The First Governess of the Netherlands, Margaret of Austria Part 4

D'estre si fortunee!

Qu'est longue fault[21] de ce qu'on ayme bien!

Et je suis sceure que pas de luy ne vient, Mais me procede de ma grant destinee!

Dites-vous donc que je suis egaree Quant je me vois separee de mon bien?

Ce n'est pas jeu d'estre si fortunee!

Qu'est longue fault de ce qu'on ayme bien!

Mais que de luy je ne soye oubliee!!!

II

Deuil et ennuy, soussy, regret et peine, Ont eslongue ma plaisance mondaine, Dont a part moy je me plains et tourmente, Et en espoir n'ay plus un brin d'attente: Veez la comment Fortune me pourmeine.

Ceste longheur vault pis que mort soudaine; Je n'ay pensee que joye me rameine; Ma fantaisie est de deplaisir pleine; Car devant moy a toute heure se presente Deuil et ennuy.

III

Plusieurs regrets qui sur la terre sont, Et les douleurs que hommes et femmes ont, N'est que plaisir envers ceulx que je porte, Me tourmentant de la piteuse sorte Que mes esprits ne savent plus qu'ils sont.

Cueurs desoles par toutes nations, Deuil a.s.semblez et lamentations; Plus ne querez l'harmonieuse lyre, Lyesse, esbats et consolations; Laissez aller plaintes, pleurs, pa.s.sions, Et m'aidez tous a croistre mon martyre, Cueurs desoles!

IV

Aisn vous plonges en desolation, Venez a moy!...

Le n.o.ble et bon dont on ne peult mal dire, Le soutenant de tous sans contredire, Est mort, helas! quel malediction!

Cueurs desoles!

V

Me faudra-t-il toujours ainsi languir?

Me faudra-t-il enfin ainsi morir?

Nul n'aura-t-il de mon mal coignoissance?

Trop a dure; car c'est des mon enfance!

Je prie a Dieu qu'il me doint temperance, Mestier en ay: je le prens sur ma foi; Car mon seul bien est souvent pres de moy, Mais pour les gens fault faire contenance!

Pourquoy coucher seulette et a part moy, Qu'il me faudra user de pacience!

Las! c'est pour moi trop grande penitence; Certes ouy, et plus quant ne le voy!'

[20] Jouet de la fortune.

[21] Combien est long le besoin, le regret.

These verses, and many others, were written at Bourg, or at the castle of Pont d'Ain. This castle, built towards the end of the tenth century by the Sires de Coligny, Lords of Revermont, had pa.s.sed through marriage to the Dauphins du Viennois in 1225, and in 1285 to the Duke of Burgundy. In 1289 this duke exchanged it, as well as the lords.h.i.+p of Revermont, with Ame IV., Count of Savoy, who was Seigneur of Bresse in right of his wife, Sybille de Bauge. The buildings having been much damaged in the wars, Ame's son, Aimon, rebuilt them. The last warlike episode in the history of the castle occurred in 1325 when Edward, Count of Savoy, came to take refuge in the fortress after his defeat near Varey. The pleasant situation of the castle at the extremity of the chain of Revermont, its proximity to France, and equable climate made it the favourite home of the Dukes of Savoy. Below in the valley, which extends to the Rhone, the waters of the river Ain join those of the Suran. To the south and east are the mountain ranges near Bas Bugey, with wooded slopes and prosperous villages, to the north and west the undulating plain of Bresse, crowned by forests. The Princesses of Savoy loved this spot. Amedeo VIII. lived here for a long time with his wife Yolande of France. Philibert and his sister Louise (the mother of Francis I.) were born here, and here their mother, Margaret of Bourbon, came to spend her last days. In this peaceful spot Margaret pa.s.sed the first years of her mourning, attached to Bresse by memories of her love and sorrow.

CHAPTER IV

THE BUILDING OF BROU

Besides her many poems Margaret has perpetuated the memory of the chief phases in her life by means of devices, a symbolical language much in vogue in the Middle Ages.

When she returned to Flanders, after her first marriage with Charles VIII. was annulled, the device she chose was a high mountain with a hurricane raging round the summit, and underneath, 'Perflant altissima venti.' This device ingeniously expressed the idea that those in a high position are more exposed than others to the winds of adversity.

After the death of Prince John of Castile and her child, Margaret adopted another device, a tree laden with fruit, struck in half by lightning, with this inscription, 'Spoliat mors munera nostra.' This device is attributed to Strada.

Lastly, as the widow of Duke Philibert, she composed the famous motto which we find reproduced everywhere on the tombs, walls, woodwork, and stained-gla.s.s windows of the church at Brou:

FORTUNE.INFORTUNE.FORT.UNE.

And this was her last motto, which she kept to the end. This enigmatical inscription has been variously interpreted. Cornelius Agrippa, her panegyrist, and Gropheus, Chevalier d'Honneur to the princess, who composed a Latin poem in her praise in 1532, saw no other meaning in this device than the resume of her life... a plaything of fortune; and they explain the word 'infortune' by the third person of the present indicative of the verb 'infortuner,'

Fortuna Infortunat Fort.i.ter Unam--'La fortune infortune (tries, persecutes) fort une femme.' Guichenon adopts this version and says the princess composed her device 'to show that she had been much persecuted by fortune, having been repudiated by Charles VIII., and having lost both her husbands, the Prince of Castile, and the Duke of Savoy. This,' he adds, 'is the true meaning of this device, although another interpretation has been given to it: Fortune Infortune Fortune. Fortune to have been affianced to the King of France, misfortune to have been repudiated by him, and fortune to have married the Duke of Savoy; but this explanation does not agree with the device.' In fact, it is not admissible, for it supposes the device to be composed of three words only, whilst on the marble it is clearly composed of four:

FORTUNE.INFORTUNE.FORT.UNE.

The small church of the monastery of Brou, founded in the beginning of the tenth century by Saint Gerard, had a great reputation for holiness. It was here the bodies of Philibert and his mother were laid. Margaret's thoughts were constantly occupied with the monument she wished to erect to her husband's memory, the magnificence of which should satisfy her artistic taste. She proposed devoting her dowry to this object in order to raise the necessary funds. Philibert's brother had succeeded to the ducal crown under the t.i.tle of Charles III., but the state of the duchy's finances made it difficult for him to pay Margaret's dowry, which consisted of 12,000 ecus d'or per annum in French coin, or in lieu of this sum the usufruct of Bresse and the provinces of Vaud and Faucigny. Charles III. on his accession had found the revenues greatly reduced; besides Margaret's dowry, three other dowager-princesses enjoyed the income from a great part of his estates. Blanche de Montferrat, widow of Charles I., had the best part of Piedmont; Le Bugey was in the hands of Claudine of Brittany, widow of Duke Philip; lastly, Louise of Savoy received the largest portion of Chablais. This was the state of things when Margaret complained of the insufficiency of the revenues from the properties of Bresse, Vaud, and Faucigny, revenues far from equivalent to the sum of 12,000 ecus d'or per annum according to the terms of her marriage contract. As Charles remained deaf to her complaints, Margaret had recourse to her father, and travelled to Germany to persuade Maximilian to give her his support. Charles at last agreed to send four jurisconsuls empowered to arrange this business. During the meetings which took place at Strasburg, Margaret explained the motives which made her insist on the fulfilment of the clauses with reference to her dowry.

'Her intention being to found a church and monastery on the site of the Priory of Brou, the resting-place of the Lady Margaret of Bourbon and Duke Philibert, she must needs collect all her resources to meet the expense which such an endowment would require. She also pointed out that, according to the Lady Margaret of Bourbon's will, the church and monastery were to be erected at the expense of her heirs and successors. Now this charge falling on Duke Charles, he could not conscientiously dispense with carrying out his mother's last wishes, but as she, Margaret, offered to fulfil this task at her own expense, he was ill-advised to dispute with her what was legally her due.

Charles III.'s envoys had nothing to say to this argument excepting the state of penury and embarra.s.sment in which their master found himself.'

At last, on the 5th of May 1505, in the presence of Maximilian, a treaty was signed in the hall of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem at Strasburg, by which Duke Charles granted to Margaret the county of Villars and the Seignory of Gourdans, with all rights of government as well as power of redeeming the mortgaged lands of Bresse to the amount of 1200 florins. After the ratification of this treaty Margaret returned to the castle of Pont-d'Ain and prepared to carry out her plans.

She first called her Council together and explained her intentions.

Margaret of Bourbon's vow was to build a church in honour of Saint Benedict, but as this order had already become lax, Margaret wished that the church and monastery should be placed under the protection of St. Nicolas de Tolentin, who had lately been canonised, and was noted for the number of miracles worked by his intercession, and for whom she felt a particular devotion.

The princess's Council, foreseeing the enormous expense which the execution of this plan would involve, tried to dissuade her from it, and endeavoured to turn her mind to completing the church of Notre-Dame de Bourg, which Jean de Loriol was then building. At the time of the young duke's death they had promised to bring his body to rest in the Abbey of Haute-Combe near the Dukes of Savoy, his predecessors. But she would not listen to this argument, and replied 'that she had been informed of the vow which the late lord and lady, her husband's parents, had made to found a monastery of the order of St. Augustine on the site of Brou, but the former, after he succeeded, forgot to fulfil it, and neglected the duty of accomplis.h.i.+ng his vow, and that it had pleased G.o.d to take her lord and husband in his youth in such a way that he had not leisure nor time to fulfil his father and mother's vow, but that she, with the help of G.o.d, would do so.'[22]

[22] Paradin, _Chronique de Savoie_.

The series of objections from the Council, and Margaret's firm determination, are still more apparent in the following quaint dialogue recorded by a witness in Paradin's _Chronique de Savoie_:--'When several prominent people pointed out that as she was the daughter of a great Emperor, and had been Queen of France, and had since married so great and famous a Prince, she would be put to heavy and intolerable expense in order to accomplish something worthy of her greatness, she replied that G.o.d would take care of the expense. They, moreover, said to her: "Madame, possibly you regret that the body of Madame, his mother, is buried in this little place of Brou; a dispensation could easily be procured from the Pope to carry it elsewhere"; she answered, no dispensation was needed for a thing one could do oneself; they also put before her that after she had done what she intended, if a war should break out in this country, the enemy could retire and quarter themselves there, and from thence fight the town, which in the end would mean the destruction of the monastery. Margaret replied: "The power of princes is nowadays so greatly increased by artillery that should Bourg be besieged there would be no need to wait for the attack." They then pointed out that in the church of Notre-Dame de Bourg there was a very fine beginning, and that if it pleased her to employ what she wished to spend on this monastery, she would have the prayers of ten million people, for every one in Bourg goes once a day to pray in the said church of Notre-Dame. To that my said lady replied, shedding big tears: "You say truly, and it is my greatest regret, but if I did as you say, the vow would not be accomplished which by the help of G.o.d I shall fulfil."

These are the objections that were made, and the replies which she gave when they tried to persuade her to give up this enterprise.'

Margaret had already had the plans and estimates drawn up for the church and monastery of Brou, with the help of Laurent de Gorrevod, Governor of Bresse. The estimate was given to the workmen in the early spring of 1505, and the first stone of the sanctuary laid by the princess herself in the spring of the following year.

On the 11th February 1503 Henry VII. had lost his queen, Elizabeth of York, who died in the Tower of London, a week after giving birth to her seventh child. She had been a good and submissive wife to Henry, whose claim to the throne she had strengthened by her own greater right. The bereaved husband retired 'heavy and dolorous' to a solitary place to pa.s.s his sorrow, but before many weeks were over he and his crony De Puebla put their heads together and agreed that the king must marry again. Amongst other alliances the widowed Queen of Naples was suggested, but the lady decidedly objected to the marriage. In November 1504 Queen Isabella of Castile died, and the crown descended to her weak-minded daughter Joanna. A struggle was seen to be impending for the regency, and Henry was courted by both sides in the dispute. He had taken as his motto 'Qui je defends est maitre,' and both Ferdinand, King of Spain, and the Emperor Maximilian were anxious to win him to their side. Margaret was secretly offered to Henry as a bride by Philip and Maximilian, and a close alliance between them proposed. Margaret, with her large dowries from Castile and Savoy, was now one of the richest princesses in Europe. Whilst Ferdinand was trying to ingratiate himself with Henry, it was clear to the astute King of England that he had now more to hope for from Philip and Maximilian, who were friendly with France, than from Ferdinand.[23]

[23] Martin Hume, _Queens of Old Spain_.

Early in August 1505 De Puebla went to Richmond to see the Princess of Wales, and as he entered the palace one of the household told him that an amba.s.sador had just arrived from the Archduke Philip, King of Castile, and was waiting for an audience. De Puebla at once conveyed the news to Katharine, and served as interpreter between the amba.s.sador and the princess. After delivering greetings from the Emperor Maximilian, the Archduke Philip, and the d.u.c.h.ess of Savoy, the amba.s.sador said his mission was a secret one to settle with the King of England about his marriage with the d.u.c.h.ess of Savoy, of whom he had brought two portraits. The Princess of Wales wished to see them, and the amba.s.sador went to fetch them. One was painted on wood, the other on canvas. The princess was of opinion that Michel would have made better portraits. She asked the amba.s.sador when the King-Archduke and the Queen-Archd.u.c.h.ess were to leave for Spain. The amba.s.sador replied as soon as possible, but that he had come to consult the King of England as to all arrangements.'[24]

[24] It would be interesting to know what became of these pictures. The portrait of Margaret, now at Hampton Court Palace, may have been one of them, as in it she is represented wearing a widow's dress, and the painting is so indifferent that it may well have called forth Katharine's criticism.

On the 7th January 1506, after having presided at the Chapter of the Golden Fleece in the old Abbey of Middlebourg, the Archduke Philip, King of Castile, set out from Zealand with his wife, Queen Joanna, their second son, Ferdinand, an infant of a few months old, and a retinue amounting to two or three thousand persons. They embarked (January 8th) on board a splendid and numerous armada composed of more than twenty-four vessels, intending to go to Spain. All went well until the Cornish coast was pa.s.sed, and then a dead calm fell, followed by a furious south-westerly gale, which scattered the s.h.i.+ps, and left that on which Philip and Joanna were without any escort. A gale which lasted thirty-six hours dispersed the fleet. Despair seized the crew, and all gave themselves up for lost. Philip's attendants dressed him in an inflated leather garment, upon the back of which was painted in large letters 'the king, Don Philip,' and thus arrayed he knelt before a blessed image in prayer, alternating with groans, expecting every moment would be his last. Joanna is represented by one contemporary authority as being seated on the ground between her husband's knees, saying that if they went down she would cling so closely to him that they should never be separated in death, as they had not been in life. The Spanish witnesses are loud in her praise in this danger. 'The queen,' they say, 'showed no signs of fear, and asked them to bring her a box with something to eat. As some of the gentlemen were collecting votive gifts to the Virgin of Guadalupe, they pa.s.sed the bag to the queen, who, taking out her purse containing about a hundred doubloons, hunted amongst them until she found the only half-doubloon there, showing thus how cool she was in the danger. A king never was drowned yet, so she was not afraid, she said.'[25]

[25] From a Spanish account in MSS. at the Royal Academy, Madrid.--Martin Hume, _Queens of Old Spain_.

Sandoval also mentions that Joanna displayed much composure during the storm. When informed by Philip of their danger, she attired herself in her richest dress, securing a considerable amount of money to her person, in order that her body, if found, might be recognised, and receive the obsequies suited to her rank.

Driven to land at Melcombe Regis, on January 16th, Philip sent to acquaint Henry VII. with his arrival, calling him 'father,' and expressing himself desirous of seeing him and his Court. Immediately the king hastened to show the archducal pair every mark of respect, and sent letters to gentlemen dwelling near the seaside to attend upon them, and afterwards despatched palfreys, litters, etc. They were entertained by Sir Thomas Trenchard at Wolveton in Dorsets.h.i.+re; and he is traditionally said to have summoned his kinsman, John Russell, to a.s.sist him, because the latter having been in Spain, was well qualified to act as interpreter. Portraits of Philip and Joanna have been preserved in the Trenchard family, as well as a white china bowl on a foot bound with silver, said to have been left by them at Wolveton. On the 31st January Henry received the King-Archduke at Windsor, the two monarchs saluting each other with glad and loving countenances. The next two days being Sunday and Candlemas were devoted to religious exercises, and the following week to recreation.

It is curious to read amongst all the state details that when 'the King of Castile played with the racquet, he gave the Lord Marquis (of Dorset) fifteen.' On the 9th February Philip was invested with the Order of the Garter. 'Immediately after ma.s.s, certain of the King of England's and the King of Castile's Council presented their respective sovereigns with the draft of the treaty of peace, having divers new articles and confirmations inserted therein. The kings, seated in their stalls, in St. George's Chapel, signed the writings with their own hands, and the pledges were solemnly sworn upon a fragment of the true cross, by which the rebel Earl of Suffolk was to be surrendered to his doom, and Philip's sister Margaret married to Henry, and England bound to the King of Castile against Ferdinand of Aragon.'