brother Louis thus strenuously advised him not to sign, the Prince never
did sign. Its tenor was to the following effect:--The Princess, after
marriage, was, neither by menace nor persuasion; to be turned from the
true and pure Word of God, or the use of the sacrament according to the
doctrines of the Augsburg Confession. The Prince was to allow her to
read books written in accordance with the Augsburg Confession. The
prince was to permit her, as often, annually, as she required it, to go
out of the Netherlands to some place where she could receive the
sacrament according to the Augsburg Confession. In case she were in
sickness or perils of childbirth, the Prince, if necessary, would call
to her an evangelical preacher, who might administer to her the holy
sacrament in her chamber. The children who might spring from the
marriage were to be instructed as to the doctrines of the Augsburg
Confession.
Even if executed, this celebrated memorandum would hardly have been
at variance with the declarations made by the Prince to the Spanish
government. He had never pretended that his bride was to become a
Catholic, but only to live as a Catholic. All that he had promised,
or was expected to promise, was that his wife should conform to the law
in the Netherlands. The paper, in a general way, recognized that law.
In case of absolute necessity, however, it was stipulated that the
Princess should have the advantage of private sacraments. This certainly
would have been a mortal offence in a Calvinist or Anabaptist, but for
Lutherans the practise had never been so strict. Moreover, the Prince
already repudiated the doctrines of the edicts, and rebelled against the
command to administer them within his government. A general promise,
therefore, made by him privately, in the sense of the memorandum drawn up
by the Elector, would have been neither hypocritical nor deceitful, but
worthy the man who looked over such grovelling heads as Granvelle and
Philip on the one side, or Augustus of Saxony on the other, and estimated
their religious pretences at exactly what they were worth. A formal
document, however, technically according all these demands made by the
Elector, would certainly be regarded by the Spanish government as a very
culpable instrument. The Prince never signed the note, but, as we shall
have occasion to state in its proper place, he gave a verbal declaration,
favorable to its tenor, but in very vague and brief terms, before a
notary, on the day of the marriage.
If the reader be of opinion that too much time has been expended upon the
elucidation of this point, he should remember that the character of a
great and good man is too precious a possession of history to be lightly
abandoned. It is of no great consequence to ascertain the precise creed
of Augustus of Saxony, or of his niece; it is of comparatively little
moment to fix the point at which William of Orange ceased to be an
honest, but liberal Catholic, and opened his heart to the light of the
Reformation; but it is of very grave interest that his name should be
cleared of the charge of deliberate fraud and hypocrisy. It has
therefore been thought necessary to prove conclusively that the Prince
never gave, in Dresden or Cassel, any assurance inconsistent with his
assertions to King and Cardinal. The whole tone of his language and
demeanor on the religious subject was exhibited in his reply to the
Electress, who, immediately after the marriage, entreated that he would
not pervert her niece from the paths of the true religion. "She shall
not be troubled," said the Prince, "with such melancholy things. Instead
of holy writ she shall read 'Amadis de Gaule,' and such books of pastime
which discourse de amore; and instead of knitting and sewing she shall
learn to dance a galdiarde, and such courtoisies as are the mode of our
country and suitable to her rank."
The reply was careless, flippant, almost contemptuous. It is very
certain that William of Orange was not yet the "father William" he was
destined to become--grave, self-sacrificing, deeply religious, heroic;
but it was equally evident from this language that he had small sympathy,
either in public or private, with Lutheranism or theological controversy.
Landgrave William was not far from right when he added, in his quaint
style, after recalling this well-known reply, "Your grace will observe,
therefore, that when the abbot has dice in his pocket, the convent will
play."
So great was the excitement at the little court of Cassel, that many
Protestant princes and nobles declared that "they would sooner give their
daughters to a boor or a swineherd than to a Papist: The Landgrave was
equally vigorous in his protest, drawn up in due form on the 26th April,
1561. He was not used, he said, "to flatter or to tickle with a
foxtail." He was sorry if his language gave offense, nevertheless "the
marriage was odious, and that was enough." He had no especial objection
to the Prince, "who before the world was a brave and honorable man:' He
conceded that his estates were large, although he hinted that his debts
also were ample; allowed that he lived in magnificent style, had even
heard "of one of his banquets, where all the table-cloths, plates, and
every thing else, were made of sugar," but thought he might be even a
little too extravagant; concluding, after a good deal of skimble-skamble
of this nature, with "protesting before God, the world, and all pious
Christians, that he was not responsible for the marriage, but only the
Elector Augustus and others, who therefore would one day have to render
account thereof to the Lord."
Meantime the wedding had been fixed to take place on Sunday, the 24th
August, 1561. This was St. Bartholomew's, a nuptial day which was not
destined to be a happy one in the sixteenth century. The Landgrave and
his family declined to be present at the wedding, but a large and
brilliant company were invited. The King of Spain sent a bill of
exchange to the Regent, that she might purchase a ring worth three
thousand crowns, as a present on his part to the bride. Beside this
liberal evidence that his opposition to the marriage was withdrawn, he
authorized his sister to appoint envoys from among the most distinguished
nobles to represent him on the occasion. The Baron de Montigny,
accordingly, with a brilliant company of gentlemen, was deputed by
the Duchess, although she declined sending all the governors of the
provinces, according to the request of the Prince. The marriage was
to take place at Leipsic. A slight picture of the wedding festivities,
derived entirely from unpublished sources, may give some insight into the
manners and customs of high life in Germany and the Netherlands at this
epoch.
The Kings of Spain and Denmark were invited, and were represented by
special ambassadors. The Dukes of Brunswick, Lauenburg, Mecklenburg, the
Elector and Margraves of Brandenburg, the Archbishop of Cologne, the Duke
of Cleves, the Bishops of Naumburg, Meneburg, Meissen, with many other
potentates, accepted the invitations, and came generally in person, a few
only being represented by envoys. The town councils of Erfurt, Leipsic,
Magdeburg, and other cities, were also bidden. The bridegroom was
personally accompanied by his brothers John, Adolphus, and Louis; by the
Burens, the Leuchtenbergs, and various other distinguished personages.
As the electoral residence at Leipsic was not completely finished,
separate dwellings were arranged for each of the sovereign families
invited, in private houses, mostly on the market-place. Here they were
to be furnished with provisions by the Elector's officials, but they were
to cook for themselves. For this purpose all the princes had been
requested to bring their own cooks and butlers, together with their plate
and kitchen utensils. The sovereigns themselves were to dine daily with
the Elector at the town-house, but the attendants and suite were to take
their meals in their own lodgings. A brilliant collection of gentlemen
and pages, appointed by the Elector to wait at his table, were ordered to
assemble at Leipsic on the 22d, the guests having been all invited for
the 23d. Many regulations were given to these noble youths, that they
might discharge their duties with befitting decorum. Among other orders,
they received particular injunctions that they were to abstain from all
drinking among themselves, and from all riotous conduct whatever, while
the sovereigns and potentates should be at dinner. "It would be a
shameful indecency," it was urged, "if the great people sitting at table
should be unable to hear themselves talk on account of the screaming of
the attendants." This provision did not seem unreasonable. They were
also instructed that if invited to drink by any personage at the great
tables they were respectfully to decline the challenge, and to explain
the cause after the repast.
Particular arrangements were also made for the safety of the city.
Besides the regular guard of Leipsic, two hundred and twenty
arquebuseers, spearsmen, and halberdmen, were ordered from the
neighboring towns. These were to be all dressed in uniform; one arm,
side and leg in black, and the other in yellow, according to a painting
distributed beforehand to the various authorities. As a mounted patrole,
Leipsic had a regular force of two men. These were now increased to ten,
and received orders to ride with their lanterns up and down all the
streets and lanes, to accost all persons whom they might find abroad
without lights in their hands, to ask them their business in courteous
language, and at the same time to see generally to the peace and safety
of the town.
Fifty arquebuseers were appointed to protect the town-house, and a
burgher watch of six hundred was distributed in different quarters,
especially to guard against fire.
On Saturday, the day before the wedding, the guests had all arrived at
Leipsic, and the Prince of Orange, with his friends, at Meneburg.
On Sunday, the 24th August, the Elector at the head of his guests and
attendants, in splendid array, rode forth to receive the bridegroom.
His cavalcade numbered four thousand. William of Orange had arrived,
accompanied by one thousand mounted men. The whole troop now entered the
city together, escorting the Prince to the town-house. Here he
dismounted, and was received on the staircase by the Princess Anna,
attended by her ladies. She immediately afterwards withdrew to her
apartments.
It was at this point, between 4 and 5 P.M., that the Elector and
Electress, with the bride and bridegroom, accompanied also by the Dame
Sophia von Miltitz and the Councillors Hans von Ponika and Ubrich
Woltersdorff upon one side, and by Count John of Nassau and Heinrich von
Wiltberg upon the other, as witnesses, appeared before Wolf Seidel,
notary, in a corner room of the upper story of the town-house.
One of the councillors, on the part of the Elector, then addressed
the bridegroom. He observed that his highness would remember, no doubt,
the contents of a memorandum or billet, sent by the Elector on the 14th
April of that year, by the terms of which the Prince was to agree that he
would, neither by threat nor persuasion, prevent his future wife from
continuing in the Augsburg Confession; that he would allow her to go to
places where she might receive the Augsburg sacraments; that in case of
extreme need she should receive them in her chamber; and that the
children who might spring from the marriage should be instructed as to
the Augsburg doctrines. As, however, continued the councillor, his
highness the Prince of Orange has, for various reasons, declined giving
any such agreement in writing, as therefore it had been arranged that
before the marriage ceremony the Prince should, in the presence of the
bride and of the other witnesses, make a verbal promise on the subject,
and as the parties were now to be immediately united in marriage,
therefore the Elector had no doubt that the Prince would make no
objection in presence of those witnesses to give his consent to maintain
the agreements comprised in the memorandum or note. The note was then
read. Thereupon, the Prince answered verbally. "Gracious Elector;
I remember the writing which you sent me on the 14th April. All the
point: just narrated by the Doctor were contained in it. I now state to
your highness that I will keep it all as becomes a prince, and conform to
it." Thereupon he gave the Elector his hand.--
What now was the amount and meaning of this promise on the part of the
Prince? Almost nothing. He would conform to the demands of the Elector,
exactly as he had hitherto said he would conform to them. Taken in
connexion with his steady objections to sign and seal any instrument on
the subject--with his distinct refusal to the Landgrave (through Knuttel)
to allow the Princess an evangelical preacher or to receive the
sacraments in the Netherlands--with the vehement, formal, and public
protest, on the part of the Landgrave, against the marriage--with the
Prince's declarations to the Elector at Dresden, which were satisfactory
on all points save the religious point,--what meaning could this verbal
promise have, save that the Prince would do exactly as much with regard
to the religious question as he had always promised, and no more? This
was precisely what did happen. There was no pretence on the part of the
Elector, afterwards, that any other arrangement had been contemplated.
The Princess lived catholically from the moment of her marriage, exactly
as Orange had stated to the Duchess Margaret, and as the Elector knew
would be the case. The first and the following children born of the
marriage were baptized by Catholic priests, with very elaborate Catholic
ceremonies, and this with the full consent of the Elector, who sent
deputies and officiated as sponsor on one remarkable occasion.
Who, of all those guileless lambs then, Philip of Spain, the Elector of
Saxony, or Cardinal Granvelle, had been deceived by the language or
actions of the Prince? Not one. It may be boldly asserted that the
Prince, placed in a transition epoch, both of the age and of his own
character, surrounded by the most artful and intriguing personages known
to history, and involved in a network of most intricate and difficult
circumstances, acquitted himself in a manner as honorable as it was
prudent. It is difficult to regard the notarial instrument otherwise
than as a memorandum, filed rather by Augustus than by wise William, in
order to put upon record for his own justification, his repeated though
unsuccessful efforts to procure from the Prince a regularly signed,
sealed, and holographic act, upon the points stated in the famous note.
After the delay occasioned by these private formalities, the bridal
procession, headed by the court musicians, followed by the court
marshals, councillors, great officers of state, and the electoral family,
entered the grand hall of the town-house. The nuptial ceremony was
then performed by "the Superintendent Doctor Pfeffinger." Immediately
afterwards, and in the same hall, the bride and bridegroom were placed
publicly upon a splendid, gilded bed, with gold-embroidered curtains,
the Princess being conducted thither by the Elector and Electress.
Confects and spiced drinks were then served to them and to the assembled
company. After this ceremony they were conducted to their separate
chambers, to dress for dinner. Before they left the hall, however,
Margrave Hans of Brandenburg, on part of the Elector of Saxony, solemnly
recommended the bride to her husband, exhorting him to cherish her with
faith and affection, and "to leave her undisturbed in the recognized
truth of the holy gospel and the right use of the sacraments."
Five round tables were laid in the same hall immediately afterwards--
each accommodating ten guests. As soon as the first course of twenty-
five dishes had been put upon the chief table, the bride and bridegroom,
the Elector and Electress, the Spanish and Danish envoys and others, were
escorted to it, and the banquet began. During the repast, the Elector's
choir and all the other bands discoursed the "merriest and most ingenious
music." The noble vassals handed the water, the napkins, and the wine,
and every thing was conducted decorously and appropriately. As soon as
the dinner was brought to a close, the tables were cleared away, and the
ball began in the same apartment. Dances, previously arranged, were
performed, after which "confects and drinks" were again distributed, and
the bridal pair were then conducted to the nuptial chamber.
The wedding, according to the Lutheran custom of the epoch, had thus
taken place not in a church, but in a private dwelling; the hall of the
town-house, representing, on this occasion, the Elector's own saloons.
On the following morning, however, a procession was formed at seven
o'clock to conduct the newly-married couple to the church of St.
Nicholas, there to receive an additional exhortation and benediction.
Two separate companies of gentlemen, attended by a great number of
"fifers, drummers, and trumpeters," escorted the bride and the
bridegroom," twelve counts wearing each a scarf of the Princess Anna's
colors, with golden garlands on their heads and lighted torches in their
hands," preceding her to the choir, where seats had been provided for the
more illustrious portion of the company. The church had been
magnificently decked in tapestry, and, as the company entered, a full
orchestra performed several fine motettos. After listening to a long
address from Dr. Pfeffinger, and receiving a blessing before the altar,
the Prince and Princess of Orange returned, with their attendant
processions, to the town-house.
After dinner, upon the same and the three following days, a tournament
was held. The lists were on the market-place, on the side nearest the
town-house; the Electress and the other ladies looking down from balcony
and window to "rain influence and adjudge the prize." The chief hero of
these jousts, according to the accounts in the Archives, was the Elector
of Saxony. He "comported himself with such especial chivalry" that his
far-famed namesake and remote successor, Augustus the Strong, could
hardly have evinced more knightly prowess. On the first day he
encountered George Von Wiedebach, and unhorsed him so handsomely that the
discomfited cavalier's shoulder was dislocated. On the following day he
tilted with Michael von Denstedt, and was again victorious, hitting his
adversary full in the target, and "bearing him off over his horse's tail
so neatly, that the knight came down, heels over head, upon the earth."
On Wednesday, there was what was called the palliatourney. The Prince of
Orange, at the head of six bands, amounting in all to twenty-nine men;
the Margrave George of Brandenburg, with seven bands, comprising thirty-
four men, and the Elector Augustus, with one band of four men, besides
himself, all entered the lists. Lots were drawn for the "gate of honor,"
and gained by the Margrave, who accordingly defended it with his band.
Twenty courses were then run between these champions and the Prince of
Orange, with his men. The Brandenburgs broke seven lances, the Prince's
party only six, so that Orange was obliged to leave the lists
discomfited. The ever-victorious Augustus then took the field, and ran
twenty courses against the defenders, breaking fourteen spears to the
Brandenburg's ten. The Margrave, thus defeated, surrendered the "gate of
honor" to the Elector, who maintained, it the rest of the day against all
comers. It is fair to suppose, although the fact is not recorded, that
the Elector's original band had received some reinforcement. Otherwise,
it would be difficult to account for these constant victories, except by
ascribing more than mortal strength, as well as valor, to Augustus and
his four champions. His party broke one hundred and fifty-six lances, of
which number the Elector himself broke thirty-eight and a half. He
received the first prize, but declined other guerdons adjudged to him.
The reward for the hardest hitting was conferred on Wolf Von Schonberg,
"who thrust Kurt Von Arnim clean out of the saddle, so that he fell
against the barriers."
On Thursday was the riding at the ring. The knights who partook of this
sport wore various strange garbs over their armor. Some were disguised
as hussars, some as miners, come as lansquenettes; others as Tartans,
pilgrims, fools, bird-catchers, hunters, monks; peasants, or Netherland
cuirassiers. Each party was attended by a party of musicians, attired in
similar costume. Moreover, Count Gunter Yon Schwartzburg made, his
appearance in the lists, accompanied "by five remarkable giants of
wonderful proportions and appearance, very ludicrous to behold, who
performed all kind of odd antics on horseback."
The next day there was a foot tourney, followed in the evening by
"mummeries," or masquerades. These masques were repeated on the
following evening, and afforded great entertainment. The costumes were
magnificent, "with golden and pearl embroidery," the dances were very
merry and artistic, and the musicians, who formed a part of the company,
exhibited remarkable talent. These "mummeries" had been brought by
William of Orange from the Netherlands, at the express request of the
Elector, on the ground that such matters were much better understood in
the provinces than in Germany.
Such is a slight sketch of the revels by which this ill-fated Bartholomew
marriage was celebrated. While William of Orange was thus employed in
Germany, Granvelle seized the opportunity to make his entry into the city
of Mechlin, as archbishop; believing that such a step would be better
accomplished in the absence of the Prince from the country. The Cardinal
found no one in the city to welcome him. None of the great nobles were
there. "The people looked upon the procession with silent hatred. No
man cried, God bless him." He wrote to the King that he should push
forward the whole matter of the bishoprics as fast as possible, adding
the ridiculous assertion that the opposition came entirely from the
nobility, and that "if the seigniors did not talk so much, not a man of
the people would open his mouth on the subject."
The remonstrance offered by the three estates of Brabant against the
scheme had not influenced Philip. He had replied in a peremptory tone.
He had assured them that he had no intention of receding, and that the
province of Brabant ought to feel itself indebted to him for having given
them prelates instead of abbots to take care of their eternal interests,
and for having erected their religious houses into episcopates. The
abbeys made what resistance they could, but were soon fain to come to a
compromise with the bishops, who, according to the arrangement thus made,
were to receive a certain portion of the abbey revenues, while the
remainder was to belong to the institutions, together with a continuance
of their right to elect their own chiefs, subordinate, however, to the
approbation of the respective prelates of the diocese. Thus was the
episcopal matter settled in Brabant. In many of the other bishoprics the
new dignitaries were treated with disrespect, as they made their entrance
into their cities, while they experienced endless opposition and
annoyance on attempting to take possession of the revenue assigned to
them.
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