gifts +of gold chains, velvet caps, and embroidered doublets. "I shall be +clad in your presents all through the summer months," he wrote in a +letter, signing himself, "Your younger brother and devoted servant." +Aretino was not only profuse in thanks to this noble patron, but sent +him choice works of art, mirrors of Oriental crystal, medals engraved +by Anichino, and, best of all, a little painting of the youthful +Baptist clasping a lamb, "so life-like that a sheep would bleat at +the sight of it."[106] The wily Venetian was exceedingly anxious to +ingratiate himself with the Duke of Milan, and not only dedicated a +"Paraphase" to him on his marriage, but, according to Vasari, painted +portraits of both the Duke and Duchess. These pictures were reproduced +by Campo in the "History of Cremona," which he published in 1585, while +Christina was still living. The portrait of Francesco was at that +time the property of the Milanese noble Mario Amigone, while that of +Christina hung in the house of Don Antonio Lomboni, President of the +Magistrates.[107] This last portrait was afterwards sent to Florence +by order of the Grand-Duke Ferdinand, who married the Duchess's +granddaughter, Christine of Lorraine. + + "I send Your Highness," wrote Guido Mazzenta in January, 1604, + "the portrait of the Most Serene Lady, Christina, Queen of + Denmark, and grandmother of the Most Serene Grand-Duchess, + painted by Titian, by order of Duke Francesco Sforza, when he + brought her to Milan as his bride."[108] + +Unfortunately, this precious portrait was afterwards sent to Madrid, +where it is said to have perished in a fire. In Campo's engraving the +youthful Duchess wears a jewelled cap and pearl necklace, with an +ermine cape on her shoulders. Her serene air and thoughtful expression +recall Holbein's famous picture, and give an impression of quiet +happiness and content which agrees with all that we know of her short +married life. + +The change was great from Malines and Brussels, and Christina often +missed her old playmates. But her simple, docile nature became easily +accustomed to these new surroundings, and the affectionate little +letters which she sent to her aunt and sister all breathe the same +strain. "We are as happy and contented as possible," she writes to +Dorothea; and when Camillo Ghilino was starting for Germany, she sends +a few words, at her lord's suggestion, to be forwarded to Flanders, +just to tell her aunt how much she loves and thinks of her.[109] + +Certainly, when we compare her lot with that of her mother, and +remember the hardships and sorrows which the young Queen had to +endure, Christina may well have counted herself fortunate. Her husband +treated his child-wife with the greatest kindness. Her smallest wish +was gratified, her tastes were consulted in every particular. The +rooms which she occupied in the Rocchetta, where his mother, Duchess +Beatrice, had lived, were hung with rich crimson velvet; the walls +of her bedroom were draped with pale blue silk; a new loggia was +built, looking out on the gardens and moat waters. The breaches which +French and Spanish guns had made in the walls were repaired, and the +Castello resumed its old aspect. Three state carriages, lined with +costly brocades and drawn by four horses draped with cloth of gold, +were prepared by the Duke for his wife, and were first used by the +Duchess on Ascension Day, when, ten days after her wedding, she made +her first appearance in public. As she drove to the Duomo, followed by +the Legate and Ambassadors, and escorted by a brilliant cavalcade of +nobles, the streets were thronged with eager crowds, who greeted her +with acclamation, and waited for hours to catch a sight of her face. +On Corpus Christi, again, a few weeks later, the Duke and Duchess both +came to see the long procession of Bishops and priests pass through the +streets, bearing the host under a stately canopy from the Duomo to the +ancient shrine of S. Ambrogio. + +[Sidenote: JUNE, 1534] FRANCESCA PALEOLOGA] + +The popularity of the young Duchess soon became unbounded. Her tall +figure, dark eyes, and fair hair, excited the admiration of all her +subjects, while her frank and kindly manners won every heart. Although +prices went up in Milan that year, and the tolls on corn and wine were +doubled, the people paid these dues cheerfully, and, when they sat down +to a scanty meal, remarked that they must pay for Her Excellency's +dinner.[110] Fortunately, by the end of the year there was a +considerable fall in prices, and a general sense of relief and security +prevailed. + +To the Duke himself, as well as to his people, the coming of the +Duchess brought new life. For a time his failing health revived in +the sunshine of her presence. He threw himself with energy into the +task of beautifying Milan and completing the façade of the Duomo. At +the same time he employed painters to decorate the Castello and Duomo +of Vigevano, and an illuminated book of the Gospels, adorned with +exquisite miniatures and bearing his arms and those of the Duchess, may +still be seen in the Brera. + +Hunting-parties were held for Christina's amusement both at Vigevano +and in Count Massimiliano's woods at Cussago. Madame de Souvastre +and most of the Duchess's Flemish attendants had returned to the +Netherlands with De Praet, and Francesco took great pains to provide +his wife with a congenial lady-in-waiting. His choice fell on Francesca +Paleologa, a lady of the noble house of Montferrat, and cousin of the +newly-married Duchess of Mantua. Her husband, Constantine Comnenus, +titular Prince of Macedonia, had served under the Pope and Emperor; and +her daughter, Deianira, had lately married Count Gaspare Trivulzio, a +former partisan of the French, who was now a loyal subject of the Duke. +From this time the Princess of Macedonia became Christina's inseparable +companion, and remained devotedly attached to the Duchess throughout +her long life. At the same time Francesco appointed one of his +secretaries, Benedetto da Corte of Pavia, to be master of the Duchess's +household, and to teach her Italian, which she was soon able to speak +and write fluently. + +The Milanese archives contain several charming little notes written in +Christina's large, round hand to the Duke during a brief visit which he +paid to Vigevano, for change of air, in the summer of 1535: + + "MY LORD AND DEAREST HUSBAND, + + "I have received your dear letters, and rejoice to hear of your + welfare. This has been a great comfort to me, but it will be a + far greater pleasure to see you again. I look forward to your + return with such impatience that a single hour seems as long as + a whole year. May God keep you safe and bring you home again + very soon, for I can enjoy nothing without Your Excellency. I + am very well, thank God, and commend myself humbly to your good + graces. Signora Francesca is also well, and commends herself to + Your Highness. + + "Your very humble wife, + "CHRISTIERNA. + "Milan, June 7, 1535. + + "The bearer of this letter has been very good to me." + +Francesco's health had lately given fresh cause for anxiety. He +suffered from catarrh and fever, and was frequently confined to his +bed. A Pavian Envoy who had been promised an audience had to leave the +Castello without seeing His Excellency, and a visit which he and the +Duchess had intended to pay to Pavia in the spring was put off, to +the great disappointment of the loyal citizens. Now his absence was +prolonged owing to a fresh attack of illness, and the young wife wrote +again at the end of the month, lamenting the delay and expressing the +same impatience for his return: + + "MY DEAREST HUSBAND, + + [Sidenote: JUNE, 1535] DOROTHEA OF DENMARK] + + "I was delighted, as I always am, with your dear letter of the + 20th instant, but should have been much better pleased to see + you and enjoy the pleasure of your presence, as I hoped to + do by this time, especially as these Signors assured me that + your absence would be short. But they were, it is plain, quite + wrong. However, I must be reasonable, and if your prolonged + absence is necessary I will not complain. I thank you for your + kind excuses and explanations, but I will not thank you for + saying that I need not trouble to write to you with my own + hand, because this at least is labour well spent, and I am only + happy when I can talk with Your Excellency or write to you, now + that I cannot enjoy your company. I commend myself infinitely + to your remembrance, and trust God may long preserve you, and + grant you a safe and speedy return. + + "Your very humble wife, + "CHRISTIERNA. + "From Milan, June. 1535."[111] + + +But the warm-hearted young wife's wish remained unfulfilled, and four +months after these lines were written Christina was a widow. + + +V. + +[Sidenote: JAN., 1535] THE PALATINE] + +The chief event of Christina's brief married life was the marriage of +her elder sister, the Princess of Denmark. Dorothea was by this time +an attractive girl of fourteen, shorter and slighter than her sister, +and inferior to her in force of character, but full of brightness and +gaiety. She was very popular in her old home at Malines, and often +shot with a crossbow at the meetings of the Guild of Archers. Several +marriages had been proposed for her, and King James of Scotland had +repeatedly asked for her hand; but the Emperor hesitated to accept his +advances, from fear of offending King Francis, whose daughter Magdalen +had long been pledged to this fickle monarch, while the difficulty +of providing a dower and outfit for another portionless niece, made +Mary reluctant to conclude a second marriage. But, a few months after +Christina's marriage, a new suitor for Dorothea's hand came forward +in the person of the Count Palatine, who had vainly aspired to wed +both Eleanor of Austria and Mary of Hungary. Frederic's loyal support +of Charles's claims to the imperial crown, and his gallant defence of +Vienna against the Turks, had been scurvily rewarded, and hitherto all +his attempts to find another bride had been foiled. When, in 1526, +after the King of Portugal's death, he approached his old love, the +widowed Queen Eleanor, his advances were coldly repelled; and when +he asked King Ferdinand for one of his daughters, he was told that +she was too young for him. After Mary of Hungary's refusal, he left +the Imperial Court in anger, and told Charles V. that he would take +a French wife;[112] but Isabel of Navarre, Margaret of Montferrat, +and the King of Poland's daughter, all eluded his efforts, and when +he asked for Mary Tudor's hand, King Henry told him that he could not +insult his good friend and cousin by offering him a bride born out of +wedlock.[113] Now Ferdinand, unwilling to lose so valuable an ally, +suddenly proposed that the Palatine should marry his niece Dorothea, +saying that both he and Charles would rejoice to see him reigning over +the three northern kingdoms. At first Frederic hesitated, saying that +he was a grey-headed man of fifty, little fitted to be the husband of +so young a lady, and had no wish to reign over the turbulent Norsemen. +Mary, however, welcomed her brother's proposal, regarding it as a +means of strengthening the Emperor's cause in Northern Europe. In +Denmark the succession of Frederic's son Christian III. was disputed, +and a Hanseatic fleet had seized Copenhagen, while Christopher of +Oldenburg, a cousin of the captive King, had invaded Jutland. With +the help of these allies it might be possible for the Palatine to +recover his wife's inheritance. But the execution of this plan was full +of difficulties, as Prince John's old tutor, the wise Archbishop of +Lunden, told Charles V. in a letter which he addressed to him in the +autumn of 1534: + + "MOST SACRED CÆSAR,--I know Denmark well, and am convinced that + the Danes will never recognize Christian II. as their King. + Count Christopher's expedition will prove a mere flash in the + pan, and when he can no longer pay his men, the peasants, who + flocked to his banner at the sound of their old King's name, + will return to their hearths. Then the nobles will have their + revenge, and the proud Lübeck citizens will seize Denmark and + establish the Lutheran religion in the name of Christopher or + King Henry of England, or any other Prince, as long as he is + not Your Majesty; and if they succeed, the trade of the Low + Countries will be ruined."[114] + +The bait held out to the Palatine, however, proved too alluring, and +he easily fell a victim to the snare. The Emperor sent him flattering +messages by Hubert, the faithful servant who has left us so delightful +a chronicle of his master's doings, and promised his niece a dowry of +50,000 crowns. It was late on New Year's Eve when Hubert reached his +master's house at Neumarkt, on his return from Spain, and Frederic was +already in bed; but he sent for him, and bade him tell his news in +three words. The messenger exclaimed joyfully: "I bring my lord a royal +bride, a most gracious Kaiser, and a sufficient dowry." Upon which the +Palatine thanked God, and bade Hubert go to the cellar and help himself +to food and drink.[115] + +One of Charles's most trusted Flemish servants, Nicholas de Marnol, +was now sent to Milan, to obtain the consent of the Duke and Duchess +to Dorothea's marriage. After a perilous journey over the Alps in snow +and floods, Marnol reached Milan on the 10th of January, 1535, and +received a cordial welcome. Francesco approved warmly of a union which +would insure the Princess's happiness and serve to confirm the peace of +Germany, but quite declined to accept the Emperor's suggestion that he +should help to provide a pension for Christina's brother-in-law, saying +that this was impossible, and that His Majesty would be the first to +recognize the futility of making promises which cannot be kept. + +After a short stay at Milan, Marnol went on to Vienna, and advised the +Palatine to go to Spain himself if he wished to settle the matter. +Frederic, always glad of an excuse for a journey, travelled by way +of Brussels and France to Saragossa, and accompanied the Emperor to +Barcelona, where Charles signed the marriage contract on the eve of +sailing for Africa. + +[Sidenote: MAY, 1535] A HAPPY MARRIAGE] + +On the 18th of May, 1535, the marriage was solemnized at Brussels, and +Frederic consented to leave his bride with her aunt until her outfit +was completed. Queen Eleanor expressed the liveliest interest in her +old lover's marriage, and insisted on seeing Dorothea before she +went to Germany. At length the wedding-party reached Heidelberg, on +the 8th of September, where the gallant bridegroom, who, in Hubert's +words, "loved to shine," rode out in rich attire to meet his bride, and +escorted her with martial music and pomp worthy of a King's daughter +to the famous castle on the heights. The next day the nuptial Mass +was celebrated by the Bishop of Spires, and a series of splendid +entertainments were given by Frederic's brother, the Elector Louis, +after which the Count took his bride to his own home at Neumarkt, in +the Upper Palatinate.[116] + +"Now at length," wrote Hubert, "my lord thought that he had attained a +haven of rest, and found a blessed end to all his troubles; but he was +grievously mistaken, and soon realized that he had embarked on a new +and tempestuous ocean."[117] + +The splendid prospects of recovering his wife's kingdom were destined +to prove utterly fallacious, and only involved him in heavy expenses +and perpetual intrigues. The Emperor, as he soon discovered, "had no +great affection for the enterprise of Denmark,"[118] and before long +Copenhagen surrendered, and Charles and Mary were compelled to come +to terms with Christian III. and acknowledge his title. Fortunately, +in all other respects his marriage proved a happy one. Dorothea was +greatly beloved by her husband's family and subjects, and made him a +devoted wife, although, as Hubert soon found out, she was as great a +spendthrift as her lord, and confessed that she was never happy until +she had spent her last penny.[119] The very frivolity of her nature +suited the volatile Count. She shared his love of adventure, and was +always ready to accompany him on perilous journeys, to climb mountains +or ford rivers, with the same unquenchable courage and gaiety of +heart. Even when, in her anxiety to bear a child, she imitated the +example of Frederic's mother, the old Countess Palatine, and went on +pilgrimages and wore holy girdles, "this was done without any spirit +of devotion, but with great mirth and laughter. And how little," adds +the chronicler, "either pilgrimages or girdles profited her, we all +know."[120] + + +VI. + +Before the Palatine and his bride reached Heidelberg, Europe was +thrilled by the news of the capture of Tunis, and the flight of the +hated Barbarossa before his conqueror. It was the proudest moment of +the Emperor's life. Twenty thousand Christian captives were released +that day, and went home to spread the fame of their great deliverer +throughout the civilized world. The news reached Milan on the 2nd of +August, and was hailed with universal joy. _Te Deums_ were chanted +in the Duomo, bells were rung in all the churches, and the guns of +the Castello boomed in honour of the great event. Camillo Ghilino +was immediately sent by the Duke to congratulate the Emperor on +his victory, and thank His Majesty once more for all the happiness +which the generous gift of his niece had brought Francesco and his +people.[121] + +[Illustration: FREDERIC, COUNT PALATINE + +Ascribed to A. Dürer (Darmstadt) + +_To face p. 106_] + +[Sidenote: NOV., 1535] FRANCESCO SFORZA'S DEATH] + +The late Pope, Clement VII., had already expressed his intention of +rewarding Ghilino's services with a Cardinal's hat, and his successor, +Paul III., would probably have kept his promise, but the Ambassador +fell ill in Sicily, and died at Palermo in September, to the Duke's +great sorrow.[122] Soon after receiving the news, Francesco himself +fell ill of fever, and once more lost the use of his limbs. All through +October he grew steadily worse, and by the end of the month the people +of Milan learnt that their beloved Prince was at the point of death. On +Monday, the Feast of All Saints, the public anxiety was at its height, +and silent crowds waited all day at the gates of the Castello to hear +the latest reports. At length, early in the morning of All Souls' Day, +they learnt that the last Sforza Duke was no more. Christina watched +by his bedside to the end, and wept bitterly, for, in the chronicler's +words, "they had loved each other well."[123] All Milan shared in her +grief, and nothing but sobbing and wailing was heard in the streets. +Everyone lamented the good Duke, and grieved for the troubles and +misery which his death would bring on the land. But the city remained +tranquil, and there was no tumult or rioting. This was chiefly due to +Stampa, who, by the Duke's last orders, took charge of the Duchess, and +administered public affairs in her name, until instructions could be +received from Cæsar. + +A messenger was despatched without delay to the Emperor at Palermo, +with letters from the Count and a touching little note from Christina, +informing her uncle how her dear lord's weakness had gradually +increased, until in the early morning he passed to a better life. The +dead Prince lay in state for three days in the ducal chapel, clad in +robes of crimson velvet and ermine, on a bier surrounded by lighted +tapers. But the funeral was put off till the 19th of November, in +order, writes the chronicler, to give the people time to show the love +they bore their lamented master, and also because of the difficulty of +obtaining sufficient black cloth to drape the walls of the Castello +and put the Court in mourning. It was a sad time for the young widow. +During three weeks not a ray of light was allowed to penetrate the +gloom of the funereal hall where she sat with her ladies, while solemn +requiems and Masses were chanted in the chapel. + +It had been Francesco's wish to sleep with his parents in the Church +of S. Maria delle Grazie, where the effigies of Lodovico and his lost +Beatrice had been carved in marble. But when this became known there +was a general outcry. The people would not allow their beloved Duke to +be buried anywhere but in the Duomo with the great Francesco and the +other Sforza Princes. So it was decided only to bury the Duke's heart +in the Dominican church. His body was laid in a leaden casket covered +with black velvet, and a wax effigy, wearing the ducal crown and robes, +was exposed to public view. + +[Sidenote: NOV., 1535] FUNERAL RITES] + +Late on Friday, the 19th of November, an imposing funeral procession +passed from the Castello to the Duomo, through the same streets +which, only eighteen months before, had been decked in festive array +to receive the late Duke's bride. First came the Bishops and clergy +with candles and crosses, then the senators, magistrates, and nobles, +wearing long black mantles and hoods. After them gentlemen bearing +the ducal standard, cap, and baton, and Francesco's sword and helmet, +and what moved the spectators more than all, the white mule which he +had ridden daily, led by four pages, "looking just as it did when +His Excellency was alive, only that the saddle was empty." Then the +bier was carried past, under a gold canopy, and the wax effigy of the +dead man, was seen clad in gold brocade and ermine, with a vest of +crimson velvet and red shoes and stockings. Immediately behind rode the +chief mourner, Giovanni Paolo Sforza, followed by Antonio de Leyva, +the Imperial and Venetian Ambassadors, the Chancellor Taverna, Count +Massimiliano Stampa, and the chief Ministers and officials. After +them came a vast multitude of poor, all in mourning, bearing lighted +tapers, and weeping as they went. A catafalque, surrounded with burning +torches, had been erected in the centre of the Duomo, and here, under a +canopy of black velvet, the Duke's effigy was laid on a couch of gold +brocade, with his sword at his side and the ducal cap and baton at his +feet--"a thing," says the chronicler, "truly marvellous to see."[124] + +The next morning the funeral rites were celebrated in the presence of +an immense concourse of people, and a Latin oration was delivered by +Messer Gualtiero di Corbetta. During three days requiems were chanted +at every altar in the Duomo, and the great bell, which had never been +rung before, was tolled for the space of three hours, accompanied by +all the bells of the other churches in Milan. "And there was no one +with heart so hard that he was not moved to tears that day," writes +Burigozzo, the chronicler who was a living witness of the love which +the citizens bore to their dead Duke.[125] At the end of the week the +casket containing Francesco's remains was finally laid in a richly +carved sarcophagus, which had been originally intended to receive +the ashes of Gaston de Foix, the victor of Ravenna, and which was now +placed against the wall of the choir, "for a perpetual memorial in the +sight of all Milan."[126] + +No one loved the Duke better and lamented his loss more truly than +Count Massimiliano Stampa, and Pietro Aretino, who realized this, +condoled with his noble friend, and at the same time paid an eloquent +tribute to the dead Prince, in the following letter: + + "The Duke is dead, and I feel that this sad event has not only + taken away all your happiness, but part of your own soul. + I know the close intimacy in which you lived, nourished in + your infancy at the same breast, and bound together in one + heart and soul. But you must take comfort, remembering that + His Excellency may well be called fortunate in his end. His + wanderings began when he was barely six years old, and he was + driven into exile before he was old enough to remember his + native land. After so many wars and labours, after experiencing + famine and sickness himself, and seeing the cruel misery + and affliction endured by his subjects, he lived to see + perfect tranquillity restored in his dominions, and to enjoy + the passionate affection of all Milan. Now, secure in the + friendship of Cæsar and the love of Italy, he has given back + his spirit to God who gave it. Rejoice, therefore, and render + praise and glory to Francesco Sforza's name, because by his + wisdom and virtue he conquered fortune, and has died a Prince + on his throne, reigning in peace and happiness over his native + land. So, my dear lord, I beg you dry your tears, and meet + those who love you as I do with a serene brow. The fame of your + learning and greatness is known everywhere. Rise above the + blows of fate, and console yourself with the thought of your + Duke's blessed end. There lies His Excellency's corpse. Give it + honourable burial, and I meanwhile will not cease to celebrate + him dead and you who are alive."[127] + +FOOTNOTES: + +[79] Calendar of Spanish State Papers, ii. 146. + +[80] Schäfer, iv. 204, 209. + +[81] "Diarii," liii. 231. + +[82] Altmeyer, "Relations," etc., 298; Sanuto, lv. 389, 414. + +[83] Sanuto, lvii. 610, 637. + +[84] State Papers, Record Office, vii. 465. + +[85] M. Sanuto, lvii. 157; A. Campo, "Storia di Cremona," 107. + +[86] Lanz, ii. 87, 88. + +[87] Lanz, ii. 89. + +[88] Archivio di Stato, Milan, Carteggio Diplomatico, 1533. + +[89] Archivio di Stato, Milano, Carteggio Diplomatico, 1533. + +[90] Carteggio Diplomatico, 1533, Archivio di Stato, Milan. + +[91] G. M. Burigozzo, "Cronaca Milanese," 1500-1544, p. 516; "Archivio +Storico Italiano," iii. (1842). + +[92] Potenze Sovrane, 1533-34, Archivio di Stato, Milan. + +[93] Autografi di Principi Sforza, Archivio di Stato, Milan. + +[94] Potenze Sovrane, Archivio di Stato, Milan. + +[95] State Papers, Record Office, vii. 545. + +[96] Potenze Sovrane, Archivio di Stato, Milan. + +[97] T. Coryat, "Crudities," i. 215; "Hardwick Papers," i. 85. + +[98] Potenze Sovrane, Archivio di Stato, Milan. + +[99] M. Guazzo, "Historie d'Italia," 272-275; P. Avenati, "Entrata +Solemne di Cristina di Spagna"; MS. Continuazione della Storia di +Corio, O. 240 (Biblioteca Ambrosiana). + +[100] C. Magenta, "I Visconti e gli Sforza nel Castello di Pavia," i. +750; Nubilonio, "Cronaca di Vigevano," 131. + +[101] MS. Continuazione di Corio, O. 240 (Biblioteca Ambrosiana). + +[102] Autografi di Principi: Sforza. Archivio di Stato, Milan. + +[103] F. Roddi, "Annali di Ferrara" (Harleian MSS. 3310). + +[104] E. Gardiner, "A King of Court Poets," 355. + +[105] Crowe and Cavalcaselle, "Titian," i. 355. + +[106] P. Aretino, "Lettere," i. 214. + +[107] A. Campo, 107. + +[108] Gaye, "Carteggio," iii. 531. + +[109] Autografi di Principi: Sforza, Archivio di Stato, Milan. + +[110] Burigozzo, 521. + +[111] Autografi di Principi: Sforza, Archivio di Stato (see Appendix +I.). + +[112] Lanz, i. 419. + +[113] H. Thomas, 310. + +[114] Altmeyer, "Relations Commerciales," etc., 317; Lanz, ii. 120. + +[115] H. Thomas, 328. + +[116] Henne, vi. 132. + +[117] H. Thomas, 350. + +[118] Lanz, ii. 659. + +[119] H. Thomas, 350. + +[120] "Zimmer'sche Chronik," iv. 145. + +[121] Burigozzo, 525. + +[122] G. Ghilino, "Annali di Alessandria," 141. + +[123] Potenze Sovrane, Archivio di Stato. + +[124] Burigozzo, 525. + +[125] _Ibid._, 529. + +[126] M. Guazzo, 312. + +[127] P. Aretino, "Lettere," i. 43. + + + + +BOOK V + +THE WIDOW OF MILAN + +1535-1538 + + +I. + +Christina's short married life was over. At the end of eighteen months +she found herself a widow, before she had completed her fourteenth +year. But the brief interval which had elapsed since she left Flanders +had sufficed to turn the child into a woman. From the moment of the +Duke's death, her good sense and discretion won golden opinions from +the grey-headed statesmen around her. The senators and Ambassadors, the +deputies from Pavia and the other Lombard cities, who came to offer +their condolences, were deeply moved at the sight of this Princess, +whose heavy mourning and widow's weeds contrasted strangely with her +extreme youth. The dignity and grace of her bearing charmed them still +more, and all the Milanese asked was to keep their Duchess among +them. By the terms of the late Duke's investiture, if he died without +children, the duchy of Milan was to revert to the Emperor, but the city +of Tortona was settled on the Duchess. By Francesco's will the town and +Castello of Vigevano, which he had done so much to beautify, were also +bequeathed to her. Immediately after the Duke's funeral, in obedience +to his dying lord's order, Stampa hoisted the imperial standard on +the Castello of Milan, but refused to allow Antonio de Leyva to take +possession of the citadel until he received orders from Cæsar himself. +This was faithfully reported to the Emperor by Christina, who gave her +uncle a full account of the steps which she had taken to administer +affairs as her lord's representative, adding: + + "If I have failed in any part of my duty or done anything + contrary to Your Majesty's wishes, I beg you to excuse my + ignorance, assuring you that I have acted by the advice of + my late husband's Councillors, and with no regard to my own + interests, but with the sole object of promoting Your Majesty's + honour and service, and remain + + "Your very humble and obedient servant, + "CHRÉTIENNE. + "November 20, 1535."[128] + + +The messenger whom Stampa sent to Palermo on the day of the Duke's +death missed the Emperor, who had already left for Messina, and the +news did not reach him until he had landed in Calabria, on his way to +Naples. It was not till the 27th of November that a horseman bearing +letters from Cæsar arrived in Milan. Here intense anxiety prevailed +among all classes, and the Spaniards were as much hated as the Duke +and Duchess had been beloved. Accordingly, the relief was great when +it became known that, although Signor Antonio de Leyva was appointed +Governor-General, Stampa was to retain his post as Castellan, and the +Duchess was to remain in the Castello. + + "The Duchess remains Duchess," wrote the chronicler, "and all + the other officials retain their places. Above all, Count + Massimiliano keeps his office, and the city is perfectly + quiet."[129] + +[Sidenote: DEC., 1535] THE PRINCE OF PIEDMONT] + +Stampa now made a last effort to maintain the independence of Milan. +He proposed that the widowed Duchess should be given in marriage to +the Duke of Savoy's eldest son, Louis, a Prince of her own age, who +was being educated at his imperial uncle's Court. A petition to this +effect, signed by Chancellor Taverna and all the leading senators, was +addressed to the Emperor, and Giovanni Paolo Sforza was sent to Rome to +meet His Majesty and obtain the Pope's support. + + "Gian Paolo Sforza and Taverna," wrote the Venetian Envoy, + Lorenzo Bragadin, "have begged Cæsar to give the hand of his + niece, the widow, to the Duke of Savoy's son, and this is the + wish of all the people of Milan."[130] + +Unfortunately, Giovanni Paolo fell ill on the journey, and breathed his +last in a village of the Apennines, and before Charles left Naples he +heard that the promising young Prince of Piedmont had died on Christmas +Day at Madrid. His brother, Emanuel Philibert, was a child of seven, +and although his ambitious mother, Duchess Beatrix, hastened to put +forward his claim, nothing more was heard of the scheme. + +By this time another marriage for Christina was being seriously +discussed at the Imperial Court. Even before the Duke's death, the +French King had done his best to provoke a quarrel with him, and +had begun to make active preparations for war. Hardly had Francesco +breathed his last, than he openly renewed his old claim to Milan, and +sent an Ambassador to the Emperor at Naples, demanding the duchy for +his second son, Henry, Duke of Orleans, the husband of Catherine de' +Medici. This plan, which would have made the French supreme in North +Italy, could not be entertained for a moment, but Charles, in his +anxiety to avoid war, was ready to accept almost any other alternative. +When his sister Eleanor implored him to agree to her husband's +proposal, and, by way of cementing the alliance, give "the little widow +of Milan" in marriage to the King's third son, the Duke of Angoulême, +he replied that he would gladly treat of the proposed marriage, but +only on condition that Angoulême, not Orleans, was put in possession of +Milan. + +The union of the French Prince with Christina now became the subject of +prolonged negotiations between the two Courts. The Imperial Chancellor, +Granvelle, drew up a long and careful memorandum, dwelling on the +obvious advantages of the scheme, on the virtues and charms of the +young Duchess, on her large dowry and great popularity in Milan, and +Charles told Francis plainly that he would agree to no scheme by which +the widowed Duchess was removed from the State, "where she was so much +beloved and honoured, and where the people placed all their hopes of +tranquillity in her presence." One great object of these negotiations, +he wrote, "is to find a noble and suitable husband for our niece, the +Widow of Milan, who is to us almost a daughter, and who has always +shown herself so discreet and so obedient to our wishes."[131] + +[Sidenote: MARCH, 1536] MANY SUITORS] + +Both the Pope and the Venetians supported this scheme as the best +means of avoiding war and preserving the independence of Milan. At +the same time Pope Paul did not fail to put in a plea for his own +kinsman, the son of his niece Cecilia Farnese, and Count Bosio Sforza, +a descendant of Francesco I.'s half-brother. Bosio had been a loyal +supporter of the late Duke, but died soon after Christina's marriage, +leaving a son of fifteen, who was brought up at the Court of Milan. +The Pope himself addressed a grateful letter to Christina, thanking +her for the kindness which she had shown the boy, and throwing out a +hint that a marriage with her young Sforza cousin might be possible. +Another husband whom Granvelle proposed for her was Duke Alexander +of Florence, but, fortunately, Charles decided to give him his own +illegitimate daughter Margaret, and Christina thus escaped union with +this reckless and profligate Prince, who was soon afterwards murdered +by his kinsman.[132] Meanwhile the Scottish Ambassadors at the French +Court made proposals to the Emperor on behalf of their King, James +V., who had not yet made up his mind to wed Magdalen of Valois, and +these negotiations were only interrupted by the high-handed action of +King Henry's new favourite, Thomas Cromwell. Thus, a few weeks after +the Duke of Milan's death his widow's hand had become the subject of +animated controversy in all the Courts of Europe.[133] + +But while others were negotiating the French were arming. On the 6th of +March, the first day of Carnival, news reached Milan that a French army +had crossed the Alps. The strong citadel of Montmélian was betrayed by +the treachery of a Neapolitan captain, and after a gallant defence the +Duke of Savoy was compelled to evacuate Turin, and take refuge with +his wife and children at Vercelli. All hope of peace was now over, and, +in a consistory held in the Vatican on the 8th of April, the Emperor +appealed to the Pope to bear witness how earnestly he had tried to +prevent war, and how fruitless his efforts had proved. At Granvelle's +suggestion, he determined to carry the war into the enemy's country, +and, following in the steps of Charles VIII., crossed the Apennines, +and marched by the Emilian Way and along the banks of the Po towards +Asti. + +[Sidenote: MAY, 1536] MEETING WITH CHARLES V.] + +The dread of a French invasion had united all parties in Milan. The +citizens forgot their hatred of the Spaniards in their terror of +another siege, and cheerfully submitted to fresh taxes to pay the +defending army. It was a late spring that year in Lombardy, the weather +was bitterly cold, and by the end of April the vines had only put forth +tiny shoots, and the roses were not yet in flower. Nothing was heard +in the streets but the din of approaching warfare, and the tramp of +armed _Landsknechten_ marching from Tyrol on their way to the frontier. +But in the last days of April Christina's dull life was brightened by +the sudden arrival of the Duchess of Savoy, who fled from the camp at +Vercelli to take refuge in the Castello of Milan. Times were altered +since the two Princesses had met at Turin, and the Duchess Beatrix, who +had welcomed the little bride so warmly, was sadly changed in body and +mind. She had lost her eldest son, and been driven out of her home by +foreign invaders, never to return there again in her lifetime. With her +she brought her two remaining children, the little Princess Catherine +and Emanuel Philibert, who was one day to become famous as the bravest +captain in Europe. And she also brought a treasure which excited the +utmost enthusiasm among the Milanese--the Holy Shroud of St. Joseph of +Arimathea, which had been preserved for centuries at Chambéry. Crowds +flocked to the Duomo when Beatrix's Franciscan confessor preached, +in the hope of seeing the precious Shroud; but the Duchess would not +allow the relic to leave the Castello, and on the 7th it was exposed +on the ramparts to the view of an enormous multitude assembled in the +piazza.[134] + +A week later Francesco Sforza's cousin, Ferrante Gonzaga, and the Duke +of Savoy, came to Milan, but soon left for the camp. Beatrix then +obtained permission to pay the Emperor a visit on his journey north, +and by Charles's express request took Christina with her. On the 18th +of May the magistrates of Pavia received orders from the Duchess of +Milan's _maggiordomo_, Benedetto da Corte, to prepare lodgings for +Her Excellency and the Duchess of Savoy, as near to each other as +possible.[135] The Castello of Pavia had suffered terribly in the siege +by Lautrec in 1528, but a few rooms were hastily furnished, and on the +20th Beatrix and Christina arrived, escorted by Count Massimiliano and +several courtiers. Early on the following morning the two Duchesses +rode out to Arena on the Po, where they found the Emperor awaiting +them. Charles was unfeignedly glad to see both his sister-in-law and +the niece whom he had left as a child at Brussels four years before, +and welcomed them affectionately.[136] But the interview was a short +one, and the next day he continued his journey to Asti, where he joined +Antonio de Leyva and Ferrante Gonzaga, and prepared to invade Provence. + +[Sidenote: OCT., 1536] CARDINAL CARACCIOLO] + +Meanwhile Beatrix and Christina returned to Milan, and spent the summer +together in the Castello. A close friendship sprang up between the two +Duchesses. Beatrix took a motherly interest in her young companion, and +the children's presence helped to cheer these anxious months. At first +the Emperor's arms were entirely successful. The French retired before +him to Avignon, laying the country waste, and he met with no opposition +until he reached Aix, which resisted all his attacks. During the long +siege which followed, his soldiers suffered severely from disease and +famine, and many youths of the noblest Milanese families were among +the victims.[137] Early in September, while Christina's own secretary, +Belcorpo, was robbed and murdered on his way to the camp, Antonio de +Leyva, the redoubtable Commander-in-Chief, died, and was buried in S. +Eustorgio at Milan. The Papal Legate, Cardinal Caracciolo, a Neapolitan +by birth, was appointed to succeed him as Viceroy of Milan. He had +only just assumed the reins of office, and paid his first visit to the +young Duchess, when he received a summons from the Emperor to join him +at Genoa. Finding it impossible to reduce Aix, Charles had determined +to abandon the campaign, and on the 16th of November a three months' +truce was signed between the two monarchs. The Emperor was anxious to +return to Spain, where his presence was sorely needed. But before his +departure he sent for the Cardinal, desiring him to leave some trusty +lieutenant to govern the State in his absence, and take charge of his +niece the Duchess. Accordingly, Caracciolo went to Genoa on the 4th of +October, accompanied by Beatrix of Savoy, who, after a long interview +with the Emperor, joined her husband at Nice, the only city which +still belonged to him. Soon after this her health gave way under the +prolonged strain, and this once brilliant and beautiful woman died in +January, 1538, as she said herself, of a broken heart. + +Christina, now left alone at Milan, wrote a long letter to the +Cardinal, whom she addressed in the language of a caressing child, +saying that he was dear to her as a father, and seeking his help for +two objects which lay very near her heart. + + "The true affection," she writes, "which Your Excellency has + shown me, and the kind remembrance of me which you always keep, + makes me anxious for your health and welfare. So I beg you to + tell me how you have prospered on your journey, and if you are + well in health." + +She then begs her friend the Cardinal to use his influence with the +Emperor on behalf of her sister Dorothea, "the person now nearest and +dearest to her on earth," who is in need of her powerful uncle's help. +Probably the Palatine was, as usual, endeavouring to recover arrears +of the pension due to him by the Emperor, and to obtain compensation +for the costs which he had incurred in the disastrous expedition +against Copenhagen. Hubert had lately been sent to Charles with this +object, and had at the same time suggested that, if the Emperor needed +a Viceroy for Milan, no one could be more suitable than his lord. But +whatever the precise object of Dorothea's request may have been, +Christina's intercession, it is to be feared, availed her little. + +The Duchess's other petition was more easily granted. + + "As a whole year," she wrote, "will soon have elapsed since the + death of my dearest husband, of blessed memory, I beg you to + entreat His Majesty, in my name, to be pleased to give orders + that this anniversary may be observed in a due and fitting + manner. And I am quite certain that he will not refuse to hear + this my prayer."[138] + +It would indeed have been impossible for the Emperor to refuse so +reasonable a request, and the anniversary of the late Duke's death was +observed with due ceremonial in all the churches of Milan. But the days +of the young Duchess's abode in this city were fast drawing to a close. +Before Charles left Italy he had determined to place a strong Spanish +garrison in the Castello, to defend Milan against the risk of a French +invasion, and had only delayed to take this step from fear of exciting +discontent in the city. Stampa had hitherto succeeded in warding off +the blow, but now he was forced to bow to the imperial command, and +surrender the Castello to a foreign captain. + +Charles, it must be owned, did his best to soften the blow. He made the +Count a present of the rich fief of Soncino in the province of Cremona, +and sent him as a parting gift the costly plate which had belonged to +the late Duke, with a cordial invitation to follow him to Spain. But we +see, from a letter which Stampa's friend Aretino sent him, how sorely +this vexed his noble heart. + +[Sidenote: DEC., 1536] ARETINO'S COMFORT] + + "I will not grieve, my illustrious friend," wrote the + time-serving Venetian, "if you have to give up the Castello, + which you held for love of His Excellency, of happy memory, + because to my mind it was a prison for your genius. Dry your + tears, and console yourself with the reflection that now at + least you are a free man. His Majesty is relieved from the + jealousy of his Spanish servants, and you are saved from + further anxieties on this subject. Now you can, if you choose, + follow him to Spain, and lay down your office with honour + unstained, and then return to Milan to live in freedom and + contentment."[139] + +This was poor comfort for Massimiliano, but the Emperor's will was +not to be gainsaid, and the Count could only lay down his office and +take leave of the young Duchess, assuring her of his undying loyalty +and faithfulness. Charles had not forgotten his niece, and before he +sailed for Barcelona on the 15th of November he sent one of his oldest +and most trusted servants, Jean de Montmorency, Sieur de Courrières, +the Captain of the Archers' Guard, to take charge of the Duchess, and +eventually conduct her to Flanders. But while negotiations for her +second marriage were still pending, it was felt desirable that she +should remain in Lombardy; and since the Castello would no longer be a +fit place for her, Montmorency was ordered to escort her to Pavia. On +the 10th of December, 1536, De Courrières arrived with fifty archers of +the Imperial Guard, and, after a brief consultation with the Cardinal +and Stampa, decided to take the Duchess to Pavia without delay.[140] + +The leaves of the trees in the gardens were turning yellow, and a pale +wintry sun shone down on the Castello, which Christina had first seen +in the joyous May-time, when a little procession of black-robed ladies, +with their attendants, issued from the Rocchetta, and mounted the +horses and litters in waiting for them. A few bystanders saluted them +reverently, and followed them with wistful eyes as they rode out of the +gates, down the street leading to the Porta Ticinese, until they were +out of sight. + +A few days later Count Massimiliano Stampa marched out of the Castello +at the head of his troops, and gave up the keys, which he had received +from the last Sforza Duke, to the Spanish Captain Alvarez de Luna, +who entered the gates amid the curses and groans of the citizens. +Henceforth the life of Milan as an independent State was over, and the +yoke of Spain descended on the ancient capital of Lombardy. + + +II. + +[Sidenote: DEC., 1536] A PALACE IN RUINS] + +The city of Pavia had always been loyal to the House of Sforza. In +no part of the duchy was there greater rejoicing on the restoration +of Duke Francesco II.; nowhere was his premature death more deeply +lamented. Several of Christina's most faithful servants were natives of +Pavia; among others, Benedetto da Corte, the master of her household, +and Bottigella, who had been so active in the preparations for her +reception. Now the people of Pavia welcomed her coming warmly, and +exerted themselves to see that nothing was lacking to her comfort. But +the city and Castello had suffered terribly in the protracted struggle +with France. The palace which had been the pride of the Sforza Dukes +was stripped of its fairest treasures. The frescoes and tapestries +were destroyed, the famous library was now in the castle of Blois, +and a great part of the walls had been thrown down by French guns and +allowed to crumble to pieces. So dilapidated was the state of the +building that it was difficult to find habitable rooms for the Duchess +and her suite. + +On the 21st of December, ten days after Christina's arrival, she +was forced to address a request to the chief magistrate, Lodovico +Pellizone, begging that her bedroom might be supplied with a wooden +ceiling, as the room was lofty and bitterly cold in this winter season. +Pellizone wrote without delay to the Governor of Milan, but received +no reply, and on New Year's Day Montmorency himself wrote to remind +the Cardinal of the Duchess's request, urging that the work might +be done without delay, and putting in a plea for a better provision +of mattresses to accommodate the members of her household. Still no +redress was obtained, and at length the Captain of the Archers took the +law into his own hands, and sent for carpenters to panel the Duchess's +bedroom.[141] But in spite of these drawbacks, in spite of the wind +that whistled through the long corridors and the comfortless air of the +empty halls, Christina's health and spirits were excellent. Her spirits +quickly recovered their natural buoyancy in these new surroundings, her +eyes shone with the old brightness, and the sound of merry laughter +was once more heard in the spacious halls and desolate gardens. On +the 3rd of January, only two days after Montmorency addressed his +fruitless remonstrance to the Viceroy, Christina herself wrote a +letter to the same illustrious personage in a very different strain. +She had, it appears, seen a very handsome white horse in the hostelry +of the Fountain in Pavia, and was seized with a passionate desire to +have the palfrey for her own use. So she wrote in the most persuasive +language to her good Father the Cardinal, begging his leave to buy the +horse, which she is convinced will suit her exactly. But, since she +fears that her monthly allowance will not suffice to defray the cost, +she begs His Eminence to advance the necessary sum, and charge it to +the extraordinary expenses for which she is not responsible. This +letter, written in her large round hand, was sent to Milan by one of +the Duchess's lackeys, with the words "Cito, cito" on the cover, and +an urgent plea for an immediate answer.[142] The kindly old Cardinal, +who had a soft side for the youthful Princess, could hardly refuse so +pressing a request, and Christina probably bought the white horse, and +had the pleasure of mounting it when she rode out to visit the friars +of the Certosa or hunted in their park. + +[Sidenote: FEB., 1537] THE EMPEROR'S SERVANT] + +She had another good friend and devoted servant in the Sieur de +Courrières--Monsignor di Corea, as he was called in Italy. This +gallant gentleman had grown up in close intimacy with the Emperor from +his boyhood. He accompanied Charles to Spain as cupbearer, and was +appointed Captain of the Archers' Guard on attaining his majority. +In 1535 he followed his master to Africa at the head of a chosen +band of archers, fifty of whom remained with him as an escort for +the Duchess. By Charles's orders, he sent constant reports to His +Majesty from Pavia. The correspondence fills a whole volume, and is +extremely interesting if only because it shows the familiarity with +which the great Emperor treated his old servant, and the freedom which +Montmorency allowed himself in addressing his master. + +On the 15th of February, Charles wrote from Valladolid, thanking +De Courrières cordially for the services which he had rendered the +Duchess, approving highly of her residence at Pavia, and promising +to pay for the maintenance of his archers. He alludes pleasantly to +Montmorency's meeting with another of his confidential servants, +Simonet, whom he had left at Milan. + + "Simonet was right to put off his return to Flanders until the + worst rigours of winter were over, and was fortunate in meeting + you, for old folks of the same country are very glad to meet + in foreign lands, even if they are not natives of Brabant. + Farewell, _cher et féal_, for the present, and God have you in + His holy keeping!" + +Five weeks later he wrote again, expressing his satisfaction at hearing +of his dear niece's health and happiness, and saying how entirely he +trusted Montmorency to provide for her comfort. + + "At the same time," he continued, "we cannot help feeling, both + with regard to the Duchess's widowed condition and the troubled + state of Italy, that she would be better with our sister, the + Queen of Hungary, in our own country, _par-deça_, where some + suitable marriage might be found for her. Accordingly we have + written to our sister on the subject, and desired Cardinal + Caracciolo to make all needful preparation for her journey. + You had better see that she has a proper escort and all else + that is necessary to her comfort, without making these things + public, until we hear from our sister."[143] + +Mary on her part was most anxious for her niece's return, and lost no +time in letting Charles know how impatiently she expected her. But, +with characteristic dilatoriness, the Imperial Council, which met at +Monzone on the 2nd of June, pronounced that it was highly expedient +for the Widow of Milan to go to Flanders, but that the Queen's wishes +must first of all be consulted.[144] Meanwhile Count Massimiliano +Stampa returned from Spain with instructions from the Emperor to +make arrangements for the Duchess's journey with the Cardinal and +Montmorency, and Charles wrote again to beg the Captain to start +without delay. But this, as Montmorency replied, was not so easy. Three +months' pay was due to his men, and in his penniless condition it was +hard to provide them with food or their horses with fodder. + + "I will do my utmost, Sire," he wrote on the 15th of June, "but + some things are impossible. As I told you when you left me at + Genoa, six months' wages were due to me, and I can only beg you + to have pity on your poor Captain; for we are in sore straits, + and you alone can help us, for, as the Scripture saith, _Tua + est potentia_." + +At the same time, like the brave soldier that he was, the writer cannot +refrain from expressing his joy at the good news of the capture of S. +Pol, which had just arrived from Flanders. + +[Sidenote: AUG., 1537] CAPTAIN OF THE ARCHERS] + + "Sire, I hear grand news from S. Pol, and am sure, when you + return to your Low Countries, you will find that the Queen + has been very vigilant in charge of your affairs, and will be + welcomed by very humble and loyal subjects. But you will have + something to say to the citizens of Ghent, for I fear those + gentlemen are not as wise as they might be. Sire, I hear that, + after the surrender of Hesdin, your sister the Queen of France + came to the camp in rich attire, with a number of ladies all + in white. Such insolence cannot last long, as S. Pol--both the + town and the Apostle--bear witness. I hear that Madame the new + Duchesse d'Étampes was nowhere. _Sic transit gloria mundi._ All + this Latin is to show Your Majesty that I have not wasted my + time in Pavia, any more than Don Beltrami did at Louvain. Once + more I beg you to have pity on _La Chrétiennete_, who needs + your help more than ever." + +But the summer months went by, and still no orders and no money came +from Spain. Pavia became unhealthy, and the Duchess and all the members +of her household fell ill of fever. + + "Hardly one has escaped," wrote Montmorency on the 22nd of + August, "but now, thank God, my Lady has recovered, and I am + trying to raise money to carry out your orders, although I fear + my purse is not long enough to feed my poor archers."[145] + +A month later the Captain went to Milan to expedite matters, but as +yet could hear nothing from Spain, and on his return to Pavia early in +October, he addressed long remonstrances both to Charles and Granvelle. + + "Sire," wrote the irate Captain, "I have been ordered to take + my Lady Duchess to Flanders, but not a word has been said as + to the route that I am to take. Since it is your pleasure, it + shall be done; but if any harm comes to her in Germany, seeing + the poor escort we shall have, who will be to blame? My fear is + that, as we pass through the duchy of Würtemberg, the Duke's + son may fall upon us with his _Landsknechten_, and my Lady + would certainly not be a bad match for him! Your Majesty has + not given me a single letter or warrant for the journey, and + has not written me a word. And when I get _par-deça_, I know + not what I am to do or say. My Lady, too, is much surprised + not to have received a letter from Your Majesty before her + departure, but of this, of course, I have no right to speak." + +In a postscript he adds that he has raised 500 gold crowns, and given +each of his men 10 crowns to buy new saddles, as they hope to start on +the 15th of October. He ends by humbly reminding His Majesty that he is +growing old, and is almost fifty, and that if he does not soon take a +wife it will be too late. + + "All this coming and going ages a man, and before long I shall + be as wrinkled as the rest. So when I reach the Queen, I hope + some little token of honour may be given me, that men may see + Your Majesty has not wholly forgotten me. And you will, I hope, + tell me what I am to do when I have taken Her Excellency to + Flanders, as I have written to Granvelle repeatedly, and had + no answer, but suppose he is busy with great affairs. And I + pray that all prosperity may attend Your Majesty, and that this + year, which has begun so well, may end by seeing you back in + Piedmont."[146] + +[Sidenote: OCT., 1537] CHRISTINA'S DEPARTURE] + +On the 14th of October Christina herself wrote to inform the Emperor of +her intended departure, and of the good order of her affairs, thanks to +the Cardinal and Seigneur de Courrières. "We hope to start to-morrow, +and travel by way of Mantua and Trent, and through Germany, taking +whichever seems to be the shortest and safest route." There had, it +appears, been much discussion over the revenues assigned to the Duchess +as her dower, and in the end she was deprived of the town and Castello +of Vigevano, which the Duke had left her by his will. But by the terms +of her marriage contract she remained absolute mistress of the city of +Tortona, and informed the Emperor that, acting on the advice of the +Cardinal, as Lady of Tortona, she had appointed a certain Gabriele +Panigarola to be Governor of the town, and begged his approval. At +the same time she sent her uncle a memorial, drawn up by Montmorency, +explaining that, since she had not received the arrears of her dowry, +she was not able to pay her servants, and had been forced to contract +many debts at Pavia, and to spend money on the repair of the rooms +which she occupied in the Castello. + +Many last requests were addressed to the Duchess by the poor and needy +whom she had befriended, and from her own servants, who with one +voice begged to be allowed to follow her to Flanders. One of the most +pressing came from an old Milanese couple, whose son, Niccolò Belloni, +was Christina's secretary, and at their earnest prayer she decided +to allow the young man to remain in her service as one of the four +Italians who accompanied her to Flanders by the Emperor's orders. And +the last letter which the Duchess wrote to the Cardinal, on the eve of +her departure, was to plead for a community of noble ladies in Pavia +who were reduced to dire poverty owing to the late wars, and begged +humbly for a remission of taxes.[147] During the ten months which she +had spent at Pavia the young Duchess had made herself beloved by all +classes of people, and her departure was lamented by the whole city. + + +III. + +[Sidenote: OCT., 1537] "EN VOYAGE"] + +On the 15th of October Christina and her suite left Pavia, and started +on their long-deferred journey to Flanders. When she first set foot in +Italy as a bride, three and a half years before, the Lombard plains +were in the first flush of spring, roses and myrtles were breaking +into bloom, and the flowers sprang up under her feet. Now the autumn +rains fell in such torrents that Cardinal Caracciolo was seriously +alarmed, and wrote to Benedetto da Corte and Monsignore di Corea, +asking if it might not be well to delay their departure. The first +idea had been to go from Pavia to Cremona in a single day, but the bad +roads and swollen rivers increased the difficulties of travel, and the +Cardinal wrote to implore Messer Benedetto and Corea not to undertake +such long journeys, lest the Duchess should be overtired. So the party +only rode as far as Codogno, the castle of Count Gaspare Trivulzio, +where he and his beautiful wife, Deianira, received them joyfully, +and entertained them "as magnificently as if they had been invited to +a wedding." Christina's lady-in-waiting, the Princess of Macedonia, +rejoiced to be under her daughter's roof, and Benedetto da Corte wrote +to tell the Cardinal that nothing could exceed the splendour and +hospitality of Count Gaspare's reception. On the 18th the travellers +rode along the plains flooded by the swollen Po till they reached +Cremona, the dower city of Bianca Visconti, where she had been married +to the great Condottiere Francesco Sforza, and which had clung with +unswerving loyalty to the fortunes of his house. Here the Castellan +came out to meet the Duchess, at the head of the chief citizens, and +escorted her to the Castello under the shadow of the famous Torrazza, +where she and all her suite found the best of cheer. The next morning +the travellers resumed their way, and crossed the rushing Oglio, under +the castle of the Gonzagas of Bozzolo, and rode along the green meadows +by Castiglione's country home, where his aged mother was still living. +The great courtier's name was familiar to all Charles V.'s servants, +and Montmorency, who had known him in Spain, may have paused to look at +the fair sepulchral chapel which Giulio Romano had lately reared in the +pilgrimage church of S. Maria delle Grazie. At Mantua another splendid +welcome awaited Christina. The Gonzaga Princes never forgot their close +relationship to the Sforzas, and while the reigning Duchess welcomed +the Princess of Macedonia as a kinswoman, the old Marchesana, Isabella, +rejoiced to embrace her nephew's wife, and looked with affection on +this youthful Duchess who bore the same title as her long-lost Beatrice. + +The next morning Benedetto da Corte sent the Cardinal a glowing +account of their journey, which, in spite of the weather, had been one +triumphal progress: + + "REVERENDISSIMO, + + "Her Excellency arrived safely here at Mantua yesterday with + all her company, horses, and carriages, and was received + most royally, as has, indeed, been the case in every place + where we have halted on our way. Her whole household has been + entertained with the best fare, and with little damage to our + purses.... The kindness with which we have been received has + made these perpetual rains tolerable. We are quite accustomed + to them, and shall not be afraid of the next tempest! We are + resting here on this sixth day of our journey at the entreaty + of these illustrious Princes. On Sunday, please God, we shall + reach Verona, and I have sent to ask the Governor to prepare + convenient lodgings for Her Excellency. His Reverence the + Cardinal of Trent has sent a messenger here to-night to inquire + how many we number, and so we go on gaily from stage to stage. + Once we have reached Trent, we shall seem to be in sight of + the Rhine, and can pursue our way at less peril to our lives, + and, let us hope, to the greater advantage of His Majesty's + service. I kiss Your Reverence's hand, and so also does + Monsignore di Corea. + + "BENEDETTO DA CORTE. + "Mantova, October 20."[148] + +[Sidenote: OCT., 1537] THE CARDINAL OF TRENT] + +The Cardinal's worst anxieties were relieved by the receipt of +Benedetto's letter, and he sent a reply to the Castle of Trent thanking +him and Monsignore di Corea for their trouble, and expressing great +satisfaction to hear of their prosperous journey. The travellers now +turned their steps northwards, and, after spending a night in the city +of the Scaligeri, followed the Adige through the rocky defile known +as La Chiusa di Verona. As they passed through the fortified gates at +the farther end of the ravine, a salute from the guns made them aware +that they had entered Austrian territory. A few miles farther they +were met by the Cardinal-Bishop, Bernhard von Clès, who had ridden out +with a great train to welcome the Duchess. A strong Imperialist no +less than an active reformer, Bernhard von Clès had been raised to the +cardinalate at Charles's coronation, and was now Vice-Chancellor of the +Empire.[149] He had lately received a visit from Christina's uncle, +King Ferdinand, and his wife, Anna, who honoured his niece's wedding +with their presence, and the sumptuous rooms which they had occupied +were now placed at Christina's disposal. "Nothing was lacking," wrote +Benedetto da Corte, "which could please the eye or delight the mind." +The splendour of the episcopal palace and the open-handed liberality of +the Cardinal made a great impression on Montmorency, who wrote himself +to tell the Cardinal how well Madama had borne the journey. + + "I cannot tell you," he adds, "how splendidly Monsignor + Reverendissimo has received the Duchess, and how sumptuously he + has feasted us. Here we mean to rest all to-day, and to-morrow + we will pursue our journey with the utmost diligence." + +But so pressing was the Cardinal, and so luxurious were the quarters +provided for them, that the travellers remained at Trent several days, +and only resumed their journey on the 27th of October. + +The most arduous part of the way now lay before them, and Benedetto +describes how they harnessed the mules to the chariot in order that +the Duchess and her ladies might drive across the Brenner Pass, at +least as far as Innsbruck. Montmorency was in some doubt as to the +route which the Duchess had better take through Germany, but, much to +his satisfaction, he found the long-expected letter from the Emperor +awaiting him at Innsbruck. It was written from Monzone on the last day +of October, a fortnight after Christina had left Pavia. Charles put the +blame of his delay on the Queen of Hungary's shoulders, and, since it +was too late to wait for her directions, bade him consult the Cardinal +of Trent as to their future journey. + + "If you have already left Trent, you had better go on either + by road or else by the Rhine. If you are at Innsbruck, you can + take advice from the King our brother or from Dr. Matthias + Held"--one of Ferdinand's most trusted German Councillors--"and + choose whichever route they consider the safest. If you have + received no letters from the Queen, you had better send a + messenger to Flanders, and we will inform you as soon as we + know her pleasure regarding our niece's future plans." + +In conclusion the Emperor tells Montmorency that he is sending the +letters patent for which he asked, although they are hardly necessary, +and has already told the Queen to refund all the expenses which he has +incurred, and to be mindful of his great and long services.[150] + +The travellers spent some time at Innsbruck in the ancient castle which +is still adorned with the Sforza arms, and Christina saw the superb +monument erected by her great-grandfather Maximilian in the church +hard by. Ferdinand and his wife and daughters were in Vienna, but the +route which Montmorency chose was that followed by most travellers, +along the Lake of Constance and down the Rhine to Spires. From the +first Christina had been very anxious to visit her sister Dorothea on +her journey north, and she succeeded in obtaining her uncle's consent +to this arrangement. The two Princesses had not met since Christina +left Brussels in the spring of 1534, and Dorothea was no less impatient +to see her sister. Even before the travellers reached Trent, they met +two Genoese merchants, who told Montmorency that on their way through +Germany they had seen the Count Palatine Frederic and Madama la +Principessa, his wife, with a great company, on their way to Heidelberg +to await the Duchess's coming. When, in November, the travellers at +length reached Heidelberg, they found themselves impatiently expected, +and Christina received the warmest welcome from the Elector Palatine +and his family. + +[Sidenote: DEC., 1537] AT HOME AGAIN] + +Festivities such as Frederic and Dorothea took delight in--jousting, +banquets, and dances--followed each other in rapid succession, and the +castle blazed with innumerable torches through the winter nights. +It was a great change from the funereal blackness of the Castello of +Milan and the desolate halls of Pavia, and the young Duchess enjoyed it +to the full. The days sped by all too quickly, and so happy were the +sisters in each other's company that the Elector invited Christina to +stay over Christmas. The young Duchess accepted the proposal gleefully, +and all were preparing to spend a joyous festival, when Montmorency +received peremptory orders from the Queen-Regent to bring her niece +forthwith to Flanders. After this no delays were possible. The sisters +parted sadly from each other, and the travellers once more took boat +and sailed down the Rhine to Cologne. + +From here it was an easy journey to Aix-la-Chapelle, and through the +friendly State of Cleves to Maestricht, and thence to Louvain and +Brussels. On the 8th of December Christina set foot once more in the +ancient palace of the Dukes of Brabant, and was clasped in her aunt's +arms. Ten days afterwards she wrote a letter to inform the Emperor +of her safe arrival, and of "the good and loving welcome" which she +had received from "Madame my aunt." She begged His Majesty to keep +her still in his remembrance, and signed herself, "Your humble niece, +Chrétienne."[151] + +She was at home once more among her own people, and all the strange +sights and scenes, all the wonderful experiences which she had known, +in these four eventful years, seemed to fade away like a dream. But she +had left Flanders a child, and she came back a woman. + + +IV. + +[Sidenote: SEPT., 1537] THE CLEVES MARRIAGE] + +Christina's return was impatiently awaited at Brussels. The courtiers +who remembered her mother, and had known her as a child, were eager +to see the young Duchess, whose courage and wisdom had been shown in +such trying circumstances. All through the summer her coming had been +expected, and the Regent was seriously annoyed at the prolonged delays +which had hindered her niece's departure from Milan. Her heart yearned +over the child from whom she had parted with so much reluctance. More +than this, she had in her mind's eye a second husband ready for the +young Duchess. This was William, the only son and heir of the reigning +Duke of Cleves. A handsome and well-educated young man of twenty-two, +the young Duke had not yet developed that fatal weakness of purpose +which proved his bane, and was to all appearances an excellent match +for the Emperor's niece. The political advantages of the union were +obvious. Duke John had married the heiress of Jülich and Bergh, and +reigned over three rich and peaceful provinces on the Lower Rhine. He +had always been on friendly terms with the Emperor, and when, a few +months after the Duke of Milan's death, he asked for the young widow's +hand on behalf of his son, Mary welcomed these advances gladly, and +hastened to communicate them to the Emperor.[152] At first Charles +replied coolly that, if the marriage with Angoulême could not be +arranged, the proposals made by the King of Scotland or Cleves might be +entertained. In October, 1536, Mary sent a confidential messenger, La +Tiloye, to Genoa to learn the Emperor's pleasure in the matter, but +nothing further was done. After the fresh outbreak of war in 1537, and +the invasion of Artois by the French, Charles became more alive to the +importance of the question, and wrote to his sister from Spain, saying +that he had ordered the Widow of Milan to go to the Low Countries, and +hoped she would proceed at once to the conclusion of the marriage with +Cleves.[153] + +At that moment all Mary's energies were absorbed in the struggle with +France. She herself went to Lille to superintend military operations, +and appeared on horseback in the trenches before Thérouenne, where her +courage excited the admiration of John Hutton, the English Ambassador. +"Let the King but tarry fifteen days," she exclaimed, "and I will show +him what God may strengthen a woman to do!" But, in spite of these +brave words, Mary, as Hutton soon discovered, was sincerely desirous +to end the war. "The Queen's anxiety for peace," he wrote home, "is as +great as her ardour in war."[154] She knew the straits to which the +Emperor was reduced and the exhaustion of the Treasury. "The poverty +of this country is so great," she wrote to Charles on the 9th of June, +"that it is impossible to provide necessary funds for the war. We must +have peace, or we are lost."[155] Under these circumstances she lent a +willing ear to her sister Queen Eleanor's advances, and the two sisters +had the satisfaction of arranging a truce at Bomy, a village near +Thérouenne. The siege of this city was raised, the French evacuated the +towns which they held, and on the 10th of September peace was ratified +by the Emperor at Monzone. + +[Sidenote: JAN., 1538] THE SUCCESSION OF GUELDERS] + +Mary felt that she could once more breathe freely. She lost no time +in renewing negotiations with the Duke of Cleves, and the proposed +marriage became the talk of the Court. "The Queen," wrote Hutton, +on the 2nd of September, from Bruges, where Mary was hunting after +her wont and spending all day in the saddle, "looketh daily for the +Duchess of Milan, who shall be married to the Duke of Cleves's son and +heir."[156] A month later the Cleves Envoys arrived at Brussels, and, +after repeated interviews with the Queen and her Council, returned, +well satisfied, to obtain their master's consent to the terms of the +contract. The news spread rapidly, and was reported by Ambassadors +from Spain and Germany, from Rome and Paris, with the same unanimity. +Suddenly an unexpected event altered the face of affairs. Charles of +Egmont, the fiery old Duke of Guelders, who had for many years been +the Emperor's bitter enemy, fell ill, and, feeling his end to be near, +summoned the Estates of his realm to choose a successor. Since he had +no issue, his own wish was to leave his States to the French King; but +his subjects positively refused to be handed over to a foreign Power, +and chose the young Duke William of Cleves, who hastened to visit +Nimeguen, where he was acclaimed by his future subjects. This was a +clear breach of faith, since, by the treaty concluded a year before +with the Emperor, Guelders was to pass into his hands at Charles of +Egmont's death, and the ancient rights to the duchy which the House +of Cleves formerly claimed had been already sold to the Dukes of +Burgundy.[157] Mary's indignation was great. She wrote angrily to tell +William of Cleves that Guelders was the property of the Emperor, and +that if he persevered in his pretensions all idea of his marriage +to her niece must be abandoned. The young Duke returned a courteous +answer, saying that nothing could be farther from his thoughts than a +breach of loyalty to the Emperor, and professing the utmost anxiety +for the marriage. At the same time the old Duke's action excited great +annoyance in Lorraine, where his nephew, the reigning Duke Anthony, +claimed to be heir to Guelders, through his mother, Philippa of Egmont. +An attempt to pacify him by reviving a former marriage contract between +his son Francis and the Duke of Cleves's daughter Anne met with no +encouragement, and Ambassadors were sent to Guelders to enter a protest +on the Duke of Lorraine's behalf.[158] But Charles of Egmont turned +a deaf ear to all remonstrances, and on the 27th of January, 1538, +William of Cleves received the homage of the States of Guelders, and +was publicly recognized as the old Duke's successor. + +Such was the state of affairs when Christina reached Brussels on the +8th of December, 1537. Her faithful guardian, Montmorency, alludes to +the Cleves marriage in the following letter, which he addressed to +Cardinal Caracciolo on the 5th of January, 1538: + + "I wrote last from Trent on the 26th of October, and since + then have received several letters from you, and have duly + informed the Duchess of their contents. She is very grateful + for your kindness regarding her affairs, and begs you not to + relax your efforts.... As to Madama's marriage with Cleves, as + far as I can learn, it will not take place, because the Duke + has quarrelled with Lorraine, and Guelders is interfering. + Negotiations, however, are not yet broken off." + +Three months later he referred to the matter again in another letter, +and this time expressed his conviction that the marriage would never +take place.[159] + +Montmorency's own claims had not been forgotten. Soon after his return +he married a lady of the Lannoy family, and was appointed Bailiff +of Alost. Both Charles and Mary treated him with marked favour, and +employed him on important diplomatic missions. But he still held an +honorary post in the Duchess's household, and never ceased to be her +devoted servant. + +During the winter Hutton alluded repeatedly to the affair of Cleves in +his letters to Cromwell, saying that the Duke had been recognized by +the Communes of Guelders as their liege lord, and that the Queen quite +refused to let him wed the Duchess, although he was still eager for the +alliance. All sorts of wild rumours were flying about, and an Italian +merchant at Antwerp wrote to London that young Cleves was about to +marry the daughter of Lorraine, with Guelders as her dowry. But on the +25th of January Hutton reported that the Queen had sent Nassau and De +Praet to Duke William, to break off marriage negotiations and clear her +of all former promises.[160] + +[Sidenote: JAN., 1538] THE PALACE OF BRABANT] + +Christina herself was the person least concerned in these rumours. +Princes and Ministers might wrangle as they chose; they could not +destroy the happiness of being in her old home, surrounded by familiar +faces. The sound of the French tongue and the carillon in the towers +were music in her ears. Three things above all impressed Italian +travellers, like Guicciardini and Beatis, who came to the Low Countries +for the first time--the cleanliness of the streets and houses, the +green pastures with their herds of black and white cows, and the +beautiful church bells. These were all delightful to the young Duchess, +who had been so long absent from her old home. The city of Brussels, +with its fine houses and noble churches, its famous hôtel-de-ville, +and 350 fountains, was a pleasant town to live in. And the Palace of +Brabant itself was a wonderful place. There was the great hall, with +its lofty pointed arches, and priceless Burgundian tapestries, and the +golden suns and silver moons recently brought back from the New World +by Cortes, the conqueror of Mexico. + +The Queen gave Christina a suite of rooms close to her own, looking out +on the glossy leaves and interwoven boughs of the labyrinth, and the +gardens beyond, which Albert Dürer had called an earthly paradise, and +which the Cardinal of Aragon's secretary pronounced to be as beautiful +as any in Italy.[161] Here the young Duchess lived with her ladies and +household, presided over by Benedetto da Corte and Niccolò Belloni. +Every morning she attended Mass in the Court chapel, and dined and +spent the evenings with the Queen. On fine days, when Mary could spare +time from public affairs, they rode out together and hunted the deer +in the park, or took longer expeditions in the Forest of Soignies. As +fearless and almost as untiring a rider as her aunt, Christina was +quite at home in the saddle, and followed the Queen's example of riding +with her foot in the stirrup, an accomplishment which was new in those +days, and excited Brantôme's admiration.[162] + +The following Christmas was celebrated with great festivity at +Brussels. The war was over, and the presence of a youthful Princess +gave new charm to Court functions. Wherever Christina went she made +herself beloved. Her quick wit and frank enjoyment of simple pleasures +charmed everyone. Although in public she still wore heavy mourning +robes after the Italian fashion, and hid away her bright chestnut locks +under a black hood, in the evening, by her aunt's desire, she laid +aside her weeds, and appeared clad in rich brocades and glittering +jewels. Then she conversed freely with her aunt's ladies and with the +foreign Ambassadors, or played cards with the few great nobles who were +admitted to the Queen's private circle--Henry, Count of Nassau, the +proudest and richest lord in Flanders; the Duke of Aerschot and his +wife, Anne de Croy, the heiress of the Princes of Chimay; his sister, +Madame de Berghen; Count Büren; and a few others. + +[Sidenote: FEB., 1538] A PERFECT KNIGHT] + +Among them was one whom the young Duchess regarded with especial +interest. This was the hero of S. Pol, René, Prince of Orange. The +only son and heir of the great House of Nassau, René had inherited +the principality of Orange, in the South of France, from his uncle +Philibert of Châlons, the Imperialist leader who fell at the siege of +Florence, and whose sister Claude was Henry of Nassau's first wife. +As a child René had been Prince John of Denmark's favourite playmate, +and Christina had not forgotten her brother's old friend. Now he had +grown up a handsome and chivalrous Prince, skilled in all knightly +exercises. He had won his first laurels in the recent campaign, and +was the foremost of the valiant band which surprised the citadel of +S. Pol. The Queen honoured him with her especial favour, and, as the +Nassau house stood close to the palace, the young Prince was often in +her company. When, on Shrove Sunday, a grand tournament was held at +Court, one troop, clad in blue, was led by Count Büren's eldest son, +Floris d'Egmont; and the other by René, wearing the orange colours of +his house, with the proud motto, _Je maintiendrai_. Christina looked +down from her place at the Queen's side on the lists where the gallant +Prince challenged all comers, and it was from her hand that the victor +received the prize. Neither of them ever forgot that carnival.[163] + +FOOTNOTES: + +[128] Potenze Sovrane, 1535. Archivio di Stato. + +[129] Burigozzo, 528. + +[130] G. de Leva, "Storia Documentata di Carlo V.," etc., iii. 152. + +[131] Granvelle, "Papiers d'État," ii. 407, 446, 435. + +[132] Granvelle, ii. 407. + +[133] Calendar of Spanish State Papers, v. 1, 586; Granvelle, ii. 417. + +[134] Burigozzo, 532. + +[135] Museo Civico di Storia Patria, Pavia, 546. + +[136] L. Gachard, "Voyages des Souverains des Pays-Bas," ii. 133. + +[137] Calendar of Spanish State Papers, v. 2, 230. + +[138] Autografi di Principi, Archivio di Stato (see Appendix II.). + +[139] Aretino, "Lettere," i. 45. + +[140] "Correspondance de Charles V. avec J. de Montmorency, Seigneur de +Courrières," Papiers d'État de l'Audience, No. 82, p. 1, Archives du +Royaume, Bruxelles. + +[141] Carteggio con Montmorency, Archivio di Stato, Milan. + +[142] Autografi di Principi, Archivio di Stato, Milan (see Appendix +III.). + +[143] Papiers d'État, 82. 2, 12, Archives du Royaume. + +[144] Calendar of Spanish State Papers, v. 2, 353. + +[145] Papiers d'État, 82, 8-10. + +[146] Papiers d'État. 82, 12. + +[147] Autografi di Principi, Archivio di Stato, Milan. + +[148] "Carteggio con Montmorency, Conte di Corea," 1537-38, Archivio di +Stato, Milan. + +[149] L. Pastor, "Geschichte d. Papste," iv. 375; M. Guazzo, 371. + +[150] Papiers d'État, 82, 13, Archives du Royaume, Bruxelles. + +[151] Papiers d'État, 82, 19; State Papers, Record Office, viii. 6; +Calendar of State Papers, xii. 2, 415, 419. + +[152] Lanz, ii. 657. + +[153] Lanz, iii. 667, 677. + +[154] State Papers, Record Office, vii. 695. + +[155] Lanz, ii. 675. + +[156] Calendar of State Papers, Henry VIII., xii. 2, 231. + +[157] Henne, vii. 263, 267. + +[158] Calendar of State Papers, Henry VIII., xiii. 1, 35. + +[159] Carteggio Diplomatico, 1537-38, Archivio di Stato, Milan. + +[160] State Papers, xiii. 1, 8; Record Office, viii. 27, 29. + +[161] L. Pastor, "Reise des Kardinal Luigi d'Aragona," 116. L. +Guicciardini, "Paesi-Bassi," 74. + +[162] "Œuvres," xii. 107. + +[163] State Papers, Henry VIII., Record Office, viii. 16. + + + + +BOOK VI + +THE COURTSHIP OF HENRY VIII. + +1537-1539 + + +I. + +The Widow of Milan's fate still hung in the balance. While Mary of +Hungary had not yet lost all hope of marrying her to the Duke of +Cleves, and Queen Eleanor was no less anxious to see her the wife of +a French Prince, fresh proposals reached Brussels from an unexpected +quarter. This new suitor was none other than the Emperor's _bel oncle_, +King Henry of England. This monarch, who had openly defied the laws +of the Church, and after divorcing Charles's aunt, had pronounced +Queen Katherine's daughter to be illegitimate, could hardly expect to +find favour in the eyes of the Regent. Mary's own opinion of Henry's +character is frankly given in a very interesting letter which she wrote +to her brother Ferdinand in May, 1536, when the King of England had +sent Anne Boleyn to the block and made Jane Seymour his third wife. + +[Sidenote: MAY, 1536] HENRY VIII. AND HIS WIVES] + + "I hope," she wrote, "that the English will not do us much + harm now we are rid of the King's mistress, who was a good + Frenchwoman, and whom, as you have no doubt heard, he has + beheaded; and since no one skilful enough to do the deed could + be found among his own subjects, he sent for the executioner of + S. Omer, in order that a Frenchman should be the minister of + his vengeance. I hear that he has married another lady, who is + said to be a good Imperialist, although I do not know if she + will remain so much longer. He is said to have taken a fancy to + her before the last one's death, which, coupled with the fact + that neither the poor woman nor any of those who were beheaded + with her, saving one miserable musician, could be brought to + acknowledge her guilt, naturally makes people suspect that he + invented this pretext in order to get rid of her.... It is + to be hoped--if one can hope anything from such a man--that + when he is tired of this wife he will find some better way of + getting rid of her. Women, I think, would hardly be pleased if + such customs became general, and with good reason; and although + I have no wish to expose myself to similar risks, yet, as I + belong to the feminine sex, I, too, will pray that God may + preserve us from such perils."[164] + +But whatever Mary's private opinions were, political reasons compelled +her to preserve a friendly demeanour towards King Henry. The English +alliance was of the utmost importance to the trade of the Netherlands, +and the enmity of France made it essential to secure Henry's +neutrality, if not his active help. The death of Queen Katherine, +as Cromwell wrote, had removed "the onelie matter of unkindness" +between the two monarchs, and was soon followed by more friendly +communications. When the news of Prince Edward's birth reached Spain, +the Emperor held a long conversation with Sir Thomas Wyatt, the poet +and scholar, who had been sent to the Imperial Court early in 1537. He +expressed great pleasure at the news, laughing and talking pleasantly, +inquiring after the size and goodliness of the child, and ended by +saying frankly that he approved of the King's recent marriage as much +as he had always disliked his union with Anne Boleyn.[165] These last +remarks must have fallen strangely on the ears of Wyatt, whose old +intimacy with the hapless Queen had nearly cost him his life, and whose +death he lamented in some of his sweetest verse. But he was too good a +courtier not to repeat them in his letters to Cromwell and the King. +The news of the Prince's birth was shortly followed by that of the +Queen's death, which took place at Hampton Court on the 24th of October. + + "Divine Providence," said the royal widower, "has mingled my + joy for the son which it has pleased God to give me with the + bitterness of the death of her who brought me this happiness." + +[Sidenote: DEC., 1537] MARIE DE GUISE] + +Cromwell wrote to inform Lord William Howard, the special Envoy who had +taken the news of the Prince's birth to France, of Her Grace's death, +and in the same letter desired him to bring back particulars of two +French ladies who had been recommended as suitable successors to the +late Queen, since His Majesty, "moved by tender zeal for his subjects," +had already resolved to marry again. One of these was King Francis's +plain but accomplished daughter Margaret, who eventually married +the Duke of Savoy, although Cromwell, knowing his master's tastes, +remarked that, from what he heard, he "did not think she would be the +meetest."[166] The other was Mary, Duchess of Longueville, the eldest +daughter of Claude de Guise, brother of the Duke of Lorraine. The +charms of this young widow were renowned at the French Court, and the +English Ambassador's reports of her modesty and beauty inspired Henry +with an ardent wish to make her his wife. Even before Jane Seymour was +in her grave, he attacked the French Ambassador, Castillon, on the +subject, and suggested that both these Princesses, and any other ladies +whom the King of France could recommend, might be sent to meet him at +Calais.[167] + +Francis, who was more gallant in his relations with women than his +brother of England, laughed long and loudly when this message reached +him, and sent Castillon word that royal Princesses could not be trotted +out like hackney horses for hire! He quite declined to allow his +daughter to enter the lists; and as for Madame de Longueville, whom +the King was pleased to honour with his suit, she was already promised +to his son-in-law, the King of Scots. This fickle monarch, who had +courted Dorothea and Christina by turn, and finally married Madeleine +de Valois, had lost his young wife at the end of six months, and was +already in search of another. At the same time Francis sent his royal +brother word that he should count it a great honour if he could find +a bride in his realm, and that any other lady in France was at his +command.[168] But Henry was not accustomed to have his wishes thwarted, +and in December, 1537, he sent a gentleman of his chamber, Sir Peter +Mewtas, on a secret mission to Joinville, the Duke of Guise's castle +on the borders of Lorraine, to wait on Madame de Longueville, and find +out if her word was already pledged. Both Madame de Longueville and +her clever mother, Antoinette de Bourbon, returned evasive answers, +saying that the Duke of Guise had agreed to the marriage with King +James, but that his daughter's consent had never been given. This reply +encouraged Henry to persevere with his suit, while Mewtas's description +of the Duchess's beauty, in Castillon's words, "set the tow on fire." +He complained that his brother had behaved shamefully in preferring the +beggarly King of Scots to him, and was forcing the lady to marry James +against her will. In vain Castillon told him that Madame de Longueville +had been promised to the King of Scots before Queen Jane's death, and +that Francis could not break his word without mortally offending his +old ally and son-in-law. Nothing daunted, Henry sent Mewtas again +to Joinville in February, 1538, to obtain Madame de Longueville's +portrait, and ask if she were still free. This time his errand proved +fruitless. The marriage with the King of Scots was already concluded, +and the contract signed. Nevertheless, Henry still harped on the same +string. "Il revient toujours à ses moutons," wrote Castillon, "et ne +peut pas oublier sa bergère." "Truly he is a marvellous man!"[169] + +Meanwhile Cromwell, who had no personal inclination for the French +alliance, was making inquiries in other directions. Early in December, +while Mewtas was on his way to Joinville, the Lord Privy Seal wrote +privately to Hutton, desiring him to send him a list of ladies in +Flanders who would be suitable consorts for the King. In a letter +written on the 4th of December, the Ambassador replied that he had +little knowledge of ladies, and feared he knew no one at the Regent's +Court "meet to be Queen of England." + +[Sidenote: DEC., 1537] A GOODLY PERSON] + + "The widow of Count Egmont," he wrote, "was a fair woman + of good report, and the Duke of Cleves had a marriageable + daughter, but he heard no great praise of her person or beauty. + There is," he added, "the Duchess of Milan, whom I have not + seen, but who is reported to be a goodly personage of excellent + beauty."[170] + +Five days later Hutton wrote again, to announce the arrival of the +Duchess, who entered Brussels on the 8th, and was received by a great +company of honourable gentlemen. + + "She is, I am informed, of the age of sixteen years, very high + in stature for that age--higher, in fact, than the Regent--and + a goodly personage of competent beauty, of favour excellent, + soft of speech, and very gentle in countenance. She weareth + mourning apparel, after the manner of Italy. The common saying + here is that she is both widow and maid. She resembleth much + one Mistress Skelton,[171] that sometime waited in Court upon + Queen Anne. She useth most to speak French, albeit it is + reported that she can speak both Italian and High German." + +The same evening Hutton added these further details in a postscript +addressed to Cromwell's secretary, Thomas Wriothesley: + + "If it were God's pleasure and the King's, I would there were + some good alliance made betwixt His Highness and the Emperor, + and there is none in these parts of personage, beauty, and + birth, like unto the Duchess of Milan. She is not so pure white + as was the late Queen, whose soul God pardon, but she hath a + singular good countenance, and when she chanceth to smile, + there appeareth two pits in her cheeks and one in her chin, the + which becometh her right excellently well."[172] + +The honest Englishman's first impressions of Christina were evidently +very favourable. During the next week he watched her carefully, and +was much struck by "the great majesty of her bearing and charm of her +manners." At the same time he expressed his earnest conviction that, +now peace was concluded between the Emperor and the French King, a +close alliance between his own master and the Emperor was the more +necessary, and suggested that a marriage between Henry and the Duchess, +and another between the Princess Mary and the Duke of Cleves, would be +very advantageous to both monarchs, who would then have all Germany at +their command. + +Cromwell lost no time in placing these letters in his master's hands. +Hutton's account of the Duchess's beauty and virtues made a profound +impression on the King, and, since Madame de Longueville was beyond his +reach, he determined to pay his addresses to the Emperor's niece. With +characteristic impetuosity, he wrote to Wyatt on the 22nd of January, +saying that, as the Duchess of Milan's match with the Duke of Cleves +was broken off, he thought of honouring her with an offer of marriage. +This he desired Wyatt to suggest as of himself, in conversation with +the Emperor and his Ministers, Granvelle and Covos, giving them a +friendly hint to make overtures on behalf of the said Duchess.[173] + +[Sidenote: JAN., 1538] KING HENRY'S SUIT] + +Strangely enough, two years before Charles had himself proposed this +alliance between his niece and the King of England. In May, 1536, when +he was hurrying northwards to defend Savoy against the French, the +news of Anne Boleyn's fall reached him at Vercelli. Without a moment's +delay he wrote to Chapuys, his Ambassador in London, saying that, +since Henry, being of so amorous a complexion, was sure to take another +wife, and it was most important that he should not marry in France, +Chapuys might propose his union with one of the Emperor's nieces, +either Queen Eleanor's daughter, the Infanta Maria of Portugal, or the +widowed Duchess of Milan, "a beautiful young lady, very well brought +up, and with a rich dower." And then, as if a qualm had seized him at +the thought of sacrificing Christina to a man of Henry's character, he +added a postscript desiring the Ambassador not to mention the Duchess +unless His Majesty should appear averse to the other.[174] + +By the time, however, that these letters reached London, it was plain +that the fickle monarch's affections were already fixed on Jane +Seymour, and nothing more came of the Emperor's proposal until, in +January, 1538, Henry himself wrote to Wyatt. Sir Thomas, who knew his +royal master intimately, hastened to approach the Emperor, and on the +2nd of February Charles wrote from Barcelona to Chapuys, saying that, +although royal ladies ought by right to be _sought_, not _offered_, +in marriage, the King's language was so frank and sincere that he was +willing to waive ceremony, and lend a favourable ear to his brother's +proposal. Before these letters reached the Imperial Ambassador, he +received a message from Henry, saying that he wished to treat of his +own marriage with the Duchess of Milan, being convinced that a Princess +born and bred in Northern climes would suit him far better than the +Portuguese Infanta. The next day Cromwell paid a visit to Chapuys, and +confirmed every word of the royal message.[175] + +On the eve of Valentine's Day Henry saw Castillon, and told him in +bitter tones that, if his master did not choose to give him Madame +de Longueville, he could find plenty of better matches, and meant to +marry the Duchess of Milan and conclude a close alliance with the +Emperor.[176] + +On the same day the German reformer Melanchthon, writing from Jena to a +Lutheran friend, summed up the situation neatly in the following words: + + "The Widow of Milan, daughter of Christian, the captive King + of Denmark, was brought to Germany to wed the young Duke of + Juliers. This is now changed, for Juliers becomes heir to + Guelders, against the Emperor's will, and the girl is offered + to the Englishman, whom the Spaniards, aiming at universal + empire, would join to themselves against the Frenchmen and us. + There is grave matter for your consideration."[177] + + +II. + +The ball was now set rolling, but, as Chapuys foretold, there were +many difficulties in the way. For the moment, however, all went well. +Henry sent Hutton orders to watch the Duchess closely, and report on +all her words, deeds, and looks. In obedience to these commands, the +Ambassador hung about the palace from early morning till late at night, +was present at supper and card parties, attended the Queen out riding +and hunting, and lost no opportunity of entering into conversation with +Christina herself. + +[Sidenote: FEB., 1538] HUTTON'S ADVANCES] + +One evening towards the end of February a page brought him some +letters from the Duchess's servant, Gian Battista Ferrari, who had +friends among the Italian merchants in London, with a request that +the Ambassador would forward them by his courier. The next morning, +after Mass, when the Queen passed into the Council-chamber, Hutton +took advantage of this opportunity to thank the Duchess most humbly +for allowing him to do her this small service. Christina replied, with +a gracious smile, that she would not have ventured to give him this +trouble, had she not been as ready herself to do him any pleasure that +lay in her power. + +It was stormy weather. For three days and nights it had rained without +ceasing, and courtiers and ladies alike found the time hang heavy on +their hands. "This weather liketh not the Queen," remarked Christina, +who was standing by an open window looking out on the park. "She is +thereby penned up, and cannot ride abroad to hunt." As she spoke, the +wind drove the rain with such violence into her face that she was +obliged to draw back farther into the room, and Hutton, growing bolder, +asked if it were true that the Duchess herself loved hunting. "Nothing +better," replied Christina, laughing; and she seemed as if she would +gladly have prolonged the conversation. But then two ancient gentlemen +drew near--"Master Bernadotte Court, her Grand Master, who, next to +Monsieur de Courrières, is chief about her and another"--and, with a +parting bow, the Duchess retired to her own rooms. + + "She speaketh French," adds Hutton in reporting this interview + to Cromwell, "and seemeth to be of few words. And in her + speaking she lispeth, which doth nothing misbecome her. + I cannot in anything perceive but she should be of much + soberness, very wise, and no less gentle."[178] + +Among the ladies who came to Court for the Carnival fêtes, Hutton found +a friend in the Duke of Aerschot's sister, Madame de Berghen, a lively +lady whom he had known in the town of Berghen-op-Zoom, where he had +spent much time as Governor of the Merchant Adventurers. The Dutch +merchants in this city had presented him with a house, an honour which +the Ambassador appreciated highly, although he complained that it led +him into great extravagance, and that the furniture, tapestries, and +pictures, necessary for its adornment, "plucked the lining out of his +purse, and left him as rich as a newly-shorn sheep."[179] + +[Sidenote: MARCH, 1538] "MR. HAUNCE"] + +One day Madame de Berghen saw Hutton in the act of delivering a packet +of letters which Wyatt had forwarded from Barcelona to the Queen, and +her curiosity was excited by the warmth of Mary's thanks. That evening +she invited the English Ambassador to dinner to meet her kinsman the +Bishop of Liége, "a goodly personage," remarks Hutton, "but a man of +little learning and less discretion, and, like most Bishops in these +parts, very unfit for his office." When this secular ecclesiastic +retired, the Lady Marchioness, "whose tongue always wagged freely," +asked Hutton if the letters which he had delivered to the Queen came +from England, and confessed that she hoped they contained good news +regarding the Duchess of Milan, whose beauty, wisdom, and great +gentleness, she could not praise too highly. She told him that he +would have been amazed had he seen Christina gorgeously apparelled +as she was the day before, and confided to him that the Duchess was +having her portrait taken by the Court painter, Bernard van Orley, and +had promised to give it to her. Hutton begged to be allowed to borrow +the picture in order to show it to his wife, and told Cromwell that +as soon as he could secure the portrait he would send it to England. +Accordingly, on the 9th of March the Ambassador received the picture, +which Madame de Berghen begged him to accept as her gift, and sent a +servant to bear it without delay to the Lord Privy Seal's house in +St. James's. Late on the following evening, much to the Ambassador's +surprise, a young Shropshire gentleman, named Mr. Philip Hoby, who +had lately entered Cromwell's service, appeared at his lodgings, +accompanied by the King's painter, Master Hans Holbein. At this time +the German master was at the height of his reputation. Since 1536, +when he entered Henry's service as Court painter, he had executed some +of his finest portraits, including the famous picture of the King +in Whitehall Palace, the superb portrait of Queen Jane, and that of +Cromwell himself, which is so marvellous a revelation of character. Now +the Lord Privy Seal sent him across the Channel to take a sketch of the +Duchess of Milan, and bring it back with all possible despatch. + +Hutton's first idea was to send a messenger to stop the bearer of the +Flemish portrait, fearing it might give a wrong impression of the lady, +"since it was not so perfect as the cause required, and as the said +Mr. Haunce could make it." But his servant had already sailed, and the +Ambassador could only beg Cromwell to await Master Hans's return before +he formed any opinion of the Duchess. The next morning he waited on +the Queen, and informed her how the Lord Privy Seal, having received +secret overtures from the Imperial Ambassador for a marriage between +the King's Majesty and Her Grace of Milan, thought the best way to +approach the King was to show him a portrait of the Duchess. + + "And forasmuch as his lordship heard great commendation of + the form, beauty, wisdom, and other virtuous qualities, with + which God had endowed the Duchess, he could perceive no means + more meet for the advancement of the same than to procure her + perfect picture, for which he had sent a man very excellent in + the making of physiognomies." + +After long and elaborate explanation, Hutton asked humbly if his +lordship's servant might salute the Duchess, and beg her to appoint a +time and place for the painter to accomplish his task. + +[Sidenote: MARCH, 1538] HOLBEIN'S PORTRAIT] + +Mary was evidently greatly surprised to hear of the Ambassador's +errand. She started from her chair in amazement, but, quickly +recovering composure, she sat down again, and listened attentively +till Hutton had done speaking. Then she thanked him and Lord Cromwell +for their good-will to the Emperor, and said that she had no objection +to grant his request, and that he should see the Duchess herself. +With these few words she rose and passed into the Council-chamber. +Presently Christina entered the room, attended by two ladies. She +listened graciously to Hutton's message, expressed her gratitude to +Lord Cromwell for his kind intentions, and sent Benedetto da Corte back +with him to meet the English gentleman. Fortunately, Philip Hoby was a +pleasant and cultivated young man who could speak Italian fluently. He +conversed for some time with Messer Benedetto, much to Hutton's envy +and admiration, and at two o'clock that afternoon was conducted by him +into the presence of the Duchess. + +Cromwell had given Hoby minute instructions as to his behaviour on this +occasion, and had composed a long and elaborate speech which he was to +deliver to Christina herself. + + "The said Philip shall, as of himself, express a wish that it + might please the King, now a widower, to advance Her Grace + to the honour of Queen of England, considering her virtuous + qualities were a great deal more than ever was notified, and + for a great confirmation of amity and love to continue between + the Emperor's Majesty and the King's Highness." + +Hoby was charged to take careful note of the Duchess's answers, +gestures, and expression, and was especially to note if she seemed +favourably inclined to these proposals, in order that he might be able +to satisfy Henry's anxiety on the subject.[180] + +Philip Hoby was too accomplished a courtier not to discharge his errand +with tact and courtesy. The Duchess was graciously pleased to accede +to his request, and at one o'clock the next day Holbein was ushered by +Messer Benedetto into his mistress's presence. The time allowed for the +sitting was short, but Master Hans was an adept at his art, and had +already taken drawings in this swift and masterly fashion of all the +chief personages at the English Court. + + "Having but three hours' space," wrote Hutton, "he showed + himself to be master of that science. For his picture is very + perfect; the other is but slobbered in comparison to it, as by + the sight of both your lordship shall well perceive."[181] + +An hour afterwards Hoby and the painter both took leave of the Duchess +and started for England. In order to avoid suspicion and observe the +strict secrecy enjoined by Cromwell, Hoby did not even seek a farewell +audience from the Regent, who contented herself with sending friendly +greetings to the Lord Privy Seal, saying that he should hear from her +more at large through the Imperial Ambassadors. + +[Sidenote: MARCH, 1538 AT HAMPTON COURT] + +The precious sketch, from which Holbein afterwards made "the great +table"[182] which hung in the Palace of Westminster until Henry's +death, was safely delivered into Cromwell's hands, and shown by him to +the King on the 18th of March. Henry was singularly pleased with the +portrait, and, as his courtiers noticed, seemed to be in better humour +than for months past. For the first time since Queen Jane's death he +sent for his musicians, and made them play to him all the afternoon +and evening. Two days afterwards he went to Hampton Court, and "gave +orders for new and sumptuous buildings" at this riverside palace. After +that he returned to Whitehall by water, accompanied by his whole troop +of musicians, paid a visit to his brother-in-law's wife, Katherine, +Duchess of Suffolk, and resumed his old habit of going about with a few +of his favourites in masks--"a sure sign," remarked Chapuys, "that he +is going to marry again." + +The Imperial Ambassadors, Chapuys and his colleague Don Diego Mendoza, +were now treated with extraordinary civility. They were invited to +Hampton Court, where Henry entertained them at a splendid banquet, and +showed them his "fine new lodgings" and the priceless tapestries and +works of art with which Cardinal Wolsey had adorned this magnificent +house. The next day they were taken to the royal manor of Nonsuch to +see the little Prince, "one of the prettiest children you ever saw, +and his sister, Madam Elizabeth, who is also a sweet little girl." +Then they went on to Richmond to visit Princess Mary, who played to +them with rare skill on both spinet and lute, and spoke of her cousin +the Emperor in terms of the deepest gratitude. The French Ambassadors, +Castillon and the Bishop of Tarbes, who arrived at Hampton Court +just as the Imperial Envoys were leaving, were received with marked +coolness, a treatment, as Chapuys shrewdly remarks, "no doubt artfully +designed to excite their jealousy."[183] + +[Sidenote: MARCH, 1538] CHRISTINA'S CHARM] + +The sight of Holbein's portrait revived Henry's wish to see Christina, +and he pressed Chapuys earnestly to induce his good sister the Queen +of Hungary to bring her niece to meet him at Calais. But on this +point Mary was obdurate. She told the Ambassador that this was out of +the question, and although she wrote civilly to the Lord Privy Seal, +thanking him for his good offices, she complained bitterly to Chapuys +of Cromwell's extraordinary proceeding in sending the painter to +Brussels, and laid great stress on her condescension in allowing him +to take her niece's portrait. So far Charles himself had never written +fully to his sister on the subject, and Mary asked Chapuys repeatedly +if these proposals really came from the Emperor, and if the King and +Cromwell were sincere. As for her part, she believed these flattering +words were merely intended to deceive her. Chapuys could only assure +her that both Henry and his Minister were very much in earnest. When +the courier arrived from Spain, the King was bitterly disappointed +because there was no letter from Charles, and sent Cromwell twice +to implore the Ambassadors, for God's sake, to tell him if they had +any good news to impart. On Lady Day the Minister came to Chapuys's +lodgings, and, after two hours' earnest conversation, went away +"somewhat consoled." The next day Henry sent for the Ambassadors, and +discussed the subject in the frankest, most familiar manner, ending by +saying with a merry laugh: "You think it a good joke, I trow, to see me +in love at my age!" + +In his impatience, Henry complained that Hutton was remiss in his +duties, and did not say enough about the Duchess in his despatches. +Yet the excellent Ambassador was unremitting in his attendance on Her +Grace, and spent many hours daily at Court, watching her closely when +she danced or played at cards, and telling the King that he "felt +satisfied that her great modesty and gentleness proceeded from no +want of wit, but that she was rather to be esteemed wisest among the +wise."[184] + +From the day of Hoby's visit Christina treated Hutton with marked +friendliness, and threw aside much of her reserve in talking with him. +On the bright spring days, when the Queen and her niece hunted daily in +the forest, the Englishman seldom failed to accompany them. He admired +the Duchess's bold horsemanship, and was much struck by the evident +delight which she and her aunt took in this favourite sport. By way +of ingratiating himself with Mary, he presented her with four couple +of English hounds, "the fairest that he had ever seen," and a fine +gelding, which made Christina remark that he had done the Queen a great +pleasure, and that she had never seen her aunt so well mounted. Hutton +hastened to reply that, since Her Grace was good enough to admire the +horse, he would do his utmost to secure another as good for her own +use, which offer she accepted graciously.[185] All these incidents +naturally provoked attention, and, in spite of the secrecy with which +the negotiations were carried on, the King's marriage with the Duchess +of Milan was freely discussed both in Flanders and in England. + + "Few Englishmen," wrote the Duke of Norfolk to Cromwell on + the 6th of April, "will regret the King of Scots' marriage to + Madame de Longueville, hoping that one of Burgundian blood may + have the place she might have had."[186] + +And the report that after Easter the King was going to meet his future +bride at Calais became so persistent that even Castillon believed it, +and complained to his royal master of the strange alteration in Henry's +behaviour, and of the marvellous haughtiness and coldness with which he +was now treated.[187] + + +III. + +[Sidenote: MARCH, 1538] MARRIAGE NEGOTIATIONS] + +On the 27th of March the Imperial Ambassadors dined at the Lord +Privy Seal's house, to meet Archbishop Cranmer, Chancellor Audley, +Thomas Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, the Lord High Admiral Southampton, +and two other Bishops, who were the Commissioners appointed to treat +of two royal marriages. One of these was the long-planned union of +Princess Mary with the Infant Don Louis of Portugal, brother of the +reigning King, which was the ostensible object of Don Diego's mission +to England. The other was the King's own marriage with the Duchess, +which Henry sent word must be arranged at once, since until this was +concluded he absolutely refused to treat of his daughter's alliance +with the Infant. As they sat down at table, by way of _Benedicite_, +remarks Chapuys, the King's deputies began by rejoicing to think they +had not to deal with Frenchmen, and pouring scorn on their mendacious +habits. But before the end of the meeting many difficulties had arisen. +First of all the English Commissioners demanded that the Count Palatine +should renounce all his wife's rights to the crown of Denmark without +compensation. Then the question of the Papal dispensation, which was +necessary owing to Christina's relationship to Katherine of Aragon, +was mooted, and, as Chapuys soon realized, was likely to prove an +insuperable difficulty, since nothing would induce Henry to recognize +the Pope's authority.[188] + +During the next few weeks several meetings between the Commissioners +took place, and the Ambassadors were repeatedly admitted to confer +with the King and his Privy Council; but little progress was made, and +Chapuys informed the Regent that there was even less hope of agreement +than there had been at first. Henry on his part complained loudly +of the coldness of the Imperial Envoys, and of their evident desire +to push forward the Portuguese marriage and drop his own, which was +the one thing for which he really cared.[189] An attempt to effect +some mode of reconciliation between him and the Pope only incensed +Henry, who sent two Doctors of Law, Bonner and Haynes, to Madrid, +to protest against the meeting of a General Council, and to point +out how the Bishops of Rome wrested Scripture to the maintenance of +their lusts and worldly advantage. And he told Don Diego angrily that +the meeting of a Council would do him the worst injury in the world, +since if he refused to attend it he would be cut off from the rest of +Christendom.[190] To add to the King's ill-temper, he was suffering +from a return of the ulcers in the leg from which he had formerly +suffered, and for some days his condition excited serious alarm. + +[Sidenote: MAY, 1538] LOUISE DE GUISE] + +On his recovery, Castillon, who had been looking on with some amusement +while the Emperor's folk were "busy brewing marriages," approached +His Majesty with flattering words, and tried to instil suspicions +of Cromwell into his mind. Henry swallowed the bait greedily, and +the French Ambassador's remarks on his favourite's "great Spanish +passion" rankled in his mind to so great an extent that he sent for +Cromwell and rated him soundly, telling him that he was quite unfit +to meddle in the affairs of Kings. The wily Frenchman, satisfied that +the only way of managing this wayward monarch was to make him fall +in love, took advantage of his present mood to speak to him of the +Queen of Scotland's sister, Louise de Guise, whom he described as +being quite as beautiful as herself, with the additional advantage of +being a maid, and not a widow. Henry, who was on his way to Mass when +Castillon made this suggestion, slapped him familiarly on the back, +and laughed, saying he must hear more of this young lady. The next day +the Comptroller of the King's Household was sent to ask the Ambassador +for particulars about Mademoiselle de Guise, and was told that she was +so like Madame de Longueville that you would hardly know the sisters +apart, and that a Scotchman who had seen both, wondered how King +James could prefer Mary to so lovely a creature as Louise. The French +Ambassador now found himself overwhelmed with attentions. The King sent +him presents of venison and artichokes from his gardens, invited him to +spend Sunday at Greenwich, and, when the plague broke out in London, +lent him the beautiful old house in Chelsea which had belonged to Sir +Thomas More, as a country residence.[191] + +The wedding of King James was finally celebrated at Châteaudun on the +9th of May, and, hearing that the Duke of Guise and his fair daughter +Louise had accompanied the new Queen to Havre, Henry sent Philip Hoby +across the Channel to see Mademoiselle de Guise and have her picture +painted. These orders were duly executed, and Louise's portrait, +probably painted by Holbein, was placed in the King's hands. But, +although Henry "did not find the portrait ugly," he was now anxious +to see Louise's younger sister, Renée, who was said to be still more +beautiful, and would not be put off when Castillon told him that she +was about to take the veil in a convent at Reims. + + "No doubt," remarked Montmorency, the Constable of France, "as + King Henry has made himself Pope in his own country, he would + prefer a nun to any other Princess."[192] + +Nothing would now satisfy Henry but that the French King or Queen +should meet him at Calais with the Duke of Guise's daughters, +Mademoiselle de Lorraine, and Mademoiselle de Vendôme, who had all +been recommended to his notice. When the English Envoy, Brian, +proposed this to Queen Eleanor, she replied indignantly that she was +not a keeper of harlots, and the Constable told Castillon once more +that French Princesses were not to be trotted out like hackneys at a +fair. At last the Ambassador, tired of repeating that this plan was +impossible, asked Henry if the Knights of King Arthur's Round Table had +ever treated ladies in such a fashion. This brought the King to his +senses. He reddened and hesitated, and, after rubbing his nose for some +moments, said that his proposal might have sounded a little uncivil, +but he had been so often deceived in these matters that he could trust +no one but himself.[193] + +Still Henry would not give up all hope of winning the fair Louise, +and towards the end of August he sent Philip Hoby on a fresh errand +to Joinville. As before, he was to take Holbein with him, and, after +viewing well the younger sister, ask the Duchess of Guise for leave to +take the portraits of both her daughters, Louise and Renée, "in one +faire table." Hoby was to explain that he had business in these parts, +and that, since he had already made acquaintance with Mademoiselle +de Guise at Havre, he could not pass Joinville without saluting her. +On leaving Joinville he was to proceed to the Duke of Lorraine's +Court, and inform him that the Lord Privy Seal, having heard that His +Excellency had a daughter of excellent quality, begged that the King's +painter might be allowed to take her portrait. On the 30th of August +the travellers reached Joinville, as we learn from the following letter +addressed by the Duchess of Guise to her eldest daughter in Scotland: + +[Sidenote: AUG., 1538] HOLBEIN AT JOINVILLE] + + "It is but two days since the King of England's gentleman + who was at Havre, and the painter, were here. The gentleman + came to see me, pretending that he was on his way to find the + Emperor, and, having heard that Louise was ill, would not pass + by without inquiring after her, that he might take back news + of her health to the King his master. He begged to be allowed + to see her, which he did, although it was a day when the fever + was on her, and repeated the same words which he had already + said to me. He then told me that, as he was so near Lorraine, + he meant to go on to Nancy to see the country. I have no doubt + that he was going there to draw Mademoiselle's portrait, in the + same way that he has drawn the others, and so I sent down to + the gentleman's lodgings, and found that the said painter was + there. Since then they have been at Nancy, where they spent a + day and were well feasted and entertained, and at every meal + the _maître d'hôtel_ ate with them, and many presents were made + them. That is all I know yet, but you see that, at the worst, + if you do not have your sister for a neighbour, you may yet + have your cousin."[194] + +This time Hoby's journey was evidently unsuccessful. Louise was ill +of intermittent fever, and Renée had already been sent to the convent +at Reims, where she was afterwards professed; and it is clear from +Antoinette's letters that she had no wish to marry either of her +daughters to Henry. A month before, on the 3rd of August, she wrote +to the Queen of Scotland: "I have heard nothing more of the proposals +which you know of"; and again on the 18th: "I have begged your father +to speak of these affairs to the King, that we may be rid of them if +possible, for no one could ever be happy with such a man."[195] + +As for Anne de Lorraine, in spite of many excellent qualities, +she lacked the beauty and charm of her cousins, and, as her aunt +Antoinette said, "elle est bien honnête, mais pas si belle que je +voudrais."[196] + +[Sidenote: AUG., 1538] HENRY'S SCRUPLES] + +The result of these disappointments was to revive Henry's wish to marry +Christina. Several times in the course of the summer Castillon remarked +that this monarch was still hankering after the Duchess of Milan, +and had repeatedly tried to induce the Regent to bring her niece to +meet him at Brussels. "The King my master," said Cromwell to Chapuys, +"will never marry one, who is to be his companion for life, without +he has first seen and known her."[197] In a long and careful paper of +instructions which Henry drew up for the Ambassador Wyatt, he lays +great stress on this point. + + "His Grace, prudently considering how that marriage is a + bargain of such nature as may endure for the whole life of + man, and a thing whereof the pleasure and quiet, or the + displeasure and torment, doth much depend, thinketh it to be + most necessary, both for himself and the party with whom it + shall please God to join him in marriage, that the one might + see the other before the time that they should be so affianced, + which point His Highness hath largely set forth heretofore to + the Emperor's Ambassador."[198] + +But on her side Mary was equally inflexible. Nothing would induce her +to take a step forward in this direction, and even Hutton began to +realize how coldly the marriage overtures were received at Brussels. +The Queen never failed to ask after the King's health or to express her +anxiety for the strengthening of the ancient friendship between the +realm of England and the House of Burgundy; but when the Ambassador +ventured to allude to the subject of her niece's preferment, she +invariably gave an evasive reply. Since both the Queen and the Duchess +spent much of the summer hunting in the Forest of Soignies, or in more +distant parts, Hutton seldom had an opportunity of seeing Christina. +Her servants were still very friendly, especially the Lord Benedick +Court, as Hutton calls the Italian master of her household. One evening +in June, when Hutton had been at Court, Benedetto came back to supper +with him, whether of his own accord or at his mistress's command the +Englishman could not tell. As they walked along the street, Benedetto +asked the Ambassador if he had brought the Queen any good news about +the Duchess. Hutton replied that the first good news must come from the +Emperor, and, to his mind, was a long time upon the road. The old man +looked up to heaven, and said devoutly: "I pray God that I may live +to see her given to your master, even if I die the next day. But," he +added significantly, "there is one doubt in the matter." Hutton asked +eagerly what this might be, upon which Benedetto explained that, as the +King's first wife, the Lady Katherine, was near of kin to the Duchess, +the marriage could not be solemnized without the Pope's dispensation, +and this he feared His Majesty would never accept. The Ambassador +replied warmly that he did not know what might be against the Bishop +of Rome's laws, but that he was quite sure his master would do nothing +against God's laws. Then they sat down to supper with other guests, and +nothing further was said on the subject. But the old Italian knew what +he was talking about, and the Papal dispensation proved to be the one +insuperable obstacle which stood in the way of a settlement.[199] + +[Sidenote: SEPT., 1538] DEATH OF HUTTON] + +Another of Christina's servants, Gian Battista Ferrari, paid a visit to +England this summer, and brought back glowing accounts of the beauties +of London and the splendours of King Henry's Court. He had an Italian +friend named Panizone, who was one of the royal equerries, and had been +sent over to England with some Barbary horses from the Gonzaga stables. +Panizone introduced him to Cromwell, who entertained him hospitably, +and sent him back to tell his mistress all that he had seen and done +at the Court of Whitehall. Christina was exceedingly curious to hear +Battista's account of his visit, and was surprised when he told her +that England was as beautiful as Italy. When she proceeded to inquire +if he had seen the King, Battista replied that he had been fortunate +enough to be received by His Majesty, and broke into ecstatic praises +of Henry's comeliness, gracious manners, and liberality. The Duchess +said that she had often heard praises of His Grace, and was glad to +know from Battista's lips that they were true. After supper she sent +for him again, and he informed her that Chapuys had told him the +marriage would shortly be concluded. "At this it seemeth she did much +rejoice." So at least Battista assured Hutton.[200] Ferrari himself +was evidently very anxious to see his mistress Queen of England, and +in a letter which he addressed on the 7th of September to his friend, +"Guglielmo Panizone scudier del Invictissimo Rè d' Inghilterrà a +Londra, alla Corte di sua Maestà," he wrote, "Madama the Duchess, my +mistress, loves the King truly," and proceeded to send commendations +to the Lord Privy Seal, Signor Filippo (Hoby), Portinari, and others. +This letter contained one sad piece of news. "The Ambassador here is +said to be dying; I am grieved because of the friendship between us +and his excellent qualities. The next one we have will, I hope, be +yourself."[201] Battista's news was true. Honest John Hutton, the +popular Governor of the Merchant Adventurers, fell ill at Antwerp, and +died there on the 5th of September. His genial nature had made him a +general favourite, and he was lamented by everyone at Court. "It is +a great loss," wrote Don Diego to Cromwell, "because he was so good +a servant and so merry and honest a soul." To his own master, the +Emperor, he remarked that the English Ambassador who had just died was +a jovial, good-natured man, but more fit for courtly functions and +social intercourse than grave political business, for which he had +neither taste nor capacity.[202] + + +IV. + +The meeting of the Emperor and King of France at Aigues-Mortes in +July, 1538, produced a marked change in the political situation. This +interview, which the Pope had failed to bring about at Nice, was +finally effected by Queen Eleanor, and the two monarchs, who had not +met since Francis was a prisoner at Madrid, embraced each other, dined +together, and ended by swearing an inviolable friendship. The truce was +converted into a lasting peace, and several marriages between the two +families were discussed in a friendly and informal manner. + + "Never," wrote the Constable to Castillon, "were there two + faster friends than the King and Emperor, and I do not for a + moment imagine that His Imperial Majesty will ever allow the + Widow of Milan to marry King Henry! So do not believe a single + word that you hear in England!"[203] + +[Sidenote: AUG., 1538] CROMWELL AND CHAPUYS] + +This unexpected reconciliation was a bitter pill to Henry and Cromwell. +The French and Imperial Ambassadors at Whitehall exchanged the warmest +congratulations, and did not fail to indulge in a hearty laugh at +King Henry's expense. On the 21st of August Chapuys and Don Diego +followed the Court to Ampthill, where the King was hunting, and +were entertained by Cromwell at one of his own manors. As they sat +down to dinner, the Lord Privy Seal asked brusquely if it were true +that the King and Emperor had made peace, to which the Ambassadors +replied in the affirmative. He then proceeded to start a variety of +disagreeable topics. First he remarked that he heard the Turk was +already in Belgrade; next he said that the young Duke of Cleves had +taken possession of Guelderland, upon which Chapuys retaliated by +expatiating on the perfect friendship and understanding between Charles +and Francis. After dinner they were admitted into the King's presence, +and informed him that the Queen of Hungary had received the powers +necessary for the conclusion of the Duchess's marriage, and wished to +recall Don Diego in order that he might draw up the contract. Henry +expressed great sorrow at parting from the Spaniard, and, drawing him +apart, begged him to induce the Queen to treat directly with him, +repeating two or three times that he was growing old, and could not put +off taking a wife any longer. Meanwhile Cromwell was telling Chapuys, +in another corner of the hall, how much annoyed the King had been +to hear that the Emperor was treating of his niece's marriage with +the Duke of Cleves, which would make people say either that she had +refused the King or else had only accepted Henry after refusing Cleves. +Chapuys stoutly denied the truth of this report, and Cromwell confessed +that the King was very eager for the marriage, and, if there were any +difficulty about the Duchess's dowry, he would gladly give her 20,000 +crowns out of his own purse.[204] + +As the Ambassadors were putting on their riding-boots, Cromwell ran +after Don Diego with a present from his master of £400, after which +they returned to London and dined in Chelsea with Castillon, to meet +Madame de Montreuil, the lady-in-waiting of the late Queen Madeleine of +Scotland, who was returning to France. They all spent a merry evening, +laughing over King Henry's matrimonial plans, and Castillon declared +that the King and Lord Privy Seal were so much perturbed at his +master's alliance with the Emperor that they hardly knew if they were +in heaven or on earth.[205] + +[Sidenote: SEPT., 1538] STEPHEN VAUGHAN] + +Don Diego arrived in Flanders to find general rejoicings--"gun-shots +and melody and jousting were the order of the day"--and an English +merchant declared that the proud Spaniards were ready to challenge all +the world. Queen Mary marked the occasion by honouring her favourite, +Count Henry of Nassau, with a visit at his Castle of Breda in Holland. +The beautiful gardens and vast orchards planted in squares, after the +fashion of Italy, which excited the Cardinal of Aragon's admiration, +were in their summer beauty, and a series of magnificent fêtes were +given in honour of the Queen and her companion, the Duchess of Milan. +The Count was assisted in doing the honours by his third wife, the +Marchioness of Zeneta, a rich Spanish heiress, whom the Emperor had +given him in marriage, and his son René, Prince of Orange. The presence +of Christina at Breda on this occasion, and the attentions that were +paid her by her hosts, naturally gave rise to a report that she was +about to wed the Prince, and Cromwell told Don Diego before he left +Dover that this rumour had caused the King great annoyance.[206] But +the festivities at Breda met with a tragic close. On the day after the +royal ladies left the castle, Henry of Nassau died very suddenly, and +Don Diego heard the sad news when he reached the castle gates, on his +way to salute his kinswoman, the Marchioness. + +The Ambassador now hastened to Court, and craved an audience of the +Queen to deliver King Henry's letters; but he found her little inclined +to attend to business, and engaged in preparations to pay a visit to +King Francis, who had gallantly invited her to a hunting-party at +Compiègne. At first there had been some doubt if the Duchess should +be of the party, but Queen Eleanor was eager to see her niece, and +Christina was nothing loth to take part in these brilliant festivities. +Meanwhile Henry's renewed impatience to conclude his marriage was shown +by the promptitude with which another Ambassador was sent to take +Hutton's place. + +On the 27th of September the new Envoy, Stephen Vaughan, was admitted +into the Queen's presence, and begged for an answer to the letters +delivered by Don Diego. Mary told him that he might inform His Majesty +that there was no truth in the reports of her niece's marriage, and +that, if any coolness had arisen between them, it was the King's own +fault for seeking a wife in other places. Hoby's mission to Joinville +and Nancy was, it is plain, well known at Brussels. But the Queen kept +her counsel, and told Vaughan that, if his master was still in the +same mind, she would urge the Emperor to hasten the conclusion of the +treaty. Only she must beg the Ambassador to have a little patience, +as her time was fully occupied at this moment. But the next day he +was again put off, and told the Queen would see him when she reached +Mons. Accordingly, Vaughan and his colleague, Thomas Wriothesley, +Cromwell's confidential secretary, arrived at this town on the 8th, +only to be told by Don Diego that they must await the Queen's pleasure +at Valenciennes. The Spanish Ambassador did his best to atone for their +disappointment by giving them an excellent dinner, and lending them +two of his own horses with velvet saddles and rich trappings for the +journey.[207] + +[Sidenote: OCT., 1538] AT COMPIÈGNE] + +At length, at eight on Sunday morning, the 6th of October, they were +conducted into the Queen's presence by the Grand Falconer, Molembais, +and Vaughan, who spoke French fluently, explained Henry's reasons for +arranging the marriage treaty without delay. Mary replied briefly that +she had already written to accede to the King's request, and that no +further steps could be taken until after her meeting with the French +King. Dinner was being served while she spoke these words, and, as +the meat was actually coming in, the Ambassadors were compelled to +retire. Before they left the room, however, they saluted the Duchess, +who was standing near her aunt, and ventured to tell her how much my +Lord Privy Seal remained her humble servant, although, as she no doubt +knew, his overtures had been so coldly received. Christina smiled and +thanked them for their good-will with a gentle grace, which went far +to mollify their ruffled feelings, and made Wriothesley write home +that all Hutton had said of the Duchess's charms was true. "She is as +goodly personage, of stature higher than either of us, and hath a very +good woman's face, competently fair and well favoured, but a little +brown."[208] + +As if to make amends for these delays, the great lords in attendance +overwhelmed the Ambassadors with civilities. Aerschot invited them to +dinner; Count Büren embraced them warmly and asked affectionately after +the King; De Praet, Molembais, and Iselstein, escorted them to the +door, and Don Diego made them a present of wine. When Wriothesley fell +ill of fever at Cambray, the Queen sent her own physician to attend +him, and begged him either to remain there or return to Brussels. This +he refused to do, and travelled on by slow stages to Compiègne, hoping +to obtain another audience there. But the roads were bad, and two +leagues from Cambray one of the carts broke down, leaving the English +without household stuff or plate when Don Diego came to supper.[209] + +On Tuesday news reached Cambray that King Francis was on his way to +salute the Queen, and Mary rode out to meet him, leaving the Duchess of +Milan at home with others, who like herself, remarks Wriothesley, had +no great liking for Frenchmen.[210] But the King's greeting was most +cordial, and when, on the following day, Queen Eleanor arrived with a +great train of lords and ladies, there was much feasting and merriment, +until on the 10th the whole party started for Compiègne. + +It was a brilliant company that met in the ancient castle of the +French Kings, in the forest on the banks of the Oise, near the bridge +where, a hundred years before, Jeanne d'Arc had made her last heroic +stand. King Francis had summoned all the Princes and Princesses of +the blood to do honour to the Queen of Hungary, and the neighbouring +villages were filled to overflowing with Court officials and servants. +There was the King himself, a fine figure in cloth of gold and nodding +plumes, gallant as ever in spite of ill-health and advancing years, +with a glance and smile to spare for every fair lady; and there was his +consort, Queen Eleanor, too often neglected by her fickle lord, but +now radiant with happiness, and in her beautiful robes and priceless +pearls, as winning and almost as fair as when she fascinated the young +Palatine twenty years ago. The sense of family affection was as strong +in Eleanor as in all the Habsburgs, and she was overjoyed to meet her +sister and embrace the daughter of the beloved and lamented Isabella. +With her came the King's daughter Margaret, the homely-featured but +pleasing and accomplished Princess for whom a royal husband was still +to be found, and who, the courtiers whispered, might now wed the Prince +of Spain. + +[Sidenote: OCT., 1538] A BRILLIANT COMPANY] + +Her brothers were there too--the dull and morose Henry, who had +succeeded his elder brother as Dauphin two years before, but had never +recovered from the effects of his long captivity in Spain; and the +more lively but weak and vicious Charles of Angoulême, now Duke of +Orleans, whom Eleanor was so anxious to see married to the Duchess of +Milan. With them was the Dauphin's Italian wife, Catherine de' Medici, +whose wit and grace atoned in her father-in-law's eyes for her lack of +beauty, although her husband's heart was given to Diane de Poitiers, +and a childless marriage made her unpopular in the eyes of the nation. +But a galaxy of fair ladies surrounded the King and Queen. Chief among +them was Madame d'Étampes, whose dazzling charms had captivated the +fickle King, and who now reigned supreme both in Court and Council. Of +the youthful ladies whose charms had aroused King Henry's interest, +only Mademoiselle de Vendôme was here. The fair Louise had not yet +recovered from her illness, and the Duchess of Guise was nursing her +at Joinville. But both her father, Claude of Guise, the Governor of +Burgundy, and his brother, the Cardinal of Lorraine, were present, and +held a high place in the King's favour. Claude's elder brother, the +Duke of Lorraine, had lately been to meet the Emperor at Aigues-Mortes +and plead his claims to Guelders, but on his return he fell ill with a +severe attack of gout, and was unable to obey the King's summons. In +his stead he sent Duchess Renée his wife, another Bourbon Princess, a +daughter of Gilbert de Montpensier and sister of the famous Constable. +Her daughter Anne remained at home to nurse the Duke, but her eldest +son, Francis, came with his mother to Compiègne. This cultured and +polished Prince, who bore the King's name, had been brought up at the +French Court, and could ride and joust as well as any of his peers; +but he was quite thrown into the shade by his cousin, Antoine de +Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme, the darling of the people and the idol of +all the ladies. A head and shoulders taller than the Dauphin and his +brother, Antoine was the cynosure of all eyes at Court festivals. The +elegance of his attire, the inimitable grace with which he raised his +hat, his wit and gaiety, fascinated every woman, while the gilded +youth of the day copied the fashion of his clothes and the precise +angle at which he wore the feather in his cap. Frivolous, volatile, +and recklessly extravagant, Vendôme wore his heart on his sleeve, and +was ready to enter the lists for the sake of any fair lady. He fell +desperately in love with the Duchess of Milan at first sight, and +devoted himself to her service. As premier Prince of the blood, he +rode at Christina's side, and led her out to dance in the eyes of the +Court. Together they joined in the hunting-parties that were organized +on a vast scale in the Forest of Compiègne, and while all the French +were lost in admiration at the fine horsemanship of the royal ladies, +Antoine de Bourbon threw himself at the Duchess's feet, and declared +himself her slave for life. But whether this gay cavalier was too +wild and thoughtless for her taste, or whether her heart was already +given to another, Christina paid little heed to this new suitor, and +remained cold to his impassioned appeals. "The Duke of Vendôme," wrote +Wriothesley to Cromwell, "is a great wooer to the Duchess, but we +cannot hear that he receiveth much comfort."[211] + +[Sidenote: OCT., 1538] A VISIT TO CHANTILLY] + +On the 17th of October the Constable de Montmorency prevailed on the +royal party to accompany him to his sumptuous home at Chantilly, nine +leagues farther on the road to Paris. This brave soldier and able +Minister had grown up in the closest intimacy with the Royal Family, +and was habitually addressed as "bon père" by the King's children, +but had, unfortunately, excited the hatred of the reigning favourite, +the Duchess of Étampes, who called him openly "un grand coquin," and +declared that he tried to make himself a second monarch. On the other +hand, his constant loyalty to Queen Eleanor gratified Mary of Hungary, +who now gladly accepted his invitation to Chantilly. + +Anne de Montmorency was as great a patron of art as his royal master, +and during the last fifteen years he had transformed his ancestral +home into a superb Renaissance palace. The halls were decorated with +frescoes by Primaticcio; the gardens were adorned with precious marbles +and bronzes, with busts of the Cæsars and statues of Mars and Hercules, +with fountains of the finest Urbino and Palissy ware. Portraits by +Clouet, priceless manuscripts illuminated by French and Burgundian +masters, and enamels by Léonard Limousin, were to be seen in the +galleries. But what interested Mary and Christina most of all were the +tapestries woven at Brussels from Raphael of Urbino's cartoons, which +the Constable had rescued after the sack of Rome, and which he restored +some years later to Pope Julius III.[212] + +After entertaining his guests magnificently during two days, the +Constable accompanied them on a hunting-party in the forest, and +finally brought them back to Compiègne on the 19th of October. Here +the Queen of Hungary's return was impatiently awaited by the English +Ambassadors, who found themselves in a miserable plight. The town was +so crowded that they had to be content with the meanest lodgings; the +hire of post-horses cost forty pounds, and provisions were so scarce +that a partridge or woodcock sold for tenpence, and an orange for more +than a groat. The King's Ambassadors at the French Court--Sir Anthony +Browne, and Bonner, the Bishop-elect of Hereford--who joined them at +Compiègne on the 14th, were in still worse case; for they could get +no horses for love or money, and spent six days without receiving a +visit from the Court officials. These outraged personages stood at the +window, and saw the French Councillors, and even the Constable, go +by, without giving them the smallest sign of recognition. At least, +Vaughan and Wriothesley were treated with the utmost civility by the +Flemish nobles, and their audience was only deferred on account of the +Queen's visit to Chantilly. Don Diego was courtesy itself, and, before +he started for Spain, wrote a letter to Cromwell, assuring him that +Queen Mary was the truest friend and sister his master could have, but +that it had been impossible for her to attend to business when her +days were spent in festivities and family meetings.[213] At length, +on Sunday, the 20th, the Ambassadors were received by the Queen, and +introduced Browne and Bonner, as well as Dr. Edward Carne, a learned +lawyer whom Henry had sent to assist in drawing up the marriage treaty. +Mary informed them that Francis was bent on taking her to the Duke of +Vendôme's house at La Fère on the way home, but begged Wriothesley, +who was still unwell, to go straight to Brussels. The next day Browne +started for England, saying that it was impossible to follow a King +who "goes out of all highways," and on the 22nd Wriothesley and his +companions set out on their return to Brussels.[214] + +[Sidenote: OCT., 1538] MARRIAGE-MAKING] + + +V. + +By the end of October the English Envoys were back at Brussels, +rejoicing to be once more in comfortable quarters. Here they found +great fear and distrust of France prevailing, and much alarm was +expressed lest the Queen should have been induced to give the Duchess +of Milan in marriage to a French Prince. This, however, was not +the case, and the English Ambassadors were satisfied that beyond +feasting and merrymaking nothing had been done. A friendly gentleman, +Monsieur de Brederode, told them that there had been some attempt +at marriage-making among the women. Queen Eleanor still pressed her +sister earnestly to further the marriage of Christina with the Duke of +Orleans, as the best way of insuring a lasting peace, and had revived +her old dream of marrying her daughter, Maria of Portugal, to the +Prince of Spain. But Mary turned a deaf ear to all these proposals, +saying that she could not consider them without Charles's approval. +At La Fère, in the valley of the Oise, Francis entertained his guests +at a splendid banquet, after which he presented Mary with a very fine +diamond, and Christina with a beautiful jewel, besides lavishing rings, +bracelets, brooches, caps, and pretty trinkets from Paris and Milan, +Lisbon and Nuremberg, on the ladies of their suite. Here he took leave +of his guests, but the Duke of Vendôme insisted on escorting the Queen +and her niece as far as Valenciennes.[215] + +[Sidenote: NOV., 1538] KING HENRY'S ANGER] + +On Monday, the 4th of November, Mary and Christina reached Brussels, +and were received with warm demonstrations of affection. Now, "after +all these gay and glorious words," the English Ambassadors confidently +hoped to see some end to their toil. But they soon realized that +their hopes were doomed to disappointment. First the Queen was too +tired to receive them; then nothing could be done until the return +of the Duke of Aerschot, who was her chief adviser. At length, on +the 16th, the first conference took place at the Duke's house. The +Captain of the Archers, Christina's old friend De Courrières, conducted +the Ambassadors to the room where the Commissioners were awaiting +them--Aerschot, Hoogstraaten, Lalaing, and the Chancellor of Brabant, +Dr. Schoren, "a very wise father." After a lengthy preamble, setting +forth the powers committed to the Regent, the terms of the contract +were discussed. The chief points on which Wriothesley insisted were +that Henry should be allowed to see his bride, that the payment +of her dowry should be assigned to Flanders instead of Milan, and +that Christina's title to Denmark should be recognized, although, +remarked the Ambassador, "for my little wit I care not if this last +condition were scraped out of the book."[216] The Duchess's claim to +the throne of Denmark, as Wriothesley realized, was so remote that +it seemed hardly worth discussing. The dowry and the question of the +Papal dispensation were the two real stumbling-blocks, and he advised +Cromwell, if the King was really anxious to secure this desirable wife, +not to press the former point, money being so scarce in Spain and the +Netherlands that the Emperor would rather leave his niece unwed, than +part with so large a sum. At the close of the sitting the Duke of +Aerschot begged Wriothesley to stay to dinner, and gave him the chief +place at table and pre-eminence in all things. The fare was abundant; +four courses of ten dishes were served in silver, with "covers of a +marvellous clean and honourable sort," and carvers and waiters stood +around, and attended as diligently to the Ambassador's wants as if +he were a Prince. Later in the evening the Duke's brother-in-law, +the Marquis of Berghen, who was always well disposed to the English, +came to supper, and chatted pleasantly for some time, but shocked +Wriothesley by asking him if it were true that all religion was extinct +in England, that Mass was abolished, and that the bones of saints were +publicly burned. Cromwell's Commissioner, who had himself plundered the +shrines of St. Swithun at Winchester and of St. Thomas at Canterbury, +could hardly deny this latter charge, although he declared stoutly that +only such money-making devices and tricks of the friars as the Rood of +Boxley and the tomb of Becket had been unmasked. But, in spite of the +outward civility with which the Ambassador was treated, he realized +that all good Catholics in Flanders looked on him with horror and +disgust. + +[Sidenote: JAN., 1539] MARY'S APPEAL] + +All through the summer abbeys and shrines had been going down fast. +"Dagon is everywhere falling," wrote a Kentish fanatic, and, as +Castillon said, by the end of the year hardly a single abbey was left +standing. The recent trend of political events had served to excite +the King's worst passions, and when the French Ambassador went to see +him early in November, he found him in a towering rage. The French +had treated his Ambassadors abominably; the Emperor and King were +plotting together to take the Duchess of Milan away from him and give +her to Monsieur de Vendôme, which, "if it be done, would finish the +picture."[217] Late on this same evening, Lord Exeter, a grandson of +Edward IV. and head of the noble house of Courtenay, and his cousin, +Lord Montague, the son of Lady Salisbury and brother of Cardinal Pole, +were thrown into the Tower on the charge of high-treason. All that +the most prolonged cross-examination of their servants and friends +could bring out to prove their guilt, was that in my Lord of Exeter's +garden at Horsley Place, in Surrey, Sir Edward Nevill had been heard +singing merry songs against the knaves that ruled about the King, +and, clenching his fist, had cried: "I trust to give them a buffet +and see honest men reign in England one day." But the King had long +ago told the French Ambassador that he was determined to exterminate +the White Rose, and, as Castillon remarked, no pretext was too flimsy +to bring men to the block. On the 9th of December, Exeter, Montague, +and Nevill, all died on the scaffold, and Castillon wrote to King +Francis: "No one knows who will be the next to go." Terror reigned +throughout the land, and no one of noble birth was safe.[218] Mary of +Hungary might well shudder at the thought of giving her niece to such +a man. But every day her position became more difficult. Soon after +her return from Compiègne she wrote to Charles, urgently begging for +instructions as to how she was to proceed with the English Ambassadors. +If the King persists in treating of the Duchess's marriage, is she to +consent or to refuse altogether? And if so, on what pretext? Is she +to discuss the question of the Papal dispensation, which Henry will +never consent to receive from the Pope, but without which the Emperor +cannot possibly allow the union.[219] In reply to this letter, Charles +wrote from Toledo, on the 5th of December, telling her to temporize +with the English, and to consult her Council on the best method of +procedure.[220] + +A carefully-worded paper, in Mary's own handwriting, setting forth +the results of the deliberation with the Council in clear and concise +language, was forwarded to the Emperor early in January: + + "If the King of England would seriously mend his ways and + proceed to conclude the marriage in earnest, not merely to sow + dissension between His Majesty and the King of France, this + would no doubt be the most honourable alliance for the Duchess + and the most advantageous for the Low Countries; but there is + no evidence of this--rather the reverse, as your Ambassador + in France tells us, from what he hears of the conversations + held by King Henry with the French Envoy in London. The Queen + considers this point to be entirely settled, and it remains + only to know Your Majesty's wishes. Are we to dissemble with + the English as we have done till now, which, however, is very + difficult, or are we to break off negotiations altogether? This + can best be done by putting forward quite reasonable terms, but + which are not agreeable to the King. The Queen begs His Majesty + to tell her exactly what she is to do, remembering that the + King of England, when he cannot ally himself with the Emperor + or in France, may seek an alliance with Cleves, and will be + further alienated from religion, and may do much harm by + putting himself at the head of the German Princes--all of which + she prays Your Majesty to consider."[221] + +But no reply to this appeal came for many weeks. In vain Mary +implored Charles to put an end to this interminable procrastination, +and relieve her from the necessity of dissembling with the English +Ambassadors, who never left her in peace. + + "Once more, Monseigneur," she wrote at the end of January, "I + implore you tell me if I am to allow these conferences to drag + on, for it is impossible to do this any longer without the most + shameless dissimulation."[222] + +Still no answer came from Spain, and the solemn farce was prolonged. +During the next two months frequent meetings between the Commissioners +were held at Brussels, and the Queen herself was often present. +"Indeed," wrote Wriothesley, "she is one and principal in it, and how +unmeet we be to match with her ourselves do well acknowledge."[223] +But little progress was made, although Henry, in his anxiety for the +marriage, offered to give the Duchess as large a dowry as any Queen of +England had ever enjoyed. On St. Thomas's Day he informed the French +Ambassador in the gallery at Whitehall that his marriage was almost +concluded. + + "All the same," wrote Castillon to the Constable, "I know that + he would gladly marry Madame de Guise had he the chance. If you + think the King and Emperor would enjoy the sport of seeing him + thus _virolin-virolant_, I can easily get it up, provided you + show his Ambassador a little civility, and make the Cardinal + and Monsieur de Guise caress him a little."[224] + +[Illustration: MARY, QUEEN OF HUNGARY + +By Bernard van Orley (Cardon Collection) + +_To face p. 188_] + +[Sidenote: JAN., 1539] FAIR WORDS] + +But two days after this interview Henry addressed a pathetic appeal +to the Regent on his behalf, saying that "old age was fast creeping +on, and time was slipping and flying marvellously away." Already the +whole year had been wasted in vain parleyings, and, since neither +money nor prayers could redeem this precious time, he could wait the +Emperor's pleasure no longer, but must seek another bride. If this +appeal produced no effect, he told Wriothesley to take leave of the +Duchess, and declare to her the great affection which the King bore +her, and how earnestly he had desired to make her his wife, but, since +this was plainly impossible, he must "beg her not to marvel if he +joined with another."[225] When this letter reached Brussels, Mary and +Christina were absent on a hunting expedition, but on New Year's Eve +they returned. The Queen received Wriothesley the next morning, and, +after listening patiently to the long discourse in which he delivered +his master's message, said that she was still awaiting the Emperor's +final instructions, remarking that perhaps the King hardly realized the +distance between Spain and Flanders. There was nothing for it but to +await the coming of the courier from Spain. But even Wriothesley began +to realize that, "for all this gentle entertainment and fair words and +feastings," the deputies meant to effect nothing. + +Like Hutton, the Ambassador felt the spell of Christina's charms, +and certain expressions which her servants Benedetto and Ferrari had +dropped, led him to suppose that the Duchess was favourably inclined +towards his master. But he was convinced that attempts had been made to +poison her mind against the King, and to prefer the suit of William of +Cleves or of Francis of Lorraine, who was also said to be seeking her +hand. + + "I know," he wrote to Cromwell, "that some of these folks + labour to avert the Duchess's mind from the King's Majesty, + and to rest herself either upon Lorraine or Cleves; but as + far as I can learn she is wiser than they, and will in no + wise hearken to them, offering rather to live a widow than to + fall from the likelihood of being Queen, and to light so low + as from a mistress to become an underling, as she must if she + marry either of them, their fathers and mothers being yet both + alive. What for the virtue that I think I see in her, the good + nature that every man must note her to be of, as well as her + good inclination to the King's Majesty, I have privily wished + myself sometimes that the King might take her with nothing, as + she hath somewhat, rather than His Highness should, by these + cankered tongues, be tromped and deceived of his good purpose, + and so want such a wife as I think she would be to His Grace. + For I shall ever pray God to send His Majesty such a mate, + humble, loving, and of such sort as may be for His Grace's + quiet and content, with the increase of the offspring of his + most noble person."[226] + + +VI. + +At length the eagerly-expected courier reached Brussels, but, as usual, +the Queen and Duchess were away hunting, and it was only on the 1st of +February that the Ambassadors obtained their desired audience. Mary +received them in her bedroom between seven and eight in the morning, +and told them that the Emperor had decided to await the arrival of the +Count Palatine, who with his wife, the Duchess's elder sister, was +shortly expected at Toledo, in order that he might discuss the subject +fully with them; but, since she knew Henry to be impatient for an +answer, she had despatched a trusty messenger, Cornelius Scepperus, to +Spain to beg her brother for an immediate decision.[227] + +[Sidenote: FEB., 1539] AN AWKWARD QUESTION] + +Wriothesley now ventured on a bold step. As the Queen rose to leave +the room, he begged, in order to satisfy his own peace of mind, to +be allowed to ask her one question, hoping that she would give him a +frank answer. At these words Mary blushed deeply, conscious of the +double part that she was playing, and bade him speak, assuring him +that she would take whatever he said in good part. "Madame," returned +Wriothesley, "I beseech Your Grace to tell me plainly how you find +the Duchess herself affected towards this marriage with the King my +master." If, as was commonly reported, the Duchess had really said +that she minded not to fix her heart that way, all his efforts were +but lost labour. And he made bold to ask this question because he knew +that of late "divers malicious tongues, servants of the Bishop of Rome, +had dared to speak lewdly in hugger-mugger of the King's Majesty." The +question was an awkward one, but Mary proved equal to the occasion. +She thanked the Ambassador for his frankness, and replied with some +warmth that she was quite sure her niece had never spoken such words, +and that, if evil men spoke lewdly of the King, she would know how to +deal with them. "Touching my niece's affection," she added, "I dare say +unto you, that if the Emperor and your master the King agree upon this +marriage, she will be at the Emperor's command." + +Wriothesley could only express his gratitude for this gracious answer, +even if it were not so plain as he could have wished. Seeing that +nothing else would satisfy him, the Queen referred him to the Duchess +herself, and at two o'clock the same afternoon the Ambassador was +conducted to Christina's lodgings. He found her standing under a canopy +in a hall hung with black velvet and damask, with five or six ladies +near her, and a dozen gentlemen and pages at the other end of the +room. Christina received him with a graceful salute, bade him heartily +welcome, and asked the purpose of his errand. Wriothesley proceeded to +explain the object of his visit at great length, saying that he was +quite sure that a lady of her gravity and discretion would never allow +such unseemly words to pass her lips; yet, since untrue and wicked +reports might have reached her ears and cooled her inclination towards +the King, he felt it would be his bounden duty, were this true, to +inform His Majesty, in order that he might withdraw his suit without +further waste of time and dishonour. + +Christina listened to this long harangue without moving a muscle. When +the Ambassador had ended, she desired him to put on his cap, saying it +was a cold day, and that she regretted not to have noticed that he was +uncovered before. Wriothesley replied that this was his duty, and that +he hoped often to have the honour of talking with her bareheaded in the +future. Without paying any heed to this last remark, Christina replied +in the following words: + +"Monsieur l'Ambassadeur, I do heartily thank you for your good opinion +of me, wherein I can assure you, you have not been deceived. I thank +God He hath given me a better stay of myself, than to be of so light a +sort as, by all likelihood, some men would note me. And I assure you +that neither these words that you have spoken, nor any like to them, +have passed at any time from my mouth, and so I pray you report for me." + +[Sidenote: FEB., 1539] CHRISTINA'S ANSWER] + +But grateful as Wriothesley expressed himself for this frank answer, +he was not yet satisfied. "It is an evil wind, as we say in England, +that bloweth no man good," and at least the Duchess would see by this, +how little faith was to be placed in idle tales. "There are those," he +said mysteriously, "who play on both hands; they tell Your Excellency +many things, and us somewhat." But would she go farther, and tell him +if he might assure the King his master of her own good inclination +towards the marriage? At these words Christina blushed exceedingly, and +said with some hesitation: "As for my inclination, what should I say? +You know I am at the Emperor's commandment." And when the Ambassador +pressed her to be a little plainer, she smiled and repeated: "You know +I am the Emperor's poor servant, and must follow his pleasure!" + +"Marry!" exclaimed Wriothesley; "why, then I may hope to be one of the +first Englishmen to be acquainted with my new mistress. Oh, madame, how +happy shall you be if you are matched with my master--the most gentle +gentleman that liveth, his nature so benign and pleasant that I think +no man hath heard many angry words pass his mouth. As God shall help +me, if he were no King, instead of one of the most puissant Princes +of Christendom, I think, if you saw him, you would say that for his +virtues, gentleness, wisdom, experience, goodliness of person, and all +other gifts and qualities, he were worthy to be made a King. I know +Your Grace to be of goodly parentage, and to have many great Princesses +in your family, but if God send this to a good conclusion, you shall be +of all the rest the most happy!" + +This fulsome panegyric was too much for Christina's gravity. She +listened for some time, like one that was tickled, then smiled, and +almost burst out laughing, but restrained her merriment with much +difficulty, and, quickly recovering herself, said gravely that she +knew His Majesty was a good and noble Prince. "Yes, madame," replied +the Ambassador, with enthusiasm, "and you shall know this better +hereafter. And for my part, I would be content, if only I may live to +see the day of your coronation, to say with Simeon, "Nunc dimittis +servum tuum, Domine." And he dwelt with fervour on the wish of the +English to have her for their Queen, and on the admiration and love +which the fame of her beauty and goodness had excited in the King. +Christina bowed her thanks, saying that she was much bounden to His +Majesty for his good opinion, and then, calling her Grand Master, bade +him escort the Ambassador home. + + "Your Majesty," wrote Wriothesley to the King that evening, + "shall easily judge from this of what inclination the women + be, and especially the Duchess, whose honest countenance, with + the few words that she wisely spoke, make me to think there + can be no doubt in her. A blind man should judge no colours, + but surely, Sir, after my poor understanding and the little + experience that I have, she is marvellous wise, very gentle, + and as shamefaced as ever I saw so witty a woman. I think her + wisdom is no less than the Queen's, which, in my poor opinion, + is notable for a woman, and I am deceived if she prove not a + good wife. And somewhat the better I like her for that I have + been informed that, of all the whole stock of them, her mother + was of the best opinion in religion, and showed it so far that + both the Emperor and all the pack of them were sore grieved + with her, and seemed in the end to hold her in contempt. I + would hope no less of the daughter, if she might be so happy as + to nestle in England. Very pure, fair of colour she is not, but + a marvellous good brownish face she hath, with fair red lips + and ruddy cheeks. And unless I be deceived in my judgment, she + was never so well painted but her living visage doth much excel + her picture."[228] + +[Sidenote: FEB., 1539] WORTHY TO BE A QUEEN] + +Two things, Wriothesley told Cromwell, in a letter which he wrote to +him the next day, were plain: the Queen would be very loth to let them +go with nothing settled, and the Duchess was well inclined, considering +that nothing had as yet been said to her on the King's behalf. And he +suggested that he might be allowed to show her a portrait of Henry, the +sight of which, he felt sure, would make her die a maid rather than +marry anyone else. "The woman is certainly worthy to be a Queen," he +adds, "and in my judgment is worth more than all the friendship and +alliances in the world."[229] + +Unfortunately, these letters, which the writer hoped would give the +King so much pleasure, found Henry in a furious temper. In January, +1539, Pope Paul III. issued the long-delayed Bull of excommunication, +and called on the Emperor and the French King to declare war on the +heretic monarch, and forbid all intercourse between their subjects and +the misguided English. Cardinal Pole, whose kinsmen Henry had beheaded, +and whose own life had been attempted by his emissaries, was sent to +Spain to induce Charles to take up arms against "this abominable tyrant +and cruel persecutor of the Church of God."[230] At the same moment a +treaty was signed between Charles and Francis at Toledo, by which the +two monarchs pledged themselves to conclude no agreements with Henry +excepting by mutual consent.[231] + +Henry now became seriously alarmed. He complained bitterly to Castillon +of the way in which he was reviled in France, not only by the vulgar, +but by the Cardinal of Paris and members of the Council. And he sent +Cromwell to Chapuys with an imperative summons to come to Court without +delay. The Imperial Ambassador obeyed, and came to Whitehall on the +Feast of the Three Kings. Henry was on his way to Mass, but he stopped +to greet Chapuys, and complained once more of the Queen of Hungary's +interminable delays and of the scandalous treatment of his Ambassadors. +Chapuys made the best excuses which came into his mind, and assured the +King that Mary was only awaiting the Emperor's instructions as to the +Papal dispensation, and that he would hear from Spain as soon as the +Palatine had reached Toledo. To this Henry vouchsafed no answer, but +walked straight on, to the door of the chapel. + +During Mass Cromwell entered into conversation with Chapuys, and told +him that the Pope had thrown off the hypocrite's mask, and was doing +his best to kindle a flame in Italy. Before the Ambassador could reply +he changed the subject, and said he saw clearly that the Emperor +intended to marry his niece to Cleves or Lorraine. Chapuys laughed, and +remarked that the Duchess could hardly be given to both Princes, but +added in all seriousness that his master knew the difference between +the King of England and these suitors. After dinner Henry seemed in +a better temper, but told Chapuys in confidential tones that he was +growing old, and that his subjects pressed him to hasten his marriage, +and that these vexatious delays were all due to the French, who boasted +that the Emperor could do nothing without their consent. + +[Sidenote: FEB., 1539] A COLD FROST] + + "He seemed in great trouble," reported Chapuys, "and it is + plain, as everyone about him tells me, that he is very much + in love with the Duchess of Milan. He told one of his most + intimate friends the other day that he would gladly take her + without a penny.... And just now the French Ambassador asked + me if it were true that he had sent her a diamond worth 16,000 + ducats."[232] + +At the same time Chapuys heard that Henry was negotiating with the +German Princes, and offering his daughter Mary to the young Duke of +Cleves, in order to prevent him from marrying the Duchess. "He is so +much in love," wrote Castillon, "that for one gracious word from her I +believe he would go to war to recover Denmark."[233] + +The same week Henry wrote to Wyatt, complaining bitterly of the +treatment which he had received from his imperial brother, as being +wholly unworthy of a Prince who professed to be his zealous friend. +"After so hot a summer we saw never so cold a winter; after all these +professions of love and friendship, in the end nothing but a cold +frost." He ended by declaring he would no longer be kept "hanging in +the balance," and must have an immediate answer, even if it were a flat +denial.[234] At length even Charles could procrastinate no longer, and +on the 15th of February he told Wyatt that it was impossible for the +marriage to take place without the Pope's dispensation, as the King's +dispensation would never satisfy the Duchess herself, or any of her +relations, and might cause endless inconvenience if children were born +of the union. "All the stay," wrote Cromwell to Wriothesley, "is upon +the dispensation, to which they object now, but whereof they never +spake before."[235] + +Even before the courier from Spain arrived, Henry's face was so black +that Castillon wrote home begging to be recalled, and declaring that +this King was the most cruel and dangerous man in the world. He was +in such a rage that he had neither reason nor understanding left, and +once he found out that Francis could do nothing for him, Castillon was +convinced that his own life would not be worth a straw. A few days +later the Ambassador left London, and rejoiced to find himself safely +back in France.[236] + + +VII. + +[Sidenote: FEB., 1539] A GAY CARNIVAL] + +While London was full of alarms, Wriothesley and his colleagues were +spending a gay Shrovetide at Brussels, all unconscious of the clouds +that were darkening the horizon. During the last few weeks nobles +and courtiers had vied with each other in paying them attentions. +Visitors of the highest rank honoured their humble lodgings. Madame de +Berghen, Aerschot's lively sister--"a dame of stomach that hath a jolly +tongue"--dined with them. The Queen herself was expected to pay them a +visit, and great preparations in the way of plate and furniture were +made for her reception. Count Büren, a very great man in Holland, was +particularly friendly, and impressed Wriothesley so much by his honesty +and loyalty that he gave him the best horse in his stables. Another +day he entertained the Captain of Gravelines, who railed against the +abominations of Rome to his heart's content, and told him it would be +the Pope's fault if the King's marriage were not concluded. Carnival +week brought a round of festivities. On Monday, the 17th of February, +the Ambassadors were invited to meet the Queen at supper at the Duke of +Aerschot's house, and were received at half-past five by the Duchess +and her sister-in-law, Madame de Berghen. The Duchess sent for her +young daughter and her two sons--boys of ten and twelve--and presently +they were joined by Monsieur de Vély, the new French Ambassador. +Wriothesley expressed great pleasure at meeting him, saying that, since +their masters were good friends, they ought not to be strangers, and +received a cordial reply. The rest of the company looked on with some +surprise at these friendly fashions, a rumour being abroad that the +French King was about to attack England and force Henry to submit to +the Pope. Then a flourish of trumpets, sackbuts, and fifes, was heard +at the gates, and the guests rose as the Queen and Duchess entered the +hall. At supper the French Ambassador sat on the Queen's right, and +Wriothesley on her left, while Christina was between him and Vaughan. +Madame d'Egmont sat next to Dr. Carne, and the Prince of Orange was on +the Duchess of Aerschot's right hand. Mary made herself very agreeable +to both her neighbours, and when, after supper, her chapel choir sang +roundelays and merry drinking-songs, she asked Wriothesley if he were +fond of music, and invited him to sup with her on the morrow and hear +her minstrels. The Ambassador confessed that he was very fond of music, +and often had some at his poor home to cheer his dull spirits. "Well, +it is an honest pastime," said the Queen, "and maketh good digestion, +for it driveth thoughts away." Here Wriothesley ventured to remark +that he would feel merrier if he had not wasted so much time here, +and asked if there was still no news from Spain. "None," replied the +Queen; and Wriothesley observed that reports reached him from Germany +that the Emperor was merely trying to gain time, and meant to do the +Bishop of Rome's bidding. "Jesus!" exclaimed the Queen, "I dare say +the Emperor never meant such a thing;" upon which Wriothesley hastened +to say that he felt sure the Emperor was too wise and honourable a +Prince to deceive the King, but now that he had made friends with his +old enemy, he hoped he would not make a new enemy of his old friend. +After supper the Duke and several ladies came in, wearing masks and +rich costumes, and threw dice with the Queen and her niece for some +fine diamonds, which the Princesses won. Then the Prince of Orange led +out Christina to dance, and the other youthful guests followed suit, +while Wriothesley sat at the Queen's side on the daïs and watched the +princely pair. + +[Sidenote: FEB., 1539] AN UNPLEASANT SURPRISE] + +The next evening (Shrove Tuesday) Wriothesley and his colleagues dined +at the palace, and this time the English Ambassador sat in the post of +honour, on the Queen's right, with the Duchess on his left. Mary was in +high spirits, toasted her guests and drank with each of them in turn. +After supper Wriothesley approached Christina, and ventured to tell +her that she would be happy if her best friends did not put hindrances +in her way, and begged her not to lend ear to malicious reports of +his master. The Duchess shook her head, saying she would listen to +no calumnies, and always hold the King to be a noble Prince. But he +felt sure that she was afraid of the Queen, and told her he hoped to +converse more freely with her another time. Never had he seen her look +so beautiful as she did that night; never did he wish more ardently to +see her his master's bride. "For indeed it were pity," he wrote home, +"if she were bestowed on a husband she did not like, only to serve +others." + +There was one Prince at table for whom, it was easy to see, Christina +had no dislike. This was René of Orange, who had an opportunity of +distinguishing himself in his lady's eyes that evening. The Queen led +the way into the great hall, where first Aerschot and three other +nobles challenged all comers to fight, and then the Prince of Orange +and Floris d'Egmont took their places at the barriers, and broke lances +and received prizes for their valour, while the Queen's band of lutes, +viols, and rebecks, played the finest music that Wriothesley had ever +heard. When the jousting was ended, Mary led her guests to the royal +gallery, where another banquet was served, and there was much lively +discourse, and more talking than eating. So that gay Carnival came +to a close, and with it the last hope of winning the fair Duchess's +hand.[237] + +An unpleasant surprise was in store for Wriothesley the next morning. +Certain disquieting rumours having reached Brussels, Vaughan went to +Antwerp on Ash Wednesday, and found great consternation among the +English merchants. A proclamation had been issued forbidding any ships +to leave the port, and several English vessels laden with merchandise +had been detained. The wildest rumours were current on the Exchange. +It was commonly said that the Emperor, with the Kings of France and +Scotland, had declared war on King Henry, and that a large Dutch and +Spanish fleet was about to sail for England. Already in Brussels +gallants and pikemen were taking bets on the issue of the war, and +Wriothesley wrote to Cromwell that he and his colleagues "might +peradventure broil on a faggot." He was unable to obtain an audience +until Friday, when the Queen told him that, by the Emperor's orders, +she was recalling Chapuys to conduct the marriage negotiations. This +unexpected intimation, coming as it did after the startling news from +Antwerp, disconcerted him considerably. He sent an express to London, +and received orders to take his departure at once. Castillon was +already on his way to France, but Henry quite refused to let Chapuys go +until Wriothesley and Vaughan had left Brussels. A long wrangle between +the two Courts followed. The Ambassadors were detained on both sides. +The Spanish and Dutch ships in English harbours were stopped, all ports +were closed, and active preparations were made for war along the shores +of the Channel. + + "After fair weather," wrote Cromwell to Wriothesley, "there is + succeeded a weather very cloudy. Good words, good countenance, + be turned, we perceive, to a wonderful strangeness. But + let that pass. They can do us no harm but to their own + detriment."[238] + +[Sidenote: MARCH, 1539] STRANGE ENTERTAINMENT] + +The situation of the Ambassadors was by no means pleasant. A marked +change was visible in the behaviour of the Court. They were "treated +as very strangers" by those nobles who had been their best friends. +No one called at their house or came to dine with them. The Duchess's +servants, who used to go to and fro constantly, now dared not come +except at dusk--"in the owl-flight"--and would not allow Wriothesley +to send them home by torchlight. Wherever they went, the English heard +their King slandered, and met with cold looks and scornful words. Worse +than all, they were forced to pay excise duties--"eighteen pence on +every barrel of beer above the price asked by the brewer"--an indignity +to which no Ambassador before had ever been exposed. "I write in haste +and live in misery," wrote Wriothesley to Cromwell on the 7th of +March.[239] + +The Emperor, however, was still friendly. His heart was set on a +Crusade against the Turk, and he had no wish to embark on war with +England. Pole met with a cold reception at Toledo, and, finding +Charles averse to executing the Pope's sentence, retired to his friend +Sadoleto's house at Carpentras. This was a relief to Henry, and he bade +Wyatt thank his imperial brother, but could not forbear pointing out +that these friendly words agreed ill with the doings of his officers +in the Low Countries. A despatch addressed to Wyatt on the 10th of +March contains a long recital of the extraordinary treatment which his +Ambassadors at Brussels had met with: + + "Since Lent began, as for a penance, their entertainment + hath been marvellous strange--yea, and stranger than we will + rehearse: strangeness in having audience with long delay, + strangeness in answer and fashion. Also they have been + constrained to pay Excise, which no Ambassador of England paid + in any man's remembrance. They have complained to the Queen, + but nevertheless must pay or lack drink.... These rumours + and hints of war, the arrest of our ships, this strangeness + shown to our Ministers, this navy and army in readiness, the + recall of Chapuys, ran abroad this realm and everywhere. We + do not write to you the rumours half so spiteful, and the + entertainment half so strange, as it hath been. I think never + such a thing was heard, and especially after a treaty of + marriage such a banquet!"[240] + +Henry concluded this letter by saying that, since the Emperor insisted +on the need of Papal dispensation, there could be no further question +of any marriage between him and the Duchess, and he would be now at +liberty to seek another wife. On the same day he wrote to Carne, who +had been secretly corresponding with the Duke of Cleves, telling him to +open negotiations for a marriage with that Prince's sister, the Lady +Anne.[241] + +Twelve days after this despatch was sent to Spain Wriothesley left +Brussels. At Calais he met Chapuys, who had just crossed the Channel, +and Mary's almoner, the Dean of Cambray, who was being sent to take the +Ambassador's place, and was awaiting a fair wind to embark for Dover. +All three Ambassadors dined in a friendly manner with Lord Lisle, the +Deputy Governor of Calais, and continued their respective journeys +without hindrance. But the much-discussed marriage treaty was at an +end. The long-drawn comedy had reached its last act. "All hope of the +Duchess," wrote Wriothesley to Cromwell, "is utterly past." + +[Sidenote: AUG., 1539] A WELSHMAN'S OPINION] + +The rupture was loudly lamented by the English merchants in Antwerp, +and keen disappointment was felt throughout England, where the marriage +had always been popular. Among many scattered notices of the feeling +which prevailed on the subject, the following incident is of especial +interest, because of the sidelight which it throws on Christina's +personal reluctance to the marriage. + +On a summer evening in August, 1539, five months after Wriothesley +left Brussels, a married priest named George Constantyne, of Llan +Hawaden in South Wales, rode from Chepstow to Abergavenny with John +Barlow, Dean of Westbury. The priest had got into trouble in Wolsey's +time, for buying copies of Tyndale's New Testament, and was forced to +fly the country and practise as a physician for several years in the +Netherlands. Now he had returned to England, and was on his way to his +old home in Wales. He walked from Bristol to Westbury, where he supped +with Dean Barlow, a brother of his friend the Bishop of St. Davids, +who made him heartily welcome, and invited him to be his travelling +companion the next day to Pembrokeshire. As the two ecclesiastics rode +through the green valleys on the way to Abergavenny, the Dean asked +Constantyne if he could tell him why the King's marriage had been so +long delayed. The priest replied that he, for his part, was very sorry +the King should still be without a wife, when he might by this time +have been the father of fair children. As the Dean knew, both the +Duchess of Milan and she of Cleves were spoken of, and now the little +doctor, Nicholas Wotton, had been sent to Cleves with Mr. Beard, of +the Privy Chamber, and the King's painter; so there was good hope +of a marriage being concluded with the Duke of Cleves, who favoured +God's word, and was a mighty Prince now, holding Guelderland against +the Emperor's will. But why, asked the Dean, was the marriage with +the Duchess of Milan broken off? Constantyne, who was familiar with +all the gossip of the Regent's Court, replied that the Duchess quite +refused to marry the King, unless he would accept the Bishop of Rome's +dispensation, and give pledges that her life would be safe and her +honour respected. "Why pledges?" asked the Dean innocently. "Marry!" +returned Constantyne, "she sayeth that, since the King's Majesty was in +so little space rid of three Queens, she dare not trust his Council, +even if she dare trust His Majesty. For in Flanders the nobles suspect +that her great-aunt, Queen Catherine, was poisoned, that Anne Boleyn +was innocent of the crimes for which she was put to death, and that the +third wife, Queen Jane, was lost for lack of attention in childbed." +Such, at least, were the mutterings which he heard at Court before +Whitsuntide. The Dean remarked that he was afraid the affair of Milan +must be dashed, as Dr. Petre, who was to have gone to fetch the royal +bride from Calais, was at the Court of St. James's last Sunday; upon +which Constantyne gave it as his opinion that there could be no amity +between the King and the Emperor, whose god was the Pope. + +So the two men talked as they rode over the Welsh hills on the pleasant +summer evening. But the poor priest had good reason to regret that he +had ever taken this ride; for his false friend the Dean reported him as +a Sacramentary to the Lord Privy Seal, and a few days after he reached +Llan Hawaden he was arrested and thrown into the Tower, where he spent +several months in prison as a penalty for his freedom of speech.[242] + +FOOTNOTES: + +[164] Papiers d'État, 1178, Archives du Royaume, Bruxelles. + +[165] Calendar of State Papers, xii. 2, 367. + +[166] State Papers, Henry VIII., Record Office, viii. 2. + +[167] J. Kaulek, "Correspondance Politique de M. de Castillon," 4, 5; +Calendar of State Papers, xii. 2, 394. + +[168] Calendar of State Papers, xii. 2, 392; G. Pimodan, "La Mère des +Guises," 72. + +[169] Kaulek, 12, 15; Calendar of State Papers, xiii. 1, 54. + +[170] State Papers, Record Office, viii. 5. + +[171] Anne Boleyn's cousin Mary Skelton, who had been a great favourite +with the King (see Calendar of State Papers, xiii. 1, 24). + +[172] State Papers, Record Office, viii. 7. + +[173] Calendar of State Papers, xiii. 1, 42. + +[174] Calendar of Spanish State Papers, v. 2, 572. + +[175] Calendar of Spanish State Papers, v. 2, 429. + +[176] Kaulek, 24; Calendar of State Papers, xiii. 1, 82. + +[177] Calendar of State Papers, xiii. 1, 93. + +[178] State Papers, Record Office, viii. 16. + +[179] _Ibid._, viii. 30. + +[180] British Museum, Additional Manuscripts, 5,498, f. 2; Calendar of +State Papers, xiii. 1, 130. + +[181] State Papers, Record Office, viii. 17-19. + +[182] Holbein's portrait is described in the Catalogues of the King's +pictures at Westminster in 1542 and 1547 as "No. 12. A greate Table +with the picture of the Duchess of Myllane, being her whole stature." +After Henry's death it passed into the hands of Fitzalan, Earl of +Arundel, the King's Lord Chamberlain and godson, who married Lady +Katherine Grey, and acquired the Palace of Nonsuch, with most of its +contents. When he died, in 1580, it became the property, first of his +elder daughter Jane, wife of Lord Lumley, and then of her great-nephew, +Thomas Howard, Earl of Arundel. This great collector took the Duchess +of Milan's portrait with him abroad during the Civil Wars, and after +his death, in 1645, it hung, with many other Holbeins, in the house +of his widow at Amsterdam. Lady Arundel left the whole collection +to her son, Henry Howard, who became the sixth Duke of Norfolk, and +Holbein's portrait remained in the family until, in 1909, it was +acquired by the National Gallery for the sum of £72,000. A second +portrait of the Duchess of Milan, a half-length, is mentioned in Henry +VIII.'s Catalogues ("No. 138. A Table with a picture of the Duchess of +Myllane"), and was discovered by Sir George Scharf in a waiting-room +near the private chapel at Windsor. This is probably the portrait by +Van Orley which Hutton sent to England before Holbein's arrival at +Brussels. The attitude of the sitter, her dress and features, are the +same as in Holbein's picture, but the face is less finely modelled +and lacks charm and expression. The hands are in a slightly different +position, and instead of one big ruby ring she wears three rings--a +cameo and a gold ring on the right hand, and a black ring, the badge +of widowhood, on the third finger of the left hand. This curious and +interesting portrait is plainly the work of an inferior artist, and, +as the Ambassador justly remarked, bears no comparison with Holbein's +Duchess--"surely," in the words of his biographer, "one of the most +precious pictures in the world" (Wornum's "Life of Holbein," p. 322; +L. Cust in the _Burlington Magazine_, August, 1911, p. 278; and Sir G. +Scharf in "Archæologia," xl. 205). + +[183] Calendar of Spanish State Papers, v. 2, 523. + +[184] State Papers, Record Office, viii. 21. + +[185] State Papers, Record Office, viii. 30. + +[186] Calendar of State Papers, xiii. 1, 263. + +[187] Kaulek, 29, 33, 35. + +[188] Calendar of Spanish State Papers, v. 2, 524. + +[189] Calendar of State Papers, xiii. 1, 258. + +[190] Calendar of Spanish State Papers, v. 2, 526, 558. + +[191] Kaulek, 48, 50, 53, 58, 70. + +[192] _Ibid._, 58, 73; Pimodan, 73. + +[193] Kaulek, 70, 79, 81; Spanish State Papers, vi. 1, 9. + +[194] Balcarres Manuscripts, ii. 20. + +[195] _Ibid._, ii. 10. + +[196] There has been some confusion as to the date of Holbein's visit +to Joinville, owing to a mistake in the Calendar of State Papers (xiii. +1, 130), where Cromwell's instructions to Hoby for his journeys to +Brussels and France are entered under the date of February, 1538. But +the Duchess of Guise's letter (see Appendix), as well as the payment of +£10 made by Sir Brian Tuke, Treasurer of the Household, to Hans Holbein +on the 30th of December, 1538, "for going to the parts of High Burgony +about certain of the King's business," make it clear that this journey +took place at the end of August (G. Scharf, "Archæologia," xxxix. 7). +From Lorraine the painter went on to Bâle, where he spent some months, +and returned to England at Christmas. The original documents in the +British Museum (Additional Manuscripts, 5,498, f. 1) bear no date, and +are on separate sheets, and the heading of the instructions regarding +the journey to Brussels was added by a later hand, and is thus worded: +"Instructions given by the L. Cromwell to Philip Hoby, sent over by him +to the Duchess of Lorraine, then Duchess of Milan"--_i.e._, Christina, +Duchess of Lorraine, at that time Duchess of Milan. But the editor of +the Calendars inserted the words "to the" between "then" and "Duchess +of Milan," thus making it appear that Hoby went first to Lorraine, and +then to the Duchess of Milan, whereas the journey to Brussels took +place in March, and that to Lorraine in August. Since this chapter was +written, the subject has been fully dealt with by Mr. A. B. Chamberlain +in the _Burlington Magazine_, April, 1912. + +[197] Calendar of Spanish State Papers, v. 2, 531. + +[198] Nott's "Life of Wyatt," ii. 488. + +[199] State Papers, Record Office, viii. 33. + +[200] State Papers, Record Office, viii. 40. + +[201] Calendar of State Papers, xiii. 2, 119. + +[202] Calendar of Spanish State Papers, vi. 1, 42. + +[203] Kaulek, 77. + +[204] Calendar of Spanish State Papers, vi. 15-31. + +[205] Calendar of Spanish State Papers, vi. 41. + +[206] Calendar of Spanish State Papers, vi. 46. + +[207] State Papers, Record Office, viii. 53, 56; Calendar of State +Papers, xiii. 2, 214. + +[208] State Papers, Record Office, viii. 56-60. + +[209] Calendar of State Papers, xiii. 2, 245, 247. + +[210] State Papers, Record Office, viii. 67. + +[211] State Papers, Record Office, viii. 78; Calendar of State Papers, +xiii. 2, 255. + +[212] F. Decrue, "Anne de Montmorency," 415, 418, 491. + +[213] State Papers, xiii. 2, 238. + +[214] _Ibid._, xiii. 2, 247, 248. + +[215] Calendar of State Papers, xiii. 2, 261. + +[216] Calendar of State Papers, xiii. 2, 255. + +[217] Calendar of State Papers, xiii. 2, 289. + +[218] _Ibid._, xiii. 2, 291, 296. + +[219] Calendar of Spanish State Papers, vi. 1, 96. + +[220] Lanz, ii. 686. + +[221] Papiers d'État, 82, 20, Archives du Royaume, Bruxelles. + +[222] Lanz, ii. 296. + +[223] State Papers, Record Office, viii. 72. + +[224] Calendar of State Papers, xiii. 2, 467, 468. + +[225] State Papers, Record Office, viii. 110, 118, 123. + +[226] Calendar of State Papers, xiv. 1, 37. + +[227] State Papers, Record Office, viii. 139. + +[228] State Papers, Record Office, viii. 140-148. + +[229] Calendar of State Papers, xiv. 1, 93, 121. + +[230] _Ibid._, xiv. 1, 14; Calendar of Spanish State Papers, vi. 1, 97. + +[231] _Ibid._, xiv. 1, 26. + +[232] Calendar of State Papers, xiv. 1, 16-19. + +[233] _Ibid._, xiv. 1, 52; Lanz, ii. 297-306. + +[234] Nott, ii. 306. + +[235] Calendar of Spanish State Papers, vi. 1, 145. + +[236] Kaulek, 84. + +[237] Calendar of State Papers, xiv. 1, 125, 126 + +[238] State Papers, Record Office, viii. 155. + +[239] State Papers, Record Office, viii. 166, 175. + +[240] Nott, "Life of Wyatt," II. 511. + +[241] Calendar of State Papers, xiv. 1, 189, 191. + +[242] "Archæologia Cambrensis," xxiii. 139-141. + + + + +BOOK VII + +CLEVES, ORANGE, AND LORRAINE + +1539-1541 + + +I. + +The negotiations for the King of England's marriage with the Duchess of +Milan were broken off. But there was no lack of suitors for Christina's +hand. During the winter and spring of 1539 the Emperor's niece received +offers of marriage from three princely bridegrooms. The first of these +was Antoine, Duke of Vendôme, whose courtship of the Duchess on the +journey to Compiègne had aroused King Henry's jealousy. The second was +William of Cleves, who since the old Duke Charles's death had taken +possession of Guelders, and was now seeking to obtain the investiture +of the duchy, together with Christina's hand. The third was Francis, +the Marquis of Pont-à-Mousson, and heir of Lorraine. From the day that +this Prince first met the Duchess at Compiègne, he sought her for his +bride with a constancy and steadfastness that were eventually to be +crowned with success. But for the moment the Duke of Cleves seemed +to have the best chance of winning the coveted prize. From the first +Mary of Hungary had regarded this alliance with favour, and when, +in January, 1539, she consulted her Councillors on the Duchess's +marriage, it was this union which met with their highest approval. + + "Duke William," wrote the Queen in her reply to the Emperor, + "has greatly offended Your Majesty, both as a private + individual and sovereign lord, by taking possession of + Guelders. Still, as he renews his suit and professes to be your + loyal friend and servant, it would be well to treat with him + and offer him the Duchess's hand, on condition that he will + give up Guelderland."[243] + +The alternative proposal, she proceeded to say, deserved consideration, +seeing the great anxiety which the Duke of Lorraine's son showed for +the marriage. No doubt the Emperor's niece, with her large dowry, would +be a very honourable match for him, and well worth the surrender of his +rights on Guelders; but, since it was most desirable to recover this +duchy without delay, it might be well to secure the help of Lorraine by +this means. + +The situation was a difficult one, and from the moment of the old +Duke's death in June, 1538, Mary had never ceased to entreat Charles to +come to Flanders and take active measures for the recovery of Guelders +before it was too late. Throughout the winter Duke William went from +town to town, endearing himself to his new subjects; and when the +deputies of Lorraine asserted their master's superior claims, he told +them that he would never give up Guelders to any mortal man. By the +death of his father on the 6th of February, 1539, he succeeded to the +rich provinces of Cleves and Jülich, and became the wealthiest and most +powerful Prince in North Germany.[244] + +[Sidenote: MARCH, 1539] ANNE OF CLEVES] + +Still Charles put off his coming, and told his sister that he was +bent on undertaking a second Crusade against the Turks, and could not +spare the time for a journey to Flanders. This was too much for Mary's +equanimity, and she protested in the strongest language against the +Emperor's folly in exposing his person to such risks, declaring that +this Crusade would not only prove the utter ruin of the Netherlands, +but of all Christendom.[245] Fortunately, Mary's remonstrances were +supported by the Emperor's wisest Councillors, and, in deference to +their representations, he decided to abandon his Crusade for the +present and come to Flanders. This decision was confirmed by the +discontent which the Duke of Cleves's intrigues helped to foment in +Ghent--always a turbulent city--as well as by the news that the King of +England had entered into a close alliance with Cleves, and was about to +marry his sister. + +Cromwell, with his habitual duplicity, had been in correspondence with +the German Princes while he professed to be zealous for the Emperor's +alliance; and in March Christopher Mont, his Envoy to Frankfort, +was desired to make diligent inquiries as to the shape, stature, +and complexion, of the Duke of Cleves's sister Anne. If these were +satisfactory, he was to suggest that proposals of marriage should be +made by that Prince and his brother-in-law, the Elector John Frederick +of Saxony. Mont sent glowing descriptions of the lady's beauty, and was +bold enough to declare that she excelled the Duchess of Milan as much +as the golden sun excels the silver moon.[246] + +Henry was now all on fire to see the Lady Anne, although he had not +yet lost all interest in Christina, whose name still figures constantly +in letters from Brussels. On the 6th of April we hear that the Duchess +of Milan is sick of fever, and ten days later Cromwell writes to the +King that Her Grace is no longer sick, and that "at Antwerp the people +still cherish a hope that Your Highness will yet marry her."[247] If he +could not make her his wife, the King was determined to prevent another +suitor from succeeding where he had failed, and renewed his offer of +his daughter Mary with a large dowry to the Duke of Cleves. William, +however, showed no alacrity to avail himself of this offer, and sent +Envoys both to Brussels and Toledo to press his suit for Christina's +hand. + +The sudden death of the Empress at Toledo on the 1st of May altered all +Charles's plans. A few weeks before this Isabella had given birth to a +son, who only lived a few hours, and Charles had written to inform his +sister of the infant's death. On the 2nd of May he wrote a few touching +lines with his own hand to tell Mary the grievous news. The doctors had +pronounced her to be out of danger, but catarrh attacked the lungs, and +proved fatal in a few hours. + + "I am overwhelmed with sorrow and distress, and nothing can + comfort me but the thought of her good and holy life and the + devout end which she made. I leave you to tell my subjects + over yonder, of this pitiful event, and ask them to pray for + her soul. I will do my best to bow to the will of God, whom I + implore to receive her in His blessed paradise, where I feel + certain that she is. And may God keep you, my dear sister, and + grant you all your desires."[248] + +[Sidenote: MAY, 1539] THE PALATINE'S TRAVELS] + +When this sad event took place, Christina's sister Dorothea and her +husband, Count Frederic, were staying at the Imperial Court. These +adventurous travellers had come to Spain in the vain hope of inducing +the Emperor to support their claims on Denmark, and, after crossing the +Pyrenees in rain and snow, had at length reached Toledo, where they +were hospitably entertained. The Empress treated Dorothea with great +affection, but Frederic's German servants, who consumed five meals +a day and ate meat on Ash Wednesday, shocked the Spanish courtiers, +and drew down the censures of the Inquisition upon them. Even the +Emperor asked his cousin why he brought so numerous a suite on his +travels; but, although he would make no promises of further help, he +good-naturedly paid Frederic's expenses at Toledo, and gave him a +present of 7,000 crowns. The death of the Empress, Dorothea's best +friend, put an end to all hope of further assistance. The Emperor +shut himself up in a Carthusian convent, and the Palatine and his +wife started for the Low Countries.[249] On their way through France +they were royally entertained by the King and Queen in the splendid +Palais des Tournelles, and Francis took so great a fancy to his wife's +niece that Eleanor felt it wise to keep Dorothea continually at her +side. Here they were detained some time by Frederic's illness, and +after his recovery spent several days at Chantilly with the Constable, +and at the King's fine new villa of Cotterets, on their way to the +Netherlands.[250] + +[Sidenote: SEPT., 1539] A MOCK FIGHT] + +Here the travellers were eagerly awaited by Christina and her aunt. +After the funeral services for the repose of the Empress's soul had +been duly celebrated, and the last requiem sung in S. Gudule, the Queen +set out on a progress through Holland and Friesland, and spent some +time at Bois-le-Duc, on the frontiers of Guelders, trying to arrange +matters with the Duke of Cleves. But, although friendly letters and +messages were exchanged, nothing could be settled until the Emperor's +arrival, which was now delayed till the autumn, and the Court moved +to the Hague for August. Here the Queen received news that the Count +Palatine and his wife had reached Dordrecht and were coming by sea to +Holland. Christina at once travelled to Rotterdam, intending to go by +boat to meet the travellers. But the weather was rough and stormy, and +the sailors were reluctant to set out. The Duchess, however, would +hear of no delay, and, embarking in a small boat, bade the sailors +put out to sea. Hardly had they left the shore before a terrific gale +sprang up, and from the deck of their ship the Palatine and his wife +saw a barque tossed on the raging seas, sending up signals of distress. +Altering their course, they hastened to the rescue, and found, to their +great surprise, that the Duchess of Milan was on board. Count Frederic +scolded his sister-in-law soundly for her rashness, but Dorothea was +enchanted to see Christina, and laughed and cried by turn as she +embraced her.[251] The Queen awaited the travellers no less eagerly, +in her anxiety to hear the latest news from Spain, and agreed readily +to Frederic's proposal that his wife should remain at the Hague while +he returned to Germany. Early in September the Palatine took leave of +his relatives and went to Antwerp, saying that he must raise money for +his journey to Heidelberg. But he kept his true destination a secret. +During his illness in Paris, Bishop Bonner had brought Frederic a +letter from Cromwell, begging him to come to England, since he was only +divided from this country by a narrow arm of the sea, and His Majesty +was very anxious to see him again. All immediate alarm of war had died +away, and the irascible monarch's anger was allayed by the arrival of a +new French Ambassador in the person of Marillac, and by the permission +which Mary gave him to buy ammunition in the Low Countries. In return, +he ordered an imposing requiem to be held in St. Paul's for the late +Empress, and desired Cromwell and the Dukes of Norfolk and Suffolk, +with twenty Bishops, to attend the service.[252] He resumed his old +habit of spending the summer evenings on the river, enjoying the +music of flutes and harps, and sent to France and Italy for excellent +painters and musicians--a sure sign, Marillac was told, that he was +about to marry again. Another fête, at which the Ambassador declined +to be present, was a mock-fight on the Thames between two galleys, +one of which bore the King's arms, while the other was decorated with +an effigy of the Pope with the triple tiara and keys, attended by +the Cardinals. The show ended in the triumph of the English sailors, +who threw the Pope and Cardinals into the river--"the whole thing," +according to Marillac, "being as badly represented as it was poorly +conceived."[253] + +Now the King was anxious to hear the Emperor's intention from the +Palatine's own lips, while Frederic on his part was flattered by this +powerful monarch's invitation, and felt that his assistance might +prove of use in his visionary schemes for the recovery of Denmark. But, +knowing that of late relations between Henry and the Queen had been +strained, he kept his counsel, and told no one but his wife that he was +bound for Calais. + +Here he was courteously entertained by Lord Lisle, an illegitimate son +of Edward IV., and escorted by him to Canterbury and London. Frederic +was lost in admiration at the rows of stately palaces along the Thames, +and the fine Castle of Richmond, but was disappointed, when he visited +Westminster Abbey, not to see the famous antlers of the stag which King +Dagobert caught, and which wore a golden collar inscribed with the +words, "Julius Cæsar let me go free." Afterwards he learnt that these +legendary trophies had lately been removed by the King's orders, for +fear the monks, whom he was about to expel, might conceal them. + +In the absence of the King at Ampthill, Cromwell, who had been told +to "grope out the reason of Frederic's coming," entertained the Count +splendidly at his own house, and showed him the Tower of London and +the Temple Church. But the Deputy's wife, Lady Lisle, who looked on +Cromwell with deep distrust, begged her husband to beware of the Lord +Privy Seal's fair words, and was none too well pleased to hear that he +had partaken of the partridge pasty and baked cranes which she had sent +from Calais, together with her own toothpick for the Palsgrave's use, +having noticed that her noble guest "used a quill to pick his teeth +with."[254] + +[Sidenote: SEPT., 1539] THE PALATINE AT WINDSOR] + +Meanwhile the Palatine's visit to England was exciting much curiosity, +and not a little alarm, in some quarters. The Pope and the French King +feared it might lead to a secret covenant between Henry and Charles, +while in London it was commonly reported that Frederic came to renew +negotiations for his union with the Duchess of Milan, and the Duke of +Cleves hastily sent Ambassadors to conclude his sister's marriage. +These Envoys reached Windsor on the same day as the Count Palatine, +whom Henry invited to a banquet there on the 24th of September. +When he bade the Lord High Admiral escort the Palsgrave to Windsor, +Southampton, eager to curry favour with the King, expressed his +opinion that the Cleves alliance was preferable to a marriage with a +French Princess or one of the Emperor's family, "albeit the Duchess of +Milan was a fair woman and well spoken of," and told the King of the +resentment which his union with the Lady Anne had aroused at the Court +of Brussels. Henry remained plunged in thought for some moments; then +a smile broke over his face, and he exclaimed: "Have they remembered +themselves now? They that would not when they might, when they would +they shall have nay!"[255] + +Nothing was lacking, however, to the splendour of the Palatine's +reception at Windsor. The Duke of Suffolk rode out to meet him beyond +Eton Bridge with 100 horsemen clad in velvet, and the banquet was +served on golden dishes in a hall carpeted with cloth of gold, to the +strains of delicious music from the King's famous band. The Cleves +Envoys were at table, but after dinner the King took the Count apart, +and conversed with him for over two hours on his travels. Frederic +took this opportunity of begging the King to help him in driving out +the usurper of Denmark, and releasing his unhappy father-in-law, +Christian II.[256] Henry listened kindly, and promised to consider the +matter, but no mention was made of Christina. The next day a great +hunting-party was given in the Palsgrave's honour. A pavilion of +green laurel boughs was set up in a meadow on the banks of the river, +and while the King and his guests were at dinner the merry note of +hunting-horns rang through the air, and a stag bounded across the turf, +followed by the hounds at full cry. Immediately the whole party sprang +to horse and joined in the chase, which lasted for three hours, and +ended in the slaughter of thirty-four stags. From Windsor Frederic went +to Hampton Court, and on the 3rd of October finally took leave of the +King, who gave him 2,000 crowns as a parting gift. Hubert also received +a silver cup from the Lord Privy Seal, who begged him and his lord to +return at Christmas, and surprised him by asking if the Palsgrave had +any castle to let or sell, as it might be convenient for him to secure +a retreat abroad. The Minister evidently realized the precarious nature +of his position, and Hubert remembered his request when he heard of the +doom which soon afterwards overtook the King's favourite.[257] + +[Sidenote: OCT., 1539] THE LADY ANNE] + +In his last interview Henry told the Count that he feared it would be +impossible for him to join in any enterprise against Denmark, as his +new allies the German Princes were in league with the present King. +At the same time he informed his good cousin of his intended marriage +to the Lady Anne of Cleves, a Princess of suitable age and elegant +stature, and begged him to obtain a safe-conduct from the Regent for +his bride's passage through the Low Countries.[258] The next day +Frederic crossed the Channel and joined his wife at Brussels. Here, as +Dorothea had already told him, he found the Queen much displeased at +the trick which he had played her, and Hubert came in for his share of +blame. They soon left Brabant for Heidelberg, and the Palatine sent +Lady Lisle--or, as he called her, "Madame ma bonne mère"--a barrel of +fine red and white Rhine wine in remembrance "of her loving son."[259] + + +II. + +King Henry's marriage to Anne of Cleves, as Southampton told his +master, was exceedingly unpopular in the Netherlands. The alliance +of so powerful a monarch with Duke William was fraught with danger, +and the people bitterly resented the insult which, in their eyes, had +been offered to the Duchess of Milan. The merchants of Antwerp said +openly that, if King Henry chose to break faith with their Princess, he +should not enjoy the company of another wife, and declared they would +not allow the Lady Anne to pass through their city. The Cleves Envoys +in England were so much alarmed by these reports that they travelled +back to Düren in disguise, and advised the bride to take the sea-route +from Germany. But Mary of Hungary was too wise to show her annoyance, +and sent a gracious message to Henry, saying that she would send Count +Büren to wait on the Lady Anne, on her journey through the Emperor's +dominions. The King wrote back in high glee to thank "his dearest +sister," and on the 27th of December his new bride landed safely at +Dover.[260] The loyal citizens of Flanders consoled themselves with +the thought that, if their Duchess was not to be Queen of England, +they would keep her among them, and the old rumour was persistently +repeated: "She shall marry the Prince of Orange." All through the past +year René had devoted himself to Christina's service, had worn her +favours and broken lances in her honour. Her Italian servants called +him openly the Duchess's _cavaliere sirvente_.[261] But it was plain +to Italians and Flemings alike that the affection was not at all on +one side, and that this gallant Prince had won Christina's heart. Old +courtiers smiled kindly on the young couple, and ladies drew aside +discreetly to leave them together. They were eminently fitted for each +other by age, race and character. If the succession to the principality +of Orange, which had been lately restored by the French King, hardly +entitled René to a place among the reigning Princes of Europe, at least +he could offer her splendid homes at Brussels and Breda, and a position +which many ladies of royal birth might envy. The Countess Palatine +Dorothea privately encouraged the Prince, and her husband warmly +approved of the match, and said openly that, since his sister-in-law +could not be King Henry's wife, she had better marry the man of her +choice, and not waste the best years of her life, as he himself had +done.[262] + +[Sidenote: SEPT., 1539] THE REVOLT OF GHENT] + +Queen Mary was, clearly, not averse to the Prince's suit, and had +a strong liking for René; but reasons of State prevented her from +giving the union her public sanction, and all parties were agreed that +nothing could be arranged until the Emperor's arrival. The date of his +journey was now definitely fixed, and in November Mary told the English +Ambassador Vaughan that her brother would be at Brussels by the New +Year. Charles at length realized the critical situation of affairs, +and saw that if he wished to keep his provinces _de par-deça_ he must +no longer delay his coming.[263] In September, 1539, the citizens of +Ghent, who had long been discontented, broke into open revolt. After +refusing to pay their share of the subsidy voted by the States, the +leading citizens put to death their chief magistrate, Lieven Pyl, +because he declined to bear their insolent message to the Regent, and +proceeded to tear up the famous "Calf-vel," a parchment deed containing +an agreement which they had made with Charles V. twenty-four years +before. Worse than all, they sent deputies to King Francis, asking him +to defend their liberties against the Emperor. At the first tidings of +these disorders Mary hastened to Malines and took energetic measures +to suppress the insurrection, which had already spread to several of +the neighbouring towns.[264] For some weeks the alarm was great, and +watchers were posted on the tower of S. Rombaut night and day; but the +Queen's presence of mind, and the support of her able lieutenants, +Aerschot and De Courrières, who was now Bailiff of Alost, succeeded in +confining the mutiny to the walls of Ghent. A simultaneous rising at +Maestricht was put down by the Prince of Orange, who raised 300 horse +and hastened to restore order in that city. But the citizens of Ghent +still openly defied the Regent, although Francis, to do him credit, +refused to help the rebels. More than this, he addressed a letter +with his own royal hand to Charles, saying that, if the Emperor was +coming to chastise his revolted subjects, he hoped that he would do +him the honour of passing through France, assuring him, on the faith +of a Prince, that every possible honour and hospitality would be shown +him.[265] + +So critical was the situation, both with regard to Ghent and Guelders, +that Charles decided to accept the offer and take the shortest route to +Flanders. + + "My good brother the Emperor," wrote Francis to his Ambassador + in England, "is coming to visit me on his way to the Low + Countries, a thing which not only does me the greatest honour, + content, and pleasure, but is a proof of the good and perfect + friendship between us." + +He expressed the same feelings in still stronger terms to Wyatt, whom +Cromwell sent to Blois in December to be present at the meeting of the +two monarchs. + + "The Emperor," he added, "is doing me the greatest honour that + can be, by coming to visit me, and showing thereby that he + taketh me for an honest man."[266] + +[Sidenote: NOV., 1539] A SPLENDID RECEPTION] + +On the 23rd of November Charles left Burgos, and four days later +he entered Bayonne, attended by the Dauphin and the Constable +Montmorency, whom the King had sent to meet him on the frontier. He +had begged Francis to dispense with ceremonies, as his great object +was to reach Flanders as quickly as possible, and to excuse him from +entering on political matters, since he could not decide anything of +importance until he had seen the Queen-Regent.[267] But, in spite of +this request, he was everywhere received with the utmost pomp and +festivity. Triumphal arches were erected at the city gates, and the +prison doors were thrown open at his entrance. Bordeaux presented him +with 300 barrels of wine, Poitiers gave him a golden eagle, Orleans a +dinner-service of richly chased plate. The meeting of the two monarchs +took place at Loches on the 10th of December. Charles, clad in deep +mourning, walked under a canopy of cloth of gold, adorned with the +imperial eagles, across the picturesque court to the gates of the +castle, where King Francis met him, surrounded by a brilliant company. +Three times over he embraced his guest, and led him to the hall, where +Eleanor, in robes of purple satin glittering with pearls, welcomed +her brother with transports of joy. Banquets and hunting-parties now +followed each other, as the Court journeyed by slow stages along the +banks of the Loire, from one fair château to another. At Amboise a heap +of tow caught fire as Charles rode up the famous spiral staircase in +the dusk, and he narrowly escaped being suffocated. But, mercifully, +no one was injured, and Francis escorted his imperial brother by way +of Blois and Orleans to Fontainebleau, where Christmas was spent and +the Emperor was allowed to enjoy a week's rest. On New Year's Day the +Emperor entered Paris, where the Parliament and University received +him "as if he were a god from heaven," and the following motto was +inscribed on the gates in golden letters: + + "Ouvre, Paris, ouvre tes hautes portes, + Entrer y veut le plus grand des Chrétiens."[268] + +Queen Eleanor, who scarcely left her brother's side, took him to see +the _Sainte Chapelle_ which St. Louis had built to receive the Crown of +Thorns, and escorted him to the Louvre, where sumptuous rooms had been +prepared for his reception. On Sunday a grand tournament was held on +the Place des Tournelles, in front of the palace which then occupied +the Place des Vosges, and the Duke of Vendôme and the Count of Aumale +opened the joust, while it was closed by Francis of Lorraine, the +Marquis of Pont-à-Mousson. Charles left Paris on the 7th of January, +and was presented by the city with a silver model of the Column of +Hercules, seven feet high, bearing his motto, _Plus oultre_.[269] The +King took his guest to dine at his new pleasure-house, the Château de +Madrid, accompanied him to St. Denis, where he visited the Tomb of the +Kings, and went on to the Constable's house at Chantilly. Finally, +on the 20th, the Emperor took his leave of the King and Queen at St. +Quentin, and with tears in his eyes thanked his host for this truly +brotherly reception.[270] + +[Sidenote: JAN., 1540] THE CALENDAR OF FOOLS] + +In spite of the sinister warnings which Charles had received before +he set out on his journey, in spite of Mary of Hungary's fears and of +Madame d'Étampes' thinly-veiled hostility, the experiment had proved a +brilliant success. Spanish and French poets celebrated the triumph of +Peace over War, and the return of the golden age. And Charles himself +laughed heartily when the King's jester, Triboulet, told him that he +had inscribed His Imperial Majesty's name on his Calendar of Fools, +because he had been so rash as to venture into his enemy's country, +but now that he had reached the end of his journey without mishap, +he should rub out Charles's name, and write that of Francis in its +place.[271] + +The French King went home in high delight, and wrote to Marillac saying +that now all his differences with the Emperor would be easily arranged. +During those five weeks the King had respected his guest's wishes +and avoided politics, but the Constable, who enjoyed the Emperor's +confidence in a high degree, had made good use of this opportunity, +and flattered himself that he had been entirely successful. He was +above all anxious to effect a marriage between the widowed Emperor and +the King's daughter, and told Granvelle that Madame Marguerite was a +rose among thorns, an angel among devils, and that, if His Imperial +Majesty thought of making a second marriage, he could not do better. +But Charles was firmly resolved never to take another wife, and, when +the Constable pressed the point after he had left France, wrote that he +must beg the King to give up all idea of such a union, as he did not +intend to marry again, and was too old for Madame Marguerite.[272] + +[Sidenote: 1539-41] A COURTLY FAREWELL] + +In spite of the splendour and cordiality of his reception, Charles was +sad and tired, and longed more than all else to find himself among +his kindred and people. It was with heartfelt relief that he reached +Cambray, and found the Prince of Orange, the Duke of Aerschot, and his +faithful De Courrières, with the Archers' Guard, awaiting him. The +next day he went on to Valenciennes, where his loyal subjects welcomed +his return with passionate joy. Triumphal arches adorned the streets, +and the houses were hung with tapestries. Now it was his turn to act +as host, and do honour to the Dauphin and Duke of Orleans, who, with +Vendôme, the Constable, and Aumale, the Duke of Guise's eldest son, +had insisted on escorting him across the frontier.[273] The keys of +the city were presented to the Dauphin at the Cambray gate, torches +blazed all along the streets, and the bells rang merry peals as Charles +led the way to the ancient hôtel-de-ville, known as La Salle, where +the Queen of Hungary and the Duchess of Milan received him with open +arms. The next two days were given up to mirth and festivity. Charles +showed the French Princes the sights of the town, while the Constable +was invited to dine alone with the Queen and her niece, and sat down to +table between the two royal ladies. A splendid banquet was followed by +a ball, which lasted far on into the morning. All the ladies appeared +in magnificent costumes--French, Italian, Flemish, or Spanish, as they +chose--and wore the richest jewels. The Emperor moved through the vast +hall, blithe and debonair beyond his wont, jesting with his old friends +and rejoicing to be once more in his native land. Mary and Christina, +both of whom, remarks the chronicler, although widows, were still young +and beautiful, danced with the French Princes all the evening, and +were in high spirits.[274] There was much gay talk, and the Pope's +Legate, the young Cardinal Farnese, amused the guests with stories of +the latest gossip from the Court of England, which Queen Eleanor had +heard from Marillac. According to him, the new Queen, Anne of Cleves, +was too old and ugly for King Henry's taste, while her dresses and +those of her German "Fraus" were so monstrous that the King would +not allow them to appear at Court, and told his wife to adopt French +fashions.[275] + +The next morning the French Princes appeared early to bid the Queen +farewell, and were very gracious in their manner of leave-taking. The +Dauphin received a superb diamond jewel in the shape of a griffin, +and a very fine emerald was bestowed on the Constable. There was some +talk of a marriage between the Duke of Orleans and a daughter of +King Ferdinand, while the King of Navarre and his wife, Margaret of +Angoulême, were eager for a match between their only daughter, Jeanne, +and the Prince of Spain. Vendôme probably realized that he had little +chance of winning the Duchess of Milan, but he shrugged his shoulders +and went his way gaily, saying he would wed the Pope's granddaughter, +Vittoria Farnese, the sister of the boy Cardinal. And they all rode off +in high spirits to join the King at La Fère and show him the Emperor's +costly gifts. They met him on his way back from hunting, riding at the +side of the Queen's litter, clad in a scarlet cloak, which made the +English Ambassador remark how much better Eleanor was treated since +her brother's visit. And the whole Court, in Bishop Bonner's words, +"made much demonstration of gladness, thinking they have God by the +foot."[276] + + +III. + +Among all his political anxieties and preoccupations, the Emperor had +not forgotten his niece. Before he left Spain on this perilous journey +through his old enemy's country, he drew up a paper of instructions to +be given to his son Philip in case of his own death. A large part of +this advice was devoted to the choice of a wife for the Prince himself, +the heiress of Navarre being on the whole, in Charles's opinion, the +most eligible bride for his son. After suggesting various alliances +for his little daughters, Maria and Juana, the Emperor proceeded to +urge on his successor the importance of finding a husband for his +niece, the Widow of Milan, saying that he counted her as one of his +own children. Three Princes, he said, were all eager to marry her--the +Duke of Cleves, the heir of Lorraine, and the Duke of Vendôme--but +it would be necessary to defer his decision until he had ascertained +the best measures for recovering Denmark and settling the question of +Guelders. "And if God," he added, "should call to Himself the Palatine +Frederic, who is old and broken, one of these Princes might marry his +widow."[277] Christina's marriage, it is easy to see, was closely bound +up with the settlement of Guelders, an object which lay very near to +her uncle's heart. + +[Sidenote: FEB., 1540] GUELDERS] + +The English Ambassador Wyatt, who had been posting after the Emperor +across France, "through deep and foul roads," was convinced that +Charles in his heart of hearts cared more for Guelders than he did for +all Italy. This earnest desire to recover Guelders was, he felt sure, +the true reason why the Emperor had undertaken this long journey in the +depth of winter, and exposed his person to such great risks in passing +through France. When, contrary to the Constable's express orders, Wyatt +obtained an audience from the Emperor at Châtelhérault, as he came +in from hunting with the Dauphin, and informed him of His Majesty's +marriage and alliance with Cleves, Charles turned angrily on him, +saying: + +"What hath Monsieur de Cleves to do with Guelders? I mean to show him +that he has played the young man. I hope the King will give him good +advice, for, I can tell you, Monsieur de Cleves shall give me reason. I +say he shall--he shall! If he does," he continued, laying his hand on +his heart, "he shall find in me a Sovereign, a cousin, and a neighbour. +Otherwise he will lose all three."[278] + +When, two months later in Brussels, Wyatt craved another interview +of the Emperor, and begged him in Henry's name to look favourably on +his brother-in-law's petition, Charles said he must desire the King +not to meddle between him and his subjects, repeating the same words, +"Je ne ferai rien," two or three times over. An Envoy from the Duke +of Cleves came to meet him at Brussels, but was told that the Emperor +could not attend to his master's business until the affairs of Ghent +were settled. These, as Wyatt remarked, had already quieted down in +a singular manner from the moment that the Emperor started on his +journey, and deputies from the revolted city had been sent to meet him +at Valenciennes. But he refused sternly to see them, saying that they +would learn his pleasure when he came to Ghent.[279] + +[Sidenote: APRIL, 1540] A SEVERE PUNISHMENT] + +It was Charles's intention to overawe the turbulent city by an +imposing display of armed force. On the 14th of February, 1540, he +entered Ghent--"that great, rich, and beautiful city," writes the city +chronicler, "with its broad streets, fair rivers, noble churches, +houses, and hospitals, the finest in the Netherlands"--at the head of +a stately procession. The Queen rode on his right hand, the Duchess +of Milan on his left, followed by the Princess of Macedonia and other +ladies in litters, the officers of the household, and a long train +of foreign Ambassadors, Princes, and Knights of the Golden Fleece. +Cardinal Farnese, Don Ferrante Gonzaga, Viceroy of Sicily, the Prince +of Orange, the Dukes of Alva and Aerschot, Count Egmont, Büren, De +Praet, Lalaing, and Granvelle, were all present. In their rear came +the troops--4,000 horse, 1,000 crossbowmen, 5,000 _Landsknechten_, +and a strong body of artillery, numbering in all 60,000 persons and +15,000 horses. Their entry lasted six hours, and it was dusk before +the last guns and baggage defiled through the streets. Charles, with +his sister and niece, alighted at the Prinzenhof, the house where he +had been born just forty years before, and the Archers' Guard took +up their station at the gates.[280] A strong body of infantry was +encamped in the neighbouring market-place, pickets of cavalry occupied +the chief squares, and the rest of the troops were quartered in other +parts of the city. But there was not the least show of resistance on +the part of the citizens. Absolute tranquillity reigned everywhere +while the stricken city awaited the Emperor's sentence. It was, as +might be expected, a severe one. Twenty-three of the ringleaders were +arrested, and after a prolonged trial were found guilty. On the 17th +of March, nine of these were put to death in the market-place, while +the others were banished and heavily fined. On the 29th of April the +Emperor convened the chief officers of State and magistrates in the +great hall of the Prinzenhof, and, in the presence of the Queen and +her Court, delivered his sentence on the guilty city. The charters and +privileges of Ghent were annulled, the property of the Corporation +was confiscated, and heavy additional fines were imposed, beside the +payment of the 400,000 florins which had been the cause of the quarrel. +In their consternation, the burghers turned to Mary and implored her +to intercede on their behalf; but she could only advise them to throw +themselves on the Emperor's mercy. On the 3rd of May a memorable and +historic scene took place in the court of the Prinzenhof. Here the +Emperor, seated on a tribunal, with his crown on his head and sceptre +in his hand, and surrounded by the Archers' Guard, received the +senators and chief burghers, as, robed in black, with bare heads and +feet, and halters round their necks, they knelt in the dust at his +feet. The sentence of condemnation was read aloud in the presence of +a brilliant assembly of nobles and courtiers, and of a vast crowd who +looked on from the windows and roofs of the neighbouring houses. Then +Mary, who occupied a chair at her brother's side, rose, and, turning to +the Emperor, in eloquent words implored him to have pity on his poor +city of Ghent, and to remember that he had been born there. The Emperor +gave a gracious answer, saying that out of brotherly love for her and +pity for his poor subjects he would pardon the citizens and restore +their property. But he decided to build a citadel to keep the city in +subjection, and, after taking his brother Ferdinand to the top of the +belfry tower to choose a site, he eventually fixed on the high ground +above the River Scheldt, where St. Bavon's Abbey stood. The demolition +of the ancient monastery was at once begun, and before the Emperor left +Ghent the first stone of the new fortress was laid.[281] + +While these tragic events were taking place, a succession of +illustrious guests arrived at Court. First of all, at the end of +February, came Ferdinand, King of the Romans, a simple and honest +Prince, the best of husbands and fathers, and as fondly attached to his +sister Mary as she was to him. At the same time the Palatine Frederic +sent his wife to join the family party and plead her unfortunate +father's cause with the all-powerful Emperor. Although his journey +to England had failed to secure Henry's support, he still cherished +designs against Denmark, and was anxious to prevent a renewal of +the truce between the Low Countries and King Christian III. After +consulting Archbishop Carondelet, the President of the Council, and +Granvelle, the two sisters, Dorothea and Christina, drew up a petition +to the Emperor, imploring him to have pity on the poor prisoner, +who had already languished seven years in solitary confinement, and +reminding him gently of the pledges given to the Palatine at his +marriage. + +[Sidenote: APRIL, 1540] WILLIAM OF CLEVES] + + "My sister and I,"--so ran the words of Dorothea's + prayer--"your humble and loving children, entreat you, as + the fountain of all justice, to have compassion on us. Open + the prison doors, which you alone are able to do, release my + father, and give me advice as to how I may best obtain the + kingdom which belongs to me by the laws of God and man."[282] + +But although the sisters' touching appeal on behalf of their captive +father moved many hearts, and both Henry VIII. and James V. of Scotland +wrote to assure the Palatine of their sympathy, no one was inclined to +embark on so desperate an enterprise, and Dorothea went back to her +lord at Heidelberg without having obtained any satisfaction. On the +14th of April a truce was concluded with the Danish Envoys, who had +followed the Emperor to Ghent, and the illusory hopes of the three +crowns which had been so long dangled before the Palatine's eyes melted +into thin air.[283] + +There was still one important question awaiting settlement. William of +Cleves had sent three successive Ambassadors to congratulate Charles on +his return and to seek the investiture of Guelders at his hand. Now, at +King Ferdinand's instance, he arrived at Ghent one day in person, to +the surprise of the whole Court. + + "The Duke of Cleves," wrote an eyewitness of his entry, "has + come to Ghent with a fine suite, to claim Guelders and marry + the Duchess of Milan. This is not to be wondered at, for she + is a young and very beautiful widow as well as a Princess of + the noblest birth. He who wins her for his bride will be a + fortunate man."[284] + +The English Ambassador at Düren, Nicholas Wotton, had done his utmost +to prevent the Duke from accepting Ferdinand's invitation; and Wyatt +was charged by Cromwell to neglect no means of preventing an alliance +which would defeat all his schemes. The wily Ambassador laid his snares +cleverly. When the Cleves Ambassador, Olisleger, told him that the Duke +was about to wed the Duchess, he whispered that his master had better +be careful and take counsel of King Henry before he took any further +pledges. + + "I told him," wrote Wyatt to King Henry, "to advise his master, + in case of marriage, to use his friend's counsel, and herein, + if I shall be plain with Your Majesty, I cannot but rejoice + in a manner of the escape that you made there; for although I + suppose nothing but honour in the Lady, yet methinketh Your + Highness's mate should be without mote or suspicion; and yet + there is thought affection between the Prince of Orange and + her, and hath been of long; which, for her bringing-up in + Italy, may be noted but service which she cannot let, but I + have heard it to proceed partly from her own occasion. Of this + Your Majesty will judge, and do with your friend as ye shall + think meet."[285] + +René's courtship of the Duchess was no secret, and Christina's +preference for the popular Prince was plain to everyone at the Imperial +Court; but the unworthy insinuations by which the Ambassador strove to +blacken her character were altogether his invention. + +[Sidenote: APRIL, 1540] THE DUKE'S SUIT] + +Since this was the surest way to win both Henry's and Cromwell's +favour, Wyatt made unscrupulous use of these slanders to poison William +of Cleves's mind against the Duchess whose hand he sought. On the +13th of April the Duke arrived at Ghent, and was met by the Prince +of Orange, who brought him to King Ferdinand's rooms. Late the same +evening the English Ambassador had a secret interview with him, and +did his utmost to dissuade him from entering into any treaty with the +Emperor. The Duke's irresolution was now greater than ever. The next +day Ferdinand himself conducted him into the Emperor's presence, where +he received the most friendly greeting, and was invited to join the +imperial family at dinner. The gracious welcome which he received from +Mary, and the sight of Christina, went far to remove his doubts, and +during the next few days the harmony that prevailed among the Princes +excited Wyatt's worst misgivings. The Venetian Ambassador, Francesco +Contarini, met the Countess Palatine returning from Ghent, and heard +from her servants that a marriage was arranged between her sister and +the Duke of Cleves. Monsieur de Vély, the French Envoy, sent this +report to Paris, and it was confidently asserted at the French and +English Courts that Cleves had settled his quarrel with the Emperor, +and was to wed the Duchess.[286] + +[Sidenote: MAY, 1540] AN ABRUPT DEPARTURE] + +But these reports were premature. The Duke told Wotton and Wyatt that +nothing would induce him to give up Guelders, and at their suggestion +he placed a statement of his claims in the hands of Ferdinand, who +promised to submit the document to the Emperor. During the next +fortnight the question was discussed in all its bearings by Charles and +his Councillors. The Duke pressed his suit for the Duchess's hand, and +the Emperor went so far as to offer him the reversion of Denmark if he +would renounce Guelders. But William was as obstinate as the Emperor, +and, when Ferdinand induced Charles to offer Cleves his niece and the +duchy of Guelders for his lifetime, he quite refused to accept this +proposal. All Ferdinand could persuade him to do, was to consent that +the question of Guelders should be referred to the Imperial Chamber, +a compromise which satisfied neither party. Still friendly relations +were maintained outwardly. On Sunday, the 27th of April, the imperial +family attended Mass in state, the Emperor riding to the Church of St. +John with the King of the Romans and the boy Legate, Cardinal Farnese, +on his left, followed by the Dukes of Brunswick, Cleves, Savoy, and the +Marquis of Brandenburg. In the afternoon Ferdinand sent for the Duke +again, and made one more attempt to arrange matters, without success. +Some insolent words spoken by Cleves's servants aroused the Emperor's +anger, upon which the Duke became alarmed, and sent Wotton word that, +seeing no hope of agreement, he intended to return home. Early the +next morning, without taking leave of anyone, he rode out of the town +secretly, and never halted until he was safe in his own dominions. +His royal brother-in-law, King Henry, sent him a long letter, +congratulating him on his safe return, and advising him solemnly not to +marry the Duchess of Milan without finding out the true state of her +affections towards the Prince of Orange, lest he should be deceived. +Wotton told the King, in reply, that the Duke's affection for Christina +was now cooled, partly because she had refused him, and partly because +of the information which Henry had given him. All idea of the marriage +was certainly abandoned, and on the 22nd of June Cleves himself wrote +to tell Henry that he had received friendly overtures from the French +King, and was sending Ambassadors to make proposals for his niece, the +Princess of Navarre.[287] + +Meanwhile the Duke's strange conduct had excited much surprise at +Ghent. The Emperor, who had spent the anniversary of his wife's death +in retirement at a Carthusian convent in the neighbourhood, returned +to find Cleves gone. Henry of Brunswick rode with his friend to the +outskirts of the town, and hurried back to be present at the imperial +table, where he tried to explain the Duke's abrupt departure by saying +that he was afraid of treachery. But Ferdinand and Mary were both +seriously annoyed, and the only member of the family to rejoice was +Christina, who felt that she could once more breathe freely. + +The pacification of Ghent was now complete, and the bulk of the forces +were disbanded. On Ascension Day--the 6th of May--the imperial family +attended Mass at St. John's, the Queen "walking lovingly up the church, +hand in hand with the King of the Romans." The Ambassadors were all +present, as well as Cardinal Farnese--in Wotton's opinion "a very calf, +and a greater boy in manners and condition than in years." + +On the 12th the King of the Romans took leave of his family, but the +Council at which he assisted lasted so late in the evening that he did +not actually set out on his journey till two o'clock on the following +day. About six in the cool hours of the May morning, the Emperor, +with his sister and niece, rode out to see the foundations of the new +citadel laid, and then continued their journey towards Antwerp, where +"great gun-shot" and bonfires welcomed their arrival.[288] + + +IV. + +[Sidenote: JULY, 1540] CROMWELL'S FALL] + +The Court spent the next three weeks at Bruges, the beautiful old city +which was always a favourite with Charles and his sisters, in the +ancient Prinzenhof where their mother had died. During these summer +days many important events took place, and startling news came from +England. On the 10th of June Cromwell was suddenly arrested and sent to +the Tower on a charge of high-treason. A fortnight later the new Queen, +Anne of Cleves, left Whitehall for Richmond, and on the 9th of July +her marriage was pronounced null and void by a decree of Convocation. +The ostensible reason for the divorce was a precontract between Anne +and Francis of Lorraine. It was true that as children they had been +affianced by their respective parents, but, as was common in such +cases, all idea of the marriage had been afterwards abandoned, and +Henry had professed himself entirely satisfied with the explanations +given by Anne's relatives on the subject. But from the first moment +that he met his bride at Rochester, on New Year's Day, 1540, he was +profoundly disappointed. When Cromwell asked him how he liked her, he +replied, "Nothing so well as she was spoken of," adding that, had he +known as much of her before as he did now, she should never have set +foot in his realm. However, he felt constrained to marry her, for fear +of "making a ruffle in the world," and driving her brother into the +Emperor's arms. At Whitsuntide he told Cromwell that from the day of +his marriage he had become weary of life, and took a solemn oath that +before God Anne had never been his lawful wife. + +From that moment Cromwell knew that his own fate was sealed. "The King +loves not the Queen," he said to Wriothesley. "What a triumph for the +Emperor and the Pope!" A week afterwards he was committed to the Tower, +and on the 28th of July he was beheaded.[289] + +The news of his fall was received with general satisfaction abroad. +King Francis gave vent to boisterous joy, and sent his brother word +how sincerely he rejoiced to hear that this false and wicked traitor, +who had brought the noblest heads in England to the block, was at +length unmasked. The Emperor, on the contrary, showed no surprise or +emotion when he heard the news from Archdeacon Pate, the new Envoy +who had succeeded Wyatt, but merely said: "What! is he in the Tower +of London, and by the King's counsel?" And when, on the 6th of July, +Pate informed him that the King had repudiated his wife, he cast his +eye steadfastly on the speaker, and asked what scruples His Majesty +entertained regarding his marriage with the daughter of Cleves. The +Ambassador explained, as best he could, what he took to be the motives +of the King's action, upon which the Emperor said that he was convinced +Cromwell was the true cause of all the terrible crimes which had of +late years been committed against religion and order in England. So +friendly was the Emperor that Pate wrote to the Duke of Norfolk: "If +His Majesty hath thereby lost the hearts of the Electors, he hath in +their places gained those of the Emperor and the French King."[290] + +[Sidenote: JUNE, 1540] RENÉ OF ORANGE] + +Both at Bruges and Antwerp the news aroused much excitement among +the merchants, who were unanimous in the opinion that the King now +intended to take the Duchess of Milan "for the true heart which she +bore him." But nothing was further from Christina's mind. She had +rejoiced at the failure of the King's suit, and saw the Duke of Cleves +leave Ghent without regret. Now all seemed ripe for the fulfilment of +her long-cherished hopes. The Prince of Orange had been unremitting in +his attendance on the Emperor since his arrival, and, as all men knew, +was honoured by His Majesty's confidence and affection. His popularity +with the army was unbounded, and it was a common saying that wherever +the Prince's little pony went, every Dutchman would follow. The Queen +looked kindly on his suit, and Christina's heart was already his own. +But when, in these bright June days at Bruges, he modestly laid his +suit before the Emperor, an unexpected difficulty arose. Three years +before a marriage with the Duke of Lorraine's only daughter had been +proposed for the young Prince of Orange by his uncle, William of +Nassau-Dillenburg, the head of the German branch of the house. The idea +met with Henry of Nassau's cordial approval, and at his request the +Emperor sent his servant Montbardon to obtain Duke Antoine's consent. +This was granted without any difficulty, and the contract was drawn +up before the Count of Nassau's death.[291] Now the Duke urged the +Prince to keep this long-standing engagement and marry his daughter +Anne--the plain but excellent lady whose portrait Holbein had taken +for King Henry. The Prince had never seen his destined bride, and was +very reluctant to carry out the contract, but the Emperor was resolute. +Antoine already had a serious grievance in the matter of Guelders, and +it was of the highest importance to secure his alliance. Accordingly, +Charles told René that he must prove himself a loyal knight, and with +his own hand drew up the articles of the marriage treaty, and sent +them to Nancy by the Archdeacon of Arras. Christina's name is never +mentioned in the whole transaction. It was the old story of the Count +Palatine and the Archduchess Eleanor. She was a daughter of the House +of Habsburg, and knew that the Emperor's will must be obeyed. So she +could only bow her head in silence and submit to his decrees. If she +wept bitter tears, it was in secret, in her quiet chamber in the +ancient Cour des Princes at Bruges, looking down on the green waters of +the canal.[292] + +There was great rejoicing throughout Lorraine when the Emperor's +messenger reached Nancy and the marriage was proclaimed. Anne was very +popular throughout the duchy, and since her mother's death, a year +before, had taken a prominent place at the ducal Court, where her tact +and kindness made her universally beloved. The wedding took place in +the last week of August at Bar.[293] All the members of the ducal house +were present, including the Duke and Duchess of Guise, with their sons +and daughters, and the Cardinal of Lorraine, who came from the French +Court to pronounce the nuptial blessing. + +The Prince of Orange's martial appearance and his splendid suite made +a favourable impression on his new relatives, as Antoinette de Bourbon +wrote to her daughter in Scotland: + + "I have delayed longer than I intended before writing to you, + but we have been so well amused by the wedding of Mademoiselle + de Lorraine that until this moment I have not had leisure to + begin this letter. Yesterday we left the assembled company. + There was a very large gathering, and the wedding took place + last Tuesday. Monsieur le Prince arrived honourably attended, + and is, I can assure you, a very charming and handsome Prince. + He is much pleased with his bride, and she is devoted to him. + They are to go home in a fortnight. The fête was at Bar, but + there were very few strangers present--only a few nobles and + ladies of the neighbourhood."[294] + +On the 27th of September the Prince of Orange brought his bride to +Brussels, where the States were assembled. The whole Court rode out +to welcome the happy pair, and escorted them to the Nassau palace, +where the Prince changed his travelling dress for a Court mantle, and +hastened to pay his respects to the Emperor. A succession of fêtes +was given in their honour, and dances, masques, and banquets, were +the order of the day. The Princess charmed everyone by her gracious +manners, and her fine figure and splendid clothes and jewels became the +object of general admiration. + +[Sidenote: OCT., 1540] ANNE OF LORRAINE] + +On the 2nd of October a grand tournament was given in the Prince's +house, which the Emperor, Queen Mary, and Christina, honoured with +their presence. René himself challenged all comers at the barriers, +and his wife was the most charming hostess. Before Charles left, he +presented Anne with a costly ring, and appointed the Prince to succeed +Antoine de Lalaing as Stadtholder of Holland and Friesland. Three +days afterwards the newly-married pair left Court for their own home +at Breda, and the Emperor set out on a progress through Artois and +Hainault, leaving his sister and niece at Brussels. + +René's wife soon became a great favourite with the Queen, and Christina +danced as gaily as the rest at the wedding fêtes. But it is significant +that the only mention made of her in contemporary records is in the +despatches of the English Ambassador, Richard Pate, who tells us that +the Duchess of Milan spent much of her time in the company of her +brother-in-law, the Palatine.[295] Frederic had come to Brussels to +confer with the Emperor on German affairs, and, if possible, to raise a +loan of 600,000 ducats for his intended campaign against Denmark. But +although Charles professed himself ready and anxious to oblige his good +cousin, the Regent would give him no answer, and ended by telling him +to get the money from the Imperial Treasury. Richard Pate held long and +confidential conversations with the Palatine, who recalled his visit +to Windsor with delight, and spoke with warm admiration of the beauty +of the singing in St. George's Chapel. He was curious to know if his +old friend the King had grown as fat as he was represented in recent +portraits, and rejoiced to hear that His Majesty was lusty and merry. +As for the Duchess of Milan, he could only feel sorry that so charming +a lady should still lack a husband, and frankly regretted that she had +not married King Henry, or, failing him, the Prince of Orange.[296] +After his return to Germany, Frederic made another attempt to bring +about his sister-in-law's marriage to the Duke of Cleves, who still +hesitated between his old love for Christina and his reluctance to give +up Guelders. But negotiations were already in progress with another +suitor, who had bided his time patiently, and who was now at length to +obtain his reward. + +[Sidenote: 1539-41] LOUISE DE GUISE] + +The Prince of Orange's union with Anne of Lorraine had strengthened +the ties that bound her father to the Emperor, and a second marriage, +which took place this autumn, united the two houses still more closely. +Among the young nobles who accompanied René to Bar for his wedding was +Charles, Prince of Chimay, the eldest son of the Duke of Aerschot, the +wealthy and powerful Governor of Brabant, who was foremost among the +Regent's confidential advisers, and whom she affectionately called by +the pet name of "Moriceau." On the death of his mother in 1539, the +young Prince had succeeded to her vast estates, and lived at the fine +castle of Beaumont, near the French frontier. At Bar he saw and fell +in love with Louise de Guise, the lovely girl whom Henry VIII. would +gladly have made his wife. But there were difficulties in the young +suitor's way. His own family began by opposing the marriage, and it +was some time before Charles's consent could be obtained. The Duke of +Guise had long been the Emperor's most bitter enemy, and was known to +have strongly opposed his journey through France. Fortunately, Duchess +Antoinette was from the first on the lovers' side, and succeeded in +gaining her husband's consent. For some time past King Francis had been +trying to arrange a marriage between her eldest son, the Count of +Aumale, and the Pope's granddaughter, "_Vyquetorya_ Farnese," as Louise +calls her in one of her letters. But the Pope haggled over the dowry, +and insisted on asking the Emperor's consent; so that Antoinette had a +troublesome task in her lord's absence, and complained sorely to the +Queen of Scotland of these vexatious delays. + + "By way of consolation, however," she writes on the 30th of + November, "we have an offer for your sister. Monsieur le Duc + d'Aerschot has sent to ask for her, on behalf of his eldest + son, the Prince of Chimay, a youth about twenty, handsome and + well brought up, we hear. He will give him a portion of 50,000 + crowns a year, and he will have some fine estates, such as the + duchy of Aerschot, the principality of Chimay, the counties of + Beaumont and Porcien, most of them near Guise. I have told your + father, who is at Court, and he approves, and has spoken to + the King and to our brothers, who all advise us to accept the + proposal. So do my brother-in-law [the Duke of Lorraine] and my + mother [Madame de Vendôme]. It has been arranged that we should + all meet at Bar on the Conception of Our Lady, as my lord the + Duke wishes the matter to be settled at his house. I hope your + father will be there, but if not he will give me the necessary + powers. If things can be arranged, she will be well married, + for the Prince has great possessions and beautiful houses, and + plate and furniture in abundance. But it is a great anxiety to + be treating of two marriages at once."[297] + +Happily for the good Duchess, the young Prince had his way, and the +contract between him and Louise was duly signed at Bar on the 22nd of +December. On the same day the Emperor, accompanied by the Regent and +Duchess of Milan, paid a visit to the Duke of Aerschot at Beaumont, and +offered him their warmest congratulations on his son's marriage.[298] +The wedding took place at Joinville in the following March, by which +time Christina's own marriage to Louise's cousin was arranged, and all +Lorraine rang with the sound of wedding-bells. + + +V. + +[Sidenote: JAN., 1541] CHRISTINA'S BETROTHAL] + +The vaunted alliance between Charles and Francis did not last long, +and less than a year after the Emperor and King had parted at St. +Quentin, vowing eternal friendship, a renewal of war seemed already +imminent. Francis was bitterly disappointed to find that none of the +great results which he expected from Charles's visit had come to pass. +The Emperor firmly declined to marry his daughter, and gave no signs +of surrendering Milan to the Duke of Orleans. All he would offer was +the reversion of the Low Countries as his daughter's portion if she +married Orleans. This failed to satisfy Francis, who declared that +he would have Milan and nothing else. In order to prevent his niece, +Jeanne of Navarre, marrying the Prince of Spain, the King offered her +to the Duke of Cleves, who signed a treaty with France this summer, but +was not actually affianced to the little Princess until the Duchess of +Milan was finally betrothed to Francis of Lorraine. Upon hearing of +the alliance between France and Cleves, Charles retaliated by solemnly +investing his son Philip with the duchy of Milan. This ceremony took +place at Brussels on the 11th of October, and was regarded by Francis +as an open act of defiance. He vented his anger on the Constable, who +asked leave to retire; while Madame d'Étampes did her best to obtain +her rival's disgrace and induce the King to declare war against the +Emperor. But Francis was loth to let his old servant go, and said to +Montmorency, with tears in his eyes: "How can you ask me to let you +leave me? I have only one fault to find with you, that you do not love +what I love."[299] The Constable consented to remain, and for the +moment the crisis was delayed. + +After visiting the forts along the frontier and leaving garrisons in +every town, the Emperor came to Namur for Christmas, and prepared +for his final departure. Forty chariots were needed for his own use, +and all the horses and carts in the neighbouring provinces were +requisitioned to provide for the conveyance of his immense suite. On +Innocents' Day the Court moved to Luxembourg, and all the gentlemen +of the countryside rode out to meet the Emperor. With him came the +Queen and the Duchess of Milan, and on the same evening they were +joined by the Duke of Lorraine and his son Francis, the Marquis of +Pont-à-Mousson. On the Feast of the Three Kings the imperial party +attended Mass in the cathedral, and the Emperor, after his usual +custom, presented golden cups to three abbeys in the town. And on +the same day the marriage of the Marquis to the Duchess of Milan +was finally concluded, to the great delight of the old Duke, who +was as much pleased as the bridegroom. Two days afterwards Charles +took an affectionate farewell of his sister and niece, and went on +to Regensburg, leaving them to return to Brussels, while the Duke of +Lorraine hastened to Nancy to summon the States and inform his loyal +subjects of his son's marriage.[300] + +On the 1st of March the contract drawn up by the Imperial Ministers, +Granvelle and De Praet, was signed by the Duke of Lorraine at Bar, and +on the 20th by the Emperor. The ducal manors of Blamont and Denœuvre +were settled upon the Duchess, and, in order that she might not lose +any rank by her marriage, the Marquis received the title of Duke of +Bar.[301] On the 12th of March the Queen and Duchess both went to the +Castle of Beaumont in Hainault, to be present at the splendid reception +which the Duke of Aerschot gave his daughter-in-law. The Duchess of +Guise herself accompanied the beloved Louise to her future home, +and wrote the following account of the festivities to Queen Mary of +Scotland from her husband's château at Guise: + + "MADAME, + + [Sidenote: MARCH, 1541] WEDDING-BELLS] + + "I have been so confidently assured that the safest way for + letters is to send them by Antwerp merchants that I am sending + mine by this means, and your sister will be my postmistress in + future. I wrote to tell you of the conclusion of her marriage, + and sent the articles of the treaty and the account of her + wedding by your messenger. I have just taken her to her new + home, a fine and noble house, as well furnished as possible, + called Beaumont. Her father-in-law, the Duke, received her very + honourably, attended by as large and illustrious a company as + you could wish to see. Among others, the Queen of Hungary was + present, and the Duchess of Milan, and both the Prince and + Princess of Orange, who, by the way, is said to be with child, + although this is not quite certain as yet, and I confess I have + my doubts on the subject. I think your sister is very well + married. She has received beautiful presents, and her husband + has made her a very rich wedding-gift. He is young, but full of + good-will and excellent intentions. It did not seem at all like + Lent, for the sound of trumpets and the clash of arms never + ceased, and there was some fine jousting. At the end we had + to part--not without tears. I am now back at Guise, but only + for one night, and go on to-morrow to La Fère. My brother the + Cardinal, and my brother and sister of St. Pol, will be there + on Wednesday. For love of them I will stay at La Fère over + Thursday, and set out again on Friday, to reach Joinville as + soon as may be, in the hope of finding your father still there, + as well as our children--that is to say, the little ones and + the priests."[302] + +Ten days later Louise herself wrote a long and happy letter to her +sister from Beaumont, full of the delights of her new home and of the +kindness with which she had been received by her husband's family. + + "MADAME, + + "Since God gave me this great blessing of a good husband, I + have never found time to write to you. But I can assure you + that I count myself indeed fortunate to be in this house, + for, besides all the grandeur of the place, I have a lord + and father-in-law whom I may well call good. It would take + three sheets of paper if I were to tell you all the kindness + with which he treats me. You may therefore be quite satisfied + of your sister's happiness, and she is further commanded to + offer you the very humble service of the masters and lords of + this house, who beg that you will employ them on any occasion + that may arise, since they will always be very glad to obey + your wishes. We also have a very wise and virtuous Queen, who + has done me the greatest honour by coming here to our house, + expressly, as she condescended to say, to receive me. She + told me herself that she meant to take me for her very humble + daughter and servant, and that in future she hoped I should + be often in her company, which, considering how little she has + seen of me, was exceedingly kind. The Duchess of Milan said + the same, and was the best and kindest of all. We may soon + hope to see her in Lorraine, for her marriage to the Marquis + is in very good train. Since my mother went home, she has sent + a letter asking me to find out if this route to Scotland will + be shorter than the other. If this is the case, and you like + to send me your letters for her, I shall be delighted. Only, + Madame, you must be sure to address your packets to the Duke + of Aerschot, which will be easy for you, as then the merchants + who come from Scotland will leave them at Antwerp or Bruges, + or any other town, and they will not fail to reach me, since + my father-in-law is greatly loved and honoured throughout the + Netherlands. And I pray that God will give you a long and happy + life. + + "Your very humble and obedient sister, + "Louise of Lorraine. + + "From Beaumont, the 25th day of March."[303] + +The keenest interest in these marriages was shown at the Court of +Scotland. King James wrote cordial letters from Edinburgh to his +sister-in-law and to the Duke of Aerschot, and congratulated the +Princess of Orange on her happy expectations, begging her to write +to him and his wife more frequently.[304] Anne had always been on +affectionate terms with her aunt and cousins at Joinville, and the +presence of Louise at Brussels this summer was another bond between +them. + +[Sidenote: APRIL, 1541] AN UNWILLING BRIDE] + +Meanwhile King Francis was greatly annoyed to hear of the Duchess of +Milan's marriage. He complained bitterly to the Duke of Guise and the +Cardinal of their brother's desertion, and vowed that Antoine and his +son should feel the full weight of his displeasure. He was as good +as his word, and, when the Prince assumed the title of Duke of Bar, +disputed his rights to this duchy on the ground that it was a fief of +the Crown. In order to satisfy these new claims, the Duke was compelled +to sign an agreement on the 22nd of April, by which he and his son +consented to do homage to the King for the duchy of Bar, and to grant +free passage of French troops through this province.[305] + +At the same time Francis invited the Duke of Cleves to come to Blois, +as he wished his marriage to the Princess of Navarre to be celebrated +without delay. On the 11th of April the States assembled at Düsseldorf +were amazed to hear from Chancellor Olisleger that their Duke, being +unable to obtain the Duchess of Milan's hand without the surrender of +Guelders, was about to contract another marriage with the Princess of +Navarre, and had actually started on his wedding journey.[306] The +King and Queen of Navarre had always been averse to their daughter's +union with the Duke of Cleves, but Margaret's resistance was overcome +by the royal brother whom she adored, and her husband gave a reluctant +consent to the marriage; but the little Princess Jeanne, a delicate +child of twelve, refused in the most determined manner to marry this +foreign Prince. In vain she was scolded and whipped, and threatened by +her uncle the King with worse punishments. For many weeks the child +persisted in her refusal, and, when compelled to yield, signed a +protest on the eve of her marriage, which with the secret connivance +of her parents was duly witnessed and preserved. On the 14th of June, +1540, the strange wedding was finally solemnized at Châtelhérault, on +the Garonne. A series of Arcadian fêtes in beautiful summer weather +were given by King Francis, who never lost an opportunity for indulging +his love of romance. Arbours and colonnades of verdure were reared on +the river-banks. King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table were +seen riding forth in quest of adventure; high-born ladies, clad as +nymphs and dryads, danced on the greensward by torchlight.[307] The +bridegroom gave his bride magnificent jewels, although Jeanne was never +seen in public, and did not even appear at the ball on the night before +the wedding. Finally, when all were assembled in the royal chapel, and +the King came to lead his niece to the altar, the little Princess, +weighed down by her costly jewels and gold and silver brocades, was +unable to walk. "Take her by the neck!" cried the impatient monarch to +Montmorency, and the Constable of France, not venturing to disobey the +royal command, lifted up the frightened child in his arms and bore her +to the altar before the eyes of the whole Court. As he did so he was +heard to mutter, "C'en est fini, de ma faveur, adieu lui dis!" and, +surely enough, the day after the wedding he received his dismissal, and +left Court, never to return during the lifetime of Francis.[308] + +[Sidenote: JULY, 1541] CHRISTINA'S WEDDING] + +The Duke had agreed, in order to satisfy the King and Queen of Navarre, +that the marriage should be merely formal, and consented to leave his +unwilling bride with her parents for another year. Accordingly, three +days later he bade them farewell, and rode, attended by a strong French +escort, through the Ardennes, and travelled down the Moselle and Rhine +to Cologne. As he passed through Luxembourg he saw the trained bands +gathering in force on the frontier, and heard that they were assembling +under Count Büren to meet his successful rival, Francis of Lorraine, +and bring him to Brussels for his wedding.[309] + +Here great preparations had been made to do honour to the Emperor's +niece, and the guests came from far and wide. Christina's trousseau +was worthy of her exalted rank, and the Queen presented her with a +wonderful carcanet of rubies, diamonds, and emeralds, with pendants +of large pear-shaped pearls. The marriage was solemnized on Sunday, +the 10th of July, in the great hall where, twenty-six years before, +Isabella of Austria, had been married to the King of Denmark. Only two +of the foreign Ambassadors were absent from the wedding banquet--the +Englishmen Vaughan and Carne--a fact which naturally excited much +comment. King Henry changed colour when Chapuys told him of Christina's +marriage, and was at no pains to conceal his surprise and vexation. +He said repeatedly that he wondered how the Emperor could allow so +noble and renowned a Princess to marry the Marquis, when there could +be no doubt that Anne of Cleves was his lawful wife, and insisted +that this had been the chief reason of his own separation from this +lady. After the wedding he again referred to the incident, and told +Chapuys in confidence that the Duke of Lorraine had secretly made +over his rights on Guelders to the French King, and would never help +the Emperor against France, since Monseiur de Guise and the Cardinal +of Lorraine were entirely on the French side. Chapuys listened with +polite attention, and reported most of the King's conversation for the +amusement of the Court at Brussels.[310] + +Here a series of fêtes took place after the wedding. A grand tournament +was held in front of the hôtel-de-ville, followed by the mock siege +of a fortress in the park, and a hunting-party in the Forest of +Soignies.[311] + +On the 14th, the Duke and Duchess of Bar left Brussels to pay a round +of visits in the neighbourhood and "see the country," and on the 27th +the Queen went to meet them at the Duke of Aerschot's hunting-palace at +Heverlé, near Louvain, and spent several days there with the two other +newly-married couples, the Prince and Princess of Orange and the Prince +and Princess of Chimay.[312] + +[Sidenote: AUG., 1541] A NOBLE LADY] + +Finally, on the 1st of August, the bride and bridegroom set out on +their journey, attended by a brilliant company, which included the +Prince and Princess of Orange, the Duke of Aerschot, the Prince and +Princess of Chimay, the Counts of Berghen, Büren, and Brederode. They +travelled by slow stages, resting at Namur, Luxembourg, Thionville, +and Metz. Triumphal arches were erected over the gates of each city, +and the burghers came out in procession to greet the bride. At Metz +Christina was presented with an illuminated book on "Marriage," by the +Regent of the University, Édmond du Boullay, and the Chapter of Toul +offered her a gold cup, filled with 300 crowns, while the city gave her +200 crowns and ten barrels of choice wine.[313] + +On the 8th the wedding-party reached Pont-à-Mousson, and found a +large family gathering waiting to receive them. A few days before +the Cardinal of Lorraine had joined the Duke and Duchess of Guise at +Joinville, and had accompanied them to Pont-à-Mousson, as Antoinette +wrote, + + "in order to give our new Lady her first greeting and conduct + her to Nancy. Great preparations have been made to welcome + her, and there is to be some fine jousting. I will tell you if + there is anything worth writing, and must confess I am very + curious to see if the Marquis makes a good husband. At least + the country rejoices greatly at the coming of so noble and + excellent a lady."[314] + +The Duchess of Guise had collected most of her family for the occasion, +and brought four of her sons--Aumale, Mayenne, Charles, Archbishop of +Reims, and Louis, Bishop of Troyes--to Pont-à-Mousson, as well as her +little grandson, the Duke of Longueville, the Queen of Scotland's son +by her first marriage. Duke Antoine and his younger son, Nicholas de +Vaudemont, Bishop of Metz, were also present, together with all the +chief nobles of Lorraine. + +It was a strange meeting. Guise and his sons had often crossed swords +with the Prince of Orange and Aerschot, and the Duke had refused to +meet the Emperor on his memorable visit to Chantilly. Now he was +engaged in repairing the forts along the frontier in view of another +war, an occupation which had at least one merit in his wife's eyes, +and kept him longer at home than he had been for many years. All +alike, however, friends and foes, joined in giving the new Duchess a +hearty welcome, and drank joyously to the health and prosperity of the +illustrious pair. + +At Pont-à-Mousson Francis took his bride to the convent of Poor Clares, +to see his grandmother, Philippa of Guelders, who had taken the veil +twenty years before, but still retained all her faculties, and was +the object of her sons' devoted affection. The Duke of Guise and his +wife constantly visited the good old lady, whose name appears so often +in Antoinette's letters, and who now embraced her new granddaughter +tenderly and gave the bridal pair her blessing. The next day Christina +entered Nancy, where immense crowds assembled to receive her, and +choirs of white-robed maidens welcomed her coming at the ancient +gateway of La Craffe. One quaint medieval practice which had lasted +until this century was dispensed with. It was the custom for a band +of peasants from the neighbouring village of Laxou, to beat the pools +in the marshes under the palace walls all through the night when the +Princes of Lorraine brought their brides home, to drive away the +frogs, whose croaking might disturb the ducal slumbers. But instead +of this, the peasant women of Laxou stood at the palace gates as the +Duchess alighted, and presented her with baskets of flowers and ripe +strawberries and cherries.[315] + +[Sidenote: AUG., 1541] REJOICINGS AT NANCY] + +A grand tournament was held the following morning, on the Place des +Dames in front of the ducal palace, in which many of the Flemish +nobles took part, and was followed by a state banquet and ball--"all +very sumptuously done," wrote Lord William Howard, the English +Ambassador.[316] Then the wedding festivities came to an end, the gay +party broke up, and the old city which was henceforth to be Christina's +home resumed its wonted air of sleepy tranquillity. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[243] Papiers d'État. 82. 20, Archives du Royaume, Bruxelles. + +[244] Lanz, ii. 297; Calendar of State Papers, xiii. 2, 16. + +[245] Lanz, ii. 289, 683. + +[246] State Papers, Record Office, Henry VIII., i. 605; Calendar of +State Papers, xiv. 1, 192. + +[247] Calendar of State Papers, xiv. 1, 348, 374. + +[248] See Appendix; Papiers d'État, 82, 26, Archives du Royaume, +Bruxelles. + +[249] Hubert Thomas, 376-390; Cust, "Gentlemen Errant," 377-379. + +[250] "Zimmerische Chronik," ii. 547. + +[251] H. Thomas, 396. + +[252] Kaulek, 104. + +[253] _Ibid._, 105. + +[254] Calendar of State Papers, xiv. 2, 61; H. Thomas, 393-398. + +[255] State Papers, Record Office, Henry VIII., i. 616; Calendar of +State Papers, xiv. 2, 54. + +[256] Calendar of State Papers, xiv. 2, 66, 69, 94, 368. + +[257] H. Thomas, 399-401; Kaulek, 136. + +[258] Kaulek, 135. + +[259] Calendar of State Papers, xiv. 2, 215; H. Thomas, 401. + +[260] Calendar of State Papers, xiv. 2, 127, 232; Calendar of Spanish +State Papers, vi. 1, 200; Kaulek, 138, 139. + +[261] Calendar of State Papers, xiv. 2, 127; Nott, ii. 399. + +[262] Calendar of State Papers, xvi. 61; Henne, vi. 301-396. + +[263] State Papers, Record Office, viii. 205. + +[264] Bulletin de la Commission d'Histoire, série ii., 3, 490. + +[265] Granvelle, "Papiers d'État," ii. 540; Calendar of State Papers, +xiv. 1, 437, 2, 193; Gachard, "Relation des Troubles de Gand," 258. + +[266] Kaulek, 142; Nott, ii. 353. + +[267] Gachard, 252. + +[268] Gachard, 49. + +[269] Henne, vii. 4; A. de Ruble, "Le Mariage de Jeanne d'Albret," 46; +R. de Bouillé, "Histoire des Ducs de Guise," i. 123. + +[270] Gachard, 305. + +[271] M. du Bellay, iv. 413. + +[272] Granvelle, "Papiers d'État," ii. 562; Kaulek, 153. + +[273] Gachard, 531. + +[274] Gachard, 664-666. + +[275] Calendar of State Papers, xv. 65. + +[276] State Papers, Record Office, viii. 236, 237. + +[277] Granvelle, "Papiers d'État," ii. 542. + +[278] Nott, ii. 358. + +[279] Nott, ii. 380, 391. + +[280] Gachard, "Relation des Troubles de Gand," 65. + +[281] Henne, vii. 40-90; Gachard, 67-70, 389. + +[282] Lanz, ii. 308. + +[283] Henne, vii. 282; Nott, ii. 418. + +[284] Gachard, 65, 71. + +[285] Nott, ii. 398. + +[286] Nott, ii. 417; State Papers, Record Office, viii. 329. + +[287] Calendar of State Papers, xv. 349, 367. + +[288] State Papers, Record Office, viii. 336, 340, 354; Calendar of +State Papers, xv. 318. + +[289] Calendar of State Papers, xv. 363, 390, 391. + +[290] Kaulek, 191; State Papers, Record Office, viii. 386, 397, 412. + +[291] L. Hugo, "Traité sur l'Origine de la Maison de Lorraine," 212. + +[292] State Papers, Record Office, viii. 398. + +[293] Pfister, "Histoire de Nancy," ii. 188. + +[294] Balcarres Manuscripts, ii. 15, Advocates' Library, Edinburgh. + +[295] State Papers, Record Office, viii. 444. + +[296] Calendar of State Papers, Henry VIII., xvi. 1, 60. + +[297] Balcarres Manuscripts, ii. 22. + +[298] W. Bradford, "Itinerary of Charles V.," 517; State Papers, Record +Office, viii. 508. + +[299] F. Decrue, "Montmorency à la Cour de François I.," i. 392. + +[300] Gachard, "Voyages de Charles V.," ii. 167. + +[301] A. Calmet, "Histoire de Lorraine," iii. 387. + +[302] Balcarres Manuscripts, ii. 5 (see Appendix). The priests were +Antoinette's two sons, Charles, Archbishop of Reims, and Louis, both of +whom afterwards became Cardinals. + +[303] Balcarres Manuscripts, ii. 153 (see Appendix). + +[304] _Ibid._, ii. 157. + +[305] State Papers, Record Office, viii. 609. + +[306] State Papers, Record Office, viii. 550; Calendar of State Papers, +xv. 344, 362; A. de Ruble, "Mariage de Jeanne d'Albret," 83. + +[307] M. du Bellay, "Mémoires," iv. 415. + +[308] A. de Ruble, 118; F. Decrue, "Anne de Montmorency à la Cour de +François I.," 403. + +[309] State Papers, Record Office, viii. 585. + +[310] Calendar of Spanish State Papers, vi. 1, 332, 349. + +[311] Henne, vii. 282; Calendar of State Papers, xvi. 1, 470. + +[312] Calendar of State Papers, xvi. 1, 508. + +[313] J. B. Ravold, "Histoire de Lorraine," iii. 743; Hugo, 217; C. +Pfister, "Histoire de Nancy," ii. 192. + +[314] Balcarres Manuscripts, ii. 4 (see Appendix). + +[315] Pfister, ii. 63, 188; Ravold, iii. 703. + +[316] State Papers, Record Office, viii. 609. + + + + +BOOK VIII + +CHRISTINA, DUCHESS OF LORRAINE + +1541-1545 + + +I. + +[Sidenote: JAN., 1477] KING RENÉ] + +The ducal house of Lorraine, into which Christina had now married, was +one of the oldest and proudest in Europe. The duchy took its name of +Lotharingia from Lothair, a great-grandson of Charlemagne, who reigned +over a vast kingdom stretching from the banks of the Scheldt and Rhine +to the Mediterranean. After this monarch's death, his territories +became the object of perpetual contention between the German Empire +and France, and were eventually divided among a number of Counts and +Barons who owned the Emperor or the French King as their suzerain. +Godfrey of Bouillon, the leader of the first Crusade, was one of many +illustrious Princes who reigned over Lorraine; but Gerard d'Alsace, who +died in 1046, was the ancestor of the ducal house to which Christina's +husband belonged.[317] From him descended a long line of hereditary +Princes, who were loyal vassals of France and took an active part in +the wars against England. Raoul, the founder of the collegiate church +and Chapter of St. Georges at Nancy, was killed fighting valiantly +at Crécy, and his son John was taken prisoner with the French King by +the Black Prince at Poitiers. Duke John's second son, Ferry, Count +of Vaudemont and Joinville, fell at Agincourt. In 1444 this Prince's +grandson, Ferry II., the representative of the younger branch of the +House of Lorraine, married Yolande, daughter of René of Anjou, King of +Provence, Jerusalem, and Sicily, and Duke of Lorraine in right of his +wife, Isabella, the heiress of Duke Charles II. Yolande, whose sister, +Margaret of Anjou, married Henry VI., became Duchess of Lorraine after +the death of her nephew in 1473, and united the two branches of the +family in her person. But she renounced the sovereignty in favour of +her son, René II., who still bore the proud title of King of Sicily and +Jerusalem, although, as the English Ambassador, Wotton, remarked, he +had never seen either the one or the other. René had a fierce struggle +for the possession of Lorraine with Charles of Burgundy, who defeated +him completely in 1475, and entered Nancy in triumph. But in January, +1477, King René recovered his duchy with the help of the Swiss, and +Charles was defeated and slain in a desperate battle under the walls of +Nancy.[318] + +Ten years later René married Philippa of Egmont, sister of Charles, +Duke of Guelders, and, together with his admirable wife, devoted the +rest of his life to the welfare of his subjects and the improvement +of the capital. During his reign the ducal palace, founded by his +ancestors in the fourteenth century, was enlarged and beautified, and +the neighbouring church and convent of the Cordeliers were built. Here +René was buried after his early death in 1508, and his sorrowing wife +reared a noble monument in which he is represented kneeling under a +pinnacled canopy crowned by a statue of the Virgin and Child.[319] + +[Sidenote: DEC., 1519] QUEEN PHILIPPA] + +Six stalwart sons grew up under Philippa's watchful eye, to bear +their father's name and maintain the honour of his house. The eldest, +Antoine, succeeded René as Duke of Lorraine and Bar, and the second, +Claude, became a naturalized French subject, and inherited the family +estates in France, including Joinville, Guise, and Aumale. Both Princes +were educated at the French Court, where Claude became the friend and +companion of the future King Francis, and in 1513 married Antoinette +de Bourbon, the Count of Vendôme's daughter. This lovely maiden was +brought up with her cousins, Louis XII.'s daughters, the elder of whom +married Francis of Angoulême, the heir to the Crown. When, in 1515, +this Prince succeeded his father-in-law on the throne, he promised the +young Duke of Lorraine the hand of Louis XII.'s widow, Mary of England; +but the fair Dowager had already plighted her troth to Brandon, Duke +of Suffolk, and Antoine consoled himself with another Princess of the +blood royal, Renée de Bourbon, daughter of Gilbert de Montpensier and +Chiara Gonzaga. The wedding was celebrated at Amboise on the 26th of +June, 1515, and Antoine and Claude both left their brides in Lorraine +with Queen Philippa while they followed Francis to Italy. There they +fought gallantly by the King's side at Marignano. Antoine was knighted +on the field of battle, while Claude received a dangerous wound, and a +third brother was slain in the mêlée. Two of Philippa's younger sons +lost their lives in the French King's later campaigns. One was killed +at Pavia, and Louis, the handsomest of all his handsome race, died of +the plague in Lautrec's army before Naples. A sixth son, Jean, Bishop +of Metz, was made a Cardinal at twenty, and, like his brother, Claude +of Guise, became a prominent figure at the French Court. + +During Antoine's absence his duchy was governed wisely and well by +his mother, Philippa; but when he no longer needed her help, the good +Queen retired from the world, and on the 8th of December, 1519, entered +the Order of the Poor Clares at Pont-à-Mousson. Here she spent the +remaining twenty-seven years of her life in works of devotion, and +edified her family and subjects by the zeal with which she performed +the humblest duties, going barefoot and wearing rough serge. But she +still retained great influence over her sons, who were all deeply +attached to her and often came to visit her in the convent. By a will +which she made when she forsook the world, she left her furniture, +jewels, and most of her property, to her second son, Claude, "pour +aider ce jeune ménage,"[320] and the Duke and Duchess of Guise went +to live at her dower-house of Joinville, the _beau châtel_ on the +heights above the River Marne, which had once belonged to St. Louis's +follower, le Sieur de Joinville. Here that remarkable woman, Duchess +Antoinette, the mother of the Guises, reared her large family, the six +sons who became famous as soldiers or prelates, and the four beautiful +daughters who were courted by Kings and Princes. Antoine's wife, Renée, +had not the ability and force of character which made her cousin a +power at the French Court, as well as in her own family, but she was +greatly beloved in Lorraine, and inherited the cultivated tastes of +her Gonzaga mother--the sister of Elizabeth, Duchess of Urbino, and +sister-in-law of the famous Isabella d'Este. Renée brought the graces +and refinement of the Mantuan Court to her husband's home, and the +blossoming of art which took place at Nancy during Antoine's reign was +largely due to her influence. + +[Illustration: GRANDE PORTERIE. PALAIS DUCAL, NANCY] + +_To face p. 260_ + +[Sidenote: AUG., 1541] THE DUCAL PALACE] + +A whole school of local architects and painters were employed to adorn +the ducal palace, which under his rule and that of his immediate +successors became, in the words of a contemporary, "as fine a +dwelling-place for a great Prince as could possibly be desired."[321] +King René had rebuilt the older portions of the house; his son now +added the noble gateway known as "La Grande Porterie," with his own +equestrian statue carved by Mansuy Gauvain, and the magnificent upper +gallery called "La Galerie des Cerfs," from the antlers and other +trophies of the chase which hung upon its walls.[322] A wealth of +delicate sculpture was lavished on the façade. Flowers and foliage, +heraldic beasts and armorial bearings, adorned the portal; "le bœuf qui +prêche"--an ox's head in a pulpit--appeared in one corner, and on the +topmost pinnacle, above the busts of René and Antoine, a monkey was +seen clad in a friar's habit. Within, the vaulted halls were decorated +with stately mantelpieces and richly carved friezes. Without, the roofs +glittered with gilded copper fretwork and a tall bronze _flèche_, +bearing the cross of Lorraine and the thistle of Nancy, crowned the +"Tour du Paradis," which enclosed the fine spiral staircase leading +to the Galerie des Cerfs. Another round tower, containing an inclined +way broad enough for a horse and chariot, stood in the older part of +the palace, and led up to the Treasury, where the Crown jewels were +kept. Here, too, were the apartments occupied by the ducal family. On +one side they opened on to the "Cour d'Honneur," where tournaments +and pageants were held. On the other the windows looked down on +the gardens, with their cut yews and box hedges, their arbours and +bosquets, and in the centre a superb fountain adorned with _putti_ by +Mansuy Gauvain; while beyond the eye ranged across the sleepy waters of +the moat to green meadows and distant woods.[323] The grand portal and +state-rooms at the new end of the palace looked down on the Grande Rue, +and were only divided by a narrow street from the shops and stalls of +the market-place. The fact that the Duke's house stood in the heart of +the city naturally fostered the affection with which he was regarded by +the people of Nancy. The citizens were familiar with every detail of +the ducal family's private life, and took the deepest interest in their +comings and goings, their weddings and funerals, in the guests who +arrived at the palace gates, and in the children who grew up within its +walls. + +Duke Antoine was especially beloved by his subjects. Early in life +he had learnt by experience the horrors of war, and all through his +reign he tried manfully to preserve a strict neutrality between the +rival powers on either side, with the result that Lorraine enjoyed +an unbroken period of peace and prosperity. The burden of taxation +was lightened, trade and agriculture flourished, and the arts were +encouraged by this good Prince, who was justly called the "father of +his people." When his beloved wife Renée died, in June, 1539, his +sorrow was shared by the whole nation. + + "Since I sent my last letter," wrote the Duchess of Guise to + her daughter in Scotland, "you will have heard of the death of + your aunt--whom God pardon--a fortnight ago. The attack--_a + flux de ventre_--which carried her off only lasted nine days, + but she was enfeebled by long illness. Nature could no longer + offer any resistance, and God in His good pleasure took her to + Himself. She died as a good Christian, doing her duty by all + and asking forgiveness of everyone, and remained conscious to + the end. After Friday morning she would not see her children, + or even her husband, but, as this distressed him greatly, she + sent for him again after she had received God. On Sunday she + was anointed with holy oil, and died at ten o'clock the next + evening. It was the tenth of June. It is a heavy loss for all + our family, but your uncle bears up bravely. He sent for us, + and I set out for Nancy at once, but only arrived there after + her death. Your father, with whom I have been in Picardy, + followed on Saturday. I have just returned to Pont-à-Mousson, + where I came to see my mother-in-law, the good old Queen. The + funeral will be on St. John's Day, and your aunt will be buried + in the Cordeliers, opposite the tomb of the late King" (René + II.).[324] + +Four days after his wife's death, Antoine himself sent these touching +lines to his niece, the Queen of Scotland: + +[Sidenote: AUG., 1541] FRANCIS OF LORRAINE] + + "I was glad to hear from you the other day, Madame, and must + tell you the great sorrow which it has pleased God to send + me, in calling my wife to Himself. She died on the morrow of + Pentecost. God be praised, Madame, for the beautiful end which + she made, like the good Christian that she was. Commend me to + the King your lord; and if there is any service which I can + render you or him, let me know, and I will do it gladly. + + "Your humble and loving uncle, + "ANTOINE."[325] + +Renée bore the Duke a large family, but only three of her children +lived to grow up: Francis, Marquis of Pont-à-Mousson, born in 1517; +Anne, the Princess of Orange, who was five years younger; and Nicolas, +Count of Vaudemont, born in 1524, who took Deacon's Orders, and became +Bishop of Metz when the Cardinal of Lorraine resigned this see. Francis +had the French King for his godfather, and was sent, as a matter of +course, to be educated at the Court of France with the Dauphin. This +Prince inherited the tall stature and regular features of his father's +family, together with his mother's love of art and letters. His +studious tastes and quick intelligence made him the delight of all his +teachers, and King Francis was heard to say that the Marquis du Pont +was the wisest Prince of his age. But although he could ride and tilt +as well as any of his peers, he was never robust, and the strain of +melancholy in his nature increased as years went by. In 1538 the young +Marquis accompanied his father to meet the Emperor at Aigues-Mortes, +and made a very favourable impression on Charles, who proposed that +he should marry one of King Ferdinand's daughters. Several other +alliances had been already suggested for this promising Prince.[326] +In 1527, while he was still a boy, the fateful marriage between him +and Anne of Cleves had been arranged; and when this was abandoned, +King Francis first offered him one of his own daughters, and then his +cousin, Mary of Vendôme, whom the King of Scotland had deserted for +the fair Duchess of Longueville. At the same time Henry VIII. asked +Castillon to arrange a marriage between his daughter Mary and the heir +of Lorraine.[327] But from the moment that Francis of Lorraine saw +the Duchess of Milan at Compiègne his choice never wavered, and his +constancy triumphed in the end over all difficulties. + +The lamented death of Duchess Renée, and the marriage of her only +daughter, Anne, in the following year, had left the palace at Nancy +without a mistress, and rendered Christina's presence there the more +welcome. The old Duke was as proud of his daughter-in-law as his +subjects were of their young Duchess, and Christina's frank manners +and open-handed generosity soon made her very popular in Lorraine. She +received a cordial welcome from Antoinette and the Guise Princes at +Joinville, and was on the best of terms with her young brother-in-law, +Monsieur de Metz. Above all, she was adored by her spouse, whose +devotion to Christina quickly dispelled the Duchess of Guise's fears +lest this grave and thoughtful Prince should not prove a good husband. +His love satisfied every longing of her heart, and filled her soul with +deep content. After all the storms of her early youth, after the lonely +months at Milan and Pavia, after the disappointment of her cherished +hopes, the young Duchess had found a happiness beyond her highest +dreams. As she wrote to her old friend Granvelle a few months later: +"My husband treats me so kindly, and has such great affection for me, +that I am the happiest woman in the whole world."[328] + +[Sidenote: NOV., 1541] A VISIT TO FONTAINEBLEAU] + + +II. + +The King of France's ill-temper was the one drawback to the general +satisfaction with which Christina's marriage had been received. The +coldness with which he treated the Duke of Lorraine and his son, the +sacrifice of their rights on Bar, rankled in the old man's heart. His +surprise was the greater when he received a courteous invitation to +bring his son and daughter-in-law on a visit to the French Court. His +brother the Cardinal wrote saying that Queen Eleanor was anxious to see +her niece, and that the King wished to confer the Order of St. Michel +on her lord, and begged Duke Antoine to accompany the young couple to +Fontainebleau. + +Christina and her husband, who since his marriage had become a strong +Imperialist, were reluctant to accept the invitation, lest an attempt +should be made to draw Lorraine into an alliance against the Emperor. +But the Cardinal's bland promises and Antoine's anxiety to keep on +good terms with the King prevailed over their hesitation, and early +in November the two Dukes and the young Duchess spent three days at +Fontainebleau. Hunting-parties and banquets occupied the first two +days. Eleanor took the greatest delight in her niece's company, and the +King, who could never resist a woman's charms, was assiduous in his +attention to Christina. The Queen of Navarre's presence afforded the +Duchess additional pleasure, and this accomplished Princess showed her +Leonardo and Raphael's paintings, and did the honours of the superb +palace which had excited the Emperor's admiration two years before. +On the third evening the King expressed his wish to confer the Order +of St. Michel on the young Duke in so pressing a manner that it was +impossible to refuse this offer. But an unpleasant surprise was in +store for him and his father. The next morning the Cardinal informed +them that the King demanded the cession of the town and fortress of +Stenay, in return for the privilege of holding the duchy of Bar. +This unexpected demand aroused an indignant protest from Antoine and +Francis. Stenay was one of the bulwarks of Lorraine, and its position +on the frontiers of Luxembourg made it of great importance to the +defence of the empire. But nothing that the Duke and his son could +say was of the slightest avail. They were told that if Stenay was not +surrendered peaceably the King would declare war and reduce their +country to subjection. These threats alarmed the old Duke to such a +pitch that before leaving Fontainebleau he was induced to sign a treaty +by which Stenay was given up in perpetuity to the French Crown. It +was a grievous blow to the prestige of Lorraine, and filled Christina +and her husband with grave fears for the future. The following letter +which the Duchess wrote to Granvelle a few weeks afterwards shows how +bitterly she resented the wrong: + +[Sidenote: NOV., 1541] THE CESSION OF STENAY] + + "You have no doubt heard of the voyage which the Lord Duke my + father-in-law, my husband, and I, took to the French Court, + where we made a very short stay, but one which turned out very + badly for our house. For the King used violent threats to my + father and husband, and sent my uncle the Cardinal to tell them + that, if they did not satisfy his demands, he would prove their + worst enemy, and make them the smallest people in the world. + So they were compelled to give him the town of Stenay, which + is a great loss to this house, and has vexed my husband and + me sorely, showing us how much we are despised on that side, + and to what risk of destruction we should be exposed if it were + not for the good help of the Emperor, in whom I place my whole + trust."[329] + +Unfortunately for the Duchess and her husband, Charles was at this +moment engaged in his disastrous expedition to Algiers. The news of the +tempest which wrecked his fleet on the coast of Africa had reached the +French Court, and it was confidently asserted that the Emperor himself +had perished, or was a prisoner in Barbarossa's camp. These disquieting +rumours were set at rest early in December by his safe return to +Cartagena with the remnants of his army. But his enemies had been +active in his absence. On the 15th of November the Duke of Lorraine set +his seal to the deed of cession, and a week later a French garrison +took possession of Stenay. General indignation was excited throughout +Europe by this arbitrary act. Mary of Hungary entered a vigorous +protest in her brother's name against this surrender of an imperial +fief, and no sooner did the news reach Charles than he told his +Ambassador to require the French King to do homage for the town. The +new English Ambassador, Paget, who arrived at Fontainebleau a few days +after the Lorraine Princes left Court, noticed that the King "looked +very black, as if the Imperial Envoy had spoken of matters not all the +pleasantest"; while he informed his royal master that the entertainment +of the Duke of Lorraine had been but cold, and that he had lost all +credit with the French.[330] When Chapuys told King Henry at Christmas +how King Francis had snatched Stenay from the Duke of Lorraine, the +English monarch only shrugged his shoulders, saying he had always known +no good would come out of that marriage.[331] + +Meanwhile Christina and her husband found some consolation for their +wounded feelings in the friendly reception which they met with at +Joinville, on their return from France. The Duke and Duchess of Guise +came to meet them at Annonville, and were eager to do honour to their +nephew's bride and show her the beauties of their stately home. They +had lately decorated the halls and chapel with paintings and statues, +and Antoinette had laid out terraced gardens along the wooded slopes on +the River Marne, adorned with pavilions and fountains. Nothing escaped +the eye of this excellent lady, who watched over the education of her +children and the welfare of her servants, and managed her kitchen, +stables, and kennels, with the same indefatigable care. Her household +was a model of economy and prudence, and her works of mercy extended +far beyond the limits of Joinville. The active correspondence which she +kept up with her eldest daughter, the Queen of Scotland, abounds in +details regarding every member of her family, and above all her little +grandson, the Duke of Longueville. The Duchess's letters are naturally +full of this precious boy, who was the pet and plaything of the whole +household, and on whose perfections she is never tired of dwelling. +For his mother's benefit, she sends minute records of his height and +appearance, of the progress which he is making at lessons, the walks +which he takes with his nurse. + +[Sidenote: NOV., 1541] AT JOINVILLE] + + "We have here now," she wrote to Mary of Guise, on the 18th of + November, "not only your uncle, but the Duke and Duchess of + Bar, on their way back from Court. They are all making good + cheer with us, and your father is so busy entertaining them + that you will hardly have a letter from him this time. Your + eldest brother [Aumale] is here too, but goes to join the + King at Fontainebleau next week. I shall go to my mother [the + old Countess of Vendôme], who is quite well, and so also is + the good old Queen, your grandmother. I have kept as a _bonne + bouche_ for you a word about our grandson, who will soon be a + man, and is the finest child that you ever saw. I am trying + to find a painter who can show you how tall, healthy, and + handsome, he is." + +Sad news had lately come from Scotland, where the Queen's two children, +a boy of a year old and a new-born babe, had died in the same week. +Antoinette's motherly heart yearned over her absent daughter in this +sudden bereavement. + + "Your father and I are sorely grieved at the loss you have + suffered," she wrote to Mary; "but you are both young, and I + can only hope that God, who took away those dear little ones, + will send you others.... If I were good enough for my prayers + to be of any avail with God, I would pray for this, but I can + at least have prayers offered up by others who are better than + I am, especially by the good Queen in her convent and her + holy nuns. We are glad to hear the King bears his loss with + resignation, and trust God will give you patience to live for + Him in this world and in the next, to which tribulation is the + surest way." + +And in a postscript she adds a word of practical advice, saying that +she did not like to hear of the poor babes having so many different +nurses, and fears this may have been one cause of the mischief.[332] + +In return for this affectionate sympathy, King James sent his +mother-in-law a fine diamond and a portrait of himself, which arrived +during Christina's visit, and excited much interest at Joinville. All +the Duchess of Guise's daughters were absent from home, the youngest, +Antoinette, having joined her sister, Abbess Renée, in the convent at +Reims, where she afterwards took the veil. But her eldest son, as we +have seen, was at Joinville on this occasion. A tall, dark-haired, +olive-skinned youth, recklessly brave and adventurous, Aumale was a +great favourite both in Court and camp, and his mother had been sadly +disappointed at the failure of the marriage negotiations, which had +cost her so much time and trouble. The Pope's daughter, Vittoria +Farnese, who was to have been his wife, had since then been offered +in turn to the Prince of Piedmont and the Duke of Vendôme, and was +eventually married to the Duke of Urbino. Aumale himself cared little +for the loss of the Italian bride, whom he had never seen, and had +hitherto shown no eagerness for matrimony, but the sight of Christina +made a deep impression upon him, and he never forgot his fair cousin's +visit to Joinville. The most friendly relations prevailed between the +two families, and frequent visits were interchanged during the winter. +Christmas was celebrated with prolonged festivities at Nancy, and on +the 6th of February the old Duke wrote from Joinville to his niece, the +Queen of Scotland: + + "Your father and I have spent the last week together, and have + made great cheer with all our family. Your son, De Longueville, + is very well, and has grown a fine boy. + + "Your very humble and affectionate uncle, + "ANTOINE."[333] + +[Sidenote: FEB., 1542] CHRISTINA'S ANXIETIES] + +In spite of these distractions, Christina found it difficult to make +her husband forget the loss of Stenay. The injustice which had been +done to the House of Lorraine still rankled in his mind, and he feared +that the Emperor would hold him responsible for the surrender of the +town, and regard it as an act of disloyalty. Christina accordingly +addressed a long letter to Granvelle, explaining that her husband had +been very reluctant to accept the French Order of St. Michel, and +had only done this at his father's express command, before there had +been any mention of surrendering Stenay. Now she feared that the King +might make some fresh demand, which would complete the destruction of +the ducal house, and could only beg the Emperor to help them with his +advice and support. + + "For you may rest assured," she goes on, "that, whatever His + Majesty is pleased to command, my husband and I will obey, + although, as you know, my father-in-law is somewhat difficult + to please, and we must do his will for the present. So I beg + you earnestly to point this out to His Majesty, and ask him to + give us his advice; for since our return to Nancy my husband + has been so sad and melancholy, and so full of regret for the + great wrong which his house has suffered, that I am quite + afraid it will injure his health. Once more I beg you, Monsieur + de Granvelle, to be a good friend to us in the present, as + you have been in the past ... for we have received so much + kindness from you that I hope you will not hesitate to give us + whatever advice seems best in your eyes. As for me, I am so + much indebted to you for having helped to place me where I am, + that you and yours will always find me ready to do you service. + For I can never forget that it is to you I owe my present great + happiness."[334] + +[Sidenote: JAN., 1542] KING HENRY'S WIVES] + +Charles, however, wrote kindly to his niece, and refused to listen to +the unkind tongues who tried to poison his mind against her husband. +By degrees the young Duke recovered his equanimity, and devoted his +attention to beautifying the ducal palace of Nancy. In the last years +of Renée's life a Lorraine artist, Hugues de la Faye, had been employed +to paint subjects from the life of Christ at one end of the "Galerie +des Cerfs," and hunting-scenes at the other. Christina's presence gave +new impulse to the work, and the large quantity of gold-leaf and azure +supplied to the painters in the Duke's service, show how actively the +internal decoration of the palace was carried on. In one particular +instance Christina's influence is clearly to be traced. By Duke +Antoine's orders, a fresco of the Last Supper was begun by Hugues de la +Faye in the refectory of the Cordeliers, but was only completed after +this painter's death in 1542, by Crock and Chappin. These two Lorraine +artists were sent to Italy by Duke Francis soon after his accession, +and visited Milan amongst other places. Here they saw Leonardo's famous +"Cenacolo" in the refectory of S. Maria le Grazie, which was closely +connected with the Sforza Princes, and must have been very familiar +to Christina when she lived in Milan. The fresco which they executed +at Nancy is said to have been a replica of Leonardo's great work, and +kneeling figures of Antoine and Renée were introduced on the same +wall, in imitation of the portraits of Lodovico Sforza and Beatrice +d'Este which are still to be seen in the Dominican refectory at Milan. +Unfortunately, the Lorraine masters' painting suffered a still worse +fate than Leonardo's immortal work, and, after being partly spoilt by +damp, was finally destroyed thirty years ago and replaced by a modern +copy.[335] + +During this winter, when Christina was happily settled in her new home +and surrounded by loyal friends and subjects, news came from England of +the trial and execution of Henry VIII.'s fifth Queen, Catherine Howard. +When the Duke and Duchess were at Fontainebleau, rumours reached the +Court that this unhappy lady, of whom Henry was deeply enamoured but +a short time before, had been suddenly banished from his presence, +and taken into custody. "Par ma foi de gentil homme!" exclaimed King +Francis when he heard the account of the Queen's misdeeds. "She has +done wondrous naughtily!"[336] But in England, as Chapuys reported, +much compassion was felt for the King's latest victim, who had dragged +down the noble house of Howard in her fall. Lord William Howard, the +late Ambassador, was hastily recalled from France, and sent to the +Tower with his mother, the old Duchess of Norfolk. The King himself, +wrote Chapuys, felt the case more than that of any of his other wives, +just as the woman who had lost ten husbands grieved more for the tenth +when he died than for any of the other nine! But when the luckless +Queen was beheaded, Henry recovered his spirits, and spent Carnival in +feasting and entertaining ladies with a gaiety which made people think +that he meant to marry again. "But few, if any, ladies of the Court," +remarked Chapuys, "now aspire to the honour of becoming one of the +King's wives."[337] + +It was an honour to which Christina herself had never aspired. One +day at the Court of Nancy, conversation turned on the King of England, +and some indiscreet lady asked the Duchess why she had rejected this +monarch's suit. A smile broke over Christina's face, and the old +dimples rose to her cheeks as she replied that, unfortunately, she only +had one head, but that if she had possessed two, one might have been at +His Majesty's disposal. It was a characteristic speech, and has passed +into history.[338] + + +III. + +[Sidenote: MAY, 1542] THE KING'S CHASE] + +All through the winter of 1541-42 preparations for war were actively +carried on in France, and intrigue was rife among the Courts of Europe. +Francis was determined to profit by his rival's misfortunes, in spite +of the remonstrances of the Pope and of the deputies who were sent by +the Imperial Diet to adjure him not to trouble the peace of Christendom +while the Emperor was fighting against the Turks. By the end of the +year he succeeded in forming a strong coalition, which included +Scotland, Denmark, Sweden, and Cleves. The Palatine Frederic had once +more pressed his wife's claims to the three kingdoms, with the result +that Christian III. lent a willing ear to the French King's advances, +and sent Envoys to Fontainebleau, where a secret treaty between +France and Denmark was signed a few days after the Duke and Duchess +of Lorraine had left Court. Francis was now exceedingly anxious to +draw Lorraine into the league and induce Duke Antoine to take up arms +against the Emperor. In May he set out on a progress through Burgundy +and Champagne, taking the Queen and all the Court with him, to inspect +the fortifications of the eastern frontier and enjoy some hunting on +the way. "Tell the Pope," he said merrily to the Legate Ardinghelli, +"that I do nothing but make good cheer and amuse myself, whether I +entertain fair ladies or go a-hunting the deer." Paget and the other +Ambassadors complained bitterly of the bad quarters "in peevish +villages" which they had to put up with as they followed the King +from place to place, wherever "great harts were to be heard of."[339] +Fortunately, he found excellent sport at the Duke of Guise's château of +Esclaron, where he spent three weeks, and declared that he had never +been so happy in his life. + + "The King," wrote Duchess Antoinette to Mary of Scotland, "has + found so many big stags here that he says he was never in a + place which pleased him better, and that in spite of torrents + of rain and God knows what mud! And you cannot think how fond + he is of your father."[340] + +She herself went to Esclaron to receive her royal guest, taking the +eight-year-old Duke of Longueville with her, to make his bow to the +King and be petted by Queen Eleanor and her ladies. But the life of +a Court lady, as she told her daughter, was little to her taste, +and she returned to Joinville early in June, to keep the Fête-Dieu +and prepare her husband's and sons' equipment for the war which was +expected to begin immediately. Two days later, on the 10th of June, +the Duke and Duchess of Bar paid the French King a visit at Esclaron, +and were present at the reception of the Swedish Ambassadors, whom +Gustavus Wasa had sent to sign the new treaty. The ceremony took place +in a large barn hung with tapestries and wreathed with green boughs. +The King and his guests sat on a raised daïs, draped with cloth of +gold, under a canopy, while the Princes of the blood and the other +courtiers, among whom were no less than six Cardinals, stood below. +Here Francis listened patiently to a long Latin harangue from the +Swedish Ambassador, and then, coming down from his seat, he mingled +freely in the crowd of Cardinals and Princes, gentlemen and yeomen, who +stood "all in a heap" at the doors of the barn, and showed himself very +affable, although, in Paget's opinion, "his manner lacked the majesty +which he had noticed in his own master on similar occasions."[341] + +[Sidenote: JUNE, 1542] THE FRENCH INVASION] + +Christina looked with curiosity at these Envoys from the Northern +kingdom over which her father had once ruled, many of whom had known +the captive monarch in old days. This time she and her husband had no +cause to complain of the King's treatment. He was all courtesy and +smiles, and assured them in the most cordial terms of the singular +affection which he bore to all their house. But he soon saw that there +was no prospect of inducing Antoine and his son to join him against +Christina's uncle, and on the 12th of June he consented to sign an +agreement by which he promised to respect the neutrality of Lorraine +and the properties of the Duke's subjects.[342] After spending another +week at Joinville, enjoying the splendid hospitality of the Guises, he +left Eleanor with the Duchess, and went on to Ligny, a strong fortress +on the borders of Luxembourg, where he gave orders for the opening of +the campaign. + +By the middle of July four separate armies had invaded the Emperor's +dominions. Guise and Orléans fell upon Luxembourg, Vendôme entered +Flanders, the Dauphin attacked Roussillon, and the forces of Cleves, +under the redoubtable Guelders captain, Martin van Rossem, laid Brabant +waste with fire and sword. But they met with determined opposition in +every quarter, and the heroism of the Regent and her captains saved the +Netherlands from ruin. + + "The attack," wrote De Praet to Charles on September 21, 1542, + "was so secretly planned and so well carried out that it is a + miracle Your Majesty did not lose your Pays-Bas. We must thank + God first of all, and next to Him the Queen, to whose extreme + care, toil, and diligence, this is owing."[343] + +Fortunately for the Imperialists, Francis's extravagance had emptied +his treasury. All his money, as Paget reported, was spent in building +new palaces and buying jewels for himself and his favourites. Stenay +and other places had been fortified at vast expense, and by the end of +the year most of the French forces were disbanded for lack of funds. + +It was a sad autumn at Joinville, where the good Duchess wept and +prayed for her absent lord and sons, and sighed to think they were +fighting against her daughter Louise's husband and father-in-law. In +September Guise was invalided home, and he was hardly fit to mount his +horse again when the parents received the news of Louise's death, which +took place at Brussels on the 18th of October. The charming Princess +had always been a delicate girl, and now she died without leaving a +child to comfort the husband and father who had loved her so well. This +sad event was followed by tidings of the disaster which had befallen +the King of Scotland's army in Solway Moss, and of his death on the +18th of December. Antoinette's heart bled for her widowed daughter, +who had just given birth to an infant Princess at Linlithgow. "It came +with a lass, and it will go with a lass," were the words of the King +when he was told of the child's birth, a few days before he died at +Falkland Palace. Both Guise and Aumale would gladly have hastened to +Mary's help, but it was impossible for them to leave the camp at this +critical moment, and Antoinette could only beg her daughter to keep up +her courage and trust in God, "the Almighty, who would defend her and +the poor little Queen, who although so young is already exposed to the +insults of her enemies."[344] + +[Sidenote: JAN., 1543] BIRTH OF A SON] + +It was a no less anxious time for Christina in her home at Nancy. +From the palace roof the smoke of burning villages was to be seen in +all directions, and the people of Lorraine were exposed to frequent +raids from the hordes of irregular soldiers in both armies, and were +compelled to raise trained bands for the defence of the frontiers. It +was only by the strictest observance of the laws of neutrality that +an outbreak of actual hostilities could be avoided. When Aumale was +badly wounded by a shot from a crossbow in the siege of Luxembourg, +his uncle the Duke sternly refused to have him carried into his +neighbouring castle of Longwy; and when Mary of Hungary proposed to +garrison this fortress to protect his subjects from French aggression, +he declined her offer firmly at the risk of incurring the imperial +displeasure.[345] Christina herself spent Christmas at Fontainebleau +with her aunt, Queen Eleanor. This poor lady was distracted with grief +at the war between her husband and brother, and spent much time in +making futile attempts to induce her sister, the Regent, to listen +to peace negotiations. Early in December, while the King was hunting +at Cognac, she sent a gorgeous litter to Bar to bring the Duchess to +Court, and kept her there till the middle of January.[346] A month +afterwards--on the 13th of February--Christina gave birth to her first +child, a son, who received the name of Charles, after her imperial +uncle. There was great rejoicing in Nancy, where the happy event took +place, and the old Duke himself went to Pont-à-Mousson to bear the +good news to the venerable Queen Philippa, who thanked God that she +had lived to see her great-grandson. The little Prince's christening +was celebrated with as much festivity as the troubled state of the +country would allow, and Christina's faithful friend, the Princess of +Macedonia, who had followed her to Lorraine, held the child at the font +and was appointed his governess.[347] + +[Sidenote: NOV., 1543] DUKE ANTOINE MEDIATES] + +Two days before the Prince's birth a secret treaty between the Emperor +and King Henry was concluded at Whitehall. Chapuys had at length +attained the object of his untiring efforts, and De Courrières was sent +from Spain on a confidential mission to induce Henry to declare war +against France. The defeat of the Duke of Aerschot at Sittard excited +general alarm in Flanders, and Mary was at her wits' end for money +and men. But the Emperor himself was hastening across the Alps to the +help of his loyal provinces. The marriage of his son Philip with the +Infanta of Portugal had been finally settled, and with the help of +this Princess's large dowry and another half-million of Mexican gold, +Charles was able to raise a large army of German and Italian troops. +On the 22nd of August he appeared in person before Düren, the capital +of Cleves, which surrendered within a week. The Duke threw himself +on the victor's mercy, and was pardoned and invested anew with his +hereditary duchies, while Guelders was annexed to the Netherlands and +the Prince of Orange became its first Governor. William of Cleves on +his part renounced the French alliance, and agreed to marry one of +King Ferdinand's daughters. His previous marriage with Jeanne d'Albret +was annulled by the Pope, and this resolute young Princess had the +satisfaction of carrying her protest into effect. Encouraged by these +successes, Charles now laid siege to Landrécy, the capital of Hainault, +which had been captured and fortified by the French, and was joined by +a gallant company of English under Lord Surrey and Sir John Wallop. +"Par ma foi!" exclaimed the Emperor, as he rode down their ranks, "this +is a fine body of gentlemen! If the French King comes, I will live +and die with the English."[348] But Francis refused to be drawn into +a battle, and the approach of winter made both armies retire from the +field. + +The Duke of Lorraine took advantage of this temporary lull to mediate +between the two monarchs. Old as he was, and suffering severely with +gout, Antoine came to the Prince of Chimay's house with his son +Francis, and begged for an audience with the Emperor and Regent, who +were spending a few days at Valenciennes, on their way to Brussels. +Charles sent him word not to come into his presence if he brought +offers from the French King; but in spite of these peremptory orders +the two Dukes arrived in the town on Sunday, the 17th of November, +and were received by the Emperor after dinner. Antoine delivered a +long oration begging His Imperial Majesty to make peace for the sake +of Christendom, and, laying his hand on his breast, swore that he had +taken this step of his own free will, without communicating with any +other person. The old man's earnestness touched Charles, who answered +kindly, saying that he was always welcome as a cousin and a neighbour, +and that this was doubly the case now that his son had married the +Emperor's dearly loved niece. But he told him frankly that he had been +too often deluded by false promises to listen to French proposals for +peace, and that in any case he could do nothing without the consent +of his ally, the King of England. Nothing daunted, the old Duke went +on to visit the Regent, and was found by Lord Surrey and the English +Ambassador Brian sitting at a table before a fire in the Queen's room, +playing at cards. Antoine greeted Brian as an old friend, and asked him +to drink with him. But Mary sternly refused to listen to the Duke's +errand, being convinced that he came from the King, and declaring that +all the gentlemen in his suite were good Frenchmen. When he and his son +were gone, she called Brian to her, and said: "Monsieur l'Ambassadeur, +heard you ever so lean a message?" "Madame," replied the Englishman, +"if the broth be no fatter, it is not worth the supping," a sentiment +which provoked a hearty laugh from the Queen.[349] + +[Sidenote: MAY, 1544] EGMONT'S WEDDING] + +Neither Queen Eleanor, who sent an entreating letter with a present +of falcons to her sister, nor Cardinal Farnese, who brought fresh +proposals of peace from the Pope, fared any better. The young Duchess +Christina now determined to make an attempt herself, and came to +meet her uncle at Spires when he attended the Diet. The ostensible +reason of this journey was to visit her sister Dorothea, but Charles, +divining her intention, sent the Countess Palatine word that if the +Duchess of Bar brought proposals of peace she might as well stay at +home. Christina, however, arrived at Spires on the 8th of February, +with a train of fourteen ladies and fifteen horse, and spent a week +with the Count and Countess Palatine. The sisters saw the Emperor +and King Ferdinand every day, and were to all appearance on the most +affectionate terms with them. But nothing transpired as to what passed +between Christina and her uncle in private. On the day that she left +Spires to return to Nancy, Frederic heard of the death of his brother, +the Elector Palatine, and hastened to Heidelberg with Dorothea to +attend his funeral and take possession of the rich Rhineland, to which +he now succeeded. Six weeks later he returned to do homage for the +Palatinate, and assist at the wedding of his cousin Sabina with Lamoral +d'Egmont, the hero of so many hard-fought fields. The Emperor gave a +sumptuous banquet in honour of his gallant brother-at-arms, Dorothea +led the bride to church, and Frederic, in a fit of generosity, settled +14,000 florins on his young kinswoman.[350] + +In this same month Ambassadors arrived at Spires from Christian III. +of Denmark, who had quarrelled with the French King and was anxious to +make peace with the Emperor. In spite of a protest from the Palatine, +a treaty was concluded on the 23rd of May, by which Charles recognized +the reigning monarch's title to the crown. So the long war, which had +lasted twenty-one years, was at length ended, and the Emperor finally +abandoned the cause of Christian II. But a clause was added by which +his daughters' rights were reserved, and a promise given that the +severity of his captivity should be relaxed and that he should be +allowed to hunt and fish in the park at Sonderburg. Christian III. +gladly agreed to these more humane conditions, and even offered to give +Dorothea and Christina a substantial dowry, but the Palatine refused to +accept any terms, and persisted in asserting his wife's claims.[351] + + +IV. + +[Sidenote: JUNE, 1544] CHARLES V. IN LORRAINE] + +Soon after her return from Spires, on the 20th of April, 1544, +Christina gave birth, at Nancy, to a daughter, who was named Renée, +after the late Duchess. But her happiness was clouded by the illness +of her husband, whose health had become a cause of grave anxiety. +Fighting was renewed with fresh vigour in the spring, and unexpected +success attended the imperial arms. Luxembourg was recovered by +Ferrante Gonzaga, and the French invaders were expelled from most +of the strongholds which they held in this province. The war raged +fiercely on the borders of Lorraine, and the annoyance to which his +subjects were exposed, induced Duke Antoine to make another effort +at mediation. Since the Emperor turned a deaf ear to all appeals, he +decided to apply to King Francis in person, and on the 8th of May he +set out in a litter for the French Court; but when he reached Bar he +was too ill to go any farther, and took to his bed in this ancient +castle of his ancestors. His sons hastened to join him, and Christina +followed them as soon as she was able to travel, and arrived in time +to be present at her father-in-law's death-bed. The fine old man made +his will, appointed his brothers, the Duke of Guise and the Cardinal, +to be his executors, and with his last breath begged his son to rule +Lorraine wisely and raise as few extraordinary taxes as possible. +Above all, he adjured him to preserve his people from the scourge of +war, and use every endeavour to obtain the restoration of peace. With +these words on his lips, he passed away on the 19th of June, 1544.[352] +The new Duke was as anxious for peace as his father, but the moment +was unpropitious for any efforts in this direction. King Henry had at +length taken the field and invaded Picardy with a large army, and the +Emperor was bent on carrying the war into the heart of France, and +urged his ally to meet him under the walls of Paris. On the 17th of +June Charles himself came to Metz with Maurice of Saxony and the young +Marquis Albert of Brandenburg, the boldest warrior in Germany, and +prepared plans for the extension of the campaign which Ferrante Gonzaga +and the Prince of Orange were carrying on in Champagne. Here Francis +of Lorraine joined him as soon as he was able to mount a horse, and, +after spending some days at Metz, induced the Emperor to accompany him +to Nassau-le-Grand, where Christina was awaiting him.[353] On his way +Charles stopped at Pont-à-Mousson, and paid a visit to Queen Philippa, +the sister of his old enemy Charles of Guelders, for whom he had always +entertained a genuine regard, and who was proud to welcome the great +Emperor under her convent roof. Since the death of the Empress, five +years before, Charles had formed a fixed resolution to end his days in +some cloistered retreat, and he looked with admiration, not unmixed +with envy, on the aged Queen's peaceful home, and the garden where she +hoed and raked the borders and planted flowers with her own hands. It +was a memorable day in the convent annals, and one which left pleasant +recollections in the Emperor's breast.[354] + +But although Charles was full of affection for Christina and her +husband, he declined to receive the Cardinal of Lorraine, who begged +for an interview, and during his brief visit not a word was spoken +with regard to overtures of peace.[355] On the 12th of July he took +leave of the Duke and Duchess, and joined the Prince of Orange's camp +before St. Dizier. This town was strongly fortified, but René had taken +up his position near a bridge across the Marne, and opened fire from +a battery of guns placed in the dry bed of the castle moat. Charles +himself visited the trenches on the day of his arrival, and early the +next morning the Prince of Orange walked round to inspect the artillery +with Ferrante Gonzaga. The Marquis of Marignano was sitting in a chair, +which had been brought there for the Emperor's use the day before, +and, seeing the Prince, sprang to his feet and offered him his seat. +Compliments were exchanged on both sides, and the Prince finally sat +down in the empty chair. He had hardly taken his seat before he was +struck by a shell which, passing between the Viceroy and the Marquis, +broke one of his ribs, and shattered his shoulder to pieces. They bore +his unconscious form to the Emperor's tent, where he lay between life +and death for the next forty-eight hours. The whole camp was filled +with consternation. + + "I doubt yet what will become of him," wrote Wotton, who had + followed Charles to the camp. "If he should die of it, it were + an inestimable loss to the Emperor, so toward a gentleman he + is, so well beloved, and of such authority among men of war." + +Before the writer had finished his letter, a servant came in to tell +him that the Prince was gone.[356] + +[Sidenote: JULY, 1544] DEATH OF RENÉ] + +A Spanish officer on the spot wrote a touching account of the Prince's +last moments. From the first the doctors gave little hope, and when +the Emperor heard of René's critical state he hastened to the wounded +hero's bedside, and knelt down, holding his hand in his own. The +Prince knew him, and begged him as a last favour to confirm the will +which he had made a month before, and take his young cousin and heir, +William of Nassau, under his protection. Charles promised to do all in +his power for the boy, and, with tears streaming down his face, kissed +the Prince's cheek before he passed away. + + "His Majesty the Emperor," continued the same writer, "saw him + die, and after that retired to his chamber, where he remained + some time alone without seeing anyone, and showed how much he + loved him. The grief of the whole army and of the Court are so + great that no words of mine can describe it."[357] + +[Sidenote: AUG., 1544] LA SQUELETTE DE BAR] + +From all sides the same bitter wail was heard. There was sorrow in the +ancient home at Bar, where René's marriage had been celebrated with +great rejoicing four years before. The Duke and Duchess wept for their +gallant brother-in-law, and Christina thought, with tender regret, of +the hero who in youthful days had seemed to her a very perfect knight. +The sad news was sent to De Courrières at the English camp before +Boulogne, by his Lieutenant of Archers, and the veteran shed tears +over the gallant Prince whom he had often followed to victory. Great +was the lamentation at Brussels when the truth became known. Nothing +but weeping was heard in the streets, and Queen Mary retired to the +Abbey of Groenendal to mourn for the loss which the Netherlands had +sustained by René's untimely death.[358] In his own city of Breda the +sorrow was deeper still. There his faithful wife, Anne of Lorraine, was +waiting anxiously for news from the battle-field. Her father had died +a few weeks before, and now her lord was torn from her in the flower +of his age, and she was left a childless widow. Early in the year +she had given birth to a daughter, who was christened on the 25th of +February, and called Mary, after her godmother, the Queen of Hungary, +but who died before she was a month old. Now report said that she was +about to become a mother for the second time, but her hopes were once +more doomed to disappointment. By René's last will, his titles and +the greater part of his vast estates passed to his cousin William of +Nassau, a boy of eleven, while a large jointure and the rich lands of +Diest were left to Anne for her life.[359] The Prince's corpse, clad +in the robes of a knight of the Golden Fleece, was borne to Breda, +and buried with his forefathers; but his heart was enshrined in the +Collegiate Church of Bar, among the tombs which held the ashes of his +wife's ancestors. On his death-bed René had expressed a wish that a +representation of his face and form, not as he was in life, but as +they would appear two years after death, should be carved on his tomb. +This strange wish was faithfully carried out by Anne of Lorraine, who +employed Ligier-Richier, the gifted Lorraine sculptor, to carve a +skeleton with upraised hand clasping the golden casket which contained +the dead hero's heart. The figure, carved in fine stone of ivory +whiteness, was, as it were, a literal rendering of the words, "Though +after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see +God." At the Revolution, the Collegiate Church of Bar, with the chapel +of the Lorraine Princes, which Montaigne called the most sumptuous +in France, was entirely destroyed; but René's monument was saved and +placed in the Church of St. Étienne, where it is commonly known as "La +Squelette de Bar."[360] + +The memory of this popular Prince lingered long in the land of his +birth, and his fame lived in the songs of Flanders and Holland for many +generations. One of the best known begins with the lines: + + "C'est le Prince d'Orange, + Trop matin s'est levé, + Il appela son page, + Mon Maure, est-il bridé? + Que maudit soit la guerre-- + Mon Maure, est-il bridé?"[361] + +And so the story goes on through many stanzas, which tell how, in spite +of his wife's dark forebodings, the hero rode out to the wars to fight +against the French, how he met with his fatal wound, and never came +home again. + + +V. + +[Sidenote: AUG., 1544] THE DUKE'S ILLNESS] + +The Prince's death threw a gloom over the imperial camp, but did not +diminish the warlike ardour of his battalions, who swore with one +voice that they would avenge their leader. On the 17th of August St. +Dizier at length surrendered. "A right dear-bought town," wrote Wotton, +"considering the number of men lost in the assault, and chiefly the +inestimable loss of that noble Prince." Ferrante immediately sent a +troop of light horse, with Francesco d'Este at their head, against +Joinville, the splendid home of the Guises, although, as Wotton +remarked, this was rather a house of pleasure than a stronghold. The +castle was spared by order of the Emperor for the sake of his niece +Christina, who begged him not to add to the Princess of Orange's +grief by destroying her uncle's house; but the town and churches were +sacked and set on fire, and the beautiful gardens, with their fine +water-shows and temples, were destroyed.[362] The news was received +with consternation in Paris, where Antoinette and her grandson had +taken refuge, and the Duchess's brother, Cardinal Bourbon, wrote to the +Scottish Queen telling her of the report that the enemy had burnt down +Joinville, which had fortunately proved to be false. "The destruction +of such a beautiful house," he adds, "would indeed have been sad."[363] +This calamity had been averted by Christina, but, in their anger at +the damage done by the imperial troops, the Guise Princes hardly +remembered the debt that they owed her. The King was furious, and in +the first burst of his indignation sent the Duke of Lorraine a message, +threatening to destroy him and all his house. The Duke now determined +to go to the French Court to defend himself from these charges and see +if it were possible to make proposals of peace in this quarter. The +Emperor's rapid advance had excited great alarm in Paris. Even the King +awoke to a sense of danger, and said to Margaret of Navarre, the sister +to whom he turned in all his worst troubles, "_Ma mignonne_, pray God +to spare me the disgrace of seeing the Emperor encamped before my city +of Paris." Queen Eleanor, in her distress, sent a Dominican friar in +whom she had great confidence--Don Gabriel de Guzman--to implore +her brother to hear her prayers. But Charles was still obdurate. He +received Francis of Lorraine in the camp after the Prince of Orange's +death, but when he heard that his nephew was going to the French Court, +he sent Montbardon to beg the Duchess, "as she loved him," not to let +her husband go to France so soon after he had seen him, lest people +should think that he was sent by the Emperor to treat of peace. + +Christina replied in a letter written, as Wotton remarked, in her +own hand, telling her uncle that she had sent a servant post-haste +to overtake her husband, but that he was already at Châlons, and had +gone too far to retrace his steps. In spite of this manful attempt, +the Duke never reached Paris; he fell from his horse in a fainting fit +at Épernay, and was brought back in a litter to Bar, where Christina +nursed him for several weeks.[364] His efforts, however, proved +more effectual than he had expected. The Emperor's precautions were +necessary owing to the jealousy with which the English King regarded +every proposal of peace on the part of his ally, but in reality Charles +was almost as eager as Francis to put an end to the war. His resources +were exhausted, the plague was raging in Luxembourg and Flanders, and +he realized the danger of advancing into the enemy's country with the +Dauphin's army in his rear, while his hopes of the English march on +Paris had been disappointed by Henry's delays before Montreuil and +Boulogne. Under these circumstances he felt that he could no longer +refuse to treat with his foes. On the 29th of August, a week after the +Duke had started on his unfortunate journey, Admiral l'Annebaut and +the French Chancellor were admitted into the Emperor's presence, in +the camp near Châlons, and conferences were opened between them and +Granvelle, with the happy result that on the 19th of September peace +was signed at Crépy-en-Laonnois. + +[Sidenote: SEPT., 1544] DUKE ANTOINE'S FUNERAL] + +By this treaty the Duke of Orleans was to be given either the Emperor's +daughter in marriage, with the reversion of the Netherlands as her +dower, or else one of his Austrian nieces with the immediate possession +of Milan. In return Francis was to renounce his claims on Naples and +Artois, restore the Duke of Savoy's dominions, and endow his son with +large estates and revenues. All the towns and fortresses which had been +captured during the recent war were to be restored, including Stenay, +which, as Charles pointed out, the King of France "had seized in the +strangest manner, and held by force without paying homage, although +it is notoriously a fief of the empire."[365] As soon as peace was +signed, Granvelle's son, the young Bishop of Arras, was sent to ask the +English King to become a party to the treaty; but Henry, who had just +taken Boulogne after a long siege, quite refused, and professed great +surprise to hear that the Emperor had agreed to terms which seemed to +him more befitting the vanquished than the victor. On the other hand, +a strong party at the French Court complained that the rights of the +Crown were sacrificed to the personal aggrandisement of Orleans, and +on the 12th of December the Dauphin signed a secret protest against +the treaty, which was witnessed by Vendôme and Aumale.[366] But in +the provinces where war had been waging, peace was welcomed with +thankfulness, and the ruler and people of Lorraine could once more +breathe freely. + +The Duke of Lorraine was now able to convey his father's body from the +Castle of Bar, where he had died, to Nancy. On the 15th of September he +and his brother set out at the head of the funeral procession, along +roads lined with crowds of people weeping for the good Duke who had +ruled the land so well. But since it was impossible for the Duke of +Guise and his family to come to Nancy at present, the last rites were +put off till the following year, and the old Duke's remains were left +to repose for the time in the Church of St. Georges.[367] Little dreamt +these loyal subjects that before the year was over the young Duke, on +whom their hopes were fixed, would himself be numbered with the dead, +and lie buried in his father's grave. But for the moment all was well. +The return of peace was hailed with rejoicing, and the restitution +of Stenay removed a blot from the scutcheon of Lorraine, while the +independence of the duchy was confirmed by a decree of the Diet of +Nuremberg, to which the Emperor gave his sanction.[368] + +The Duke and Duchess received a pressing invitation to join in the +festivities that were held at Brussels to celebrate the peace. Charles +and Mary arrived there on the 1st of October, and were shortly +followed by Queen Eleanor, bringing in her train the Duke of Orleans +and the Duchess of Étampes, who had used all her influence with the +King to bring about peace, chiefly from jealousy of the Dauphin and +his mistress, Diane de Poitiers. The burghers of Brussels gave the +imperial family a magnificent entertainment at the hôtel-de-ville, +and presented Eleanor with a golden fountain of exquisite shape and +workmanship; while the Emperor lavished costly presents on his guests, +and gave the Queen of Hungary the fine domains of Binche and Turnhout +in gratitude for her services. Unfortunately, Christina was detained at +Nancy by a return of her husband's illness, and did not reach Brussels +till the 4th of November. By this time Eleanor had set out on her +return, and Christina, eager to see her aunt, followed her to Mons, +and spent two days in her company. On the 7th the Duchess came back to +Brussels with her brother-in-law, Nicolas de Vaudemont, and remained +with her uncle and aunt during a fortnight. It was her first visit +to Brussels since her wedding, more than three years before, and old +friends and faces welcomed her on all sides. But one familiar figure +was missing, and she found a melancholy pleasure in the company of her +sister-in-law, the widowed Princess of Orange, whom she saw for the +first time since her gallant husband's death. Charles treated his niece +with marked kindness, and gave her a superb necklace of pearls and +diamonds as a parting present.[369] + +[Sidenote: FEB., 1545] PEACE AND PROSPERITY] + +The winter was spent happily at Nancy, where the new Duke and Duchess +made themselves popular with all classes. Francis gave free rein to +his love of art and letters, and encouraged scholars and artists +by his enlightened patronage. He took passionate delight in music, +and was never happier than when he could surround himself with the +best singers and players on the lute and viol. Christina shared his +artistic tastes, and was greatly interested in the improvements of the +ducal palace. Together they made plans for the decoration of its halls +and gardens, and for the construction of new buildings and churches +in different parts of Lorraine, while the Court painters, Crock and +Chappin, were sent to Italy to collect antiques and study the best +examples of art and architecture.[370] At the same time Christina took +deep interest in the condition of her humbler subjects, and tried to +relieve distress by founding charitable institutions on the pattern of +those in Flanders. A new period of peace and prosperity seemed to have +dawned on Lorraine, and everything promised a long and happy reign. + +By the end of the year the Duke and Duchess of Guise returned to +Joinville, and were actively engaged throughout the winter in +rebuilding the ruined town and repairing the damage done by the +imperial soldiery. Old quarrels between the two houses were forgotten, +and friendly intercourse was renewed. In February the Duke and +Duchess of Lorraine were present in the chapel of Joinville, at the +consecration of Guise's son Charles, as Archbishop of Reims, and in +March the Cardinal of Lorraine came to Nancy to discharge the duties +of executor to the late Duke. Antoine had provided liberally for all +his children. Nicolas de Vaudemont, his younger son, received a sum of +15,000 crowns, and Christina gave her brother-in-law a handsome present +of furniture, to help him in setting up house. Some lordships near +Joinville were left to the Duke of Guise, and everything was amicably +arranged.[371] + +[Sidenote: JUNE, 1545] FRANCIS'S DEATH] + +Suddenly the Duke fell ill for the third time, and during several +days his life was in danger. Wotton was convinced that he had been +poisoned by his French enemies, and so alarming were the reports +which reached Brussels, that the Emperor wrote privately to his new +Ambassador in Paris, Granvelle's brother-in-law, St. Mauris, begging +him to keep a watchful eye on the affairs of Lorraine, lest Guise and +the Cardinal should take advantage of their nephew's condition to +seize his domains. But this time Francis recovered once more, and was +able to make his solemn entry into Nancy on the 16th of April. At the +Porte St. Nicolas he was met by the three orders--the nobles, clergy, +and people--and walked on foot, with Nicolas de Vaudemont at his side, +followed by his Ministers, to the Church of St. Georges. Here, kneeling +at the high-altar, he kissed the relic of the True Cross, and took a +solemn oath to respect the privileges of the people of Lorraine and +the liberties of the city of Nancy. After this a _Te Deum_ was chanted +and a banquet held in the ducal palace.[372] The next week, by the +advice of his doctors, Antoine Champier and Nicolas le Pois, he went +to Blamont, in the hope that the invigorating air of the hills might +complete his cure; but he grew weaker every day, and was subject to +frequent fainting fits of an alarming nature. In her anxiety, Christina +sent to Strasburg and Fribourg for well-known physicians, and Mary +of Hungary despatched her own doctor to Nancy, and consulted eminent +doctors in London and Paris on the patient's symptoms.[373] But all +was of no avail, and as a last resource the Duke was carried in a +litter to Remiremont, his favourite shooting-lodge in the heart of +the Vosges. It was the end of May, and the beautiful woods along the +mountain slopes were in the first glory of their spring foliage. For a +moment it seemed as if his delight in the beauty of the place and the +life-giving influence of sunshine and mountain air would restore him to +health. But already the hand of Death was upon him. On the Fête-Dieu he +became much worse, and his end was evidently near; but he was perfectly +conscious, and, sending for a notary, he made his last will, appointing +his wife Regent of the State and guardian of her little son and +daughter, and commending her and his children to the Emperor's care. +After this he received the last Sacraments, and passed quietly away on +Friday, the 12th of June. He was not yet twenty-eight, and had reigned +exactly one year.[374] Death had once more severed the marriage tie, +and Christina, who but lately called herself the happiest woman in the +world, was left stricken and desolate, a widow for the second time, at +the age of twenty-three. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[317] Abbé Calmet, "Histoire Ecclésiastique et Civile de Lorraine," i. +190. + +[318] Hugo, 196, 200. + +[319] Calmet, iii. 325; A. Hallays, "Nancy" ("Villes Célèbres"), 31. + +[320] Calmet, i. 176; Hugo, 244; "Inventaire de Joinville," i. 378. + +[321] H. Lepage, "Le Palais Ducal de Nancy," 10; C. Pfister, ii. 29; +"La Ville de Nancy," 65. + +[322] Pfister, ii. 26; A. Hallays, "Nancy," 37-39. + +[323] Lepage, "Palais Ducal," 3; Pfister, ii. 188. + +[324] Balcarres Manuscripts, ii. 17. + +[325] Balcarres Manuscripts, ii. 84. + +[326] _Ibid._, ii. 20. + +[327] Kaulek, 54. + +[328] F. v. Bucholtz, "Geschichte d. Kaiser Ferdinand I.," ix. 141. + +[329] Granvelle, "Papiers d'État," ii. 618; Bucholtz, ix. 141. + +[330] State Papers, Record Office, viii. 639, 644, 655 + +[331] Calendar of Spanish State Papers, vi. 1, 436; Calendar of State +Papers, xvi. 1, 690. + +[332] Balcarres Manuscripts, ii. 3, 6. + +[333] Balcarres Manuscripts, ii. 85. + +[334] Bucholtz, ix. 142. + +[335] H. Lepage, "Le Palais Ducal de Nancy," 9; Pfister, ii. 256. + +[336] State Papers, Record Office, viii. 636. + +[337] Calendar of Spanish State Papers, vi. 1, 473; Calendar of State +Papers, xvi. 2, 51. + +[338] The authenticity of this well-known saying has been often +disputed, and was certainly never addressed by the Duchess to either +of Henry VIII.'s Ambassadors. But Christina's words were recorded by +Joachim Sandrart, who wrote in the seventeenth century, as having been +spoken by a Princess of Lorraine, whom the English King had wooed in +vain, and were afterwards quoted by Horace Walpole "as the witty answer +of that Duchess of Milan whose portrait Holbein painted for Henry +VIII." (see Wornum's "Life of Holbein," 311; J. Sandrart, "Deutsche +Akademie"; and Walpole's "Anecdotes of Painting"). + +[339] State Papers, Record Office, viii. 641; Calendar of State Papers, +xvii. 711. + +[340] Balcarres Manuscripts, ii. 12. + +[341] Calendar of State Papers, xvii. 232. + +[342] Granvelle, "Papiers d'État," ii. 628; Calendar of State Papers, +xvii. 273. + +[343] Lanz, ii. 364. + +[344] Balcarres Manuscripts, ii. 13. + +[345] Pimodan, 81; Bouillé, i. 142. + +[346] Calendar of Spanish State Papers, vi. 2, 262. + +[347] Calmet, i. 265; Pfister, ii. 200. + +[348] Calendar of State Papers, Record Office, ix. 522. + +[349] Calendar of State Papers, xviii. 2, 216; State Papers, Record +Office, ix. 557; Bucholtz, ix. 263. + +[350] Altmeyer, "Relations," etc., 476; Gachard, "Voyages de Charles +V.," ii. 285. + +[351] Schäfer, iv. 462; Calendar of State Papers, xix. 1, 349. + +[352] Calmet, ii. 1196; Pfister, ii. 192. + +[353] Gachard, "Voyages," ii. 289; Calendar of State Papers, Record +Office, ix. 724. + +[354] Calendar of State Papers, xix. 1, 564. + +[355] Calendar of State Papers, Record Office, x. 43. + +[356] State Papers, Record Office, ix. 733. + +[357] Calendar of Spanish State Papers, vii. 267. + +[358] Calendar of State Papers, xix. 1, 608; Calendar of Spanish State +Papers, vii. 280. + +[359] Calendar of State Papers, xix. 1, 71; Groen v. Prinsterer, +"Archives de la Maison d'Orange," i. 1. + +[360] C. Cournault, "Ligier-Richier," 28. + +[361] R. Putnam, "William the Silent, Prince of Orange," ii. 435. + +[362] Bouillé, ii. 148; Pimodan, 183; Oudin, "Histoire des Guises," +Bib. Nat., f. 118; Calendar of State Papers, Record Office, x. 6, 43. + +[363] Calendar of State Papers, xix. 2, 63. + +[364] Calendar of Spanish State Papers, vii. 296-298. + +[365] Calendar of Spanish State Papers, vii. 305. + +[366] _Ibid._, vii. 1, 350, 355. + +[367] Calmet, ii. 1196; Pfister, ii. 192. + +[368] Calmet, ii. 1281; Ravold, 744; Pfister, ii. 188; Calendar of +Spanish State Papers, vi. 2, 262. + +[369] Henne, viii. 212-215; T. Juste, "Marie de Hongrie," 120; Calendar +of State Papers, xix. 2, 340. + +[370] Pfister, ii. 256; H. Lepage, "La Ville de Nancy," 65. + +[371] Calendar of Spanish State Papers, viii. 102; Bouillé, i. 244. + +[372] Calendar of Spanish State Papers, viii. 195; Pfister, ii. 192; +Granvelle, "Papiers d'État," iii. 110. + +[373] Ravold, iii. 764; Calmet, ii. 1276. + +[374] Pfister, ii. 192. + + + + +BOOK IX + +CHRISTINA, REGENT OF LORRAINE + +1545-1552 + + +I. + +[Sidenote: JUNE, 1545] VAUDEMONT'S CLAIMS] + +The premature death of her husband left Christina in a position of +exceptional difficulty. Everything combined to add to her distress. She +herself was in delicate health, expecting the birth of another child in +a few weeks, her only son was an infant of two years and a half, and +she had not a single near relative or tried Minister to give her the +help of his counsel and experience. The Duke had appointed her Regent +of Lorraine during his son's minority, but even before he breathed +his last, her claims to this office were disputed. Although Christina +herself was popular with all classes of her son's subjects, there was +a strong party in Lorraine which dreaded the influence of her powerful +uncle. At the head of this party was the Rhinegrave, Jean de Salm, an +able nobleman who had always been French in his sympathies, and who +now seized the opportunity of the Duke's last illness to advance the +claims of Monsieur de Metz, seeing that this young Prince would be an +easy tool in his hands. At ten o'clock on the Fête-Dieu, when the Duke +had received the last Sacraments, the Count de Salm entered his room +with Nicolas de Vaudemont, and thus addressed him: "Monseigneur, if it +please God to call you to himself, do you wish that Monsieur de Metz, +your brother, should have a share in the administration of your State +and the care of your children, without prejudice to the arrangements +which you have already made, by word and in writing, with your august +wife the Duchess?" The dying Prince, who was hardly conscious, murmured +a faint "Yes," upon which the Count summoned a notary to write down +the Duke's last wishes, and proceeded to read the document to the +Duchess in the presence of her servants.[375] Christina, in her bitter +distress, paid little heed to this interruption, and was only anxious +to return to her dying husband's bedside; but immediately after his +death she found herself compelled to face the question. Owing to her +delicate state of health, she decided to put off the Duke's funeral, +as well as that of his father, until the following year. A week after +his death she joined her young children at her dower-house of Denœuvre, +and at the same time the Duke's body was removed by Count de Salm, as +Marshal of Lorraine, to the collegiate church of this place, and buried +in a temporary grave, after lying in state during three days. + +The Emperor was at Worms with the Elector Palatine and his wife +when the news of the Duke of Lorraine's death reached him, and sent +Montbardon at once to his niece with letters of condolence. Christina +availed herself of this opportunity to ask her uncle's advice regarding +the deed drawn up by Jean de Salm. Charles, realizing the critical +nature of the situation, immediately sent one of his most trusted +servants, François Bonvalot, Abbot of Luxeuil, to Nancy, with orders +to assure the Duchess of his protection, and if possible secure her +the Regency and sole charge of her children. Bonvalot was the brother +of Granvelle's wife, the excellent Madame Nicole, and had only lately +resigned the office of Ambassador at Paris, and retired to Besançon to +administer the affairs of this diocese as coadjutor of the Bishop. No +one was better fitted to help the widowed Duchess than this statesman, +who was intimately acquainted with the intrigues of the Guise Princes +and the French Court. He hastened to Denœuvre without delay, and, +as soon as he had seen Christina, wrote the following letter to his +brother-in-law, St. Mauris, giving a clear and graphic account of the +situation: + + "MY BROTHER, + + [Sidenote: JUNE, 1545] CHRISTINA'S DIFFICULTIES] + + "The Emperor, having been informed of Monsieur de Lorraine's + death, has sent me here to help his niece the Duchess, and to + secure her the administration of the State and the guardianship + of her children, which belongs to her by right and reason, + but which Monsieur de Metz is trying to claim, by virtue + of the custom of this country, as well as of certain acts + somewhat suspiciously passed by the Count de Salm and other + of the nobles when the late Lord Duke was _in extremis_.... + His Majesty, being anxious to comfort the said lady in her + great affliction, and act the part not only of a good uncle, + but of a true father, has sent me here to give her advice and + help, and begs you to tell the Most Christian King the wrong + which has been done her in this strange fashion, and which + His Imperial Majesty will never allow, because of the close + relation in which this lady stands to him. He hopes that the + King will join with him in this, for the sake of the friendship + which he has ever borne to this house and to this widowed lady + and her orphan children, whose fathers and protectors their + two Majesties ought to be. His Imperial Majesty begs the King + most earnestly not to allow the said lady to be deprived of + this Regency to which Monsieur de Metz pretends, in spite + of common right and the ancient custom of Lorraine, as the + Count of Salm's deed abundantly shows, since this would have + been superfluous if the custom were such as he pretends it to + be. You will lay these same reasons before the Cardinal and + Monsieur de Guise. If you are told that Queen Yolande resigned + the government of Lorraine in favour of her son, you will + reply that this was done of her own free choice; and if any + person objects that the mother of the late Duke Antoine and the + Cardinal and Sieur de Guise did not retain the administration + after her husband's death, you will point out that the said + Duke was of full age, and that the said lady was content to lay + down the government on this account.... And, further, you will + inquire what the King intends to do in the matter, and if he + means to support Monsieur de Metz or take any steps prejudicial + to the said lady and the tranquillity of these lands, and will + inform His Imperial Majesty and myself of these things without + delay."[376] + +When Bonvalot wrote this letter from Denœuvre, on the 27th of June, +the young Archbishop of Reims had already arrived there, with an +agreement drawn up by his uncle the Cardinal, which he submitted to +the Duchess for approval. He informed the Abbot that King Francis +trusted the said lady would avoid all occasion of strife, which, as +Bonvalot remarked, was exactly what the Emperor wished, and Monsieur +de Metz, by his singular action, had done his best to prevent. In this +difficult situation Christina showed remarkable good sense and tact. +She told Bonvalot frankly that she would gladly avail herself of her +brother-in-law's help in the administration of public affairs, and +wished to treat him with perfect friendliness as long as she retained +the sole charge of her children and the chief authority in the State. +Accordingly, the agreement proposed by the Cardinal was adopted, with +some modifications, and signed at Denœuvre, on the 6th of August, by +Christina, Nicolas, the Count de Salm, and other chief officials of +Lorraine. The Duchess and her brother-in-law were appointed joint +Regents, and were to affix their seal to all public deeds. Vaudemont +was given a key of the Treasury, and was allowed the patronage of one +out of every three vacant offices; but the real authority, as well as +the care of her children, was vested in the Duchess. Bonvalot told the +Emperor that, under the circumstances, this was the best arrangement +that could be made, and Charles of Lorraine and his family had nothing +but praise for the Duchess's good-will and moderation.[377] + +[Sidenote: NOV., 1545] HER TACT AND WISDOM] + +A fortnight later, Christina gave birth to her second daughter, who +was named Dorothea, after the Countess Palatine. But the severe mental +strain which the mother had undergone affected the child, who was a +cripple from her birth. On the 5th of November the Treaty of Denœuvre +was ratified by the States assembled at Neufchâteau, not, however, +without considerable discussion. Some of the nobles tried to limit +the Regents' powers, and managed to insert a provision that none but +Lorraine's should hold offices of State, a measure clearly aimed at +the Flemings and Burgundians in the Duchess's service. Nicolas de +Vaudemont, being young and inexperienced, agreed readily to these +demands, which drew forth a strong protest from the Emperor and Mary +of Hungary. To add to Bonvalot's dissatisfaction, Monsieur de Metz +accompanied the Archbishop on his return to France, without even +informing Christina of his intention. In spite of these provocations, +she maintained the same conciliatory attitude, and her prudence and +modesty excited the Abbot's sincere admiration. The Emperor addressed +an affectionate letter to his niece, assuring her of his fatherly love +and protection, and saying that he would never cease to regard her +interests as his own. "And it will be a great pleasure to me," he adds, +"if you will often write to me, and I on my part will let you hear from +me in the same manner."[378] + +Christina now returned to spend Christmas at Nancy, and settled in +the ducal palace with her children. Monsieur de Metz gave up his +bishopric, and renouncing the ecclesiastical profession adopted the +style of Count of Vaudemont. But he showed no further disposition +to make himself disagreeable to his sister-in-law, and their mutual +relations were rendered easier by the presence of the Princess of +Orange, who spent most of the year at Nancy. The two widowed Princesses +were drawn together by that tenderest of ties, the memory of those +whom they had loved and lost. Henceforth they became the dearest and +closest of friends. During all the troubles and sorrows of the next +twenty years Anne's loyalty to her sister-in-law remained unshaken. +Her strong common-sense and practical qualities, her coolness and +courage in emergencies, were a great support to Christina, while the +confidence that Mary of Hungary reposed in her proved no less valuable. +The harmony of the family circle continued unbroken, and the internal +administration of Lorraine was carried on as peaceably as before. The +conduct of foreign affairs presented far greater difficulties, and all +Christina's prudence was needed to steer the way safely through the +rocks that lay in her course. + +In spite of his friendly professions, the French King, it soon became +evident, was likely to prove a troublesome neighbour. As Wotton wrote +when Francis of Lorraine died, "If the sweet, vain hope of the delivery +of Milan did not let him, I think the Duke's death might easily +provoke the French King to attempt somewhat on Bar and Lorraine."[379] +Even before her husband's death, Christina had been involved in a +long correspondence regarding Stenay, which the French refused to +give up until Duke Antoine's letters surrendering the town could be +produced. The missing papers were at length discovered in possession +of the French Governor, De Longueval, who had maliciously concealed +them, and the town was evacuated at the end of August, 1545. Ten days +afterwards the Duke of Orleans died of the plague at Abbeville, in his +twenty-fifth year. The loss of this favourite son was a heavy blow to +Francis. "God grant," he wrote to the Emperor, in an outburst of deep +emotion, "that you may never know what it is to lose a son!" The event, +as it happened, proved most opportune for Charles, who was released +from the unpleasant necessity of giving his daughter or niece to a +worthless Prince, with Milan or the Netherlands as her dower. But it +naturally provoked Francis to demand fresh concessions and revive his +old claim to Milan. + +[Sidenote: JUNE, 1546] THE CITADEL OF STENAY] + +The effect of this new quarrel was to increase Christina's +difficulties. When the French at length abandoned Stenay, it was +found that not only the recent fortifications had been destroyed, +as agreed upon in the Treaty of Crépy, but that the old walls of the +town had been pulled down. Mary of Hungary justly complained that the +defenceless state of Stenay was a grave cause of danger to Luxembourg, +and urged her brother to garrison the town, declaring, if war broke +out, the Duchess would be unable to maintain the neutrality of +Lorraine. Charles, who had already left the Netherlands to attend the +Diet of Regensburg, now invited his niece to meet him at Waldrevange, +on the frontiers of Luxembourg, and discuss the matter. Christina +obeyed her uncle's summons gladly, and assured him that she was quite +alive to the importance of Stenay, and had already asked her subjects' +help in rebuilding the town walls. But since the presence of an +imperial force might excite suspicion, she proposed to place a young +Luxembourg Captain named Schauwenbourg in command of the garrison. The +plan met with Charles's approval; but Mary was by no means satisfied, +and begged the Emperor to insist on an oath of allegiance to himself +being taken by the garrison and burghers. Charles replied that no doubt +the best plan would be to keep Stenay altogether, but that this would +be a direct violation of the Treaty of Crépy, as well as a wrong to the +little Duke, and might stir up the French "to make a great broil."[380] + +The invaluable Bonvalot was now called in, and accepted Christina's +invitation to attend the funeral of the two Dukes on the 14th of June. +But when the Abbot reached Nancy, he found that only Duke Antoine's +obsequies were about to be solemnized, and that the Duchess had +deferred those of her husband in compliance with a request from the +Guise Princes. On the day after the old Duke's funeral, Bonvalot had +a long interview with Christina, who expressed her anxiety to meet +her aunt's wishes, and explained that Vaudemont was only afraid of +arousing the suspicions of the French. While she was speaking, Nicolas +himself came in and told the Abbé how grateful he felt to the Emperor +for the affection which he showed to his little nephew, and how fully +he realized the importance of defending Stenay, but that he dared not +risk exciting the displeasure of Francis, who was already advancing a +thousand new claims on Bar. The members of the Ducal Council, to whom +the matter was referred, expressed the same opinion, telling Bonvalot +that they looked to the Emperor as their father and protector, and +would guard Stenay as the apple of their eye. The Abbot was satisfied +with these assurances, and advised the Emperor to leave the matter +in his niece's hands. Charles had empowered him to offer Nicolas the +restitution of the Abbey of Gorzes, which he had formerly held, and +which the Imperialists had recovered from the French and rebuilt at +considerable expense. But Christina would not hear of this, saying that +her brother-in-law cared more for the good of the State than for his +private advantage, and Nicolas himself told Bonvalot that he would not +endanger his nephew's realm for ten wealthy abbeys. + +[Sidenote: JULY, 1546] THE GUISE FAMILY] + + "As for madame your niece, Sire," wrote the Abbot, "I have + always found her most anxious to please Your Majesty, at + whatever cost. But as a mother she naturally fears to run any + risks which might injure her children, and would, if possible, + avoid these perils. She begged me, with tears in her eyes, + to make Your Majesty understand this, and have pity upon + her, trusting that you will be content with the promises of + the Council, or else find another and less dangerous way of + defending Stenay. Sire, I could not refuse to give you this + message, in obedience to Her Highness's express commands, and + beg you very humbly to take them in good part."[381] + +So the incident closed, and for the time being nothing more was heard +of Stenay. + + +II. + +The Duke of Guise and his family now stood higher than ever in the +King's favour. His eldest son, Aumale, was dangerously wounded in the +siege of Boulogne by an English spear, which penetrated so deeply into +his forehead that the surgeon could only extract the steel by planting +his foot on the patient's head. After this ordeal the Count lay between +life and death for several weeks, and owed his recovery to the tender +nursing of his mother, who preserved as a trophy at Joinville the +English spearhead which so nearly ended her son's career.[382] As soon +as he was able to move, the King sent for Antoinette, and insisted +on taking her to hunt at St. Germain, and consulting her as to his +latest improvements in this palace. Her grandson, the young Duke of +Longueville, was also a great favourite at Court, and when peace was +at length concluded, the King gave him a copy of the new treaty with +England to send to the Queen of Scotland. The boy enclosed it in a +merry letter, sending his love to the little Queen his sister, and +telling his mother that if she would not come to France he meant to +come and see her, and was old and strong enough to face the roughest +sea-voyage.[383] + +The Cardinal now announced his intention of taking the whole family +back to Joinville, to attend the ducal funeral; but once more the King +interfered, and kept them at Court for the christening of the Dauphin's +daughter, which was celebrated with great pomp at Fontainebleau. Henry +VIII. stood godfather, and the little Princess was named Elizabeth, +after the King's mother, "as good and virtuous a woman as ever lived," +said the English Ambassador, Sir Thomas Cheyney; while the Imperialists +declared that the name was chosen because of its popularity in Spain +and of the hopes of the French that the child might one day wed Don +Carlos.[384] + +Meanwhile the arrival of the Guises was anxiously awaited at Nancy. On +the 17th of July Christina wrote to inform Abbot Bonvalot that she had +at length been able to fix the date of her husband's funeral: + + "MONSIEUR DE LUXEUIL, + + [Sidenote: AUG., 1546] FUNERAL OF DUKE FRANCIS] + + "I must inform you that I have heard from the Cardinal and the + Duke of Guise, who hope to be here by the end of the month, so + the service will be held on the 6th of August, all being well. + I beg you will not fail to be present. As for my news, all I + have to tell you is that the King is giving me great trouble in + Bar, and is trying to raise a tax in the town, which has never + been done or thought of before. I fear that in the end I, too, + shall have to go to Court, but shall wait until I hear from the + Emperor. Can you give me any information as to his movements? + All I can hear is that His Majesty is collecting a large army + to make war on the Princes of the Empire, who have rebelled + against him. I pray God to help him, and send him success and + prosperity, and have good hope that my prayers will be heard, + as this will be for the good of Christendom. Here I will end, + Monsieur de Luxeuil, praying God to have you in His holy + keeping. + + "La bien votre, + "CHRESTIENNE."[385] + +The coming of the Guises, however, was again delayed, and the funeral +did not take place until the 17th of August. On the previous day the +Duke's corpse was brought from Denœuvre to Nancy by the great officers +of State, and laid on a bier in the Church of St. George's, surrounded +by lighted torches and a guard of armed men, who kept watch all night. +The funerals of the Dukes of Lorraine had always been famous for their +magnificence, and there was an old proverb which said: "Fortunate +is the man who has seen the coronation of an Emperor, the sacring +of a King of France, and the funeral of a Duke of Lorraine."[386] +On this occasion nothing that could heighten the imposing nature of +the ceremony was neglected. All the Princes of the blood, Nicolas of +Vaudemont, the Duke of Guise with his five sons and grandson, rode +out from the ducal palace to the Church of St. Georges, and took +their places, as chief mourners, at the head of the long procession +that wound through the streets to the Cordeliers' shrine. In their +train came a multitude of clergy, nobles, and Ambassadors from all +the crowned heads in Europe, followed by a motley crowd of burghers +and humble folk, all in deep mourning, with torches in their hands. +The chariot bearing the coffin was drawn by twelve horses, draped +with black velvet adorned with the cross of Lorraine in white satin. +The Duke's war-horse, in full armour, was led by two pages, while the +servants of his household walked bareheaded on either side, with folded +arms, in token that their master needed their services no more. On the +hearse lay an image of the dead Prince, with the ducal baton in his +hand, clad in crimson robes and a mantle of gold brocade fastened with +a diamond clasp. This effigy was placed on a huge catafalque erected in +the centre of the church, lighted with a hundred torches, and hung with +banners emblazoned with the arms of Lorraine, Bar, Provence, Jerusalem, +and the Sicilies. + +In the tribune above the choir knelt the Princess of Orange, the +Duchess of Guise, and her newly-wedded daughter-in-law, Diane of +Poitiers's daughter Louise, Marchioness of Mayenne, all clad in the +same long black mantles lined with ermine. The Countess Palatine, +Dorothea, had arrived at Nancy on the 17th of June, to attend her +brother-in-law's funeral, but as the Guises failed to appear, she +returned to Heidelberg at the end of a fortnight. + +[Sidenote: OCT., 1546] ANNE DE LORRAINE] + +Christina herself was unable to be present, "owing to her excessive +sorrow," writes the chronicler, and remained on her knees in prayer, +with the Princess of Macedonia and her young children, in her own room, +hung with black, while the requiem was chanted and the last rites were +performed.[387] When all was over, and the "two Princes of peace," as +De Boullay called Francis and his father, were laid side by side in +the vault of the Friars' Church, the vast assembly dispersed and the +mourners went their ways. Only Anne of Lorraine remained at Nancy with +her sister-in-law, who could not bear to part from her. A letter which +this Princess wrote to her cousin, the Queen of Scotland, this summer +is of interest for the glimpse which it gives of the widowed Duchess +and the boy round whom all her hopes centred: + + "Your Majesty's last letters reached me on the day when I + arrived here from home, and I regret extremely that I have been + unable to answer them before. I am very glad to hear you are + in good health and kind enough to remember me. On my part, I + can assure you that there is no one in your family who thinks + of you with greater affection or is more anxious to do you + service than myself. I did not fail to give your kind message, + to Madame de Lorraine, my sister, and Her Highness returns her + most humble thanks. You will be glad to hear that her son is + well and thriving. I pray God that he may live to fulfil the + promise of his early years. Everyone who sees him speaks well + of him, and his nature is so good that I hope he will grow up + to satisfy our highest expectations. May God grant you long + life! + + "Your humble cousin, + "ANNE DE LORRAINE."[388] + +The Princess of Orange was still in Lorraine when King Francis came +to visit the Duchess. This monarch was as active as ever, in spite of +frequent attacks of illness, and spent the autumn in making a progress +through Burgundy and Champagne, hunting and travelling seven or eight +leagues a day in the most inclement weather. + +In October he came to Joinville, and Christina, glad to be relieved +of the necessity of going to Court herself, invited him to pay her a +visit at Bar. In this once stately Romanesque castle, of which little +now remains, the Duchess and the Princess of Orange, "dowagers both," +as Wotton remarks, entertained Francis magnificently, and provided a +series of hunting-parties and banquets for his amusement. + +The true object of the King's visit was to arrange a marriage between +the Duchess and the Count of Aumale. The young soldier made no secret +of his love for his cousin's beautiful widow, Antoinette was anxious to +see her son settled, and both the King and the Guises were fully alive +to the political advantages of the alliance. On the 26th of October +Wotton wrote from Bar, "The fame continues of a marriage between the +Dowager of Lorraine and the Count of Aumale," although, as he had +already remarked in a previous letter, it was hard to believe the +Duchess's uncles would consent to the union. Aumale's own hopes were +high, and he sent a messenger to Scotland to tell his sister of the +good cheer which they were enjoying in Madame de Lorraine's house at +Bar.[389] + +[Sidenote: OCT., 1546] MARRIAGE PROPOSALS] + +But these hopes were doomed to disappointment. Christina was determined +never to marry again. Like her aunt, Mary of Hungary, having once +tasted perfect happiness, she was unwilling to repeat the experiment. +Her beauty was in its prime, her charms attracted lovers of every +age and rank. During the next ten or twelve years she was courted by +several of the most illustrious personages and bravest captains of the +age. She smiled on all her suitors in turn, and gave them freely of her +friendship, but remained true to her resolve to live for her children +alone, and took for her device a solitary tower with doves fluttering +round its barred windows, and the motto _Accipio nullas sordida turris +aves_ (A ruined tower, I give shelter to no birds), as a symbol of +perpetual widowhood.[390] + +Aumale consoled himself by winning fresh laurels in the next war, and +before long married another bride of high degree; but Brantôme, who +was intimate with the Guises, tells us that he never forgave Madame de +Lorraine for rejecting his suit, and remained her bitter enemy to the +end of his life.[391] The King took Christina's refusal more lightly. +He never treated women's fancies seriously, and when he found that +Aumale's suit was not acceptable, he sought the Duchess's help in a +scheme that lay nearer his heart. This was the marriage of his own +daughter Margaret with Philip of Spain, whose young wife had died, in +June, 1545, a few days after giving birth to the Infant Don Carlos. The +old scheme of marrying this Princess to the Emperor's only son was now +revived at the French Court, and Christina, who had always appreciated +Madame Marguerite's excellent qualities, entered readily into the +King's wishes. But, as she soon discovered, her aunt, Queen Eleanor, +was greatly opposed to the idea, and still ardently wished to see +Philip married to her own daughter, the Infanta Maria of Portugal.[392] + +From Bar Francis returned to spend All Hallows at Joinville, where he +enjoyed fresh revels, and delighted the Duke of Longueville by telling +him to make haste and grow tall, that he might enter his service. + + "Now he goes," wrote the boy's tutor, Jean de la Brousse, + "to keep Christmas at Compiègne, and will spend the winter + in Paris, watching how matters go with the Emperor and the + Protestants, whose armies have been three months face to face, + and yet do not know how to kill each other."[393] + +In the same letter the writer describes how, on his journey to +Plessis, to bring the Princess of Navarre to Court, he met the Queen +of Scotland's sister, Madame Renée, with a number of old monks and +nuns, on her way from Fontévrault to Joinville. On the 16th of December +Madame Renée took possession of the Convent of St. Pierre at Reims, of +which she was Abbess, and the Duchess of Lorraine and the Princess of +Orange were among the guests present at this ceremony, at the entry of +her brother the Archbishop into his episcopal city on the following day. + +[Sidenote: JAN., 1547] DEATH OF HENRY VIII.] + +Meanwhile the news of Christina's supposed marriage travelled far +and wide. It reached Venice, where the fate of the Duchess who had +once reigned over Milan always excited interest, and was reported to +King Henry of England by one of his Italian agents. His curiosity +was aroused, and when the French Ambassador, Odet de Selve, came to +Windsor, he asked him if his master had concluded the marriage which +he had in hand. "What marriage?" asked De Selve innocently. "That of +Madame de Lorraine," replied Henry testily. "With whom?" asked the +Ambassador. But Henry would say no more, and relapsed into sullen +silence.[394] He had come back from Boulogne seriously ill, and grew +heavier and more unwieldy every day. A week afterwards he had a severe +attack of fever, and on his return to London sent Norfolk and Surrey to +the Tower. + +Mary of Hungary was so much alarmed at this fresh outbreak of violence +that she sent to Chapuys, who was living in retirement at Louvain, for +advice. The veteran diplomatist, who for sixteen years had toiled to +avoid a rupture between the two monarchs, wrote back, on the 29th of +January, 1547, advising the Queen to take no action. "Physicians say," +he added, "that the best and quickest cure for certain maladies is to +leave the evil untouched and avoid further irritation." When the old +statesman wrote these words, the King, whose varying moods he knew so +well, had already ceased from troubling. He died at Whitehall on the +28th of January, 1547. + +The news of his royal brother's death moved the King of France deeply. +"We were both of the same age," he said, "and now he is gone it is time +for me to go hence, too."[395] In spite of the painful ailments from +which he suffered, Francis still moved restlessly from place to place. +Towards the end of Lent he left Loches to spend Easter at St. Germain, +but fell ill on the way, and died at Rambouillet on the 31st of March. + +The death of these two monarchs, who filled so large a place in the +history of the times, produced a profound sensation throughout Europe. +No one felt the shock more than the Duchess, who had been courted by +one Prince, and had lately received the other under her roof. But a +third death this spring touched her still more closely. On the 28th +of February the good old Queen Philippa passed away in her humble +cell at Pont-à-Mousson. As she lay dying she asked what was the day +of the week, and, being told it was Saturday, remarked: "All the best +things of my life came to me on this day. I was born and married to my +dear husband on a Saturday, I entered Nancy amid the rejoicings of my +people, and I forsook the world to take the veil, on this day, and now +on Saturday I am going to God." Her children and grandchildren knelt at +the bedside, but Guise, her best-loved son, only arrived from Paris at +the last moment. She opened her eyes at the sound of his voice. "Adieu, +mon ami," she said, "and do not forget to keep God before your eyes." +These were her last words, and as the pure spirit passed out of this +life the sound of weeping was broken by the joyous songs of her pet +lark.[396] + +She was buried, as she desired, in the convent cloister, and the +people, who venerated her as a saint, flocked to the funeral. Christina +employed Ligier-Richier, the sculptor of the Prince of Orange's +monument, to carve a recumbent effigy of the dead Queen in coloured +marbles on her tomb. The black cloak and grey habit were faithfully +reproduced, the finely-modelled features were rendered in all their +ivory whiteness, and a tiny figure of a kneeling nun was represented in +the act of laying the crown at her feet. When the convent church was +pillaged by rioters in 1793, this monument was buried by the nuns in +the garden. Here it was discovered in 1822, and brought to Nancy, where +it now stands in the Church of the Cordeliers, near the stately tomb +which Philippa herself had reared to her husband, King René.[397] + +[Sidenote: AUG., 1546] THE LEAGUE OF SCHMALKALDE] + + +III. + +Of the three great monarchs whose fame had filled the world during +the last forty years, only one remained alive, and he was engaged in +a desperate struggle. Throughout the autumn and winter of 1546-47, +Charles V. carried on a vigorous campaign against the coalition of +Princes known as the League of Schmalkalde. Christina watched the +progress of the war with keen anxiety, and saw with distress that her +brother-in-law, the Palatine, had joined the rebel ranks. Frederic had +never forgiven the Emperor for sacrificing his wife's rights by the +Treaty of Spires, and showed his displeasure by refusing to attend the +Chapter of the Golden Fleece at Utrecht in January, 1546. He further +annoyed Charles by introducing Lutheran rites at Heidelberg, and on +Christmas Day he and Dorothea received Communion in both kinds at the +hands of a Protestant pastor in the Church of the Holy Ghost. But he +still hesitated to take up arms against the friend of his youth. At +length, in August, he declared himself on the Protestant side, and for +the first time the red flag of the Palatinate was seen in the camp of +the Emperor's foes. Before long, however, his courage failed him, and +when Charles recovered the imperial city of Halle, in Suabia, Frederic +hastened thither to make his peace. Tears rose to the veteran's eyes +when the Emperor said how much it had grieved him to see so old a +friend in the ranks of his foes, but hastened to add that he forgave +him freely and would only remember his past services. From this time +the Palatine's loyalty never again wavered, but he was obliged to +restore Catholic rites in Heidelberg and to give up his fortress of +Hoh-Königsberg in Franconia to Albert of Brandenburg.[398] + +The Duke of Würtemberg and the cities of Ulm and Augsburg soon followed +the Palatine's example, and Charles's triumph was complete by the +decisive victory of Mühlberg. "God be thanked, who never forsakes +his own," wrote Granvelle to Mary of Hungary from the battle-field, +at midnight on the 24th of April.[399] The Elector John Frederick of +Saxony and the Landgrave of Hesse were made prisoners, the League of +Schmalkalde was dissolved, and Titian commemorated the Emperor's heroic +deeds in a famous equestrian portrait. + +[Sidenote: NOV., 1547] THE DIET OF AUGSBURG] + +The peace of Lorraine was insured by the victory of Mühlberg, and +Christina shared in the general sense of relief with which the close +of the war was hailed. When, in the following autumn, the Regent +and the Princess of Orange rode to meet the Emperor at the Diet of +Augsburg, the Duchess joined them on the frontiers of Lorraine. These +three august ladies reached Augsburg on the 21st of November, and were +received by King Ferdinand, his son Archduke Maximilian, and the Prince +of Piedmont, who met them outside the gates, and escorted them to the +Emperor's lodgings in the fine house of the Fuggers. Here the Countess +Palatine and Ferdinand's daughter, the Duchess of Bavaria, were +awaiting them at the doors of the courtyard, and conducted them into +Charles's presence. During the next three months Christina lived in the +great banker's house, with the other members of the imperial family, +as her uncle's guest. Augsburg itself was a noble city. The wealth of +her merchants, the splendour of their houses and gardens, amazed every +stranger who entered her gates. "The Fuggers' house," wrote Ascham, +"would over-brag all Cheapside." The copper roofs glittered in the sun, +the carved and painted decorations of the interior were of the most +costly and elaborate description.[400] And this winter the streets of +Augsburg were thronged with Princes and ladies. It was the gayest and +most splendid Diet ever seen. Never before had so many Archduchesses +and Duchesses been present, never was there so much dancing and +jousting and feasting. On St. Andrew's Day the whole imperial family +attended a solemn Mass in honour of the Knights of the Fleece, and +were entertained by the Emperor at a banquet, after which the Queen +of Hungary received the Companions of the Order in her apartments. On +Christmas Day all the Princes and Princesses were present at High Mass +in the Cathedral, and on the Feast of the Three Kings they attended +service in the Court chapel, when Granvelle's son, the young Bishop of +Arras, officiated, and the Palatine, the Marquis of Brandenburg, and +the Archduke, presented the customary offerings of gold, frankincense, +and myrrh, in the Emperor's name. Except on these state occasions, +Charles dined alone and never spoke at meals, but generally sat by the +window for an hour or two afterwards, talking to his brother and sister +or nephews and nieces. + +King Ferdinand's rooms, on the contrary, were never empty. He had +lost his faithful wife, Anna of Bohemia, in January, but his son and +daughter were lavish in dispensing their father's hospitality. Like his +sister Mary, Ferdinand was very fond of music, and enjoyed listening to +his fine Kapelle, while one of his favourite jesters was always present +to amuse the Electors and Princesses at his table.[401] His son, the +Archduke Max, as Ascham calls him, was a gay and pleasant gentleman, +"of goodly person and stature," speaking eight languages, and very +popular with all classes, especially the Lutherans, whose opinions he +was supposed to affect. Charles's other nephew, Emanuel Philibert, the +Prince of Piedmont, was another gallant squire of dames, as ready to +take part in masque and dance as he was foremost in active warfare. +Every evening there was music and dancing in the King's rooms, and the +old halls of the merchants rang to the sound of laughter and melody. In +that joyous throng the Countess Palatine was the gayest of the gay, and +Christina forgot her sorrows to become young once more. + +[Sidenote: 1548] THE MARQUIS ALBERT] + +There was one man among the Princes assembled at Augsburg who gazed +with frank admiration at the handsome Duchess; this was the Marquis +Albert of Brandenburg, Lord of Culmbach and Burgrave of Nuremberg. +While still a boy he succeeded to his father's principality in +Franconia, and was educated by his uncle, the Duke of Prussia and +Grand-Master of the Teutonic Order. Although brought up a Lutheran, +he entered the Emperor's service before he was twenty, and fought +gallantly in the wars of Cleves and Champagne. A wild and reckless +spirit, who rode hard, drank deep, and knew no fear, Albert was adored +by his soldiers, whose toils and hardships he shared with cheerful +courage, while his name was the terror of all peaceful citizens. +"Thunder and lightning, devouring fire," wrote a contemporary, "are +not more terrible than the Marquis Albert on the battle-field."[402] +But there was a fascination about this ruthless dare-devil which no +woman could resist. His sisters were passionately devoted to him, and +Bona, the Queen of Poland, tried in vain to marry him to one of her +daughters. Roger Ascham describes him as + + "another Achilles, his face fair and beautiful, but stern and + manly, with flowing locks and great rolling eyes, yet with a + sad, restless look, as if he was ever seeking what he could not + find. A man of few words withal, but with a deep, strong voice, + ever more ready to hear than to speak."[403] + +There seemed no heights to which this soldier of fortune could not +aspire. The Emperor treated him with fatherly affection, and the Queen +and the Duchess of Lorraine honoured the sumptuous banquets, in which +he displayed his usual prodigality, careless of the debts with which he +was already loaded. + +Once more rumour was busy with Christina's name. The Marquis Albert +proclaimed himself her devoted servant, and her marriage with the +young King Sigismund of Poland was seriously discussed at Augsburg. +This monarch's wife, the Archduchess Elizabeth, had died before his +accession, and his sister, the Electress Hedwig of Brandenburg, +was eager to bring about a union between him and the Duchess of +Lorraine;[404] but, as usual, these rumours ended in smoke, and the +only marriage announced at Augsburg was that of the Archduke Max and +his cousin the Infanta Maria of Spain, an alliance which had long been +privately arranged. + +[Sidenote: JUNE, 1548] THE INTERIM] + +Early in the New Year another distinguished person arrived at Augsburg, +in the person of the great Venetian master, Titian. He came in +obedience to an urgent summons from the Emperor, and during the next +few months painted a magnificent series of portraits, including those +of Charles and Ferdinand, the captive Elector of Saxony, Chancellor +Granvelle, his wife, and his son, the Bishop of Arras, who was a great +admirer of Titian's art. Fourteen years before, this same master had +taken Christina's portrait, when she came to Milan as the youthful +bride of Francesco Sforza; now he saw her again in the flower of her +womanhood, and, had opportunity offered, would doubtless have painted +her again. But disquieting rumours of unrest on the frontiers of +Lorraine reached Augsburg, and on the 16th of February the Duchess set +out on her return to Nancy. The Emperor gave his niece a costly ring +as a parting present, and Archduke Max, the Marquis Albert, the Prince +of Piedmont, together with the Countess Palatine and the Princess of +Orange, escorted her some leagues on her way. When, a month later, the +Queen of Hungary left Augsburg, she paid Christina a visit at Nancy, +bringing with her Anne of Lorraine and William, the young Prince of +Orange, a promising boy of fifteen, who was being educated at Court, +and met with a kindly welcome from the Duchess and her subjects for the +sake of the lamented Prince whose name he bore.[405] By Mary's advice, +the Regents took active measures for the defence of the frontier and +the fortification of Nancy. An arsenal was founded, and two bastions, +which became known as those of Denmark and Vaudemont, were built near +the palace. Other improvements were carried out at the same time: the +marshy ground under the walls was thoroughly drained, and converted +into a spacious square called La Place de la Carrière; many of the +streets were paved and widened; and the Count of Salm, Bassompierre, +and several of the nobles, built fine new houses along the Grande Rue, +opposite the Galerie des Cerfs.[406] + +[Illustration: _Photo Hanfstaengl_ + +CHARLES V. (1548) + +By Titian (Munich) + +_To face p. 322_] + +The Emperor remained at Augsburg throughout the summer, endeavouring +to effect a lasting settlement of the religious question. On the 30th +of June the so-called "Interim" was proclaimed, a compromise which +satisfied no one, and was described by Thomas Hoby, a young Englishman +who came to Augsburg this summer on his way to Italy, as an attempt to +set up the old Babylon again in Germany.[407] A fortnight later the +Diet was prorogued, and Charles started for the Netherlands, where he +arrived on the 8th of September, after more than two years' absence. + +A few weeks before his arrival a marriage had taken place, greatly to +Mary's satisfaction, between the widowed Princess of Orange and the +Duke of Aerschot.[408] This nobleman, the premier peer of the realm +and doyen of the Golden Fleece, had lost his second wife in 1544, but +was still in the prime of life, and, as his daughter-in-law, Louise +de Guise, told her sister, was honoured and beloved throughout the +Netherlands. Christina could not herself be present at the wedding, +but her brother-in-law Nicolas went to Brussels to give his sister +away. Here he fell in love with Count Egmont's sister Margaret, and +asked her hand in marriage. This alliance met with the warm approval +of the Emperor and the Regent, but caused Christina many searchings of +heart. Already more than one attempt had been made by the Guises to +marry Vaudemont to a French bride, and she feared that this union would +excite great displeasure in some quarters. In her alarm she wrote to +the Emperor, begging him to forbid the marriage as dangerous to the +welfare of her State. Charles, however, declined to interfere, and sent +Granvelle's brother, Chantonnay, to advise his niece politely to mind +her own business. + + "Since the Count of Vaudemont is bent on marrying," he wrote + to his Envoy, "it is far better that he should come here for a + wife than go to France; and the Duchess need not feel in any + way responsible for the alliance, which is entirely his own + doing.... And, indeed, I do not see how he could honourably + break his word, since we ourselves urged our cousins of + Egmont to agree to his proposals. But tell him to come here + as soon as he can, to prevent the French from making any more + mischief!"[409] + +[Sidenote: DEC., 1548] ADOLF OF HOLSTEIN] + +There was nothing more to be said, and the wedding was celebrated in +the Court chapel at Brussels, after vespers, on the 23rd of January, +1549. The bride, richly clad in cloth of gold and decked with priceless +gems, was led to the altar by the Queen, while Charles brought in the +bridegroom. A banquet and masque were afterwards held in the palace, +at the close of which Mary once more took the bride by the hand and +conducted her into the nuptial chamber, hung with crimson brocade and +costly tapestries. The next morning the newly-wedded Countess appeared +at Mass, in another costume of green velvet embroidered in silver, and +jousts and dances succeeded each other during the following three days, +ending with a magnificent banquet given by the Duchess of Aerschot.[410] + +Among the company present on this occasion was the Dowager Queen +Eleanor, who came to Brussels on the 5th of December, to make her +home with her beloved brother and sister. On his death-bed Francis +I. was seized with remorse for the way in which he had neglected his +wife, and begged his daughter Margaret to atone for his shortcomings. +But although Margaret carried out her father's last instructions +faithfully, and asked his widow to remain at Court, the new King showed +his stepmother scanty kindness, and Eleanor left France with few +regrets. Another guest at Margaret of Egmont's wedding was Christina's +cousin, Duke Adolf of Holstein, the King of Denmark's youngest brother. +Most of his life had been spent in Germany, and he had taken part in +the campaign of Mühlberg with his friend Albert of Brandenburg. Now, +following the wild Marquis's example, he came to Brussels in October, +1548, and entered the Emperor's service. This new recruit was cordially +welcomed, and gave a signal proof of his valour by carrying off the +first prize in the tournament held at the palace. + +Christina herself maintained the prudent attitude which she had adopted +with regard to Vaudemont's marriage, and refused to countenance by her +presence a union which excited much unfriendly criticism in France. Two +other weddings in which she was also keenly interested took place about +the same time. On the 20th of October her old suitor, the brilliant +and volatile Duke of Vendôme, was married at Moulins to Jeanne +d'Albret, the heiress of Navarre. This strong-minded Princess, who +refused to wed the Duke of Cleves, and took objection to Aumale because +his brother was the husband of Diane de Poitiers's daughter, fell +suddenly in love with Vendôme, and insisted on marrying him in spite of +her mother's opposition. So radiant was Jeanne on her wedding-day that +King Henry declared her to be the most joyous bride whom he had ever +seen. Six weeks later Aumale himself was married at St. Germain to Anna +d'Este, daughter of Duke Ercole II. of Ferrara and Renée of France. +Ronsard sang the praises of this Italian Venus who had taken the Mars +of France for her lord, and Vendôme, gay and inconsequent as ever, +sent his old rival in war and love a merry letter, bidding him follow +his good example, and stay at home to play the good husband.[411] This +union with the King's first cousin satisfied the highest ambitions of +the Guises, while Anna's charm and goodness were a source of lasting +content to Duchess Antoinette. Christina was one of the first to greet +the bride on her arrival at Joinville. At first the two Princesses, +Brantôme tells us, looked at each other shyly, but with evident +curiosity. The tale of Aumale's courtship was well known, and Christina +naturally felt keen interest in the Este Princess who came from +Beatrice's home and was the cousin of Francesco Sforza. "Anna," writes +the chronicler, "was tall and beautiful, but very gentle and amiable. +The two ladies met and conversed together, and were soon the best of +friends."[412] + +[Sidenote: MARCH, 1549] CHRISTINA AT BRUSSELS] + + +IV. + +Christina's absence from her brother-in-law's wedding had been a great +disappointment to her aunts, and she received a pressing invitation +to come to Brussels for the fêtes in honour of the Prince of Spain, +whose arrival was expected early in the spring of 1549. Accordingly, +on the 28th of March the Duchess reached Brussels, attended by the +Princess of Macedonia, and was received by the Grand-Écuyer Boussu and +a brilliant escort of gentlemen. One of these was the Marquis Albert, +whose name of late had been frequently coupled with her own, the +other his friend Duke Adolf of Holstein. Christina naturally hailed +this meeting with her cousin, especially now that his brother, King +Christian, had alleviated the rigour of her father's captivity. Since +the Palatine had abandoned all attempts to maintain his wife's claims, +the reigning monarch had agreed to release his unfortunate kinsman +from the dungeons of Sonderburg. On the 17th of February the two Kings +met and dined together in a friendly manner, after which the deposed +monarch was removed to Kallundborg, a pleasantly-situated castle on +a promontory of Zeeland, where he spent the remaining ten years of +his life in comparative freedom.[413] This, indeed, was all that the +Emperor desired. In a secret paper of instructions which he drew up +for Philip in case of his own death, he enjoined his son to cultivate +peaceable relations with the King of Denmark, and do his utmost to keep +the Princesses Dorothea and Christina in his good graces, and insure +their father's good treatment, "without allowing him such a measure +of liberty as might enable him to assert his old claims and injure our +State of Flanders as he did before."[414] + +Unfortunately, the interest with which Christina regarded the Danish +Prince proved fatal to Adolf's friendship with the Marquis. Before the +outbreak of the Schmalkalde War, Adolf had become affianced to Albert's +sister, Fräulein Kunigunde. The wedding-day was fixed, and the citizens +of Nuremberg had prepared gold rings and jewels for the bride, but the +disturbed state of Denmark compelled the Duke to postpone his marriage +for a time. Then, as ill-luck would have it, he met the Duchess of +Lorraine at the New Year festivities at Augsburg, and fell desperately +in love with her. From this moment he forgot Fräulein Kunigunde, and +took the first excuse he could find to break off his engagement. Albert +never forgave the wrong, and, although the two Princes met at Brussels +and walked side by side in the Court chapel on Candlemas Day, the old +friendship between them was turned to bitter enmity.[415] + +[Sidenote: APRIL, 1549] PHILIP OF SPAIN] + +But now private grievances had to be put aside, and friends and foes +alike joined in the public rejoicings which welcomed the Prince of +Spain's arrival. Charles was anxious to present his son to his future +subjects in the most favourable light, and no pains were spared to +produce a good impression both on Philip himself and on the loyal +people of Brabant. On the 1st of April, Mary of Hungary, Christina, and +Anne of Aerschot, accompanied by the whole Court, received the Prince +at Ter Vueren, where they entertained him at dinner and witnessed +a military parade and sham-fight on the plains outside the town. +In the evening Philip made his state entry into Brussels, clad in +crimson velvet and riding on a superb war-horse, attended by Albert of +Brandenburg, Adolf of Holstein, the Princes of Piedmont, Orange, and +Chimay, Alva, Egmont, Pescara, and many other illustrious personages. +The chief burghers and city guilds met the Prince at Ter Vueren, and +escorted him to the palace gates, where the two Queens and Christina +conducted him into the Emperor's presence. Philip fell on his knees, +and his father embraced him with tears in his eyes, and conversed with +him for over an hour. At nightfall the whole city was illuminated, +and bonfires blazed from all the neighbouring heights. The next day +a tournament was held on the Grande Place, and a splendid gold cup +was presented to the Prince by the city, while the States of Brabant +voted him a gift of 100,000 florins and hailed him with acclamation +as the Emperor's successor. But in the evening these rejoicings were +interrupted by the news of the Duke of Aerschot's sudden death. He +had gone to Spires to meet the Prince, but had over-exerted himself, +and died very suddenly at his castle of Quievrain. It was a grievous +blow to Anne of Lorraine, who was once more left a widow, before she +had been married quite nine months. The deepest sympathy was felt for +her at Court, and Mary lamented the loss of her wisest Councillor. +All festivities were put off till Easter. Philip spent Holy Week in +devotional exercises, and rode to S. Gudule on Palm Sunday, at the head +of a solemn procession of knights bearing palms. + +[Sidenote: MAY, 1549] HIS DEVOTION TO CHRISTINA] + +Charles took advantage of this quiet season to initiate his son into +the administration of public affairs and make him acquainted with the +leading nobles of the Netherlands. But the impression produced by +Philip was far from being a favourable one. Short in stature and blond +in complexion, with his father's wide forehead and projecting jaw, he +was Flemish in appearance, but Spanish by nature. His taciturn air +and haughty and reserved manners formed a striking contrast to the +frank and genial ways which endeared Charles V. to all classes of his +subjects. Thomas Hoby, who saw Philip at Mantua, noticed what "small +countenance" he made to the crowd who greeted his entry, and heard that +he had already "acquired a name for insolency." Wherever he went it +was the same. "His severe and morose appearance," wrote the Venetian +Suriano, "has made him disagreeable to the Italians, hated by the +Flemings, and odious to the Germans." His marked preference for all +that was Spanish gave deadly offence to the Emperor's old servants, and +people in Brussels said openly that when Philip came to the throne no +one but Spaniards would be employed at Court. In vain his father and +aunt warned him that this exclusive temper was ill-suited to a Prince +who was called to rule over subjects of many nations. He spoke little +in public and rarely smiled. During the year which he spent at Brussels +people said that he was never seen to laugh except on one occasion, +when all the Court witnessed the famous national fête of the Ommegang +from the hôtel-de-ville, on the Fête-Dieu. Among the varied groups in +the procession was a bear playing on an organ, while children dressed +up as monkeys danced to the music, and unhappy cats tied by the tail +in cages filled the air with discordant cries. At the sight of these +grotesque figures even Philip's gravity gave way, and he laughed till +the tears ran down his cheeks.[416] + +This cold and haughty Prince, who took no pains to commend himself to +his future subjects, showed a marked preference from the first for his +cousin Christina. He sought her company on every possible occasion, +gave her rich presents, and devoted himself to her service with an +ardour which became a cause of serious annoyance to his aunts. + + "Queen Eleanor," wrote the French Ambassador Marillac, "is + always trying to treat of her daughter's marriage with the + Prince, but with very little success, and the great attentions + which he pays the Duchess of Lorraine, the evident delight + which he takes in her society, and the gifts which he bestows + upon her, have excited great jealousy."[417] + +Before long Christina herself found Philip's attentions embarrassing, +and felt that it would be the path of wisdom to leave Court. She was +present, however, at a second tournament given on the Grande Place, on +the 6th of May. That day Count d'Aremberg (the husband of Christina's +intimate friend Margaret la Marck), Mansfeldt, Horn, and Floris de +Montmorency, held the lists against all assailants, while Alva and +Francesco d'Este were the judges. Philip, who inherited little of his +father's taste for knightly exercises, but had been practising riding +and jousting diligently during the last few weeks, entered the lists, +and was awarded a fine ruby as a prize, Egmont and the Prince of +Piedmont being the other victors. Albert of Brandenburg was present, +but declined to take part in the tournament. He had seldom been seen +at Court since Philip's arrival and spent most of his time in his own +quarters, compiling an account of his grievances against the Emperor. +One day Charles, fearing to lose his services, sent Granvelle to offer +him an honourable and lucrative office in the Imperial Mint. Albert +replied loftily that, since he was born a Brandenburg, no office which +the Emperor had to bestow, could exalt his station, and that as he +never managed to keep a sixpence in his own pocket, he would rather +not attempt to meddle with other people's money. A few days after this +he asked leave to retire to his own domains. The last time that he +appeared in public was at the banquet which followed the tournament, +in the hôtel-de-ville; here he sat at the Emperor's table, opposite +the Duchess of Lorraine, who was placed between Philip and Emanuel +Philibert of Piedmont, while Adolf of Holstein sat next to the Princess +of Macedonia. All these illustrious guests joined in the ball which +closed the day's festivities, and dancing was kept up with great spirit +until after midnight.[418] + +[Sidenote: AUG., 1549] THE GUISE PRINCES] + +Early the next morning Christina left Brussels, accompanied by +Vaudemont's wife, Margaret of Egmont, and escorted for several miles +on her journey by the Prince of Spain. Three weeks later the Marquis +Albert also left Court, without taking leave of the Emperor or the +Queens. His abrupt departure excited general surprise, and no one +knew whether it was due to his quarrel with the Duke of Holstein, or +to some imaginary affront from the Prince or the Duchess of Lorraine; +but when he was at some distance from the town he sent back a warrant +for a pension of 4,000 crowns a year, which he had received from the +Emperor, as a sign that he was no longer in his service. + +[Illustration: HÔTEL-DE-VILLE, BRUSSELS] + +[Illustration: S. GUDULE, BRUSSELS + +_To face p. 332_] + +During the course of the summer Philip made his "joyeuse entrée" +into the different cities of the Low Countries, and a memorable +series of fêtes was given in his honour by Mary of Hungary at her +beautiful summer palace of Binche. At the end of August the Duchess +of Aerschot gave birth to a posthumous son, who was christened by the +Bishop of Arras in the Court chapel, and named Charles Philip, after +his godfathers, the Emperor and the Prince. But while Anne's second +marriage and her brother's union with Egmont's sister strengthened +the ties between Lorraine and Flanders, the close connection of the +younger branch of the ducal house with France increased daily. After +the marriage of Guise's third son, Mayenne, with Diane de Poitiers's +daughter, his brothers were loaded with favours of every description. +Aumale was created a Duke and appointed Governor of Savoy, and Charles +was made a Cardinal at the King's request, and loaded with rich +benefices. Their mother stood sponsor to Henry II.'s daughter Claude, +who was one day to be the wife of Christina's only son, and had the +deputies of the thirteen Swiss cantons for her godfathers. A new link +was forged by the coming of the little Queen of Scots to France in the +autumn of 1548, as the future bride of the Dauphin. Antoinette met +her granddaughter at Brest, and brought her to St. Germain, where the +charms of the little Queen soon won all hearts. "I can assure you," +wrote the proud grandmother to her eldest son, "she is the best and +prettiest child of her age that was ever seen!" And her uncle the +Cardinal added: "She already governs both the King and Queen." At the +Court ball in honour of Aumale's wedding, all the guests stood still to +watch the lovely little Queen and the Dauphin dancing hand in hand, and +the King smiled maliciously when the English Ambassador remarked that +it was the most charming thing in the world to see the two children +together.[419] + +When Christina returned to Lorraine in May, 1549, all the Guises were +at Paris for the King and Queen's state entry, and the young Duke of +Longueville led his grandmother's white horse in the procession. After +this Antoinette brought her daughter-in-law to spend the autumn quietly +at Joinville, and great was the rejoicing when, on the last day of the +year, Anna gave birth to her first son, the Prince who was to become +famous as "Henri le Balafré." Christina was careful to remain on good +terms with the family at Joinville, and the presence of the Duchess +of Aerschot, who spent the winter in Lorraine, increased the friendly +intercourse between the two houses. Anne's letters to her aunt and +cousins abound in playful allusions to early recollections, and she +always addressed Aumale as "Monsieur mon serviteur" and signed herself +"Votre bonne maîtresse." When, in January, 1550, the Duke of Guise fell +ill, Christina sent her steward Grammont repeatedly to make inquiries +at Joinville. + +[Sidenote: APRIL, 1550] DEATH OF GUISE] + + "We cannot rest satisfied," wrote the Duchess of Aerschot + from Nancy, "without hearing the latest accounts of my uncle, + and trust the bearer will bring us good news, please God! My + sister, Madame de Lorraine, is so anxious about him that she + feels she must send over again. I cannot tell you, my dear + aunt, how much she thinks of you, and how anxious she is to + do you any service in her power. As for myself, if there is + anything that I can do, you have only to speak, and you will be + obeyed."[420] + +After a long illness, Claude of Guise breathed his last on the 12th of +April, and was followed to the grave within a month by his brother, +Cardinal Jean, who died at Nogent-sur-Seine, on his return from Rome. +The Duke's funeral was solemnized in the Church of St. Laurent at +Joinville, with all the elaborate ceremonial common on these occasions. +Antoinette made a great point of Christina's attendance, and Anne +promised to do her best to gratify her aunt's wish in the matter. + + "I shall be very glad," she wrote, "if it is possible for + Madame my sister to be present at the obsequies of my uncle--to + whom God grant peace!--and will do my utmost to effect this, + not only because of my own anxiety to see you and my cousins, + but because I would gladly give you pleasure."[421] + +Accordingly, the two Duchesses, accompanied by the Count and Countess +of Vaudemont and several nobles, arrived at Joinville on Saturday, the +29th of June, to condole with the widow and attend the funeral rites +that were protracted during the next three days. Never was there a more +attached family than this of the Guises. + + "I cannot tell you the grief I feel," wrote the Queen of + Scotland to her bereaved mother. "You know as well as I do that + I have lost the best father that ever child had, and am left + both orphaned and widowed." + +An imposing monument, adorned with rich marbles and bas-reliefs of the +dead Prince's battles, was raised by Antoinette to her husband's memory +in the church at Joinville. In the centre the Duke and Duchess were +both represented clad in robes of state, kneeling with hands clasped +together, and a long Latin epitaph relating the hero's great deeds was +inscribed below, ending with the words: + + "Antoinette de Bourbon, his wife, and her six sons, have + erected this tomb, in token of undying sorrow and love for an + incomparable husband and the best of fathers."[422] + + +V. + +[Sidenote: SEPT., 1550] CHARLES THE BOLD'S REMAINS] + +Charles V. had long cherished a wish to remove the bones of his +ancestor Charles the Bold from the church of St. Georges at Nancy, +where they had been buried after his defeat, and bring them to rest in +his daughter Mary's tomb at Bruges. At first Christina hesitated to +give her consent, fearing to arouse the resentment of her subjects, who +were proud of possessing this trophy of King René's victory, but the +urgent entreaties of her aunts at length induced her to yield, and, +after ascertaining that neither Vaudemont nor the States of Lorraine +had any objection to offer, she consented to her uncle's request, on +condition that the removal of the remains should be effected as quietly +as possible. Late in the evening of the 22nd of September, 1550, +three imperial deputies, the Bishop of Cambray, the Chief Justice of +Luxembourg, and the herald Toison d'Or, met the Provost and Canons of +St. Georges in the crypt of the collegiate church. A solemn requiem +was chanted, after which the tomb was opened and the bones, wrapt in +a white linen shroud, were reverently laid in a wooden casket and +committed to the charge of two friars. A gift of 100 gold crowns was +made to the church in the Emperor's name, and the precious casket was +placed on a chariot drawn by four black horses, escorted by a troop of +twenty men-at-arms. The little procession travelled the same night to +Metz, and thence across the frontier to Luxembourg. Bells were tolled +in all the towns and villages on their way, and the _De Profundis_ was +chanted wherever a halt was made, until on the 24th the casket was +safely deposited in the choir of the Cordeliers' church at Luxembourg. +Here Charles of Burgundy's bones were placed in the grave of John of +Luxembourg, the blind King of Bohemia, who fell at Crécy, until, nine +years later, they were finally laid to rest by his daughter's side in +the shrine of Our Lady at Bruges.[423] + +When this pious act was safely accomplished, Christina set out with +Anne of Lorraine and the Count and Countess of Vaudemont to join the +imperial party at Augsburg. Charles, Philip, and Ferdinand, had been +attending the Diet in this city since July, and were joined there by +Mary of Hungary, who, however, was obliged to return to the Netherlands +on the 26th of September, owing to troubles on the French frontier. +Christina's presence was the more welcome. On the 30th of the same +month Philip and his uncle Ferdinand were riding in the fields near +Augsburg, when they noticed a cloud of dust on the highroad, and, +galloping off in this direction, met the Duchess of Lorraine and +her companions, with a large train of followers. Philip gallantly +escorted his cousin to the Emperor's lodgings, where she spent the next +three weeks. Her coming was the signal for a round of festivities. +While Charles and Ferdinand rode together in earnest converse, or +sat with closed doors debating public matters, Philip and a few +chosen friends--the Prince of Piedmont, Duke Adolf, Pescara, and Ruy +Gomez--spent the days with the Duchess and her ladies. Sometimes they +went hunting on the Bavarian plains, sometimes they danced or played +cards, and every evening they met at supper in Christina's rooms.[424] + +[Sidenote: OCT., 1550] ROGER ASCHAM] + +On the 16th of October a joust was held in the court of the Fuggers' +house, and the Emperor, with his niece and Duchess Anne, looked on from +the windows. Egmont and Vaudemont were judges, and Count Lalaing and +Floris de Montmorency won the prizes. The Cardinal of Trent entertained +the company at supper, and left the next day for Genoa to receive +Maximilian, the King of Bohemia, who had been sent for from Spain to +take part in the family conference. Three days later Philip gave a +tournament on a grander scale, in honour of the Duchess, and entered +the lists clad in ruby velvet and white satin, as he figures in the +portrait which Titian painted. This time Christina's presence seems to +have inspired him with unwonted prowess. He broke many lances, and won +a fine gold chain, which he presented to his cousin. She on her part +entertained the King of the Romans and all the knights who rode in the +jousts at a sumptuous banquet and ball, which ended in the Prince +presenting rings to all the ladies and receiving a kiss from each in +turn. + +This festive evening marked the close of Christina's visit to Augsburg. +The next morning she set out for Nancy, "leaving the Court sad and +widowed," writes an Italian chronicler, "bereft of her presence, +and without a lady to amuse the Princes or entertain the Emperor's +guests." Philip escorted her for some miles on her journey, and took an +affectionate farewell of his favourite cousin, whom he never saw again +until he was the husband of Mary Tudor.[425] + +Christina's route lay through the duchy of Würtemberg and along the +valley of the Neckar. At Esslingen, the free imperial city on the banks +of this river she met the new English Ambassador, Sir Richard Morosyne, +on his way to Augsburg. In his train was a young secretary called Roger +Ascham. He had been Lady Jane Grey's tutor, and had left his Greek +studies and pleasant college life at Cambridge with some reluctance, +but was keenly enjoying his first sight of foreign parts. The journey +up the Rhine in a fair barge with goodly glass windows afforded him +great pleasure. He gazed in admiration at the castles and abbeys +perched on the crags, and the vines laden with purple grapes that +grew in terraces along the banks, while the river at Spires--"broader +a great deal than the Thames at Greenwich"--made him realize for the +first time why the Greeks worshipped river-gods. In the Court chapel at +Brussels he caught a glimpse of Queen Eleanor, + + "looking as fair and white as a dove in her embroidered linen + robe, with her ladies clad in black velvet with gold chains, + and white plumes in their caps, like boys rather than maidens." + +Then, as he rode through Tongres, he met the Queen of Hungary posting +back from Augsburg, with only thirty courtiers in her train, "having +outridden and wearied all the rest, and taken thirteen days to do a +journey that men can scarce do in seventeen!" "She is a virago," the +young Englishman remarked, "never so well as when she is flinging on +horseback or hunting all day."[426] Now, at Esslingen, Ascham fell in +with another noble lady, "the Duchess of Milan and Lorraine, daughter +to the King of Denmark." Unlike Mary of Hungary, who posted so fast +that no ladies could keep pace with her, Christina was always attended +with a large retinue. Brantôme tells us that at Court she assumed a +state which rivalled that of the Queen of France herself. On this +journey she rode a white palfrey, and was followed by sixteen maids +of honour on horseback and four chariots filled with ladies, escorted +by a troop of 300 horse. Thirty-six mules and a dozen waggons, laden +with chamber-stuff, brought up the rear, and a great crowd of "rascals +belonging to her kitchen and stables came drabbling in the dirt on +foot." Roger looked with admiration at the fine horses with their rich +trappings, and was profoundly impressed by the tall stature and stately +bearing of the Duchess. "I have never seen a lady of her port in all my +life!" he exclaimed. His interest was heightened when he heard "that +she should once have married King Henry VIII., before my Lady Anne +of Cleves," and was told that she had now been with the Emperor at +Augsburg, "where she was thought by some to have been a-wooing to the +Prince of Spain."[427] + +[Sidenote: AUG., 1550] DISCORD IN IMPERIAL FAMILY] + +From Esslingen, Christina had intended to go to Heidelberg, on a +visit to her sister, but the unsettled state of affairs made her +presence necessary at home, and she hurried on to Nancy. The French +were once more busy with preparations for war, and grew every day more +insolent in their language. Even the Emperor's old ally, the Constable +Montmorency, who had been recalled to Court by Henry II., joined the +war party, and seemed to be as violent as the Guises. At the same time +fresh trouble was brewing in Germany. The Interim had proved very +unpopular. Magdeburg refused to accept the new edict, and Maurice of +Saxony, who was sent against the city, carried on the siege in so +half-hearted a manner that doubts of his loyalty were felt, while the +Marquis Albert kept away from Court and sulked, like Achilles of old, +in his tent. But the worst of all the Emperor's troubles were those +which had arisen in his own family. + +Granvelle confessed to Paget at Brussels that it had not been easy +for Charles to obtain the recognition of his son as his successor in +Flanders, and that he foresaw this would be a far harder matter in +Germany. From the first, Philip's haughty manners and Spanish reserve +were bitterly resented by the Princes of the Empire, and Charles +realized with dismay how difficult it would be to obtain their consent +to the adoption of his son as coadjutor of the King of the Romans, +and his ultimate successor on the imperial throne. He had first of +all to reckon with Ferdinand. This monarch had always been on the +most affectionate terms with his brother, but was naturally indignant +when rumours reached him, through the Marquis Albert's servants, that +the Emperor intended to make Philip King of the Romans in his place. +In vain his sister Mary assured him that this idea had never been +entertained. His resentment was kindled, and he and King Maximilian +were prepared to resist stoutly any infringement of their rights.[428] + +Everyone noticed how grave and pensive Charles appeared when he +entered Augsburg, and, although the prolonged family conferences which +took place were conducted in strict secrecy, rumour was busy with +conjecture, and the latest gossip from Augsburg was greedily devoured +at the French Court. At this critical moment Chancellor Granvelle, +who for twenty-five years had been Charles's most trusted Councillor, +died after a few days' illness at Augsburg. Friends and foes alike +expressed their grief in the warmest terms. The Constable wrote letters +of condolence to his widow, and Charles and Ferdinand came in person to +visit Madame Nicole, but found this excellent woman too much overcome +with grief to be able to speak. It was an irreparable loss to the +Emperor, and no one was better aware of this than himself. "My son," +he wrote to Philip, "you and I have lost a good bed of down."[429] +Granvelle's son, Antoine Perrenot, the Bishop of Arras, succeeded +him as imperial Chancellor, but had neither his father's wisdom nor +experience, and was little fitted to cope with the gravity of the +situation. + +Charles now sent for the Queen of Hungary, who hastened to Augsburg in +September; but even she could effect little. + + "Queen Mary," wrote Stroppiana, the Duke of Savoy's Ambassador, + "is here to persuade the King of the Romans to accept the + Prince of Spain as coadjutor, but finds the ground very hard, + and by what I hear can obtain nothing."[430] + +[Sidenote: DEC., 1550] THE EMPEROR'S ANXIETY] + +After Mary's departure, Charles's difficulties increased every day, and +Christina tried in vain to pour oil on the troubled waters. She amused +Philip, and did her best to console the Emperor in his fits of profound +dejection. When she was gone he turned once more to Mary, and begged +her earnestly to come to his help. + + "I had some hope," he wrote on the 6th of December, "that the + King our nephew might be persuaded to consent to the only + plan by which the greatness and stability of our house can + be maintained. But, as you will see by this letter, which my + brother gave me the day before yesterday, I begin to feel that + my hope was vain. And I think that in this he does me great + wrong, when I have done so much for him. My patience is almost + at an end, and I wish with all my heart that you were here, as + you can help me more than anyone else. So I beg you to hasten + your coming as soon as possible, and shall await your arrival + with the utmost anxiety." + +To this letter, which had been dictated to his secretary, Charles added +the following postscript, written with his own gouty hand: + + "I can assure you, my dear sister, that I can bear no more + unless I am to burst. Certainly I never felt all that the dead + King of France did against me, nor all that the present one is + trying to do, nor yet the affronts which the Constable puts + upon us now, half as keenly as I have felt and am feeling the + treatment which I have received from the King my brother. I + can only pray God to grant him good-will and understanding, + and give me strength and patience, in order that we may arrive + at some agreement, and that, if your coming does not serve to + convert him, it may at least give me some consolation. + + "Your loving brother, + "CHARLES."[431] + +On receiving this letter, Mary started for Augsburg without a moment's +delay. Attended only by the Bishop of Cambray and three ladies, the +brave Queen rode all the way from Binche to Augsburg in twelve days, +and arrived at five o'clock on the evening of New Year's Day, 1551. + +[Sidenote: JAN., 1551] FAMILY CONFERENCES] + +All through November and December the Emperor hardly left his room. +When he dined with the Knights of the Fleece on St. Andrew's Day, the +hall was heated like a furnace, and Marillac, the French Ambassador, +remarked that he looked so old and feeble he could not be long for this +world.[432] But on the Feast of the Three Kings he dined in public, +with his brother and sister, and his two nephews, Maximilian, who had +arrived from Spain on the 10th of December, and the young Archduke +Ferdinand. They were, to all appearances, a happy and united family, +and Stroppiana noted an evident improvement in the Emperor's spirits. +Roger Ascham watched these illustrious personages with keen interest. +He describes how Charles and Ferdinand sat under the cloth of state and +ate together very handsomely, "his Chapel singing wonderful cunningly +all dinner-time." "The Emperor," he remarked, "hath a good face, +constant air, and looked somewhat like the parson of Epurstone. He wore +a black taffety gown, and furred nightcap on his head, and fed well +of a capon--I have had a better from mine hostess Barnes many times." +Ferdinand he describes as "a very homely man, gentle to be spoken to of +any man," the Prince of Spain as "not in all so wise as his father." +But King Max was Roger's favourite--"a Prince peerless" in his eyes. +He is never tired of extolling this "worthy gentleman, learned, wise, +liberal, gentle, loved and praised of all."[433] + +During the next few weeks prolonged conferences were held in the +Emperor's rooms. King Max from the first flatly refused to consent to +Philip's appointment as coadjutor with the King of the Romans, and +the quarrel waxed hot between them. Night and day Arras went secretly +to and fro with letters between Charles and Ferdinand. If the Queen +of Hungary was seen leaving the King of the Romans with flushed face +and flashing eyes, it was a sure sign that things were going badly +for the Emperor. If Ferdinand and his sons wore a joyous air, and +there were tokens of affection between them and Mary, Stroppiana and +Marillac were satisfied that all was going well.[434] As for Philip +and Max, it was easy to see that there was no love lost between them. +They met occasionally at night in Charles's rooms and exchanged formal +greetings, but never paid each other visits or attended Mass and took +meals together. The rivalry between the two Princes became every day +more marked. + + "The King of Bohemia," writes Marillac, "is frank, gay, and + fearless, and is as much beloved by the Germans as Don Philip + is disliked. His Spanish education, haughty bearing, and + suspicious nature, all help to make him unpopular, although to + please his father he wears German clothes and tries to adopt + German customs, even with regard to drink, so that two or + three times he is said to have taken more than he could well + carry."[435] + +Nor was Philip more fortunate in his attempts to distinguish himself in +the tilting. In the jousts held at Candlemas, Marillac reports that +all jousted badly, but Philip worst of all, for he never broke a single +lance; and Ascham remarks that the Prince of Spain "jousted genteelly, +for he neither hurt himself, nor his horse and spear, nor him that he +ran with." He redeemed his character to some extent, however, in a +tournament given a week later in the Queen's honour, and succeeded in +winning one prize; while the Prince of Orange and Archduke Ferdinand +were the heroes of the day. "And as for noble Max, he ran not at +all."[436] + +A few days afterwards the Diet was prorogued, and Stroppiana told +Marillac that owing to Mary's influence a secret agreement had been +framed, by which Philip was to have a share in the administration of +imperial affairs, and that, when he succeeded his uncle as Emperor, +Maximilian should become King of the Romans. On the 10th of March an +agreement to this effect was drawn up by the Bishop of Arras, and +signed by all four Princes. On the same day Mary gave a farewell +banquet, after which Ferdinand took an affectionate farewell of his +brother, and went to Vienna with his sons. + + "Noble Max," wrote Ascham, "goes to meet the Turk. I pray God + he may give him an overthrow. He taketh with him the hearts, + good-will, and prayers, of rich and poor."[437] + +[Sidenote: APRIL, 1551] THE EMPEROR DISAPPOINTED] + +On the 7th of April Mary left for Brussels, after giving an audience +to Morosyne, who saw that "she was in the dumps," although she +smiled two or three times and tried to hide her feelings.[438] By +this time she had probably realized how fruitless all attempts to +conciliate the German Princes would prove. The Electors unanimously +declined to sanction the agreement which had been the cause of so many +heart-burnings, and it remained a dead letter. The Archbishop of Treves +declared that there could only be one Emperor in Germany and one sun in +heaven. The Palatine, says Morosyne, like the wise old fox that he was, +replied that so important a question needed time for consideration, and +Joachim of Brandenburg vowed that he would never consent to a scheme +which would be odious to all Germany.[439] Philip returned to Spain at +the end of May, and the Emperor was reluctantly compelled to accept the +inevitable, and surrender the long-cherished hope that his son would +succeed to his vast empire. + + +VI. + +While the eyes of all Europe were fixed on the imperial family at +Augsburg, Christina waited anxiously for news in her palace at Nancy. +She had sent two of her Italian secretaries, Innocenzo Gadio and +Massimo del Pero, to wait on the Queen of Hungary, with strict orders +to keep her informed of all that was happening. Gadio's cipher letters +have unluckily disappeared, but some of those addressed to him by +Niccolò Belloni have recently been discovered in a private library +near Pavia.[440] Belloni belonged to a good Milanese family, and had, +at his parents' entreaty, been retained by the Duchess in her service +when she left Italy. He had succeeded Benedetto da Corte as master of +her household, and followed Christina to Lorraine. Niccolò enjoyed his +mistress's complete confidence, and his letters to Messer Innocenzo +reveal all that was passing in her mind at this critical moment. On the +2nd of January, 1551, he writes: + + "HONOURED FRIEND, + + "Madame's page arrived a few days ago with your letters, + which were most anxiously expected and gratefully read by Her + Excellency. The next morning she received those which came by + Heidelberg, and yesterday those which you sent by the Flemish + servant, which gave Her Excellency still greater pleasure. She + deciphered them herself, and read them over several times. You + will continue to write as before, and I will tell you all I + hear from other quarters. Do not fail to report every detail + of the difficulties which are delaying the negotiations, using + Madame's ordinary cipher for this purpose.... I send this + messenger by the post to seek for news, so do not keep him at + Augsburg more than a day, even if Monsignore d'Arras' letter + is not ready, as another courier will be sent in four or five + days. I have received Don Ferrante's letters, and should be + glad to know if my letters for Fanzoni and Trissino are gone + to Milan. Tell Signor Badoer [the Venetian Ambassador] that I + will not fail to satisfy his curiosity, but it will take some + time to obtain the desired information and will require great + caution.... Send me some fine writing-paper, please--very fine, + I repeat, because it is for Madame." + +[Sidenote: FEB., 1551] BELLONI'S LETTERS] + +Christina's Milanese servants evidently carried on a correspondence +with their friends at home through the imperial messengers who were +sent from Augsburg to the Viceroy, and the Princess of Macedonia +constantly despatched packets to Milan and Mantua by the same channel, +while the Duchess herself often wrote to Don Ferrante regarding the +payment of her dowry and questions affecting the city of Tortona. +A week later Christina sent a Lorraine gentleman, Monsieur de +Saint-Hilaire, to convey her salutations to the King of Bohemia, on his +arrival at Augsburg, and Belloni took this opportunity to beg Gadio to +be diligent in reporting everything he heard, for Madame's benefit, +assuring him that Her Excellency read his letters again and again, +and believed implicitly in their contents. On the 12th of February he +repeated the same orders: + + "It would be well if you would write fuller particulars of the + great matter in hand, above all whatever you hear of the angry + disputes and quarrels which have arisen between the Prince and + the King of Bohemia, including all the bad language which they + use--in fact, everything that is said on the subject. It will + all be treated as strictly confidential, and I for my part know + that the King will not be governed by the Prince, and will use + rude and contemptuous words, as you may imagine! These are the + things that Her Highness wishes to learn from your letters.... + I may possibly take a flight to the Court of France, so, if + you wish to write to me privately, address your letters to + the Princess of Macedonia, who will keep them safely for me, + especially if they come from Italy. Your letters of the 29th of + January and 3rd of this month have arrived, and are, as usual, + most welcome, and Her Excellency agrees with you that nothing + has really been arranged. Once the business for which you were + sent to Augsburg is settled, Her Excellency thinks you may as + well return, and be sure that you bring plenty of letters for + Her Excellency from all the world, and a whole waggon-load of + news! I am sorry to hear that your horse has hurt his foot and + you have had to sell him cheap. You must procure another, and + Madame will pay for it all. Only let us have the truth about + these negotiations!" + +But the Duchess changed her mind again, and Innocenzo was desired to +stay at Augsburg as long as the Queen was there, even if the King and +his sons had left, in order that she might hear all that her aunt had +to tell of these important matters. Niccolò's last letter to Augsburg +is dated the 13th of March, and contains a reminder to Gadio to bring +the writing-paper for Madame, and to make inquiries about a new method +of coining money at the Imperial Court, which had excited the Princess +of Macedonia's curiosity.[441] The flight to the French Court which +Niccolò meditated in March, 1551, was taken in the company of the Count +of Vaudemont, who went to Blois to pay his respects to the King and +Queen, and discover if there were any truth in the sinister report +that Henry II. was planning the conquest of Lorraine. But he only met +with civil speeches, and found the Court on the eve of a journey to +Brittany, to meet the Dowager Queen of Scotland, who was coming over to +see her child and visit her aged mother at Joinville. So the Count was +able to allay his sister-in-law's alarms, and, instead of the dreaded +threats of invasion, brought back a proposal from the King that her son +should be affianced to one of his little daughters. The offer excited +some surprise, considering the strained relations that existed between +Henry II. and Charles V., but Christina returned a courteous reply, +and promised to lay the matter before the States of Lorraine.[442] For +the present she felt that she could breathe freely and give herself up +unreservedly to the enjoyment of a visit which she was expecting from +her sister Dorothea. + +[Sidenote: MAY, 1551] THE PALATINE'S VISIT] + +Since the restoration of peace in Germany, the Elector Palatine had +devoted his time and money to the improvement of his ancestral castle +at Heidelberg. His natural love of building found expression in the +noble Renaissance court, with the lovely oriel and grand Hall of +Mirrors, where we may still read "Frau Dorothea's" name, and the arms +of the Three Kingdoms by the side of the Palatine's lion and the badge +of the Golden Fleece. But the passion for travel and adventure was +still strong in the old Palsgrave's breast, and when the last stone +had been placed on the lofty bell-tower he and his wife set out, with +a great company of courtiers and ladies, for Lorraine. They sailed +down the Rhine to Coblenz, and, taking horse, rode through Treves +and Metz, where Christina met them, and the whole party proceeded to +Pont-à-Mousson and the Count of Vaudemont's castle at Nomény. Here they +attended the christening of the Countess's daughter, and Frederic stood +sponsor, while his wife was proxy for the French Queen, after whom the +child was named. After a week of festivities, the party went on to a +hunt at Condé, the Duke's fair château in the forest on the banks of +the Moselle, and killed five stags. Hubert, who accompanied his master +and gives every detail of the journey, relates how the Palatine, tired +with the day's sport, accepted a seat in the Duchess's chariot, and how +his companion, Count Jacob von Busch, being a big man, weighed down the +carriage on one side, much to the amusement of Dorothea, who laughed +till the tears ran down her cheeks. But heavy rains had made the roads +almost impassable, and presently the wheels caught in a rut and the +chariot was upset. The ladies were covered with mud, and Dorothea's +face was badly scratched; but she made light of the accident, and only +laughed the more as, leaving the lumbering coach in the ditch, they +mounted horses to ride to Nancy. At the gates of the city they were met +by the young Duke Charles, a handsome boy of eight, who lifted his cap +with charming grace, and, springing to the ground, embraced his uncle +and aunt, and rode at their side, conversing in a way that amazed the +Germans. + + "We all wondered," writes Hubert, "at the beauty and wisdom of + the boy, who is indeed remarkably intelligent, and has been + trained by his lady mother in all knowledge and courtesy."[443] + +[Sidenote: MAY, 1551] TOO LITTLE BEER] + +His sisters, Renée and Dorothea, received the guests at the palace +gates, "both lovely little maidens," says Hubert, "only that the +youngest is lame and cannot walk, for which cause her uncle and aunt +embraced her the more tenderly." All the fatigues of the journey were +forgotten in the delights of the week which the travellers spent at +Nancy. The Duchess prepared a new pastime for each day, and masques, +jousts, and dances, followed each other in gay succession. On the last +day Christina took her guests to the beautiful grassy vale known as +the Ochsenthal. It was a lovely May morning, and a banquet was served +in a green bower on the banks of the stream. Suddenly a merry blast +of bugles rang out, and, while huntsmen and dogs chased the deer, +two parties of horse galloped up, and, charging each other, crossed +swords and fired guns. "It might have been an invasion of the Moors!" +exclaims Hubert, who enjoyed the surprise as much as anyone. At sunset +the warriors returned to the palace, where the fairest maidens of the +Duchess's Court crowned the victors with roses, and danced with them +till morning. The next day Frederic and Dorothea made the Duchess and +her children and servants handsome presents of gold chains and rings +and brooches, and Christina, not to be outdone, gave Hubert a massive +silver tankard, begging him to keep it in remembrance of her, and +continue to serve the Palatine and her sister as well in the future as +he had done in the past. After this we need not wonder at the glowing +pages in which the honest secretary praises the delicacy of the viands, +the choice flavour of the wines set before the guests, and the polished +manners of the Court of Nancy. + + "Indeed," he adds, "some of our Germans complained that + there was too little beer, because people here do not sit + up drinking all night, and go to bed like pigs, as we do at + Heidelberg."[444] + +The young Duke and his sisters accompanied the guests to Lunéville, +where they spent Whitsuntide together and took their leave, the +little ladies shedding many tears at parting from their aunt. Even +then Christina could not tear herself from her sister, and the next +day, as the Palatine and his wife were dining at one of the Duke's +country-houses on their route, the Duchess suddenly appeared, riding up +the hill. Hubert and his comrades ran out to welcome her, waving green +boughs in their hands, and greeted her with ringing cheers, and they +all sat down to a merry meal. Dorothea begged her sister to accompany +her to Alsace; but the Duchess could not leave home, and the travellers +pushed on that night to Strasburg, and on the 1st of June reached +Heidelberg, where they were greeted by a gay peal of bells from the +new-built tower. It was the last visit that either Frederic or his wife +ever paid to Lorraine. When the sisters met again, Christina was an +exile and a fugitive, and had lost son and home, together with all that +she loved best on earth. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[375] Calmet, ii. 1276, iii. 47; Granvelle, "Papiers d'État," iii. 152. + +[376] Granvelle, iii. 159-163. + +[377] Calendar of Spanish State Papers, viii. 195; Granvelle, iii. 226. + +[378] Lanz, ii. 478-484. + +[379] State Papers, Record Office, Henry VIII., x. 490. + +[380] Granvelle, iii. 206-225. + +[381] Granvelle, iii. 235, 236. + +[382] Bouillé, i. 155; Pimodan, 88. + +[383] Balcarres Manuscripts, ii. 53, 60, iii. 102. + +[384] Calendar of State Papers, xxi. 592, 642; Calendar of Spanish +State Papers, viii. 431. + +[385] Granvelle, iii. 237. + +[386] A. Hallays, 40. + +[387] Calmet, ii. 1276, 1281; Pfister, ii. 203. + +[388] Balcarres Manuscripts, ii. 156. + +[389] Calendar of State Papers, xxi. 2, 121; Balcarres Manuscripts, ii. +87. + +[390] N. Ratti, "La Famiglia Sforza," ii. 86. + +[391] Brantôme, "Œuvres," xii. 114. + +[392] Calendar of Spanish State Papers, viii. 501. + +[393] Balcarres Manuscripts, ii. 65; iii. 105, 114. + +[394] Calendar of State Papers, xxi. 2, 172, 187. + +[395] Brantôme, iii. 164. + +[396] Pimodan, 95; Bouillé, i. 160. + +[397] Hallays, "La Ville de Nancy," 22; C. Cournault, "Ligier-Richier," +34. + +[398] Gachard, ii. 338; L. Haüsser, i. 603; G. Voigt, "Albert von +Brandenburg." i. 164. + +[399] Granvelle, iii. 265. + +[400] Gachard, "Voyages de Charles V.," ii. 350-355; R. Ascham, +"Works," ii. 267; "Travail and Life of Sir T. Hoby," 7. + +[401] Bucholtz, vi. 298, 300. + +[402] Voigt, ii. 7. + +[403] Ascham, iii. 32; Voigt, i. 197. + +[404] Bulletins de la Commission d'Histoire, xii. 156; Calendar of +State Papers, Edward VI., 17. + +[405] Gachard, ii. 357. + +[406] H. Lepage, "La Ville de Nancy," 44; Calendar of State Papers, +Foreign, Edward VI., i. 16. + +[407] T. Hoby, "Memoirs," 6. + +[408] Calendar of State Papers, Edward VI., i. 25. + +[409] Granvelle, iii. 335. + +[410] Gachard, ii. 377. + +[411] A. de Ruble, "Le Mariage de Jeanne d'Albret," 243-246; Bouillé, +204. + +[412] Brantôme, "Œuvres," xii. 115. + +[413] Schäfer, iv. 472; Bucholtz, vii. 572. + +[414] Granvelle, iii. 207. + +[415] Lodge, "Illustrations," i. 183; Calendar of the Manuscripts of +the Marquis of Salisbury, i. 110; Voigt, i. 197. + +[416] Henne, viii. 373. + +[417] Gachard, "Retraite de Charles V.," i. 72; Manuscript 8,625, f. +235, Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris. + +[418] Gachard, ii. 389. + +[419] Maitland, "Miscellany," i. 219; A. de Ruble, "La Jeunesse de +Marie Stuart," 104. + +[420] Pimodan, 367; Bouillé, 349; Bibliothèque Nationale, F.F. 20,467, +f. 39; Gaignières Manuscripts, 349, f. 7. + +[421] Pimodan, 375; Bibliothèque Nationale, F.F. 20, 468, f. 9. + +[422] Bouillé, i. 227. + +[423] Calmet, ii. 1296, iii. 423; Granvelle, iii. 430. + +[424] Gachard, ii. 424; Bulletins de la Commission d'Histoire, série 2, +xii. 189. + +[425] Guazzo, 730; Gachard, ii. 424. + +[426] Ascham, ii. 245-257. + +[427] _Ibid._, ii. 260. + +[428] Bucholtz, vi. 458. + +[429] Granvelle, i. 2-6, iii. 448, 451. + +[430] Bulletins, etc., série 2, xii. 188. + +[431] Lanz, iii. 11. + +[432] P. de Vaissière, "Vie de Charles de Marillac," 174, 178. + +[433] Ascham, ii. 268. + +[434] Bulletins, série 2, xii. 188. + +[435] Vaissière, 186-188. + +[436] Ascham, ii. 280; Gachard, ii. 853. + +[437] Ascham, ii. 278. + +[438] Calendar of State Papers, Foreign, Edward VI., i. 85. + +[439] Bucholtz, vi. 467. + +[440] These extracts from manuscripts preserved in the Biblioteca of +Zelada, near Pavia, are published by the kind permission of their +owner, Count Antonio Cavagna-Sangiuliani. + +[441] Manuscript vii., Biblioteca di Zelada. + +[442] Calendar of State Papers, Foreign, Edward VI., i. 79; Granvelle, +iii. 522. + +[443] Hubertus Thomas, 464. + +[444] Hubertus Thomas, 467; L. Haüsser, i. 625. + + + + +BOOK X + +THE FRENCH INVASION + +1551-1553 + + +I. + +Michaelmas Day, 1551, was memorable, both in France and Germany, for a +snowstorm of extraordinary severity, followed by an alarming earthquake +and violent tempest, omens, as it proved, of impending disasters. + +In this same month of September, Henry II. recalled his Ambassador from +Augsburg. Ten days later he declared war. For some time past he had +been supporting Ottavio Farnese, who was in open revolt against his +father-in-law, and carrying on secret intrigues with Maurice of Saxony +and the Protestant Electors. The Marquis Albert had never forgiven the +Emperor for the affronts of which he imagined himself to be the victim, +and, after vainly offering his sword to the English King and his hand +to Princess Mary, he went to France as Maurice's emissary. Here he +concluded a secret treaty, which was signed at Friedewald on the 5th +of October by the German Princes, and ratified at Chambord by Henry +II.[445] + +[Sidenote: SEPT., 1551] INTRIGUES WITH FRANCE] + +Charles's affairs were in a critical state. The war of Parma was a +heavy drain on his resources, and had swallowed up the gold of Mexico +and the best Spanish soldiers, while Maurice's treachery had converted +the strongest body of imperial _Landsknechten_ into foes. + + "The Emperor doth little yet," wrote Roger Ascham from + Augsburg, "but the French be a great deal aforehand. He is wise + enough, but hath many irons in the fire, and everyone alone + to give him work enough, the Turk by land and sea, the French + sitting on his skirts, beside Magdeburg and the rest."[446] + +The discontent in Augsburg rose to the highest pitch when, one day +in September, ten preachers were summarily banished. The imperial +residence was besieged by crowds of furious women, clamouring to have +their babes christened, and guards were doubled at every gate, while +Charles sat within, enfeebled by gout and reluctant to face the coming +peril. + +In vain Mary of Hungary warned him of Maurice and Albert's intrigues +with France, and told him that his incredulity was like to cost him +very dear, and that if he did not take care he would lose, not only +Germany, but also the Netherlands, which were not the meanest feather +in his cap. Both he and Arras refused to listen. Instead of following +his sister's advice and remaining at Worms or Spires to control Germany +and protect Lorraine, Charles lingered on at Augsburg after war was +declared, and persisted in taking refuge at Innsbruck. After protracted +delays, he at length left Augsburg on the 21st of October, dragging +the reluctant Ambassadors in his train, and crossed "the cold Alps, +already," sighed Ascham, "full of snow," to descend on Tyrol.[447] + +Meanwhile his niece was watching the course of events with increasing +anxiety. All the French King's fine promises could not allay +Christina's fears, as the autumn months went by, and the din of warlike +preparations sounded louder in her ears. In her terror she clung to +the Guises, hoping that their influence might save her son and his +realm from ruin. On the 20th of July she went to Joinville to meet +the Dowager Queen of Scotland and stand proxy for Queen Catherine +at the christening of Francis of Guise's daughter, afterwards the +notorious Duchess of Montpensier. When, in October, the young Duke +of Longueville died suddenly, on the eve of his mother's departure, +Christina once more went to condole with Antoinette on the loss of her +"Benjamin."[448] Both she and Anne, who came to Nancy at her earnest +request, were full of sympathy for the venerable Duchess in the trials +that clouded her declining years. A fresh proof of Christina's anxiety +to gratify her powerful relatives appears in a letter which she wrote +to her uncle from Pont-à-Mousson on the 28th of October, begging him to +grant a request of the Cardinal regarding the Abbey of Gorzes, which he +had lately annexed to his vast possessions. + + "I could not refuse this petition," she adds, "as my Lord + Cardinal is so near of kin to my children, and has always + treated me and my son with so much kindness and affection. And + I humbly beg Your Majesty to show him favour, in order that he + may see that I do all that is possible to please him and his + house."[449] + +[Sidenote: JAN., 1552] FRENCH INTRIGUES] + +As the year drew to its close, the insolence of the French increased, +and their incursions and depredations were a perpetual source of +annoyance to the people of Lorraine. At the same time their intrigues +fomented discontent among the nobles, some of whom were annoyed at the +appointment of Monsieur de Montbardon to be the young Duke's tutor. +This French Baron had originally followed the Constable of Bourbon into +exile, and, after being for many years in the Emperor's service, had by +his wish accompanied Christina to Lorraine. And both the Regents had +good reason to doubt the loyalty of one of the Lorraine magnates, Jean +de Salm, a son of the late Marshal, commonly known as the Rhinegrave, +who had lately received the Order of St. Michel from Henry II. All +Christina could do in this critical state of affairs was to keep Mary +of Hungary and the Emperor fully informed of current events. + +On the 7th of January the Sieur de Tassigny, an agent whom the Queen +had sent to Nancy, received a command from a Court page to come to the +Duchess's rooms that night, in order that she might tell him certain +things which she dared not write. Tassigny obeyed the summons, and had +a long talk with Christina in the privacy of her own chamber. She told +him that the French were assembling in great force on the frontier, +and that Lorraine would be the first country to be attacked. And she +further informed him that certain great personages in Germany, the +Marquis Albert, Duke Maurice, and others, were in secret communication +with the King, and were about to take up arms against the Emperor, +and join the French when they crossed the Rhine. The Rhinegrave had +been often seen going to and fro in disguise between the King and +Duke Maurice. Moreover, a German had lately told the Duchess that he +had been at table with the Elector the day before, and had heard him +vow that he would release his father-in-law, the captive Landgrave +of Hesse, were he at the Emperor's own side! When another guest +warned Duke Maurice to be more careful, lest his rash words should be +repeated, he replied defiantly: "What I say here is meant for all the +world to hear." + +This confidential conversation was faithfully reported to Mary of +Hungary by Tassigny, who concluded his letter with the following words: + + "_En somme_, Madame complains that she is in a terrible + position, seeing that Lorraine will be entirely at the mercy of + the French, and that there is not a single person in whom she + can trust and who is loyal to His Imperial Majesty, excepting + Monsieur de Bassompierre, her chief Councillor, and Monsieur + de Vaudemont, who is quite alienated from France, and entirely + devoted to the Emperor, saying that it is impossible to serve + two masters."[450] + +[Sidenote: FEB., 1552] LE VOYAGE D'AUSTRASIE] + +By Christina's wish, Tassigny went on to Nomény the next day, and had a +long interview with Vaudemont, who assured him that every word spoken +by Her Excellency was true, that at Candlemas there would be a great +revolt in Germany, and that the French King meant to seize the three +bishoprics--Toul, Verdun, and Metz. The only way to prevent this would +be for the Emperor to place strong garrisons in these cities, and thus +defeat his enemies' plans. The Count's information, as time showed, was +perfectly accurate, and, in spite of all that has been alleged to the +contrary, he was probably loyal to the Duchess, who never doubted his +honesty, and to whom he seems to have been sincerely attached. But he +was timid and vacillating, and lacked courage and firmness to face the +crisis when it came. + +Mary, to whom Christina turned in this extremity, was powerless to +help. Every available man was needed to defend the Low Countries, and +she could only advise her niece to claim the protection of the Empire +for her son's State, and, if Lorraine were actually invaded, retire +with her children to the Palatinate. Even Charles began to wake up from +his lethargy, and to realize too late that Mary had been right all the +time. At Christmas Stroppiana wrote from Innsbruck: + + "We begin to suspect the existence of a plot against the + Emperor, hidden under the cloak of a military revolt. Maurice + is not a stranger to this conspiracy, and Albert has let his + soldiers loose and is ravaging Germany."[451] + +A few weeks later Christina's secretary, who kept Arras informed of all +that was happening in Lorraine, sent the Emperor a message to say that +the King was collecting his forces at Châlons, and that Maurice was +marching on Augsburg at the head of his _Landsknechten_, although no +one knew whether he meant to fight for the King or the Emperor.[452] + +On the 5th of February Henry issued a manifesto, stamped with the cap +of liberty, proclaiming himself the protector of the Germans and their +deliverer from the Emperor's yoke, and, after solemnly invoking St. +Denis's help, set out for Reims with the Queen and Dauphin. The gilded +youth of France all flocked to the camp at Châlons, eager to start on +the _voyage d'Austrasie_, as the expedition was termed by these gay +spirits, and drive Charles of Austria out of Germany. The Constable was +appointed to the chief command, Aumale was made Captain of the horse, +and the Rhinegrave Colonel of the German infantry. + +[Sidenote: MARCH, 1552] HENRY II. AT JOINVILLE] + +As soon as the news reached Nancy, the Duchess sent Bassompierre to +Brussels, and told the Queen that terror reigned everywhere, although +it was doubtful if Henry would march on Germany or turn aside to invade +Lorraine. The alarm which filled the hearts of these two defenceless +women is reflected in the letters which Anne and Christina wrote during +these anxious days. The wildest rumours were abroad, and death and +ruin seemed to be staring them in the face. Bassompierre soon returned +with a letter from Mary, thanking Anne for her valuable information, +and begging her not to desert the sorely-tried Duchess at this crisis. +Since Madame was good enough to honour her with her commands, Anne +asked nothing better than to obey. She wrote daily to Brussels, +giving minute details of the King's advance. On the 15th of March +he left Reims, and reached Joinville on the 22nd. From here he sent +Commissioners to Nancy to inform the Duchess that her towns would not +be attacked, and that there was no need to fortify them. The Regents +only raised a sufficient body of men under the Governor of Nancy, Baron +d'Haussonville, to protect the Duke's person. Following her aunt's +advice, Christina sent one of her secretaries to Innsbruck to ask the +Emperor for assistance; but Charles could only lament his inability to +come to her help, and advise her to ask the French King to respect the +neutrality of Lorraine. This was her only hope, and, encouraged by the +Cardinal of Guise, she and Anne went to Joinville on the 1st of April, +and sought an audience from the King.[453] + +Here they were received in the kindest manner by the old Duchess, and +conducted into Henry's presence by the Constable. The King received +them courteously, and conversed some time with them in a friendly +manner. Christina begged him to take her son under his protection, and +reminded him that his grandmother, Renée de Bourbon, was a Princess +of the blood royal; then, gathering courage, she told him that she +had been accused of designs against him by slanderous tongues, and +asked nothing better than to show that she was absolutely innocent of +these charges. "So great a lady," remarked the Sieur de Rabutin, who +witnessed the interview, "must have been very reluctant to plead so +humbly, and I doubt if she would ever have taken a step so contrary +to her natural inclination if her uncle had been able to give her +help."[454] The King listened civilly, and replied that he bore her +no ill-will whatsoever, but was obliged to secure the frontier and +protect himself from danger on the side of Lorraine. As for her son, +he cherished the most friendly feelings for him, and was anxious to +see him affianced to his own daughter, if the Duchess were agreeable. +This kind language and the affection shown her by the Cardinal and his +mother relieved Christina's worst fears. She begged the King to do her +the honour of staying under her roof if he came in that direction, and +returned to Nancy with the Constable, who escorted the two Duchesses +home, in the most amiable fashion, and then went on to take possession +of Toul. + +On her return, Christina wrote the following letter to the Emperor: + + "MONSEIGNEUR, + + "I have been to Joinville in accordance with Your Majesty's + advice, and have sent full particulars of my interview with the + King to Monsieur d'Arras. I beg you, Monseigneur, to give me + your commands as to my future conduct, as my only wish is to + obey Your Majesty to the end of my life. + + "Your very humble and very obedient niece, + "CHRESTIENNE. + "From Nancy. April 5, 1552."[455] + +A few days of anxious suspense followed. The French Queen fell ill of +quinsy, and was in danger of her life. Solemn prayers and litanies were +chanted for her recovery in all the churches, and Diane of Poitiers +hastened to Joinville, where she found the King "playing the good +husband at his wife's bedside."[456] But by Palm Sunday Catherine +recovered sufficiently for Henry to leave her in the charge of Duchess +Antoinette and continue his march. On Monday, the 11th of April, he +joined the Constable before Toul, which opened its gates the next day. +On the 13th the King left the bulk of the army to go on to Metz with +the Constable, and, taking the household cavalry and a few companies of +men-at-arms under the Duke of Guise, turned his steps towards Nancy. + + +II. + +[Sidenote: APRIL, 1552] THE FRENCH AT NANCY] + +Eastertide, 1552, was a sad and memorable epoch in the annals of +Lorraine. At two o'clock on Maundy Thursday, Henry II. entered Nancy +at the head of his troops, with trumpets blowing and banners flying. +For the first time in the last hundred years, foreign soldiers were +seen within the walls of Nancy. The Cardinal and the Duke of Guise +rode on before, to inform the Duchess of the King's coming and see +that due arrangements were made for his reception. Christina nerved +herself for a final effort, and with splendid courage prepared to +welcome the enemy of her race within her palace gates. Salutes were +fired from the bastions as the King entered the town, and the young +Duke rode out to meet him at the head of the nobles and magistrates, +and escorted him to the church of St. Georges. Here Henry alighted, and +the citizens held a canopy of state over him as he entered the ancient +shrine of the Lorraine Princes, and, after kissing the relics of the +saints on the altar steps, prayed by the tomb of King René. Then the +young Duke led him through the stately portal, under his grandfather's +equestrian statue, to the hall where his mother was waiting to receive +her royal guest, with the Duchess of Aerschot and the young Princesses. +Henry, the Duke of Guise, the Cardinal, the Marshal St. André, and +200 gentlemen of the royal household, were sumptuously lodged in the +ducal palace, while the troops were quartered in the town, and French +guards were stationed at the gates, not without a protest from Baron +d'Haussonville.[457] + +That evening the Duchess entertained her guests at a magnificent +banquet in the Galerie des Cerfs, and the brilliantly-lighted hall, +with its vaulted fretwork of blue and gold, frescoed walls, and rich +tapestries, excited the admiration of all the French. + +François de Rabutin, the young Captain in Monsieur de Nevers's corps +of archers, walked through the streets of the "fine, strong little +town," lost in wonder at the splendour of the palace, the prosperity +of the citizens, and their affection for the ducal family. More than +all he was struck by the young Duke himself, who appeared to him "the +handsomest and cleverest boy in the world," and who evidently made the +same impression on the King. Henry paid the Duchess many compliments on +her son's good looks and intelligence, and expressed so much pleasure +at his reception that her worst alarms were allayed. Late in the +same evening she wrote a letter to her aunt, telling her of the kind +expressions used by His Majesty, and of her hopes that all might yet be +well. But a rude awakening was in store for her. Early on Good Friday +morning Vaudemont appeared at the door of her room with consternation +written on his face. The King had sent him to inform the Duchess that +her son was to leave Nancy the next day for Bar, in charge of one +of the King's captains, while she was deprived of all share in the +government, which was henceforth to be administered by Vaudemont as +sole Regent. On receiving this unexpected message, Christina hastily +summoned as many members of the Council as could be brought together, +and with their help and her brother-in-law's support, drew up a protest +couched in respectful and dignified language, reminding the King of the +terms of the late Duke's will, and of her own rights both as mother and +Regent. Henry's only reply to this appeal was to send the Duchess a +copy of the agreement to which she was expected to conform. It was as +follows: + +[Illustration: PALAIS DUCAL, NANCY (1627) + +_To face p. 364_] + +[Sidenote: APRIL, 1552] CHRISTINA'S DISTRESS] + + "The Duke is to start to-morrow for Bar before the King leaves + Nancy. His mother may accompany him, or go elsewhere, if + she prefers. She may retain the administration of her son's + property, but will no longer have any authority over the + fortresses in Lorraine. All subjects of the Emperor who hold + any office in the government or in the Duke's household are + commanded to leave Lorraine without delay. A French garrison + of 600 men will be left in Nancy under Monsieur de Thou, but + Monsieur de Vaudemont will remain Governor of the city, and + take an oath to observe the conditions laid down by the King. A + French garrison of 300 men will also be placed in Stenay under + the Sieur de Parroy."[458] + +These hard conditions filled Christina with dismay. She begged the +Cardinal to defend her rights, but he could only advise her to submit +to the inevitable. Both he and Francis of Guise have often been blamed +for not opposing Henry II.'s arbitrary proceedings, but there seems +little doubt that the King originally intended to reduce Lorraine from +the rank of an independent State to that of a fief of the Crown, and +that it was only the opposition of the Guises which saved the duchy +from this fate. In her despair Christina made a last attempt to soften +the King's heart. Clad in her black robes and flowing white veil, she +entered the Galerie des Cerfs, where Henry and his courtiers were +assembled, and, throwing herself on her knees at the King's feet, +implored him, for the love of Christ who died on the cross that day, to +have pity upon an unhappy mother. The sight of her distress, and the +touching words in which she begged the King to take everything else, +but allow her to keep her son, moved all hearts, and there was not a +dry eye in the whole assembly. Even Henry was filled with compassion, +and, raising the Duchess from her knees, he assured her that he only +wished to confirm the friendship between the two houses. Far from +intending any harm to the young Duke, he proposed to bring him up with +his children, and to treat him as if he were his own son, but Lorraine +was too near the frontiers of Germany, and too much exposed to attacks +from his enemies, for him to be able to leave the boy there. With these +consoling words, he took the weeping Duchess by the hand and led her +to the doors of the gallery, but, as Anne afterwards told the Queen of +Hungary, the King vouchsafed no reply to her sister's entreaty that +she might not be deprived of her boy, and Christina's prayer remained +unanswered.[459] + +Early the next morning Vaudemont and the Councillors renewed their +oaths of allegiance to Duke Charles III., after which the young Prince +left Nancy in charge of the French captain Bourdillon and an escort +of fifty men-at-arms. The parting between the Duchess and her son was +heartrending. The poor mother gave way to passionate tears, in which +she was joined not only by Vaudemont and Anne, but by all the nobles +and people who had assembled at the palace gates to see the last of +their beloved Duke. Nothing but the sound of weeping and lamentation +was to be heard, and Rabutin, with all his hatred of the House of +Austria, was filled with compassion at the sight of the Duchess's grief. + +[Sidenote: APRIL, 1552] CAPTURE OF THE YOUNG DUKE] + +On Easter Day Christina wrote the following letter to her aunt, +enclosing a copy of the articles drawn up by the French King: + + "MADAME, + + "The extreme grief and distress which the King's violence has + caused me prevents me from writing to you as fully as the + occasion requires; but I must tell you what has happened since + my last letter, in which I told you of the King's arrival. + Now, in reward for the good cheer which I made him, he has + carried off my son by force, with a violence which could not + have been greater if I had been a slave. Not content with + this, he has deprived me of the chief part of my authority, + so that I can hardly remain here with honour and reputation, + and, what is worse, I shall no longer have the power of doing + Your Majesty service, which is one of my greatest regrets. + Have pity, Madame, on a poor mother, whose son has been torn + from her arms, as you will see more fully by this copy of the + King's final resolutions, which he has sent me in writing. + These have been carried out in every particular. Before he + left, my brother, Monsieur de Vaudemont, and all the members of + the Council, except myself, were made to take an oath, pledging + themselves to defend the strong places in this land against + all his enemies, and to open their gates to him whenever + required. The same oath was taken by the garrison who are to + guard this town, and I was asked to give up the keys of the + postern gate. So that I, who was first here, and could once + serve Your Majesty, am now deprived of all power, and am little + better than a slave. I foresee that I shall soon be stripped of + everything, in spite of the treaties and agreements formerly + made between Your Majesties and this State. This ill-treatment + and the evident wish shown by the French that I should leave + this house have made me decide to retire to Blamont, where I + will await Your Majesty's advice as to my future action.... I + must warn Your Majesty, with regard to Stenay, that the new + Captain, Sieur du Parroy, although of Lorraine birth, belongs + to the King's household, and is devoted to French interests, as + is also the second in command. Madame, I have written all this + to the Emperor, but he is so far away and in so remote a place + that I felt I must also tell Your Majesty what had happened + here, begging her humbly to let me know her good pleasure. + + "Your humble and obedient niece, + "CHRESTIENNE. + + "Nancy, April 17, 1552."[460] + +The letter which Anne addressed to the Queen the next day is still more +graphic in the details it supplies: + +[Sidenote: APRIL, 1552] THE DUKE AT JOINVILLE] + + "I cannot help writing to inform you, Madame, of the utter + desolation and misery to which my poor sister is reduced owing + to the great rudeness and cruelty with which she was treated + by the King of France on Good Friday. He came here under + pretence of good faith and true friendship, as he had lately + given us to understand. On his arrival he was received with all + possible honour and entertained in the most hospitable manner. + On Good Friday he told Madame that, in order to satisfy the + conditions of his league with the Germans, he must secure all + the fortified posts in Lorraine, as well as the Duke's person, + and with this end must take him to Bar. In order to prevent + this, Madame, Monsieur de Vaudemont and I, with all the members + of the Council, drew up a remonstrance couched in the most + humble terms, to which he only replied by sending us a written + copy of his resolutions. Upon this my sister went to find him + in the Grande Galerie, and begged him humbly, even going as far + as to fall on her knees to implore him, for the love of God, + not to take her son away from her. He made no reply, and, to + make an end of the story, Madame, on Easter Eve they took the + boy, escorted by a band of armed men, in charge of the Sieur de + Bourdillon and the Maréchal de St. André, who did not leave his + side until he had seen him well out of the town. It was indeed + a piteous thing to see his poor mother, Monsieur de Vaudemont, + and all the nobles and this poor people, in tears and + lamentation at his departure. Madame, Your Majesty can imagine + the terrible grief of my poor sister at this outrage, and will + understand that her sorrow at losing her son is still so great + that I have been obliged to abandon my intention of returning + home, and feel that I cannot leave her. The King allows her + to keep the charge of her daughters and the administration of + her children's estates, excepting in the case of the fortified + towns, which remain in the hands of Monsieur de Vaudemont.... + And since, Madame, I am still as ever very anxious to do Your + Majesty service, I beg you to lay your commands upon me, and + they will be obeyed by one who is the most affectionate servant + that Your Majesty will ever have. + + "ANNE DE LORRAINE. + + "From Nancy, the day after Easter, + April 18."[461] + + +In a postscript Anne further informed Mary that her sister had just +received a letter from the King, telling her that, hearing an attempt +would be made to carry off the young Duke, he had ordered Bourdillon +to take him to join the Queen at Joinville. Henry's letter was written +from Pont-à-Mousson, where he spent Easter Day, after sleeping at the +Duke's country-house at Condé on Saturday: + + "MY SISTER, + + "After leaving you I received warnings from several quarters + that the Burgundians were going to make an attempt to surprise + Bar and carry off my cousin, the Duke of Lorraine; and as I am + anxious to prevent this, I ordered Monsieur de Bourdillon to + take him straight to Joinville, which is sufficiently remote to + escape this danger, and where both you and he would be quite at + home in his own family. And you will find good company there + and be given the best of cheer, just as if I were there myself. + I hope, my sister, that this may be agreeable to you, and that + you will believe that my anxiety for his person is the reason + why I wish to avoid any risk of injury, which would be a cause + of grave displeasure to those who love him, as you and I do. + Farewell, my sister, and may God have you in His holy keeping. + + "Your good brother, + "HENRY. + + "Written at Pont-à-Mousson, + April 17, 1552."[462] + + +The tone of the letter was kind. Henry had evidently been touched by +Christina's distress, and tried to soften the blow. Fortunately, the +little Duke himself was too young to realize the meaning of these +startling events. The ride to Joinville and the welcome which he +received from the kind old Duchess amused him, but at bedtime he missed +the familiar faces, and asked for his mother and tutor, Monsieur de +Montbardon. When he was told that they had stayed at Nancy, the poor +child burst into incontrollable sobs, and refused to be comforted.[463] + + +III. + +[Sidenote: MAY, 1552] CHRISTINA AT DENŒUVRE] + +The invasion of Lorraine and the harsh treatment which the Duchess +suffered at the French King's hands were keenly resented by her +imperial relatives. Mary wrote indignantly to Charles at Innsbruck, +complaining justly of Henry's violation of the neutrality of Lorraine +and of the young Duke's[464] capture. To Christina herself she +expressed her anger at the King's wicked act, at the same time advising +her to bow to the storm and retire to Blamont for the present. This +the Duchess did three days after her son's departure, taking the two +Princesses as well as her faithful sister-in-law. Anne's pen was never +idle, and on the following Sunday--that of _Pâques-fleuries_--she sent +the Queen a list of all the Princes who were members of the League. But +they had not been many days at Blamont, when their peace was disturbed +by the arrival of the French King and the Constable, who, after +taking possession of Metz, marched through the Vosges on their way to +Strasburg, and took up their quarters in the castle. The Duchesses +left hurriedly to avoid another meeting with the King, and moved to +Denœuvre, where they remained during the next three months. But the +strain of recent events had been too much for Christina's strength; she +became seriously ill, and her condition was a grave cause of anxiety to +Anne and her ladies. + +Count Stroppiana, who heard the details of the French invasion from +Belloni's own lips at Innsbruck, wrote the following account of the +Duchess's wrongs to his master, the Duke of Savoy: + + "The King of France, we hear, has occupied Lorraine, and sent + the young Duke to Châlons, guarded by 100 men-at-arms, contrary + to the promises which he made to the Duchess his mother. She + threw herself at his feet, imploring him not to rob her of her + son, her only joy and consolation, without whom she could not + bear to live, with many other words which would have moved the + hardest heart to pity. The King would not listen, and repulsed + her with many rough words, forbidding any of the Emperor's + subjects to remain in her service on pain of death. He has + deprived her of the Regency, and relegated her to a remote + country place, where she does nothing but weep and lament, + and will certainly die before long, if her great sorrow is + not comforted, as she has been ill for some time past. The + poor little Duke is said to be ill, too. When he reached the + first stage of his journey, he asked for his mother and tutor, + and, when he did not see them, wept so bitterly that it was + impossible to comfort him."[465] + +The boy's tears were soon dried, and he recovered his spirits in the +charge of the Duke of Longueville's old tutor, Jean de la Brousse, +and the companionship of the royal children. His mother remained long +inconsolable for his loss, but the affection of her son's subjects +was her best solace. So earnest were their entreaties that she should +remain among them that she declined her aunt's urgent invitation to +take refuge in Flanders, and decided to stay at Denœuvre. On the 31st +of May she wrote as follows to inform the Emperor of her intention: + + "MONSEIGNEUR, + + "At the prayer of my brother Monsieur de Vaudemont, and my + sister the Duchess of Aerschot, and the earnest desire of my + good people, I have been bold enough to remain here, although + Your Majesty had sent me orders to join the Queens. I trust you + will not take this in bad part, but will understand that I have + only done this at the urgent prayer of my brother and sister, + and not out of disrespect to your command, since my sole desire + is to obey you all my life, and I beg you to believe this and + remember my son and his poor country. + + "Your humble niece and servant, + "CHRESTIENNE. + + "From Denœuvre, May 31, 1552."[466] + +[Sidenote: JULY, 1552] CHRISTINA BANISHED] + +This letter found the Emperor at the lowest depth of his fortunes. On +the 19th of May he was carried in his litter by torchlight over the +Brenner in torrents of driving rain, and hardly paused till he arrived +at Villach in Carinthia. A few hours after he left Innsbruck, Maurice +and his troopers entered the town, plundered the Emperor's quarters, +and robbed the baggage which had been forgotten in his hasty departure. +The victor might easily have captured the fugitive Emperor, but, as +Maurice said himself, he had no cage for so fine a bird. + +The tide, however, was already turning. Strasburg closed her gates +against the French invaders, and early in May an Imperial army attacked +Champagne and sent Queen Catherine flying in terror from Reims. Alarmed +by these reports, Henry beat a hasty retreat, and contented himself +with the empty boast that he had watered his horses in the Rhine. The +seat of the war was now transferred to Luxembourg, and Lorraine was +once more harassed by the outposts of the two contending armies. From +their safe retreat at Denœuvre, Christina and Anne watched the course +of the campaign anxiously, and kept up a constant correspondence with +Mary of Hungary. The bold measure of placing an Imperialist garrison +in Nancy was now proposed by the Duchess, and gladly accepted by her +uncle, who realized the advantages of the scheme, and wrote that +Lorraine might well be occupied, on the ground of the Duke's detention, +and would be restored to him as soon as he was released.[467] Early in +July, Christina's trusted servant, Bassompierre, the Bailiff of the +Vosges, arrived at Denœuvre with a message from Vaudemont, promising to +admit the Imperialist force within the gates of Nancy on condition that +the occupation was only temporary. The Duchess promptly sent a lackey +to Flanders with a cipher letter to inform the Queen of his consent. +But, as ill-luck would have it, the servant fell into the hands of +the French, who were besieging Luxembourg, and he was brought before +the King and forced to confess the object of his errand. Henry was +furious at discovering the plot, and sent a gentleman of his household, +Monsieur de Rostain, to Denœuvre, with a letter to the Duchess, +saying that he feared her attachment to the Emperor was greater than +her maternal love, and desired her to leave Lorraine without delay. +Christina sent one of her gentlemen, Monsieur de Doulans, back with +Rostain to protest against this order, saying that, after robbing her +of her son and depriving her of the Regency, the King would surely not +be so cruel as to drive her out of her own dower-house, especially as +Denœuvre was a fief of the Empire. But these passionate appeals availed +her little. A week later Henry sent another gentleman, Monsieur de +Fontaine, to order the Duchess to leave Denœuvre immediately, if she +did not wish to feel the full weight of his displeasure. This time +the messenger had orders not to return to the King's presence until +he had seen the Duchess across the frontier. So with a heavy heart +the two Princesses left the land of Lorraine, where they were both so +fondly beloved, and took refuge in Alsace. Belloni, who sent the Queen +an account of his mistress's latest troubles in his clear Italian +handwriting, was desired to tell her aunt that the Duchess had many +more things of importance to say, but must wait for a more convenient +season. Only one thing she must add, and this was that through all +Monsieur de Vaudemont had remained perfectly true and loyal to her, +although he was compelled by his office to conform outwardly to the +French King's tyranny.[468] + +[Sidenote: AUG., 1552] BELLONI'S END] + +On receiving this bad news, Mary sent to beg her niece to come to +Flanders without delay, promising the Duchess a home for herself and +her little daughters. Unfortunately, as Christina found, this was no +easy task. Not only was the whole countryside in peril of daily attacks +from the French, but the Marquis Albert had descended like a whirlwind +from the Suabian hills, and was spreading terror and destruction along +the banks of the Rhine. The next letter which she addressed to her aunt +from the imperial city of Schlettstadt, where she had sought refuge, +gives vent to these alarms: + + "MADAME, + + "I received the kind and loving letter which Your Majesty was + so good as to send me on the 6th of August. It came at the + right moment, for I can assure you that I was sorely troubled, + but Your Majesty's kindness in saying that I shall be welcome + has done me so much good that I feel I do not know how to + thank you enough, and am only sorry I cannot set out at once. + For the roads are very dangerous, above all for children.... + Your Majesty will understand how distressed I shall be until + I can find some way of coming to you, and certainly one year + will seem to me a hundred, until I am with Your Majesty once + more."[469] + +This grateful letter was written from Schlettstadt on the 22nd of +August, and sent to Brussels by Niccolò Belloni, the only messenger +whom Christina felt that she could trust. But fresh trouble awaited +her in this direction. Belloni reached Flanders safely, and came back +to Lorraine with letters to the Count and Countess of Vaudemont, but +disappeared in some mysterious manner two days after he reached +Nancy. It seems doubtful whether he died of the plague, as Massimo +del Pero wrote to his friend Innocenzo Gadio, or whether he fell into +some ambush and was slain by the enemy's hand. The loss was a great +one to the Duchess, whom he had served so faithfully and well for the +past sixteen years, and the honest Milanese was lamented by all his +colleagues. Innocenzo Gadio, sent the sad news to the Princess of +Macedonia's daughter, Dejanira, the wife of Count Gaspare Trivulzio, +who had formerly received Christina in his castle at Codogno. The +Countess expressed her sympathy with her dearest Messer Innocenzo in +the warmest terms. + + "I am sure," she wrote, "that the death of so beloved a friend + will cause my mother the greatest sorrow. When you return to + Lorraine," she adds, "please kiss Her Excellency's hands for + me, and tell her that the sufferings which she has undergone + in those parts grieve me to the bottom of my soul; and tell + her too that we, her servants in this country, shall always be + ready to risk our lives and all that we have in her service." + + "DEJANIRA, CONTESSA TRIVULZIO. + + "From Codogno, September 29, 1552."[470] + + +There were still faithful hearts in this far-off land who never forgot +the Duchess whom they had known in early youth, and who followed her +fortunes with tender sympathy and affection. + +[Sidenote: AUG., 1552] AT HOH-KÖNIGSBERG] + +But now help came to the sorely-tried Princess from an unexpected +quarter. The Marquis Albert had haughtily declined to take any part in +the conference that was being held at Passau between King Ferdinand +and Maurice of Saxony, or to be included in the treaty which was +signed between the Emperor and the Elector on the 15th of August. +Instead of laying down his arms, he chose to continue his reckless +course, and marched through the Rhineland plundering towns and burning +villages, "making war," wrote an eyewitness, "as if he were the devil +himself."[471] But when he reached Treves he heard of the Duchess's +expulsion from Lorraine and her distressed condition, and, with a touch +of the old chivalry that made him dear to women, he promptly sent to +offer her shelter in his castle of Hoh-Königsberg, the strongest and +finest citadel in the Vosges. Christina accepted the offer gratefully, +and during the next few weeks the red sandstone fortress which still +crowns the heights above Schlettstadt became her abode. She was there +still when the Emperor made his way from Augsburg to the banks of the +Rhine, at the head of a formidable army. + +On the 7th of September he entered Strasburg; on the 15th he crossed +the river and encamped at Landau. A week before he sent one of his +bravest Burgundian captains, Ferry de Carondelet, to visit her at +Hoh-Königsberg and invite her to visit him in the camp.[472] Christina +obeyed the summons joyfully, and a few days after the Emperor reached +Landau she and Anne of Aerschot made their way by the Rhine to the +imperial camp. The Prince of Piedmont rode out to meet them, and +Anne's kinsfolk, Egmont and d'Aremberg joined with Emanuel Philibert +and Ferrante Gonzaga in welcoming the distressed ladies and condoling +with them on the terrors and hardships which they had undergone. Only +one thing grieved Christina. The Emperor firmly refused to admit her +trusted Councillor, Bassompierre, into his presence, being convinced +that he had betrayed his mistress and played into the French King's +hands. Nothing that she could say altered his opinion in this respect, +and she thought it wiser to send the Bailiff to Nancy, where he was +able to watch over her interests and send reports to the Queen of +Hungary.[473] + +Charles was suffering from gout and fever, and Christina was shocked +to see his altered appearance. The fatigues and anxieties of the last +few months had left their mark upon him. His face was pale and worn, +his hands thin and bloodless, and he spoke with difficulty owing to +the soreness of his mouth and the leaf which he kept between his lips +to relieve their dryness. Only his eyes kept the old fire, and no one +could divine the thoughts which lay hidden under the mask-like face. +As Morosyne wrote after an interview which he had with the Emperor +about this time: "He maketh me think of Solomon's saying: 'Heaven is +high, the earth is deep, and a king's heart is unsearchable.'"[474] +But he was full of kindness for Christina, telling her that she and +her children would always find a home at Brussels. Since, however, her +cousin of Guise had entrenched himself in Metz and the country round +was swarming with soldiery, he advised her to remain at Heidelberg for +the present. + +[Sidenote: NOV., 1552] CHARLES. V. AND ALBERT] + +The Duchess obeyed this advice and retired to her brother-in-law's +Court. The Palatine was growing old, his beard had turned white and +his strength began to fail, but his influence was as great as ever in +Germany. Morosyne, who met him at Spires, pronounced him to be the +wisest and best of all the Electors, and was touched by the affection +with which he spoke of the late King Henry VIII., declaring that his +shirt never lay so near his skin as King Edward's noble father lay near +his heart. The Ambassador's secretary, Roger Ascham, made friends with +Hubert, who sent him long dissertations on the pronunciation of Greek, +and invited him to Heidelberg. Now Frederic and his wife welcomed the +Duchess and her children with their wonted hospitality, and insisted on +keeping them until the end of the year; but Christina's heart was with +her poor subjects, who suffered severely from the ravages of the war. +From Nancy, Bassompierre sent word that the Marquis Albert had suddenly +deserted his French allies, and had captured Aumale and carried him in +triumph to the imperial camp before Metz.[475] + +Here, on the 20th of November, Charles came face to face with the man +who had wronged him so deeply. "God knows what I feel," he wrote to +Mary, "at having to make friends with the Marquis Albert, but necessity +knows no law."[476] At least, he accepted the situation with a good +grace. Morosyne was present when the Emperor came riding into the camp +on a great white horse of Naples breed, and, seeing Albert, took his +hand with a gracious smile, and shook it warmly twice or thrice. + + "The Marquis fixed his eyes fast on the Emperor's countenance, + as one that meant to see what thoughts his looks betrayed. When + he saw that all was well, or at least could not see but all + seemed well, he spake a few words, which His Majesty seemed to + take in very good part." + +Calling a page to his side, he took a red scarf, the Imperialist +badge, from his hands, and gave it to the Marquis. Albert received it +with deep reverence, saying that he had not fared badly when he wore +these colours before, and trusted the Emperor's gift would bring him +the same good fortune as of old.[477] + +[Sidenote: FEB., 1553] THE EMPEROR TO RETURN] + +The return of the wanderer saved Charles from utter ruin. His affairs +were still going badly. Vieilleville, the French Governor of Verdun, +seized the boats laden with provisions for the imperial camp, which +Christina had sent down the Rhine, and laid violent hands on six +waggons of choice fruits, wines, and cakes, which were despatched from +Nancy for her uncle's table. Worse than this, he contrived to enter +Pont-à-Mousson, which Fabrizio Colonna held, disguised as a messenger +from the Duchess, and obtained possession of this important place by +stratagem.[478] The valour of Guise and the strong fortifications of +Metz were proof against the reckless courage of Albert and the might +of the imperial army. The heavy rains and biting cold of an early +winter increased the sufferings of the troops, and, after losing half +his army by famine and dysentery, Charles was compelled to raise the +siege at the New Year. "Fortune is a woman," he remarked to one of +his captains; "she abandons the old, and keeps her smiles for young +men."[479] In this forced retreat the Marquis performed prodigies of +valour, and succeeded in bringing his guns safely over roads rendered +impassable by a sudden thaw. The bulk of the army was dismissed, only +the veteran Spanish and German forces being quartered in Artois and +Luxembourg, and Charles himself set out for Brussels. His failing +strength compelled him to halt on the way, and Morosyne gave it as +his opinion that the Emperor would never reach the end of his journey +alive. But his spirit was indomitable as ever, and on Sunday, the 6th +of February, he entered Brussels in an open litter, amid scenes of the +wildest enthusiasm. + + "To-day," wrote the Ambassador of Savoy, "I have witnessed the + safe arrival of the Emperor. He was received with the greatest + transports of joy and delight by the whole people, who feared + that he was dead and that they would never see him again." + +And Charles himself wrote to Ferdinand that, now he was once more in +his native land and in the company of his beloved sisters, he would +soon recover his health.[480] + +FOOTNOTES: + +[445] Granvelle, iii. 630; Henne, ix. 162; T. Juste, 185. + +[446] Ascham, ii. 313; Papiers d'État, viii., Archives du Royaume, +Bruxelles. + +[447] Lanz, iii. 75; Granvelle, iii. 527. + +[448] Pimodan, 375, 381. + +[449] Lettres des Seigneurs, iii. 104, Archives du Royaume, Bruxelles. + +[450] Lettres des Seigneurs, iii. 90. + +[451] Bulletins, etc., série 2, xii. 189. + +[452] Lettres des Seigneurs, iv. 108; Granvelle, iii. 613. + +[453] Lettres des Seigneurs, iv. 42, 108. + +[454] Calmet, ii. 1290; F. de Rabutin, "Collection de Mémoires," +xxxvii. 185. + +[455] Lettres des Seigneurs, iv. 19. + +[456] A. de Ruble, "La Jeunesse de Marie Stuart," 73. + +[457] Calmet, ii. 1199. + +[458] Lettres des Seigneurs, iv. 101, f. 320. + +[459] Calmet, ii. 1300; Pfister, ii. 188; Brantôme, xii. 110; Lettres +des Seigneurs, iv. 101; Ravold, iii. 780. + +[460] Lettres des Seigneurs, iv. 101, f. 320. + +[461] Lettres des Seigneurs, iv. 101, f. 330 (see Appendix). + +[462] Lettres des Seigneurs, iv. 101, f. 319. + +[463] Bulletins de la Commission d'Histoire, série 2, xii. 213. + +[464] Bucholtz, ix. 539. + +[465] Bulletins, etc., série 2, xii. 213. + +[466] Lettres des Seigneurs, iv. 102, f. 127 (see Appendix); Lanz, iii. +208. + +[467] Bucholtz, ix. 543; Bulletins, 2, xii. 191. + +[468] Lettres des Seigneurs, vii. 603. + +[469] Lettres des Seigneurs, iv. 103, f. 348. + +[470] Manuscript 18, Biblioteca Cavagna Sangiuliani, Zelada (see +Appendix). + +[471] Lettres des Seigneurs, iv. 518 (see Appendix). + +[472] _Ibid._, iv. 103. + +[473] Bulletins de la Commission d'Histoire, série 2, xii. 232; Lettres +des Seigneurs, iv. 518. + +[474] "Hardwicke Papers," i. 55. + +[475] Calendar of State Papers, Foreign, Edward VI., 230. + +[476] Lanz, iii. 513. + +[477] Voigt, ii. 9, 10; P. F. Tytler, "England under Edward VI.," 144. + +[478] Vieilleville, 161, 176. + +[479] Calmet, ii. 338. + +[480] Bulletins, etc., série 2, xii. 238; State Papers, Edward VI., +Foreign, 236, 243; Lanz, iii. 542. + + + + +BOOK XI + +CHRISTINA AT BRUSSELS + +1553-1559 + + +I. + +Christina was at Brussels on the memorable day when the Emperor set +foot once more on his native soil. She heard the shouts of joy which +rent the air, and joined with the Queens in the welcome which greeted +him on the threshold of his palace. Early in January she had left +Heidelberg and travelled safely down the Rhine and through the friendly +states of her Cleves cousins to Brussels. Here she occupied the suite +of rooms where she had lived before her second marriage, and to a large +extent resumed her former habits. She spent much of her time with her +aunts and the Duchess of Aerschot, and renewed her old friendship with +Countess d'Aremberg and other ladies of the Court. The deepest sympathy +was felt for her by all classes, and when Charles addressed the +States-General on the 13th of February, and alluded to the treachery of +the French in carrying off the young Duke of Lorraine and driving his +mother out of the realm, his words provoked an outburst of tumultuous +indignation.[481] + +[Sidenote: JAN., 1553] CHRISTINA'S SUITORS] + +Through her brother-in-law Vaudemont she still maintained close +relations with Lorraine, while the Cardinal kept her informed of all +that concerned her son, and the boy's own letters satisfied her that +he was well and happy at the French Court. But although Charles shared +all the advantages enjoyed by the King's children, and soon became a +general favourite in the royal family, it was bitter for the Duchess +to feel that her only son was growing up, in a foreign land, among the +hereditary foes of her race. The restoration of peace between Charles +and Henry was the only means by which she could hope to recover her +lost child, and this became the goal of all her efforts during the six +years that she spent in exile. + +The Widow of Milan had been courted by Kings and Princes, and hardly +was Christina settled at Brussels before she was assailed by fresh +offers of marriage. Henry, King of Navarre, whose accomplished wife +had died soon after her daughter's marriage, asked the Emperor for +his niece's hand, but his proposals met with small favour. Far more +serious was the courtship of Albert of Brandenburg, who felt this to +be a favourable moment for renewing his old suit. "No one," as Thomas +Hoby wrote, "had done the Emperor worthier or more faithful service" +in the siege of Metz, and was better entitled to reward. His claims +were strongly supported by the Palatine, who invited the Marquis to +Heidelberg to confer with the other German Princes on the best means +of recovering Metz. Albert himself not only aspired to the Duchess's +hand, but to the Duke of Alva's post of Commander-in-Chief, and boasted +that once Christina was his bride he would easily recover her father's +kingdoms. + + "It is supposed," wrote Morosyne from Brussels on the 20th of + February, "that the Marquis will marry the Duchess of Lorraine + and have Alva's place. The Palsgrave would fain it were so, + in order that, if the Marquis married his wife's sister, he + might help him to recover Denmark; for besides that a slender + title is apt to set such a one to work, he should, by being + married to the Emperor's niece, and afterwards coming, when his + uncle died, to the duchy of Prussia, be able easily to trouble + Denmark. The Marquis doth much desire it, for that the Duke of + Holstein has been and is a great suitor to the Duchess, who + was once so nigh marrying the Marquis Albert's sister that the + contracts were drawn up and put into writing, but broke it off + upon sight of the Duchess of Lorraine. The Palsgrave would + rather any did marry with her than the Duke of Holstein, for + that his brother, King Christian, keeps his wife's father in + prison. And the Emperor, it is held certain, will help it, in + order that he may by this means trouble Denmark, which he has + never had leisure to trouble himself."[482] + +[Sidenote: JUNE, 1553] PHILIP HOBY'S AUDIENCE] + +Whatever her relatives may have thought of the Marquis's suit, +Christina herself never considered it seriously, and told the +Palatine plainly that such a marriage was out of the question. The +Marquis vented his anger on the Emperor, and left Heidelberg in high +displeasure, without taking leave of the Palatine or anyone else. Hot +words passed between him and Maurice, and these two Princes, who had +once been the closest friends, were henceforth bitter enemies. Albert +returned to his life of raids and plunder, and when, soon afterwards, +he was placed under the ban of the Empire, Maurice led an army against +him. A fiercely-contested battle was fought on the 9th of July at +Sievershausen, in which Albert was completely routed and Maurice +lost his life. The Marquis was deprived of fortune and patrimony, +his ancestral home of Plassenburg was burnt to the ground, and after +leading a roving life for some years, and wandering from one Court to +another, he died in the house of his brother-in-law, the Margrave of +Baden, on the 8th of January, 1557. So in exile and poverty this brave +and brilliant adventurer ended his career, before he had completed his +thirty-fifth year.[483] + +While the Palatine was holding vain conferences at Heidelberg, and the +Marquis and Duke Adolf were still quarrelling for the Duchess's hand, +she herself was endeavouring to open negotiations with the French King +through Bassompierre and Vaudemont. But nothing would induce Henry +to give up Metz, and in April war was renewed with fresh vigour. The +young Prince of Piedmont, who succeeded the unpopular Alva in command +of the imperial army, won a series of victories, and razed the forts +of Thérouenne and Hesdin to the ground. But the Emperor was too ill +to take part in the campaign or even to give audiences. Sir Philip +Hoby, who now succeeded Morosyne, actually believed him to be dead, +until De Courrières came to dine with his English friends, and assured +them, on his honour as a gentleman, that he had seen the Emperor +alive that morning.[484] Upon this Sir Philip's brother Thomas, who +had just arrived from Paris, where he had been spending the winter +in translating Castiglione's "Cortegiano," was sent to see his old +Augsburg friend, the Bishop of Arras, and beg for an audience. At +length, on the 8th of June, the Englishmen were admitted into the privy +chamber, and found the Emperor sitting up, with his feet on a stool, +"very pale, weak, and lean, but nothing so ill as they had believed." +His eye was lively, his speech sensible, and his manner very friendly +and agreeable. But, although he expressed an earnest wish for peace, he +declared that the French demands made this quite impossible.[485] + +[Sidenote: SEPT., 1553] ACCESSION OF MARY] + +A month later an unexpected event produced a change in the Emperor's +fortunes. King Edward VI. died, and, after a vain attempt on +Northumberland's part to set Lady Jane Grey on the throne, Catherine of +Aragon's daughter Mary succeeded peaceably to the throne. Her accession +was hailed with joy at the Imperial Court, and on the Feast of St. +Bartholomew the Regent celebrated the event by giving a banquet, to +which the English Ambassadors were invited. "It was such a dinner," +writes Hoby, "as we had seldom seen in all our lives, and greater good +cheer or entertainment than Her Grace gave us could not be devised." +Mary was in high spirits that evening. She toasted the Ambassadors, +conversed with them after dinner for more than an hour, and told +Morosyne laughingly that his French could not be worse than her +Italian. Sir Philip sat next to the Duchess of Lorraine, and reminded +her of the memorable morning, fifteen years before, when he brought +the German Court painter to take her portrait.[486] Since then much +had happened. King Henry himself, the great painter Holbein, René of +Orange, and Francis of Lorraine, were all gone, and she had lost home +and state and had seen her only son snatched from her arms. Yet she was +still beautiful and fascinating, and counted almost as many suitors as +of old. Adolf of Holstein wooed her with a constancy which no coldness +could repel, and if the wild Marquis had been forced to renounce all +hope of winning her hand, another hero, the young Prince of Piedmont, +was ready to lay his laurels at her feet. But Christina remained the +same, calm and unmoved, and was an interested and amused spectator of +the matrimonial plans which now formed the all-absorbing topic in the +family conclave. + +Charles quickly realized the importance of securing the new Queen's +hand for his son. As soon as he heard of Edward's death, he sent orders +to his Ambassador at Lisbon to delay drawing up the marriage contract +which had been agreed upon between Philip and Eleanor's daughter, +Maria of Portugal, and wrote to his son, setting forth the superior +advantages of the English alliance. Philip replied dutifully that, as +his cousin the Queen was twelve years older than himself, his father +would be a more suitable husband, but added that he was ready to obey +the Emperor's will in all respects.[487] + +On the 20th of September Charles wrote from Valenciennes, where he was +directing military operations from his litter, to the English Queen. +After explaining that he was too old and infirm to think of marriage, +and had solemnly vowed after the Empress's death never to take a second +wife, he offered her the dearest thing he had in life--his own son. He +then proceeded to point out the great advantages of the proposed union, +while at the same time he advised Mary to observe the utmost caution, +being "well aware of the hatred with which the English, more than any +other nation, regard foreigners." Mary's own mind was soon made up. In +spite of protests from her subjects and remonstrances from the French +King, she was determined to marry her cousin. On the 30th of October +she sent for the Imperial Envoy, Renard, and, kneeling down before the +Blessed Sacrament in her chapel, she said the _Veni Creator_, and took +a solemn vow to wed the Prince of Spain.[488] + +[Sidenote: JAN., 1554] CARDINAL POLE AT BRUSSELS] + +The most friendly letters were now exchanged between the two Courts. +The holy chrism for Mary's coronation was sent from Brussels, with +venison and wild-boar for her table. Charles gave his future daughter +magnificent tapestries and jewels, and Mary of Hungary sent the Queen +a yet more precious gift, Titian's portrait of Philip, telling her +that, if she stands at some distance from the canvas, it will give +her a good idea of the Prince, only that he is older and more bearded +than he was when the artist painted it three years ago. The Regent +took care to add that she could only lend the Queen the picture on +condition that it should be returned "when the living man joined her." +In reply, Mary begged her good aunt to pay her a visit; but the Regent +excused herself, owing to the Emperor's ill-health, and promised to +come and see her later on, it might be in the Prince's company. The +same cordial invitation was extended to the Duchess of Lorraine, who +sent her new _maître d'hôtel_, Baron De Silliers, to London in April, +1554, to congratulate the Queen on her marriage. Mary made Christina +a present of a fine diamond, which De Courrières was desired to give +her, and when, on the 20th of July, Philip landed at Southampton, and +the wedding was celebrated in Winchester Cathedral, the happy spouse +sent costly jewels to the Emperor and the two Queens, and a beautiful +emerald to her dear cousin the Duchess. + +In January Cardinal Pole, the Papal Legate, came to the monastery of +Diligam, near Brussels, with proposals of peace from the Pope, on his +way to congratulate Queen Mary on her accession, and help to restore +Catholic rites in the kingdom. Pole was known to be averse to the +Spanish marriage, and Charles had put every obstacle in the way of his +journey to England. On his arrival he gave him a very cold reception, +and the Cardinal complained to the Pope that the Emperor and Arras +could not have used greater violence, unless they had taken a stick to +drive him back.[489] The Regent and the Duchess of Lorraine, however, +were much more friendly when he dined with them the next day, after +attending Mass in the royal chapel. Mary told him that no one wished +for peace more earnestly than herself, seeing how terribly her poor +people of the Netherlands had suffered from the war, and Christina +spoke to him of her son with tears in her eyes. When the Cardinal went +on to Fontainebleau, he saw the young Duke, and was able to give him +his mother's messages. But he found Henry II. still less amenable than +Charles, and returned to Brussels convinced that his mission was a +failure as far as the hope of peace was concerned. + +Before the end of April the French King invaded Hainault, at the head +of a large army, and took the strong citadel of Marienburg. Namur was +only saved by the promptitude of Charles, who once more took the field, +although he could no longer mount a horse, and showed all his old +courage in this his last campaign. + +After an indecisive battle at Renty, the French retired with heavy +loss, spreading famine and desolation in their track. One act of +vandalism for which Henry was condemned, even by his own captains, was +the destruction of Mary of Hungary's beautiful palace of Binche, with +its famous gardens and treasures of art. The Queen received the news +with equanimity, saying that she was proud of being the object of the +French King's vindictiveness, and glad the world should know that she +was the Emperor's devoted servant. + + "As for the damage which has been done," she wrote to Arras, "I + do not care a straw. I am not the woman to grieve over the loss + of things transitory, which we are meant to enjoy as long as + we have them, and do without when they are gone. That, upon my + word, is all the regret I feel."[490] + +In the autumn Christina made another fruitless attempt to open +negotiations through Vaudemont, who after the death of his first +wife, Margaret of Egmont, was induced by the Cardinal of Lorraine to +marry the Duke of Nemours's daughter. This Prince came to Brussels +in November to inform the Emperor and the Duchess of his marriage, +and, as might be expected, met with a very cold reception at Court. +But, in spite of his French alliance, he remained scrupulously loyal +to Christina and her son, and complained to his sister Anne that at +Brussels he was reproached for his French sympathies, while in Paris he +was looked on with suspicion as an Imperialist. So hard was it to be an +honest man in those troublous times.[491] + +[Sidenote: SEPT., 1554] A GAY COURT] + + +II. + +While the war dragged on its weary course, and Mary and Christina +vainly tried to bring it to an end, on the other side of the Channel +the new King of England and his spouse were holding high festival. +They came to London in September, and remained there through the +winter, trying to win the love of their subjects by a series of +popular displays and festivities. Tournaments were held at Whitehall, +hunting-parties were given at Windsor and Hampton Court, and a +succession of distinguished guests travelled from Flanders to pay +homage to the royal pair. Philip's favourite, Ruy Gomez, and the Duke +and Duchess of Alva, arrived from Spain, Ferrante Gonzaga, the Prince +of Orange, and the Grand Equerry Boussu, came over from Antwerp during +the autumn.[492] On the 20th of November Cardinal Pole at length +crossed the Channel; four days later he was received at Whitehall by +the King and Queen in person, and crossed the river in the royal barge, +to take possession of his own house at Lambeth. He was soon followed +by Emanuel Philibert, who had lately succeeded to the barren title of +Duke of Savoy on his father's death, and had been made a Knight of the +Garter. Earlier in the summer he had paid a brief visit to London, +where his white, red, and green banners of Savoy made a fine show in +the Abbey on St. Peter's Day; but as his military duties rendered his +presence in Flanders imperative, his Ambassador, Stroppiana, came to +Windsor in October, to be invested with the Garter[493] as proxy for +his master. + +It was not till Christmas Eve that the Duke himself landed at Dover, +after a very rough passage, and made his way to Whitehall, where +Philip and Mary received him with great honour, and showed him all the +sights of London. On the 7th of January the Lord High Admiral took him +by water to see the great guns at the Tower, and on St. Paul's Day +he accompanied the King and the Cardinal in state to the Cathedral +for the patronal feast. A procession of 160 priests bearing crosses, +walked round the churchyard, with the children of Paul's School and +the Greyfriars, singing "Salve, Festa Dies!" and passed in through +the great west doors. After Mass a state banquet was held, with great +ringing of bells, and bonfires blazed in all the streets of London +throughout the night.[494] + +[Sidenote: JAN., 1555] A ROYAL GODMOTHER] + +Emanuel Philibert's visit revived the rumour of a marriage between him +and the Princess Elizabeth, which the Emperor had suggested some months +before. Whether from policy or genuine regard, Philip had espoused his +sister-in-law's cause and refused to allow Mary to send her abroad +or keep her away from Court. The Duke of Savoy was a pleasant and +good-looking Prince, whose martial appearance and genial manners made +him very popular in England. But Elizabeth herself quite declined to +listen to this proposal, saying that she would never marry a foreigner, +and, since there now seemed good hope of the birth of an heir to the +crown, the question of the succession was no longer of the first +importance. Something, however, must be done to pacify the Duke, who +complained bitterly of the Emperor's neglect, and, seeing little chance +of recovering Savoy, asked the King for the viceroyalty of Milan, which +Ferrante Gonzaga, on his part, refused to surrender. Philip could think +of no better plan to gratify his cousin and retain his services than to +give him the hand of the Duchess of Lorraine, a Princess whom he was +known to regard with great affection.[495] + +Accordingly the King and Queen sent pressing invitations to Christina, +begging her to come to England as soon as possible. Before she could +comply with their request, she had to keep an old engagement to be +present at the christening of Count Egmont's infant daughter, which +took place on the evening of the 19th of January. The Queen of England +had graciously consented to be one of the godmothers, while the Duchess +of Lorraine was the other, and the Palatine Frederic stood godfather to +his kinswoman's little daughter. Mary wrote to the Duchess of Aerschot, +begging Anne to represent her on this occasion, and sent a costly gold +cup containing forty angels to her godchild by the new Ambassador, Sir +John Masone. The Palsgrave, not to be outdone, sent the child a diamond +cross, and another one, set with rubies, diamonds, and emeralds, to the +mother. Anne and Christina were both present at the christening, which +was attended by all the Court, "everything," wrote Masone, "being very +richly ordered, the supper and banquet right stately, and Her Majesty's +cup so walked up and down, from man to woman, and woman to man, as I +dare answer few were there that did not go full freighted to bed." + +Sir John further told the Countess in what good part her request +to make her daughter a Christian woman had been taken by his royal +mistress, who would willingly have done the same in person, had the +distance not been so great, and Sabina sent her most humble thanks to +the Queen, saying that, as she already had one daughter called Mary, +she had decided to name the infant Mary Christina, after her two +godmothers.[496] + +[Sidenote: APRIL, 1555] CHRISTINA'S GOOD WISHES] + +When this function was over, Christina began to prepare for her journey +to England, but the weather was so tempestuous that she did not cross +the Channel until the first days of March. She rode from Dover, by way +of Canterbury, to London, where the King and Queen received her in +the most cordial manner, Philip made no secret of his affection for +his cousin, the only woman in his family with whom he had ever been +intimate, and Mary, in the first flush of her wedded happiness and +in the proud expectation of soon being a mother, welcomed Christina +warmly. Unluckily, we have no particulars of the Duchess's visit to +this country, over which she might have reigned herself as Queen. We +know that she was present with the rest of the Court at the great joust +held on Lady Day in the tilting-yard at Whitehall, when Philip and a +band of knights, armed with falchions and targets, and clad in blue +and yellow, rode out against two other troops in red and green, and +some 200 lances were broken.[497] But the only record that we have of +this her first visit to England is a letter which she wrote to Mary on +returning to Flanders. She thanked the Queen for the great honour and +kindness which she had shown her, and commended the captain of the ship +in which she sailed, who, as Her Majesty would doubtless learn, had +rendered her notable service on this troublesome passage: + + "I will say no more," she adds, "except to regret that I am + no longer in Your Majesty's presence to be able to render you + some small service in return for all the goodness which I have + received at your hands. I beg God, Madame, to send you good + health and long life, and give you a fine boy, such as you + desire. + + "Your very humble and obedient cousin + and servant, + "CHRESTIENNE. + + "A la Royne."[498] + + +This letter bears no date, but the Duchess certainly left London before +the King and Queen went to Hampton Court on the 4th of April, to spend +Easter and prepare for the happy event which all England was anxiously +expecting. She was at Antwerp with her aunt a month later, when, on +the 3rd of May, "great news came over the seas." A messenger from the +English ships in the port brought the Regent word that the Queen of +England had been "brought to bed of a young Prince," upon which all +the guns in the harbour were fired, and Mary ordered the big bells in +the Tower to be rung, and sent the English sailors a hundred crowns to +drink the royal infant's health. "I trust in God," wrote Sir Thomas +Gresham, "that the news is true." The Emperor was more incredulous, +and summoned Masone to his bedside at 5 a.m. the next morning, to know +what he thought of the matter, but soon satisfied himself that the +news was false.[499] + +The Savoy marriage, which Philip was so anxious to bring about, also +ended in smoke. During Christina's visit, the matter was brought +forward and eagerly urged both by the King and Queen. Charles was no +less anxious for the marriage, and Mary of Hungary proposed to appoint +the Duke, Governor of the Low Countries when she resigned the office. +The plan would have been very popular in Flanders, where the Duchess +was beloved by all classes, and was warmly supported by Egmont and +Orange. On the 1st of May, Badoer, the Venetian Ambassador at Brussels, +announced that the marriage contract had already been drawn up by De +Praet, and that the Duke had started for Italy, disguised as a German, +and only attended by one servant, to arrange his affairs in Piedmont +before the wedding.[500] + +[Sidenote: MAY, 1555] DUKE OF SAVOY'S MARRIAGE] + +The Venetian's news was apparently premature, but a fortnight later a +Piedmontese noble, Count Avignano, came to London to consult Philip as +to the marriage and arrange further details on his master's behalf. +He talked freely at table to the French and Venetian Ambassadors, +Noailles and Michieli, saying that the Emperor had offered his master +the government of the Netherlands with the hand of Madame de Lorraine, +an arrangement which he for his part regretted, thinking that the Duke +would be more likely to recover his dominions if he married in France. +But, since the friendship between his lord and the Duchess was so +great, he saw no hope of any other alliance, and the marriage was, in +fact, considered by the Emperor and all his family to be practically +settled.[501] + +Emanuel Philibert, like many others, evidently felt the power of +Christina's fascination, and enjoyed a large share of her intimacy. But +he does not seem to have shown any great eagerness for the marriage, +whether it was that, as Avignano said, it would be a bar to the +recovery of his States, or whether he recognized the Duchess's own +insuperable objection to matrimony. + +When, towards the end of May, a party of English Commissioners met +the French and Imperial deputies at Marck, a village near Calais, to +treat of peace, an offer was made by the French to give Henry II.'s +sister Margaret to the Duke of Savoy. The Imperial deputies expressed +a doubt if this were possible, as the Duke's word was already pledged; +but Cardinal Pole replied that the Prince was quite free, and ready +to agree to any proposal by which he could recover his realm. These +negotiations, however, were soon broken off, and on Philip's return +to Brussels in September the old scheme of the Lorraine marriage was +revived with fresh ardour. When the Duke of Savoy returned from Italy +in August, the Regent made him attend the meetings of the Council, and +treated him in all ways as her future successor, hoping by this means +to obtain his consent to her wishes. But both Emanuel Philibert and +Christina remained of the same mind, and neither Philip's entreaties +nor Mary of Hungary's angry reproaches could alter their resolution. +The Duke pleaded poverty as an excuse, lamenting his inability to +offer his wife a home and station worthy of her rank, and was evidently +determined to sacrifice his affections to political expediency, +although, as the French Ambassador reported, "he still made love +through the window to Madame de Lorraine."[502] + + +III. + +Charles V.'s intention to abdicate his throne had long been declared. +For many years he had looked forward to the time when he should lay +down the burden of public affairs and retire from the world, to end his +days in some peaceful cloister. The increasing infirmities under which +he groaned, his inability to attend either camp or council, and finally +the death of his mother, Queen Joanna, in April, 1555, all helped to +hasten the execution of his resolve. Only the continuation of the war +and the absence of his son still made him hesitate. + +[Sidenote: SEPT., 1555] PHILIP LEAVES ENGLAND] + +The same indecisive warfare as before was carried on through the +year. The Prince of Orange, who now held the chief command, succeeded +in keeping the foe at bay, and built the citadels of Charlemont and +Philippeville for the defence of the frontier. But everyone was +heartily tired of the campaign, and both parties gladly availed +themselves of the opportunity afforded by an exchange of prisoners, to +renew negotiations in the autumn. Christina once more exerted herself +in this direction, and Vaudemont, who came to Brussels in October to +take leave of the Emperor, was employed to make fresh overtures to +the French King. But many months passed before any conclusion was +reached.[503] + +Charles had always hoped that his sister would remain at her post when +he left the Netherlands, feeling how invaluable her help would prove to +Philip. But Mary was inflexible on this point. In a noble letter which +she wrote at the end of August, she reminded him that fifteen years +before she had begged to be released from her arduous post in order to +devote herself to the care of her unhappy mother, and that, now this +privilege could no longer be hers, she wished to spend the rest of her +life in Spain with her sister, Queen Eleanor. + + "And however great," she adds significantly, "my affection for + the King my nephew may be," in Badoer's graphic phrase, "he + hates and is hated by her"--"Your Majesty will understand that + at my age it would be very hard to begin learning my ABC over + again. A woman of fifty, who has held office twenty-four years, + ought, it seems to me, to be content to serve one God and one + Master for the rest of her life."[504] + +There was nothing more to be said, and Charles agreed to Philip's +wish that for the present the Duke of Savoy should be appointed +Lieutenant-Governor of the Low Countries. At length Philip succeeded +in tearing himself from the arms of his sorrowful Queen, promising +to be back in a fortnight or three weeks. From her palace windows at +Greenwich, Mary waved her last farewells to the King, as he sailed +down the Thames. He for his part was nothing loth to leave his fretful +and melancholy wife, and was satisfied that she would never bear him a +child. + +On the 8th of September he reached Brussels, and went straight to see +his father in the Casino, near the Louvain gate of the park, where +he was spending the hot weather. Charles embraced his son tenderly, +and after an hour's conversation Philip went on to sup with Queen +Mary and Christina on their return from hunting. On the 17th and 18th +he attended the Requiem Masses held in S. Gudule for the late Queen +Joanna, and afterwards joined in a grand hunting-party given by the +Regent in his honour. + +[Sidenote: OCT., 1555] THE EMPEROR'S ABDICATION] + +The nobles now flocked to Brussels to be present at the Emperor's +abdication. The Prince of Orange arrived from the camp near Liége, +and his young wife, Anne of Egmont, was hospitably entertained by the +Duchess of Aerschot. Friday, the 25th of October, was the day fixed for +the great ceremony. On this afternoon, at three o'clock, the Emperor +left the Casino with Philip and the Duke of Savoy, and rode to the +palace on his mule. An hour later he entered the great hall, hung with +the tapestries of Gideon's Fleece, wearing his mourning robes and the +collar of the Order, and leaning on the Prince of Orange's arm. He was +followed by Mary of Hungary, Philip, and the Duke of Savoy, who took +their places on the daïs at the Emperor's side, while the Knights of +the Fleece, the great nobles and Ambassadors, occupied seats below. The +deputies, over a thousand in number, who thronged the hall, rose to +their feet to receive the Emperor, and then sat down to hear the chief +Councillor, Philibert of Brussels, deliver a speech, explaining the +reasons for His Majesty's abdication. Then Charles himself addressed +the vast assembly. In moving words he recalled the day, forty years +before, when, a boy of fifteen, he had been declared of age by his +grandfather, the Emperor Maximilian, and glanced briefly at the long +record of wars and journeys, and the other chief events of his reign. +Finally he commended his successor to them, asking them to serve his +son as well as they had served him, and begging his loyal subjects to +pardon him for any injustice which he might unwittingly have done them. +Tears rolled down the great Emperor's cheeks as he spoke these last +words, and Sir Thomas Gresham, who was present, says that there was not +a dry eye in the whole assembly. + +Christina was present on this memorable occasion. In contemporary +prints she is represented standing by the side of the Regent's chair, +listening with breathless attention to every word that fell from her +uncle's lips. She saw the pathetic scene between the father and son, +when Charles, raising Philip from his knees and clasping him in his +arms, gave him the investiture of the Provinces, and, turning to the +deputies, in a broken voice asked them to excuse his tears, which +flowed for love of them. And she listened with still greater emotion to +the touching words in which Mary begged the Emperor and the States to +forgive whatever mistakes she had made out of ignorance or incapacity, +and thanked them from the depth of her heart for their unfailing love +and loyalty. Her speech produced a fresh burst of tears, after which +Charles thanked his sister for her long and faithful services, and +Maes, the Pensionary of Antwerp, bore eloquent testimony to the undying +love and gratitude which the States felt for the Queen who had governed +them so well. + +There were still many formalities to be gone through, many farewells +to be said, before Charles could lay down the sovereign power. On +the day after his abdication, the Archduke Ferdinand, his favourite +nephew, arrived with affectionate messages from his father, who found +it impossible to leave Vienna as long as the war with the Turks lasted. +The next day he went hunting with the King, Mary, and Christina, and +dined with them and Eleanor. On the 3rd of November he left Brussels +again after all too short a visit, as Charles wrote to his brother. + +Another guest who took leave of the Emperor in the same week was Edward +Courtenay, Lord Devonshire. This young nobleman of the blood royal had +been exiled from England lest he should marry Elizabeth, and had been +so often seen in the palace during the last few months that rumour +said he was going to wed Madame of Lorraine. Now he came to thank her +for the "gentle entertainment" which she had shown him, and bid her a +reluctant farewell before he left for Italy. In the following spring +another old friend, Adolf of Holstein, came to Brussels and took leave +of the Emperor. The Danish Prince, hearing that all idea of the Savoy +marriage was abandoned, took this opportunity to make a last attempt to +win Christina's hand. But not even the Duke's constancy could induce +her to change her mind, and he went away disconsolate.[505] + +[Sidenote: FEB., 1556] DEATH OF THE PALATINE] + +A fresh sorrow awaited her in the death of her brother-in-law, the +Elector Palatine, who breathed his last at Alzei, in the Lower +Palatinate, on the 26th of February, 1556. The fine old man was in +his seventy-third year, and had been tenderly nursed all through a +long illness by his wife. Three weeks before his death Dorothea sent +for his nephew and successor, Otto Heinrich, who remained with him +to the end, and brought his body to Heidelberg. Here he lay in state +for three days in the Court chapel, after which his remains were borne +down the castle slopes by eight noblemen, and laid with his forefathers +in the church of the Holy Ghost. By order of the new Elector, he was +buried with Lutheran rites. Dorothea and Countess Helene followed +on foot with a long train of nobles and students of the University, +bearing lighted tapers, and German hymns were sung by the Canons and +school-children.[506] + +Christina's first impulse was to hasten to her widowed sister, but +neither the Emperor nor his sisters would allow her to leave the +Netherlands before their departure, saying that she was as dear and +indispensable to them as a daughter.[507] She was present at the Casino +in the park on the 16th of January, when Charles resigned the kingdoms +of Spain and Sicily and his dominions in the New World to Philip, and +she accompanied Mary to Antwerp when Philip held his first Chapter of +the Fleece. Among the new Knights elected at this meeting were William +of Orange, Philip, Duke of Aerschot, and Christina's old friend Jean De +Montmorency, Sieur de Courrières, whose whole life had been spent in +the Emperor's service, and who had deserved well of Philip by helping +to arrange his marriage with Mary Tudor.[508] + +On the 5th of February, 1556, the long-protracted peace negotiations +were brought to a happy conclusion, and a five years' truce was signed +at the Abbey of Vaucelles, near Cambray, by Lalaing on Philip's part +and by Coligny on that of Henry. Both parties were to retain their +conquests, and the chief prisoners on both sides were to be released. +On Lady Day the French Admiral brought the treaty to be confirmed by +the King at Brussels, and was received by Philip in the palace. By an +unlucky chance, the great hall in which the reception took place was +hung with tapestries representing the defeat of Pavia and surrender of +Francis I. This wounded the vanity of the French lords, and the King's +jester, Brusquet, who had accompanied Coligny, determined to have his +revenge on the haughty Spanish Prince. So the next morning at Mass +in the Court church, when Philip was in the act of taking his oath +on the Gospels to keep the truce, Brusquet suddenly raised a cry of +"Largesse!" and, taking a handful of French crowns from a sack which +his valet carried, flung them to the crowds who had collected in the +great hall adjoining the chapel. The King looked round in surprise at +Coligny, who stood dumbfounded, while men, women, and children, rushed +to pick up the coins on the floor, and had to be warned off by the +archers' pikes. The King was about to ask angrily by what right the +French did largesse in his palace, when both Queen Mary and Madame de +Lorraine burst into uncontrollable fits of laughter, in which Philip +joined so heartily that he had to cling to the altar to save himself +from falling. + +[Sidenote: MAY, 1556] LAST FESTIVITIES] + +This absurd incident was related to Charles when, on the following +Sunday of _Pâques-fleuries_, Coligny went to visit him in the Casino. +"Well, Brusquet," he said to the jester, "how are you? I hear you +have been doing me fine largesse with your crowns." "Sire," replied +Brusquet, dropping on one knee, "you take the words out of my mouth in +condescending to notice a worm like myself." And the poor fool went +home to boast of his interview with the great Emperor to the end of his +life.[509] + +A grand tournament was held in the park at Brussels to celebrate the +conclusion of the truce, and Egmont distinguished himself above all +competitors by his prowess. But a quarrel arose between Philip and his +aunt, Mary of Hungary, who complained of the disrespect with which her +nephew and his Spanish courtiers treated her, saying that, although she +had laid down the Regency, she expected to be treated with the honour +due to a Queen. She retired to her own domain at Turnhout, but had her +revenge a few weeks later, for the States proved so unwilling to grant +the aids demanded by the King that Philip was forced to send Arras to +beg for his aunt's help. Mary consented to return as soon as she had +despatched her most urgent private affairs, and so invaluable was her +influence with the Council, that Philip joined his father in entreating +her to remain at Brussels during his absence in England. This, however, +Mary quite refused to do, saying that the Duke of Savoy would no doubt +prove an excellent substitute.[510] + +The King and Queen of Bohemia, whom Charles was very anxious to see +before his departure, and whose journey had been repeatedly delayed, +at length reached Brussels on the 18th of July. Their presence was +the signal for a last series of festivities. There were jousts on +the Grande Place, banquets in the hôtel-de-ville, hunting-parties at +Groenendal in the forest of Soignies, and suppers at the Villa Laura, +where Mary entertained her nephews and nieces at an open-air concert. +King Max was in high spirits. He made great friends with the Venetian +Badoer, and frankly avowed his dislike of the Spaniards, saying, with a +ringing laugh, that he was glad to hear the English had taught them a +lesson or two. The visit was not without its political intention, and +Maximilian succeeded in persuading his uncle to consent to Ferdinand's +entreaty, and retain the imperial title for the present, in order to +avoid any dispute on the question of the succession.[511] + +When his daughter and her husband left Brussels, on the 8th of August, +Charles felt himself a free man. At half-past four in the afternoon he +set out for Ghent, after receiving the farewells of the chief nobles +and Bishops. Many were in tears, but the Emperor remained calm and +serene until he rode out of the gates, escorted for the last time by +his faithful archers. Then, turning round, he took a last long look +at the city towers and wept bitterly. "Everyone about him was in +tears," says Badoer, "and many wept when he was gone."[512] Christina +accompanied her aunts to Ghent a few days later, and went on at the +end of the month with the Queens and Emperor to Zeeland, to wait for +a fair wind. On the 15th of October Charles embarked at Flushing, and +his sisters followed on another ship. Two days later an easterly breeze +sprang up and the fleet set sail. Christina stood on the shore till +the ship which bore the great Emperor from his native land dropped +below the horizon. Then she retraced her steps sorrowfully to join her +children at Ghent. + +[Sidenote: OCT., 1556] FRUSTRATED WISHES] + + +IV. + +When her uncle and aunts were gone, Christina felt that there was +nothing more to keep her at Brussels. She had already thought of +retiring to her dower city of Tortona, but the castle was occupied by a +Spanish garrison, and while the war lasted the Lombard city was hardly +a safe place. This being the case, she asked Philip's leave to take up +her residence at Vigevano, the summer palace of the Sforzas, which the +Duke had bequeathed to her, but was told that this house was required +for the Viceroy's use. After the Palatine's death she was seized with +a longing to join Dorothea, and proposed to go to Heidelberg, and then +on to Lorraine, in the hope that, now peace was signed, the French +King would allow her son to enjoy his own again. But there were more +difficulties in the way than she had anticipated.[513] + +Simon Renard and the other delegates to the conference at Vaucelles +were especially charged to include the Duke of Lorraine's restoration +among their demands; but the French, while professing the utmost +friendship for both the Duchess and her son, pointed out that her +guardianship would expire in another year, and that the Regent +Vaudemont and the Guises, who were the Duke's nearest kinsmen, agreed +to his residence at the French Court. In vain Renard and Lalaing +protested at the strange kindness shown to the Duchess in detaining her +son. This only led to a long wrangle, which almost caused the rupture +of peace negotiations, and eventually no mention was made of Lorraine +in the articles of the truce. + +In May Christina's alarm was aroused by an intimation from the French +Court that the King was going to Nancy to celebrate his daughter +Claude's wedding with the Duke, and occupy the capital of Lorraine. +Fortunately, Vaudemont opposed this measure, saying that as Regent he +had sworn never to give up his post until his nephew was of age, and +begged the King to allow Charles to return to Nancy and take possession +of his State before his marriage.[514] This unexpected firmness on +Vaudemont's part produced the desired effect. Henry's journey to +Lorraine was put off for a year, and at the Duchess's urgent request +the Cardinal of Lorraine obtained the King's leave to bring the boy +to meet her at the Castle of Coucy, near his own house at Péronne. +But when Philip was asked to give the Duchess permission to cross the +frontier, he made so many irksome conditions, that Henry withdrew his +promise, and the long-desired meeting was again deferred. Christina +was cruelly disappointed, and could only take comfort from Vaudemont's +assurances that before long her son would be free from control and able +to decide for himself.[515] + +[Sidenote: OCT., 1556] MARY'S JEALOUSY] + +Philip on his part was extremely anxious to keep the Duchess at +Brussels. As Brantôme tells us, the King not only cherished great +affection for his cousin, but relied implicitly on her tact and wisdom, +and, in compliance with his entreaties, she consented to remain at the +palace and do the honours of his Court.[516] Her popularity with the +nobles made her presence the more desirable, while the King himself +found her company far more to his taste than that of the faded and +fretful wife who awaited him in England. Every post brought bitter +reproaches and passionate prayers from the unhappy Queen, whose hopes +of her lord's return were doomed to perpetual disappointment. Already +more than a year had passed since he had left England, and there still +seemed no prospect of his return. First the peace conferences, then +the King of Bohemia's visit and the Emperor's departure, were pleaded +as excuses for these prolonged delays. When the fleet that bore the +Emperor to Spain was seen off Dover, the Admiral who visited His +Majesty on board, brought back messages to say that the King would +shortly cross the Channel. On hearing this, Mary's spirits rose, and it +was only by Philip's express desire that she refrained from going to +meet him at Dover. In October the royal stables and equerries arrived, +but Philip himself wrote that the war which had broken out in Italy +between Alva, the Viceroy of Naples, and Pope Paul IV., compelled him +to return to Brussels. Then Mary broke into a passion of rage mingled +with sobs and tears, and shut herself up in her room, refusing to see +any visitors. The dulness of the Court had become intolerable; there +were no fêtes and few audiences, and the Ambassadors with one accord +begged to be recalled. The Queen's ill-temper vented itself on all who +approached her presence, and even in public she occasionally gave way +to paroxysms of fury.[517] Suspicions of her husband's fidelity to +his marriage vows now came to increase her misery. When she heard of +Philip going on long hunting-parties with the Duchess of Lorraine, and +dancing with her at masques, she was seized with transports of rage, +and, rushing at the portrait of her husband which hung over her bed, +was with difficulty restrained from cutting it to pieces.[518] + +[Sidenote: DEC., 1556] THE DUCHESS OF PARMA] + +Meanwhile a rival to Christina appeared at Court in the person of +the King's half-sister Margaret, Duchess of Parma. This Princess, +the illegitimate daughter of Charles V. and Margaret Van Gheynst, +a beautiful maiden in the Countess Lalaing's service, was born at +Oudenarde in 1522, and brought up under the eye of the Archduchess +Margaret. At thirteen she was married to Alessandro de' Medici, Duke +of Florence, with whom she led a miserable life until this worthless +Prince was murdered by his cousin in 1537. Her second union, with +Ottavio Farnese, Pope Paul III.'s grandson, proved little happier. +Ottavio was an intractable boy of thirteen when he married her in +November, 1538, and the quarrels of the young couple fill pages of the +Emperor's correspondence in the archives of Simancas. After the Duke's +return from the expedition to Algiers, a reconciliation was effected, +and Margaret bore a son, who became the famous captain Alexander of +Parma. But the Farnese were always a thorn in the Emperor's side, and, +by joining with his foes at a critical moment, involved him in the +gravest disaster of his life. Now harmony was restored in the family +circle, and when the war with Paul IV. broke out, Philip secured +Ottavio's alliance by giving him the citadel of Piacenza. Margaret and +her young son came to the Netherlands to pay their respects to the King +and thank him for this mark of his favour. They arrived at Christmas, +in the depths of the severest winter that had been known for many +years. The Scheldt was frozen over at Antwerp, and the Court was busy +with winter sports, in which Philip and Christina took an active part, +playing games and sleighing in the park, and attending a masked ball +given by Count Lalaing on the ice.[519] + +The Duchess of Parma was received with due honour at Court, and was +cordially welcomed by Christina, who had known her as a child. A +handsome woman of thirty-five, she resembled her Flemish mother more +than her imperial father, and bore few traces of her Habsburg origin. +She had none of Christina's distinction and refinement, while her +manners were too haughty to please the Flemish nobles. But she had a +keen eye to her own interests, and the atmosphere of deception and +intrigue in which her married life had been spent had taught her to +adapt herself to circumstances. She contrived to make herself agreeable +both to Philip and Christina, with whom most of her time was spent. The +new Venetian Ambassador, Soranzo, paid his respects to the two ladies +on his arrival, and found both of them very friendly and pleasant. The +Duchess of Lorraine, as Badoer had frequently remarked, was always +particularly cordial to the Venetian Signory, to whom her first +husband, the Duke of Milan, owed so much. At the same time the Queen +of England, anxious to show civility to her husband's family, sent Sir +Richard Shelley to give the Duchess of Parma a sisterly welcome, and +invite her to come to London.[520] + +In the midst of the Christmas festivities, news reached Brussels +of a treacherous attempt of the French, under Coligny, to surprise +Douay. Fortunately the plot was discovered in time; but the truce was +broken, and every day fresh incursions were made by the French, which +naturally produced reprisals. The rupture was complete, and, in his +anxiety to secure the help of England in the coming struggle, the King +at length crossed the Channel, and joined Mary at Greenwich on the 21st +of January, 1557. Political exigencies had done more to hasten his +return than all his wife's prayers and tears, but in her joy she recked +little of this, and guns were fired and _Te Deums_ chanted throughout +the realm. Before leaving Brussels, Philip had made arrangements for +the two Duchesses to follow him in a few days. Their society, he felt, +would help to dispel the gloom of Mary's Court, and Margaret's coming +would allay any jealousy which Christina's visit might excite. Another +and more important motive for his cousin's presence in England at +this moment was his anxiety to revive the old scheme of a marriage +between the Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Savoy. Mary's state of +health made her sister's marriage a matter of the highest importance, +and the new quarrel with France had put an end to the Duke's hopes in +that quarter. As both the French and Venetian Ambassadors constantly +affirmed, Emanuel Philibert was the only foreign Prince whom the +English would tolerate, and Christina herself told Vaudemont that +she was going to England, by the King's wish, to bring back Madame +Elizabeth as the Duke of Savoy's bride.[521] + +[Illustration: PHILIP II. (1554) + +By Jacopo da Trezzo (British Museum)] + +[Illustration: MARY, QUEEN OF ENGLAND (1554) + +By Jacopo da Trezzo (British Museum)] + +[Illustration: MARGARET OF AUSTRIA + +DUCHESS OF PARMA + +By Pastorino] + +[Illustration: ANTOINE PERRENOT + +CARDINAL GRANVELLE + +By Leone Leoni + +_To face p. 412_] + +[Sidenote: FEB., 1557] CHRISTINA AT WHITEHALL] + +The King had a calm passage to Dover, but the ladies were less +fortunate, for an equinoctial gale sprang up when they were halfway +across the Channel. + + "The Duchesses," wrote Philip's secretary, Jean de Courteville, + "had to dance without music between Dover and Calais, and the + results were such as are commonly the case with travellers + unaccustomed to the sea. The great festivities we are having + here this Lent will grieve them the less."[522] + +But if the passage was disagreeable, nothing was lacking in the +kindness of their reception. The Queen sent her litter to meet them +at Dover, with chariot and hackney horses for their suite, and at +Gravesend, Lady Lennox and Lady Kildare were waiting to conduct them +in the royal barge to Whitehall. Here Philip received them at the +water-gate, and led them up the steps into the great hall, where Mary +welcomed her guests. The King and Queen who had only arrived from +Greenwich the day before rode in state through the city, with the Lord +Mayor carrying the sceptre at the head of the guilds and crafts of +London, while a salute was fired from the Tower and bells rang from all +the churches. + +Both the Duchesses were lodged in the Palace of Westminster, Christina +in rooms on the ground-floor, looking on the gardens, and Margaret in +an apartment on the upper floor, commanding a view of the Thames.[523] +Soon after their arrival another visitor was brought by the Bishop +of London to see Their Majesties--an Envoy from the Czar of Muscovy, +who was lodged in Fenchurch Street, as the guest of the Company +of Muscovite Merchants. Englishmen and Spaniards, Lorrainers and +Italians, alike looked with curious eyes at this stranger from the +shores of the Polar Sea, who was clad in robes of Oriental splendour, +and whose turban glittered with gems. He brought the Queen a present +of magnificent sables from the Czar, and saluted her by bowing his +whole body down and touching the ground with his hand. In spite of his +strange clothes and barbarous language, he was a cultivated person, as +keen to see the sights of London as Christina herself. One day he dined +with the Lord Mayor in gorgeous attire, another he attended Mass at +Westminster and saw St. Edward's shrine, with the relics which had been +fortunately preserved when the Abbey was plundered.[524] + +[Sidenote: APRIL, 1557] ST. GEORGE'S FEAST] + +After spending a fortnight at Whitehall, Philip and Mary took their +guests to spend Easter at Greenwich. On Maundy Thursday the King and +Queen washed the feet of a number of poor beggars, and blessed the +cramp rings, which were as much prized in Spain and Flanders as in +England. Easter Day witnessed fresh balls and banquets, dog and bear +fights, bull-baiting and horse-races, after which a large hunting-party +was given in the park for the Duchess of Lorraine's amusement. On +the 22nd of April the royal party returned to Whitehall for St. +George's Feast. High Mass was celebrated in the Abbey by the Bishop +of Winchester, and all the Knights of the Garter, in their mantles of +royal blue, walked in procession round the inner court of the palace, +while the Queen and her guests looked on from a window on the garden +side. The King and Queen and all the Knights of the Order attended +vespers in the Abbey, after which the Muscovite Envoy came to take +leave of Their Majesties, and delivered a long farewell speech, which +was translated by an interpreter into English and Spanish, expressing +his hope that these mighty Sovereigns might live to see their +children's children. Six English ships were in readiness to escort the +stranger across the Northern seas, and prevent him falling into the +hands of the Norsemen, who were jealous of English interference with +the trade of Muscovy. + +On Sunday the Queen gave a grand banquet, and appeared resplendent in +cloth of gold and jewels. Christina sat on her right, and Margaret, +with her little son, on the King's left hand. The next morning the +Duchess of Parma left for Italy, but Christina, at Philip's entreaty, +remained in London another ten days. She was already very popular with +the English, and made friends with Lord Arundel, Lord Pembroke, and +several other nobles and ladies at Court, while her splendid robes and +jewels, her numerous suite and fine horses, excited general admiration. +In the midst of the Court fêtes, she found time to visit several +shrines and places of interest, and, while the King was holding the +Chapter of the Garter on St. George's Day, went by water to the Tower, +and was shown its treasures and antiquities. But in one respect her +visit proved a failure. Mary refused to entertain any idea of the Savoy +marriage, and would not even allow Christina a glimpse of Princess +Elizabeth, who was kept at Hatfield in strict seclusion during her +visit. What was worse, the Duchess's presence revived all the Queen's +jealousy, and, in spite of the King's protests, Christina found it +prudent to hasten her departure. All manner of stories about Mary's +dislike of the Duchess found their way to the French Court, and King +Henry had many jokes with Soranzo on the subject, and told him he heard +that the Queen flew into a frantic passion when the King led out his +cousin to dance at Greenwich.[525] + +Philip did his best to atone for his wife's ill-humour, and, when +Christina expressed a wish to visit Ghent on her return, wrote to ask +the Duke of Savoy to see that she and her daughters were well lodged +and entertained in the old Prinzenhof. On the 11th of May the Duchess +wrote a formal letter of thanks to the Queen from Dover, acknowledging +the attentions which she had received from Her Majesty and all her +subjects, and on the 8th of June she sent her a second letter from +Ghent, on behalf of the widow and daughter of Sir Jacques de Granado, +a Brabant gentleman who had been Equerry to Henry VIII. and Edward +VI., and had met his death by accident during the Duchess's visit. +As he rode into the privy garden at Whitehall before the Queen's +chariot, his bridle broke, the horse shied violently, and dashed his +rider's head against the wall. Sir Jacques was killed on the spot, and +buried at St. Dunstan's in the East two days afterwards with a great +display of torches and escutcheons. On Christina's recommendation, the +Queen granted a pension of £50 to the widow, and saw that she and her +children were amply provided for.[526] + +[Sidenote: JUNE, 1557] THE VICTORY OF ST. QUENTIN] + +From Ghent the Duchess went to meet her sister Dorothea at Jülich, the +Court of the Duke of Cleves and the Archduchess Maria. The reformed +faith was now firmly established in the Palatinate, and Dorothea's +well-known Lutheran leanings were a great source of annoyance to her +own family. "The Electress Dorothea," wrote Badoer from Brussels in +1557, "is known to be a Lutheran and against the Emperor, and is as +much hated here as her sister Christina is beloved." From his retreat +at St. Yuste, Charles begged Philip to invite Dorothea to settle at +Brussels, "lest one of our own blood should openly forsake the faith." +When the Princess declined this proposal, Philip and Arras desired +Christina to use her influence to bring her sister to a better mind. +But Dorothea resisted all these attempts obstinately, and went back to +Neuburg to live among her husband's kindred and worship God in her own +way.[527] + +On the 1st of June England declared war against France, and Philip +returned to Brussels, having accomplished the object of his journey. +Here he was joined by the Duchess of Lorraine and the Count of +Vaudemont, who came to Flanders to try and reopen peace negotiations. +But the moment, as Arras told him, was singularly inopportune, since +Philip was armed to the teeth and had England at his back. On the 11th +of August the King left Brussels for the camp before St. Quentin, +where he arrived just too late to claim a share in the brilliant +victory gained by the Duke of Savoy and Egmont over the French on St. +Lawrence's Day. The Constable Montmorency, the Marshal St. André, +Admiral Coligny, and the Rhinegrave, were among the prisoners made on +this memorable day, together with all the guns and fifty-six colours. +The news of this decisive victory was celebrated with great joy both +in Brussels and across the Channel. _Te Deum_ was sung in St. Paul's, +and the loyal citizens of London lighted bonfires and sat up drinking +through the livelong night; while in Paris the King and Queen went to +Notre Dame in sackcloth, and Henry II. carried the Crown of Thorns +in procession from the Sainte Chapelle. In the lonely monastery far +away on the heights of Estremadura, the news sent a thrill to the +great Emperor's heart, and he asked eagerly in what route his son +was marching on Paris. Had Philip followed this course, had he, in +Suriano's words, "taken Fortune at the flood," he might have brought +the campaign to a triumphant close. But, with characteristic timidity, +he confined himself to capturing St. Quentin, and then returned to +Brussels, throwing away such an opportunity as comes but once a +lifetime.[528] + +FOOTNOTES: + +[481] Henne, x. 13. + +[482] Calendar of the Manuscripts of the Marquis of Salisbury, i. 110; +Lodge, "Illustrations," i. 183. + +[483] Voigt, ii. 207. + +[484] Calendar of State Papers, Edward VI., Foreign, 282. + +[485] "Travail and Life of Sir T. Hoby," 85; Calendar of State Papers, +Edward VI., Foreign, 288. + +[486] Calendar of State Papers, Mary, Foreign, 8; T. Hoby, 102. + +[487] Granvelle, iv. 113, 119. + +[488] Mignet, "Retraite de Charles V.," 69, 70. + +[489] M. Haile, "Life of Reginald Pole," 432. + +[490] Henne, x. 132; F. Juste, "Marie de Hongrie," 204. + +[491] Granvelle, iv. 307; Venetian Transcript, Record Office, 99. + +[492] Gachard, iv. 19. + +[493] Ashmole, "The Order of the Garter," 383. + +[494] Machyn, "Diary," 66, 79, 81. + +[495] Granvelle, iv. 341; F. de Noailles, "Ambassades," v. 42. + +[496] Calendar of State Papers, Mary, Foreign, 150. + +[497] Machyn, 82, 84. + +[498] Record Office Manuscripts; State Papers, Foreign, vi. 351 (see +Appendix). + +[499] Venetian Calendar, vi. 1, 69; Calendar of State Papers, Mary, +Foreign 165; J. W. Burgon, "Life of Sir Thomas Gresham," i. 168. + +[500] Record Office Manuscripts, Venetian Transcripts, 1555, No. 99. + +[501] Noailles, v. 74, 80.; Venetian Calendar, vi. 1, 151. + +[502] Noailles, v. 191; Venetian Calendar, vi. 1, 211; P. Friedmann, +"Les Dépêches de Michieli," 42. + +[503] Calendar of State Papers, Mary, Foreign, 189. + +[504] Granvelle, iv. 469. + +[505] Venetian Calendar, vi. 603. + +[506] L. Haüsser, i. 630. + +[507] Venetian Calendar, vi. 197. + +[508] De Reiffenberg, "Histoire de la Toison d'Or," 451. + +[509] G. Ribier, "Lettres et Mémoires d'État," ii. 634; T. Juste, 94; +Venetian Calendar, vi. 369. + +[510] Venetian Calendar, vi. 421, 443, 457; T. Juste, 101; Gachard, +"Retraite," etc., i. 41. + +[511] Lanz, iii. 709; Venetian Calendar, vi. 537. + +[512] Venetian Despatches, 90 (Record Office). + +[513] Venetian Calendar, vi. 197, 362. + +[514] Granvelle, iv. 574, 577. + +[515] _Ibid._, iv. 701. + +[516] Brantôme, xii. 114. + +[517] P. Friedmann, 254-267; Noailles, v. 355, 362. + +[518] Friedmann, 56; Noailles, "Affaires Étrangères: Angleterre," xix. +(Bibliothèque Nationale). + +[519] Venetian Calendar, vi. 863. + +[520] _Ibid._, vi. 914, 932. + +[521] Venetian Calendar, vi. 1015, 1080. + +[522] Kervyn de Lettenhove, "Relations des Pays-Bas avec l'Angleterre," +i. 67. + +[523] Gachard, iv. 25. + +[524] Machyn, 130-134. + +[525] Venetian Calendar, vi. 1154; Kervyn de Lettenhove, i. 68. + +[526] Machyn, 135, 136; Calendar of State Papers, Mary, Foreign, 305, +314. + +[527] Granvelle, v. 86-113. + +[528] Venetian Calendar, vi. 1287; Machyn, 147; Gachard, "Retraite," +etc., 176. + + + + +BOOK XII + +THE PEACE OF CÂTEAU-CAMBRÉSIS + +1557-1559 + + +I. + +The lull that followed the decisive battle of St. Quentin afforded the +Duchess of Lorraine a favourable opportunity for resuming her efforts +to open negotiations between the contending monarchs. The Constable, +after fighting like a lion and receiving a severe wound, had been made +prisoner, and was taken to the Castle of Ghent, where Christina and her +daughters were staying. The Duchess paid him daily visits, and brought +him letters of condolence from her aunt Eleanor, who wrote that she +wished she were still in Flanders to nurse her old friend. More than +this: Christina obtained leave for his wife to visit him, and even +proposed that the prisoner should be allowed to go to France on parole. +These good offices gratified the French King, who was very anxious for +his favourite's release, and whose behaviour towards the Duchess now +underwent a marked change.[529] + +The young Duke Charles was almost fifteen, and his marriage to +the Princess Claude was fixed for the following spring. With the +King's leave, he sent his steward to Ghent to invite his mother to +the wedding, and at the same time make proposals of peace through +Montmorency. These letters were laid before Philip by Christina, and a +brisk correspondence was carried on between her and the Constable. In +December Vaudemont came to Brussels, bringing portraits of Charles and +his bride as a gift from Henry II. to the Duchess, and negotiations +were actively pursued.[530] But just when the wished-for goal at +length seemed to be in sight, and Christina was rejoicing to think of +once more seeing her son, all her hopes were shattered by the Duke +of Guise's capture of Calais. The surprise had been cleverly planned +and brilliantly executed. The new fortifications of the town were +unfinished, and after a gallant resistance the little garrison was +overpowered and forced to capitulate, on the 8th of January, 1558. This +unexpected success revived the courage of the French, and strengthened +the Guise brothers in the determined opposition which they offered to +peace. The star of their house was at its zenith, and on the 24th of +April the marriage of their niece, the young Queen of Scots, to the +Dauphin, was celebrated with great splendour at Paris. In deference +to his mother's wishes, the Duke of Lorraine's wedding was put off +till the following year, when he should have attained his majority; +but he figured conspicuously in the day's pageant, and led his lovely +cousin in her lily-white robes and jewelled crown up the nave of Notre +Dame.[531] + +[Sidenote: MAY, 1558] CHRISTINA MEETS HER SON] + +The French King now gave his consent to Vaudemont's request, that +a meeting should be arranged between the Duke and his mother in +the neighbourhood of Péronne. Philip, after his wont, raised many +difficulties, and insisted that the Bishop of Arras must be present at +the interview.[532] At length all preliminaries were arranged, and on +the 1st of May Charles left Paris with his uncle Vaudemont and Guise's +eldest son, Henri, Prince of Joinville, attended by an escort of 200 +horse. The Duchess had already arrived at Cambray with her daughters +and Anne of Aerschot, accompanied by Egmont, Arras, and a great train +of courtiers, and had prepared a splendid reception for her son. But at +the last moment fresh difficulties arose. The Cardinal of Lorraine sent +Robertet, the King's secretary, to tell the Duchess that, although her +son was most anxious to see her, it would be derogatory to his master's +dignity for him to enter King Philip's territories as a suppliant for +peace. Would Her Highness therefore consent to come as far as his +castle at Péronne? This Philip quite refused to allow, and eventually +the village of Marcoing, halfway between Cambray and Péronne, was fixed +upon as the meeting-place. An old manor-house which had been partly +destroyed in the late military operations was hastily repaired for the +occasion, and here, on the 15th of May, the much-desired meeting at +length took place.[533] The Frenchmen, who came in riding-clothes, were +amazed to find the splendid company awaiting them. The Duchess with +the young Princesses, Anne of Aerschot, and the Princess of Macedonia, +stood under a bower of leafy boughs, and Egmont and the other courtiers +were all richly clad and mounted on fine horses. The coming of the +guests was greeted by a gay fanfare of trumpets and roll of drums, +together with salutes of artillery. Then the young Duke, springing from +his horse, rushed into his mother's arms. At the sight of her boy, +Christina burst into tears and almost fainted away. For some minutes +she remained unable to speak, and the spectators were deeply moved by +her emotion. After repeatedly embracing his mother, Charles kissed +his sisters and aunt, and proceeded to salute Egmont and the rest of +the company with charming grace; while the happy mother followed his +movements with delight, and could not take her eyes off the tall and +handsome youth whom she had last seen as a child, and who had grown up +the image of his father. + +[Sidenote: MAY, 1558] DUKE CHARLES OF LORRAINE] + +During the conversation which followed, Charles spoke to his mother +with great good sense and wisdom, telling her how kindly he was treated +at the French Court, and how it would be hard for him to feel at home +anywhere else. But directly after his marriage he and his wife intended +to return to Nancy, where he hoped that his mother would join them +and live among their own people. The Duchess and her children now sat +down to an exquisite _déjeuner_ with the Duchess of Aerschot and the +Cardinal, while Egmont and Arras entertained Vaudemont and the Prince +of Joinville, and the other French gentlemen dined with the members of +Christina's suite. After dinner three Spanish jennets which King Philip +had sent the young Duke were led out, and Charles mounted a spirited +charger given him by the French monarch, and performed a variety +of feats of horsemanship before the company, to his mother's great +delight. Then the Duchess and her sister and children retired to enjoy +each other's company in private, leaving the Cardinal to confer with +Arras and Egmont. + +The Cardinal produced the royal mandate, and Robertet read out Henry's +proposals, offering to restore Savoy to the Duke, but only on condition +of receiving Milan in exchange. All Arras would say in reply to these +demands was that they must be referred to his master, upon which the +Cardinal exclaimed with some heat that these were the only terms +which the King of France would accept. "Thus," remarks the Venetian +Ambassador, "this meeting, which began with such a beautiful outburst +of motherly love and tenderness, ended in mutual recrimination."[534] +The Cardinal then took leave of the company, after presenting the +young Princesses and their mother with gifts of gold bracelets, +rings, and brooches, and receiving a box of choice gloves, perfumed, +and embroidered in Italian fashion from the Duchess. As he rode back +to Péronne, he saw the flames of a burning village which had been +destroyed by the Imperialists, and, in spite of his safe-conduct, was +seized with so great a panic that he hurried back to Paris, fearing his +château might be surprised by the foes. The young Duke and Vaudemont +spent another day with the Duchess, and only returned to Compiègne on +the 18th of May. Here Charles received the warmest of welcomes from the +royal family, who had feared that he might be induced to remain with +his mother. The King threw his arms round the boy's neck, the Queen and +Dauphin, the Princesses Elizabeth and Claude and the young Queen of +Scots, all embraced him affectionately, telling him how much they had +missed him. In fact, as Soranzo remarks, this short absence served to +show how much beloved the young Prince was by the whole Court.[535] + +Meanwhile Arras and Egmont returned to Brussels, satisfied that the +French had no real wish for peace, and Philip declared his conviction +that they had made a plot to capture the Duchess, which had only +been defeated by the strong escort with which she was attended. +But Christina herself was radiant with happiness, and received +congratulations from all her friends. The French had done her many +cruel wrongs, but they had not been able to rob her of her son's heart, +and the future still held the promise of some golden hours. + +[Sidenote: JUNE, 1558] THE PRINCE OF ORANGE] + +For a while the war still raged fiercely. The capture of Thionville +by Guise in June was followed a month later by Egmont's fresh victory +at Gravelines, when the Governor of Calais, De Thermes, and his whole +force, were cut to pieces. The Count had always been a splendid and +popular figure; now he was the idol of the whole nation. His brilliant +feat of arms had saved Flanders from utter ruin, and made peace once +more possible. Both sides were thoroughly weary of the long struggle, +the resources of both countries were exhausted, and the unhappy +inhabitants of Picardy and Artois were crying out for a respite from +their sufferings. Christina made use of the opportunity to renew her +correspondence with the Constable and the Marshal St. André, his +companion in captivity.[536] A new recruit now came to her help in +the person of William of Orange. This young Prince had enjoyed the +favour of Charles V. and his sister Mary from his boyhood, and had +been treated with especial kindness by the Duchess of Aerschot and +her sister-in-law. The death of his young wife, Anna, Countess Büren, +in the spring of 1558, had thrown him much into the company of these +ladies, and it was already whispered at Court that he would certainly +marry Madame de Lorraine's elder daughter, Renée, who was growing up +a tall and attractive maiden. The Prince himself was a handsome youth +with fine brown eyes and curly auburn locks, and a charm of manner +which few could resist. If the cares and anxieties of his later life +made him taciturn, in youth he was the most genial and pleasant of +companions, and Arras, who never loved him, said that he "made a friend +every time that he lifted his hat." His attire was always as faultless +as it was splendid, he was renowned for his skill as a rider and +jouster, and had greatly distinguished himself in the recent campaigns. +Both in his home at Breda and in the stately Nassau house at Brussels +the Prince kept open house, and the worst faults of which his enemies +could accuse him were his reckless hospitality and extravagant tastes. + +Christina had always taken especial interest in William of Orange, +for the sake of the kinsman whose name and wealth he inherited, and +he on his part became deeply attached to her. So intimate was their +friendship, that the Duchess one day told Count Feria's English wife, +Jane Dormer, in speaking of the Prince's intended marriage with her +daughter, that she would gladly have married him herself.[537] + +The Prince now joined his personal exertions to those of the Duchess, +and was the frequent bearer of letters between Brussels and the camp +near Amiens, where the two Kings and their rival armies were drawn up +face to face. At length, on the 9th of September, a ten days' armistice +was proclaimed, and a few days later the Prince of Orange, Ruy Gomez, +and Arras, met the Constable and St. André at Lille, to discuss +preliminaries of peace.[538] The two French prisoners were eager for +peace, and had the secret support of Henry II. and Diane de Poitiers; +but the Guises, who had everything to lose and nothing to gain by the +cessation of war, were still strongly opposed to a truce, and Renard +told Philip that the only way of gaining their good-will would be to +give Mademoiselle de Lorraine's hand to the Prince of Joinville. In +the end, however, their opposition was overruled, and on the 30th of +September William of Orange was able to bring the Duchess news that +a Conference had been arranged, and would take place at the Abbey of +Cercamp, near Cambray, in October. He found Christina at Douai, where +she and her daughters were attending a marriage in the d'Aremberg +family. She had just heard of her son's return to Nancy, where he had +been received with acclamation by his subjects, and where her own +presence was eagerly expected. But at Philip's earnest entreaty she +consented to remain in Flanders for the present, and preside at the +coming Conference. This proposal was strongly supported by the Cardinal +of Lorraine, who hastened to send the Duchess a safe-conduct, saying +that her presence would do more than anything to bring the desired +peace to perfection.[539] + +[Sidenote: OCT., 1558] THE CONFERENCE OF CERCAMP] + +Christina herself was very reluctant to accept the post, as we learn +from the following letter which she wrote to Philip from Douai on the +12th of October. Her delicate child, Dorothea, was ailing, and her +faithful companion, the aged Princess of Macedonia, was hardly fit to +be left alone. + + "I have received the letter which Your Majesty has been + pleased to send me, and thank you humbly for your affectionate + expressions. As to the inconvenience of the place selected for + this Conference, I should never allow my comfort or pleasure + to interfere with your commands, and will accordingly go to + Arras to-morrow and await your further orders. I have been + very unwell lately, and must beg Your Majesty to provide for + my safety, not only because I am a woman, but because, as you + know, I am not in the good graces of the French. My daughters + must remain here a few days longer, as Dorothea is indisposed, + and the Princess of Macedonia is in a very feeble state. I will + follow Your Majesty's advice as to Bassompierre's mission and + my son's affairs, and cannot thank you enough for your kind + thought of me and my children. I kiss Your Majesty's hands. + + "Your very humble and obedient cousin, + "CHRÉTIENNE."[540] + +Some further difficulties--chiefly the work of Silliers, poor Belloni's +hated rival and successor--delayed the Duchess's journey for another +week. On the 16th Arras wrote to tell her that the Commissioners had +already arrived at Cercamp, and beg her to come as soon as possible. +The Cardinal was very anxious to see her, and hoped that she would not +fail to bring his young cousins, "Mesdames your daughters," with her. +Christina could delay no longer, and hastened to Cercamp the following +day. + + +II. + +On the 17th of October, 1558, a fortnight's truce was proclaimed. +Both armies remained encamped on their own territories, while the two +Kings withdrew respectively to Arras and Beauvais. The next day the +Commissioners met at one o'clock in the Duchess's lodgings. The Prince +of Orange, Alva, Ruy Gomez, Arras, and Viglius, the President of the +Council, represented Philip; while the Constable, the Cardinal of +Lorraine, St. André, the Bishop of Orleans, and Secretary l'Aubespine, +were the five French deputies. Stroppiana represented the Duke of +Savoy, and the English deputies, Lord Arundel, Dr. Wotton, and Thirlby, +Bishop of Ely, arrived a few days later. The Duchess welcomed the +Commissioners in a brief speech, explaining that, as for several years +past she had endeavoured to make peace between these two illustrious +monarchs, it was their pleasure that she should continue her good +offices, adding that she would count herself too happy if her services +could help to attain this blessed end, and relieve the people of both +countries from the awful miseries of war.[541] + +[Sidenote: OCT., 1558] PEACE NEGOTIATIONS] + +During the next fortnight conferences were held daily in the presence +of Christina, who herself read aloud each different proposal that was +made, and showed infinite tact in smoothing over difficulties and +suggesting points of agreement. Each morning the deputies met at Mass +in the parish church, and often discussed separate questions after +service. In the evenings, private interviews took place in Christina's +rooms, and the Prince of Orange held long conversations with +Montmorency and the Cardinal, which contributed not a little to their +mutual understanding. "Loving entertainments," in Suriano's phrase, +"were exchanged," and one night the Duchess gave a banquet in honour of +the Constable's wife and daughter, who paid a visit to Cercamp. As the +Cardinal complained jestingly, Montmorency was too good a Christian and +all too ready to make peace with his country's enemies. But King Henry +supported him secretly, and sent private notes and messages, telling +him to take no notice of the Guises, and do all he could to make +peace.[542] + +The great difficulty which had hitherto stood in the way of all +attempts at negotiation was the restitution of Savoy. The Constable +now proposed that the Duke should marry the King's sister, Madame +Marguerite, with a dower of 300,000 crowns, and be placed in possession +of the chief portion of his dominions. At first the Duke demurred +to this offer, and begged that the King's daughter Claude should +be substituted for her aunt, who was five years his senior. But +the Cardinal replied that this Princess was already pledged to his +nephew, Charles of Lorraine, and laid stress on Margaret's charms and +learning. The Duke yielded, and a long wrangle ensued as to the towns +and citadels to be retained by the French. But there was a still more +thorny question to be decided. This was the restoration of Calais, +which the English demanded with the utmost pertinacity, while the +French were no less determined to keep their conquest. The English +pleaded that they had held the town during two centuries; the French +replied that it had been unjustly snatched from them in the first +place. Old treaties, going back to the days of the Black Prince, were +produced, and Arras and his colleagues supported the English claim +loyally, knowing that, if Philip consented to abandon Calais, he would +lose all hold on his wife's subjects. In vain Christina proposed that, +as the marriage of the French King's elder daughter with the Infant Don +Carlos had been agreed upon, Calais should form part of Elizabeth's +dower. The Cardinal told the Duchess that the possession of the town, +which his brother had conquered, touched his honour too closely for +him to agree to the surrender, and King Henry sent word that he would +rather lose his crown than give up Calais. So stern and intractable +were the French that the only thing to be done was to adjourn the +Conference and refer the matter to the two monarchs.[543] + +[Sidenote: SEPT., 1558] DEATH OF MARY OF HUNGARY] + +The Constable was allowed to go to Beauvais with the Cardinal to +consult King Henry, Alva and Orange went to Brussels to see Philip, +and Christina took three days' holiday with her children at Douai. +Before she went to Cercamp, a report of Charles V.'s death had reached +Brussels. Now this was confirmed by letters from St. Yuste, announcing +that the great Emperor had passed away on the 21st of September. +The sudden death of his sister Eleanor, seven months before, had +been a great shock to him, and when the Queen of Hungary entered +his room without the accustomed figure at her side he burst into +tears. The recent events of the war, and Philip's difficulties in the +administration of the provinces, troubled him sorely, and he was very +anxious for Mary to resume the office of Regent. When, in August, the +Archbishop of Toledo brought a letter from the King, imploring the +Queen to come to his help, Charles used all his influence to induce +her to consent. In vain Mary pleaded her advancing years and failing +health; the Emperor replied that her refusal would bring ruin and +disgrace on their house, and adjured her by the love of God and her +sisterly affection to do him this last service. This appeal decided the +noble woman. On the 9th of September she wrote to tell Philip that, in +obedience to his father's orders, she would start for the Netherlands +as soon as possible. The knowledge of the Queen's decision was a great +consolation to Charles in his last moments, and as soon as she had +recovered from the first shock of his death she prepared to obey his +last wish. But before she embarked at Laredo, a fresh attack of the +heart trouble from which she suffered ended her life, and on St. Luke's +Day she passed to her well-earned rest.[544] + +Her death was deeply lamented throughout the Low Countries, where her +return had been daily looked for, and no one mourned her loss more +truly than the niece to whom she had been the best of mothers. It was +with a sad heart that Christina came back to Cercamp to preside at the +second session of the Conference, which opened on the 7th of November. +Alarming accounts of their mistress's health now reached the English +Commissioners, and Count Feria, whom Philip sent to London, wrote that +the Queen's life was despaired of, and that Parliament was in great +alarm lest, if she died, the King would cease to care for the recovery +of Calais. But, although Arras and Alva still declared that they would +never consent to any treaty which did not satisfy the English, the +French remained obdurate, and the Commissioners were at their wits' +end. The Bishop of Ely was in tears, and on the 18th of November Lord +Arundel wrote home that + + "it seemed very hard that all others should have restitution of + their owne, and poore England, that began not the fray, should + bear the burthen and loss for the rest, and specially of such a + jewel as Calais."[545] + +The next day came the news of the Queen's death. The French, who, +Wotton remarked, "have ears as long as those of Midas," were the first +to inform Her Majesty's Envoys that their mistress had breathed her +last, on the morning of the 17th of November, after sending a message +to Elizabeth, recognizing this Princess as her successor, and begging +her to maintain the Catholic religion. The new Queen at once sent Lord +Cobham to announce her accession to Philip, and assure him of her +resolve to hold fast the ancient friendship between England and the +House of Burgundy. + +[Sidenote: DEC., 1558] THE EMPEROR'S FUNERAL] + +The news of Mary's death decided the Commissioners to adjourn the +Conference. The truce was prolonged for two months, and on the 2nd +of December they all left Cercamp. Arundel had already started for +England, and Wotton was longing to get away, saying "that he was never +wearier of any place than he was of Cercamp, saving only of Rome after +the sack." The Constable was set at liberty, and received a promise +that his 200,000 crowns ransom should be reduced by half, if peace +were finally made. Arras, Alva, and Orange, went to the Abbey of +Groenendal to see Philip, who had retired to pray for his father's +soul, and there received the tidings of his wife's death. Christina +returned to Brussels to assist at a succession of funerals. On the +22nd of December a requeim for the Queen of England was chanted in +S. Gudule, the Duke of Savoy acting as chief mourner in the King's +absence, and on the following day solemn funeral rites for the late +Queen of Hungary were performed in the Court chapel, which she and the +Emperor had built and adorned. The Duchess of Lorraine was present at +this service, together with the Duke of Savoy, the Prince of Orange, +and all the chief nobles and Crown officials, while the palace gates +were thronged with a crowd of sorrowing people.[546] But the grandest +funeral ceremonies ever known in Brussels were those that were +celebrated on the 29th of December, in memory of the late Emperor. + +[Sidenote: JAN., 1559] CHARLES'S WEDDING] + +Great preparations had been made for this solemnity during the last +few weeks. A _chapelle ardente_ was erected in S. Gudule, rising in +tiers to the lofty roof, adorned with golden diadems and shields +emblazoned with the dead monarch's arms and titles, and lighted with +3,000 candles. Here, on a couch draped with cloth of gold, an effigy +of the Emperor was laid, clad in robes of state and wearing the collar +of the Order. On the morning of the 29th a long procession wound its +way through the narrow streets leading from the palace on the heights +of the Caudenberg to the cathedral church, and a stately pageant +unfolded the glorious story of Charles of Austria's deeds. A richly +carved and gilded ship, drawn by marine monsters, bore the names of his +journeys and battles and armorial bearings of the kingdoms over which +he reigned, while banners of the Turks and of the other foes whom he +had vanquished were plunged in the waves below, and white-robed maidens +sat in the stern, bearing the cross and chalice, the symbols of the +faith by which he had conquered the world. This imposing group was +followed by a representation of the Pillars of Hercules with Charles's +motto, _Plus oultre_, and twenty-four horses decked in coloured +plumes and trappings to match the banners of his different States. +Each of these pennons was borne by a noble youth, while four Princes +supported the great standard of the Empire. Then came the officers of +the imperial household, leading Charles's war-horse, and bearing his +armour and insignia; the Prince of Orange with his master's sword, Alva +with the orb of the world, and the Grand Commander of Castille with +the imperial crown. Last of all King Philip himself appeared on foot, +clad in a mourning mantle five yards long, and followed by the Duke of +Savoy and a long train of Knights of the Golden Fleece, Councillors +and Ministers, with the Archers of the Guard bringing up the rear. The +procession left the palace at nine, and the funeral service, which +included a lengthy oration by the Bishop of Arras's coadjutor, Abbé +Richardot, was not over till five o'clock. The next day Philip and all +his nobles attended High Mass, and at the end of the celebration the +Prince of Orange, standing before the funeral pile, smote his breast +three times, repeating the words: "He is dead, and will remain dead; +and there is another risen up in his place, greater than ever he has +been." So the solemn function ended. + +"It was a sight worth going 100 miles to see," wrote Richard Clough, +an English apprentice who had been sent by Sir Thomas Gresham from +Antwerp, and counted himself fortunate to witness this imposing +ceremony. "The like of it, I think, hath never been seen. The Lord give +his soul rest!"[547] + +The Duchess of Lorraine had been anxious that her son should attend +his great-uncle's funeral, but the tardy invitation which Philip +sent to Nancy arrived too late, and the young Duke could not reach +Brussels in time to take part in the ceremony. To console herself for +this disappointment, Christina went to meet Charles at Treves on the +6th of January, and spent two days in his company, before he returned +to France for the wedding. His loyal subjects presented him with a +marriage gift of 200,000 crowns, double the amount which any Duke of +Lorraine had received before. Charles who inherited his mother's lavish +generosity, spent most of the money in costly jewels for his bride, and +presented the King and Dauphin, Vaudemont and the Guises, with superb +robes embroidered with the arms of Lorraine and lined with lynx fur. +The wedding was solemnized at Notre Dame on the 22nd of January, with +as much splendour as that of the Dauphin in the previous spring. The +Guises held open house for ten days in their palatial abode, the "Hôtel +de Lorraine et de Sicile," near the royal palace of Les Tournelles, and +gave a grand tournament in which the young Duke appeared at the head +of a troop splendidly arrayed in corslets of gold and silver, with +the _alérions_, or eagles, of Lorraine on the crest of their helmets. +Ronsard celebrated the union of the eagles of Lorraine and the golden +lilies of France, and sang the praises of the "Fair Maid of Valois and +her bridegroom, the beautiful Shepherd who feeds his flock in the green +pastures along the banks of Meuse and Moselle."[548] + +The French King and Queen had invited the Duchess in courteous and +affectionate terms to be present at the wedding, but she declined on +the plea of her deep mourning, as well as of the promise which she had +made to preside at the Peace Conference, which was shortly to meet +again.[549] + + +III. + +[Sidenote: FEB., 1559] AT CÂTEAU-CAMBRÉSIS] + +The Commissioners who had attended the Conferences at Cercamp were +unanimous in refusing to return to this unhealthy and inconvenient +spot, and at the Duchess of Lorraine's suggestion the small town of +Câteau-Cambrésis, belonging to the Bishop of Cambray, was chosen for +their next meeting-place. The Bishop's manor-house at Mon Soulas, which +had been damaged in the war, was hastily repaired by the Duchess's +_fourriers_, the rooms were furnished anew, and paper windows were +inserted in place of the broken glass. The Bishop of Arras, who arrived +with the Prince of Orange's servants, secured a decent lodging and +good cook for himself and his colleagues in the neighbouring villas +of Beau Regard and Mon Plaisir, while Wotton and the Bishop of Ely +found very indifferent quarters in a ruinous house belonging to the +Bishop of Cambray. The French complained that the accommodation was no +better than at Cercamp, if the air was healthier, and, after a good +deal of grumbling, fixed on two houses, known as Mon Secours and Belle +Image, outside the gates.[550] The dilapidated country-house, with its +patched-up walls and paper windows, could hardly have been a pleasant +residence in the cold days of February, but Christina made light of +these discomforts, and threw herself heart and soul into the difficult +task before her. The Commissioners all recognized the tact and patience +which she showed in conducting the negotiations, and the courtesy which +the Ambassadors of other nationalities received at her hands, during +the next two months. + +The French delegates were delayed by the fêtes for the Duke of +Lorraine's wedding, and did not reach Câteau-Cambrésis until late on +the evening of the 5th of February. On the following afternoon they +held their first meeting with the King of Spain's Commissioners in the +Duchess's rooms at Mon Soulas. They seemed very cheerful, and, the +next day being Shrove Tuesday, were all entertained at dinner by the +Constable. On Ash Wednesday, Mass of the Holy Ghost was sung in church, +after which business began in earnest, and various points regarding the +Duke of Savoy's marriage were decided. The next evening Lord William +Howard, who had been made Lord Chamberlain by the new Queen, and +advanced to the peerage with the title of Lord Howard of Effingham, +arrived from England. He was received with great civility by Alva and +his colleagues, and conducted by the Prince of Orange to salute the +Duchess. Christina welcomed him graciously, asked after Queen Elizabeth +with great interest, and kept him talking of England "for a pretty +while" in the most friendly manner. + + "This assembly," wrote Howard to his mistress, "hath been + entirely procured by the Duchess's labour and travail; and she + being a Princess not subject to the King of Spain or France, + the Commissioners are content to use her as one that is + indifferent betwixt all parties, and she is continually present + at all meetings and communications."[551] + +[Sidenote: FEB., 1559] ANGRY DISCUSSIONS] + +But the Frenchmen, Lord Howard complained, behaved in a very strange +fashion, and quite refused to meet him and his colleagues if they +persisted in their demand for Calais, pretending that this question had +been finally settled at Cercamp. At Christina's entreaty, however, the +Cardinal consented to an interview, and at one o'clock on Saturday, +the 11th of February, the whole body of Commissioners met at Mon +Soulas. The Duchess sat at the head of the table, the English on her +right, the French deputies opposite, and Alva and his companions at +the other end. A long wrangle followed; all the old arguments were +revived, and the Cardinal, as Howard noticed, did his best to stir up a +quarrel between the English and the King of Spain's servants. After the +meeting broke up, the members stood about in little knots, conversing +amicably with each other and the Duchess. On Sunday the Constable had +a long private interview with Howard, and, as the latter afterwards +discovered, caught Alva and Stroppiana as they left church, and tried +to induce them to abandon the English. But Philip's servants stood +loyally by their allies, and the Prince of Orange and Alva discussed +the matter with Howard until a late hour. During the next two days the +debate was continued with ever-increasing acrimony, until on Tuesday +afternoon Howard broke into so violent a passion that the Cardinal +and his friends rose and walked out of the house, saying that it was +impossible to argue with such people. As Arras remarked shrewdly: "The +French are better advocates of a bad cause than the English are of a +good one."[552] + +Presently a page brought the Duchess word that the French Commissioners +had ordered their horses, and were preparing to pack up and leave. +Upon this Christina followed them into the garden, and by dint of much +persuasion prevailed upon the Cardinal to listen to her suggestion +that Calais should remain for eight years in the hands of the French, +and that a yearly sum should be paid to Queen Elizabeth as a security +for its ultimate surrender. Meanwhile the outer world was becoming +very impatient. Philip wrote to the Prince of Orange, saying that he +could get no more supplies from Spain, and that the greatest service +he could do him would be to obtain peace at any cost; and Henry sent +an autograph letter to the Constable, complaining of the Guises' +opposition, ending with the words: "Never mind what these men say; +let them talk as they please, but make peace if possible!" It was +accordingly decided to refer the Duchess's proposal to Queen Elizabeth +and her Council, while the Constable went to consult the French King at +Villers-Cotterets.[553] + +Late this same evening the Duke of Lorraine arrived from Court, with +two of the Guise Princes, the Grand Prior of Malta, and the Marquis of +Elbœuf, and was met by the Prince of Orange, and taken to Mon Soulas. +The Duchess was overjoyed to see her son, and the next three days were +devoted to hunting-parties. Howard was invited to join in one of these, +and he and the Prince of Orange accompanied Christina and Margaret of +Aremberg out hunting. As they rode home together, the ladies began to +talk of Queen Elizabeth, and Christina expressed her wish that she +would marry the King of Spain. + + "Why?" returned Howard. "What should my mistress doe with a + husband that should be ever from her and never with her? Is + that the way to get what we desire most--that is, children? I + think not." + +[Sidenote: FEB., 1559] ROYAL INTERVIEWS] + +At this both the Duchess and Madame d'Aremberg laughed, and Christina, +remembering her unlucky experiences at the English Court, observed +that the late Queen was too old to bear children, and had not the +art of winning her husband's affections. Howard was entirely of the +same opinion, but assured her that whoever the present Queen chose to +marry, "would be honoured and served to the death by every one of her +subjects, and all the more so if he make much of his wife."[554] This +conversation was duly reported to Elizabeth by Howard, who begged his +royal mistress to forgive his boldness, and not impute it to him as +folly. All the world knew that Philip was paying assiduous court to his +sister-in-law, and Christina's remarks were no doubt prompted by the +wish to do him a good turn. But three weeks after this conversation +the Queen told Count Feria that she was determined to restore the +Church of the land to what it was in her father's time, and that, being +a heretic, she could not become his master's wife.[555] + +Christina had long sought an opportunity of presenting her son to the +King, and at her request Philip agreed to come to Binche for hunting, +and meet the Duke at Mons. On the 22nd of February, the Duchess and her +son, accompanied by Madame d'Aremberg, the Prince of Orange, and the +Guise Princes, rode to Mons, where they were hospitably entertained by +the Duke of Aerschot, and received a visit from the King, who came over +on St. Matthias's Feast from Binche to spend the day with his cousins. +He showed himself unusually amiable to the young Duke, and delighted +the boy with the gift of a richly carved and jewelled sword, in memory +of the great Emperor, whose birthday fell on this day. On the 25th, +Marguerite d'Aremberg wrote to inform Arras that the Duchess hoped to +be back in a few days, and thanked + + "him for having her hall put in order, promising the Bishop + that, if he were seized with a wish to dance when the ladies + from the French Court arrived, he should have the best + place."[556] + +Three days afterwards Christina returned to Mon Soulas, bringing +both her daughters to meet their brother's wife, who was expected in +a few days. The conferences were resumed on the 2nd of March, but +there seemed little prospect of a settlement. The Cardinal made more +difficulties than ever, and even ventured to question Queen Elizabeth's +right to the crown, saying that she was a bastard, and Mary, Queen +of Scots was the true Queen of England. Here Christina intervened +once more, and succeeded in soothing down her irascible kinsman. But +the leading part taken by the Duchess in these debates annoyed Arras +seriously. He blamed her for playing into the hands of the French, +and complained to the Duke of Savoy that there were too many ladies +at Mon Soulas, and that their absence would be of more advantage than +their presence. This last remark was aimed at the young Duchess of +Lorraine, who, on the 5th of March arrived from Court with the Duchess +of Guise, Anna d' Este, and a numerous suite of ladies. An innocent, +simple girl, devoted to her young husband, Claude responded warmly to +the affectionate welcome which she received from her mother-in-law +and sisters; and Christina thus surrounded by her children, declared +herself to be the happiest of mothers. Everyone, as Arras complained, +was given up to amusement. Lord Howard went out hunting with his old +friend the Constable, and the Prince of Orange and the Cardinal spent +their evenings with the Duchess and her joyous family circle.[557] + +[Sidenote: MARCH, 1559] THE CALAIS QUESTION] + +On Saturday, the 12th of March, there was another stormy meeting in +the Duchess's rooms. This time the French and Spanish Commissioners +quarrelled violently, and Alva and Arras left the room in anger, +declaring they had been fooled, and retired to their own lodgings. In a +private letter to the Duke of Savoy, the Bishop complained bitterly of +the Frenchmen's insolence, saying that nothing could be "done with such +people by fair means, and the only way was to show your teeth."[558] +The next afternoon, however, at the Duchess's earnest entreaty, he +and Alva returned to the Conference. This time the Cardinal was in +a more amiable mood, and the terms originally proposed by Christina +were accepted by all parties. Calais was to remain in the hands of +France for eight years, and hostages were to be given for the payment +of a yearly ransom of 500,000 crowns. There was great rejoicing at +this agreement, and the young Duchess and her ladies returned to +Court on the 19th of March, full of the goodness and generosity of +the Duke's mother, who loaded them with costly presents, and gave her +daughter-in-law the magnificent jewelled necklace which had been the +Emperor's wedding gift on her marriage to the Duke of Milan. Christina +herself was now so convinced of the certainty of peace that she begged +her son to delay his departure a few more days, in order that he +might take the good news to the Most Christian King. The end of the +Conference seemed really in sight, and Lord Howard wrote to inform +Queen Elizabeth of the treaty regarding Calais, only to receive a sound +rating from his mistress for having dared to allow the French and +Spaniards to call her title in question.[559] + + +IV. + +The question of Calais having been settled, the French and Spanish +Commissioners met again on the 13th of March, and conferred for six +hours on their own affairs. The Duke of Savoy's marriage treaty was +the chief point under discussion. Madame Marguerite's own eagerness +for the union was well known. She had repeatedly asked her friend the +Constable to press the matter, and on the 25th of March she sent her +_maître d'hôtel_, Monsieur de l'Hôpital, to Câteau-Cambrésis to sign +the contract on her behalf. The Duke's original reluctance had been +overcome, and he sent Margaret word through a friend that she must +not think him ill-disposed towards her, but that, on the contrary, he +counted himself fortunate to win so noble and accomplished a bride, +adding, with a touch of irony: + + "I believe that the fate with which you have often threatened + me is really in store for me, and that I shall submit to be + governed by a woman whom I shall try to please."[560] + +But there still remained some troublesome details to arrange. All +through Holy Week, Christina stayed at her post, while the French and +Spanish delegates wrangled over the citadels to be given up by Henry +and Philip respectively. On Maundy Thursday a sharp contest arose +between Ruy Gomez and the Cardinal on this point. Both parties left the +room angrily, and a complete rupture seemed imminent. + + "They fell suddenly to such a disagreement," wrote Howard, + "that they all rose up, determined to break off and depart home + the next morning, being Good Friday."[561] + +The Cardinal ordered his rooms to be dismantled and his beds and +hangings packed, and on Good Friday morning he and his colleagues had +already put on their riding-boots, when Christina appeared at the door +and made a last appeal. + +[Sidenote: APRIL, 1559] CHRISTINA'S EFFORTS] + + "The Duchess," wrote the Venetian Tiepolo, "regardless of + personal fatigue, went to and fro between the Commissioners, + with the greatest zeal, ardour, and charity, imploring them to + come together again."[562] + +Seven years before, on another Good Friday, in her own palace, +Christina had knelt in an agony of grief at the King of France's feet, +asking to be allowed to keep her only son. To-day she pleaded with +tears and prayers, in the name of the same Christ who died on the +cross, for the suffering thousands who were sighing for peace. This +time her prayer was heard. The Cardinal was induced to meet the Spanish +delegates once more, and, after a conference which lasted over seven +hours, it was decided that King Philip should keep Asti and Vercelli, +and surrender all the other citadels which he held in Savoy. Ruy Gomez +hastened to the Abbey of Groenendal to obtain his master's consent +to this plan, and, to the amazement of the whole Court, the Cardinal +appeared suddenly at La Ferté Milon, at dinner-time on Easter Day. +Happily, there was little difficulty in arranging matters. Madame +Marguerite told her brother plainly that he ought not to let her marry +the Duke, if he treated him with suspicion, and Henry bade her be of +good cheer, for all would be well.[563] + +On Easter Tuesday the Commissioners held another meeting at Mon Soulas, +and by the following evening the terms of the treaty were finally +arranged. The Cardinal embraced the young Princesses of Lorraine, +and the Duke bade his mother farewell, and rode off as fast as his +horse could take him to bear the good news to the French King. All +the Commissioners attended a solemn _Te Deum_ in the church, and +bonfires were lighted in the town. "Thanks be to God!" wrote the +Constable to his nephew, Coligny: "Peace is made, and Madame Marguerite +is married."[564] One point still awaited settlement. The Princess +Elizabeth's hand had been originally offered to Don Carlos, but the +Constable brought back word that Henry would greatly prefer his +daughter to wed King Philip himself. The plan had already been mooted +at an earlier stage of the Conference, but it was not until Philip +saw that there was no hope of marrying the Queen of England that he +consented to wed the French Princess. On the 2nd of April, when the +articles of the treaty were being drafted, the Constable made a formal +proposal from his master to the Duchess, who, after a few words with +Arras and Ruy Gomez, graciously informed him that King Philip was +pleased to accept his royal brother's offer.[565] + + "It seems a bold step," wrote Tiepolo, "for the Catholic King + to take to wife the daughter of the Most Christian King, who + had been already promised to his son, especially as marriage + negotiations with the Queen of England are still pending. But, + seeing how this Queen has already alienated herself from the + Church, he has easily allowed himself to be brought over to + this plan, which will establish peace more effectually, and + will no doubt please the French, who are above all anxious to + keep him from marrying the Queen of England."[566] + +[Sidenote: APRIL, 1559] CONCLUSION OF PEACE] + +On the next morning the Commissioners met for the last time, and signed +the treaty, after which they heard Mass and all dined with the Duchess, +who received the thanks and congratulations of the whole body. Then +they went their several ways, rejoicing, in Arras's words, "to escape +from purgatory." Howard and his colleagues hastened home to make their +peace with the offended Queen. In spite of her affected indifference, +Elizabeth was by no means gratified to hear of Philip's marriage. "So +your master is going to be married," she said with a smile to Count +Feria. "What a fortunate man he is!" Presently she heaved a little +sigh, and said: "But he could hardly have been as much in love with me +as you supposed, since he could not await my answer a few months."[567] + +Before leaving Câteau-Cambrésis, Christina sent letters of +congratulation to the French King and Queen and to Madame Marguerite, +expressing her joy at the conclusion of the treaty, and the pleasure +which she had received from her son's presence. To Henry II. she wrote: + + "It has pleased God to set the seal on all the joy and content + which I have experienced here--chiefly owing to Your Majesty's + kindness in allowing me to see my son, and, after that, Madame + your daughter and her company--by bringing those long-drawn + negotiations to a good end, and concluding, not only a lasting + peace, but also the marriage of the Catholic King with Madame + Elizabeth. For all of which I thank God, and assure Your + Majesty that I feel the utmost satisfaction in having been + able to bring about so excellent an arrangement, and one which + cannot fail to prove a great boon to Christendom." + +In her letter to Catherine, Christina dwells chiefly on her gratitude +to the Queen and her daughter for allowing her to keep her son so long. + + + "I thank you, Madame," she writes, "very humbly for your kind + interest in our son, who is very well, thank God, and I hope + that the pleasure of seeing you will prevent him from feeling + the fatigues of the journey. And I am greatly obliged to Your + Majesty and our daughter for having lent him to me so long. I + praise God that our negotiations have ended so happily, and + that these two great monarchs will henceforth not only be + friends, but closely allied by the marriage of the Catholic + King and Madame Elizabeth, which, as you will hear, was frankly + and joyfully arranged after all the other articles of the + treaty had been drawn up. I rejoice personally to think that + by this happy arrangement I shall often have the pleasure of + seeing your Majesties, our daughter, and my son, and take this + opportunity of wishing you joy on this auspicious event, hoping + that in future you will not fail to make use of me as of one + who is ever ready to do you service."[568] + +The Duchess now returned to Brussels with her daughters and the Prince +of Orange. All the towns and villages through which she passed were +hung with flags and garlands of flowers, and her coming was hailed +with shouts of joy. The prison doors were thrown open, and the poor +French soldiers, who had languished in captivity for years, called down +blessings on her head.[569] When she reached Brussels, the King himself +rode out to meet her, at the head of his nobles, while courtiers and +ladies flocked from all parts to welcome her return and offer their +congratulations on the triumphant success of her labours. For Christina +it was a great and memorable day. The bitterness of past memories was +blotted out, and peace and good-will seemed to have come back to earth. + +[Sidenote: MAY, 1559] REJOICINGS AT BRUSSELS] + +At Whitsuntide the Treaty was ratified. The Duke of Lorraine came to +Brussels with the Cardinals of Lorraine and Guise and the Constable, +and spent a fortnight with his mother. They were present in the Court +chapel, with Cardinals and Princes, when the King, laying his hand on +a relic of the True Cross, took a solemn oath to keep the articles of +the Treaty. And Christina occupied the place of honour at Philip's +right hand at the state banquet in the great hall, while her son and +daughters and the Duchess of Aerschot were all at table.[570] The King +gave the Cardinal of Lorraine a service of gold plate and a wonderful +ship of rock-crystal studded with gems, and bestowed similar presents +on the Constable; while the Marshal St. André, being a poor man was +excused his ransom. They all left Flanders on the following Sunday, +except the Duke of Lorraine, who remained another week with his mother. +Before he left Brussels, letters from Denmark were received, confirming +a report which had already reached the Court of his grandfather +King Christian II.'s death. The old King had died in the Castle of +Kallundborg, after forty-five years of captivity, on the 25th of +January, 1559, at the ripe age of seventy-seven. He was buried with his +parents in the Franciscan church at Odensee, and Duke Adolf of Holstein +followed his kinsman's remains to their last resting-place. When her +son left Brussels, Christina put her household into mourning, and +retired to the Convent of La Cambre to spend a month in retreat. After +the strain and stress of the last six months, she felt the need of rest +sorely, and the shelter of convent walls was grateful to her tired +soul.[571] + +FOOTNOTES: + +[529] F. Decrue, "Montmorency à la Cour de Henri II.," 207. + +[530] Venetian Calendar, vi. 1346, 1363. + +[531] Ruble, "La Jeunesse de Marie Stuart," 153; Bouillé, i. 455; +Pimodan, 173-180. + +[532] Venetian Calendar, vi. 1471, 1488. + +[533] Granvelle, v. 168. + +[534] Venetian Calendar, vi. 1496-1498. + +[535] Venetian Calendar, vi. 1500. + +[536] _Ibid._, vi. 1528. + +[537] Groen van Prinsterer, "Archives de la Maison d'Orange et de +Nassau," i. 1; Kervyn de Lettenhove, ii. 257. + +[538] Granvelle, v. 171. + +[539] _Ibid._, v. 227. + +[540] Granvelle, v. 231. + +[541] Granvelle, v. 266. + +[542] Venetian Calendar, vi. 1537; Ruble, "Traité de Câteau-Cambrésis," +12. + +[543] Calendar of State Papers, Mary, Foreign, 402-404. + +[544] Gachard, "Retraite," etc., i. 44-48; Venetian Calendar, vi. 1544. + +[545] Kervyn de Lettenhove, i. 257. + +[546] Venetian Calendar, vi. 1568. + +[547] Kervyn e Lettenhove, i. 384; Gachard, "Voyages," iv. 35-62. + +[548] Calmet, ii. 1, 351; Pfister, ii. 244; Venetian Calendar, vii. 19, +20. + +[549] Venetian Calendar, vii. 8, 10. + +[550] Granvelle, v. 420-426; Kervyn de Lettenhove, i. 420. + +[551] Kervyn de Lettenhove, i. 422, 444. + +[552] Granvelle, v. 454. + +[553] Ruble, "Traité de Câteau-Cambrésis," 23; Venetian Calendar, vii. +39; Granvelle, v. 495. + +[554] Kervyn de Lettenhove, i. 457. + +[555] Kervyn de Lettenhove, i. 475. + +[556] Granvelle, v. 487, 495, 502. + +[557] Venetian Calendar, vii. 54; Granvelle, v. 520, 525. + +[558] Granvelle, v. 529. + +[559] Kervyn de Lettenhove, i. 460. + +[560] V. de St. Génis, "Histoire de Savoie," iii. 181. + +[561] Kervyn de Lettenhove, i. 485. + +[562] Venetian Calendar, vii. 56; J. F. Le Petit, "Grande Chronique de +Hollande," ii. 20. + +[563] Venetian Calendar, vii. 57. + +[564] Ruble, 26; Venetian Calendar, vii. 67, 77. + +[565] Granvelle, v. 577. + +[566] Venetian Calendar, vii. 62. + +[567] Calendar of Spanish State Papers, i. 49, Archives of Simancas; +Kervyn de Lettenhove, i. 494. + +[568] Granvelle, v. 582, 583. + +[569] Venetian Calendar, vii. 64. + +[570] Gachard, iv. 67; Venetian Calendar, vii. 87-90. + +[571] Schäfer, iv. 445. + + + + +BOOK XIII + +THE RETURN TO LORRAINE + +1559-1578 + + +I. + +[Sidenote: MAY, 1559] THE NETHERLANDS REGENCY] + +During the last year the Duke of Savoy had repeatedly begged to be +relieved of his post as the King's Lieutenant in the Low Countries. +By the Treaty of Câteau-Cambrésis he recovered his dominions, and set +out on the 15th of June for Paris with a great train of gentlemen and +servants, to celebrate his marriage with King Henry's sister. At the +same time, the death of the Emperor made Philip's return to Spain +necessary. The appointment of a new Regent of the Netherlands became +imperative, and everyone expected the Duchess of Lorraine would be +chosen to fill the vacant office. A Habsburg by birth, she inherited +the capacity for governing which distinguished the women of her house, +and had proved her fitness for the post by the wisdom with which she +administered her son's State during seven years. Her popularity with +all classes of people in the Netherlands was an additional advantage, +and when, in the summer of 1558, it had been doubtful if Mary of +Hungary would consent to return, the Duchess was the first person +whose name was suggested. The Venetian Suriano remarked that the only +doubt as to her fitness for the office was that she hardly possessed +her aunt's extraordinary vigour and energy.[572] But these doubts had +been dispelled by the admirable manner in which she had conducted the +negotiations at the recent Conference and the immense credit which she +had acquired on all sides. Unfortunately, she had made an enemy of the +Bishop of Arras, and excited his jealousy by her private consultations +with the Cardinal and Constable, and still more by her friendship +with the Prince of Orange. Both Orange and Egmont disliked the Bishop +almost as much as they hated the King's Spanish favourites, and lost +no opportunity of showing their contempt for the "meddling priest," +as they called Philip's confidential counsellor. And both of these +proud nobles, seeing no hope of themselves obtaining the Regency, +supported the Duchess's claims strongly.[573] But the very popularity +which Christina enjoyed, the acclamations which greeted her return +from Câteau-Cambrésis, had the effect of arousing Philip's jealousy. +He lent a willing ear to Arras and Alva when they spoke scornfully of +the Duchess's French connection and of the influence which the Prince +of Orange would gain by his marriage with her daughter. Then, in an +evil hour both for himself and the Netherlands, the Bishop suggested +the name of the Duchess of Parma. Margaret was closely related to the +King, and would be far more pliable and ready to follow his counsels +than Christina. Philip liked his sister, and shared the Spaniards' +jealousy of the great Flemish nobles, more especially of the Prince +of Orange, whose intimacy with Christina he regarded with growing +suspicion. His mind was soon made up, and when the French Commissioners +came to Brussels in May, the appointment of the Duchess of Parma to be +Governess of the Low Countries was publicly proclaimed.[574] + +The announcement was the signal for an outburst of popular discontent. +Orange and Egmont protested loudly at this affront to the Duchess +of Lorraine, and complained of the indignity offered to the nation +by giving them a ruler of illegitimate birth, whose interests and +connections were all foreign, and whose husband had actually borne arms +against the late Emperor. + + "There is great discontent here," wrote Tiepolo, "at the + Duchess of Parma's appointment. The common folk use very + insolent language, and say that if a woman is to reign over + them they would far rather have the Duchess of Lorraine, whom + they know and love and hold to be one of themselves. Every + one, indeed, would have greatly preferred this Princess, who + is of royal lineage on both sides, and has long dwelt in these + provinces, besides being far more gracious and affable to the + nobles."[575] + +To Christina herself the blow was heavy. She had suffered many trials +and disappointments at her enemies' hands, but had never expected to be +treated with such ingratitude by the King, who had always professed so +much affection for his cousin, and was so deeply indebted to her. + +[Sidenote: JUNE, 1559] CHRISTINA'S DISAPPOINTMENT] + + "The Duchess of Lorraine," wrote Tiepolo, "feels the injustice + of the King's decision more deeply than any of her past + adversities, and naturally thinks that, after her long and + indefatigable exertions in negotiating this peace, taking part + in every Conference and adjusting every dispute, she deserved + to be treated with greater regard. Everyone here admits that + peace was concluded chiefly owing to her wisdom and efforts, + and this is all the reward which she has received."[576] + +It is scarcely to be wondered at if Christina never wholly forgave +Philip for the cruel wrong which he had done her, and if in all her +future correspondence with him we trace a strain of reproachful +bitterness. Her resolve to leave the Netherlands was now fixed. She +could not bear to see another Regent at Brussels, and was not even sure +if she cared to live as a subject at her son's Court. Her thoughts +turned once more to Italy, and, since the Castles of Tortona and +Vigevano were not available, she addressed a petition to Philip through +her Italian secretary, asking him to give her the duchy of Bari in +Calabria. This principality, once the property of Lodovico Sforza, had +been lately bequeathed to Philip by the late Queen Bona of Poland, on +condition that he would discharge a considerable debt owing to her son, +King Sigismund. The beauty and salubrity of the spot, as well as its +association with the Sforzas, probably prompted Christina's request, +which ran as follows: + + "The Duchess of Lorraine in all humility begs Your Majesty, + in consideration of her close relationship and of the great + affection which she bore the late Emperor, and of the services + which she has rendered both to His Majesty of blessed memory + and to yourself, to do her the favour of granting her and + her children the duchy of Bari, with the same revenues and + independent liberties as were enjoyed by the Queen of Poland. + She will undertake to pay the King of Poland the sum of 100,000 + crowns due to him, and humbly begs Your Majesty to grant her + half of this amount in ready money, the other half in bills + on merchants' houses, in order that she may be able to pay the + creditors who annoy her daily. Her revenues for the next year + are already mortgaged, owing to the necessity laid upon her + of supporting her daughters, during the last seven years, and + the repeated journeys which she has undertaken to England, and + across the French frontier to treat of peace, all of which have + involved her in great and heavy expenses...." + +Here the petition breaks off abruptly, the rest of the page being torn +off; but we see by Philip's reply that it contained a bitter complaint +of the injustice which he had done Christina by refusing to make her +Regent. He wrote to Arras, desiring him to see that the Duchess ceased +to repeat these perpetual recriminations on the subject of the Regency, +which were as derogatory to her dignity as they were injurious to his +interests. He regretted that his own pressing needs made it impossible +for him to do as much as he should wish to help her. At the same time +he said that, besides the revenue of 4,000 crowns which he had already +offered her, and which she had neither refused nor accepted, he was +ready to give her another yearly allowance of 10,000 crowns, to be +charged on Naples and Milan, pointing out that she could raise money on +this income to satisfy her creditors. + +[Sidenote: JUNE, 1559] WILLIAM OF ORANGE] + + "The sincere affection which the King has always felt for the + Duchess, and the closeness of their relationship," added the + writer, "impels him to advise her to retire to her dower lands + of Lorraine and live near her son, in order that she may foster + the loyalty and devotion which this young Prince owes her, and + give him advice and help that may conduce to his welfare and + that of the House of Lorraine. Any other action on her part, + the King is convinced, will only excite public suspicion and + slander. If, however, the Duchess prefers to live in the + kingdom of Naples, the King is ready to offer her the town of + Lecce, the most important next to the capital, where she can + enjoy all the comforts and amenities of Italian life, together + with the respect due to her exalted birth and rank."[577] + +This offer, however, did not commend itself to Christina. In spite +of its ancient castle and beautiful situation, Lecce was not an +independent principality, and had no connection with her family. She +replied curtly that she would follow His Majesty's advice and return +to Lorraine, as soon as her creditors were satisfied and her affairs +sufficiently arranged for her to leave the Netherlands with honour. +Upon this, Philip sent the Duchess a sum of 21,000 crowns to defray +the expenses of her journeys, and a further substantial advance on the +additional revenues which he had assigned her.[578] + +But while he was outwardly endeavouring to atone for one act of +injustice, he was secretly doing the Duchess another and a more +serious injury. The marriage of the Prince of Orange with her daughter +Renée had been practically arranged at Câteau-Cambrésis, but some +difficulties had arisen regarding the settlements already made by the +Prince on his two children by his first marriage, and the heavy debts +which he had incurred by his extravagance, amounting, it was said, +to 900,000 crowns. Up to this time Philip had openly encouraged the +Prince's suit, but both he and Arras looked with alarm on a marriage +that would make Orange more powerful and more dangerous than he was +already, and were secretly plotting against its conclusion. One day, +when Philip was walking in the park at Brussels with the Prince, he +told him how much he regretted to find that Madame de Lorraine was +strongly opposed to his marriage with her daughter, and had begged him +to inform the Prince that she must decline to proceed further with +the matter. The King added, in a friendly way, that he had told him +this in order that he might look about for another wife while he was +still young. The Prince was naturally much annoyed at this unexpected +communication, and replied proudly that, if this were the case, he +would promptly seek another alliance in Germany, where he had already +received several offers of marriage. He was deeply wounded, not without +reason, and went off to Paris a few days later, with Egmont and Alva, +to remain there as hostages until the conditions of the treaty had been +fulfilled. It was not until many months afterwards that he discovered +how he had been duped. Christina meanwhile remained in her convent +retreat, unconscious of what was happening in her absence, and heard +with some surprise that the Prince of Orange had left Court without +informing her of his departure. + +[Sidenote: JULY, 1559] MARGARET OF PARMA REGENT] + +All eyes were now turned to the Palais des Tournelles in Paris, +where the Catholic King's marriage to Elizabeth of France, and that +of the Duke of Savoy to Margaret, were about to be celebrated. Alva +represented his master at the wedding, which was solemnized at Notre +Dame on the 22nd of June, and his old enemy Guise proclaimed the new +Queen's titles at the church doors, and flung handfuls of gold to the +applauding crowds. But their joy was soon changed into mourning. King +Henry was mortally wounded by a splintered lance in the tournament that +followed, and, after lingering for ten days, breathed his last on the +10th of July, two days after the marriage of his sister and the Duke +of Savoy had been quietly solemnized in the neighbouring church of St. +Paul. + +[Illustration: WILLIAM, PRINCE OF ORANGE, ÆTAT 26 + +By Adriaan Key (Darmstadt) + +_To face p. 456_.] + +The news of his father-in-law's death reached Philip at Ghent, where +he was preparing for his departure. Here Christina joined him on the +19th, and was greeted with the liveliest demonstrations of affection +from both Court and people. Before leaving Brussels, she saw an English +gentleman, who was on his way to Italy, and brought her a pressing +invitation from Queen Elizabeth to pay a visit to England.[579] +Elizabeth had evidently not forgotten the Duchess's friendly intentions +on her behalf when she came to London in Mary's reign, nor her more +recent conversation with Lord Howard. After her arrival at Ghent, she +received frequent visits from Chaloner, the newly appointed Ambassador, +and from the French Envoy, Sébastien de l'Aubespine, who had been one +of the delegates to the Conference, and could not speak too highly +of Madame de Lorraine's goodness and ability. Through him she sent +affectionate messages to the young King Francis II. and his Scottish +wife, thanking them in the warmest terms for their kindness to her +son. Nor was Philip lacking in his attentions. He met the Duchess on +her arrival, paid her daily visits, and seemed to fall once more under +the old spell. On the 24th he and Christina were both present at a +Requiem for the King of France, and dined together afterwards. The same +afternoon Philip rode out to receive the Duchess of Parma.[580] The +next day the Duke of Savoy returned from Paris, bringing with him the +Prince of Orange and Egmont, who were released on parole, and attended +the Chapter of the Fleece held by the King in the Church of St. John. +On the 7th of August the States met, and the new Regent was formally +presented to them. But many voices were raised to protest against the +powers conferred upon her, and the States refused to grant the aids +demanded unless the Spanish troops were withdrawn. This act of audacity +roused Philip's anger, and in his farewell interview with William of +Orange he accused him of being the instigator of the measure. + +Before leaving Ghent, the King arranged a meeting between the two +Duchesses in the garden of the Prinzenhof, and afterwards invited +Christina to visit him at Flushing, where he spent some days before he +embarked. They dined together for the last time on the 12th of August, +and seem to have parted friends.[581] Then Christina returned to +Brussels to prepare for her own departure, and Chaloner wrote home: + + "I heare say the Duchess of Lorraine repaireth shortly hence + into Lorraine, smally satisfied with the preferment of the + other, for old emulations' sake."[582] + +[Sidenote: SEPT., 1559] RIVALRY OF THE DUCHESSES] + +During the next two months Christina had much to endure. She found a +marked change in the Prince of Orange. He treated her with profound +respect and courtesy in public, but kept aloof from her in private, +and appeared to have transferred his attentions to Margaret of Parma. +All idea of his marriage with Renée--"the Duchess of Lorraine's +soundlimbed daughter," as she was called by Chaloner--seemed to be +abandoned, and in September he left Court to attend the French King's +coronation at Reims. There was a general feeling of discontent abroad. + + "The new Regent is greatly disliked," wrote John Leigh, an + English merchant of Antwerp, "by all estates, who wished to + have the Duchess of Lorraine for their ruler, and some of her + own ladies have told her that she is a bastard, and not meet + for the place." + +The States refused to grant the subsidies asked for, and the people +clamoured for the removal of the Spaniards. The nobles showed their +displeasure by retiring to their country-houses, and the ladies +absented themselves from Margaret's receptions to meet in the Duchess +of Lorraine's rooms.[583] This naturally provoked quarrels and +jealousies, which, as Arras remarked in his letters to Philip, might +easily prove serious. + + "Then there is rivalry between the Duchess of Lorraine and her + of Parma," wrote the Bishop on the 4th of October, at the end + of a long tale of troubles. "The best way would be to keep them + apart, for all these comings and goings can produce no good + result. Fortunately, the former is about to go to Lorraine. We + shall see if she leaves her daughters here, or takes them with + her. What is certain is that, wherever she and her daughters + may be, it will be better for Your Majesty's service they + should be anywhere but here, as long as Madame de Parma remains + in these parts, and discord prevails between her and the + Duchess."[584] + +When Arras wrote these words, Christina was already on her way to +Lorraine. Philip received a letter from her at Toledo, informing him +of her final departure, and wrote to tell Arras that all strife +between the Duchesses was now at an end.[585] In the same month a +marriage was arranged between William of Orange and Anna of Saxony, the +Elector Maurice's daughter. Arras was greatly alarmed when he heard of +this alliance with a Protestant Princess, and used all his powers of +persuasion to induce the Prince to return to his old suit and marry +Mademoiselle de Lorraine. But it was too late. The Prince knew that +the Duchess would never forgive the studied neglect with which he had +treated her, and, as he told the Bishop, his word was already pledged. +A year later he married the Saxon Princess, but lived to repent of this +ill-assorted union, and to realize that he had been the dupe of Philip +and his astute Minister.[586] + + +II. + +[Sidenote: OCT., 1559] MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS] + +Christina's return to Lorraine took place at an eventful moment. The +death of Henry II. and the accession of Francis II. placed the supreme +power in the hands of the Guise brothers. As the saying ran, "So many +Guise Princes, so many Kings of France." The elder branch of the House +of Lorraine shared in the triumphs of the younger. The reigning Duke, +Charles, had grown up with the young King and Queen, and was tenderly +beloved by them. Francis could not bear his brother-in-law to be absent +from his side, and after his coronation at Reims, on the 18th of +September, he and Mary accompanied the Duke and Duchess on a progress +through Lorraine. The festival of the Order of St. Michel was held +at Bar, where Charles kept open house for a week, and his aunt, Anne +of Aerschot, came to join the family party and meet the daughter of +her old companion, Mary of Guise. The charms of the young Queen won +all hearts in her mother's native Lorraine, and Francis indulged his +passion for sport in the forests of Nomény and Esclaron.[587] + +Here, at this favourite hunting-lodge of the Guises, the royal party +were joined by the Duke's mother. Christina reached Esclaron on the +11th of October, and was received with every mark of respect and +affection. At first, if Brantôme is to be believed, the Duchess-mother +was inclined to stand on her dignity, and refused to yield precedence +to the youthful Queen; but Mary's grace and sweetness soon dispelled +all rivalry, and Christina became the best of friends with both the +King and Queen. General regret was expressed at the absence of the +young Princesses, whom their mother had left at Brussels; but Christina +was aware of the Cardinal's anxiety to arrange a marriage between Renée +and the Prince of Joinville, and had no intention of consenting to this +arrangement. + + "She left her daughters behind her," wrote Throckmorton, the + English Ambassador, "because she is unwilling to satisfy the + hopes of the House of Guise, and makes not so great an account + of their advances as to leave the old friendship of King Philip + and his countries. The French, in fact," he adds, "are doing + all they can to make the Duchess Dowager a good Frenchwoman, + but they will not find it as easy as they think."[588] + +At the end of the week Christina went on to Nancy with her son and +daughter-in-law, leaving the King and Queen to proceed to Joinville, +where Mary was anxious to see her beloved grandmother. She had +already appointed Antoinette and her three daughters-in-law to be her +ladies-in-waiting, and, as a further proof of affection, had given her +grandmother the present which she received from the city of Paris on +her state entry. From Blois, where the royal pair spent the autumn and +winter, Francis II. sent his brother-in-law the following letter, which +throws a pleasant light on the happy relations existing between the two +families: + + "MY DEAR BROTHER, + + "I am longing for news of you and my sister, and have not heard + from either of you since you reached Nancy. Next week I take + my sister, the Catholic Queen, to Châtelhérault on her way to + Spain, after which I shall return to Blois, and not move again + before Easter. As you may imagine, I cannot be in this house + without missing you very much. I shall await your return with + the utmost impatience, and wish you were here to enjoy the fine + rides which I have made in my forest. I must thank you for the + good cheer that you are giving my sister, which is the best + proof of your perfect love for me. And I am quite sure that in + this you are helped by my aunt your mother, Madame de Lorraine, + for whom I feel the deepest gratitude, and whom I should like + to assure of my readiness and anxiety to do her every possible + service. And I pray God, my dearest brother, to have you in His + holy keeping."[589] + +[Sidenote: DEC., 1559] CHRISTINA RETURNS TO NANCY] + +The young Duke and Duchess were both of them longing to accept this +pressing invitation and return to the gay French Court. Charles as +yet took little interest in public affairs which required serious +attention. Confusion reigned in every department. In many instances +the ducal lands had been seized and their revenues appropriated to +other uses, while the whole country had suffered from the frequent +incursions of foreign troops, and famine and distress prevailed in many +districts. Under these circumstances the help of the Duchess-mother was +sorely needed. Vaudemont, having neither health nor capacity to cope +with these difficulties, had retired into private life, and by degrees +Christina resumed most of her old functions. She applied herself to +reforming abuses and restoring order in the finances, and at the same +time helped her son and daughter-in-law in entertaining the nobles who +flocked to Nancy to pay them homage. Her daughters came to join her at +Christmas, and she settled once more in her old quarters in the ducal +palace. In March the Duke returned to the French Court, and his mother +was left to act as Regent during his absence.[590] + +After visiting Remiremont and Bar, Charles and his wife went on to +spend the summer with the King and Queen at Amboise, where they +gave themselves up to hunting and dancing, and enjoyed suppers at +Chenonceaux and water-parties on the Loire. But this joyous life was +rudely disturbed by the discovery of a Huguenot conspiracy, which +was put down with ruthless severity, and was followed by continual +alarms. The King and Duke had to be escorted by 500 men-at-arms on +their hunting-parties, and the Cardinal of Lorraine never left his room +without a guard of ten men bearing loaded pistols. On the 10th of June +Mary of Guise died in Edinburgh Castle, and her remains were brought +back to her native land and buried in her sister's convent church, St. +Pierre of Reims. The whole Court went into mourning, and Throckmorton +was so moved by the young Queen's tears that he declared "there never +was a daughter who loved her mother better."[591] Meanwhile the +aspect of affairs grew daily more threatening. There were riots in +the provinces, and rumours of plots at Court. The Duke of Lorraine +was present at the Council held at St. Germain for the defence of the +realm, but left for Nancy when the Court moved to Orleans in October. + +[Sidenote: MAY, 1561] LA REINE BLANCHE] + +Two months later the young King died there very suddenly. He fainted +at vespers one evening, and passed away at midnight on the 5th of +December, 1560. His brother Charles, a boy of ten, was proclaimed +King in his stead, and his mother, Catherine de' Medici, assumed +the Regency. Three days afterwards Throckmorton wrote that the late +King was already forgotten by everyone but his widow, who, "being as +noble-minded as she is beautiful, weeps passionately for the husband +who loved her so dearly, and with whom she has lost everything." The +young Queen behaved with admirable discretion. On the day after the +King's death she sent the Crown jewels to her mother-in-law, and, as +soon as the funeral had been solemnized, begged leave to go and visit +her mother's grave at Reims. After spending three weeks with her aunt, +Abbess Renée, Mary went to stay with her grandmother at Joinville, +where she was joined by Anne of Aerschot, the one of all her mother's +family to whom she clung the most closely, calling her "ma tante," and +consulting her in all her difficulties.[592] + +Christina herself was full of sympathy for this young Queen, whose +early widowhood recalled her own fate, and she joined cordially in +the invitation which the Duke sent Mary to pay a visit to Nancy. "The +Queen of Scotland," wrote Throckmorton to Elizabeth on the 1st of May, +1561, "is at Nancy with the Dowager, whom here they call Son Altesse." +Christina rode out with her son to meet their guest on the frontiers of +Lorraine, and her uncles, the two Cardinals, Aumale, Vaudemont, and the +Duchess of Aerschot, all accompanied her to Nancy. + +The touching beauty of the young widow created a profound sensation at +the Court of Lorraine. Brantôme describes her as "a celestial vision"; +Ronsard sang of the charms which transfigured _son grand deuil et +tristesse_, and made her more dangerous in this simple white veil that +rivalled the exquisite delicacy of her complexion than in the most +sumptuous robes and dazzling jewels; and Clouet drew his immortal +portrait.[593] The Duke arranged a series of fêtes to distract the +young Queen's mind and help to dry her tears. There were masques and +dances at Nancy, hunting-parties and banquets at Nomény, where Mary +stood godmother to the Count Vaudemont's youngest child; and the Court +was gayer than it had been for many years. But intrigue was once more +rife at the French Court, and all manner of proposals were made for the +young widow's hand. The King of Denmark, Frederic III., the Prince of +Orange, the Archduke Charles, the Dukes of Bavaria and Ferrara, were +all suggested as possible husbands. The fascination which Mary had for +the boy-King Charles IX. was well known, and Catherine de' Medici, who +had never forgiven Mary for calling her a shopkeeper's daughter, was +secretly plotting to keep her away from the Court, and yet prevent her +marriage to Don Carlos, whom she wished to secure for her youngest +daughter, Margot. The Cardinal of Lorraine was known to be eager for +the Spanish marriage, and both Christina and Anne did their best to +forward his scheme, which was the subject of many letters that passed +between Granvelle, the Duchess of Aerschot, and Mary herself. But +Philip, without actually declining the offer, always returned evasive +answers, whether he shrank from placing his sickly and wayward son in +an independent position, or whether he feared the power of the Guise +faction.[594] + +[Illustration: _Mary Stuart as Queen of France_ + +_in widow's dress_ + +_From the drawing in the Bibliothèque Nationale at Paris._] + +[Sidenote: MAY, 1561] CORONATION OF CHARLES IX.] + +In the midst of the festivities at Nancy, Mary fell ill of fever, and +as soon as she was fit to travel returned to Joinville, to be nursed by +her grandmother; while Christina accompanied her son and his wife to +Reims for the new King's sacring on the 15th of May. The magnificence +of the Duchess-mother's appearance on this occasion excited general +admiration. Grief and anxiety had left their traces on her face, but, +in spite of advancing years and sorrow, Christina was still a very +handsome woman. Among all the royal ladies who met in the ancient +city, none was more stately and distinguished-looking than Madame de +Lorraine. As her chariot, draped with black velvet fringed with gold, +and drawn by four superb white horses of Arab breed, drew up in front +of the Cardinal's palace, a murmur of admiration ran through the crowd. +The Duchess sat at one window, clad in a long black velvet robe, and +wearing a jewelled diadem on her head, with a flowing white veil +and cap of the shape that became known at the French Court as _à la +Lorraine_, and was adopted by Mary, Queen of Scots, for her habitual +use. At the other sat her lovely young daughter Renée, the coveted +bride of many of the Princes who were present that day, while on the +opposite seat was the Princess of Macedonia, an august white-haired +lady, with the chiselled features of the proud Greek race to which she +belonged. The Queen-mother, Catherine de' Medici, stood at a window of +the Archbishop's palace to watch the entry of the Lorraine Princes, and +as she saw the Duchess alight, she exclaimed: "That is the finest woman +I know!" Then, descending the grand staircase, she advanced to meet +Christina with a stately courtesy, and thanked her for the honour she +was doing her son. + + "Herself a very proud woman," writes Brantôme, "she knew that + she had her match in the Duchess, and always treated her with + the highest honour and distinction, without ever yielding one + jot of her own claims."[595] + +The Duke of Lorraine bore the sword of state at the great ceremony on +the morrow, while Francis of Guise held the crown on the boy-King's +head, and his brother, the Cardinal, anointed his brow with the holy +chrism. "Everything," as Charles IX. wrote to the Bishop of Limoges, +"passed off to the great satisfaction of everyone present;"[596] and +when all was over, Madame de Lorraine and her children accompanied +the King and his mother to a country-house belonging to the Cardinal +in the neighbourhood, and enjoyed a week's repose in delicious spring +weather. Then the Court went on to St. Germain, where the Queen of +Scots came to take leave of her husband's family, and with many tears +bade farewell to the pleasant land of France, which she had loved all +too well for her own happiness. + + +III. + +[Sidenote: MARCH, 1561] DEATH OF DOROTHEA] + +On the death of Christian II. of Denmark, his elder daughter, Dorothea, +the widowed Electress Palatine, assumed the royal style and title. But +as she was childless herself, and lived in retirement at Neuburg, in +the Upper Palatinate, the faithful subjects who still clung to their +rightful monarch's cause turned to Christina, the Duchess-Dowager of +Lorraine, and begged her to assert her son's claims to the throne, +saying that they regarded him as their future King. Chief among these +was Peder Oxe, an able public servant who had been exiled by Christian +III., and came to visit the Duchess in the convent of La Cambre at +Brussels in 1559, soon after the captive monarch's death. Peder tried +to enlist her sympathies on behalf of her father's old subjects, and +assured her that the recovery of Denmark would be an easy matter, +owing to the unpopularity of the new King, Frederic III. At first +Christina lent a willing ear to these proposals, but her friend Count +d'Aremberg succeeded in convincing her of the futility of such an +enterprise, while both Philip and Granvelle firmly refused to support +the scheme.[597] Peder Oxe, however, followed Christina to Nancy, where +he became a member of the Ducal Council, and did good service in +restoring order in the finances. + +Other Danish exiles sought refuge at the Court of Lorraine, where +their presence naturally revived Christina's dreams of recovering her +father's throne. All manner of rumours were abroad. In March, 1561, +Chaloner heard that the French King and the Duke of Lorraine were about +to invade Denmark. Three months later Mary, Queen of Scots' faithful +servant, Melville, wrote from Heidelberg that the Duchess-Dowager +of Lorraine had come there to persuade her sister, the old Countess +Palatine, to surrender her rights on Denmark to her nephew, the Duke of +Lorraine. Christina spent some time with her sister, and was joined in +September by the Duke, who came to escort her home.[598] The Palatine +Frederic's successor, Otto Heinrich, had died in 1559, and his cousin, +the reigning Elector, Frederic of Zimmern, the brother of the Countess +Egmont and her sister Helene, was deeply attached to Dorothea, and, +like his predecessor, professed the Lutheran faith. A year after +Christina's visit Dorothea died suddenly at Neuburg, and was buried +by her husband's side in the Church of the Holy Ghost at Heidelberg. +The Palatine Frederic erected a fine monument over her grave, with the +following inscription: + + "To the most noble Lady, Dorothea, Countess Palatine, and Queen + of Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, the beloved consort of the + Elector Frederic II., this tomb was raised by Frederic III., + by the grace of God Elector Palatine, in the year 1562, as a + token of love and gratitude to this his most dear and excellent + kinswoman." + +Dorothea's tomb was destroyed with that of her husband and many others +when Louis XIV.'s armies sacked and burnt Heidelberg in 1693, but an +English traveller who visited the castle and Church of the Holy Ghost +thirty years before, preserved this inscription in his diary.[599] + +[Sidenote: FEB., 1563] DUKE OF GUISE'S MURDER] + +Christina came to Heidelberg with her son and both her daughters in the +autumn of the year 1562, and was present at Frankfurt on the 24th of +November, when her cousin Maximilian was crowned King of the Romans. On +this occasion the Emperor Ferdinand collected as many of the imperial +family as possible around him. The Dukes and Duchesses of Bavaria and +Cleves were present, as well as most of the Electors and Princes of +the Empire; while Ibrahim Bey, the Sultan's Ambassador, brought camels +and rugs and Persian jars as gifts from his master. Among the old +friends whom the Duchess met at Frankfurt were the Prince of Orange, +Counts Egmont and Jacques d'Aremberg. They greeted her with renewed +friendliness, and from their lips she heard how badly things were going +in the Low Countries, and how unpopular the Regent and her Minister, +the newly-created Cardinal de Granvelle, had become with all classes +of people.[600] The Emperor and all his family returned to Heidelberg +after the coronation, and were splendidly entertained by the Palatine, +who was anxious to arrange a marriage between one of his sons and +Mademoiselle de Lorraine. But Frederic's strong Lutheran tenets were a +serious obstacle to this plan. At the recent coronation he had refused +to attend Mass, and had remained in the vestry of the cathedral until +the service was over. + +Meanwhile religious strife was raging in France, and Christina returned +to Nancy to find that civil war had broken out. Earlier in the year +the massacre of a peaceable congregation at Wassy, near Joinville, +had excited the fury of the Huguenots, and a fierce struggle was +being waged on the frontiers of Lorraine. The Duke's own kindred were +divided. Condé was the leader of the revolted party, while his brother +Antoine, King of Navarre--l'Échangeur, as he was called, because he +was said to change his religion as often as he did his coat--was +mortally wounded, fighting on the King's side, in the siege of Rouen. +A month later the Constable de Montmorency was made prisoner in the +Battle of Dreux, by his own nephew Coligny. On the 21st of February, +1563, Christina and her son were attending the baptism of the Duke +of Aumale's son Claude, when a messenger arrived with the news that +the Duke of Guise had been stabbed by a Huguenot fanatic in the camp +before Orleans. After a public funeral in Notre Dame, the remains of +Antoinette's most illustrious son were buried at Joinville, amid the +lamentations of the whole nation.[601] + +Fortunately, the duchy of Lorraine escaped the horrors of civil +war. On the 18th of May, 1562, Charles made his long-deferred state +entry into Nancy, and took a solemn vow to observe the rights of his +subjects before he received the ducal crown. But he still consulted +his mother in all important matters, and treated her with the utmost +respect and affection.[602] His own time and thoughts were chiefly +occupied in enlarging and beautifying the ducal palace. He extended the +Galerie des Cerfs, and built a fine hall, adorned with frescoes of the +Metamorphoses of Ovid, a translation of which had been dedicated to his +grandfather, Duke Antoine, by the poet Clement Marot. At the same time +he rebuilt the old Salle du Jeu de Paume on the model of one at the +Louvre, and made a picture-gallery above this new hall, which he hung +with portraits of the ducal family.[603] + +Christina also devoted much attention to the improvement of her +estates. She rebuilt the salt-works at Les Rosières, which had been +abandoned in the last century, and placed an inscription on the gates, +recording that in February, 1563, these salt-works were erected by + + "Christina, by the grace of God Queen of Denmark, Sweden, + and Norway, Sovereign of the Goths, Vandals, and Slavonians, + Duchess of Schleswig, Dittmarsch, Lorraine, Bar, and Milan, + Countess of Oldenburg and Blamont, and Lady of Tortona."[604] + +[Sidenote: NOV., 1563] BIRTH OF A GRANDSON] + +Several indications of the active part that she took in affairs +of State appear in contemporary records. In 1564, with the Pope's +sanction, she concluded an agreement with the Bishop of Toul, by which +he made over his temporalities to the Duke of Lorraine. Christina, as +she explained to Granvelle, had taken this step to avoid the see from +becoming the property of France; but her action roused the indignation +of her uncle, the Emperor Ferdinand, who rebuked his good niece sharply +for venturing to meddle with the affairs of the Imperial Chamber.[605] + +[Illustration: + + _Grand Duc le Prince Aisné, des Princes de ta Race, + Le Lorrein étonné de tés exploits guerriers, + Ne peut assez trouuer en son cloz de Lauriers, + Pour ombrager ton front, tes Temples, et ta face._ + +_Thomas de leu Fe: et excud_: + +CHARLES III., DUKE OF LORRAINE + +_To face p. 472_] + +On the 8th of November, 1563, the Duchess Claude gave birth to her +first child, a boy which was named Henry, after her father, the late +King of France. Both Charles IX. and Philip II. consented to stand +godfathers, and the French King announced his intention of attending +the child's christening in person. His visit, however, was put off, as +the young Duchess fell seriously ill of smallpox, and was eventually +fixed to take place at Bar after Easter. There was even a rumour that +King Philip, whose presence in the Low Countries was earnestly desired, +would visit Lorraine on his journey, and meet the French monarch on +the 1st of May. The prospect of seeing Catherine and her son with an +armed force in Lorraine filled Christina with alarm. The Queen-mother, +as she knew, was very jealous of the Duchess-Dowager's influence with +her son, and neglected no means of placing French subjects in positions +of authority at the Ducal Court;[606] while her recent intrigues with +the Huguenot leaders might lead to the introduction of Protestant rites +at the ceremony. Before the date fixed for the christening, however, +Christina received an unexpected visitor in the person of Cardinal +Granvelle, who had been compelled to bow to the storm and leave the +Netherlands. In a private note which he sent to Granvelle on the 1st of +March, 1564, Philip had desired the Cardinal to retire to Besançon on +plea of paying a visit to his mother, whom he had not seen for nineteen +years. The desired permission was readily granted by the Regent, and, +to the great satisfaction of the nobles, the hated Minister left +Brussels on the 13th of March. "Our man is really going," wrote William +of Orange to his brother Louis. "God grant he may go so far that he can +never return!"[607] + +[Sidenote: MARCH, 1564] GRANVELLE AT NANCY] + +The Cardinal had by this time recognized his fatal mistake in +persuading the King to appoint the Duchess of Parma Regent instead +of Madame de Lorraine, "by which action," as he himself wrote, "I +made the Prince of Orange my enemy."[608] He was the more anxious +to recover Christina's good graces, while she on her part does not +appear to have borne him any grudge for his share in the transaction. +His way led him through Lorraine, and when he reached Pont-à-Mousson +he found a messenger from the Duchess begging him to come and see +her at Nancy. On his arrival he was received by the Duke's _maître +d'hôtel_, and conducted to lodgings in the palace. This "very fine +house," and the hospitality with which he and his companions were +entertained, gratified the Cardinal, and after supper he was received +by the Duchess-Dowager, with whom he had a long interview in the Grande +Galerie.[609] They conversed freely of the troubles in the Netherlands. +Christina was anxious to justify herself from the charge of fomenting +these dissensions, and declared that she had nothing to say against +the Duchess of Parma, and only complained of her refusal to allow a +Mass for her father, King Christian II., to be said in the Court chapel +on the anniversary of his death. But she had many complaints to make +of the King, who had only written to her five times in the last five +years, and who insisted on keeping her Castle of Tortona in his own +hands, and employed the revenues of the town to pay the garrison, +without giving her any compensation. Granvelle could only allege the +unsettled state of Lombardy and the disorder of Milanese finances as +excuses for Philip's behaviour. The Duchess further confided to him +her fears regarding the French King's visit, and the intrigues of +Catherine, who was always endeavouring to destroy the harmony that +prevailed between herself and her daughter-in-law. Granvelle did his +best to allay these alarms, and assured her that the rumours as to the +large force that was to accompany him to Lorraine were absolutely false. + +Another subject on which Christina consulted the Cardinal was her +designs against Denmark. The young King Frederic III. at first +professed great friendship for her, and opened negotiations for his +marriage with her daughter Renée--a proposal which she was reluctant to +accept.[610] This idea, however, was soon abandoned, and the outbreak +of war between Denmark and Sweden seemed to afford an opportunity +for advancing her own claims. Peder Oxe and his companion in exile, +Willem von Grümbach, urged her to raise an army and invade Jutland, +assuring her that the discontented Danish nobles were only longing for +an excuse to rise in a body and dethrone the usurper. But Christina +realized that it would be useless to make any attempt without Philip's +support, which she begged Granvelle to obtain. The Cardinal, however, +quite declined to approach the King on the subject, and told the +Duchess that a rupture with Denmark would make him more unpopular +in Flanders than he was already, saying that he had no wish to be +stoned by the Dutch. Before leaving Nancy he discussed the situation +at length with the Duchess's latest friend, Baron de Polweiler, the +Bailiff of Hagenau, a brave and loyal servant of Charles V., who had +warmly espoused Christina's cause and was in correspondence with the +Danish malcontents. The Baron was a wise and practical man, and agreed +with Granvelle that the best course of action would be to keep up the +agitation in Denmark, without taking further measures until the coming +of King Philip, which was now confidently expected.[611] + +[Sidenote: MAY, 1564] ILLNESS OF CHRISTINA] + +After the Cardinal's departure, Christina fell ill at Denœuvre, and +was unable to accompany the Duke, who came to fetch her, and insisted +on putting off the child's christening until his mother was fit to +travel. At length, on the 2nd of May, the Duchess and her daughters +started for Bar, where the christening was celebrated on the following +day, and Christina held her grandson at the font. There was no display +of armed force, nor was any attempt made to introduce Lutheran rites. +On the contrary, the Queen-mother and all her suite were most amiable, +the greatest good-will prevailed on all sides, and the whole party +spent the next week in feasting, jousting, and dancing, while Ronsard +composed songs in honour of the occasion. On the 9th of May the young +King resumed his progress to Lyons, and the aged Duchess Antoinette, +who had come to Bar at the Cardinal of Lorraine's prayer, returned to +Joinville with her son. Christina's worst alarms had been dispelled, +but her suspicions were to some extent justified by the revival of +the French King's old claims to Bar, and the advance of certain new +pretensions, which were eventually referred to a court of justice in +Paris. What annoyed her scarcely less was the inferior quality of the +ring sent by the King of Spain to Duchess Claude, which excited more +than one unpleasant comment, although Count Mansfeldt, who stood proxy +for Philip, informed her privately that Margaret of Parma had spent +double the sum named by His Majesty on his christening present.[612] + + +IV. + +In July, 1564, Christina fell dangerously ill, and Silliers told +Polweiler that his mistress was suffering from a grave internal +malady. In November she had a severe relapse, and her death was hourly +expected. Her children and servants nursed her with untiring devotion, +and her friends at Brussels were deeply concerned. Anne d'Aerschot, +Margaret d'Aremberg, Egmont, and the Prince of Orange, made frequent +inquiries; and even Queen Mary wrote from Scotland to ask after the +Duchess's health. Philip alone took no notice of her illness, and his +indifference was keenly resented by Christina and her whole family. +"For the love of God," wrote Silliers to Polweiler, "do your best to +see that Madame is consoled, or she will certainly die of grief and +despair." And he poured out a passionate complaint, setting forth his +mistress's wrongs, and saying how, after cheating her out of Vigevano, +the King kept both the castle and revenues of her dower city in his +hands, and allowed her subjects to be exposed to the depredations +of the Spanish garrison. "To my mind," he adds, "this is a strange +proof of the singular affection which he professes to have for my +Lady!"[613] Granvelle himself was much concerned, and, when Polweiler +wrote to report an improvement in the Duchess's condition, expressed +his thankfulness, saying that the loss of such a Princess would be a +heavy blow to the cause of religion, as well as the greatest calamity +that could befall Lorraine. He owned that Madame had been harshly +treated, and could only counsel patience and assure her of Philip's +good-will; but he confessed that the task was a disagreeable one. +When Philip wrote at last, it was merely to exhort the Duchess to be +patient, as the whole world was in travail, and to promise that her +claims should be settled by the Cardinal.[614] Meanwhile fresh appeals +reached Christina every day from her Danish partisans, while King Eric +of Sweden, who had declared war on Denmark, opened negotiations with +her through his French Minister, Charles de Mornay. A marriage between +this young King and Renée was proposed, and Eric offered to support +the Duchess's rights to Denmark if she could obtain the help of the +Emperor and of the Netherlands. Ferdinand, however, quite declined to +countenance any attack on his ally, and begged his dear niece not to +stir up strife in Germany, although he assured her of his paternal love +and readiness to help her in the recovery of her rights by peaceable +methods. A few weeks after writing this letter the good Emperor died, +and, as Christina knew, she could expect little from his successor +Maximilian, who had never forgiven her friendship with Philip in bygone +days, and did not even send her the customary announcement of his +father's death. + +[Sidenote: JAN., 1565] DUKE ADOLF'S MARRIAGE] + +Another ally whose help the Duchess tried to enlist was the old +Landgrave, Philip of Hesse, whose daughter Christina, after being wooed +for some years by the King of Sweden, was finally married to Duke +Adolf of Holstein on the 20th of January, 1565. As Granvelle remarks, +it was a strange ending to this Prince's long courtship of Madame de +Lorraine, but he probably still hoped to support her cause in Denmark. +And as the Prince of Orange was asked to represent King Philip at the +marriage, Christina would have an opportunity of consulting him about +her Danish expedition.[615] But the Prince refused to leave Flanders, +and a serious relapse prevented the Duchess from attending the wedding. +As soon as she had recovered sufficiently, Christina dictated a letter +to her beloved sister Anne, who was still her most faithful friend: + + "Your letter was most welcome, as I had not heard from you + lately, and I thank you warmly for all that you say. I am + getting better, but am not very strong yet. As to the Swedish + business, I am anxious to know the name of the person whom you + mention as having the greatest affection for me and mine, and + who might help me with the King. And as I know that you only + desire my good, I beg you to keep your eyes open, and tell me + who are my best friends at Court. I quite agree with you that + it is useless to fish in troubled waters. Monsieur d'Egmont's + journey to Spain is a surprising event! The cause is unknown + to me, but it must be some matter of importance. Thank you + again with all my heart for the love that is expressed in your + letters."[616] + +The friends to whose influence at Court Anne had referred were the +Count and Countess of Aremberg, who stood high in favour with the King +and the Regent, and were in constant correspondence with Christina. + + "Would to God," wrote Margaret of Aremberg, "that Madame de + Lorraine could obtain the King's favour! She would then be + easily able to regain her own, as the Danes hate their King, + and he has no power over them. But I confess I have lost all + hopes of this ever coming to pass."[617] + +[Sidenote: JUNE, 1565] JOURNEY TO BRUSSELS] + +By the advice of these friends, the Duchess now decided to send Baron +de Polweiler to Spain to beg the King for the 300,000 crowns due to +her, in order that she might avail herself of the opportunity presented +by the war between Sweden and Denmark, and open the campaign in the +summer. Upon this Granvelle felt it his duty to inform his master of +the Duchess's plans, which might, he thought, be successful if the +King could help her with subsidies, since she had several allies in +Germany.[618] Duke Eric of Brunswick offered to raise an army and take +the command of the expedition, and the Landgrave of Hesse promised +to help on condition that she gave her daughter Renée in marriage +to one of his sons; while, by way of removing Philip's objections, +the Cardinal dwelt on the advantages of restoring the true faith in +these Northern kingdoms. But this plan was frustrated by the Archduke +Ferdinand's refusal to give Polweiler leave of absence, and as +Silliers, who offered to go in his stead, would only have made matters +worse, Christina resolved to ask Count Egmont to plead her cause at +Madrid. Even Granvelle, who had no love for the Count, approved of this +plan. Egmont was known to be devoted to the Duchess, and his great +popularity in the Low Countries would go far to remove the objections +to a breach with Denmark in those provinces. Unfortunately, in spite +of his good-will, Egmont effected no more for Christina than he did +for the liberties of the Netherlands. He was royally entertained by +Philip and his courtiers, and loaded with presents and flatteries, but, +when he came to business, received nothing but vague words and empty +promises. + +On his return to Flanders in April, his house was crowded with +visitors, and the Duchess, finding that she could obtain no answer to +her letters, determined to go to Brussels herself. In June she set out +on her journey, saying that she was going to kiss the Holy Coat at +Treves and pay her devotions to the Blessed Sacrament of the Miracle at +Brussels, in fulfilment of a vow made when she had been at the point of +death.[619] Her pilgrimage excited great curiosity, and even Polweiler +was in the dark as to its object, but felt convinced that she meant to +see Egmont and Eric of Brunswick, and that they would soon hear of a +sudden call to arms. + + "I hear from a trustworthy source," wrote the Landgrave to + Louis of Nassau, "that the old Duchess of Lorraine is going to + Brussels with both her daughters. She has raised 400,000 crowns + at Antwerp to make war on Denmark, and is to be helped by the + Netherlands with ships, money, and men. Her daughter Renée is + to marry King Eric, and a close alliance against the Danish + King is to be formed between Sweden, Lorraine, the States, + and the Holy Empire. Although I do not hold popular rumours + to be as infallible as Holy Gospel, I count them more worthy + of belief than Æsop's fables or the tales of Amadis de Gaul. + Of one thing I am quite sure: The Duchess does not travel to + Flanders or send an Ambassador to Sweden to roast pears or + dance a galliard. The latest report is that the Duchess is + going to sell her claims on Denmark to the King of Spain, but + I can hardly think His Majesty will be anxious to buy these + barren rights which bring a war in their train. Do not take + my gossip unkindly, but let me know what you hear of this + business."[620] + +A cloud of mystery surrounds this visit which Christina paid to +Brussels in the summer of 1565. She declined the Regent's invitation +to occupy her old quarters in the palace, but stayed in the religious +house known as the Cloister of Jericho, and afterwards with the Duchess +of Aerschot at Diest. She received visits from Duke Eric, who professed +himself ready to raise troops to serve her at the shortest notice, and +also from Count Egmont. But all that she could learn from this noble +was that, when he urged her claims on the King, and begged him to see +that the arrears due to her were paid, Philip replied that Her Highness +was the wisest and most virtuous of women, and would always take the +best course possible.[621] By August Christina was back in Lorraine, +and attended the christening of Nicholas de Vaudemont's new-born +daughter, who received the name of Christina.[622] + +[Sidenote: FEB., 1566] INTRIGUES WITH SWEDEN] + +Whatever others may have felt about the Duchess's designs on Denmark, +the King of Sweden was evidently in earnest. Four Ambassadors arrived +at Nancy on All Saints' Day, 1565, and went on to Denœuvre. They +brought offers from Eric to conquer Norway and Denmark in the Duchess's +name and leave her in possession of the latter kingdom, and asked for +Madame Renée's hand, in order to confirm the alliance between Lorraine +and Sweden. During a whole year the Swedish Envoys remained at Nancy, +and prolonged conferences were held between them and the Duke and his +mother. A new ally also came to her help in the person of the Czar +of Muscovy, who was profuse in his offers of assistance. Christina's +hopes rose high, and a medal was struck in 1566, bearing her effigy as +Queen of Denmark, with the motto: _Me sine cuncta ruunt_ (Without me +all things perish).[623] But one ally after the other failed her. Both +the Emperor Maximilian and the Elector of Saxony, who had married a +Princess of Denmark, were strongly opposed to her schemes; while the +ancient feud between the Danes and Swedes, who, in Silliers's words, +"hated each other as much as cats and dogs or English and French," +helped to complicate matters.[624] At the same time, she felt reluctant +to give her daughter to a man of Eric's unstable character, who had +been courting Queen Elizabeth and Christina of Hesse at the same time, +and was known to have a low-born mistress. She had good reason to be +afraid that the story of King Christian and Dyveke might be repeated, +and her fears were justified when, a year later, the King of Sweden +raised this favourite to the throne, and was soon afterwards deposed by +his subjects. The defection of Peder Oxe, who made his peace with the +King of Denmark and returned to Copenhagen at the close of 1566, was +another blow, and the ultimate defeat of the Swedes in the following +year extinguished her last hopes.[625] Cardinal Granvelle, who had been +sent to Italy by Philip to keep him away from the Netherlands, wrote +that the Viceroy, with the best will in the world, found it impossible +to pay the arrears due to the Duchess, and could not withdraw the +garrison at Tortona without the King's leave. As for the Danish +expedition, Granvelle told Polweiler that it was more hopeless than +ever, and he could only advise Her Highness to abandon the idea.[626] + + "Madame de Lorraine," replied the Baron, "is in great + perplexity, abandoned by all her relatives, and, like Tantalus, + is left to die of thirst, looking down on a clear and beautiful + stream." + +[Sidenote: MARCH, 1567] LES GUEUX] + +But a few faithful friends were still left. In May, 1566, the Duchess +of Aerschot came to Lorraine with her young son, and spent the summer +in her old home. The troubles in the Netherlands filled her with the +utmost anxiety, and her family, like many others, was divided. All her +own sympathies were with William of Orange and Egmont in the struggle +for freedom, but her stepson, Philip of Aerschot, and her cousin, Count +d'Aremberg, were among the few nobles who refused to join the League, +and stood fast by the Regent. Margaret of Parma looked coldly on her, +owing to Anne's connection with Christina and the Prince of Orange, and +did not even send her an invitation to her son Alexander's wedding. +With her wonted good sense, Anne refused to notice this affront, and +told her friends that she was too unwell to attend the festivities, +which excited much discontent by their profuse extravagance.[627] But +the situation was painful, and she was glad to retire to Lorraine +and enjoy the company of Christina and her venerable aunt, Duchess +Antoinette. Together they read the affectionate letters which Mary +Stuart wrote from her Northern home, and sighed over the perils +surrounding the young Queen. In spite of her relatives' advice, she had +married Darnley, the handsome Scottish boy whom her uncle the Cardinal +of Lorraine termed "that great nincompoop of a girl," and was already +learning to her cost the mistake that she had made. + +Terrible news now came from Flanders. Riots broke out in Antwerp and +Ghent, and spread rapidly through the provinces. The great church +of St. John was plundered, Hubert van Eyck's famous Adoration was +only saved by the presence of mind of the Canons, and the tomb of +Christina's mother, Queen Isabella, was hacked to pieces.[628] In +Brussels S. Gudule was stripped of its pictures and statues, and the +cry of "Vivent les Gueux!" rang through the courts of Charles V.'s +palace. The Regent tried in vain to escape, and was forced to turn for +help to the Prince of Orange and her most bitter enemies. Anne returned +home to find public affairs in dire confusion, and retired to her +dower-house at Diest. After her departure Christina became seriously +ill, and in the spring of 1567 her daughters entreated the Countess +of Aremberg to come to Lorraine, saying that her presence would be +the best medicine for their mother. Margaret obeyed the summons and +spent three months at Nancy and Denœuvre.[629] On her return she told +Granvelle's friend, Provost Morillon, that the King made a great +mistake in being so unfriendly to the House of Lorraine, and that if +Madame died the Duke would become altogether French, and his duchy +might at any moment fall into the hands of France. Charles was Catholic +to his finger-tips, and entirely devoted to his mother, but after her +death no one could tell what might happen.[630] These representations +were not without effect. Philip wrote in a more kindly strain to the +Duchess, and sent one of his Chamberlains--Don Luis de Mendoza--to wait +upon her at Nancy, and remain in Lorraine until the arrival of the Duke +of Alva, who was now despatched from Spain to replace Margaret of Parma +as Captain-General of the Netherlands. In July he crossed the Mont +Cenis, and marched through Lorraine at the head of a force of picked +Spanish and Italian soldiers. Brantôme rushed to Nancy to see this +"gentle and gallant army," with their fine new muskets and pikes, but +the sight filled many of the spectators with profound misgivings.[631] + +[Sidenote: JUNE, 1568] DEATH OF EGMONT] + +The Prince of Orange had already resigned all his offices and retired +to Germany, but Egmont and his friend Count Horn were caught in the +fatal snare, and were both arrested at a banquet in Alva's house on +the evening of the 9th of September. The news filled Europe with +consternation. In her distress Christina wrote several letters to the +King of Spain, pleading passionately for the Count's release, and +recalling his great deeds and the devotion which he had always shown +to the King's service.[632] Her appeals were seconded by the Duke and +his wife, by Vaudemont,--Egmont's own brother-in-law--by the Duke and +Duchess of Bavaria, the Elector Palatine, and all the Princes of the +Empire. Maximilian himself addressed two autograph letters to Philip, +praying for the Count's release, and the Knights of the Golden Fleece +protested against this violation of the rules of their Order. But +all was in vain. Philip vouchsafed no answer to any of these appeals, +saying he would not change his mind if the sky were to fall on his +head,[633] and on the 6th of June, 1568, the Grande Place witnessed +the execution of the hero of Gravelines. A fortnight before this +shocking event, Anne, Duchess of Aerschot, breathed her last at Diest, +thankful to escape from a world so full of misery, and only grieving +to think that her vast dower and fine estates would not pass to their +rightful owner, William of Orange.[634] In the same month of May the +first battle was fought between the revolted nobles and the Spanish +forces, and Margaret of Aremberg's husband fell fighting valiantly +in the mêlée. Meanwhile civil war had broken out again in France, +and in November, 1567, the Constable Montmorency, the old Nestor of +France, was killed in a battle at St. Denis, fighting against the +Huguenots, with Condé and his own nephew Coligny at their head. Old +friends were falling on every side, and before Christina's tears for +her sister-in-law were dried, she and the aged Duchess of Guise were +mourning the sad fate of Antoinette's luckless granddaughter, the Queen +of Scots, who had been compelled to abdicate her throne, and was now a +captive in the hands of her rival, Queen Elizabeth. + + +V. + +While civil war was raging all round, and Christina's best friends +were dying on the scaffold or the battle-field, the marriage of her +daughter Renée brought a ray of light into her life. The tale of +Renée's courtships almost rivals that of her mother's. The Kings of +Sweden and Denmark, William of Orange and Henri de Joinville, were only +a few among the candidates who sought her hand. Granvelle once proposed +the Duke of Urbino as a suitable match, and Philip was anxious to marry +her to his handsome and popular half-brother, Don John of Austria. But +the Duchess declined this offer repeatedly, saying that no child of +hers should ever wed a bastard. When in the summer of 1567, Don Luis +de Mendoza again urged this suit on the King's behalf, the Duchess +informed him that her daughter's hand was already promised to Duke +William of Bavaria, the eldest son of the reigning Duke Albert and his +wife, the Archduchess Anna. The contract was signed in September, and +the marriage took place early in the following year,[635] and turned +out very happily. Throughout his life the Bavarian Duke maintained +worthily the strong Catholic traditions of his house, and proved a +dutiful and affectionate son-in-law. Christina spent the following +winter at the Castle of Friedberg in Bavaria, where she was once more +dangerously ill, and Silliers as usual complained bitterly of Philip's +neglect and unkindness in never making inquiries after her health. +But, in spite of all rebuffs, neither the Baron nor his mistress had +abandoned their dreams of conquering Denmark, and in April, 1569, +Cardinal Granvelle wrote to the King from Rome: + +[Sidenote: SEPT., 1572] DEATH OF SILLIERS] + + "Madame de Lorraine is still trying to recover her father's + kingdom, and both she and her Councillor, Silliers, are + continually begging me for help in this matter. In vain I have + replied for the hundredth time that I am too far from Madrid + and the Low Countries to know if the affair is practicable, + and have pointed out that, in the first place, the Dutch will + never break with Denmark; secondly, that the Emperor would + object to any attempt of this kind; and, thirdly, that Your + Majesty's hands are full. In fact, I have told her that I + cannot see any solid foundations for her hopes. But she returns + to the charge again and again."[636] + +It was the last flicker of an expiring flame. After this, even +Christina seems to have recognized the futility of her schemes, and the +death of Silliers finally decided her to abandon them altogether. This +"vain, insupportable, and foolish man," as the Cardinal called him, +and whom her son, the Duke, also detested cordially, lost his life in +Bavaria, in September, 1572, being killed by a shot from a crossbow, +which was said to be accidental, but which Granvelle and his other +enemies ascribed to a paid assassin.[637] During the last twenty years, +it must be owned, Silliers had been the Duchess's evil genius; but, in +spite of all his faults, he was sincerely attached to his mistress, and +his devotion to her interests cannot be questioned. + +Christina spent the next six years chiefly at Nancy or Denœuvre, in the +company of her children and grandchildren. The Duke had a large family +of three sons and six daughters, the eldest of whom, Christina, bore +a strong likeness to her grandmother both in face and character. This +Princess and her cousin Louise de Vaudemont, the daughter of Nicholas +by his first wife, Margaret of Egmont, were great favourites with the +Duchess-mother, and spent much time in her society. Louise was a fair +and gentle maiden, whose charms captivated Henry, Duke of Anjou, when +he came to Lorraine in 1573, on his way to take possession of the +throne of Poland. He was accompanied by his mother, Queen Catherine, +who spent a week at Nancy, and after her son's departure remained some +days at Blamont with Christina. When, two years later, Henry succeeded +his brother, Charles IX., the new King's first thought was to make +the Princess of Lorraine his wife. Christina was too ill to leave her +bed, but Duchess Antoinette, still young in spite of her eighty years, +brought the bride to Reims, where the wedding was celebrated two days +after Henry III.'s coronation. The Duke and his sister Dorothea were +present at the ceremony, as well as all the Guise Princes.[638] Five +days afterwards, on the 20th of February, 1575, the Duchess Claude, +whose health had long been failing, and who had lately given birth to +twin daughters, died in the ducal palace, at the age of twenty-eight, +leaving the Duke an inconsolable widower. He was only thirty-two, +and although he lived till 1608, never married again. Soon after +Claude's death, her eldest daughter, Christina, went to live with her +grandmother, Catherine de' Medici, at the French Court. This masterful +lady, who quarrelled with her own daughter Margaret, was very fond of +Christina, and kept this young Princess constantly at her side during +the next fourteen years. + +[Sidenote: DEC., 1575] MARRIAGE OF DOROTHEA] + +In the following December, Elizabeth of Austria, the widow of Charles +IX., and daughter of the Emperor Maximilian II., visited Nancy on +her way back to Vienna, and was escorted on her journey by Renée and +her husband, the Duke of Bavaria. They were all three present at the +wedding of the Princess Dorothea, who was married in the Church of +St. Georges, on the 26th of December, to Duke Eric of Brunswick.[639] +This wild and restless Prince had always been on friendly terms with +Christina and her family, and was one of King Philip's favourite +captains and a Knight of the Golden Fleece. He had lately lost +his first wife, and succeeded his father in the principalities of +Göttingen and Calenberg, although his roving tastes made him prefer +foreign service to residence on his own estates. Now, at the age of +forty-seven, he became the husband of Christina's younger daughter. +In spite of her lameness, this Princess inherited much of her aunt +Dorothea's charm and gaiety, and was fondly beloved by her brother +and all his children. She took especial interest in the improvements +which the Duke was never tired of making at Nancy, and helped him in +laying out the beautiful terraced gardens, adorned with fountains and +orangeries, in the precincts of the ducal palace. And the bell in the +new clock-tower, which the Duke built in 1577, was named Dorothea, +after the Duchess of Brunswick.[640] Charles himself, like his father, +was a Prince of cultured tastes, who studied the Latin and Italian +poets and took delight in Ronsard's verses. The foundation of the +University at Pont-à-Mousson bore witness to his love of learning, +while he employed scholars to collect precious books and manuscripts, +and sent his gardeners to inspect the royal palaces at Fontainebleau +and St. Germain, and to bring back rare plants and exotics.[641] + +In these last years of Christina's life at Nancy, new hopes and +interests were suddenly brought into her life by Don John of Austria's +arrival in the Low Countries. When terrorism and massacre had failed +to crush the revolted provinces, the hero of Lepanto was appointed +Governor, in the hope that he might succeed in restoring order, by +appealing to his illustrious father's memory and ruling the Netherlands +according to his example. In October, 1576, Don John travelled through +France in the disguise of a Moorish servant, and, after spending one +night in Paris, came to Joinville to consult the Duke of Guise on a +romantic scheme which he had formed to release and marry the captive +Queen of Scots. Then he hurried on to Luxembourg and proclaimed his +intention of withdrawing the Spanish troops and granting a general +amnesty. The coming of this chivalrous Prince, with his message of +peace, filled the people of the Netherlands with new hope. Don John was +received with open arms by the Duke of Aerschot and his half-brother, +Anne of Lorraine's son, Charles de Croy, Marquis of Havré. His first +act was to restore the lands and fortune of the late Count Egmont to +his widow, the Countess Palatine Sabina, and her innocent children. +This rejoiced the heart of Madame d'Aremberg, who had been spending the +winter at Nancy with the Duchess, and Christina's nephew, Charles de +Croy, told Don John frankly that the Low Countries would gladly have +him, not only for their Governor, but for their King. Christina herself +was deeply stirred, and sent a member of her household to Luxembourg +with a letter welcoming the Prince in the warmest terms, and thanking +him for the cheering news which he had sent her. + +[Sidenote: NOV., 1576] DON JOHN OF AUSTRIA] + + "I can only praise God," she wrote, "for your appointment to + the government of the Low Countries, and trust that the same + success that, thanks to your great valour and prudence, has + everywhere attended you will continue to crown your efforts. + + "Your very loving and more than + very affectionate cousin, + "CHRÉTIENNE. + + "Blamont, November 12, 1576."[642] + + +In her anxiety to see Don John, the Duchess set out for Pont-à-Mousson; +but when she reached Nancy, on the 12th of December, she heard that the +Prince had already left Luxembourg for the Netherlands, and sent him +the following letter by a confidential servant, who was to tell him +many things which she could not commit to paper: + + "MY COUSIN, + + "The singular wish that I have to see Your Highness, and confer + with you on many points of the highest importance, induced + me to leave Blamont and come to Pont-à-Mousson, in order to + be near you and to have an opportunity of seeing you and + conversing together, as you will learn more fully from this + gentleman whom I am sending to wish you all prosperity and + success in your noble designs and enterprises, as well as to + tell you many things which I beg you to hear and believe."[643] + +Don John replied in the same friendly spirit, telling her his plans and +thanking her most warmly for her advice. + + "As for me," he wrote, "I am exceedingly obliged to Your + Highness for your offers, and shall always be most grateful for + your advice and help, knowing, Madame, your great experience + and wisdom in affairs. God knows how anxious I was to come and + see Your Highness on my journey here, and kiss your hands, but + it was impossible owing to the urgency of affairs requiring my + presence here. I am very glad indeed," he adds in a postscript, + "to hear that you are in good health."[644] + +The Prince was evidently impressed by the soundness of the Duchess's +judgment and by her great popularity in the Netherlands, for when, a +few weeks later, he began to realize the hopeless nature of his task, +and begged for his recall, he repeatedly told Philip that, in his +opinion, the Duchess of Lorraine would be the best person to take his +place. + + "The Duchess of Lorraine," he wrote on February 16, 1577, + "has all the qualities necessary for the government of these + provinces, which she would administer far better than I can, + because they are beginning to hate me, and I know that I hate + them." + +Again, a little later: + + "I find in Madame de Lorraine a real desire to serve Your + Majesty. She has come to Pont-à-Mousson to see if she can be of + help to me, and I am sure would gladly execute any orders that + she may receive." + +[Sidenote: OCT., 1578] DEATH OF DON JOHN] + +Christina heard with delight of Don John's joyous entry into Brussels +on May Day, and received with deep thankfulness his letter informing +her of the departure of the hated Spanish troops. But these high hopes +were doomed to disappointment. The war soon broke out again, and after +Don John's victory of Gembloux in January, 1578, Madame de Lorraine was +one of the first persons to whom he announced the news by letter.[645] +Both of the Duchess's sons-in-law joined in supporting Don John, and in +May, 1578, the Duke of Brunswick brought a force of 3,000 Germans to +join him at Namur. Dorothea accompanied her husband, and was about to +pay the Prince a visit, when she received a message from her brother +Charles, informing her of their mother's serious illness, and left +hastily for Nancy.[646] + +Five months afterwards a premature death closed the brilliant +adventurer's career, and Christina was left to grieve over the tragic +end of this Prince, of whom so much had been expected. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[572] Venetian Calendar, vi. 1533. + +[573] T. Juste, "Philippe II.," 209; Gachard, "Correspondance de +Guillaume d'Orange," i. 431; Granvelle, v. 628. + +[574] T. Juste, 206; Venetian Calendar, vii. 83. + +[575] Venetian Calendar, vii. 83. + +[576] Venetian Calendar, vii. 83. + +[577] Granvelle, v. 625-627. + +[578] Venetian Calendar, vii. 112. + +[579] Calendar of State Papers, Elizabeth, i. 82. + +[580] Sébastien de l'Aubespine, "Négociations au Règne de François +II.," 43, 66. + +[581] Venetian Calendar, vii. 119, 121; Gachard, iv. 72. + +[582] Kervyn de Lettenhove, i. 583. + +[583] Groen, i. 49; Kervyn de Lettenhove, ii. 8; Venetian Calendar, +vii. 112. + +[584] Groen, i. 35; Granvelle, v. 652. + +[585] Granvelle, v. 672, vi. 29. + +[586] Groen, i. 49, 52; "Correspondence de Granvelle," iii. 529. + +[587] Calmet, ii. 1552; Pfister, ii. 246; Calendar of State Papers, +Elizabeth, i. 562. + +[588] Calendar of State Papers, Elizabeth, Foreign, ii. 55. + +[589] A. de Ruble, 308; Bibliothèque Nationale, 123, 4, f. 40. + +[590] Calmet, ii. 1353; Pfister, ii. 246. + +[591] Venetian Calendar, vii. 163; Calendar of State Papers, Elizabeth, +Foreign, iii. 224. + +[592] Calendar of State Papers, Elizabeth, Foreign, iv. 91; Venetian +Calendar, vii. 290. + +[593] A. de Ruble, 210; Brantôme, xii. 116; Aubespine, 752. + +[594] Aubespine, 80-84; Bouillé, ii. 74; Venetian Calendar, vii. 290. + +[595] Brantôme, xii. 117. + +[596] Aubespine, 867. + +[597] Schlegel, 253; Granvelle, vi. 1. + +[598] Calendar of State Papers, Elizabeth, Foreign, ii. 458, iii. 328. + +[599] A. Churchill, "Collection of Voyages and Travels," vi. 458. + +[600] Calendar of State Papers, Elizabeth, Foreign, v. 554; Granvelle, +vi. 683. + +[601] Pimodan, 215. + +[602] Granvelle, vii. 488. + +[603] Pfister, ii. 184; H. Lepage, "Le Palais Ducal de Nancy," 3. + +[604] Calmet, iii. 30. + +[605] Granvelle, vii. 344; Calmet, iii. 434, 438. + +[606] Granvelle, vii. 488. + +[607] Gachard, "Correspondance de Guillaume, Prince d'Orange," ii. 67; +Groen, i. 214. + +[608] "Mémoires de Granvelle," xxxv. 19. + +[609] Granvelle, vii. 437-440. + +[610] Schäfer, v. 111, 112. + +[611] Granvelle, vii. 533, 671, viii. 522. + +[612] Calmet, iii. 1359; Granvelle, viii. 46. + +[613] Granvelle, viii. 345. + +[614] _Ibid_., viii. 472. + +[615] Granvelle, viii. 609. + +[616] _Ibid._, viii. 637. + +[617] Granvelle, viii. 637. + +[618] Granvelle, ix. 22, 28; Schäfer, v. 114. + +[619] Granvelle, ix. 373. + +[620] Groen, i. 408. + +[621] Granvelle, ix. 498. + +[622] _Ibid_., ix. 496. + +[623] Schäfer, v. 116-118; Calmet, ii. 26. + +[624] Granvelle, ix. 661-664; Groen, i. 303. + +[625] Schäfer, v. 167. + +[626] Granvelle, "Correspondance," i. 126, 178. + +[627] _Ibid._, i. 43, 524. + +[628] Granvelle, "Correspondance," i. 444. + +[629] _Ibid._, i. 494. + +[630] Granvelle, "Correspondance," ii. 494. + +[631] Brantôme, i. 104. + +[632] Gachard, "Correspondance de Philippe II.," i. 18. + +[633] Gachard, "Correspondance de Philippe II.," i. 588, 738, 762. + +[634] Granvelle, "Correspondance," iii. 235. + +[635] Calmet, i. 265. + +[636] Granvelle, "Correspondance," iii. 463. + +[637] _Ibid._, v. 418. + +[638] Pimodan, 254. + +[639] Calmet, i. 265; Pfister, ii. 256. + +[640] Pfister, ii. 246; H. Lepage, "La Ville de Nancy," 63, "Palais +Ducal," 3. + +[641] Pfister, ii. 496. + +[642] Gachard, "Correspondance de Philippe II.," v. 29. + +[643] _Ibid._, v. 92. + +[644] Granvelle, "Correspondance," vi. 521. + +[645] _Ibid._, vii. 572. + +[646] Granvelle, vii. 638. + + + + +BOOK XIV + +THE LADY OF TORTONA + +1578-1590 + + +I. + +The marriage of her last remaining daughter, and the removal of her +granddaughter to the French Court, loosened the ties that bound the +Duchess-mother to Lorraine. The failure of the high hopes which Don +John's coming had aroused were a grievous disappointment, and, after +her dangerous attack of illness in the spring of 1578, Christina +decided to follow her doctor's advice and seek a warmer climate. +Her thoughts naturally turned to her dower city of Tortona, whose +inhabitants still paid her allegiance, in spite of Philip's invasion +of her privileges. Since the Spanish garrison still occupied the +castle, the magistrates begged her to inhabit the Communal palace, +and Christina, touched by their expressions of loyalty and affection, +resolved to accept the offer. + +[Sidenote: AUG., 1578] CHRISTINA RETURNS TO ITALY] + +Before settling at Tortona, however, she decided to make a pilgrimage +to Loreto, the shrine for which the Lorraine Princes had always +cherished especial veneration. Early in August, 1578, she left Nancy +and travelled across the Alps, and through Savoy, by the route which +she had taken as a bride, nearly half a century before. Her old friend, +the Duchess Margaret, whose marriage had been one of the happiest +results of the Treaty of Câteau-Cambrésis, had already been dead four +years, and her lord of the Iron-head was a confirmed invalid; but he +sent his son, Charles Emanuel, to meet the Duchess and escort her to +the citadel of Turin. + +From Savoy, Christina proceeded to Milan, where she arrived on the +20th of August, and was hospitably entertained in the Castello by the +Spanish Viceroy, the Marquis d'Ayamonte.[647] Once more she drove in +her chariot through the streets where her coming had been hailed by +rejoicing multitudes, once more she prayed by her husband's tomb in the +Duomo and saw Leonardo's Cenacolo in Le Grazie. Her old friends, Count +Massimiliano, the Trivulzi, and Dejanira, were dead and gone, and at +every step the ghosts of bygone days rose up to haunt her memory. Then +she travelled on by slow stages to Loreto, on the Adriatic shore, where +she paid her vows at Our Lady's shrine, and offered a massive gold +heart set with pearls and precious gems, to the admiration of future +pilgrims.[648] But the long journey had overtaxed her strength, and +when, on her return to Lombardy, she reached Ripalta, she was too ill +to go any farther. Here she remained throughout the winter to recover +from her fatigues and give the citizens of Tortona time to prepare for +her reception. + +At length, on the 17th of June, 1579, the Duchess made her state entry +into the city. The magistrates met her at the gates with a stately +baldacchino fringed with gold and silver, and escorted their Sovereign +Lady to the house of Bartolommeo Busseto, where she alighted to partake +of the banquet which had been prepared. Afterwards the loyal citizens +accompanied her to the Palazzo Pubblico, halfway up the hill above +the town, which had been splendidly fitted up for her occupation. The +beauty of the view delighted the Duchess as much as the enthusiastic +warmth of her reception, and the health-giving breezes of the Lombard +city proved even more beneficial than her physicians had expected. "She +came to our city of Tortona a dying woman, and lived there in health +and comfort for more than ten years."[649] So wrote Niccolò Montemerlo, +the historian whose chronicles of Tortona were published in 1618, +when Christina had not yet been dead thirty years. His contemporaries +joined with him in praising the Duchess's wise and beneficial rule, +the strictness with which she administered justice, her liberality and +benevolence. + + "The Duchess Christina of Milan," wrote Campo of Cremona in + 1585, "celebrated for her beauty and gracious manners, for + her affability and generosity, has lately come to spend her + widowhood in the city of Tortona, and lives there in great + splendour, beloved by all."[650] + +[Sidenote: JUNE, 1579] THE LADY OF TORTONA] + +Christina's administrative powers found ample scope in the government +of the city, and under her rule Tortona enjoyed a brief spell of +peace and prosperity. She reformed abuses, obtained the restitution +of lost privileges, and healed a long-standing feud with the city of +Ravenna. At her prayer, Pope Gregory XIII. repealed a decree exacting +a heavy fine from every citizen of Tortona who entered Ravennese +territory, and friendly communications were restored between the two +cities. Before her coming, the Spanish Viceroy had incurred great +unpopularity by building a new citadel on the heights occupied by +the ancient Duomo and episcopal palace, and converting these into +barracks and powder-magazines. In 1560 the foundations of a new +Cathedral were laid by Philip's orders in the lower city, but this +could not atone in the eyes of the citizens for the desecration of the +venerated shrine founded by St. Innocent in the fourth century, and +adorned with priceless mosaics and marbles. When, in 1609, the lofty +campanile was struck by lightning, and 400 barrels of gunpowder stored +in the nave exploded with terrific force, the accident was regarded +as a Divine judgment, and the panic-stricken Spaniards joined in the +solemn procession that bore the relics of the martyrs from their old +resting-place to the new sanctuary.[651] + +But if Christina could not atone for this indignity, or deliver +Tortona from the presence of the hated Spaniards, she protected her +subjects from their outrages, and rigidly enforced the observance of +the law. Many were the petitions and remonstrances on behalf of her +own rights and those of the citizens which she addressed to her dear +and illustrious cousin, Don Carlos of Aragon, Duke of Terranuova, who +reigned over the Milanese as Viceroy from 1583 to 1592. The Duchess was +in frequent correspondence with her children beyond the Alps, and many +requests for passes for horses which she is sending to Lorraine and +Bavaria, as well as for privileges for her Equerries, Signor Alfonso +and Gaspare Visconti, are to be found in the archives of Milan.[652] + +[Sidenote: JAN., 1585] THE LAST PHASE] + +Many were the illustrious guests, remarks Montemerlo, who came to visit +the Duchess at Tortona. In October, 1581, the Empress-Dowager Maria, +widow of Maximilian II., passed through Lombardy on her return to +Spain, and was received at Alessandria by Madame de Lorraine. Together +they drove through streets hung with tapestries and adorned with +triumphal arches, until, after three days' festivities, they went on to +Tortona, and thence to Genoa. The families of the old Milanese nobles +who had remained loyal to the House of Sforza welcomed Christina's +return to Lombardy with joy. The nephew and heir of Count Massimiliano +Stampa placed his superb pleasure-house at Montecastello, in the fief +of Soncino, at her disposal, and named his eldest son Christian in her +honour. The Guaschi of Alessandria, the Counts of Oria, the Trivulzi, +the Somaglia and Visconti, vied with each other in entertaining her +sumptuously.[653] The saintly Archbishop of Milan, Carlo Borromeo, +visited her more than once, and the excellent Bishop of Tortona, Cesare +Gambara, sought her help and advice in all that concerned the welfare +of his people. From the day when, hardly more than a child herself, +she begged Cardinal Caracciolo's protection for the destitute ladies +at Pavia, Christina always cared for the poor and needy, and in her +old age she was busy with active works of mercy. One of her last good +actions was to send to Paris for Madame Castellani, a daughter of +her old friend the Princess of Macedonia, who was living in reduced +circumstances at the French Court, and bring her to Tortona to spend +the rest of her life in peace and comfort. So she earned the love and +gratitude of all around her, and thousands blessed the good Duchess's +name long after she was dead. + + +II. + +This last phase of Christina's life was on the whole peaceful and +happy. Brantôme pitied this great lady, a daughter of Kings and niece +of Emperors, and the rightful Queen of three kingdoms, who, after +reigning over Milan and Lorraine, was reduced to hold her Court in an +insignificant Lombard town, and was known in her last years as "Madame +de Tortone."[654] But after her troubled life Christina was grateful +for the peace and repose which she found at Tortona, and would have +been perfectly content if it had not been for the continual annoyances +to which she was exposed by Philip and his Ministers. From the moment +that she settled in her dower city, the King began to dispute her +right to its sovereignty, and insisted that, since Tortona had been +settled upon her as an equivalent for the dower given her "out of +pure liberality" by the late Emperor, she was bound to surrender +her claims on payment of the sum in full. Christina, on her part, +maintained with good reason that her claim to the city had never before +been questioned, and that it was settled on her at her marriage, and +belonged to her and her heirs of the House of Lorraine in perpetuity. +The assertion of this claim roused Cardinal Granvelle to the highest +indignation. "So dangerous a thing," he wrote to Philip, "cannot +possibly be allowed." But, as he confessed, what made the situation +awkward was that Madame de Lorraine's claims were strongly supported, +not only by her son, Duke Charles, but by the Emperor Rudolf, the Duke +of Bavaria, the Archdukes Ferdinand and Charles, and all the Princes of +the Empire.[655] A long wrangle ensued, which ended in a declaration +on the King's part that he would consent to Tortona being retained by +the Duchess for her life, and afterwards held by her son-in-law and +daughter, the Duke and Duchess of Brunswick. + +[Sidenote: DEC., 1584] DUKE ERIC'S DEATH] + +Dorothea and her husband were, in fact, the only members of Christina's +family for whom Philip showed any regard. In 1578 Duke Eric was +summoned to Spain to join in the contemplated invasion of Portugal, +and served in the campaign led by Alva two years later. Dorothea +accompanied her husband, and spent most of her time at Court. The +King evidently liked her, and when, after the successful termination +of the war, the Duke and Duchess came to take leave of him at Madrid, +Granvelle was desired to draw up a secret convention by which Tortona +and the revenues were assigned to Eric in lieu of the yearly pension +allowed him. But Dorothea was not to be outwitted by the Cardinal. She +insisted, on the arrears due to her husband being paid in full, and +Philip himself told Granvelle to see that two or three thousand crowns +of the Duke's salary were given to the Duchess, since she was short of +money, and this seemed to him only reasonable. He also gave Dorothea +two fine horses, which she wished to send to her brother-in-law, +the Duke of Bavaria, and granted her a patent for working certain +gold-mines, which the Cardinal promised to forward either to her +mother at Tortona, or else to the care of the Prince of Orange in +Germany.[656] This last direction sounds strange, considering that the +famous ban against the Prince, setting a price of 30,000 crowns on his +head, had already been issued at Granvelle's suggestion.[657] + +The Duke and Duchess now returned to Göttingen, after visiting +Christina at Tortona, and remained in their own dominions for the +next few years, among their long-neglected subjects. But Eric soon +became restless, and in April, 1582, Dorothea wrote to beg Granvelle's +help in obtaining the Viceroyalty of Milan or Naples for her husband. +The Cardinal promised to do his best, and two years later actually +recommended the Duke for the Viceroyalty of Sicily. But a few weeks +afterwards, on the 15th of December, 1584, Eric of Brunswick died at +Pavia, and was buried in the crypt of Bramante's church of S. Maria +Canepanova, where his tomb is still to be seen.[658] The Duke's death +released Philip from his promise regarding the succession of Tortona. +But he had already taken the law into his own hands. + +In June, 1584, when Christina and her ladies were enjoying the delights +of the Marchese Stampa's beautiful villa at Montecastello, the Viceroy +suddenly appeared on the scene, and presented her with two letters +from His Catholic Majesty. These were to inform her that, after long +and mature deliberation, the King and his Council had come to the +conclusion that her rights to the sovereignty of Tortona were extinct, +and reverted to him as Duke of Milan. But since Madame de Lorraine was +closely bound to him by ties of blood, and still more by the singular +affection which he had always borne her, His Majesty was pleased to +allow her to retain the enjoyment of Tortona and its revenues for the +remainder of her life, which he hoped would be long and prosperous. In +vain Christina protested that her dowry had never been paid, and that +this city was granted to her in its stead by the terms of her marriage +contract. The Viceroy replied in the most courteous language that +Madame was no doubt right, but that this was not his affair, and he +could only recommend that on this point her claims should be referred +to the Treasury.[659] He then proceeded to take possession of Tortona +in the King's name, and hoisted the Spanish standard on the citadel +and the Duchess's palace. Christina could only bow to superior force, +but she forwarded a protest to the Catholic King and his Council, both +of whom refused to receive it, on the flimsy pretext that the writer +assumed the title of Queen of Denmark, which they could not recognize. +Certainly, as Brantôme remarked, and as Polweiler and Silliers often +complained, Philip showed his great affection for his cousin in a +strange manner.[660] + +[Sidenote: SEPT., 1586] DEATH OF GRANVELLE] + +Before the Duchess left Montecastello, she received the news of the +Prince of Orange's assassination at Delft on the 10th of July, 1584. +The hero and patriot had fallen a victim to the plots of Philip and +Granvelle, and had paid the price with his life. Three years afterwards +Christina shared in the thrill of horror that ran through Europe when +Mary, Queen of Scots, died on the scaffold. In that hour she could +only be thankful that the good old Duchess Antoinette was spared this +terrible blow, and had died four years before, at the advanced age of +eighty-nine. To the last Antoinette kept up friendly relations with her +niece, and in a letter written with her own hand in November, 1575, the +venerable lady expressed her sincere regret that owing to her great age +she was unable to welcome Christina in person on her return to Nancy, +but that in the spring she quite hoped to come and see her once more +before she died.[661] + +In 1586 Christina's old rival, Margaret of Parma, and this Princess's +stanch supporter, Cardinal Granvelle, both died. Friends and foes +were falling all around, and young and old alike were passing out of +sight. But the Duchess still enjoyed fair health and was so happy +at Tortona that she often said she never wished to leave home. As a +rule, however, she spent the summer months at the Rocca di Sparaviera, +in the mountains of Monferrato, "more," writes the chronicler, "to +please others than herself."[662] Each year she obtained permission +from the Viceroy to send 250 sacks of wheat, free of duty, for the use +of her household to the Rocca, and her _maggiordomo_ went beforehand +to prepare the rooms for her arrival.[663] The presence of the +Duchess Dorothea, who joined her mother at Tortona after the Duke of +Brunswick's death, was a great solace in these last years, and consoled +Christina for many losses and sorrows. + +Meanwhile the war of the League had broken out in France, and the +three Henries were contending for the mastery. Since Henry III. was +childless, Catherine now tried to put forward the claims of a fourth +Henry, the eldest son of her daughter Claude and the Duke of Lorraine, +and a party in France maintained his claims to be at least as valid +as those which Philip II. advanced in virtue of his wife Elizabeth. +Christina's heart was moved at the thought of her grandson succeeding +to the throne of France, and in 1587 she sent a Lorraine gentleman, De +Villers, to Rome to beg the Pope for his support in this holy cause. +The Pope, however, merely replied that he advised the Duke to live +at peace with his neighbours. The Duchess, nothing daunted, sent De +Villers to Nancy with letters bidding her son be of good cheer and +persevere in his great enterprise. Unfortunately, the messenger fell +into the hands of Huguenot soldiers, who took him into the King of +Navarre's camp. All that could be found on him was an almost illegible +letter from Her Highness the Duke's mother, containing these words: + + "I am very glad to hear of the present state of your affairs, + and hope that you will go on and prosper, for never was there + so fine a chance of placing the crown upon your head and the + sceptre in your hand."[664] + +The Béarnais smiled as he read this characteristic effusion, and bade +his soldiers let the man go free. Charles, on his part, expressed +considerable annoyance at his mother's intervention, which only +aroused the suspicions of King Henry III., and made him look coldly +on his brother-in-law. The Duchess's last illusion, however, was soon +dispelled, and after the murder of the Guise brothers at Blois, and the +assassination of the last Valois, Henry of Navarre was recognized as +King by the greater part of France. + +[Sidenote: FEB., 1589] AN INTERESTING MARRIAGE] + +Christina did not live to see the end of the civil war, and the union +of Henri Quatre's sister with her own grandson. But the last year of +her life was cheered by the marriage of her granddaughter Christina +with the Grand-Duke Ferdinand of Tuscany. Several alliances had been +proposed for this Princess since she had gone to live at the French +Court with her grandmother. Catherine was very anxious to marry her to +Charles Emanuel, who in 1580 succeeded his father as Duke of Savoy; +but Spanish influences prevailed, and the young Prince took the +Infanta Catherine for his wife.[665] In 1583 the Queen-mother planned +another marriage for her granddaughter, with her youngest son, the +Duke of Alençon, who had left the Netherlands and lost all hope of +winning Queen Elizabeth's hand; but, fortunately for Christina, the +death of this worthless Prince in the following June put an end to the +scheme.[666] When, in October, 1586, the King of Navarre divorced his +wife Margot, Catherine proposed that her son-in-law should marry her +granddaughter; but this plan fell through, as Henry refused to abjure +the Huguenot religion. On the death of the Grand-Duke Francis in 1587, +his brother Ferdinand exchanged a Cardinal's hat for the ducal crown, +and made proposals of marriage to the Princess of Lorraine. Catherine +was overjoyed at the thought of her beloved Christina reigning in +Florence, the home of her ancestors, and promised her granddaughter +a dowry of 600,000 crowns, with all her rights on the Medici estates +in Florence, including the palace of the Via Larga. Orazio Rucellai +was sent to France to draw up the contract, which Bassompierre signed +on the Duke of Lorraine's part, on the 20th of October, 1588.[667] +But the state of the country was so unsettled that the Queen would +not allow her granddaughter to travel, and the fleet which sailed to +fetch the bride was detained for months in the port of Marseilles. The +murder of the Duke of Guise at Blois in December threw the whole Court +into confusion, and a fortnight later Catherine herself died, on the +5th of January, 1589. It was not till the 25th of February that the +marriage was finally celebrated at Blois. In March the bride set out on +her journey, attended by a brilliant company of French and Florentine +courtiers. Dorothea of Brunswick came to meet her niece at Lyons, and +accompanied her to Marseilles, where Don Pietro de' Medici awaited her +with his Tuscan galleys, and on the 23rd of April Christina at length +landed at Leghorn. Ferdinand met his bride at the villa of Poggio +a Caiano, and conducted her in triumph to Florence.[668] When the +prolonged festivities were over, Monsieur de Lenoncourt, whom Charles +of Lorraine had sent to escort his daughter to Florence, went on, by +his master's orders, to Tortona, "to kiss the hands of the Duke's +mother, the Queen of Denmark, and receive her commands."[669] + +[Illustration: + + CHRISTINA OF DENMARK CLAUDE OF FRANCE CHRISTINE OF LORRAINE + DUCHESS OF LORRAINE DUCHESS OF LORRAINE GRAND DUCHESS OF TUSCANY + +(Madrid) + +To face p. 508] + +[Sidenote: AUG., 1590] DEATH OF CHRISTINA] + +Unlike her mother and grandmother, the Grand-Duchess Christina enjoyed +a long and prosperous married life, and after her husband's death was +Regent during the minority of both her son and grandson. There is an +interesting triptych in the Prado at Madrid, with portraits of the +bride, her mother and grandmother, painted by some Burgundian artist +at the time of the wedding. The young Grand-Duchess, a tall, handsome +girl of four-and-twenty, wears a high lace ruff, with ropes of pearls +round her neck and a jewelled girdle at her waist. She carries a fan in +her hand, and the Medici _palle_ are emblazoned on her shield with the +lilies of France and the eagles of Lorraine. Her mother, the shortlived +Duchess Claude, bears a marked resemblance to Catherine de' Medici, +but is smaller and slighter in build, and altogether of a gentler and +feebler type. She too holds a fan, and wears a gown of rich brocade +with bodice and sleeves thickly sown with pearls. Christina, on the +contrary, is clad in mourning robes, and her white frilled cap and +veil and plain cambric ruff are without a single jewel. But the fine +features and noble presence reveal her high lineage. Instead of a fan, +she holds a parchment deed in her hand, and on her shield the arms of +Austria and Denmark are quartered with those of Milan and Lorraine, +while above we read the proud list of her titles--Queen of Denmark, +Sweden, and Norway, Duchess of Milan, Lorraine, Bar, and Calabria, and +Lady of Tortona. + +This was the last portrait of Christina that was ever painted. In the +following summer she went as usual to the Rocca of Sparaviera with +her daughter Dorothea, to spend the hot days of August in the hills. +But she had not been there long before she fell dangerously ill. In +her anxiety to return home, she took boat and travelled by water as +far as Alessandria. There she became too ill to go any farther, and +died on the 10th of August, 1590, in the house of her friend Maddalena +Guasco.[670] + +The Duchess's corpse was borne by night to Tortona, where a funeral +service was held in the new Duomo, after which the body was embalmed +and taken by her daughter Dorothea to Nancy. The news was sent to King +Philip in Spain, and he and his greedy Ministers lost no time in laying +hands on her city and revenues. "We are informed," wrote the Viceroy to +the President of the Senate, two days after Christina's death, "that +Her Most Serene Highness Madame de Lorraine has passed to a better +life, and accordingly we claim the pension of 4,000 crowns assigned +to Her late Highness, on the quarter of the Castello, and enclose a +list of the revenues of Tortona, which now revert to the Duchy of +Milan."[671] + + +III. + +[Sidenote: MAY, 1608] DEATH OF CHARLES III.] + +The good citizens of Tortona were sorely distressed when they learnt +that the remains of their beloved liege Lady were not to rest among +them. But Christina's heart was in Lorraine, and her children laid +her body in the crypt of the Cordeliers' church, in the grave of the +husband whom she had loved so faithfully and so long. Twenty-one +years later her ashes were removed with those of Duke Francis and +his parents, Antoine and Renée, to the sumptuous chapel begun by her +son Charles in 1607, and completed by his successors. The Rotonde, +as it was called in Lorraine, was built on the model of the Cappella +dei Principi, which the Duke's son-in-law, Ferdinand de' Medici, had +lately reared in Florence, and was dedicated to Our Lady of Loreto. It +was the work of a Tuscan architect, Gianbattista Stabili, and of Jean +Ligier Richier, the son of the famous Lorraine sculptor, and was lined +throughout with rich marbles and adorned with a mass of carving.[672] +The cupola was added in 1632 by Simon Drouin, and the internal +decorations were only completed in 1743, by order of the husband of +Maria Theresa, afterwards the Emperor Francis I. By this Prince's pious +care Latin inscriptions were placed over each sarcophagus, and the +following words were carved on the tomb of Christina and her husband: + + Francisco I. Lotharingiæ. Duci. Bari. Calabriæ. virtuti + bellicæ. natus. quas. ei. mors. immatura. præripuit. laurus + reddidit. nativa. benignitas. senilis. prudentia. semper. sibi + similis. sapientia. mortuus. anno. MDXLV. + + Christianæ. a. Dania. Ducis. memorati. thoro. sociatæ pupilli. + Caroli. Ducis. rebus. regendis. strenua. existimatione supra. + famam. maxima. fata. subiit. anno. MDXC.[673] + +Christina's son, Charles III., died, after a long and prosperous reign, +on the 14th of May, 1608, and was tenderly nursed during his last +illness by his youngest daughter, Catherine, and his sister Dorothea. +After her mother's death, the Duchess of Brunswick never left Lorraine +again, and became the wife of a Burgundian noble, Marc de Rye, Marquis +of Varembon.[674] She only survived her brother four years, and was +buried in the Jesuit church of St. Stanilas at Nancy. Her remains +and the heart of Duke Charles, which had been interred in the same +chapel, were removed to the ducal mausoleum in 1772, when some fresh +improvements were made in the Rotonde, by order of Marie Antoinette, +the daughter of the last Duke of Lorraine and of the Empress Maria +Theresa.[675] At the Revolution, in 1793, these tombs were destroyed +and their contents rifled by the mob, and the ashes of the dead +Princes were flung into a common grave. In 1818 they were replaced +in their original tombs, the sarcophagi were restored, and the old +inscriptions once more carved in the marble. + +Charles III.'s second daughter, Elizabeth, married her first cousin, +Maximilian, who succeeded his father in 1598, as Duke of Bavaria, and +played a memorable part in the Thirty Years' War. Her next sister, +Antoinette, became Duchess of Cleves, while Catherine, the youngest and +most interesting of the whole family, took the veil after her father's +death. This beautiful and accomplished Princess refused all the suitors +who sought her hand, among them the scholar-Emperor, Rudolf II., who +found in her a kindred spirit. A mystic by nature, Catherine assumed +the grey Capucin habit while she lived at her father's Court, and, +after he died, founded a Capucin convent in Nancy. The Pope appointed +her Abbess of Remiremont, a Benedictine community of high-born ladies, +which she endeavoured to reform. She was much attached to her aunt +Dorothea, and after her death spent most of her time at the Court of +France with her niece Margaret, the wife of Gaston, Duke of Orleans. +Catherine took an active part in French politics in the stormy days of +Louis XIII., and died in Paris in 1648, at the age of seventy-five.[676] + +[Sidenote: 1736] THE LAST DUKE OF LORRAINE] + +The seventeenth century witnessed the gradual dismemberment of the +duchy of Lorraine, and in Richelieu's days Nancy was again occupied +by French invaders. At length, in 1736, the last Duke, Francis III., +was compelled to surrender Lorraine in exchange for the grand-duchy +of Tuscany, on his marriage with Maria Theresa, the only child of the +Emperor Charles VI. From that time Lorraine ceased to exist as an +independent State, and became a province of France, while the ex-King +Stanislas of Poland fixed his residence at Nancy and transformed the +ancient capital into a modern city. By this marriage the House of +Lorraine became merged in the imperial line of Habsburg, and the blood +of King René still flows in the veins of the Austrian Emperor and of +the royal families of Savoy and Spain. + +Christina would have rejoiced to know that this union--a love-match +like her own--was followed shortly by the elevation of Maria Theresa's +husband to the imperial throne, and that by this means the House of +Habsburg was raised to a height of power and splendour which it had +never attained since the days of Charles V. For although she married +twice into princely houses, and was much attached both to Milan and +Lorraine, Christina was before all else a Habsburg, and the glory and +welfare of the imperial race remained throughout her life the first +object of her thoughts. Like Mary of Hungary and Eleanor of France, +she grew up in absolute obedience to the Emperor's will, and wherever +she went in after-years his word was still her law. In the darkest +hours of her life, when she lost son and State at one blow, it was her +greatest sorrow to feel that she could no longer be of service to the +Emperor and his house. After the abdication of Charles V., this love +and loyalty were transferred to Philip II., and her one fear was lest +her son should be drawn into the opposite camp, and become French in +his sympathies. And to the end she was always quick to obey the call of +blood and respond to any appeal from a member of the House of Austria. + +This strong family affection gave an added bitterness to the neglect +and injustice which she suffered at Philip's hands during the last +thirty years of her existence. One reason for his persistently harsh +usage was, there can be no doubt, that Christina represented the +national feeling and aspirations after freedom, which Philip and his +ministers, Alva and Granvelle, did all in their power to crush. Both +in the Netherlands, where the popularity of the great Emperor's niece +made her dangerous in their eyes, and in Lombardy, where she filled an +important position as Lady of Tortona, she came into collision with +the same all-reaching arm. To the last she strove valiantly to resist +the tyranny of Spanish officials and to protect her subjects from +the rapacity of foreign soldiers, and a century after her death the +citizens of Tortona still cherished the memory of the noble lady who, +as long as she lived, had preserved them from the yoke of Spain. + +Christina's lot was cast in troubled times, when crime and bloodshed +were rife, and religious convictions only served to heighten the +violence of men's passions; but her name shines pure and unsullied on +these dark pages of history. She was naturally hasty and impulsive, +she made some mistakes and met with many failures, but she was always +generous and high-minded, faithful and affectionate to her friends, and +full of ardent charity for the poor and downtrodden. Above all, her +unceasing labours in the cause of peace justly earned the gratitude of +her contemporaries, and deserve to be remembered by posterity. + +[Sidenote: 1590] CHRISTINA'S RARE CHARM] + +At the close of this long and eventful life we turn back once more to +Holbein's portrait of the youthful Duchess. As we look at the grave +eyes and innocent face, we ask ourselves what was the secret of this +woman's power, of the strange fascination which she possessed for +men and leaders of men. What made heroes like René of Orange, and +daredevils like Albert of Brandenburg, count the world well lost for +love of her? Why were brave captains and brilliant courtiers--Stampa, +Vendôme, De Courrières, Polweiler, Adolf of Holstein--all of them her +willing slaves from the moment that they saw her face and heard the +sound of her voice? What drew thoughtful men like William of Orange and +Emanuel Philibert into the circle of her intimate friends, and brought +even the cold-hearted Philip under her spell? It was hardly her beauty, +for she had many rivals, or her superior intellect and exalted birth. +Rather was it the rare and indefinable quality that we call charm, the +sweet womanliness of nature, the gentle sympathy and quick response of +heart and eye, ready at any moment to listen and to help, to comfort +and to cheer. This, if we mistake not, was the secret of Christina's +wonderful influence, of the attraction which she possessed for men and +women alike, an attraction which outlived the days of youth and endured +to the last hour of her life. Ever loving, she was therefore ever +beloved. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[647] Granvelle, "Correspondance," vii. 149. + +[648] A. Villamont, "Voyages," 70 (1589). + +[649] Niccolò Montemerlo, "Nuove Historie di Tortona" (1618), 247-253. + +[650] A. Campo, "Storia di Cremona," 107; C. Ghilino, "Annali di +Alessandria," 166; Hilarion de Coste, "Les Éloges," etc., i. 406. + +[651] Montemerlo, 260; N. Viola, "Il Santuario di Tortona," 5. + +[652] Feudi Camerali, Tortona, Archivio di Stato, Milano. + +[653] Autografi di Principi: Sforza, Archivio di Stato, Milano; G. +Porta, "Alessandria Descritta," 161; Merli e Belgrano, "Pal. d'Oria," +55. + +[654] Brantôme, xii. 120. + +[655] Granvelle, "Correspondance," x. 65. + +[656] Granvelle, vii. 225, xii. 581. + +[657] Groen, vii. 165. + +[658] Granvelle, ix. 141, xi. 338. + +[659] Feudi Camerali, Tortona, Archivio di Stato, Milano. + +[660] Granvelle, x. 551; Brantôme, xii. 114. + +[661] Pimodan, 322. + +[662] Montemerlo, 250. + +[663] Feudi Camerali, Tortona, Archivio di Stato, Milano. + +[664] S. Goulart, "Mémoires de la Ligue," ii. 213 + +[665] Ed. Armstrong, "Cambridge Modern History," iii. 413. + +[666] Granvelle, "Correspondance," x. 411. + +[667] A. J. Butler, "Cambridge Modern History," iii. 42. + +[668] A. v. Reumont, "Geschichte Toscana's," i. 327-329. + +[669] H. Lepage, "Lettres de Charles III.," 93. + +[670] Montemerlo, 250. + +[671] Feudi Camerali, Tortona, Archivio di Stato, Milano. + +[672] Calmet, iii. 153. + +[673] Pfister, i. 640-647; Calmet, ii. 87. + +[674] Granvelle, "Papiers d'État," vii. 619. + +[675] Pfister, i. 652. + +[676] Calmet, ii. 153; Pfister, ii. 734. + + + + +APPENDIX + +A SELECTION OF UNPUBLISHED DOCUMENTS + + +I. + +_Christina, Duchess of Milan, to Francesco II., Duke of Milan._ + + Monsignore mio cordialissimo marito: Ho bene veduto voluntieri, + come sempre sono accostumata, le sue care littere del 20, ma di + molto megliora voglia haveria voluto veder la presentia sua, + come speranza mi fu data di breve esser, et per dire la vera + verita ormai quelli Signori com̄inciano haver puì che torto. + Pur mi voglio contentar di quello che la ragione consiglia che + si faci, et quella dimora che V. S. judicara esser bene per + tutti, lo havero anche io per accepto, ringratiandola de le + sue cortese excusationi per la tardezza del ritorno, ma non + savendogli gratia di quello che la mi scrive, ch'io nō prende + pena di scriverli di mia mano, perchè questo e solo ben speso + tempo, et a me agredable quanto cū V. S. parla, almeno per + scriptura di propria mano, non potendo la per hora partialmente + goder. In bona gratia sua senza fine riccoman^{mi} cum ricordo + del presto e sano ritorno, cosi N. S. Dio degni di conservarlo + longamente. Mlo. li 7. Zugno. 1535. + + Vostra très humble consorte, + CRISTIERNA. + + A Monsignore cordiall^{mo} mio consorte + le Duca de Millano. + + [Autografi di Principi, Sforza, Archivio di Stato, Milano.] + + +II. + +_Christina, Duchess-Dowager of Milan, to Cardinal Caracciolo, Governor +of Milan._ + +Quello affettione chio conosco V. R^{ma} S^{ria} portarmi, et il buon +conto che la tene di me fa ch'io non possi cessar de desiderar' ogn' +hora la salute et comodo lei: Ver ho la prego esser contento darmi +nova come la si è p̄ortata in questa sua andata et di prēste si trova. +Che di resto maggior consolatione no' potreî havere che saper di sua +bona valetudine. Appresso: benchè sappia non essere bisogno, nondimeno +no' cessero di' ricordar à V. R^{ma} Sig^{ria} el caso mio. Per il +quale pregola a far presso la Cæs^{rea} M^{tà} mio supremo S^{ro} +quello che de la singulari bontà sua sum̄amento mi prometto; Et perchè +tra tutte l'altre cose molto desidero il ben et honor della S^{ra} +Dorothea. Perho la sara contenta per il particolar sua operar con Sia +M^{tà} tanto efficamente quanto glie sia poss^{le}, acciò che col bon +meggio lei me venghi essere esauditi; assicurando V. R^{ma} S^{ra} chio +stimavo il comodo dessa S^{ra} Dorothea mio proprio. Parmi anchora non +solamente ragionevole ma ex debito, che essendo compito il corso del +integro anno che'l Ill^{mo} et Ex^{mo} di felicissima memoria, S^{re} +Duca, già mio Consorte passeva di questa vita, si ne debbi anch'io +tener memoria et fargli far il debito anniversario. Perho prego V. +R^{ma} Sig^{ra} esser contenta supplicar Sua M^{tà} in mio nome, che +commetti et ordino acciò che detto anniversario sia fatto nel modo che +debitamente si conviene e son certiss^{na} che Sua M^{tà} nomo negar +di fare cosi exequire. Non me occorrendo per hora altro, a V. R^{ma} +S^{ra} molte me ricom^{o} et offero. Pregando N. S. Dio che gli doni +presto et bon ritorno. Di Mlo. el xiiii. de' Ottobre, MDXXXVI. + + Vostra buona figliola, + CHRESTIENNE. + + Al R^{mo} et Ill^{m} S^{ro} Car^{le} Caracciolo, + Locoten^{te} generale di Sua M^{tà} nel + Stato de Mlo. come Patre osser^{sso}. + In Corte di Sua M^{ta} a Genoa. + + [Autografi di Principi, Sforza, Archivio di Stato, Milano.] + + +III. + +_Christina, Duchess-Dowager of Milan, to Cardinal Caracciolo, Governor +of Milan._ + +R^{mo} et mio quanto Patre honorando: Ho presentito per certo che in +la hosteria de la Fontana se gli ritrova una bellissima chinea learda, +manco bona che di apparenza bella, et perchè me ritrova haverne bisogno +de una per la Persona mia, ho voluto cū ogni confidenza indrizzar' +questa et el presente mio lachayo a V. S. R^{ma} pregandola che se +consensi di contentarme che l' habia; et cometti el pagamento fuori +di la spesa ordinario del rollo stabilito, perchè se potea mettere nel +numero de li debiti ch' andarano pagati per altro conto, et questo +recevero per singular piacer da V. S. R^{ma}, in bona gratia de la +quelli me reco^{do}. Dal Castello de Pavia, al 3^{o} di Genaro, nel +1537. De V. S. R{ma} comme bonne fille, + + CRESTIENNE. + + Al R^{mo} Car^{le} Caracciolo, Governator + de Mlo. quanto p^{re} honor^{do}. _Cito, + cito_. + + [Autografi di Principi, Sforza, Archivio di Stato, Milano.] + + +IV. + +_Antoinette de Bourbon, Duchesse de Guise, to Mary, Queen of Scotland._ + +. . .La santé de votre petit fils est aussi bonne que lui fut onques. +Il mange fort bien, et l'on le mène souvent a les ébats que me semble +lui fait grant bien. Il me semble vous trouverez cru et devenu gras. +Quant au reste de n're ménage, v're sœur est toujours malade de sa +fièvre et a été cette semaine passée bien mal d'un flux de ventre qui +l'a fort affoiblie. Il y a bien huit jours qu'elle ne bouge point du +lit. Depuis hier le flux com̄àse a passer, de la fièvre je ne vois pas +grant amendement. . . . V^{re} frère Claude a été aussy malade jusqu'à +la mort. . . . V^{re} sœur Anthoinette est aussy malade d'une fièvre et +d'un rhume. . . . Je vous avise quo Madame v^{re} tante est mandée pour +aller à la cour à la venue de la Reyne de Hongrie, qui doit bientost +estre à Compiègne, ou le Roy et toute la Court doit estre en peu de +jours. Je m'en suis excusée pour l'amour de mes malades. Il n'y a que +deux jours que le gentilhomme du Roy d'Angleterre qui fût au Havre et +le paintre, a été ici. Le gentilhomme vint vers moi, faisant semblant +venir de trouver l'Empereur, et que ayant su Louise malade, il n'avait +voullu passer sans la voir, afin d'en savoir dire de nouvelles au Roy +son maistre, me priant qu'il la peut voir, ce qu'il fit, et c'estait +le jour de sa fièvre. Il lui tint pareil propos qu'a moi, puis me dit +qu'estant si près de Lorrayne, il avait envye d'aller jusques à Nancy, +voir le pays. Je ne me donte incontyment il y allait voir la demoyselle +peur la tirer comme les aultres et pour cela j'ai envoyé à leur logis, +voir qui y était, et j'ai trouvé le dit paintre y était, et de la ils +ont esté à Nancy et y ont resté un jour, et ont été fort festés, et le +Maistre d'hôtel venait à tous les repas manger avec eux, avec force +présents, et ils etaient très bien traités. Voilà ce que j'ay entendu, +donc au pis aller, si vous n'avez pour voisine v^{re} sœur, ce pourrait +estre v^{re} cousine. Il se tient quelque propos que l'Empereur offre +récompense pour le duché de Gueldres, et que ce faisant, se pourrait +faire quelque mariage de la fille de Hongrie et de Mons^{r} le Marquys. +Mons^{r} v^{re} père entend bien, ce faisant, avoir sa part en la dite +récompense. Je voudrais qu'il en fust bien récompensé. Voilà tout ce +que j'ay de nouveau . . . je me doute que vous ne ferez de si bonne +diligence que moi, car je sais bien que vous tenez de Mons^{r} v'tre +père, et qu'estes paresseuse à ecrire, si l'air d'Ecosse ne vous a +changé. Je n'ai encore eu que vos premyères. Il me tarde bien savoir +comme depuis vous vous serez porté, cela me sera grant joye quand je +pourrait ouir de vos nouvelles. Ce sera toujours quant N^{tre} Seigneur +le veuille, et je prie, Madame, qu'il vous donne longue et bonne vie. +Ce premier de Septembre, de v'tre humble et bonne mère, + + ANTHOINETTE DE BOURBON. + + À la Reyne d'Écosse. + + [Balcarres MSS., ii. 20. Advocates' Library, Edinburgh.] + + +V. + +_Antoinette de Bourbon, Duchesse de Guise, to Mary, Queen of Scotland._ + +Madame: J'ay tardé plus longuement que je ne pensais à vous escrire, +mais les noces de Mademoiselle de Lorraine nous ont tant ameusées +que jusque à cette heure on a peut avoir le loisir. Nous departismes +hier de la compaignye qui a esté bien grosse. Les noces furent Mardy +passé. Mons^{r} le Prince y est venu bien accompaigné et je vous assure +c'est un bien honeste Prince et de bonne grâce. Il se contente fort +de sa mye, et aussi elle de lui. Ils s'entendent aller chez eux dans +xv. jours. La feste a esté à Bar, il n'y a eu guères d'estrangers, +fors la Marquise de Baulde et Madame de Baçin, et des Comtesses et +dames voisines. Vous en saurez quelque jour plus au long. Nous sommes +en chemin pour aller à Guise, pensant en estre de retour pour la +Toussaint. Nous laissons n'tre petit fils à Roche. Il court tant de +maladie que nous n'avons osé le mettre en chemin, mais je vous assure +il se porte bien. . . . Je vous avais escrit par Saint-Genould, du +mariage de v're frère, mais j'entens qu'il ne part pas si tost comme il +m'avait dit, pourquoi je veulx vous dire ce qui en est et co^{me} le +Roy veult faire le mariage de luy et de la nyèce du Pape, fille du Duc +de ---- je ne puis retrouver son nom, mais elle est belle et honeste +et a bonne grâce, et est d'ancienne maison, de l'age de xv. ans. L'on +luy donne trois cent mille francs en mariage, elle n'a que ung frère, +s'il meurt elle serait heritière de quarante mille livres et d'un Duché +et aultre terres. Je pense entre ceci et la Toussaint il en sera fait +ou failli. Je prends grand plaisir entendre par vos lettres le bon +portement du Roy, de vous et du petit prince. . . . Nous sommes prêts à +monter à cheval, pourquoi ferais fin. . . . Ce penultième d'Aoust. + + V^{re} humble et bo^{ne} mère, + ANTHOINETTE DE BOURBON. + + À la Reyne d'Écosse. + + [Balcarres MSS., ii. 15. Advocates' Library, Edinburgh.] + + +VI. + +_Antoinette de Bourbon, Duchesse de Guise, to Mary, Queen of Scotland._ + +Madame: L'on m'a tant assuré qu'on envoye les lettres sûrement par le +moyen des Marchands d'Anvers, que je les ai mis à l'entrée pour en +apprendre le chemin. Vostre sœur en doit estre la messagère. Je vous ai +escrit la conclusion de son mariage et envoyé les articles et depuis +ses noces par vostre brodeur. Je viens de la mener en ménage, en une +belle et honneste maison et aultant bien meublée qu'il est possible, +nommé Beaumoult. Son beau-père la receuillit tant honorablement et +avec tant de gens de bien et grosse compaignye que l'on ne sait plus +souhaiter; la Reyne de Hongrerie entre les aultres s'y trouvait et la +Duchesse de Myllan, aussi Mons^{r} et Madame la Princesse d'Orange, qui +l'on tient grosse, toute fois la chose n'est pas fort sure, et pour +ma part j'en doute. Il me semble v're dite sœur est bien logée. L'on +luy a fait de beau présens, et elle a de belles basques. Son Mary est +jeune, mais il a bon vouloir d'estre du nombre des gens de bien. Il ne +paraissait point qu'il fût Caresme, car les armes et les tambours ne +cessaient point; il s'y est fait de beaux joustes là bas. A la fin il +a fallu departir, qui n'a pas esté sans larmes. Je regagne ce lieu de +Guyse, où je ne reste qu'une nuit, et demain à la Fère, où Mons^{r} le +Cardinal mon frère et mon père et ma sœur de S^{t} Pol seront mercredy, +et vendredy recommencerai me mettre en chemin pour gagner Joinvylle +le plus tost que je pourrais. Je pense trouver encore Mons^{r} v^{re} +père, et nos enfans, savoir les petits et les prètres. . . . Ce xiiii +Mars, à Guise. . . . + + ANTHOINETTE DE BOURBON. + + À la Reyne d'Écosse, + + [Balcarres MSS., ii. 5. Advocates' Library, Edinburgh.] + + +VII. + +_Louise de Lorraine, Princesse de Chimay, to Mary, Queen of Scotland._ + +Madame: Depuys que Dieu a tant faict pour moi que de me donner un bon +Mary, je n'ai point eu loisir de vous en faire la part. Vous pouvez +estre assurée que je me tiens en ce monde heureuse d'estre en la +maison ou je suis, car avec la grandeur qu'il y a en tout, j'ai un +seigneur et beau-père que je vous puis nommer bon, car il me faict un +bien bon traitement, accompagné de tant de beaux présents, qu'il me +faudroy employer trois feuilles de papier avant que je vous pourrais +en rendre bon conte et qui sera, s'il vous plait, occasion de prendre +contentement du bien de votre sœur, qui a commandement de vous offrir +les très humble services des maistres et seigneurs de cette maison, +vous suppliant a tout endroit les employer. Nous avons une très sage et +vertueuse Reyne, et je ne puis vous dire l'honneur qu'elle me faict, +car estant venue exprés à cette maison--la sienne et nôtre--elle m'a +voulu prendre pour sa très humble fille et servante, et veulst que pour +l'avenyr je dois estre toujours en sa compagnye, où pour le peu que +j'y ai este m'a fayct fort grant chĕre. Madame la Duchesse de Mylan +m'a dit le semblable, qui est la meilleure, et nous ésperons bientôt +la voir en Lorayne, car le maryage de Mons^{r} le Marquys et d'elle, +est en très bon train. Depuis que Madame ma mère est retournèe, elle +m'a envoyée une lettre pour essayer si le chemin de ça luy sera plus +aise que l'autre, et si'il vous plait de m'apprendre de vos nouvelles, +je serai merveilleusement aise. Mais il faudra, Madame que a la lettre +que vous m'enverrez, vous mettiez sur le paquet, "_Au Duc d'Aerschot_," +et par les marchands qui viennent d'Ecosse, il vous sera aisé, car +en les laissant à Anvers ou à Bruges, ou autre endroit du Pays, ne +failleront point, en s'adressant a Mons^{r} mon beau-père, de tomber +entre mes mains, car il est grandement craint et aimé par deça, qui +sera l'endroit où je supplye Dieu qu'il vous donne très bonne vie et +longue. De Beaumont, ce xxv. jour de Mars. + + V're très humble et très obeissante sœur, + LOUISE DE LORRAYNE. + + [Balcarres MSS., ii. 153. Advocates' Library, Edinburgh.] + + +VIII. + +_Antoinette de Bourbon, Duchesse de Guise, to Mary, Queen of Scotland._ + +Madame: Je suis très aise que ce porteur soit venu par ici, pour +s'en retourner vers vous, car je vous voullais escrire et envoyer un +paquet. . . . Je desire bien fort savoir comme vous vous serez porté +en v're couche et aussi comme le Roy et v're petit prince se portent. +Je prie a N. S. à tous donner bonne santé et longue vie. Quant à +notre costé, tout se porte bien, Dieu mercy! Mon^{r} v're père est +revenu depuis huit jours pour quelques bastyments et fortifications +que le Roy lui a ordonné faire en cette frontière. J'ay esté très +aise il ait cette charge, afin de l'avoir plus tost de retour. Quant +à v're petit fils, il se porte bien et devient grand; il commence +très bien apprendre, et sait quasi son Pater noster, il est joli et +bon enfant. J'ai esté cause qu'il n'est venu en ce lien, dans la pour +des Rougeolles, qui régnent si fort, et je crains il les prends par +les champs, ou il ne peut estre si bien traisté qu'à Joinvylle, et +aussi que ne devons demeurer dans ce lieu que huit jours. . . . Nous +attendons M. le Cardinal de Lorraine le iii. d'Août. Il vient pour nous +tous ensemble trouver au Pont-à-Mousson le huitième du dit mois, on se +doit faire le premyer recueil de n'tre nouvelle Dame, pour la mener +à Nancy. V're frère aussi vient avec M. le Cardinal, l'on doit faire +grande chere a cette bien venue, et force tournois. Les noces furent il +y a Dimanche huit jours. S'il s'y fait rien digne de vous faire part +vous en serez avertie. J'ai bonne envye de voir si Mons^{r} le Marquis +sera bon Mary! L'on se jouit fort au pays recevoir une si honneste +Princesse . . . ce xx. Juillet de . . . ec. + + ANTHOINETTE DE BOURBON. + + À la Reyne d'Écosse. + + [Balcarres MSS., ii. 4. Advocates' Library, Edinburgh.] + + +IX. + +_Christina, Duchess-Dowager of Lorraine, to Mary, Queen of Hungary._ + + 18 Avril, 1552. + +Madame: J'ay escrit une letter à votre Majesté pour avoir moyen +d'avertir celle-ci et la Reine vostre sœur de la méchancetè que le Roy +de France m'a faict, que sur ombre de bonne foy me emmène mon filz +avecque grande rudesse, comme Vostre Majesté entendra par ce présent +porteur plus au long. Suppliant Vostre Majesté ne prendra de mauvaise +part sy je ne faict ceste lettre plus longue, car la grande fâcherie +que j'ay, m'en garde. Sy esté, Madame, que je supplie à Vostre Majesté +avoir pitié de moy, et m'assister de quelque conseil, et je n'oublyerai +à jamais luy faire très humble service et vous obèir toute ma vie, +comme celle quy desire demeurer à jamais, + + Vostre très humble et très obeissante + nièce et servante, + CHRESTIENNE. + + [Lettres des Seigneurs, 101, f. 332. Archives du Royaume, Bruxelles.] + + +X. + +_Anne, Duchess-Dowager of Aerschot, to Mary, Queen of Hungary._ + + 18 Avril, 1552. + +Madame: Je ne saurais vous escrire la grande désolation en laquelle +est presentément Madame ma sœur, constitué par la grande rudesse et +cruauté que le jour du grand Vendredy luy a esté faicte par le Roy de +France, qui est qu'il esté venu icy sous ombre de bonne foy et vrai +amitié, comme dernièrement il nous avoit fait entendre. À son arrivée, +il a esté reçu avecque tous les honneurs possible, et le meilleur +traistement, et le dit jour du grand Vendredy il fit entendre à Madame +comme pour satisfaire au capitulations de la Ligue, il falloit qu'il +s'assurait de Monseigneur le duc de Lorraine, et de ses places, et +que pour ce faire il falloit qu'il fust transporté à Bar, pour à +quoy obvier, Ma dicte dame, Monseigneur de Vaudemont et moy, et tous +ceux de son conseil, luy fust faicte une rémonstrance la plus humble +qu'il estoit possible. A quoy il e répondit aultre chose sinon qu'il +hâteroit sa resolution par escrit, ce qu'il a faict, comme votre +Majesté pourra voire par les articles que je vous envoye. Ce voyant, +elle et moy l'allâmes trouver en la Grande Galerie où ma dite dame +parla encore a luy, jusqu'à se mettre à genoux, luy requérant pour +l'amour de Dieu ne transporter son filz, et ne le luy ôter. A quoi ne +fit response, et pour conclusion, Madame, le lendemain Samedy, veille +de Pâques, il l'ont emmené, accompagné de force gens de guerre, sous +la charge du S^{r} de Bourdillon, mais le Maréchal de Saint André n'a +bougé qu'il ne l'ait mis hors de la ville, et c'étoit pitié voire +Madame sa mère, Monseigneur de Vaudement et toute la noblesse et le +pauvre peuple faire leur lamentation. Et voyant Madame ma sœur en +telle pitié, etant en telle douleur, Madame, que votre Majesté peult +estimer pour ly avoir faict une telle outrage que de luy oter son filz, +et la voyant porter tel desplaisir, moy que m'estait deliberé m'en +partir, ne la puis delaisser. Le Roy luy laisse Mesdames ses filles et +l'administration des biens, comme elle avait auparavant, reservé les +places fortes, qui demeurent à la charge de Monseigneur de Vaudemont, +à condition que Votre Majesté pourra voire, toutefois n'y demeurra que +Lorrains. Et par ce que Madame j'ai toujours envie de faire service +à Votre Majesté tel que j'ai toute ma vie desiré, il luy plaira me +commander ce que je fasse, et vous serez obéy comme la plus affectionée +servante que Votre Majesté aura jamais. Suppliant Notre Seigneur +donner à celle très bonne et longue vie, me recommandant toujours très +humblement, en sa bonne grâce. De Nancy, ce lendemain de Pâques. + + ANNE DE LORRAINE. + +Madame: Depuis avoir escrit à Votre Majesté, le Roy de France a +escrit une lettre à Madame ma sœur comme il a eu avertissement que +les Bourgnignons faisaient une entreprise pour aller à Bar, afin d'y +surprendre Monsieur de Lorraine, et que pour obvier à cela, il a +ordonné au S^{r} de Bourdillon le mener à Joinville, où la Royne de +France est encor là. + + [Lettres des Seigneurs, 101, f. 330. Archives du Royaume, Bruxelles.] + + +XI. + +_Christina, Duchess-Dowager of Lorraine, to the Emperor Charles V._ + +_A l'Empereur._ Monseigneur: A la prière de Monseigneur de Vaudemont +mon frère et de la Duchesse d'Aerschot ma sœur, j'ay pris la hardiesse +de demeurer, encore que Vostre Majesté m'avait escript et commandé que +je me retirasse vers les Roynes, ce que j'éspère que Vostre Majesté +n'aures pas pris de mauvaise part. Car la grande instance et prière +que mon dit frère et sœur m'ont faict, ont esté la cause, non pas pour +aller contre son commandement, le voulant obéir toute ma vie, et je +vous supplie, de toujours le croire, et avoir mon filz et son païs pour +recommandé, et je supplieray le Créateur, Monseigneur, de donner à +Vostre Majesté bonne santé et très longue vie. De Denœuvre, ce 26^{e} +May, 1552. + + Vostre très humble et très obéissante + nièce et servante, + CHRESTIENNE. + + [Lettres des Seigneurs, 102, f. 127. Archives du Royaume, Bruxelles.] + + +XII. + +_Christina, Duchess-Dowager of Lorraine, to the Emperor Charles V._ + +_A l'Empereur._ Monseigneur: J'ay reçu la lettre qu'il a plu à Vostre +Majesté m'èscrire par le Seigneur de Carondelet, et par luy ay entendu +la bonne souvenance qu'il a plu à Vostre Majesté avoir de moy et mes +filles, de la bonne visitation, dont très humblement la remercie, et +aussi de la charge que Vostre Majesté luy a donné pour me dire ce qu'il +me faudra ensuivre. Votre Majesté m'oblige tant de l'honneur qu'elle me +faict, que toute ma vie je seray preste à obéir à ses commandements, +comme celle entendra s'il luy plait plus au long par le dit Seigneur de +Carondelet, et aussi d'autres choses que luy ay donné charge de dire à +Vostre Majesté, pour ne pas la fâcher de longue lettre. Et toute ma vie +je suppliray le Créateur de donner à Vostre Majesté très bonne santé, +et longue vie et de demeurer toujours à la bonne grâce d'icelle. De +Hoh-Königsberg, ce 4^{e} Septembre, 1552. + + Vostre très humble nièce et servante, + CHRESTIENNE. + + [Lettres des Seigneurs, 103, f. 518. Archives du Royaume, Bruxelles.] + + +XIII. + +_Dejanira Commena Contessa Trivulzio to Messer Innocenzio Gadio._ + +Magnifico Signore, Innocenzio: Ho ricevuto un altra vostra, inteso +la morte del Magnifico Signor Belloni, che certo mi ha dato molto +fastidio. Io sono certa che la Signora mia madre me haverà havuto +grandissimo dispiacere, come risentirà la morte e privatione di tale +amico. Però non si può resistere al Divino volere. Mi maraviglia molto +non habbiati avuto la littera mia qual mandai alli di passati, in mane +di Barile, però di novo vi dico che ho ricevuto la corona ed altre cose +per Andronica, et le littere della Signore Madre, et così vi rimandò la +risposta. Sareti contenti basare le mane in mio nome a Sua Excellentia, +dicendoli che mi duole fino all' anima, dalle travaglie che patisse +Sua Excellentia in quelle bande, et che siamo sempre apparentiati come +servitori che li giurano esponere la vita et quanto tenemo in suo +serviggio. Non mi occorrente altro a Vostra Signoria mi raccomando. +De Codogno all. 29. Sett, 1552. Di Vostra Sig. Dejanira, Contessa +Trivultia. + + A Messer Inn. Gadio, amico carissimo. + + [MS. No. 18, Biblioteca di Zelada, Pavia.] + + +XIV. + +_Christina, Duchess-Dowager of Lorraine, to Mary, Queen of England._ + + April, 1555. + +Madame: Je supplie V^{tre} Maj^{tè} me pardonner si je prends tant +d'audace que d'escrire à icelle, mais tant d'honneur et de faveur que +je recois de V^{tre} Maj^{tè} en est cause. Car je ne puis laisser +d'avertir que le Capitaine de mon vaisseau qui me mène a si bien +faict son devoyr, sans nul hasart, comme V^{tre} Maj^{tè} lui a faict +commande, que je ne puis laisser d'en avertir V^{tre} Maj^{tè} et la +supplier de l'avoyr en souvenance. Et puis j'assure V^{tre} Maj^{tè}, +que je n'en ai reçu que d'entier bon service, et connaissant cela, +n'ay su laisser de le recommander à V^{tre} Maj^{tè} et pensant que le +Capitaine Bont vous fera entendre ce qui s'est passé à mon passage, je +n'en ferai plus propos, si non de vous assurer combien je regrette de +ne plus estre dans la prèsence de V^{re} Maj^{tè} et que je ne puis +estre auprès d'icelle, pour luy pouvoir faire quelque service, pour +la satisfaction que je me ferais a tant de mercis que j'ay reçu, dont +je demeure sans espoir d'y satisfaire. Et cependant je supplie très +humblement à V^{re} Maj^{tè} me tenir en sa bonne grâce, a la quelle +humblement me recommande, et baisant ses mains, priant Dieu, Madame, +vous donner bonne santé, très longue vie et un beau filz, comme le +désire. + + V^{re} très humble et très obeissante + cousine et servante, + CHRESTIENNE. + + À la Reyne. + +[MS. State Papers, Foreign, Mary, vol. vi., 351. Public Record Office.] + + + + +BIBLIOGRAPHY + + +MANUSCRIPT SOURCES + + ARCHIVIO DI STATO, MILANO: Autografi di Principi; Carteggio + Diplomatico, 1533-1535; Carteggio con Montmorency, Conte di + Corea, 1537-1538; Feudi Camerali, Tortona; Potenze Sovrane, + 1533-1534. + + BIBLIOTECA AMBROSIANA: Continuazione della Storia di Corio, O. + 240. + + MUSEO CIVICO DI STORIA PATRIA, PAVIA: No. 426, Lettere dell' + Oratore, 1535; No. 546, di B. d. Corte, 1536. + + BIBLIOTECA DEL CONTE ANTONIO CAVAGNA SANGIULIANI A ZELADA, + PRESSO PAVIA: Archivio Sezione Storico, Diplomatico. Mazzo + n. 127, Tortona; Lettere di Niccolò Belloni, etc., i.-xviii. + + ARCHIVES DU ROYAUME, BRUXELLES: Lettres des Seigneurs, + iii.-vii.; Papiers d'État de l'Audience, No. 82; + Correspondance de Charles V. avec Jean de Montmorency, + Seigneur de Courrières, 1537; No. 8, 26, 1178, etc., + Lettres de Marie de Hongrie, Charles Quint, etc.; Régistre + des Revenus et Dépenses de Charles V.; Régistre de + Marguerite d'Autriche, 1799, 1800, 1803. + + BIBLIOTHÈQUE NATIONALE, PARIS: Affaires d'Angleterre, xix.; + F.F. 123, 20,467, 20,468; Oudin, Histoire des Guises; MS. + Gaignières 349; Marillac MS. 8,625; Coll. de Lorraine, + 27-33, etc. + + ADVOCATES' LIBRARY, EDINBURGH: The Balcarres Manuscripts, ii., + iii.; Correspondance de Madame de Guise, etc., avec la + Reine d'Écosse. + + BRITISH MUSEUM: Additional Manuscripts, 5,498; Harleian + Manuscripts, 3,310, 3,311; F. 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Amsterdam, 1758. + + GRANVELLE, CARDINAL DE: Correspondance, 1565-1586, publié par + E. Poullet et C. Piot. 12 vols. Brussels, 1896. + + GRANVELLE, CARDINAL DE Mémoires pour servir à l'Histoire du Par + P. Levesque. Brussels, 1753. + + GRANVELLE, CARDINAL DE: Mémoires du. L. d'Esnans, Brussels, + 1761. + + GRANVELLE, CARDINAL DE: Papiers d'État, publié par C. Weiss. 9 + vols. 1852. + + GROEN VAN PRINSTERER, G.: Archives de la Maison + d'Orange-Nassau. Série i. 8 vols. Leyden, 1847. + + GUAZZO, M.: Historie, 1524-1552. Milan, 1552. + + GUICCIARDINI, L.: Descrittione di Tutti i Paesi-Bassi. Antwerp, + 1588. + + + HAILE, M.: Life of Reginald Pole. 1910. + + HARDWICKE PAPERS, The, 1501-1726. 2 vols. 1778. + + HAÜSSER, L.: Geschichte der Rheinischen Pfalz. 2 vols. + Heidelberg, 1856. + + HENNE, A.: Histoire du Règne de Charles V. en Belgique. 10 + vols. Brussels, 1860. + + HOBY, T.: The Travail and Life of, 1547-1564. 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Brussels, 1839. + + LEPAGE, H.: Les Archives de Nancy, Le Palais Ducal, La Galerie + des Cerfs, La Ville de Nancy; Lettres de Charles III., Duc + de Lorraine. Nancy, 1844-1865. + + LE PETIT, J.: La Grande Chronique de Hollande, etc., jusqu'à + 1600. Dordrecht, 1601. + + LEVA, G. DE: Storia Documentata di Karl V. in Italia. 5 vols. + Venice, 1863. + + LITTA, P.: Famiglie Celebri, vol. ii. Milan, 1839. + + LODGE, E.: Illustrations of British History, Henry VIII. to + James I., in Papers of the Families of Howard, Talbot, and + Cecil. 3 vols. 1830. + + + MACHYN, H.: Diary of a Citizen of London, 1550-1563, ed. J. S. + Nicholls. Camden Society, No. 42. 1848. + + MAGENTA, C.: I Visconti e gli Sforza nel Castello di Pavia. 2 + vols. Milan, 1883. + + MAITLAND MISCELLANY, i: Maitland Club. Edinburgh, 1834. + + MERRIMAN, R. B.: Life and Letters of Thomas Cromwell. 2 vols. + 1902. + + MIGNET, F.: Charles Quint--son Abdication et Séjour à Yuste. + Paris, 1857. + + MIGNET, F.: Rivalité de François I. et de Charles V. Paris, + 1875. + + MOELLER, C.: Eléonore d'Autriche, Reine de France. Paris, 1893. + + MONTEMERLO, N.: Nuove Historie di Antica Città. Tortona, 1618. + + + NOTT, G.: The Works of Surrey and Sir T. Wyatt. 2 vols. 1815. + + NUBILONIA: Cronaca di Vigevano. + + + PIMODAN, G. DE: La Mère des Guises. Paris, 1889. + + PORTA, G.: Alessandria Descritta, Illustrata, Celebrata. Milan, + 1670. + + PUTMAN, R.: William the Silent, Prince of Orange. 2 vols. New + York, 1895. + + + RABUTIN, F. DE: Commentaires des Dernières Guerres. Petitot + Coll., No. 37. Paris, 1819-1829. + + RATTI, N.: Delia Famiglia Sforza. 2 vols. Rome, 1794. + + RAVOLD, J. B.: Histoire Démocratique de Lorraine. 4 vols. + Paris, 1890. + + REIFFENBERG, F. DE: Histoire de la Toison d'Or. 2 vols. + Brussels, 1835. + + REUMONT, A. V.: Geschichte Toscanas. 2 vols. Gotha, 1876. + + RIBIER, G.: Lettres et Mémoires d'État. Paris, 1666. + + RUBLE, A. DE: Antoine de Bourbon et Jeanne d'Albret. 4 vols. + Paris, 1881. + + RUBLE, A. DE: La Jeunesse de Marie Stuart; 1891. Le Traité de + Câteau-Cambrésis; 1887. + + + SAINT-GÉNIS, V. DE: Histoire de Savoie. 3 vols. Chambéry, 1869. + + SANUTO, M.: Diarii, 1496-1533, vols. liii., liv., lv., lvi., + lvii. Venice, 1879-1902. + + SCHÄFER, D.: Geschichte v. Dänemark. 4 vols. Gotha, 1893. + + SCHLEGEL, J. H.: Geschichte d. Könige v. Dänemark aus d. + Oldenburg Stamme. 2 vols., folio. Kopenhagen, 1769-1777. + + + THOMAS, H.: Annalium de Vita et Rebus Gestis Illustrissimi + Principis Frederici II., Elect. Pal. Frankfort, 1624. + + THOMAS, H.: Spiegel d. Humors Grosser Potentaten. Leipzig, 1629. + + TYTLER, P. F.: England under Edward VI. and Mary. 2 vols. 1839. + + + ULMANN, H.: Kaiser Maximilian I. 2 vols. Stuttgart, 1884-1891. + + + VAISSIÈRE, P. DE: Charles de Marillac, 1510-1560. Paris, 1896. + + VERRI, P.: Storia di Milano. 2 vols. Florence, 1851. + + VERTOT, R. DE: Ambassades de MM. de Noailles en Angleterre. 5 + vols. Paris, 1762. + + VIEILLEVILLE, F. DE SCÉPEAUX, MARÉCHAL DE: Mémoires. Coll. + Petitot, Série i., 26-28. Paris, 1819-1829. + + VILLAMONT, A.: Voyages. Urbino, 1589. + + VIOLA, N.: Il Santuario di Tortona. Tortona, 1675. + + VOIGT, J.: Albert-Alcibiades, Markgraf von Brandenburg. 2 vols. + Berlin, 1852. + + + WALPOLE, H.: Anecdotes of Painting, vol. i. 1826-1828. + + WORNUM, R.: Life and Works of Holbein. 1867. + + + YOUNG, COLONEL G.: The Medici. 2 vols. 1909. + + + + +GENEALOGICAL TABLES + + + I. HABSBURG. + + II. DENMARK. + + III. SFORZA. + + IV. LORRAINE. + + V. GUISE. + + +I. HABSBURG. + + Maximilian I, d. 1519. + =(1)Mary of Burgundy. + =(2)Bianca Sforza. + +-- Philip, d. 1506. + | =Juana of Spain, d. 1555. + | +-- Eleanor, d. 1558. + | | =(1)Emanuel of Portugal. + | | =(2)Francis I. of France. + | +-- Charles V, 1500-1558. + | | =Isabella of Portugal, d. 1539. + | | +-- Margaret, d. 1586. + | | | =(1)Alessandro de' Medici. + | | | =(2)Ottavio Farnese. + | | | +-- Alessandro, Duke of Parma, d. 1592 + | | | =Mary of Portugal. + | | +-- Don John, d. 1578. + | | +-- Philip II. of Spain, 1527-1598. + | | | =(1)Mary of Portugal, d. 1539. + | | | =(2)Mary of England. + | | | =(3)Elizabeth of France. + | | | =(4)Anne of Austria. + | | | +-- Don Carlos, d. 1568. + | | | +-- Philip III, d. 1621. + | | | | =Margaret of Austria. + | | | +-- Katherine. + | | | | =Charles Emanuel, Duke of Savoy. + | | | +-- Isabella, d. 1633. + | | | =Albert of Austria, d. 1621. + | | +-- Juana of Spain. + | | | =John of Portugal, d. 1554. + | | | +-- Sebastian of Portugal, d. 1578. + | | +-- Mary. (_a_) + | | =Maximilian II, d. 1576. (_a_) + | | +-- Rudolf II, d. 1612. + | | +-- Anne of Austria. + | | | =Philip II. of Spain, 1527-1598. + | | +-- Albert of Austria, d. 1621. (_b_) + | | | =Isabella, d. 1633. + | | +-- Elizabeth. + | | | =Charles IX., King of France. + | | +-- Matthias, d. 1619. + | | =Anne. + | +-- Isabella of Austria, 1501-1526. (See II) + | | =Christian II. of Denmark, dep. 1523, 1481-1559. + | +-- Mary, d. 1558. + | | =Louis of Hungary, d. 1526. + | +-- Ferdinand I, d. 1564. + | | =Anne of Bohemia, d. 1547. + | | +-- Maximilian II, d. 1576. (_a_) + | | | =Mary. (_a_) + | | | +-- Rudolf II. (see above) + | | | +-- Anne of Austria. (see above) + | | | +-- Albert of Austria. (see above) (_b_) + | | | +-- Elizabeth. (see above) + | | | +-- Matthias. (see above) + | | +-- Mary. + | | | =William of Cleves. + | | +-- Ferdinand, d. 1595. + | | | =Philippina Welser. + | | | +-- Anne. + | | | =Matthias, d. 1619. + | | +-- Charles. + | | =Anne. + | | +-- Ferdinand II, d. 1637. + | | =Maria Anna. + | | +-- Ferdinand III, d. 1657. + | | =Mary of Spain. + | | +-- Philip IV. of Spain. + | | | =Mary. + | | +-- Leopold I, d. 1705. + | | | =(1)Margaret of Spain. + | | | =(2)Claude of Tyrol. + | | | =(3)Eleanor, d. of Elector Palatine. + | | | +-- Joseph I, d. 1711. + | | | | =Wilhelmina of Hanover. + | | | +-- Charles VI, d. 1740. + | | | =Eliz. Christina of Brunswick. + | | | +-- Maria Theresa of Austria, Queen of + | | | Hungary, and daughter of the + | | | Emperor Charles VI, d. 1780. + | | | =Francis III., Duke of Lorraine; + | | | exchanged Lorraine for Tuscany; + | | | el. Emperor 1745, m. 1736, d. 1765. + | | +-- Eleanor. + | | =Charles Leopold of Lorraine. + | +-- Katherine. + | =John III. of Portugal, d. 1557. + | +-- John of Portugal, d. 1554. + | | =Juana of Spain. + | | +-- Sebastian of Portugal. (see above) + | +-- Mary of Portugal, d. 1539. + | =Philip II. of Spain, 1527-1598. + +-- Margaret, d. 1530. + =(1)John, son of Ferdinand and Isabella. + =(2)Philibert II. of Savoy. + + +II. DENMARK, 1481-1588. + + Christian I., King of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, d. 1481. + =Dorothea of Brandenburg, widow of Christopher, King of Denmark, d. 1448. + +-- John, d. 1513. + | =Christina of Saxony. + | +-- Christian II. of Denmark, dep. 1523, 1481-1559. + | | =Isabella of Austria, 1501-1526. + | | +-- John, 1516-1531. + | | +-- Dorothea, 1520-1562. + | | | =Frederic II., Elector Palatine, 1483-1556. + | | +-- Christina of Denmark, 1522-1590. + | | =(1)Francesco II., last Duke of Milan, 1495-1535. + | | =(2)Francis I., Duke of Lorraine, 1517-1545. + | +-- Elizabeth. + | =Joachim of Brandenburg, d. 1535. + +-- Margaret. + | =James III. of Scotland, d. 1488. + +-- Frederick I. + =(1)Anne of Brandenburg. + =(2)Sophia of Pomerania. + +-- Dorothea. + | =Albert, Duke of Prussia, d. 1568. + +-- Christian III, d. 1558. + | +-- Frederic II, d. 1588. + | +-- Anna. + | | =Augustus, Elector of Saxony. + | +-- John, (branch of Glücksburg Augustenburg). + +-- Adolf, Duke of Holstein. + =Christina of Hesse. + +-- John Adolf, (branch of Holstein-Gottorp). + | =Amelia of Denmark. + +-- Christina. + =Charles IX. of Sweden. + +-- Gustavus Adolphus, d. 1632. + +-- Christina, d. 1689. + + +III. SFORZA. + + Francesco, Duke of Milan, 1450, 1401-1466. + =Bianca Maria Visconti, d. 1468. + +-- Galeazzo Maria, 1444-1476. + | =Bona of Savoy. + | +-- Gian Galeazzo, 1469-1494. + | | =Isabella of Aragon, d. 1524. + | | +-- Francesco, Abbot of Noirmoutiers, 1490-1512. + | | +-- Ippolita, d. 1501. + | | +-- Bona, d. 1557. + | | =Sigismund I., King of Poland, d. 1548. + | +-- Ermes, 1470-1504. + | +-- Caterina, d. 1509. + | | =(1)Girolamo Riario. + | | =(2)Giacomo Feo. + | | =(3)Giovanni de' Medici. + | +-- Ottaviano, Bishop of Lodi. + | +-- Carlo. + | | =Bianca Simonetta. + | | +-- Ippolita. + | | =Alessandro Bentivoglio. + | +-- Anna, 1473-1497. + | =Alfonso d'Este. + +-- Ippolita, 1446-1484. + | =Alfonso of Calabria, afterwards King of Naples. + +-- Filippo, 1448-1492. + | =Costanza Sforza. + +-- Sforza, Duke of Bari, 1449-1479. + +-- Lodovico Maria, 1451-1480. + | =Beatrice d'Este, 1475-1497. + | +-- Massimiliano abd. 1515, 1493-1530. + | +-- Francesco II., last Duke of Milan, 1495-1535. + | | =Christina of Denmark, 1522-1590. + | +-- Cesare. + | +-- Leone, Protonotary. + | +-- Bianca, d. 1497. + | | =Galeazzo di Sanseverino, d. 1525. + | +-- Gian Paolo, 1497-1535. + | +-- Line of Caravaggio extinct 1697. + +-- Ascanio, Cardinal, 1455-1505. + +-- Tristano, d. 1477. + =Beatrice d'Este da Correggio. + + +IV. LORRAINE, 1300-1736. + + Frederic IV, d. 1328. + =Elizabeth, daughter of the Emperor Albert I. + +-- Raoul, killed at Crécy, d. 1346. + +-- John, d. 1391. + +-- Charles II, d. 1431. + | =Margaret, daughter of the Emperor Rupert III. + | +-- Isabella, d. 1453. + | =René I. of Anjou, d. 1480. + | +-- John, d. 1470. + | +-- Margaret. + | | =Henry, VI. of England. + | +-- Yolande, 1428-1483. + | =Frederic, Count of Vaudemont, d. 1472. + | +-- René II., Duke of Lorraine and Bar, King of + | Sicily, etc, d. 1508. + | =Philippa of Guelders, d. 1547. + | +-- Anthony, 1489-1544. + | | =René de Bourbon, d. 1539. + | | +-- Francis I., Duke of Lorraine, 1517-1545. + | | | =Christina of Denmark, 1522-1590. + | | | +-- Charles III, 1543-1608. + | | | =Claude, de France, 1548-1575. + | | | +-- Henry, 1563-1624. + | | | | =(1)Catherine, de Bourbon, d. 1604. + | | | | =(2)Margaret Gonzaga. + | | | | +-- Claude of Lorraine, d. 1648. + | | | | | =Nicolas-Francis, Duke of + | | | | | | Lorraine, d. 1670. + | | | | | +-- Charles-Leopold, 1643-1690. + | | | | | =Eleanor of Austria. + | | | | | +-- Leopold-Joseph, 1679-1729. + | | | | | =Charlotte-Elizabeth + | | | | | | of Orleans. + | | | | | +-- Francis III., Duke of + | | | | | Lorraine; exchanged + | | | | | Lorraine for + | | | | | Tuscany; el. Emperor + | | | | | 1745, d. 1765. + | | | | | =Maria Theresa of + | | | | | Austria, Queen of + | | | | | Hungary, and + | | | | | daughter of the + | | | | | Emperor Charles VI., + | | | | | m. 1736, d. 1780. + | | | | +-- Nicole, d. 1657. + | | | | =Charles IV., abd. 1634, d. 1675. + | | | +-- Francis II, 1571-1632. + | | | | =Christina of Salm. + | | | | +-- Nicolas-Francis, Duke of Lorraine, + | | | | | d. 1670. + | | | | | =Claude of Lorraine, d. 1648. + | | | | | +-- Charles-Leopold. (see above) + | | | | +-- Henrietta, 1606-1660. + | | | | | =(1)Count of Phalsburg. + | | | | | =(2)Count Carlo Guasco. + | | | | +-- Margaret. + | | | | =Gaston, Duke of Orleans. + | | | +-- Christina, 1565-1636. + | | | | =Ferdinand, Grand Duke of Tuscany. + | | | +-- Antoinette, 1568-1610. + | | | | =William, Duke of Cleves. + | | | +-- Elizabeth, 1573-1633. + | | | | =Maximilian II., Duke of Bavaria. + | | | +-- Catherine, Abbess of + | | | Remiremont, 1570-1648. + | | +-- Anne, 1522-1568. + | | | =(1)René Prince of Orange. + | | | =(2)Philip, Duke of Aerschot. + | | | +-- Charles, de Croy, Marquis of + | | | Havre, b. 1549. + | | +-- Nicolas, Count of Vaudemont, 1524-1577. + | | =(1)Margaret of Egmont. + | | =(2)Joanna of Savoy. + | | =(3)Catherine of Aumale, m. 1569. + | | +-- Louise. + | | | +Henri III. of France. + | | +-- Philip, d. 1612. + | | +-- Charles, Cardinal, d. 1587. + | +-- Claude, Duke of Guise. (See Table V.) + | +-- John, Cardinal, 1498-1550. + | +-- Francis, Count of Lambesque, 1503-1525. + | +-- Louis, Count of Vaudemon, 1506-1527. + +-- Frederic, killed at Agincourt, d. 1415. + =Margaret, heiress of Joinville and Vaudemont. + +-- Anthony. + =heiress of Aumale and Mayenne. + +-- Frederic, Count of Vaudemont, d. 1472. + =Yolande, 1428-1483. + +-- René II., Duke of Lorraine, etc. (see above) + + +V. GUISE, 1500-1600. + + René II., Duke of Lorraine and Bar, King of Sicily, etc, d. 1508. + =Philippa of Guelders, d. 1547. + +-- Claude, Duke of Guise, 1496-1550. + =Antoinette of Bourbon, 1494-1583. + +-- Mary, 1515-1560. + | =(1)Louis, Duke of Longueville, d. 1537. + | =(2)James, V., King of Scotland, d. 1542. + | +-- Louis, Duke of Longueville, 1536-1551. + | +-- Mary, Queen of Scots, 1542-1587. + | =(1)Francis II., King of France, d. 1560. + | =(2)Henry, Lord Darnley, d. 1567. + | +-- James, VI. of Scotland and I. of England (1603), + | 1567-1623. + | =Anne of Denmark, d. 1619. + +-- Francis, Duke of Guise, 1520-1563. + | =Anna d'Este, 1531-1607. + | +-- Henri le Balafré Prince of Joinville, etc., Duke of Guise, + | 1549-1588. + | =Catherine of Cleves. + | +-- Charles, Duke of Guise, 1571-1640. + | | =Henriette de Joyeuse, Duchess of Montpensier, d. 1656. + | +-- Louis, Cardinal and Archbishop of Reims, b. 1575. + | +-- Claude, Duke of Chevreuse, b. 1578. + | | =Marie de Rohan. + | +-- Louise. + | =Francis, Prince of Conti, m. July 24, 1605. + +-- Louise, 1521-1542. + | =Charles, Prince of Chimay. + +-- René Abbess of S. Pierre, Reims, 1522-1586. + +-- Charles, Cardinal, 1523-1574. + +-- Claude, Duke of Aumale, 1526-1573. + | =Louise, de Bréze, m. 1545. + | +-- Catherine of Aumale. + | | =Nicolas, Count of Vaudemont, b. 1524, m. 1569, d. 1577. + | +-- Charles, Duke of Aumale, b. 1556. + | | =Marie d'Elbœuf m. 1576. + | +-- Claude, Abbot of Bec, b. 1563. + | +-- Diana, m. 1576. + | =Francis, Duke of Piney. + +-- Louis, Cardinal, 1527-1578. + +-- Antoinette, Abbess of Farmoustiers, 1531-1561. + +-- Francis, Prior of Malta, 1534-1563. + +-- René Marquis of Elbœuf, 1535-1576. + =Louise, de Rieux. + +-- Charles, Marquis of Elbœuf; created Duke 1581. + +-- Marie d'Elbœuf, m. 1576. + =Charles, Duke of Aumale, b. 1556. + + + + +INDEX + + + Adige, the, 132 + + Aerschot, Anne, Duchess of, death of her husband, 329; + birth of a son, 333; + her letters to Mary, Queen of Hungary, 368, 523; + at Joinville, 464; + at Lorraine, 484; + retires to Diest, 485; + her death, 487 + + Aerschot, Duke of, 79, 142; + receives the Ambassadors, 184; + his defeat at Sittard, 280; + third marriage, 323; + death, 329 + + Aerschot, Philip of, 484 + + Agincourt, Battle of, 257 + + Agrippa, Cornelius, 50, 58 + + Aigues-Mortes, 172 + + Aix-la-Chapelle, 27, 43, 135 + + Aix, siege of, 118 + + Alberi, E., "Le Relazioni degli Ambasciatori," 528 + + Albret, Jeanne d', 235. + See Navarre, Princess of + + Alençon, Duke of, 507 + + Alençon, Margaret, Duchess of, Queen of Navarre, 10 + + Alessandria, 509 + + Algiers, expedition to, 267 + + Alsace, 353, 374 + + Alsace, Gerard d', 256 + + Alsener Sound, 65 + + Altmeyer, J., "Isabelle d'Autriche," 13 _note_, 15 _note_, 33 _note_, + 40 _note_, 43 _note_, _et seq._, 528; + "Relations Commerciales du Danemark et les Pays-Bas," 34 _note_, 37 + _note_, 38 _note_, _et seq._, 528 + + Alva, Duchess of, in London, 391 + + Alva, Duke of, Commander-in-Chief, 383; + in London, 391; + war with Pope Paul IV., 409; + appointed Captain-General of the Netherlands, 486 + + Alzei, 402 + + Amager, island of, 19 + + Amboise, 463 + + Amigone, Mario, 96 + + André, St., Marshal, taken prisoner at St. Quentin, 417; + at the Conference of Cercamp, 428 + + Angoulême, Duke of, 114 + + Anjou, Henry, Duke of, 489; + succeeds to the throne, 490 + + Anjou, Margaret of, 257 + + Annebaut, Admiral l', 291 + + Anne of Cleves, her appearance, 225; + her marriage pronounced null and void, 236 + + Annonville, 268 + + Antwerp, 27, 39, 201; + riots at, 485 + + Apennines, the, 116 + + Aragon, Don Carlos of, Duke of Terranuova, Viceroy of Milan, 499 + + Aragon, Ferdinand of, 10 + + Aremberg, Count d', 331, 479; + killed in battle, 487 + + Aremberg, Jacques d', at Frankfurt, 470 + + Aremberg, Margaret, Countess of, 382, 479, 480; + at Nancy, 485 + + Arena, 117 + + Aretino, Pietro, 96; + his portraits of the Duke and Duchess of Milan, 96; + his tribute to the Duke, 110; + "Lettere," 529 + + Armstrong, Ed., "Cambridge Modern History," 507 _note_, 529 + + Arras, Antoine Perrenot, Bishop of, at Augsburg, 319; + his portrait, 322; + Imperial Chancellor, 342; + at the Conference of Cercamp, 428; + of Câteau-Cambrésis, 436; + on the rivalry between Christina, Duchess of Lorraine, and the + Duchess of Parma, 459 + + Arras, Bishop of, proclaims Charles V. Archduke of Austria and Prince + of Castille, 3 + + Arundel, Fitzalan, Earl of, 158 _note_ + + Arundel, Thomas Howard, Earl of, 158 _note_ + + Arundel, Lord, 415; + at the Conference of Cercamp, 428, 432 + + Ascham, Roger, 321; + "Works," 319 _note_, 529; + his journey up the Rhine, 339; + description of royal personages, 344, 346 + + Ashmole, E., "The Order of the Garter," 392 _note_, 529 + + Asti, 116 + + Aubespine, Sebastien de l', at the Conference of Cercamp, 428; + at Ghent, 457; + "Négociations au Règne de François II.," 457 _note_, 531 + + Audley, Chancellor, 162 + + Augsburg, 60; + Diet of, 318, 337; + prorogued, 323, 346; + festivities at, 338 + + Aumale, Count, 253; + at Joinville, 270; + failure of his negotiations of marriage, 270; + wounded, 307; + his wish to marry Christina, Duchess of Lorraine, 312; + marriage with Anna d'Este, 326; + created a Duke Governor of Savoy, 333; + his capture, 379 + + Austria, Don John of, 488; + appointed Governor of the Netherlands, 492; + at Luxembourg, 492; + his letter to Christina, Duchess of Lorraine, 493; + victory of Gembloux, 494; + death, 495 + + Austria, Elizabeth of, at Nancy, 490 + + Austria, Philip, Archduke of, his death, 1; + funeral, 2 + + Avenati, P., "Entrata Solemne di Cristina di Spagna," 92 _note_, 529 + + Avignano, Count, 396 + + Avignon, 118 + + Axe, Torben, 24 + + Ayamonte, Marquis of, 497 + + + Badoer, Venetian Ambassador, 396, 406 + + Bar, 239, 284, 476 + + Bar, Duke and Duchess of, 252. + See Lorraine + + Barack, K., "Zimmerische Chronik," 529 + + Barbarossa, his flight, 106 + + Barcelona, contract signed at, 74, 104 + + Bari, duchy of, 453 + + Barlow, John, Dean of Westbury, 205 + + Barres, Guillaume des, 48 + + Bassompierre, 360, 377; + at Denœuvre, 373 + + Baumgarten, H., "Geschichte Karl V.," 23 _note_, 529 + + Bavaria, Maximilian, Duke of, his marriage, 512 + + Bavaria, William, Duke of, his marriage with Renée of Lorraine, 488 + + Bavon's Abbey, St., demolition of, 230 + + Bayonne, 220 + + Beard, Mr., 205 + + Beaumont, Castle of, 242, 246 + + Beaumont, Dame Anne de, 6 + + Bellay, M. du, "Mémoires," 250 _note_, 530 + + Belloni, Niccolò, 129, 141, 347; + his letters to Gadio, 348-350; + sent to Brussels, 375; + his disappearance, 375 + + Beltrami, L., "Il Castello di Milano," 529 + + Bergh, L. van, "Correspondance de M. d'Autriche," 21 _note_, 529 + + Berghen, Madame de, 142, 154, 198 + + Berghen, Marquis of, 185, 252 + + Berlin, 39, 40 + + Bianca, Empress, 7, 72 + + Binche, destruction of the Palace of, 390 + + Bisignano, Prince of, 66 + + Blamont, 370 + + Blois, 462 + + Bohemia, Anna of, her death, 320 + + Bohemia, King and Queen of, at Brussels, 405 + + Bois-le-Duc, 212 + + Boleyn, Anne, 144, 150 + + Bologna, 73, 74 + + Bonner, Bishop, 182, 213 + + Bonvalot, François, Abbot of Luxeuil, 299; + his letter on the Regency of Lorraine, 300; + present at the funeral of Antoine, Duke of Lorraine, 305 + + Bomy, truce at, 137 + + Borromeo, Carlo, Archbishop of Milan, 500 + + Bottigella, Councillor Pier Francesco, 78; + his instructions on the reception of Christina, Duchess of Milan, 84 + + Bouillé, R. de, "Histoire des Ducs de Guise," 222 _note_, 529 + + Bouillon, Godfrey of, 256 + + Boullay, Édmond du, 253 + + Boulogne, siege of, 292 + + Bourbon, Antoinette de, 147, 258. + See Guise + + Bourbon, Renée de, her marriage, 11, 258 + + Boussu, Grand Equerry, in London, 391 + + Bradford, W., "Itinerary of Charles V.," 244 _note_, 529 + + Bragadin, Lorenzo, Venetian Envoy, 113 + + Brandenburg, Albert, Marquis of, 285, 318; + his career, 320; + appearance, 321; + admiration for Christina, Duchess of Lorraine, 321; + declines to take part in the tournament at Brussels, 332; + his departure, 332; + secret intrigues with France, 354, 357; + his plundering, 377; + offers a refuge to Christina, 377; + captures Aumale, 379; + meeting with Charles V., 379; + his courtship of Christina, 383; + routed at the Battle of Sievershausen, 384; + death, 385 + + Brandenburg, Elizabeth of, embraces the Lutheran faith, 41; + her flight with her brother, 56 + + Brandenburg, Joachim, Marquis of, 39, 41; + at the marriage of King Christian II., 13 + + Brantôme, P. de, his sketch of Christina of Denmark, vii; + "Œuvres Complètes," 529 + + Breda, Castle of, 174 + + Brederode, Count, 183, 252 + + Brégilles, M. de, 55 + + Brenner Pass, 133, 372 + + Brian, Ambassador, 281 + + Brittany, Anne of, 3; her death, 11 + + Brousse, Jean de la, 314, 372 + + Browne, Sir Anthony, 182 + + Bruges, 30, 236 + + Brunswick, Dorothea, Duchess of, at the Court of Spain, 502; + return to Göttingen, 503; + death of her husband, 503; + joins her mother at Tortona, 505; + her second marriage, 511; + death, 511 + + Brunswick, Eric, Duke of, 480; + his marriage with Dorothea of Lorraine, 490; + summoned to Spain, 502; + return to Göttingen, 503; + his death, 503 + + Brunswick, Henry, Duke of, 39, 40 + + Brusquet, the jester, 404 + + Brussels, 8, 104, 135, 141, 183, 381, 400; + festivities at, 293, 329, 405; + tournament at, 405 + + Bucholtz, F. von, "Geschichte d. Kaiser Ferdinand I.," 264 _note_, 529 + + "Bulletins de la Commission Royale d'Histoire," 2 _note_ + + Büren, Anna, Countess, her death, 425 + + Büren, Count, 142, 252; + entertained by Wriothesley, 198 + + Burgon, J. W., "Life of Sir Thomas Gresham," 396 _note_, 529 + + Burgos, 1, 220 + + Burgundy, Adolf of, Admiral of the Dutch fleet, 36 + + Burgundy, Mary of, 9 + + Burigozzo, G. M., "Cronaca Milanese," 82 _note_, 529 + + Busch, Count Jacob von, 351 + + Busseto, Bartolommeo, 498 + + Butler, A. J., "Cambridge Modern History," 508 _note_ + + + Calabria, 112 + + Calais, 37, 204, 214; + capture of, by the French, 420; + question of the restoration to England, 429, 432, 438, 443 + + Calmet, A., "Histoire de Lorraine," 246 _note_, 256 _note_, 529 + + Cambray, 177, 224; + Peace of, 56, 403 + + Cambray, Archbishop of, performs the nuptial rites of King Christian + II., 13 + + Cambre, La, Convent of, 449, 468 + + Campeggio, Cardinal, 57 + + Campo, A., "Storia di Cremona," 75 _note_, 96, 529 + + Caracciolo, Cardinal, Papal Nuncio, 31; + appointed Viceroy of Milan, 118; + letters from Christina, Duchess of Milan, 516, 517 + + Cardon, M. Leon, vii + + Carvajal, Cardinal, at Malines, 6 + + Carne, Dr. Edward, 182, 199 + + Carondelet, Archbishop, 230 + + Carondelet, Ferry de, 377 + + Cartagena, 267 + + Castellani, Madame, 500 + + Castillon, Ambassador, 147, 160, 164; + recalled to France, 198 + + Câteau-Cambrésis, Conference for peace at, 436-447; + Commissioners, 436; + treaty ratified, vi, 448 + + Catherine, Queen of France, her state entry into Paris, 334; + illness, 362; + flight from Reims, 373 + + Cenis, Mont, ascent of, 86 + + Cercamp, Conference for peace at, 426-430; + Commissioners, 428; + second session, 431; + adjourned, 432 + + Chaloner, Ambassador, 457, 458 + + Châlons, 291; + camp at, 359 + + Châlons, Philibert of, 142 + + Chamberlain, A. B., 168 _note_ + + Chambéry, 84, 85 + + Champagne, attack on, 373 + + Champier, Antoine, 296 + + Chantilly, 181 + + Chapuys, Ambassador, 151, 152, 159; + entertained by Thomas Cromwell, 173; + on Henry VIII.'s negotiations of marriage, 196; + at Calais, 204; + on the illness of Henry VIII., 315 + + Charlemont, citadel of, 398 + + Charles V., Emperor, vi; + proclaimed Archduke of Austria and Prince of Castille, 3; + at Malines, 4; + attack of smallpox, 5; + his education, 6; + confirmation, 6; + taste for sport, 8; + at the wedding of his sister Isabella, 13; + attack of fever, 14; + festivities on his coming of age, 14; + assumes the title of King of Spain, 20; + his first Chapter of the Golden Fleece, 20; + elected King of the Romans, 25; + coronation, 27; + meeting with King Christian II. of Denmark, 28, 57; + his marriage, 48; + death of his sister Isabella, 48; + receives the imperial crown, 57; + death of his aunt, 58; + meeting with Prince John, 59; + appoints his sister Mary Regent of the Netherlands, 61; + his progress to Brussels, 66; + festivities, 67; + at Regensburg, 67, 245; + his illness, 68, 385; + letter on the death of his nephew, 69; + at Milan, 74; + arranges the marriage of his niece Christina, 74-78; + sails for Africa, 104; + his victory at Tunis, 106; + march to Asti, 116, 118; + meeting with Christina, 117, 377; + invasion of Provence, 118; + siege of Aix, 118; + signs a truce, 118; + places a Spanish garrison to defend Milan, 120; + his reconciliation with the King of France, 172; + treaty with him, 195; + views on Henry VIII.'s proposed marriage, 197; + Crusade against the Turks, 209; + death of his wife, 210; + reception in France, 221-223; + meeting with King Francis, 221; + at Paris, 222; + return to Valenciennes, 224; + paper of instructions, 226; + enters Ghent, 228; + his sentence of condemnation, 229; + on the death of Cromwell, 237; + arranges the second marriage of Christina, 245; + his expedition to Algiers, 267; + campaign against King Francis, 277; + secret treaty with King Henry VIII., 280; + success at Düren, 280; + lays siege to Landrécy, 280; + declines proposals of peace, 281, 282, 285; + his treaty with Christian III., 283; + visit to the convent, 285; + at St. Dizier, 286; + his wish for peace, 291; + signs a treaty, 292; + at Brussels, 293, 324, 381; + campaign against the League of Schmalkalde, 317; + victory of Mühlberg, 318; + his portrait, 322; + at Augsburg, 337; + difficulties in obtaining the recognition of his son Philip as his + successor, 341-347; + appearance, 344, 378; + intrigues against, 354, 357; + takes refuge at Innsbruck, 355; + at Villach, 372; + enters Strasburg, 377; + meeting with Albert, Marquis of Brandenburg, 379; + raises the siege of Metz, 380; + on the union of Queen Mary with his son, 387; + his intention to abdicate, 398; + abdication, 400-402; + resigns the kingdoms of Spain and Sicily, 403; + departure for Ghent, 406; + embarks at Flushing, 406; + his retreat at St. Yuste, 417; + death, 430; + funeral, 433-435; + letters from Christina, 525 + + Charles VI., Emperor, 513 + + Charles VIII. of France, 3 + + Charles IX. of France, proclaimed King, 464; + his coronation, 467 + + Charles the Bold of Burgundy, 9; + defeated at Nancy, 257; + removal of his bones to Bruges, 336 + + Châtelhérault, 250 + + Cheyney, Sir Thomas, Ambassador, 308 + + Chimay, Charles, Prince of, 242; + his affection for Louise de Guise, 242; + marriage, 244 + + Chimay, Louise, Princess of, her letter on her happy marriage, 247; + death, 278 + + Christian II., King of Denmark, his proposals of marriage, 12; + coronation, 12; + marriage by proxy, 13; + reception of Queen Isabella, 15; + wedding, 15; + characteristics, 17, 18; + appearance, 18, 29; + relations with Dyveke, 18; + treatment of his wife, 19, 20, 24, 39; + misconduct, 20; + elected Knight of the Golden Fleece, 25; + crowned in the Cathedral of Upsala, 25; + sympathy with the Lutheran faith, 26, 40, 45; + his title of Nero of the North, 26; + reforms, 26; + journey through Germany, 27; + portraits, 28, 29, 41; + meeting with Charles V., 28; + at Ghent, 29; + interview with Cardinal Wolsey, 30; + appeals for help, 33, 45; + deposed, vi, 33, 39; + his flight, 34; + at Malines, 36; + arrival in England, 37; + meeting with Henry VIII., 37; + infatuation for Sigebritt, 38, 39; + raises a force in Germany, 39; + intimacy with Luther, 41; + at Lierre, 44; + extravagance, 44; + death of his wife, 46; + intention to invade Denmark, 49; + plunderings and ravages, 49, 56; + picture of his children, 53; + his public recantation, 57; + return to Malines, 57; + invasion of Holland, 62; + sails to Norway, 63; + his reception, 64; + disbands his forces, 64; + imprisonment, 65; + removed to Kallundborg Castle, 327; + his death, 449 + + Christian III., King of Denmark, his succession disputed, 103; + secret treaty with France, 275; + his treaty with Charles V., 283 + + Christina of Denmark, her birth, 32; + life at Malines, 50-53; + portraits, v, 54, 96, 155, 157, 158 _note_, 509, 514; + present at the festivities at Brussels, 66; + proposal of marriage from the Duke of Milan, 74; + love of riding, 75, 141; + character, vi, 75, 97; + appearance, v, 80, 86, 98, 149, 466; + wedding, 81, 94; + letters to her husband, 83, 100, 516; + dowry, 83; + her journey to Milan, 83-90; + at Cussago, 88; + first sight of her husband, 89; + state entry into Milan, 90-93; + popularity, 98, 141, 264, 408, 415, 450; + lessons in Italian, 99; + death of her husband, 101, 107; + offers of marriage, 113-115, 207, 383; + meeting with her uncle Charles V., 117, 377; + petitions to Cardinal Caracciolo, 119, 120; + reception at Pavia, 122; + attack of fever, 127, 210; + departure from Pavia, 129; + journey to Brussels, 129-135; + meeting with her sister Dorothea, 134; + at Heidelberg, 134, 378; + her life at Brussels, 141, 294, 327, 382; + at the Castle of Breda, 174; + return to Brussels, 183, 448; + her interview with Wriothesley, 191-194; + negotiations of marriage with Henry VIII. broken off, 204; + her suitors, 207, 312, 321, 383, 387; + reception of her sister Dorothea, 212; + affection for Prince René of Orange, 218, 232, 238; + at Valenciennes, 224; + her betrothal to Francis, Duke of Lorraine, 244; + marriage, 245, 251; + journey to Pont-à-Mousson, 253; + reception at Nancy, 254; + on the love of her husband, 264; + at Fontainebleau, 265; + her letters to Granvelle on the cession of Stenay, 266, 271; + reception at Joinville, 268; + her reason for rejecting Henry VIII., 274; + at Esclaron, 276, 461; + birth of a son, 279; + at Spires, 282; + her efforts for peace, 282; + birth of a daughter, 283; + return to Nancy, 294, 322, 482; + death of her husband, 297; + appointed Regent of Lorraine, 298, 302; + birth of a second daughter, 302; + her friendship with the Princess of Orange, 303; + letter to Abbot Bonvalot, 308; + reception of Francis I., 312; + refusal to marry, 312; + at Augsburg, 318, 337-339; + measures for the defence of Nancy, 323; + departure from Brussels, 332; + at the funeral of the Duke of Guise, 335; + her retinue, 340; + entertainment of Frederic and Dorothea, 352; + fear of the invasion of Lorraine by the French, 356, 359; + at Joinville, 356; + her interview with Henry II., 361; + reception of him at Nancy, 363; + deprived of the Regency, 364; + appeal to Henry II., 365, 371; + distress at parting with her son, 366, 370; + appeal to Queen Mary, 367; + retires to Blamont, 370; + her illness, 371, 476, 477, 485, 488, 497, 509; + at Denœuvre, 372; + ordered to leave, 374; + takes refuge in Alsace, 374; + at Hoh-Königsberg, 377; + visits to England, 394, 413-416; + present at the abdication of Charles V., 401; + at Ghent, 406, 416, 457; + meeting with her son, 421-423, 435, 440; + affection for William, Prince of Orange, 425; + presides at the Conference of Cercamp, 426-432; + refusal to attend the wedding of her son, 436; + presides at the Conference of Câteau-Cambrésis, 437-447; + death of her father, 449; + her sorrow at not being appointed Regent of the Netherlands, 452; + request for the duchy of Bari, 453; + refuses the Castle of Lecce, 455; + relations with the Duchess of Parma, 459; + return to Lorraine, 460; + meeting with King Francis II. and Queen Mary of Scots, 461; + acts as Regent of Lorraine, 463; + reception of Mary, Queen of Scots, 465; + at Reims, 466; + at Frankfurt, 470; + agreement with the Bishop of Toul, 472; + rebuilds the salt-works of Les Rosières, 472; + birth of a grandson, 473; + interview with Cardinal Granvelle, 474; + her wish to recover Denmark, 469, 475, 488; + at the christening of her grandson, 476; + pilgrimage to Brussels, 481; + her medal and motto, 483; + marriage of her daughter, Renée, 488; + her grandchildren, 489; + marriage of her daughter Dorothea, 490; + letter of welcome to Don John of Austria, 492; + pilgrimage to Loreto, 497; + state entry into Tortona, 497; + character of her rule, 498; + her illustrious guests, 500; + works of mercy, 500; + quarrels with Philip of Spain, 501, 503, 514; + joined by her daughter Dorothea, 505; + death, 509; + funeral at Nancy, 510; + inscription on her tomb, 511; + character, 514; + charm, 515; + letters to Cardinal Caracciolo, 516, 517; + to Mary, Queen of Hungary, 523; + to Charles V., 525; + to Mary, Queen of England, 526 + + Churchill, A., "Travels," 47 _note_, 470 _note_ + + Claude, Princess, of France, her christening, 333; + proposed marriage with Charles, Duke of Lorraine, 419; + wedding, 435. + See Lorraine + + Clement VII., Pope, 42, 57, 73, 106 + + Clès, Cardinal-Bishop Bernhard von, at Verona, 132 + + Cleves, State of, 135 + + Cleves, Anne of, her appearance, 209; + marriage with Henry VIII., 217 + + Cleves, William, Duke of, 136; + chosen to succeed to the dukedom of Guelders, 138; + his courtship of the Duchess of Milan, 207, 232; + takes possession of Guelders, 207; + at Ghent, 231, 233; + his claim on the succession of Guelders, 231, 233; + return, 234; + his treaty with France, 244; + his marriage with Princess Jeanne of Navarre, 249-251; + surrender to Charles V., 280; + his marriage annulled, 280 + + Clouet, his portrait of Mary, Queen of Scots, 465 + + Clough, Richard, present at the funeral of Charles V., 435 + + Coblenz, 351 + + Codogno, 130 + + Cognac, 279 + + Coligny, Admiral, at Brussels, 404; + taken prisoner at St. Quentin, 417 + + Cologne, 135 + + Colonna, Fabrizio, 380 + + Compiègne, 177 + + Condé, leader of the Huguenots, 471 + + Constantyne, George, 205; + imprisonment, 206 + + Contarini, Francesco, Venetian Ambassador, 233 + + Contarini, Gaspare, his impressions of King Christian II., 29 + + Conway, Sir Martin, "Literary Remains of Albert Dürer," 27 _note_, 530 + + Copenhagen, 15, 483; + siege of, 38; + capitulation, 39, 105 + + Corbetta, Gualtiero di, his oration at the funeral of the Duke of + Milan, 109 + + Corte, Benedetto da, 99, 117, 122, 141; + his account of the journey to Mantua, 131; + his views on the proposed marriage of Henry VIII. with Christina, + Duchess of Milan, 170 + + Cortile, L., "Ragionamenti," 530 + + Coryat, T., "Crudities," 86 _note_, 530 + + Coste, Hilarion de, "Les Éloges," 498 _note_ + + Cournault, C., "Ligier-Richier," 289 _note_, 316 _note_, 530 + + Courrières, Jean de Montmorency, Sieur de, 78, 184; + in charge of Christina, Duchess of Milan, 121; + his career, 124; + letter on the proposed Cleves marriage, 139; + appointed Bailiff of Alost, 140, 219; + his letters to Charles V., 126-128 + + Courteville, Jean de, 413 + + Cranach, Lucas, his portrait of King Christian II. of Denmark, 41 + + Cranmer, Archbishop, 162 + + Cremona, 130 + + Crépy-en-Laonnois, peace signed at, 292 + + Cromwell, Thomas, 115; + his portrait, 155; + entertains Gian Battista Ferrari, 170; + entertains the Ambassadors, 173; + on Henry VIII.'s negotiations of marriage, 196; + entertains Frederic, Count Palatine, 214; + arrested and sent to the Tower, 236; + beheaded, 237 + + Croy, Anne de, 142 + + Croy, Charles de, Marquis of Havré, 492 + + Cussago, villa of, 88 + + Cust, L., 159 _note_, 530 + + + Dahlmann, F., "Geschichte von Dänemark," 27 _note_, 530 + + Dalecarlia, 27 + + Darnley, Henry, Lord, his marriage with Mary, Queen of Scots, 485 + + Decrue, F., "Anne de Montmorency," 181 _note_, 245 _note_, 250 + _note_, 419 _note_, 530 + + Denis, St., Battle of, 487 + + Denmark, outbreak of war with Sweden, 475 + + Denmark, Queen Christina of, v. See Christina + + Denœuvre, 299, 372; Treaty of, 302 + + Devonshire, Edward Courtenay, Lord, 402 + + Diego, Don, his return to Flanders, 174 + + Diest, 482, 485, 487 + + Dizier, St., camp at, 286; + surrender of, 289 + + Dodgson, Campbell, viii + + Dordrecht, 212 + + Dormer, Jane, 425 + + Dorothea, Princess, of Denmark, 27, 35; + her portrait, 54; + offers of marriage, 71, 101, 102; + her appearance, 101; + character, 101, 105; + marriage with Frederic, Count Palatine, 105; + her love of adventure, 106; + meeting with her sister Christina at Heidelberg, 134; + at Toledo, 211; + visit to her aunt Eleanor, 211; + at the Hague, 212; + her appeal on behalf of her father, 231; + at the funeral of the Duke of Lorraine, 310; + her visit to Nancy, 351-353; + death of her husband, 402; + at Jülich, 416; + Neuburg, 417, 468; + death, 469; + inscription on her monument, 469 + + Doulans, M. de, 374 + + Dover, 413 + + Dreux, Battle of, 471 + + Drondtheim, Archbishop of, 14, 19, 64 + + Drouin, Simon, 511 + + Düren, surrender of, 280 + + Dürer, Albert, extract from his Journal, 27; + his portraits of King Christian II. of Denmark, 28, 29 + + + Edward VI., King, his birth, 145; + his death, 386 + + Effingham, Lord Howard of, at the Conference of Câteau-Cambrésis, 437; + on the marriage of Queen Elizabeth, 440 + + Egmont, Anne of, 400 + + Egmont, Count Lamoral d', his wedding, 283; + christening of his daughter, 393; + his victory at Gravelines, 424; + at Frankfurt, 470; + result of his mission to Philip of Spain, 481; + arrested, 486; + execution, 487 + + Egmont, Floris d', at Brussels, 201 + + Egmont, Margaret of, her marriage, 324; + death, 390. + See Vaudemont + + Egmont, Mary Christina, her christening, 393 + + Egmont, Philippa of, 257 + + Elbe, the, 39 + + Elbœuf, Marquis of, at Mon Soulas, 440 + + Eleanor, Archduchess, of Austria, 4; + attack of smallpox, 5; + education, 6; + offers of marriage, 12; + her affection for Frederic, Count Palatine, 21; + Queen of Portugal, 24; + of France, 137; + at Compiègne, 177; + meeting with her sister Mary, 178; + her appearance, 178, 339; + reception of her brother Charles V., 221; + at Brussels, 293, 325; + her death, 430 + + Elizabeth, Princess, of France, her christening, 308; + proposals of marriage, 392, 412, 446; + marriage with Philip of Spain, 456 + + Elizabeth, Queen of England, her accession, 432; + invitation to Christina, 457 + + Ely, Bishop of, at the Conference of Cercamp, 428, 432; + of Câteau-Cambrésis, 436 + + Emanuel, King of Portugal, 9; + death of his second wife, 22; + third marriage, 24; + death, 102 + + England, war declared with France, 417 + + Épernay, 291 + + Erasmus of Rotterdam, 28 + + Eric, King of Sweden, his negotiations with Christina, Duchess of + Lorraine, 478; + proposal of marriage with Renée of Lorraine, 482; + his unstable character, 483; + deposed, 483 + + Esclaron, 275, 476 + + Esslingen, 339 + + Este, Anna d', her marriage with Count Aumale, 326; + appearance, 326 + + Este, Duchess Beatrice d', 7; + her death, 72; + country-house of Cussago, 89 + + Este, Francesco d', 289 + + Étampes, Madame d', 179, 245, 293 + + Exeter, Lord, imprisoned in the Tower, 136; + his execution, 186 + + + Farnese, Cardinal, 225, 228, 235 + + Farnese, Cecilia, 115 + + Farnese, Ottavio, 354, 410 + + Farnese, Vittoria, 225; + her marriage, 270 + + Faye, Hugues de la, his decoration of the Palace of Nancy, 272 + + Ferdinand, King, his marriage, 11; + at Nuremberg, 40; + his treatment of his sister Isabella, 40; + King of the Romans, at Ghent, 230; + departure from, 235; + at Augsburg, 318, 337; + death of his wife, 319; + love of music, 320; + his portrait, 322; + refusal to accept Philip of Spain as coadjutor, 341-345; + his character, 344; + death, 478 + + Fère, La, 183 + + Feria, Count, 425, 431 + + Ferrara, Alfonso d' Este, Duke of, 95; + at the wedding of the Duke of Milan, 95; + his death, 95; + will, 95 + + Ferrari, Gian Battista, 153; + his impressions of England, 170; + of Henry VIII., 171 + + Fiennes, Madame de, 79 + + Florence, 508 + + Florence, Alexander, Duke of, 115 + + Flushing, 406 + + Foix, Germaine de, 28 + + Fontaine, M. de, 374 + + Fontainebleau, 221, 265, 279 + + Förstemann, C., "Neues Urkundenbuch," 41 _note_, 530 + + France, war declared with England, 417; + outbreak of civil war, 471, 487 + + Francis I., King of France, on Henry VIII.'s proposed marriage, 147; + his reconciliation with Charles V., 172; + meeting with Queen Mary of Hungary, 177; + treaty with Charles V., 195; + reception of Frederic, Count Palatine, and Dorothea, 211; + reception of Charles V., 221-223; + on the death of Cromwell, 237; + treatment of the Duke of Lorraine, 265; + demands the cession of Stenay, 266; + his secret treaty with Christian III., 275; + at Esclaron, 275; + campaign against Charles V., 277; + disbands his forces, 277; + terms of peace, 292; + death of his son, 304; + at Joinville, 311, 313; + at Bar, 311; + his death, 315 + + Francis II., King of France, his protest against the treaty, 292; + marriage with Mary, Queen of Scots, 420; + accession, 457; + coronation, 460; + at Lorraine, 461; + at Blois, 462; + death, 464 + + Frankfurt, 470 + + Frederic II., Elector Palatine, his affection for Eleanor of Austria, + 21; + banished from Court, 23; + his negotiations of marriage, 102-104; + marriage, 105; + at Toledo, 211; + his visit to the King of France, 211; + illness, 211; + at the Hague, 212; + visit to England, 213-217; + reception at Windsor, 215; + return to Brussels, 217; + his designs against Denmark, 230; + efforts to raise a loan, 241; + his claim to Denmark, 274; + succeeds to the Palatinate, 282; + joins the League of Schmalkalde, 317; + his loyalty to Charles V., 317; + love of travel, 351; + journey to Nancy, 351-353; + his influence in Germany, 378; + welcome to Christina, 379; + his death, 402; + burial, 403 + + Frederic, King of Denmark, recognition of his title, 42; + death, 72 + + Frederic III., King of Denmark, his unpopularity, 468; + negotiations of marriage with Renée of Lorraine, 475 + + Frederic of Zimmern, Elector Palatine, 469 + + French, the, threaten to invade Milan, 116 + + Friedberg, Castle of, 488 + + Friedewald, treaty at, 354 + + Friedmann, P., "Les Dépêches de Michieli," 398 _note_, 530 + + Frizzi, A., "Mémorie per la Storia di Ferrara," 530 + + + Gachard, L., "Relation des Troubles de Gand," 220 _note_, 228 _note_, + 530; + "Retraite et Mort de Charles V.," 62 _note_, 331 _note_, 530; + "Voyages de Charles V.," 283 _note_, 319 _note_, 530; + "Voyages des Souverains des Pays-Bas," 1, 117 _note_, 246 _note_, + 530 + + Gadio, Innocenzo, 347; + letter from Contessa Trivulzio, 526 + + Gaillard, M., Director of the Brussels Archives, vii + + Gallerati, Count Tommaso, 75 + + Gambara, Cesare, Bishop of Tortona, 500 + + Gardner, E., "A King of Court Poets," 95 _note_, 530 + + Garonne, the, 250 + + Gaye, G., "Carteggio Inedito di Artisti dei Secoli XV.," 530 + + Gemappes, Castle of, 43 + + Gembloux, victory of, 494 + + Genoa, 119 + + Ghent, 29, 78, 406, 416, 457; + revolt at, 219; + royal procession into, 228; + sentence of condemnation, 229; + riots at, 485 + + Gheynst, Margaret van, 410 + + Ghilino, Camillo, Ambassador to Milan, 74, 85, 106; + "Annali di Alessandria," 107 _note_, 498 _note_, 530; + his illness and death, 107 + + Giœ, Court-Marshal Magnus, Danish Ambassador, 12; + representative of King Christian II. at his marriage, 13 + + Giussani, Signor Achille, vii + + Glay, E. Le, "Correspondance l'Empereur Maximilian I. et de + Marguerite d'Autriche," 5 _note_, 531 + + Gomez, Ruy, 338; + in London, 391; + at the Conference of Cercamp, 428 + + Gonzaga, Chiara, 258 + + Gonzaga, Cardinal Ercole, 91 + + Gonzaga, Ferrante, 66; + recovers Luxembourg, 284; + at St. Dizier, 286; + in London, 391 + + Gorzes, Abbey of, 356 + + Göttingen, 503 + + Goulart. S., "Mémoires de la Ligue," 506 _note_, 530 + + Granado, Sir Jacques de, 416 + + Granvelle, Imperial Chancellor, 114; + letters from Christina, Duchess of Lorraine, on the cession of + Stenay, 266, 271; + his portrait, 322; + death, 342 + + Granvelle, Antoine Perrenot, + created Cardinal, 470; + compelled to retire, 473; + his reception at Nancy, 474; + on the efforts of Christina, Duchess of Lorraine, to recover + Denmark, 488; + his death, 505; + "Papiers d'État," 114 _note_, 128 _note_, 220 _note_, 277 _note_, + 530 + + Gravelines, victory at, 424 + + Gravelines, Captain of, 198 + + Gravesend, 413 + + _Great Mary_, 35 + + Greenwich, 37, 412 + + Gregory XIII., Pope, 499 + + Gresham, Sir Thomas, 395; + present at the abdication of Charles V., 401 + + Grey, Lady Katherine, 158 _note_ + + Groenendal, Abbey of, 287 + + Grümbach, Willem von, 475 + + Guasco, Maddalena, 509 + + Guazzo, Giorgio, 75; + "Historie d'Italia," 92 _note_, 530 + + Guelders, Charles of Egmont, Duke of; + his proposal of marriage, 10; + conflict with the Regent of the Netherlands, 36; + his illness, 138; + choice of a successor, 138 + + Guelders, Philippa of. See Philippa, Duchess of Lorraine + + Guicciardini, L., "Paesi-Bassi," 141 _note_, 530 + + Guise, Anna d' Este, Duchess of, birth of a son, 334 + + Guise, Antoinette de Bourbon, Duchess of, 147, 258; + her letters to her daughter, 167, 168 _note_, 518, 519, 520, 522; + on the marriage of the Prince of Orange, 240; + her daughter Louise's marriage, 243; + account of the festivities at Guise, 240; + at Pont-à-Mousson, 253; + her sons and daughters, 259; + reception of Christina, Duchess of Lorraine, 268; + return to Joinville, 295; + death of her husband, 335; + of her grandson, 356; + at the wedding of Henry III. of France, 490; + her death, 505 + + Guise, Antoinette de, goes to the convent at Reims, 270 + + Guise, Claude, Duke of, 146, 179, 258; + at Pont-à-Mousson, 253; + return to Joinville, 295; + at the funeral of the Duke of Lorraine, 309; + his illness, 334; + death, 335; + funeral, 335; + monument, 336 + + Guise, Francis, Duke of, + christening of his daughter, 356; + his capture of Calais, 420; + at the coronation of Charles IX., 467; + murdered, 471, 508 + + Guise, Louise de, + her appearance, 164; + portrait, 165; + attack of fever, 167; + proposal of marriage, 242; + wedding, 244. + See Chimay + + Guise, Mary, Queen of Scotland. See Mary + + Guise, Renée de, her appearance, 165; + at the Convent of Reims, 167; + Abbess of the Convent of St. Pierre, 314 + + Guzman, Don Gabriel de, 291 + + Gyldenstern, Knut, 64 + + + Hackett, John, Ambassador at Brussels, 85 + + Hagberg-Wright, Dr., viii + + Haile, M., "Life of Reginald Pole," 389 _note_, 530 + + Hainault, invasion of the French, 389 + + Hall, Hubert, vii + + Hallays, A., "Nancy," 258 _note_, 260 _note_, 316 _note_ + + Halle, 317 + + Hamburg, Congress at, 42 + + Hampton Court, 159, 216, 391 + + Hannart, his opinion of the King and Queen of Denmark, 40 + + Hans, King of Denmark, 18 + + Haüsser, L., "Geschichte der Rheinischen Pfalz," 531 + + Haussonville, Baron d', Governor of Nancy, 360, 363 + + Hawkins, on the marriage of the Duke of Milan, 75 + + Heidelberg, 105, 134, 378; + castle at, 351, 353 + + Heinrich, Otto, Elector Palatine, 403; + his death, 469 + + Held, Dr. Matthias, 133 + + Helsingfors, 15 + + Henne, A., "Histoire du Règne de Charles V.," 11 _note_, 531 + + Henri le Balafré, his birth, 334 + + Henry II., King of France, 178, 333, 490; + his state entry into Paris, 334; + declares war, 354; + his advance on Reims, 359; + at Joinville, 360; + reception of Christina, Duchess of Lorraine, 361; + enters Nancy, 362; + arbitrary conditions, 364; + deprives Christina of her son, 364-370; + at Strasburg, 371; + retreat, 373; + orders Christina to leave Lorraine, 374; + invasion of Hainault, 389; + destruction of the Palace of Binche, 390; + his threat to occupy Nancy, 408; + wish for peace, 426, 429; + wounded, 456; + death, 457 + + Henry III., King of France, his marriage with Louise of Vaudemont, 490 + + Henry VII., King of England, 4 + + Henry VIII., King of England, his reception of King Christian II. of + Denmark, 37; + his wives, 144, 206; + proposals of marriage, 146; + negotiations of marriage with Christina, Duchess of Milan, 150-164, + 168, 173; + portrait, 155; + illness, 164, 315; + wish to see the French Princesses, 165; + excommunicated by Pope Paul III., 195; + negotiations of marriage broken off, v, 204; + his reception of Frederic, Count Palatine, 215; + marriage with Anne of Cleves, 217; + his opinion of her, 236; + annuls his marriage, 236; + vexation at the marriage of Christina, 251; + trial and execution of his fifth wife, 273; + his secret treaty with Charles V., 280; + invasion of Picardy, 284; + takes possession of Boulogne, 292; + attack of fever, 315; + death, 315 + + Herbesteiner, Sigismund, 20 + + Hesdin, fort of, razed, 385 + + Hesse, Christina of, her marriage, 479 + + Hesse, Landgrave Philip of, 479; + taken prisoner, 318; + on the journey of Christina, Duchess of Lorraine, to Brussels, 481 + + Heverlé, 252 + + Hill, G. F., viii + + Hoby, Sir Philip, 155, 156; + his interview with Christina, Duchess of Milan, 157, 168 _note_; + his mission to Joinville, 166, 168 _note_; + Ambassador, 385 + + Hoby, Thomas, at Augsburg, 323; + "Memoirs," 323 _note_, 531; + his translation of "Cortegiano," 385 + + Hoh-Königsberg, fortress of, 318, 377 + + Holbein, Hans, his portrait of Christina, Duchess of Milan, v, 157, + 158 _note_, 514; + other portraits, 155 + + Holland, invasion of, 62 + + Holstein, Adolf, Duke of, at Brussels, 325, 327; + breaks off his engagement with Fräulein Kunigunde, 328; + courtship of Christina, Duchess of Lorraine, 328, 387, 402; + takes leave of Charles V., 402; + his marriage with Christina of Hesse, 479 + + Holstein, Frederic, Duke of, his hostile attitude to King Christian + II. of Denmark, 33; + elected King of Denmark, 33, 39 + + Hoogstraaten, Commissioner, 184 + + Horn, Count, arrested, 486 + + Howard, Lord William, 146, 255; + recalled and sent to the Tower, 273; + created a peer, 437. + See Effingham + + Howard, Queen Catherine, her trial and execution, 273 + + Hubert, his Chronicle of Charles V., 103 + + Hugo, L., "Traité sur l'Origine de la Maison de Lorraine," 238 + _note_, 531 + + Huguenot conspiracy, discovery of a, 463 + + Hungary, Ladislaus, King of, 11 + + Hungary, Mary, Queen of, 11. + See Mary + + Hutton, John, Ambassador, 137; + his opinion of Christina, Duchess of Milan, 149, 153, 161; + his method of ingratiating himself with Mary, Queen of Hungary, 161; + illness and death, 171 + + Hvidore, 15 + + + Innsbruck, 7, 57, 60, 134, 355 + + Isabella, Empress, birth of a son, 210; + death, 210 + + Isabella of Aragon, 94 + + Isabella of Austria, 4; + her birth, 4; + attack of smallpox, 5; + education, 6; + offers of marriage, 10; + dowry, 12; + marriage ceremony, 13; + journey to Copenhagen, 15; + letter to her aunt, 15; + state entry, 15; + her wedding with King Christian II. of Denmark, 15; + coronation, 16; + illness, 16, 45; + her miserable life, 22; + birth of a son, 24; + birth and death of twin sons, 25; + birth of her daughters, 27, 32; + flight from Denmark, 35; + return to Malines, 36, 39; + arrival in England, 37; + noble qualities, 38; + loyalty to her husband, 40; + embraces the Lutheran faith, 40; + at Lierre, 44; + her straits for money, 44; + death, vi, 46; + burial, 47; + monument, 47; + destruction of her tomb, 485 + + Isabella of Portugal, her marriage, 48 + + Isère, gorge of the, 86 + + + James V., King of Scotland, 30, 59; + his fickle character, 71, 101; + marriages, 147, 148, 165; + death, 278 + + Jean de Maurienne, S., 86 + + John, Prince, of Denmark, 24, 35; + under the care of the Regent, 50; + his education, 50; + life at Malines, 50-53; + portrait, 54; + character, 54; + meeting with his uncle, 59; + journey to Brussels, 66; + at Regensburg, 67; + illness and death, 68 + + Joinville, 166, 244, 268, 311, 360; + destruction of, averted, 290 + + Joinville, Henri, Prince of, 421 + + Juana, Queen, 61; + death of her husband, 2; + her children, 4; + death, 398 + + Jülich, 416 + + Julius II., Pope, 7 + + Juste, T., "Les Pays-Bas sous Charles V.," 62 _note_, 66 _note_, 531; + "Marie de Hongrie," 294 _note_, 390 _note_, 531 + + Jutland, 15; + rising in, 31; + invasion of, 103 + + + Kallundborg Castle, 327, 449 + + Katherine, Queen of England, 37; + her death, 145 + + Katherine, Queen of Portugal, birth of a son, 66 + + Kaulek. J., "Correspondance Politique de M. de Castillon," 147 + _note_, 531 + + Kildare, Lady, 413 + + Köstlin, J., "Leben Luthers," 41 _note_, 531 + + Kunigunde, von Brandenburg, Fräulein, 328 + + + Ladislaus, King of Hungary, 11 + + Lalaing, Count, 184, 241, 411; + at Augsburg, 338 + + Landau, 377 + + Landrécy, siege of, 280 + + Lanz, K., "Correspondenz Karls V.," 42 _note_, 531 + + Lavisse, E., "Histoire de France," 531 + + Laxou, 254 + + Lecce, Castle of, 455 + + Leghorn, 508 + + Leigh, John, 459 + + Lennox, Lady, 413 + + Lenoncourt, M. de, 508 + + Leo X., Pope, 72 + + Leonardo, his picture the "Cenacolo," 272 + + Lepage, H., "Le Palais Ducal de Nancy," 260 _note_, 261 _note_, 273 + _note_, 295 _note_, 323 _note_, 472 _note_, 491 _note_, 531; + "Lettres de Charles III.," 508 _note_, 531 + + Leva, G. de, "Storia Documentata di Carlo V.," 113 _note_, 531 + + Leyden, Lucas van, 28 + + Leyva, Antonio de, 89, 90, 94, 109; + appointed Governor-General of Milan, 112; + his death, 118 + + Liége, Bishop of, 154 + + Lierre, 44 + + Ligier-Richier, fils, Jean, 510 + + Ligier-Richier, Jean, his effigy of René, Prince of Orange, 288; + of Queen Philippa, 316 + + Ligny, 277 + + Lille, 79; military operations at, 137 + + Linz, 12 + + Lisle, Lady, 214, 217 + + Lisle, Lord, Deputy Governor of Calais, 204, 214 + + Litta, P., "Famiglie Celebri," 531 + + Llan Hawaden, 205, 206 + + Loches, 221 + + Lodge, E., "Illustrations," 328 _note_, 384 _note_, 531 + + Lomboni, Don Antonio, 96 + + Longueval, De, 304 + + Longueville, Duke of, 253, 268, 307; + at Esclaron, 275; + his death, 356 + + Longueville, Mary, Duchess of, 146; + offers of marriage, 147; + marriage with James V., King of Scotland, 148, 165 + + Longwy, Castle of, 279 + + Loreto, pilgrimage to the shrine of, 497 + + Lorraine, surrender of, 512; + a province of France, 513 + + Lorraine, Anne de, her appearance, 167; + marriage with Prince René of Orange, 239. + See Orange and Aerschot + + Lorraine, Antoine, Duke of, 179; + his marriage, 11, 258; + character of his administration, 261; + death of his wife, 262; + at Fontainebleau, 265; + yields the fortress of Stenay, 266; + his mediation for peace between Charles V. and King Francis, 281, + 284; + illness and death, 284; + funeral, 305 + + Lorraine, Antoinette de, Duchess of Cleves, 512 + + Lorraine, Cardinal of, 239, 423; + at the Conference for peace at Cercamp, 426 + + Lorraine, Catherine of, takes the veil, 512; + founds a Capucin convent, 512; + appointed Abbess of Remiremont, 512 + + Lorraine, Charles III., Duke of, his birth, 279; + appearance, 352, 364; + reception of Henry II., 363; + parting with his mother, 366, 370; + at Joinville, 370; + his proposed marriage with Princess Claude, 410; + portrait, 420; + meeting with his mother, 421-423, 435, 440; + his feats of horsemanship, 422; + return to Compiègne, 423; + lavish generosity, 435; + his wedding, 435; + meeting with Philip of Spain, 441; + at Brussels, 449; + at Amboise, 463; + at the coronation of Charles IX., 467; + state entry into Nancy, 471; + enlarges the ducal palace, 472; + his sons and daughters, 489; + death of his wife, 490; + love of learning, 491; + marriage of his daughter Christina, 508; + death, 511 + + Lorraine, Christina, Duchess of. See Christina + + Lorraine, Christine de, 489; + at the French Court, 490, 507; + her marriage with the Grand-Duke Ferdinand of Tuscany, 507, 508; + festivities at Florence, 508; + her portrait, 509 + + Lorraine, Claude, Duchess of, at Mon Soulas, 442; + birth of a son, 473; + attack of smallpox, 473; + her sons and daughters, 489; + death, 490; + portrait, 509 + + Lorraine, Dorothea of, her birth, 302; + appearance, 352; + marriage with Duke Eric of Brunswick, 490; + death of her husband, 503; + her second marriage, 511; + death, 511. + See Brunswick + + Lorraine, Elizabeth of, her marriage, 512 + + Lorraine, Francis I., Duke of, vi, 179; + his betrothal to Christina, Duchess of Milan, 244; + marriage, 245, 251; + assumes the title of Duke of Bar, 249; + receives the Order of St. Michel, 265, 271; + his grief at the cession of Stenay, 266, 271; + illness, 284, 291, 294, 296; + succeeds to the dukedom, 284; + his efforts for peace, 291; + love of music, 294; + his entry into Nancy, 296; + death, 297; + funeral, 309 + + Lorraine, Francis III., Duke of, his marriage with Maria Theresa, 512; + surrenders Lorraine, 512 + + Lorraine, Henry, Duke of, his birth, 473; + christening, 476 + + Lorraine, John of, 257 + + Lorraine, Louise de, Princesse de Chimay, her letter to Mary, + Queen of Scots, 521. + See Chimay + + Lorraine, Philippa, Duchess of, 254, 257, 259; + her sons, 258 + + Lorraine, Raoul of, 256 + + Lorraine, René II., Duke of, 257; + his sons, 258 + + Lorraine, Renée de Bourbon, Duchess of, 179; + her character, 259; + influence on art, 260; + death, 262; + her children, 263 + + Lorraine, Renée de, her birth, 283; + appearance, 352; + offer of marriage from Eric, King of Sweden, 482; + her suitors, 487; + marriage with Duke William of Bavaria, 488 + + Lorraine, Yolande, Duchess of, 257 + + Louis, King of Hungary, his death at the Battle of Mohacz, 59 + + Louis XII. of France, 4; + his marriage, 11 + + Louis XIII. of France, 512 + + Louvain, 61, 78, 135 + + Luna, Captain Alvarez de, 122 + + Lunden, Archbishop of, 103 + + Lunéville, 353 + + Luther, Martin, his friendship with King Christian II. of Denmark, 41; + tribute to the memory of Queen Isabella, 47; + his appeal to King Frederic of Denmark, 70 + + Luxembourg, 245, 252, 284, 337; + siege of, 374 + + + Mabuse, Jehan, designs the monument of Queen Isabella of Denmark, 47; + his picture of the King of Denmark's children, 53 + + Macedonia, Constantine Comnenus, Prince of, 99 + + Macedonia, Francesca Paleologa, Princess of, 279; + her attachment to the Duchess of Milan, 99; + at Codogno, 130; + at Reims, 467 + + Machyn, H., "Diary of a Citizen of London," 531 + + Mackenzie, Sir Kenneth, viii + + Maestricht, 135; + rising at, 220 + + Magdeburg, siege of, 341 + + Magenta, C., "I Visconti e gli Sforza nel Castello di Pavia," 93 + _note_, 531 + + Maiocchi, Monsignor Rodolfo, Rector of the Borromeo College at Pavia, + vii + + Maire, Jehan Le, "Les Funéraux de Feu Don Philippe," 2 _note_; + his elegy of "L'Amant Vert," 52 + + Malines, 2, 4, 36, 39, 57, 61 + + Mansfeldt, Count, 477 + + Mantua, 131 + + Mantua, Federico, Duke of, 74 + + Marck, 397 + + Marck, Margaret la, 331 + + Marcoing, 421 + + Margaret of Austria, Regent of the Netherlands, 2, 4; + death of her two husbands, 3; + undertakes the care of her nephew and nieces, 4; + meeting with King Christian II. of Denmark, 28; + reception of the King and Queen of Denmark, 36; + conflict with Charles of Guelders, 36; + concludes a treaty with King Frederic of Denmark, 42; + obtains possession of Isabella's children, 49; + her tapestries and family portraits, 51; + pets, 52; + amusements, 53; + illness, 57; + letter to her nephew, 58; + death, 58 + + Margaret, Princess, of France, her appearance, 178; + negotiations for her marriage, 313; + proposed union with the Duke of Savoy, 429, 443; + marriage, 456 + + Maria, Empress-Dowager, her visit to Tortona, 500 + + Maria, Infanta, of Portugal, 151 + + Maria Theresa, Empress, 511 + + Marienburg, 389 + + Marignano, Battle of, 258 + + Marignano, Marquis of, at St. Dizier, 286 + + Marillac, French Ambassador, 213, 346 + + Marne River, 259, 268, 286 + + Marnol, Nicholas de, 104; at Milan, 104 + + Mary, Archduchess of Austria, her birth, 4; + attack of smallpox, 5; + Queen of Hungary, 9, 11; + death of her husband, 59; + offers of marriage, 59; + her fondness for riding, 60; + her powers of mind, 60; + sympathy with the reformers, 60; + accepts the Regency of the Low Countries, 61; + enters Louvain, 61; + at Malines, 61; + her reforms, 62; + care of her nieces, 70; + protest against the proposed marriage of her niece Christina, 76; + efforts to delay the marriage, 79; + her welcome to her niece Christina, 135; + superintends the military operations at Lille, 137; + anxiety for peace, 137; + her opinion of Henry VIII., 144; + at the Castle of Breda, 174; + her meeting with King Francis at Compiègne, 177; + with her sister Eleanor, 178; + return to Brussels, 183, 346; + difficulties of her position with the English Ambassadors, 186-191; + interviews with Wriothesley, 189, 190; + entertained by him, 199; + her measures to suppress the insurrection, 219; + reception of Charles V., 224; + protest against the cession of Stenay, 267; + grief at the death of the Prince of Orange, 287; + at Augsburg, 318, 340, 342, 344; + protest against Henry II.'s treatment of Christina, 370; + her banquet on the accession of Queen Mary, 386; + on the destruction of her palace of Binche, 390; + resigns the Regency, 399, 401; + present at the abdication of Charles V., 400; + retires to Turnhout, 405; + her death, 431; + funeral, 433; + letter from Christina, 523; + from Anne, Duchess of Aerschot, 523 + + Mary of Castille, Queen of Portugal, her death, 22 + + Mary, Princess, of England, 6; + her marriage, 11 + + Mary, Queen of England, her proposed marriage with the Infant Don + Louis of Portugal, 162; + her accession, 386; + proposed union with Philip of Spain, 387; + her wedding, 388; + supposed birth of a son, 395; + ill-temper at the absence of her husband, 409; + illness, 431; + death, 432; + letter from Christina, Duchess of Lorraine, 526 + + Mary, Dowager-Queen of Scotland, letters from her mother, 167, 168 + _note_, 518, 519, 520, 522; + death of her children, 269; + birth of a daughter, 278; + death of her husband, 278; + of her father, 335; + of her son, 356; + letter from the Princess de Chimay, 521 + + Mary, Queen of Scots, her arrival in France, 333; + marriage with Francis II. of France, 420; + at Lorraine, 461; + at Blois, 462; + death of her husband, 464; + at Joinville, 464; + at Nancy, 465; + her appearance, 465; + portrait, 465; + offers of marriage, 465; + attack of fever, 466; + her marriage with Darnley, 485; + compelled to abdicate, 487; + death on the scaffold, 504 + + Masone, Sir John, Ambassador, 393 + + Mauris, St., Ambassador, 296, 300 + + Maximilian I., Emperor, 3; + his grandchildren, 5; + at Brussels, 8; + war against Venice, 9; + his letter on the misconduct of King Christian II., 20; + his death, 24 + + Maximilian, King of Bohemia, at Augsburg, 318, 320, 338; + his character, 344; + rivalry with Philip of Spain, 345; + at Brussels, 405; + crowned King of the Romans, 470 + + Mayenne, Louise, Marchioness of, 310 + + Mazzenta, Guido, 97 + + Medemblik, 63 + + Medici, Alessandro de', Duke of Florence, murdered, 410 + + Medici, Catherine de', 74, 178, 464; + her reception of Christina, Duchess of Lorraine, 467; + jealousy of her influence, 473; + death, 508 + + Medici, Don Pietro de', 508 + + Melanchthon, 152 + + Mendoza, Don Diego, 159 + + Mendoza, Don Luis de, 486, 488 + + Merriman, R. B., "Life and Letters of Thomas Cromwell," 531 + + Messina, 112 + + Metz, 252, 285, 371; + siege of, 380 + + Metz, Anton de, 25, 27, 33 + + Metz, M. de, 298. + See Vaudemont + + Mewtas, Sir Peter, 147 + + Michieli, Ambassador, 396 + + Middelburg, 23 + + Mignet, L., "Retraite de Charles V.," 388 _note_, 531; + "Rivalité de Francis I. et Charles V.," 23 _note_, 531 + + Mikkelsen, Hans, Burgomaster of Malmoë, 41, 46 + + Milan, 497; + taken by the French, 72; + threatened French invasion, 116; + defence of, by a Spanish garrison, 120 + + Milan, Christina, Duchess of. See Christina + + Milan, Francesco Sforza, Duke of, his career, 72; + deprived of his State, 72; + return, 73; + sufferings caused by a wound, 73; + proposal of marriage with Christina of Denmark, 74; + wedding by proxy, 81; + surprise visit to his bride, 89; + reception of her, 93; + marriage, 94; + portraits, 96; + treatment of his wife, 97; + illness, 100, 107; + death, vi, 101, 107; + funeral rites, 108-110; + will, 111; + inscription on his tomb, 511; + letter from his wife, 516 + + Milan, Lodovico Sforza, Duke of, 7; + his character, 17; + imprisonment, 72 + + Milan, Maximilian Sforza, Duke of, at Malines, 7, 72; + enters Milan, 9 + + Missaglia, Alessandro, 90 + + Moeller, E., "Eléonore d'Autriche," 22 _note_, 531 + + Mohacz, Battle of, 59 + + Molembais, M. de, 78 + + Mon Soulas, 440 + + Monboë, Hans, 45 + + Mons, 176, 294, 441 + + Mont, Christopher, Envoy to Frankfort, 209 + + Montague, Lord, imprisoned in the Tower, 186; + his execution, 186 + + Montbardon, M. de, 357, 370 + + Montecastello, villa at, 503 + + Montemerlo, Niccolò, 498; + "Nuove Historie di Tortona," 498 _note_, 531 + + Montmélian, fortress of, 86, 115 + + Montmorency, Anne de, Constable of France, 180; + his home at Chantilly, 181; + taken prisoner at St. Quentin, 417, 419; + at the Conference of Cercamp, 428; + taken prisoner at the Battle of Dreux, 471; + killed at the Battle of St. Denis, 487 + + Montmorency, Floris de, 331; + at Augsburg, 338 + + Montmorency, Jean de. See Courrières + + Montpensier, Duchess of, her christening, 356 + + Montpensier, Gilbert de, 179, 258 + + Montreuil, Madame de, 174 + + Monzone, Imperial Council at, 126 + + Morillon, Provost, 485 + + Mornay, Charles de, 478 + + Morosyne, Sir Richard, Ambassador, 339, 346; + on Charles V.'s reserve, 378; + on the Marquis of Brandenburg's courtship of Christina, Duchess of + Lorraine, 384 + + Moselle, the, 351 + + Mühlberg, victory of, 318 + + Muscovy, Czar of, Envoy from, in England, 413-415 + + + Namur, 245, 252 + + Nancy, 254, 294, 296; + Battle of, 257; + measures for the defence of, 323; + entered by the French, 362, 512; + festivities at, 465 + + Nassau, Henry, Count of, 66, 142; + his third wife, 174; + sudden death, 175 + + Nassau, René of, Prince of Orange, 67 + + Nassau, William of, 287 + + Nassau-Dillenburg, William of, 238 + + Nassau-le-Grand, 285 + + Navarre, Antoine, King of, mortally wounded, 471 + + Navarre, Henri d'Albret of, 10; + his marriage, 10 + + Navarre, Henry, King of, his proposal of marriage with Christina, + Duchess of Lorraine, 383 + + Navarre, Isabel of, 102 + + Navarre, Jeanne d'Albret, Princess of, proposal of marriage with the + Duke of Cleves, 235, 244; + her resistance to the marriage, 249; + wedding, 250; + annulment of her marriage, 280; + marriage with the Duke of Vendôme, 326 + + Navarre, Margaret, Queen of, 10 + + Neckar, the, 339 + + Negriolo, Girolamo, 90 + + Netherlands, choice of a Regent, 451; + discontent of the people at the appointment of the Duchess of + Parma, 458, 459 + + Netherlands, Margaret, Regent of 4. + See Margaret + + Neuburg, 417, 468 + + Neumarkt, 103, 105 + + Nevill, Sir Edward, his execution, 186 + + Nice, 119 + + Nicole, Madame, 300, 342 + + Nimeguen, 138 + + Noailles, Ambassador, 396 + + Nomény, 358; castle at, 351 + + Norfolk, Duchess of, 273 + + Norfolk, Henry Howard, sixth Duke of, 158 _note_ + + Norway, reception of King Christian II. in, 64 + + Nott, G., "Life of Wyatt," 169 _note_, 204 _note_, 531 + + Novara, 83, 87 + + Nubilonio, "Cronaca di Vigevano," 93 _note_, 531 + + Nuremberg, 40 + + Ochsenthal, vale of the, 352 + + Odensee, Palace of, 32 + + Oglio, 130 + + Oise, the, 178, 183 + + Oldenburg, Christopher of, his invasion of Jutland, 103 + + Olisleger, Chancellor, 249 + + Oppenheimer, Henry, viii + + Orange, Anne, Princess of, 263; + death of her husband, 287; + at Nancy, 303; + her friendship with Christina, Duchess of Lorraine, 303; + her character, 303; + at the funeral of the Duke of Lorraine, 310; + her letter to the Queen of Scotland, 311; + marriage with the Duke of Aerschot, 323. + See Aerschot + + Orange, René, Prince of, at Brussels, 142, 201; + at the Castle of Breda, 174; + his affection for Christina, Duchess of Milan, 218, 232, 238; + popularity, 238; + marriage with Anne of Lorraine, 239; + at St. Dizier, 286; + his death, 286; + will, 288; + tomb, 288; + lines on, 289 + + Orange, William, Prince of, 322; + in London, 391; + present at the abdication of Charles V., 400; + death of his wife, 425; + his appearance, 425; + affection for Christina, Duchess of Lorraine, 425; + at the Conference of Cercamp, 428; + at the funeral of Charles V., 434; + at the Conference of Câteau-Cambrésis, 437; + his proposed marriage with Renée of Lorraine, 455; + debts, 455; + his treatment of Christina, 458; + marriage with Anna of Saxony, 460; + at Frankfurt, 470; + retires to Germany, 486; + ban against, 503; + assassination, 504 + + Orleans, Charles, Duke of, his character, 178; + at Brussels, 293; + death, 304 + + Orleans, Gaston, Duke of, 512 + + Orleans, Henry, Duke of, 74, 113 + + Orleans, Margaret of, 512 + + Orley, Bernhard van, his portrait of Christina, Duchess of + Milan, 155, 158 _note_ + + Osiander, the Lutheran doctor, 41 + + Oslo, 64 + + Oxe, Peder, exiled from Denmark, 457, 468; + his return to Copenhagen, 483 + + + Paget, Ambassador, at Fontainebleau, 267 + + Paleologa, Francisca, Princess of Macedonia, her attachment to the + Duchess of Milan, 99. + See Macedonia + + Paleologa, Margherita, 73; + Duchess of Mantua, 74 + + Palermo, 107 + + Panigarola, Gabriele, appointed Governor of Tortona, 129 + + Panizone, Guglielmo, 170 + + Paris, 222 + + Parma, War of, 355 + + Parma, Alexander of, 410 + + Parma, Margaret, Duchess of, her marriages, 410; + son, 410; + at Brussels, 411; + her character, 411; + visit to England, 413-415; + appointed Regent of the Netherlands, 452, 458; + her relations with Christina, Duchess of Lorraine, 459; + unpopularity, 470; + her treatment of Anne, Duchess of Aerschot, 484; + her death, 505 + + Parroy, Sieur de, in charge of Stenay, 365, 367 + + Passau, Conference at, 376 + + Pastor, L., "Geschichte d. Papste," 132 _note_; + "Reise des Kardinal Luigi d'Aragona," 141 _note_ + + Pate, Archdeacon Richard, Ambassador, 237, 241 + + Paul III., Pope, 106, 114; + his excommunication of Henry VIII., 195 + + Paul IV., Pope, his war with Alva, Viceroy of Naples, 409 + + Pavia, 122; + Castello of, 117 + + Pellizone, Lodovico, 123 + + Pembroke, Lord, 415 + + Pero, Massimo del, 347 + + Péronne, 423 + + Petit, J. F. Le, "Grande Chronique de Hollande," 445 _note_, 531 + + Petre, Dr., 206 + + Petri, Nicolas, Canon of Lunden, 43, 45 + + Pfister, C., "Histoire de Nancy," 253 _note_, 260 _note_ + + Philip I., King of Castille and Archduke of Austria, his death, 1; + funeral, 2; + children, 4 + + Philip II. of Spain, invested with the Duchy of Milan, 244; + his marriage settled with the Infanta of Portugal, 280; + death of his wife, 313; + state entry into Brussels, 329; + appearance, 330; + character, 330, 341, 345; + attentions to Christina, Duchess of Lorraine, 331; + fêtes in his honour, 333; + at Augsburg, 337; + his tournament, 338; + rivalry with Maximilian, King of Bohemia, 345; + return to Spain, 347; + proposed union with Mary, Queen of England, 387; + portrait, 388; + wedding, 388; + leaves London, 399; + at Brussels, 400, 417; + present at the abdication of Charles V., 400; + investiture, 401; + his first Chapter of the Fleece, 403; + signs the treaty of peace, 404; + his affection for Christina, 408; + delay in returning to England, 409; + at Greenwich, 412; + capture of St. Quentin, 417; + death of his wife, 433; + at the funeral of Charles V., 434; + his meeting with Charles, Duke of Lorraine, 441; + proposal of marriage with Princess Elizabeth of France, 446; + appoints his sister Margaret Regent of the Netherlands, 452; + his marriage, 456; + at Ghent, 457; + his indifference to the illness of Christina, 477; + his treatment of her, vi, 501, 503, 514 + + Philippa, Queen, her home in the convent, 254, 259, 285; + death, 315; + funeral, 316; + monument, 316. + See Lorraine + + Philippeville, citadel of, 398 + + Piacenza, citadel of, 410 + + Picardy, invasion of, 284 + + Piedmont, Emanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy, 113; + at Milan, 116; + at Augsburg, 320; + in command of the Imperial Army, 385; + his courtship of Christina, Duchess of Lorraine, 387; + succeeds to the title of Duke of Savoy, 391; + at Whitehall, 392 + + Piedmont, Prince Louis of, his death, 113 + + Pimodan, G., "La Mère des Guises," 147 _note_, 531 + + Po, the, 116, 117, 130 + + Pois, Nicolas le, 296 + + Poitiers, Diane de, 179 + + Pol, S., capture of, 126 + + Poland, Bona Sforza, Queen of, her letter to the Duke of Milan on his + marriage, 95 + + Poland, Sigismund, King of, 95 + + Pole, Cardinal, 195; + at Toledo, 203; + his aversion to Queen Mary's marriage with Philip of Spain, 389; + received at Whitehall, 391 + + Polweiler, Baron de, Bailiff of Hagenau, 476, 480 + + Pont-à-Mousson, 253, 285, 351, 380, 474; + University at, 491 + + Pont-à-Mousson, Francis, Marquis of, his courtship of the Duchess of + Milan, 207; + marriage, 245; + receives the title of Duke of Bar, 246, 249; + his birth, 263; + studious tastes, 263; + proposed marriages, 263; + his choice of Christina, 264. + See Lorraine + + Poor Clares, Order of the, 254, 259 + + Porta, G., "Alessandria Descritta," 500 _note_, 531 + + Portugal, Eleanor, Queen of. See Eleanor + + Portugal, Emanuel, King of. See Emanuel + + Portugal, Infant Don Louis of, his proposed union with Princess Mary + of England, 162 + + Portugal, Infanta of, her marriage with Philip of Spain, 280 + + Portugal, invasion of, 502 + + Poynings, Sir Edward, Ambassador at Brussels, 8 + + Praet, Louis de, Imperial Ambassador, 37; + his admiration for Isabella, Queen of Denmark, 38; + at Ghent, 79; + his oration at the marriage of the Duke and Duchess of Milan, 94 + + Prinsterer, Groen van, "Archives de la Maison d'Orange et de Nassau," + 425 _note_, 530 + + Putnam, R., "William the Silent, Prince of Orange," 289 _note_, 532 + + Pyl, Lieven, chief magistrate at Ghent, 219 + + + Quentin, St., victory of, 417 + + Quievrain, Castle of, 329 + + + Rabutin, François de, 361; + at Nancy, 364; + "Collections de Mémoires," 361 _note_, 532 + + Rambouillet, 315 + + Ratti, N., "La Famiglia Sforza," 313 _note_, 532 + + Ravold, J. B., "Histoire de Lorraine," 253 _note_, 532 + + Regensburg, 65, 67, 245; + Diet of, 305 + + Reiffenberg, F. de, "Histoire de l'Ordre de la Toison d'Or," 20 + _note_, 403, 532 + + Reims, 360, 460, 466 + + Reims, Charles, Archbishop of, 247 _note_, 253; + his consecration, 295 + + Remiremont, 297 + + Renard, Simon, 407 + + Renty, Battle of, 390 + + Reumont, A. von, "Geschichte Toscana," 508 _note_, 532 + + Rhine, the, 351 + + Ribier, G., "Lettres et Mémoires d'État," 405 _note_, 532 + + Richardot, Abbé, his oration at the funeral of Charles V., 434 + + Richmond, 159 + + Richmond, Duke of, 71 + + Ripalta, 497 + + Rivoli, 87 + + Rocca di Sparaviera, 505, 509 + + Roddi, F., "Annali di Ferrara," 95 _note_ + + Rombaut, S., Church of, 1, 2 + + Rosières, Les, salt-works at, 472 + + Roskild, Dean of, 34 + + Rossem, Martin van, 277 + + Rostain, M. de, 374 + + Rotterdam, 212 + + Rouen, Siege of, 471 + + Ruble, A. de, "Le Mariage de Jeanne d'Albret," 222 _note_, 249 + _note_, 326 _note_, 334 _note_, 362 _note_, 420 _note_, 532; + "Traité de Câteau-Cambrésis," 429 _note_, 439 _note_ + + Rucellai, Orazio, 507 + + Rudolf II., Emperor, 512 + + + Saint-Hilaire, M. de, 349 + + Salis, Friar Jehan de, 50 + + Salm, Count Jean de, 298, 357 + + Sandrart, J., "Deutsche Akademie," 274 _note_ + + Sangiuliani, Count Antonio Cavagna, vii, 347 _note_ + + Sanuto, Marino, 73; + "Diarii," 63 _note_, 67 _note_, 532 + + Saragossa, 104 + + Savorgnano, Mario, 63, 66 + + Savoy, Beatrix of Portugal, Duchess of, 87; + takes refuge at Vercelli, 116; + flight to Milan, 116; + meeting with Charles V., 117; + at Nice, 119; + death, 119 + + Savoy, Charles III., Duke of, 85; + forced to evacuate Turin, 116 + + Savoy, Charles Emanuel, Duke of, 507 + + Savoy, Emanuel Philibert, Duke of, 391; + at Whitehall, 392; + his negotiations of marriage with Christina, Duchess of Lorraine, + 396-398; + appointed Lieutenant-Governor of the Low Countries, 399; + present at the abdication of Charles V., 400; + negotiations of marriage with Princess Elizabeth, 412; + his victory of St. Quentin, 417; + proposed marriage with Marguerite of France, 429, 443; + marriage, 456 + + Savoy, Margaret, Duchess of, 3 + + Savoy, Duke Philibert of, his marriage and death, 3 + + Saxe-Lauenburg, Duke of, at the marriage ceremony of King Christian + II., 13 + + Saxony, 40 + + Saxony, Anna of, her marriage with William, Prince of Orange, 460 + + Saxony, Elector John Frederick of, taken prisoner, 318; + his portrait, 322 + + Saxony, Elector Maurice of, 285; + his siege of Magdeburg, 341; + secret intrigues with France, 354, 357; + killed at the battle of Sievershausen, 384 + + Scepperus, Cornelius, 42; + Private Secretary to the King of Denmark, 19; + his inscription on the tomb of Queen Isabella of Denmark, 47 + + Schäfer, D., "Geschichte von Dänemark," 38 _note_, 532 + + Scharf, Sir George, 54 note, 158 _note_ + + Schauwenbourg, Captain, 305 + + Scheldt, River, 230; frozen over, 411 + + Schlegel, J. H., "Geschichte der Könige v. Dänemark," 45 _note_, 532 + + Schleswig, Bishop of, Danish Ambassador, 12 + + Schlettstadt, 375 + + Schmalkalde, League of, campaign against, 317; + dissolved, 318 + + Schoren, Dr., Chancellor of Brabant, 184 + + Scotland, Mary, Queen of. See Mary + + Selve, Odet de, Ambassador, 314 + + Serclaes, Mademoiselle Rolande de, 50 + + Seymour, Jane, Queen of England, 144, 151; + her portrait, 155 + + Sfondrati, Count Francesco, 78 + + Sforza, Count Bosio, 115 + + Sforza, Francesco, Duke of Milan, at Innsbruck, 7. + See Milan + + Sforza, Giovanni Paolo, 90, 109; + his illness and death, 113 + + Sforza, Lodovico, Duke of Milan. See Milan + + Sforza, Maximilian, Duke of Milan, at Malines, 7, 72. + See Milan + + Shelley, Sir Richard, 411 + + Sievershausen, Battle of, 384 + + Sigismund, King of Poland, 321 + + Silliers, Baron de, 388; + on the illness of Christina, Duchess of Lorraine, 477; + his death, 489 + + Simonet, 125 + + Sittard, defeat at, 280 + + Skelton, Mary, 149 + + Skippon, Philip, 47 + + Slagbök, Archbishop of Lunden, 26; + put to death, 32 + + Soignies, Forest of, 141, 169, 252 + + Sonderburg, island fortress of, 65 + + Soranzo, Ambassador, 411 + + Southampton, Lord High Admiral, 162, 215 + + Souvastre, Madame de, 85, 91 + + Souvastre, M. de, 44, 46 + + Spain, Charles V. of. See Charles V. + + Spain, Infant Don Carlos of, his birth, 313 + + Spain, Philip II. of. See Philip + + Spinelli, 8, 23 + + Spires, 78, 282 + + Stabili, Gianbattista, 510 + + Stampa, Count Massimiliano, 75; + at Ghent, 78; + at Lille, 79; + received by Queen Mary of Hungary, 79; + representative of the Duke of Milan at his marriage, 81; + his house at Cussago, 88; + entertains the Duchess of Milan, 88; + at the funeral of the Duke of Milan, 109; + retains his post of Castellan of Milan, 112; + his gifts from Charles V., 120; + gives up the keys, 122 + + Stanislas, ex-King of Poland, at Nancy, 513 + + Stenay, fortress of, ceded to the French, 266; + restitution, 293; + evacuated by the French, 304 + + Stockholm, siege of, 31; + surrender of, 33 + + Strasburg, 371, 373, 377 + + Stroppiana, Count, Ambassador, 342, 344, 359; + on Henry II.'s treatment of Christina, Duchess of Lorraine, 371; + at Windsor, 391; + at the Conference of Cercamp, 428 + + Suffolk, Mary, Duchess of, 37 + + Suffolk, Duke of, 162, 215 + + Surrey, Lord, 280, 281 + + Susa, towers of, 87 + + Sweden, outbreak of war with Denmark, 475, 478 + + Sweden, Eric, King of. See Eric + + Swynaerde, 45 + + + Tarbes, Bishop of, 168 + + Tassigny, Sieur de, 357 + + Taverna, Count, 74, 109 + + Tencajoli, Signor O. F., vii + + Thérouenne, 137; fort of, razed, 385 + + Thionville, 252; + capture of, 424 + + Thomas, H. L., "Spiegel des Humors grosser Potentaten," 22 _note_, 532 + + Throckmorton, Ambassador, 461 + + Tiepolo, the Venetian, 445; + on the marriage of Philip of Spain with Princess Elizabeth, 446; + on the appointment of the Duchess of Parma to the Regency of the + Netherlands, 452 + + Tiloye, La, 136 + + Titian, his portraits, 96, 322; + at Augsburg, 322 + + Toledo, treaty at, 195 + + Tongres, 340 + + Tortona, 111, 128, 497 + + Toul, 362 + + Toul, Bishop of, his agreement with Christina, Duchess of Lorraine, + 472 + + Tournay, Bishop of, 81 + + Trent, 72, 78, 133 + + Treves, 435 + + Triboulet the jester, 223 + + Trivulzio, Contessa Dejanira, 99, 130; + on the loss of Belloni, 376; + her letter to Messer Innocenzio Gadio, 526 + + Trivulzio, Count Gaspare, 99; + his reception of Christina, Duchess of Milan, 130 + + Troyes, Louis, Bishop of, 247 _note_, 253 + + Tuke, Sir Brian, 168 _note_ + + Tunis, capture of, 106 + + Turin, evacuation of, 116 + + Tuscany, Grand-Duke Ferdinand of, his marriage with Christina of + Lorraine, 507, 508 + + Tytler, P. F., "England under Edward VI.," 380 _note_, 532 + + + Ulmann, H., "Kaiser Maximilian," 11 _note_, 532 + + Upsala, Cathedral of, 25 + + Urbino, Duke of, 270 + + + Vaissière, P. de, "Vie de Charles de Marillac," 344 _note_, 532 + + Valenciennes, 176, 224 + + Valladolid, 125 + + Valois, Madeleine de, her proposed marriage with James V. of + Scotland, 115; + her marriage, 147; + death, 147 + + Varembon, Marc de Rye, Marquis of, his marriage with the Duchess of + Brunswick, 511 + + Vaucelles, Abbey of, truce signed at, 403 + + Vaudemont, Louise, Countess of, 489; + christening of her daughter, 351 + + Vaudemont, Nicholas, Count de, Bishop of Metz, 253, 294, 295; + his birth, 263; + appointed joint Regent of Lorraine, 302; + at the funeral of the Duke of Lorraine, 309; + his marriage, 324; + at Blois, 350; + loyalty to Christina, Duchess of Lorraine, 358, 374, 390; + appointed sole Regent, 364; + his second marriage, 390; + retires from public life, 463; + christening of his daughter, 482 + + Vaudemont and Joinville, Ferry, Count of, 257 + + Vaughan, Stephen, Ambassador, 175; + his interview with Queen Mary of Hungary, 176; + at Antwerp, 201 + + Veeren, 14, 36 + + Vély, M. de, 199, 233 + + Vendôme, Antoine de Bourbon, Duke of, 179; + his courtship of the Duchess of Milan, 207; + marriage with Jeanne d'Albret, 326 + + Vendôme, Mademoiselle de, 179 + + Vercelli, 116 + + Vercelli, Bishop of, 87 + + Verona, 132 + + Verri, P., "Storia di Milano," 532 + + Vertot, R. de, "Ambassades de MM. de Noailles en Angleterre," 532 + + Viborg, 33 + + Vieilleville, Governor of Verdun, 380; + Mémoires, 532 + + Vigevano, 83, 87, 407, 477 + + Villach, 372 + + Villamont, A., "Voyages," 497 _note_, 532 + + Viola, N., "Il Santuario di Tortona," 499 _note_, 532 + + Vives, Louis, 6 + + Voigt, G., "Albert von Brandenburg," 318 _note_, 532 + + Vueren, Castle of, 8 + + + Waldrevange, 305 + + Wallop, Sir John, 280 + + Walpole, Horace, "Anecdotes of Painting," 274 _note_, 532 + + Wasa, Gustavus, 276; + his revolt at Dalecarlia, 27; + lays siege to Stockholm, 31, 33 + + Wassy, massacre at, 471 + + Willems, Dyveke, her relations with King Christian II. of Denmark, 18; + her sudden death, 24 + + Willems, Hermann, 25 + + Willems, Sigebritt, 18; + appointed mistress of the Queen of Denmark's household, 19; + her influence over King Christian II., 24; + arrested and burnt, 38 + + Windsor, 215, 391 + + Wingfield, Sir Robert, Ambassador at Ghent, 30; + on the conduct of King Christian II., 33, 34 + + Wolsey, Cardinal, at Bruges, 30; + his retinue, 30; + interview with King Christian II., 30 + + Wornum, R., "Life of Holbein," 159 _note_, 274 _note_, 532 + + Wotton, Nicholas, 205; + on the surrender of St. Dizier, 289; + at the Conference of Cercamp, 428; + of Câteau Cambrésis, 436 + + Wriothesley, Thomas, 149, 176; + at Cambray, 177; + on the terms of Henry VIII.'s negotiation of marriage, 184; + his interviews with Queen Mary of Hungary, 189, 190; + with Christina, Duchess of Milan, 191-194; + his entertainments at Brussels, 198-201; + detained at Brussels, 202; + treatment, 203; + return to England, 204 + + Würtemberg, Duchy of, 339 + + Wyatt, Sir Thomas, Ambassador, 145; + his interviews with Charles V., 227; + his efforts to prevent an alliance between Christina, Duchess of + Milan, and the Duke of Cleves, 232 + + + Young, Colonel G., "The Medici," 532 + + + Zeeland, 14, 43, 327, 406 + + Zeneta, Marchioness of, 174 + + BILLING AND SONS, LTD., PRINTERS, GUILDFORD + + + + + + Transcriber's Notes: + + + Simple spelling, grammar, and typographical errors were + silently corrected. + + Anachronistic and non-standard spellings retained as printed. + + Italics markup is enclosed in _underscores_. + + Superscripts are enclosed in ^{curly brackets with a leading + circumflex accent}. + + P. 530 changed two instances of "GRANVELLE, Cardinal de," to + "GRANVELLE, CARDINAL DE:" to be consistent with other entries + in this section. + + P. 532 changed "REIFFENBERG, F. DE: Histoire de la Toison d'Or. + 2 vols. Brussels, 183 ." to "REIFFENBERG, F. DE: Histoire de + la Toison d'Or. 2 vols. Brussels, 1835." Complete date is from + Wikipedia. + + P. 533 changed layout of GENEALOGICAL TABLES from horizontal to + vertical due to column width considerations. + + P. 538 added connector in family tree diagram between "René + II., d. 1508 = Philippa of Guelders," and their children. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Christina of Denmark, Duchess of Milan +and Lorraine, 1522-1590, by Julia Cartwright + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 48191 *** |