Christina of Denmark, Duchess of Milan and Lorraine, 1522-1590
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Title: Christina of Denmark, Duchess of Milan and Lorraine, 1522-1590
Author: Julia Cartwright
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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHRISTINA OF DENMARK, DUCHESS OF MILAN AND LORRAINE, 1522-1590 ***
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
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