ROYAL COURTSHIP.
[Sidenote: 1444.]
[Sidenote: Margaret's talents and accomplishments.]
[Sidenote: Offers of marriage.]
When Margaret was not more than fourteen or fifteen years of age, she
began to be very celebrated for her beauty and accomplishments, and
for the charming vivacity of her conversation and her demeanor. She
resided with her mother in different families in Lorraine and in other
parts of France, and was sometimes at the court of the Queen of
France, who was her near relative. All who knew her were charmed with
her. She was considered equally remarkable for her talents and for her
beauty. The arrangement which had been made in her childhood for
marrying her to the Count of St. Pol was broken off, but several other
offers were made to her mother for her hand, though none of them was
accepted. Isabella was very proud of her daughter, and she cherished
very lofty aspirations in respect to her future destiny. She was
therefore not at all inclined to be in haste in respect to making
arrangements for her marriage.
[Sidenote: State of things in England.]
[Sidenote: Henry's character.]
In the mean time, the feud between the uncles and relatives of King
Henry, in England, as related in a preceding chapter, had been going
on, and was now reaching a climax. The leaders of the two rival
parties were, as will be recollected, Henry Beaufort, Bishop of
Winchester, or Cardinal Beaufort, as he was more commonly called, who
had had the personal charge of the king during his minority, on one
side, and the Duke of Gloucester, Henry's uncle, who had been regent
of England during the same period, on the other. The king himself was
now about twenty-four years of age, and if he had been a man of vigor
and resolution, he might perhaps have controlled the angry disputants,
and by taking the government fully into his own hands, have forced
them to live together in peace under his paramount authority. But
Henry was a very timid and feeble-minded man. The turbulence and
impetuousness of his uncles and their partisans in their quarrel was
altogether too great for any control that he could hope to exercise
over them. Indeed, the great question with them was which should
contrive the means of exercising the greatest control over _him_.
[Sidenote: Plans of the courtiers.]
In order to accomplish this end, both parties began very early to plan
and manoeuvre with a view of choosing the king a wife. Whichever of
the two great leaders should succeed in negotiating the marriage of
the king, they knew well would, by that very act, establish his
influence at court in the most absolute manner.
[Sidenote: Princes and kings.]
[Sidenote: Their matrimonial plans.]
Princes and kings in those days, as, indeed, is the case to a
considerable extent now, had some peculiar difficulties to contend
with in making their matrimonial arrangements, so far at least as
concerned the indulgence of any personal preferences which they might
themselves entertain on the subject. Indeed, these arrangements were
generally made for them, while they were too young to have any voice
or to take any part in the question, and nothing was left for them but
to ratify and carry into effect, when they came to years of maturity,
what their parents, or grand councils of state, had determined for
them when they were children, or else to refuse to ratify and confirm
it at the cost of incurring a vast amount of difficulty and political
entanglement, and perhaps even open and formidable war.
[Sidenote: Embarrassments.]
[Sidenote: Difficulty of leaving the country.]
And even in those cases where the prince or king arrived at an age to
judge for himself before any arrangements were made for him, which was
the fact in regard to Henry VI., he was still very much embarrassed
and circumscribed in his choice if he attempted to select a wife for
himself. He could not visit foreign courts and see the princesses
there, so as to judge for himself who would best please him; for in
those days it was very unsafe for personages of any considerable rank
or position to visit foreign countries at all, except at the head of
an army, and in a military campaign. In the case, too, of any actually
reigning monarch, there was a special difficulty in the way of his
leaving his kingdom, on account of the feuds and quarrels which always
in such cases arose in making the necessary arrangements for the
government of the kingdom during his absence.
[Sidenote: Miniatures.]
[Sidenote: Situation of King Henry.]
For these and various other causes, a king or a prince desiring to
choose a wife was obliged to content himself with such information
relating to the several candidates as he could obtain from hearsay in
respect to their characters, and from miniatures and portraits in
respect to their personal attractions. This was especially the case
with King Henry VI. Each of the two great parties, that of Cardinal
Beaufort on one hand, and that of the Duke of Gloucester on the other,
were desirous of being the means of finding a bride for the king, and
both were eagerly looking in all directions, and plotting for the
accomplishment of this end, and any attempt of the king to leave the
kingdom for any purpose whatever would undoubtedly have brought these
parties at once to open war.
[Sidenote: Plan of the Duke of Gloucester.]
The Duke of Gloucester and those who acted with him fixed their eyes
upon three princesses of a certain great family, called the house of
Armagnac. Their plan was to open negotiations with this house, and to
obtain portraits of the three princesses, to be sent to England, in
order that Henry might take his choice of them. Commissioners were
appointed to manage the business. They were to open the negotiations
and obtain the portraits. The cardinal, of course, and his friends
were greatly interested in preventing the success of this plan,
though, of course, it was necessary for them to be discreet and
cautious in manifesting any open opposition to it in the then present
stage of the affair.
[Sidenote: The three princesses of Armagnac.]
[Sidenote: Their portraits.]
The king was very particular in the instructions which he gave to the
commissioners in respect to the portraits, with a view of securing, if
possible, perfectly correct and fair representations of the originals.
He wished that the princesses should not be flattered at all by the
artist in his delineation of them, and that they should not be dressed
at their sittings in any unusually elegant manner. On the contrary,
they were to be painted "in their kirtles simple, and their visages
like as ye see, and their stature, and their beauty, and the color of
their skin, and their countenances, just as they really are." The
artist was instructed, too, by the commissioners to be expeditious in
finishing the pictures and sending them to England, in order that the
king might see them as soon as possible, and make his choice between
the three young ladies whose "images" were to be thus laid before him.
[Sidenote: The plan fails.]
This plan for giving the king an opportunity to choose between the
three princesses of Armagnac, nicely arranged as it was in all its
details, failed of being carried successfully into effect; for the
father of these princesses, as it happened, was at this same time
engaged in some negotiations with the King of France in respect to the
marriage of his daughters, and he wished to keep the negotiations with
Henry in suspense until he had ascertained whether he could or could
not do better in that quarter. So he contrived means to interrupt and
retard the work of the artist, in order to delay for a time the
finishing of the pictures.
[Sidenote: In what way.]
[Sidenote: The cardinal's scheme.]
In the mean time, while the Duke of Gloucester and his party were thus
engaged in forwarding their scheme of inducing Henry to make choice of
one of these three princesses for his wife, the cardinal himself was
not idle. He had heard of the beautiful and accomplished Margaret of
Anjou, and after full inquiry and reflection, he determined in his own
mind to make her his candidate for the honor of being Queen of
England. The manner in which he contrived to introduce the subject
first to the notice of the king was this.
[Sidenote: Champchevrier.]
There was a certain man, named Champchevrier, who had been taken
prisoner in Anjou in the course of the wars between France and
England, and who was now held for ransom by the knight who had
captured him. He was not, however, kept in close confinement, but was
allowed to go at large in England on his parole--that is, on his word
of honor that he would not make his escape and go back to his native
land until his ransom was paid.
[Sidenote: Champchevrier at court.]
Now this Champchevrier, though a prisoner, was a gentleman by birth
and education; and while he remained in England, held by his parole,
was admitted to the best society there, and he often appeared at
court, and frequently held converse with the king. In one of these
interviews he described, in very glowing terms, the beauty and
remarkable intelligence of Margaret of Anjou. It is supposed that he
was induced to this by Cardinal Beaufort, who knew of his
acquaintance with Margaret, and who contrived the interviews between
Champchevrier and the king, in order to give the former an opportunity
to speak of the lady to his majesty incidentally, as it were, and in a
way not to excite the king's suspicions that the commendations of her
which he heard were prompted by any match-making schemes formed for
him by his courtiers.
[Sidenote: His conversations with the king.]
If this was the secret plan of the cardinal, it succeeded admirably
well. The king's curiosity was strongly awakened by the piquant
accounts that Champchevrier gave him of the brilliancy of young
Margaret's beauty, and of her charming vivacity and wit.
[Sidenote: The king wishes for a picture.]
"I should like very much to see a picture of the young lady," said the
king.
"I can easily obtain a picture of her for your majesty," replied
Champchevrier, "if your majesty will commission me to go to Lorraine
for the purpose."
Champchevrier considered that a commission from the king to go to
Lorraine on business for his majesty would be a sufficient release for
him from the obligations of his parole.
[Sidenote: Champchevrier's expedition.]
The king finally gave Champchevrier the required authority to leave
the kingdom. Champchevrier was not satisfied with a verbal permission
merely, but required the king to give him a regular safe-conduct,
drawn up in due form, and signed by the king's name. Having received
this document, Champchevrier left London and set out upon his journey,
the nature and object of the expedition being of course kept a
profound secret.
[Sidenote: The Earl of Suffolk.]
A certain nobleman, however, named the Earl of Suffolk, was admitted
to the confidence of the king in this affair, and was by him
associated with Champchevrier in the arrangements which were to be
made for carrying the plan into execution. It would seem that he
accompanied Champchevrier in his journey to Lorraine, where Margaret
was then residing with her mother, and there assisted him in making
arrangements for the painting of the picture. They employed one of the
first artists in France for this purpose. When the work was finished,
Champchevrier set out with it on his return to England.
[Sidenote: Champchevrier in danger.]
In the mean time, the English knight whose prisoner Champchevrier was,
heard in some way that his captive had left England, and had returned
to France, and the intelligence made him exceedingly angry. He thought
that Champchevrier had broken his parole and had gone home without
paying his ransom. Such an act as this was regarded as extremely
dishonorable in those days, and it was, moreover, not only considered
dishonorable in a prisoner himself to break his parole, but also in
any one else to aid or abet him in so doing, or to harbor or protect
him after his escape. The knight determined, therefore, that he would
at once communicate with the King of France on the subject, explaining
the circumstances, and asking him to rearrest the supposed fugitive
and send him back.
[Sidenote: Gloucester writes to the King of France.]
So he went to the Duke of Gloucester, and, stating the case to him,
asked his grace to write to the King of France, informing him that
Champchevrier had escaped from his parole, and asking him not to give
him refuge, but to seize and send him back. Gloucester was very
willing to do this. It is probable that he knew that Champchevrier was
a friend of the cardinal's, or at least that he was attached to his
interests, and that it was altogether probable that his going into
France was connected with some plot or scheme by which the cardinal
and his party were to derive some advantage. So he wrote the letter,
and it was at once sent to the King of France. The King of France at
this time was Charles VII.
[Sidenote: Champchevrier arrested.]
The king, on receiving the letter, gave orders immediately that
Champchevrier should be arrested. By this time, however, the painting
was finished, and Champchevrier was on the way with it from Lorraine
toward England. He was intercepted on his journey, taken to Vincennes,
and there brought before King Charles, and called upon to give an
account of himself.
[Sidenote: The whole story comes out.]
Of course he was now obliged to tell the whole story. He said that he
had not broken his parole at all, nor intended in any manner to
defraud his captor in England of the ransom money that was due to him,
but had come to France _by the orders of the King of England_. He
explained, too, what he had come for, and showed Charles the painting
which he was carrying back to the king. He also, in proof of the truth
of what he said, produced the safe-conduct which King Henry had given
him.
King Charles laughed very heartily at hearing this explanation, and at
perceiving how neatly he had discovered the secret of King Henry's
love affairs. He was much pleased, too, with the idea of King Henry's
taking a fancy to a lady so nearly related to the royal family of
France. He thought that he might make the negotiation of such a
marriage the occasion for making peace with England on favorable
terms. So he dismissed Champchevrier at once, and recommended to him
to proceed to England as soon as possible, and there to do all in his
power to induce King Henry to choose Margaret for his queen.
[Sidenote: Trouble in court.]
Champchevrier accordingly returned to England and reported the result
of his mission. The king was very much pleased with the painting, and
he immediately determined to send Champchevrier again to Lorraine on a
secret mission to Margaret's mother. He first, however, determined to
release Champchevrier entirely from his parole, and so he paid the
ransom himself for which he had been held. The Duke of Gloucester
watched all these proceedings with a very jealous eye. When he found
that Champchevrier, on his return to England, came at once to the
king's court, and that there he held frequent conferences, which were
full of mystery, with the king and with the cardinal, and when,
moreover, he learned that the king had paid the ransom money due to
the knight, and that Champchevrier was to be sent away again, he at
once suspected what was going on, and the whole court was soon in a
great ferment of excitement in respect to the proposed marriage of the
king to Margaret of Anjou.
[Sidenote: Gloucester's opposition.]
[Sidenote: Margaret gains the day.]
[Sidenote: Truce proposed.]
The Duke of Gloucester and his party were, of course, strongly opposed
to Margaret of Anjou; for they knew well that, as she had been brought
to the king's notice by the other party, her becoming Queen of England
would well-nigh destroy their hopes and expectations for all time to
come. The other party acted as decidedly and vigorously in favor of
the marriage. There followed a long contest, in which there was
plotting and counterplotting on one side and on the other, and
manoeuvres without end. At last the friends of the beautiful little
Margaret carried the day; and in the year 1444 commissioners were
formally appointed by the governments of England and France to meet at
the city of Tours at a specified day, to negotiate a truce between the
two countries preparatory to a permanent peace, the basis and cement
of which was to be the marriage of King Henry with Margaret of Anjou.
The truce was made for two years, so as to allow full time to arrange
all the details both for a peace between the two countries, and also
in respect to the terms and conditions of the marriage.
[Sidenote: Opposition in England.]
As soon as the news that this truce was made arrived in England, it
produced great excitement. The Duke of Gloucester and those who were,
with him, interested to prevent the accomplishment of the marriage,
formed a powerful political party to oppose it. They did not, however,
openly object to the marriage itself, thinking that not politic, but
directed their hostility chiefly against the plan of making peace with
France just at the time, they said, when the glory of the English arms
and the progress of the English power in that country were at their
height. It was very discreditable to the advisers of the king, they
said, that they should counsel him to stop short in the career of
conquest which his armies were pursuing, and thus sacrifice the grand
advantages for the realm of England which were just within reach.
[Sidenote: Violent discussions.]
[Sidenote: Suffolk is alarmed.]
The discussions and dissensions which arose in the court and in
Parliament on this subject were very violent; but in the end Cardinal
Beaufort and his party were successful, and the king appointed the
Earl of Suffolk embassador extraordinary to the court of France to
negotiate the terms and conditions of the permanent peace which was to
be made between the two countries, and also of the marriage of the
king. At first Suffolk was very unwilling to undertake this embassy.
He feared that, in order to carry out the king's wishes, he should be
obliged to make such important concessions to France that, at some
future time, when perhaps the party of the Duke of Gloucester should
come into power, he might be held responsible for the measure, and be
tried and condemned, perhaps, for high treason, in having been the
means of sacrificing the interests and honor of the kingdom by
advising and negotiating a dishonorable peace. These fears of his were
probably increased by the intensity of the excitement which he
perceived in the Gloucester party, and perhaps, also, by open threats
and demonstrations which they may have uttered for the express purpose
of intimidating him.
[Sidenote: His safe-conduct.]
At any rate, after receiving the appointment, his courage failed him,
and he begged the king to excuse him from performing so dangerous a
commission. The king was, however, very unwilling to do so. Finally,
it was agreed that the king should give the earl his written order,
executed in due and solemn form, and signed with the great seal,
commanding him, on the royal authority, to undertake the embassage.
Suffolk relied on this document as his means of defense from all legal
responsibility for his action in case his enemies should at any future
time have it in their power to bring him to trial for it.
[Sidenote: Various difficulties and objections.]
In negotiating the peace, and in arranging the terms and conditions
of the marriage, a great many difficulties were found to be in the
way, but they were all at last overcome. One of these difficulties was
made by King Rene, the father of Margaret. He declared that he could
not consent to give his daughter in marriage to the King of England
unless the king would first restore to him and to his family the
province of Anjou, which had been the possession of his ancestors, but
which King Henry's armies had overrun and conquered. The Earl of
Suffolk was very unwilling to cede back this territory, for he knew
very well that nothing would be so unpopular in England, or so likely
to increase the hostility of the English people to the proposed
marriage, and consequently to give new life and vigor to the
Gloucester party in their opposition to it, as the giving up again of
territory which the English troops had won by so many hard-fought
battles and the sacrifice of so many lives. But Rene was inflexible,
and Suffolk finally yielded, and so Anjou was restored to its former
possessors.
[Sidenote: The king asks no dowry.]
Another objection which Rene made was that his fortune was not
sufficient to enable him to endow his daughter properly for so
splendid a marriage; not having the means, he said, of sending her in
a suitable manner into England.
But this the King of England said should make no difference. All that
he asked was the hand of the princess without any dowry. Her personal
charms and mental endowments were sufficient to outweigh all the
riches in the world; and if her royal father and mother would grant
her to King Henry as his bride, he would not ask to receive with her
"either penny or farthing."
[Sidenote: The king has a rival.]
[Sidenote: Margaret's wishes.]
King Henry was made all the more eager to close the negotiations for
the marriage as soon as possible, and to consent to almost any terms
which the King of France and Rene might exact, from the fact that
there was a young prince of the house of Burgundy--a very brave,
handsome, and accomplished man--who was also a suitor for Margaret's
hand, and was very devotedly attached to her. This young prince was in
France at this time, and ready, at any moment, to take advantage of
any difficulty which might arise in the negotiations with Henry to
press his claims, and, perhaps, to carry off the prize. Which of the
two candidates Margaret herself would have preferred there is no means
of knowing. She was yet only about fifteen years of age, and was
completely in the power and at the disposal of her father and mother.
And then the political and family interests which were at stake in
the decision of the question were too vast to allow of the personal
preferences of the young girl herself being taken much into the
account.
[Sidenote: The affair finally settled.]
At last every thing was arranged, and Suffolk returned to England,
bringing with him the treaty of peace and the contract of marriage, to
be ratified by the king's council and by Parliament. A new contest now
ensued between the Gloucester and Beaufort parties. The king, of
course, threw all his influence on the cardinal's side, and so the
treaty and the contract carried the day. Both were ratified. The Earl
of Suffolk, as a reward for his services, was made a marquis, and he
was appointed the king's proxy to proceed to France and espouse the
bride in the king's name, according to the usual custom in the case of
royal marriages.