BETROTHAL TO LOUIS XII. OF FRANCE
Though Louis de Longueville has always had the credit of arranging the
match between the Princess Mary and Louis XII. of France, there was
another who claimed openly the initiation of the idea. Margaret of Savoy
said that the Pope had been to her knowledge the promoter of the whole
business,[256] and Leo X. claimed[257] that he had been the first to
propose it to France and England. It had been discussed secretly in Rome
by the Bishop of Marseilles and the Bishop of Worcester, who met
frequently together in the city and in "vynes and garthynges" without
it.[258] The Medici had always been favourers of the French, and there
is no doubt that Leo X. and "il magnifico Juliano" used their influence
to make the peace, but equally doubtless, had not Longueville been on
the spot "et mena tellement l'affaire de poste en poste,"[259] matters
would not have progressed so rapidly. The Frenchman was not only moved
by desire for the national safety, he had also a private crow to pick
with Burgundy,[260] for the Prince's officers had seized on certain
lands of his, and in return the Duke rejoiced at the opportunity of
wiping his neighbour's eye. His position at the English Court gave him
every chance of doing so. Henry had intended from the first that he
should be in the household, but Katharine had been forced to lodge him
in the Tower for the first three weeks after his arrival. On the King's
return he was lodged in the Court, and became Henry's daily companion.
He was witness to the King's anger against Ferdinand of Aragon, and his
annoyance at the variableness of the Emperor, and no doubt, secrets
being ill-kept, he knew all about the Savoy-Suffolk affair. As early as
March Wolsey was half gained to France, and the general of Normandy,
Thomas Bohier, in England ostensibly to confer with Longueville at
Sittingbourne about his ransom, was on friendly terms with the new
Bishop of Lincoln, and Louis XII. desired his mediation.[261] Henry
however, was too sure that France was at his feet to treat at once, and
it was not till his allies had definitely left him that he listened to
French proposals. The Bishop of Lincoln's attitude was complicated by
his claim on Tournay, of which See he was bishop, but was there opposed
by the French bishop-elect, who had easily collected the revenues with
the collusion of the Flemish, who wanted no English bishop and mobbed
his vicar in Ghent and Bruges. It probably was in Wolsey's mind that if
he did the Pope's pleasure in the matter of peace with France, there was
more likelihood of his enjoying the fruits of the See. The bait held out
to him by Louis was a cardinal's hat, and the French King over and over
again promised to use his influence with Leo X. to get this for him. In
March the marriage was talked about in Rome, in April in Paris,[262]
while in England the only subject of conversation was the coming war,
and in May, when the Castile marriage openly hung fire, the General of
Normandy was again in England. He sent a herald to Calais[263] for a
safe-conduct and also to arrange a truce, but this was not granted, "so
he came here with a cartel to know the ransom required for the Duke de
Longueville, which, being generally known, he was answered that not
having brought the ransom with him, and should he have nothing else to
say, he was to depart in God's name." Unabashed by this brusque
reception, which may have been one of Wolsey's carefully arranged
"pageants," the Duke, "who is in great favour, making himself most
amiable,"[264] stepped in, and by his mediation the General was allowed
to open his mission for some agreement between the two crowns. Henry
demanded a million and a half ducats and three towns--Therouenne,
Boulogne and St Quentin. The General answered suavely this could hardly
be called an agreement, but his master was prepared to make peace and
give the usual tribute. King Henry then rejoined, "Well, if he chooses
to marry my sister, the widow of the King of Scots, the agreement shall
be made."[265] The General was allowed to write to his master, and he
was invited to the sacring[266] of the new ship, the "Harry Grace à
Dieu," the King's newest toy, "which has no equal in bulk and has an
incredible array of guns." There, in a brilliant company, he saw the
Queen and the Princess Mary, surrounded by the bishops, nobles and
ambassadors, and he witnessed the reception of the ambassadors from the
Duchess of Savoy and the Emperor, whom Henry took over the seven tiers
of the ship, pointing out her novelties and merits. All the French
negotiations had to be conducted with the greatest secrecy, for the war
was popular in England, where the nobles and gentlemen had already
prepared their equipages at great expense, but abroad the matter was
talked of openly, and the lady mentioned was not the impossible
Margaret, but Mary. Henry refused to be drawn by the Emperor's
ambassador,[267] and said nothing beyond that he had peace under his
hand if he wanted it; but they said roundly to the Council that the
General "was well known to the Emperor as one accustomed to handle more
difficult matters than the ransom of the Duke de Longueville." The great
difficulty was Tournay, and that question was finally waived for later
settlement, and a treaty of peace for the lives of the two kings and one
year after was concluded on a basis of tribute paying, and all arrears
from France, dating from 1444, were to be gradually paid up at a fixed
rate. Henry wanted to give his sister without a dowry, in clear
contravention of his father's will, but eventually it was arranged that
Mary's trousseau, jewels, and furniture, valued at 200,000 crowns, were
to be regarded as such.
[256] L. and P. H. VIII., i. 5387; Galba B., iii. 166.
[257] _Ibid._, i. 5543; Vitell. B., ii. 108.
[258] _Ibid._, i. 5106; Vitell. B., ii. 77.
[259] Fleurange, Hist. Louis XII.; Petitot, Col. de Mémoires,
xli. 262.
[260] L. and P. H. VIII., i. 4725; Galba B., iii. 148.
[261] L. and P. H. VIII., i. 4883; Calig. D., vi. 117.
[262] C. S. P. Venice, ii. 398.
[263] C. S. P. Venice, iii. 1485.
[264] _Ibid._, iii. 1485.
[265] _Ibid._, ii. 436.
[266] L. and P. H. VIII., i. 5192; Galba. B., iii. 208.
[267] Lettres de Louis XII., iv. 335.
Late in the evening of July 29[268] the General of Normandy came again
to London, to a very different reception. "He had come to seal the
articles, having been met by four hundred of the chief lords on
horseback to do him honour." Next day, at Wanstead Manor, Mary made the
formal renunciation of her compact of marriage with Charles, Prince of
Castile, in the presence of the Dukes of Norfolk and Suffolk, the Earl
of Worcester, the Bishops of Lincoln, Winchester and Durham, and Sir
Rauf Verney, her chamberlain. On August 7 the preliminaries were
concluded and the contract signed. On the 11th peace was proclaimed in
London, with none of the usual pomp, by two men on horseback "in a
public street; neither trumpet nor any other instrument was sounded, and
but few persons heard the proclamation, neither were bonfires burnt or
any other demonstration made for this peace."[269] Two days later the
wedding took place at Greenwich, and early in the morning of that
Sunday, wrote the Venetian ambassador's secretary, a lord came in his
barge in quest of Messer Andreas Badoer,[270] "on behalf of the King
that he might go to the Court to be present at the wedding." So he went
to where his Majesty was, at a place called Greenwich, on a fine river,
and proceeded upstairs, where the other lords were awaiting the King in
the apartment where the ceremony was to be performed. It had the
appearance of a large chamber, the walls around being covered with cloth
of gold surmounted by an embroidered frieze with the royal arms. There
were many lords present, clad in cloth of gold and some in silk, all
wearing chains, who came to meet the ambassador, saying, "Thou art as
welcome as if thou wert our father and of our own blood," for which he
thanked them much, and he gave them good greeting. And he remained thus,
talking, first with one and then with another, for three hours, till at
length the King came and was immediately followed by the Queen, his
sister the bride, and a number of ladies. The Duke de Longueville, with
two French ambassadors, represented the King of France. The Primate
delivered a Latin sermon, saying that they had been brought to that
place to celebrate "a holy marriage, the contracting parties being the
sister of the King of England and the King of France, whose majesty was
represented by the Duke de Longueville." Then John de Selva, President
of Normandy, spoke, and said that the King of France was willing to take
the Princess Mary to wife, and the Bishop of Durham read the French
letters patent. When these discourses were ended, the Duke de
Longueville, representing the person of the French King, taking the
Princess by the right hand, read the marriage contract in French[271];
after which the Princess, taking the Duke's right hand in hers, read her
contract[272] in the same tongue. The Duke then signed the "schedule,"
and after him the Princess signed "Mary," and that done, Longueville
delivered to her a golden ring which she placed on the fourth finger of
her right hand. By this time it was nearly mid-day, and the King went to
Mass in procession headed by the lords walking two and two, and clad in
silk gowns of their own fashion with gold collars as massive as chains,
"two dukes of the realm walked together clad in gowns of cloth of gold,"
and last came the Venetian ambassador next the King as a mark of honour,
and paired with the Archbishop of Canterbury.[273] Henry wore a gown of
cloth of gold and ash-colour satin in chequers, with certain jewelled
embroidery, after his usual fashion, of beaten gold appliqué to the
brocade, and a most costly collar round his neck. With him, nearly in a
line but slightly behind, walked the Duke de Longueville, wearing a gown
of cloth of gold and purple satin in chequers, and a most beautiful
collar. After the King came the Queen, who was pregnant, also in
ash-colour satin with chains and jewels, and on her head a cap of cloth
of gold covering the ears in the Venetian fashion, and beside her walked
the bride in a petticoat of ash-colour satin, and a gown of purple satin
and cloth of gold in chequers. She also had a Venetian cap and many
chains and jewels, and was accompanied by many ladies. After Mass came a
banquet, followed by a return to the same room where the ceremony had
taken place, and there, to the harmonious sounds of flute, harp, pipe,
and violetta, they danced for two hours, the King and the Duke of
Buckingham dancing in their doublets, and the tunes were so merry that
Badoer, old as he was, felt tempted to throw off his gown and follow
Henry's example. Whether it was before, after, or during the dance, at
some moment the marriage was formally concluded _per verba de præsenti_,
and the bride, in the presence of many witnesses, undressed and went to
bed. "The Marquis of Rothelin (the Duke de Longueville), in his doublet
with a pair of red hose, but with one leg naked, went into bed and
touched the Princess with his naked leg, and the marriage was declared
consummated."[274] After the dance, refreshments were served, and the
King and Queen departed, and the Archbishop of York [Wolsey], the Duke
de Longueville, Badoer, the lord of St John's [_i.e._ the prior of St
John of Jerusalem in England], and other noblemen went to the house
given by the King to the Duke, a good bowshot from the palace, but
within the park walls. There the legal instrument was signed and
mutually ratified.[275] Then wines were served, and the Venetian
ambassador, and the nobleman who had fetched him in the morning, with
the lord of St John's, took their leave and returned home by barge,
"making good cheer by the way."
[268] C. S. P. Venice, ii. 464.
[269] C. S. P. Venice, ii. 505.
[270] _Ibid._
[271] L. and P. H. VIII., i. 5322; Vitell. C. xi. 167.
[272] _Ibid._
[273] C. S. P. Venice, ii. 505.
[274] L. and P. H. VIII., i. 5337, Harl. MSS. 3462, f. 142.
[275] Rymer's Fœdera, xiii. 444.
What were Mary's feelings? In spite of the Flemish agent's report, it is
not necessary to believe that she had been deeply wounded by the
breaking off of the Flemish marriage, or that she had ever been in love
with the Prince. But it is well known that she gave a reluctant consent
to the French marriage, and that her reluctance was said to have its
root in her attachment to the Duke of Suffolk, who three months ago had
been still a suitor for the hand of Margaret of Savoy. Did the two
deserted ones console each the other? It is not at all impossible that
mutual sympathy brought them into greater intimacy, and that Mary fell
in love with the Duke then, for where the experienced duchess fell, what
hope was there for the young princess! That Suffolk wanted to marry her
there can be no doubt, but his career and experience made it impossible
that he should plunge into love with Mary's enthusiasm. He had already
had two wives, of whom one was still living, and, put down in black and
white, the story of his marriages is hardly respectable. When he was Sir
Charles Brandon he made a contract of marriage "with a gentlewoman,
Mistress Anne Browne, and before any solemnization of that marriage not
only had a daughter by her, which after was married to the Lord Powes,
but also brake promise with her and married the Lady Mortimer, which
marriage the said Anne Browne judicially accused to be unlawful, for
that the said Sir Charles Brandon had made a pre-contract with her and
carnally known her. Which being duly proved, sentence of divorce was
given, and he married solemnly the said Mistress Anne Browne; at which
marriage all the nobility were present and did honour it; and afterwards
had by her another daughter, who was married to the Lord Mounteagle.
After this the said Mrs Anne Browne continued with him all her life as
his wife, and died his wife, without impeachment of that marriage."[276]
But these matters would not influence Mary, for, besides the fact that
the English were notoriously loose about marriage, she was in love, and
that hid everything. When Henry, at the last moment (and it can be taken
for granted that as secrecy was necessary Mary knew little till then),
told her of her destiny, he had the greatest difficulty in persuading
her to it. She rebelled vehemently against marriage with an "old,
feeble, and pocky" man of fifty-six, for her ladies would not mince
their words with niceness when it came to descriptions. But Henry showed
her that it could not be for long; Louis had been ill for years now
(grisly reasoning for a girl of eighteen), and once a widow she would be
free to marry whom she would, if she would only do his pleasure this
once. Longueville painted the delights of the French Court, the centre
of all light and fashion, and the honour of being queen of it, while her
pride, wounded by the Flemish treatment, was glad to be able to return
so speedy a Roland for their Oliver. Once she had allowed herself to be
dazzled into consenting, things were hurried on, and she had not a
chance for reflection; there was nothing but dancing, banquets, and
feasts from the day of her marriage to that of her departure,[277]
varied by visits from Jehan de Paris,[278] painter and designer of
frocks, and from Marigny,[279] her husband's _maître d'hôtel_, with
presents and letters from the King. One day he arrived at the Court
preceded by a white horse laden with two coffers both full of gifts for
her,[280] and she was soon reconciled to her lot, and was "so pleased to
be Queen of France that she did not care that the French King was an old
man and gouty."[281] She was not going to France "en dame de petite
étoffe,"[282] and if her first trousseau was to have been in all things
queenly and honourable, this one eclipsed it, in measure as the dignity
of a queen of France eclipsed that of a princess of Castile. The greater
number of her gowns were made in the French fashion, but six were
Milanese and eight were English, with tight sleeves. Her jewels were
magnificent, and justified her father's reputation of having harvested
those of many impecunious princes. Diamonds, caboché and cut, "tables
and points," pearls, balas rubies sparkled in bracelets, pendants,
baldrics, rings. Her device of four roses set with diamonds appeared in
various forms, and the fleur de lys was not absent, and her frontlets
were of pearls. Her bejewelled plate, her hangings, her bedroom and her
chapel appointments, were of the costliest, and the glitter of the
fashionable cloth of gold was over all.[283] Small wonder that the
excitement of the preparations and the pleasure of possessions
reconciled Mary to her fate, as her chosen "word" might indicate, "La
volonté de Dieu me suffit." Besides the jewels of the trousseau, Mary
received many marriage presents from France, and Louis sent her,
amongst other things, a marvellous diamond pendant, which roused to
admiration the jewellers of the Row, to whom it was unknown even by
reputation.[284]
[276] Julius F. vi. 409.
[277] C. S. P. Venice, ii. 500.
[278] L. and P. H. VIII., i. 5462; Calig. D. vi. 141.
[279] L. and P. H. VIII., i. 5462; Calig. D. vi. 141.
[280] C. S. P. Venice, ii. 505.
[281] _Ibid._, ii. 482.
[282] Fleurange, Hist. Louis XII.; Petitot Collection de
Mémoires, p. 265.
[283] L. and P. H. VIII., i. 5491-2; Vitell. C. xi. f. 158.
[284] C. S. P. Venice, ii. 500.
[Illustration: LOUIS XII ENGRAVED BY A. BERTHOLD FROM HIS TOMB IN
THE ABBEY OF ST. DENIS]
A few days after the marriage ceremony the French ambassadors set out
for France to carry the news of their successful mission. They did not
go empty-handed. The General and his son had been well rewarded, and
Longueville, no longer a prisoner, had an order on Cavalcanti, the
Italian merchant and banker, for £2000,[285] Henry's present on the
occasion of the marriage, when he also gave him his embroidered gown.
From Canterbury Mary received what was probably her first letter as
Queen of France. "Aujourd'hui," wrote Longueville, "M. le général et moi
avons eu des lettres du roi qu'il nous écrit que le plus grand désire
qu'il a c'est de savoir de vos nouvelles, et qu'il trouve
merveilleusement bon le lieu d'Abbeville pour vous trouver ensemble
ainsi qu'il a été accordé, et que là sans point de faute vous le
trouverez délibéré de vous bien recevoir. Et ferai, Madame, la plus
grande diligence qu'il me sera possible d'aller divers lui pour lui
dé[livrer] de vos nouvelles. Et toujours ainsi que j'en saurai des
siennes vous en advertirai ainsi que vous m'avez commandé, vous
suppliant très humblement, Madame, qu'il vous plaise me commander
toujours vos bons plaisirs pour les accomplir comme celui qui désire
vous faire service. Madame, il y a un marchant nommé Jehan Cavalcanty,
dem[eurant] à Londres lequel à mon affaire m'a fait service. Il a
quelque affaire envers le roi votre frère. Je vous supplie qu'il vous
[plaise], Madame, lui être aidant envers le dit et l'avoir pour [ ...
]. Madame je prie à notre Seigneur qu'il vous donne très bonne
v[ie]."[286] Bohier also wrote. On their arrival at Estampes, where was
the King, their description of Mary, "the prettiest girl in Europe," and
probably also the difficulty about Tournay, moved Louis to write to ask
for her speedy delivery into his hands. "Faîtes mes recommandations," he
wrote to Wolsey, "au roi mon frère, votre maître, et lui dites que je
lui prie m'envoyer sa sœur le plus tôt que faire se pourra, et qu'il me
fera en ce faisant singulier plaisir."[287] The same day Longueville
wrote to Mary, "Que le roi s'ennuie de ce que ne lui écrites de vos
nouvelles et aussi que votre cas ne se dépêche pas par delà si tôt qu'il
voudrait bien, pourquoi, Madame, je vous supplie très humblement que lui
veuillez écrire et tout faire par delà que le plus tôt que pourrez vous
en puisse venir, car plus grand plaisir ne lui saurez faire en ce monde.
Et en surplus, Madame, votre plaisir sera me mander et commander vos
bons plaisirs pour les accomplir. Madame je prie à Dieu qu'il vous donne
très bonne vie et longue."[288] So Mary, with the help of John
Palsgrave, wrote a formal little letter in French, of which this is a
translation:--
"Sir, very humbly I recommend me unto your grace. I have received
the letters which it has pleased you to write to me with your own
hand, and heard what my cousin the Duke de Longueville has told
me from you, in which I take great joy, felicity, and pleasure,
for which and for the honour which it has pleased you to do to
me I hold myself ever indebted and obliged to you, and thank you
as cordially as I can. And because by my cousin you will hear how
all things have taken their end and conclusion, and the very
singular desire that I have to see you, I forbear to write to you
a longer letter. For the rest, Sir, praying our Creator to give
you health and long life,--By the hand of your humble companion,
MARY."[289]
[285] L. and P. H. VIII., ii.; Book of Payments, August 1514.
[286] L. and P. H. VIII., i. 5329; Calig. D. vi. 137.
[287] Vitell. C. xvi. f. 145.
[288] L. and P. H. VIII., i. 5373; Calig. D. vi. 142.
[289] Bethune MSS., Bib. du Roi, Paris, quoted by Mrs Green in
"Lives of the Princesses of England," vol. v. p. 34.
On September 14, in the church of the Celestines at Paris, after Mass,
Louis went through the marriage ceremony with Mary's proctor, the Earl
of Worcester. The Dauphin, Longueville, John Stuart, Duke of Albany,
Robertet, the treasurer, were there, with many others, and the next day,
in Les Tournelles, in the faubourg St Antoine, the King appeared before
the Bishop of Paris and bound himself to the payment of a million gold
ducats to Henry VIII., and in default to be excommunicated.[290] That
was the last of the formalities; all had now been complied with, and
Louis was eager to see the wife he had heard so much about. So he wrote
to Wolsey again urging that she should be sent over as soon as possible,
for to have her across the sea was all his desire, and thanking Wolsey
for all the trouble that had been taken with "l'appareil et les choses,"
which he understood were exquisitely beautiful.[291] He enclosed a
letter to Mary, who replied: "Monseigneur, Bien humblement a votre bonne
grace, je me recommende. Monseigneur j'ai par Monseigneur l'evêque de
Lincoln reçu les très affectueuses lettres qu'il vous a plu naguères
m'écrire, qui m'ont été a très grant joye et confort, vous assurant,
Monseigneur, qu'il n'y a rien que tant je désire que de vous voir. Et le
Roi, Monseigneur et frère, fait tout extrème diligence pour mon allée
delà la mer, qui au plaisir de Dieu sera brière. Vous suppléant,
Monseigneur, me vouloir cependant pour ma très singulière consolation
souvent faire savoir de vos nouvelles, ensemble vos bons et agréables
plaisirs pour vous y obéir et complaire, aidant notre Créateur qui vous
donne, Monseigneur, bonne vie et longuement bien prosperer. De la main
de vre bien humble compaigne.
MARIE."[292]
[290] L. and P. H. VIII., i. 5408. R.O.
[291] _Ibid._, i. 5462; Calig. D. vi. 141.
[292] Ellis's "Original Letters," 1st series, vol. i. p. 113.
What kind of a man was Mary to be consigned to? A recent French writer
gives the following description of his character drawn from contemporary
sources:--"D'esprit médiocre, pas eloquent ni savant, mais plein de bons
sens, c'était comme le grandgouzier de Rabelais, un type de 'bon
raillard,' aimant à boire et à rire, orné des vertues bourgeoises et
pratiques, dont il ne lui manquait pas une, même la fidélité à sa femme,
et pour le reste, plein de bonté, de loyauté, d'amabilité, de rondeur;
point de rancune, la gaîté cordiale, les goûts charitables, les
sentiments serieusement chrétiens, sans ostentation, ni tendance au
merveilleux: homme tout cœur qui ne pensait qu'à son peuple."[293] He
knew and admired Italian art and writers, and welcomed them at his
Court, but with no frenzied admiration. He was, above all things,
reasonable, normal, and commonplace. To his first wife Jeanne he had
been forcibly married by her father, Louis XI. She is said to have been
a crippled angel, and the first thing Louis did on his accession was to
obtain a divorce from her from Alexander VI., "l'argent entra en ligne,"
and all was easy with the Borgia; and then to marry Anne of Brittany,
the widow of his cousin and predecessor, Charles VIII. She was a not
unusual mixture of piety and arrogance, and a thousand times more
Duchess of Brittany than she was Queen of France to the day of her
death. Like Katharine of England, time and again, in spite of prayers,
promises, and pilgrimages, her hopes of a male heir were dashed, and she
only left two daughters to survive her, the elder of whom, Claude, after
having been grudgingly betrothed to Francis d'Angoulême, who was in open
antagonism to Anne, was married to him a few months after her mother's
death. Renée, the younger, the child of many prayers, called for St
René, to whom her father had vowed his child, was the princess who had
so often been en concurrence with Mary in Flanders. Since his wife's
death and his own continued illness Louis had allowed the Dauphin, as
Francis d'Angoulême was now called, to meddle in affairs of state, for,
after all, vain-glorious and incapable of viewing things from any but an
absolutely personal vantage as he was, the young man was more than
likely to become King of France, and must serve his apprenticeship, and
now nothing was done without his advice. He was furious with Longueville
for his part in bringing about the English marriage, "il en sceut bien
mauvais gré,"[294] but made up his mind to carry the thing off well, "et
voullust bien montrer qu'il n'estoit pas mal content de ce marriage,"
and threw himself heartily into the preparations for Mary's reception,
confident that his position was saved by the senile condition of the
King's bodily powers, and frankly interested in his favourite occupation
of organizing gorgeous spectacles. The Court Mary was about to enter was
no harmonious one, for Louise de Savoie and her son were centres of
disaffection, and Claude de France and her father were eclipsed by the
magnificence of the hôtel d'Angoulême, the treasurer of France,
Robertet, pandering to the Dauphin's boyish extravagance in clothes and
advancing money to pay his colossal tailor bills. Mary would find
herself the centre of all kinds of intrigue, from which the kindly
nature of her husband could hardly protect her, though, as Worcester
wrote, "he hath a marvellous mind to content and please the Queen."[295]
He awaited her coming in great good humour with seven coffers of jewels
and other treasures beside him, and "au logic du roy il ne feust plus
question de deuil."[296] Worcester wrote that "there is nothing that can
displease him, and he hath provided jewels and goodly gear for her.
There was in his chamber the Archbishop of Paris, Robertet, and the
General and I, where he showed me the goodliest and richest sight of
jewels that ever I saw. I would not have believed it if I had not seen
it."[297] All things were for her, said the King, "but merrily laughing,
'my wife shall not have all at once, but at divers times, for he would
have many and at divers times kisses and thanks for them.' I assure you
he thinketh every hour a day till he seeth her. He is never well but
when he heareth speak of her. I make no doubt she will have a good life
with him by the grace of God."
[293] "Louise de Savoie," by Maulde la Clavière, p. 116.
[294] Fleurange, _op. cit._, p. 269.
[295] L. and P. H. VIII., i. 5468; Calig. D. vi. 198.
[296] Fleurange, Hist. Louis XII.; Petitot Collection de
Mémoires, p. 267.
[297] L. and P. H. VIII., i. 5468; Calig. D. vi. 198.
And on the other side of the channel poor Mary would willingly have made
every hour a day before her departure. Two or three days before she left
London "all the merchants of every nation went to Court. The Queen
desired to see them all and gave her hand to each of them. She wore a
gown in the French fashion of woven gold, very costly; she is very
beautiful and has not her match in England, is a young woman sixteen
years old, tall, fair, and of light complexion with a colour, and most
affable and graceful. On her neck was a jewelled diamond as large and as
broad as a full-sized finger, with a pear-shaped pearl beneath it, the
size of a pigeon's egg, which jewel had been sent her as a present by
the King of France.... And the jewellers of the Row, whom the King
desired to value it, estimated its worth at 60,000 crowns. It was
marvellous that the existence of this diamond and pearl should never
have been known; it was believed that they belonged to the late King of
France, or to the Duke of Brittany, the father of the late Queen." "On
bidding farewell to the merchants she made them many offers, speaking a
few words in French and delighting everybody. The whole Court now speaks
French and English, as in the time of the late King."[298]
[298] C. S. P. Venice, ii. 500.
Mary's ladies had been chosen from among her companions by Wolsey, and
on August 7, when the marriage treaty was signed, the ladies had been
arranged for also. The paper was evidently taken to France for the
King's signature, for it is in the British Museum signed "Loys," and
dated, in a contemporary English hand, August 8, 1514.[299] Their names
are: Mademoiselle Grey, sister of the Marquis [of Dorset], Mademoiselle
Mary Fenes, daughter of Lord Dacres [of Hurst Monceaux], Mademoiselle
Elizabeth, sister of Lord Grey [de Wilton?], Mademoiselle Boleyne [Anne,
not Mary, in spite of Dr Brewer], Mistress Anne Jerningham, _femme de
chambre_, Jean Barnes, _chamberière_. These were the ladies "contracted
for." But later on more were added without reference to Louis' pleasure:
old Lady Guildford, Elizabeth Ferrers, Anne Devereux, M. Wotton, Anne
Denys, and evidently others. Dr Denton, her old friend, went as her
almoner, and John Palsgrave as her secretary. "Mother" Guildford came
from her retirement to go with her former charge as lady of honour, for
she spoke French well, and would be able, as Henry told Mary, to advise
the _jeune mariée_ in the perplexing situations which might arise. At
the suit of Longueville[300] Louis suggested that Jane Popincourt should
be among his wife's ladies, for he understood that "the Queen loveth and
trusteth her above all the gentlewomen about her," but on Worcester
telling him of her evil life he said that "if the King made her to be
brent, it should be a good deed," and Longueville's scheme fell through.
Louis said there should be never man nor woman about his wife but such
as should be at her contentation, but later on he judged their fitness
by another standard. As the Duke of Suffolk could not go with her, the
Duke of Norfolk was to present Mary to her husband, and with him were
many nobles and ladies; notably the Marquis of Dorset and his four
brethren, Lord de la Warr, Lord Mounteagle, the Bishop of Durham, with
many bannerets and esquires. The Duchess of Norfolk and the Countess of
Oxford were with the Duke, and the Marchioness of Dorset and Lady
Mounteagle accompanied their husbands. The company was chosen by Wolsey,
and several of Suffolk's friends were included. Thomas Wriothesley,
Garter King at Arms, with Richmond Herald, went to see that all things
were in order, and fifty officers of the King's household were
transferred to his sister's.
[299] L. and P. H. VIII. i. 5484; Vitell. C. xi. 155.
[300] _Ibid._, i. 5468; Calig. D. vi. 198.
On September 19 all these "gros princes et dames et gros personages" set
out for Dover, accompanied by what remained of the Court to the water's
edge. "There would be about a thousand palfreys, and a hundred women's
carriages," wrote Lorenzo Pasqualigo, merchant of Venice in London, to
his brother. "There were so many gowns of woven gold, and with gold
grounds, housings for the horses and palfreys of the same material, and
chains and jewels, that they were worth a vast amount of treasure; and
some of the noblemen in this company, to do themselves honour, had spent
as much as 200,000 crowns each. Many of the merchants proposed going to
Dover to see this fine sight."[301] The Court rode in leisurely fashion
to the coast at Dover. Mary was expected in France, where no business
save rejoicings for the wedding was attended to, on the 29th, and John
Heron[302] had pressed the ships for her crossing by that date, and the
fleet had scoured the channel to east and west, but it was not till
October 2 that she set sail for Boulogne. Henry had meant to have gone
ten miles out to sea with her in the "Harry Grace à Dieu,[303] but the
weather was too threatening, so he bade his sister good-bye at the
water-edge, his last words being a renewal of his promise about her
second marriage, and hers a passionate reminder. The fleet set sail, and
had not gone far before the fulfilment of her first marriage became for
the moment problematic, for they "had not sailed a quarter of their
voyage in the sea but that the wind rose and severed the ships, driving
some of them to Calais, some into Flanders, and her ship and three
others with great difficulty were brought to Boulogne, not without great
jeopardy at the entering of the haven, for the master ran the ship hard
on shore. But the boats were ready and received the lady out of the
ship, and Sir Christopher Garnish ['strong, sturdy stallion, so sterne
and so stowsty'] strode into the water, and took her in his arms and
bare her to land, where the Duke of Vendôme, and a cardinal with many
other great estates, received her with great honour."[304] At least one
ship of the fleet was lost, "The Great Elizabeth," at Sandgate, close to
Calais, and Sir Weston Browne, the captain, and not a hundred men
escaped out of a company of five hundred.
[301] C. S. P. Venice, ii. 500.
[302] L. and P. H. VIII., ii. 68.
[303] C. S. P. Venice, ii. 503.
[304] Stowe's Chronicle, _ed._ 1592, pp. 828 _et seq._
The useful Marigny[305] at once sent notice to Louis at Abbeville of the
Queen's arrival, and thither, after a short interval of rest, long
enough to squeeze the sea water from her clothes, went Mary, accompanied
all the way by Longueville, who "made her good cheer," Lautrec, the
Bishop of Bayeux, and a large company, and joined on the way by the Duke
d'Angoulême, whom the English annoyed by calling "M. le duc," instead
of "Monsieur" _tout court_. On the 8th the company was within a few
miles of Abbeville, and at St Nicholas d'Essarts[306] the princes left
Mary to rest and change and put herself in order, while they rode on to
Abbeville to announce her coming to the King. Louis was curious to see
her, but etiquette forbade his going to meet her, so he sent back the
Dauphin to meet her a mile or so out of the town, with MM. d'Alençon, de
Longueville, de Lautrec, de la Tremouille, saying that he intended to
happen along the road hawking with his falcons, and would accidentally
meet the Queen at such and such a place, and Mary was to know nothing of
his intention. At the place appointed, a wide plain a little over a mile
away, the Dauphin met Mary riding a white palfrey, and wearing a dress
of cloth of gold on crimson, her shaggy hat of crimson silk cocked over
her left eye, and detained her there talking till some horsemen came in
sight. They were the King, the Cardinals of Auch and Bayeux, M. de
Vendôme, the Duke of Albany, Count Galeazzo di San Severino, the master
of horse, and others. Louis wore a short riding dress of the same stuff
as the Queen's, a sure sign that the meeting had really been
pre-arranged, for at this time it was the fashion when Kings and Queens
appeared together in public that their garments should always be made of
the same material. He rode as jauntily as he could a beautiful Spanish
horse, whose barb was of cloth of gold and black satin in chequers. As
he came up he gallantly kissed his hand to Mary and expressed his
surprise at this chance meeting, and Mary doffed her hat when told who
this was, and kissed her hand to the King, who then brought his horse
close up to her palfrey and "threw his arm round her neck and kissed
her as kindly as if he had been five and twenty." After a few words with
her he greeted the princes and gentlemen of her company, and then,
saying that he would continue his hunting, he departed and returned home
by another way.[307] He looked exceedingly ill, and Mary seems to have
found him worse than she had imagined. After Louis had gone the
procession was formed. It led off with fifty of Mary's esquires dressed
in silks of several sorts, all wearing the inevitable gold collar or
chain. Next came the Duke of Norfolk, with the ambassadors and noblemen
two and two, all wearing enormous gold chains (some cost as much as
£600), some doubling and trebling them round their necks, others wearing
them "prisoner fashion," and all having velvet bonnets of different
colours. Garter King at Arms and Richmond Herald in their tabards
followed, with eight trumpeters in crimson damask, and macers with gilt
maces surmounted by a royal crown; then two grooms in short doublets of
cloth of gold and black velvet, with velvet caps, each leading a
palfrey, and after these, two other palfreys ridden by pages. Then came
the Queen on her white palfrey, with the Dauphin always at her side, and
at her stirrup her running footmen, followed immediately by her litter
of cloth of gold, embroidered with gold lilies in wrought gold. On the
back and front of it were the French lilies and the parti-coloured roses
of York and Lancaster, while on the sides above and below were dolphins
and more red and white roses. This was borne by two large horses trapped
to match the litter and ridden by two pages in livery. Next followed the
ladies: first a party riding, gay in silks and gold brocades, and then
four in a carriage covered with gold brocade patterned in large flowers,
and drawn by six horses trapped to match. Then more ladies on palfreys,
and another carriage, and after that more palfreys, all decked and
trapped in gold brocade and murrey velvet, with running footmen, and
then ten palfreys more in the same stuffs with pale blue and white
fringe. Last of all came 200 English archers marching two and two in
three divisions; the first were in doublets of green satin and surcoats
and belts of black velvet, with shaggy red and white hats; the second
wore black doublets and shaggy white hats; the third black with grey
hats. But this was not all. About half a mile out of the town the chief
men of Abbeville met the Queen with 150 men, archers, musketeers, and
arbalestmen, all in red and yellow, and with them the captain of the
town and thirty men in his own livery. These fell in at the head of the
procession, which had swelled to considerable dimensions before it
reached the suburbs. At Nôtre Dame de la Chapelle without the walls
there seems to have been a short halt to allow Mary to make final
preparations for her entry, and here she was met by the clergy. It was
now about four o'clock, and a sharp shower fell, drenching them all,
especially the ladies, and, indeed, "of water from heaven there was no
lack until the evening, which caused some regret." The procession again
formed up. "First went a good number of archers, musketeers and
arbalestmen of the town, all in their livery of red and yellow; next the
Prévôt de l'Hôtel with his archers; then the 400 archers of the Guard
(on foot) with their captains, followed by the Grand Seneschal of
Normandy, with the gentlemen about eighty in number, including the
princes and grandees, who might amount to as many as twenty-five, in
gallant trim of various sorts and many in gold brocade." The Queen came
next, riding under a canopy of white satin embroidered above and around
with roses, and supported by two porcupines which the clergy had
prepared for her, and which was borne by the officers of the town. Her
dress was now "of gold brocade with a white gown," made in English
fashion with tight sleeves, "very costly both in jewels and goldsmith
work." She held in her hand a sceptre of white wood, and all round her
under the canopy were her running footmen, while the Scots Guards made a
second circle just outside the canopy. The Dauphin rode just beyond the
edge of her canopy, and they laughed and talked together, for "une si
belle personne tout or et diamants plut fort au duc de Valois."[308] The
reality of all this magnificence far exceeded the description, wrote the
Venetian ambassador, "to the great glory of the Queen." Abbeville
welcomed her with enthusiasm, and trumpets, clarions, bells and
artillery all vied in making the noise without which jubilation is
impossible. The people were delighted with her, and admired her fair
beauty and gentle manners, for they were not all so critical as the
Venetian ambassador, who at once spotted what he called the weak point
in her face, its light eyebrows and eyelashes. Under clangour of bells
and blare of trumpets, and amid the press of her new subjects, Mary,
still a little pale from her recent fatigues and stormy crossing, rode
through the Porte Marcade down the wet _chaussée,_ all hung with
tapestries now damp with rain, meeting Mysteries and Moralities at every
corner, till she came to the Church of St Wolfran, Abbeville's patron
saint, where she dismounted to give thanks. On the Place where was
Mary's lodging her most trying ordeal was before her, for there awaited
her Madame Claude, who had been "slightly indisposed and unable to go
out of the town to meet her." Mary was of those who thinketh little
evil, and her kind heart was moved at the sight of that white, plain
face, with its sweet expression, and she met her then, as later, "with
the utmost courtesy and honour and very lovingly."[309] The Venetians,
who delighted in spectacles, give no account of Mary's formal
presentation to her husband, and for that reason I inclined to the
belief that Gaguin's[310] account is apocryphal, and that Mary was
allowed to sup in peace and rest before the ball given by the Duke and
Duchess of Brittany (as François and Claude were called by the English)
in the evening. Neither do their letters mention the homage to St
Wolfran, but to give thanks at the parish church was usual on such
occasions and not likely to have been omitted. What a day for a girl of
nineteen to have passed through! No wonder she looked a little pale and
weary, but her spirits never flagged nor her amazing energy, and she
showed her usual zest in dancing and listening to songs and music. Her
people said she cared for nothing in the world so much as dancing and
singing, and that night she danced and smiled her way into the hearts of
the whole Court, "for she conducts herself with so much grace and has
such good manners." The enthusiastic Venetian exclaimed, "She is a
paradise!" and envied the King. The ball must have been a sumptuous
affair. English and French noblemen vied with one another in
magnificence, and their ladies, too, were glittering with jewels and
brocades, but in this trial by glory San Severino was easily the
handsomest in his gown of cloth of gold lined with superb sables. The
stuff for it, ordered specially from Florence, had only arrived the day
before, to the despair of the tailors, who had had to work all night to
have it ready for Sunday's doings.
[305] L. and P. H. VIII., i. 5469; Calig. E. i. 79.
[306] "Lives of the Princesses of England," v. p. 41.
[307] C. S. P. Venice, ii. 511.
[308] "Louise de Savoie," by La Maulde Clavière, p. 369.
[309] C. S. P. Venice, ii. 509, 510, 511, for description of
whole episode.
[310] Gaguin, Chronique de France.
While one end of the town was dancing and singing, in the poorer quarter
across the river men were fighting flames for their lives and homes.
Fire had seized the wooden hovels, and no help was to be expected from
the King's men, for the tocsin was not allowed to disturb the King's
amusements. Thickly curtained windows shut out the sight of the flames
from the court, while the Italians in the house of the Venetian
ambassador watched their progress with vehement prayers for
deliverance.[311] The high wind fanned them, and many of the houses were
burnt down before the sounds of royal merriment ceased; but God was
merciful to the Italians, and the flames were got under before they
leapt the river. Thus by shipwreck and by fire was Mary's new life
ushered in.
[311] C. S. P. Venice, ii. 511.