THE BUILDING OF BROU
Besides her many poems Margaret has perpetuated the memory of the
chief phases in her life by means of devices, a symbolical language
much in vogue in the Middle Ages.
When she returned to Flanders, after her first marriage with Charles
VIII. was annulled, the device she chose was a high mountain with a
hurricane raging round the summit, and underneath, 'Perflant altissima
venti.' This device ingeniously expressed the idea that those in a
high position are more exposed than others to the winds of adversity.
After the death of Prince John of Castile and her child, Margaret
adopted another device, a tree laden with fruit, struck in half by
lightning, with this inscription, 'Spoliat mors munera nostra.' This
device is attributed to Strada.
Lastly, as the widow of Duke Philibert, she composed the famous motto
which we find reproduced everywhere on the tombs, walls, woodwork, and
stained-glass windows of the church at Brou:
FORTUNE.INFORTUNE.FORT.UNE.
And this was her last motto, which she kept to the end. This
enigmatical inscription has been variously interpreted. Cornelius
Agrippa, her panegyrist, and Gropheus, Chevalier d'Honneur to the
princess, who composed a Latin poem in her praise in 1532, saw no
other meaning in this device than the résumé of her life... a
plaything of fortune; and they explain the word 'infortune' by the
third person of the present indicative of the verb 'infortuner,'
Fortuna Infortunat Fortiter Unam--'La fortune infortune (tries,
persecutes) fort une femme.' Guichenon adopts this version and says
the princess composed her device 'to show that she had been much
persecuted by fortune, having been repudiated by Charles VIII., and
having lost both her husbands, the Prince of Castile, and the Duke of
Savoy. This,' he adds, 'is the true meaning of this device, although
another interpretation has been given to it: Fortune Infortune
Fortune. Fortune to have been affianced to the King of France,
misfortune to have been repudiated by him, and fortune to have married
the Duke of Savoy; but this explanation does not agree with the
device.' In fact, it is not admissible, for it supposes the device to
be composed of three words only, whilst on the marble it is clearly
composed of four:
FORTUNE.INFORTUNE.FORT.UNE.
The small church of the monastery of Brou, founded in the beginning of
the tenth century by Saint Gérard, had a great reputation for
holiness. It was here the bodies of Philibert and his mother were
laid. Margaret's thoughts were constantly occupied with the monument
she wished to erect to her husband's memory, the magnificence of which
should satisfy her artistic taste. She proposed devoting her dowry to
this object in order to raise the necessary funds. Philibert's brother
had succeeded to the ducal crown under the title of Charles III., but
the state of the duchy's finances made it difficult for him to pay
Margaret's dowry, which consisted of 12,000 écus d'or per annum in
French coin, or in lieu of this sum the usufruct of Bresse and the
provinces of Vaud and Faucigny. Charles III. on his accession had
found the revenues greatly reduced; besides Margaret's dowry, three
other dowager-princesses enjoyed the income from a great part of his
estates. Blanche de Montferrat, widow of Charles I., had the best part
of Piedmont; Le Bugey was in the hands of Claudine of Brittany, widow
of Duke Philip; lastly, Louise of Savoy received the largest portion
of Chablais. This was the state of things when Margaret complained of
the insufficiency of the revenues from the properties of Bresse, Vaud,
and Faucigny, revenues far from equivalent to the sum of 12,000 écus
d'or per annum according to the terms of her marriage contract. As
Charles remained deaf to her complaints, Margaret had recourse to her
father, and travelled to Germany to persuade Maximilian to give her
his support. Charles at last agreed to send four jurisconsuls
empowered to arrange this business. During the meetings which took
place at Strasburg, Margaret explained the motives which made her
insist on the fulfilment of the clauses with reference to her dowry.
'Her intention being to found a church and monastery on the site of
the Priory of Brou, the resting-place of the Lady Margaret of Bourbon
and Duke Philibert, she must needs collect all her resources to meet
the expense which such an endowment would require. She also pointed
out that, according to the Lady Margaret of Bourbon's will, the church
and monastery were to be erected at the expense of her heirs and
successors. Now this charge falling on Duke Charles, he could not
conscientiously dispense with carrying out his mother's last wishes,
but as she, Margaret, offered to fulfil this task at her own expense,
he was ill-advised to dispute with her what was legally her due.
Charles III.'s envoys had nothing to say to this argument excepting
the state of penury and embarrassment in which their master found
himself.'
At last, on the 5th of May 1505, in the presence of Maximilian, a
treaty was signed in the hall of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem
at Strasburg, by which Duke Charles granted to Margaret the county of
Villars and the Seignory of Gourdans, with all rights of government as
well as power of redeeming the mortgaged lands of Bresse to the amount
of 1200 florins. After the ratification of this treaty Margaret
returned to the castle of Pont-d'Ain and prepared to carry out her
plans.
She first called her Council together and explained her intentions.
Margaret of Bourbon's vow was to build a church in honour of Saint
Benedict, but as this order had already become lax, Margaret wished
that the church and monastery should be placed under the protection of
St. Nicolas de Tolentin, who had lately been canonised, and was noted
for the number of miracles worked by his intercession, and for whom
she felt a particular devotion.
The princess's Council, foreseeing the enormous expense which the
execution of this plan would involve, tried to dissuade her from it,
and endeavoured to turn her mind to completing the church of
Notre-Dame de Bourg, which Jean de Loriol was then building. At the
time of the young duke's death they had promised to bring his body to
rest in the Abbey of Haute-Combe near the Dukes of Savoy, his
predecessors. But she would not listen to this argument, and replied
'that she had been informed of the vow which the late lord and lady,
her husband's parents, had made to found a monastery of the order of
St. Augustine on the site of Brou, but the former, after he
succeeded, forgot to fulfil it, and neglected the duty of
accomplishing his vow, and that it had pleased God to take her lord
and husband in his youth in such a way that he had not leisure nor
time to fulfil his father and mother's vow, but that she, with the
help of God, would do so.'[22]
[22] Paradin, _Chronique de Savoie_.
The series of objections from the Council, and Margaret's firm
determination, are still more apparent in the following quaint
dialogue recorded by a witness in Paradin's _Chronique de
Savoie_:--'When several prominent people pointed out that as she was
the daughter of a great Emperor, and had been Queen of France, and had
since married so great and famous a Prince, she would be put to heavy
and intolerable expense in order to accomplish something worthy of her
greatness, she replied that God would take care of the expense. They,
moreover, said to her: "Madame, possibly you regret that the body of
Madame, his mother, is buried in this little place of Brou; a
dispensation could easily be procured from the Pope to carry it
elsewhere"; she answered, no dispensation was needed for a thing one
could do oneself; they also put before her that after she had done
what she intended, if a war should break out in this country, the
enemy could retire and quarter themselves there, and from thence fight
the town, which in the end would mean the destruction of the
monastery. Margaret replied: "The power of princes is nowadays so
greatly increased by artillery that should Bourg be besieged there
would be no need to wait for the attack." They then pointed out that
in the church of Notre-Dame de Bourg there was a very fine beginning,
and that if it pleased her to employ what she wished to spend on this
monastery, she would have the prayers of ten million people, for
every one in Bourg goes once a day to pray in the said church of
Notre-Dame. To that my said lady replied, shedding big tears: "You say
truly, and it is my greatest regret, but if I did as you say, the vow
would not be accomplished which by the help of God I shall fulfil."
These are the objections that were made, and the replies which she
gave when they tried to persuade her to give up this enterprise.'
Margaret had already had the plans and estimates drawn up for the
church and monastery of Brou, with the help of Laurent de Gorrevod,
Governor of Bresse. The estimate was given to the workmen in the early
spring of 1505, and the first stone of the sanctuary laid by the
princess herself in the spring of the following year.
On the 11th February 1503 Henry VII. had lost his queen, Elizabeth of
York, who died in the Tower of London, a week after giving birth to
her seventh child. She had been a good and submissive wife to Henry,
whose claim to the throne she had strengthened by her own greater
right. The bereaved husband retired 'heavy and dolorous' to a solitary
place to pass his sorrow, but before many weeks were over he and his
crony De Puebla put their heads together and agreed that the king must
marry again. Amongst other alliances the widowed Queen of Naples was
suggested, but the lady decidedly objected to the marriage. In
November 1504 Queen Isabella of Castile died, and the crown descended
to her weak-minded daughter Joanna. A struggle was seen to be
impending for the regency, and Henry was courted by both sides in the
dispute. He had taken as his motto 'Qui je défends est maître,' and
both Ferdinand, King of Spain, and the Emperor Maximilian were
anxious to win him to their side. Margaret was secretly offered to
Henry as a bride by Philip and Maximilian, and a close alliance
between them proposed. Margaret, with her large dowries from Castile
and Savoy, was now one of the richest princesses in Europe. Whilst
Ferdinand was trying to ingratiate himself with Henry, it was clear to
the astute King of England that he had now more to hope for from
Philip and Maximilian, who were friendly with France, than from
Ferdinand.[23]
[23] Martin Hume, _Queens of Old Spain_.
Early in August 1505 De Puebla went to Richmond to see the Princess of
Wales, and as he entered the palace one of the household told him that
an ambassador had just arrived from the Archduke Philip, King of
Castile, and was waiting for an audience. De Puebla at once conveyed
the news to Katharine, and served as interpreter between the
ambassador and the princess. After delivering greetings from the
Emperor Maximilian, the Archduke Philip, and the Duchess of Savoy, the
ambassador said his mission was a secret one to settle with the King
of England about his marriage with the Duchess of Savoy, of whom he
had brought two portraits. The Princess of Wales wished to see them,
and the ambassador went to fetch them. One was painted on wood, the
other on canvas. The princess was of opinion that Michel would have
made better portraits. She asked the ambassador when the King-Archduke
and the Queen-Archduchess were to leave for Spain. The ambassador
replied as soon as possible, but that he had come to consult the King
of England as to all arrangements.'[24]
[24] It would be interesting to know what became of these
pictures. The portrait of Margaret, now at Hampton Court Palace,
may have been one of them, as in it she is represented wearing a
widow's dress, and the painting is so indifferent that it may
well have called forth Katharine's criticism.
On the 7th January 1506, after having presided at the Chapter of the
Golden Fleece in the old Abbey of Middlebourg, the Archduke Philip,
King of Castile, set out from Zealand with his wife, Queen Joanna,
their second son, Ferdinand, an infant of a few months old, and a
retinue amounting to two or three thousand persons. They embarked
(January 8th) on board a splendid and numerous armada composed of more
than twenty-four vessels, intending to go to Spain. All went well
until the Cornish coast was passed, and then a dead calm fell,
followed by a furious south-westerly gale, which scattered the ships,
and left that on which Philip and Joanna were without any escort. A
gale which lasted thirty-six hours dispersed the fleet. Despair seized
the crew, and all gave themselves up for lost. Philip's attendants
dressed him in an inflated leather garment, upon the back of which was
painted in large letters 'the king, Don Philip,' and thus arrayed he
knelt before a blessed image in prayer, alternating with groans,
expecting every moment would be his last. Joanna is represented by one
contemporary authority as being seated on the ground between her
husband's knees, saying that if they went down she would cling so
closely to him that they should never be separated in death, as they
had not been in life. The Spanish witnesses are loud in her praise in
this danger. 'The queen,' they say, 'showed no signs of fear, and
asked them to bring her a box with something to eat. As some of the
gentlemen were collecting votive gifts to the Virgin of Guadalupe,
they passed the bag to the queen, who, taking out her purse
containing about a hundred doubloons, hunted amongst them until she
found the only half-doubloon there, showing thus how cool she was in
the danger. A king never was drowned yet, so she was not afraid, she
said.'[25]
[25] From a Spanish account in MSS. at the Royal Academy,
Madrid.--Martin Hume, _Queens of Old Spain_.
Sandoval also mentions that Joanna displayed much composure during the
storm. When informed by Philip of their danger, she attired herself in
her richest dress, securing a considerable amount of money to her
person, in order that her body, if found, might be recognised, and
receive the obsequies suited to her rank.
Driven to land at Melcombe Regis, on January 16th, Philip sent to
acquaint Henry VII. with his arrival, calling him 'father,' and
expressing himself desirous of seeing him and his Court. Immediately
the king hastened to show the archducal pair every mark of respect,
and sent letters to gentlemen dwelling near the seaside to attend upon
them, and afterwards despatched palfreys, litters, etc. They were
entertained by Sir Thomas Trenchard at Wolveton in Dorsetshire; and he
is traditionally said to have summoned his kinsman, John Russell, to
assist him, because the latter having been in Spain, was well
qualified to act as interpreter. Portraits of Philip and Joanna have
been preserved in the Trenchard family, as well as a white china bowl
on a foot bound with silver, said to have been left by them at
Wolveton. On the 31st January Henry received the King-Archduke at
Windsor, the two monarchs saluting each other with glad and loving
countenances. The next two days being Sunday and Candlemas were
devoted to religious exercises, and the following week to recreation.
It is curious to read amongst all the state details that when 'the
King of Castile played with the racquet, he gave the Lord Marquis (of
Dorset) fifteen.' On the 9th February Philip was invested with the
Order of the Garter. 'Immediately after mass, certain of the King of
England's and the King of Castile's Council presented their respective
sovereigns with the draft of the treaty of peace, having divers new
articles and confirmations inserted therein. The kings, seated in
their stalls, in St. George's Chapel, signed the writings with their
own hands, and the pledges were solemnly sworn upon a fragment of the
true cross, by which the rebel Earl of Suffolk was to be surrendered
to his doom, and Philip's sister Margaret married to Henry, and
England bound to the King of Castile against Ferdinand of Aragon.'
Joanna was deliberately kept in the background during her stay in
England. She had followed her husband slowly from Melcombe, and
arrived at Windsor ten days later, the day after Philip with great
ceremony had been invested with the Order of the Garter, and had
signed the treaty. On her arrival at Windsor she was welcomed by the
King of England and her sister, the Princess of Wales, though she was
not allowed to see the latter alone. The Cottonian MSS. tells us that
Queen Joanna did not see her sister until just before her departure;
they were not even then more than an hour together, and were never
left alone, and Katharine left the next day for Richmond. 'On the
twelfth the King of England went to Richmond to prepare his house
there for the King of Castile, who joined him on the fourteenth, the
Queen of Castile proceeding on the same day to the seaside to her
ships lying at Dartmouth and Plymouth.' The rest of the time Philip
was at Richmond was spent in recreation, and 'all the season the King
of Castile was in the King of England's Court every holiday.' On the
2nd of March he took his leave, the King of England accompanying him
on his way a mile or more, defraying the charges of all his servants,
and giving rewards.' During the whole time of Philip and Joanna's
sojourn in England their expenses and those of their suites were paid
by the king's officials, and they were entertained with dubious
hospitality for nearly three months. During this time Henry VII.
availed himself of the situation to extort three treaties from his
guest not altogether reconcilable with sound policy or honour. The
first was a treaty of alliance, the second that of his marriage with
the Archduchess Margaret, and the third a treaty of commerce. The
latter was so disastrous to Flemish interests as to be known by the
name of 'Malus intercursus.' It was agreed that the three treaties
should be confirmed, sealed, and delivered at Calais, at fixed dates;
but when the English envoys reached Calais they waited in vain for
Philip's messengers. Henry VII., writing on August 19th to Maximilian,
informs him that 'the new ratifications were to be exchanged in the
town of Calais, the treaty of alliance and marriage before the 20th of
June, and that of commerce before the last day of July. His
ambassadors were at Calais by the appointed time, with all the
necessary papers, but the ambassadors of King Philip have not arrived
up to this day; nor has he heard anything of the approval of the Pope,
which had been promised him, nor of the securities for the dowry and
the consent of the archduchess. However, he is willing to consent to
a prorogation of the term to the end of August.'
On the 23rd of April 1506 Philip and Joanna having reassembled their
fleet, embarked at Weymouth, and reached Corunna, in the north-western
corner of Galicia, after a prosperous voyage, on April 28th.
The following summary of the treaty between Henry VII. and Philip,
King of Castile, concerning the intended marriage with the Archduchess
Margaret, is interesting:--
The King of Castile binds himself to pay to the King of England
300,000 crowns, each crown of four shillings sterling, as the marriage
portion of the Archduchess Margaret; he also promises punctually to
pay the 18,850 crowns a year to which she is entitled as her jointure
in Spain; he moreover binds himself to pay to Henry 12,000 crowns a
year instead of the revenues from the towns, castles, and lands, which
have been assigned to the archduchess as her jointure in Savoy. The
King and Queen of Castile bind themselves to consent to the marriage,
and to permit Henry's proxies to conclude a marriage _per verba de
præsenti_ with the Archduchess Margaret. The King of Castile promises
to send his sister at his own expense to the town of Greenwich within
a month after the first instalment of 100,000 crowns has been paid.
King Henry promises to perform the marriage ceremonies within a month
of the archduchess's arrival at Greenwich. Provisions are then made in
case of the archduchess's or Henry's death with or without children by
the marriage. The archduchess is at liberty to dispose by will of her
jewels and ornaments. Should there be children by the marriage, they
are to succeed to all inheritances in Spain, Flanders, etc., that the
archduchess may become entitled to. King Philip promises to request
the Pope to confirm this treaty, and both the King of Castile and his
father, the emperor, promise to use all their influence with the
Archduchess Margaret to persuade her to consent to this marriage.
King Philip signed the treaty at Windsor, March 1st, 1506, and Queen
Joanna at Exeter, March 18th, 1506. The ratification of the treaty by
Henry VII. follows; it is dated, Palace of Westminster, 15th May 1506.
On the 20th July Maximilian wrote to King Henry from Vienna that 'he
had heard with great joy that the marriage between Henry and the
Archduchess Margaret is arranged.' He begs him to send ambassadors to
Malines, and has already despatched ambassadors to the same place. But
on the 30th of July John le Sauvage wrote to Maximilian that 'the
Archduchess Margaret decidedly refuses to marry Henry VII., although
he, at first by himself, and afterwards conjointly with the Imperial
ambassador, had daily pressed her during a whole month to consent.'
But John le Sauvage adds, 'The alliance with England is not endangered
thereby. For Henry desires the marriage between his second daughter
and the Prince of Castile (Margaret's nephew Charles) more than his
own with the archduchess.'
On August 6th G. de Croy wrote to the emperor that 'he is afraid that
the refusal of the archduchess will cool the friendship of Henry.' On
August 8th Ulrich, Count of Montfort, and Claude Carondelet also sent
a letter to Maximilian to inform him that 'they have travelled with
all haste to Savoy in order to see the Archduchess Margaret, whom
they found in company of the President of Flanders. They pressed her
very strongly to consent to marry the King of England. Her answer,
however, was that 'although an obedient daughter, she will never agree
to so unreasonable a marriage.' On the 16th of August Monsieur de Croy
and other councillors write to the King of Castile 'that they have
written to the King of England... and have received this very day his
answer, and send the letter of the King of England to him; they are
much afraid that the King of England has cooled in his friendship in
consequence of the answer which the Archduchess Margaret has given to
the President of Flanders, and afterwards to the Count Montfort and
the Bailly of Amont, ambassadors of the emperor, and again to the
President of the King of Castile.' On September 24th Maximilian wrote
to King Henry that 'he had not been able to persuade his daughter, the
Archduchess Margaret, to marry him; but he would go and see her in
order to persuade her.' Whilst these negotiations were taking place,
an unexpected event freed Margaret from this distasteful marriage,
though it added another sorrow to her lot.
In September of the same year her brother Philip was attacked by a
malignant fever at Burgos, brought on, it was said, by indulgence or
over-exercise, and for days lay ill in raging delirium, not without
strong suspicions of poison. He was assiduously attended by his wife
Joanna, who never left his side, but in spite of all her care the
disorder rapidly gained ground, and on the sixth day after his attack,
on September 25th, he breathed his last. Philip was only twenty-eight
years old, and had been King of Castile two months, dating from his
recognition by the Cortes. After his death Queen Joanna still stayed
by his side, deaf to all condolence or remonstrance, to all appearance
unmoved. She calmly gave orders that her husband's body should be
carried in state to the great hall of the Constable's palace upon a
splendid catafalque of cloth of gold, the body clad in ermine-lined
robes of rich brocade, the head covered by a jewelled cap, and a
magnificent diamond cross upon the breast. A throne had been erected
at the end of the hall, and upon this the corpse was arranged, seated
as if in life. During the whole of the night the vigils for the dead
were intoned by friars before the throne, and when the sunlight crept
through the windows the body, stripped of its incongruous finery, was
opened and embalmed and placed in a lead coffin, from which, for the
rest of her life, Joanna never willingly parted.'[26]
[26] Martin Hume, _Estanques Oronica in Documentos Ineditos_,
vol. viii.
[Illustration: PHILIPPE LE BEL
FROM THE PAINTING IN THE LOUVRE (FLEMISH SCHOOL)]
Philip left six children--Eleanor, Charles (afterwards the Emperor
Charles V.), Isabella, Ferdinand, Mary, and a little daughter,
Katharine, born five months after his death. Philip was of middle
height, and had a fair, florid complexion, regular features, long
flowing locks, and a well-made figure. He was so distinguished for his
good looks that he is designated on the roll of Spanish sovereigns as
_Felipe el Hermoso_, or the Handsome. His mental endowments were not
so extraordinary. The father of Charles V. possessed scarcely a single
quality in common with his remarkable son. His poor wife Joanna never
recovered his loss, her mind became more and more affected, and though
she survived him for nearly half a century, she dragged out her
cheerless existence a sort of state-prisoner in the palace of
Tordesillas, a queen only in name.
Margaret herself composed her brother's Latin epitaph, which ended
with a cry of anguish from the Lamentations of Jeremiah:--
Ecce iterum novus dolor accidit!
Nec satis erat infortunissimæ Cæsaris filiæ
Conjugem amisisse dilectissimum,
Nisi etiam fratrem unicum
Mors aspera subriperet!
Doleo super te, frater mi Philippe,
Rex optime,
Nec est qui me consoletur!
O vos omnes qui transitis per viam,
'Attendite et videte si est dolor sicut dolor meus!'[27]
Erasmus also dedicated a Latin eulogy to the archduke, and Jean le
Maire, who had been attached to his person, addressed some verses to
Margaret entitled: '_Les regrets de la dame infortunée sur le trespas
de son très chier frère unicque._' She also received a sympathetic
letter of condolence from Louis XII. Her reply, written from Bourg
where she was staying, is as follows:--
'Monseigneur, très-humblement à vostre bonne grace me recommande;
Monseigneur, j'ay par vostre président Villeneufve receu voz
bonnes et gracieuses lettres et ouï ce que de vostre part il m'a
dit et présenté dont ne vous saurois assez humblement remercier,
mesmement le bon vouloir qu'aves à messieurs mes nepveurs et à
moi, auquels, Monseigneur, vous supplie vouloir continuer et
avoir toujours mes dits seigneurs mes nepveurs, leurs païs et
affaires et moi, en bonne et singulière recommandation; ce que
m'assure ferés volentiers, ensuyvant le contenu de vos dites
lettres; et s'il y a chose en quoi vous puisse faire service, de
tout mon pouvoir le ferai, aydant Nostre Seigneur auquel je prie,
Monseigneur, vous donner bonne vie et longue. Escript à Bourg, 25
Octobre 1506.' Addressed: 'Monseigneur, Monseigneur le Roy de
France.'
[27] This is a literal translation: 'Another new sorrow! It was
not enough for the unfortunate daughter of Cæsar to have lost a
much-loved husband; cruel death comes to rob me of my only
brother! I weep for thee, Philip, O my brother, of kings the
best! and there is no one in the world who can console me! O you
who pass by, look and judge if there is any sorrow like unto my
sorrow!'
* * * * *
But although her brother was dead, Henry VII. had not given up all
hope of winning the reluctant Margaret for his bride. On October 1st
he wrote to her father that 'he has been informed that Madame Margaret
makes great difficulties about ratifying the treaty of marriage'; and
then threatens 'it would not be a thing to be wondered if he were to
accept one of the great and honourable matches which are daily offered
to him on all sides.' On October 31st we read that 'the French
ambassadors are on their way to England, in order to offer to the King
the daughter of the Duke of Angoulême in marriage. But the King of
England has decided not to accept the proposal, as he still hopes to
obtain the hand of the Duchess Margaret.' However, his hopes were
vain, and Margaret was stern in her refusal. Henry next proposed to
marry Joanna, the widowed Queen of Castile, but this iniquitous plan
too was thwarted, and he remained a widower to the end of his life.
Philip's death imposed new cares and duties upon Margaret; his
children were left minors, and upon them she lavished the wealth of
affection which fate had denied her giving to her own offspring. Her
nephew Charles was her especial care, and he could hardly have entered
political life under better tutelage, though his aunt's masterful
nature may have checked the development of his own individuality.