CHARLES DECLARED OF AGE
Soon after midnight on the 2nd of January 1515 Francis, Duke of
Valois, was aroused by an excited crowd rushing into his chamber and
hailing him King of France. 'May you have a happy New Year!' cried his
friend Fleurange, 'Les belles étrennes!'
The new king was in his twenty-first year, and in May 1514 had married
Louis XII.'s eldest daughter Claude, thus securing Brittany to the
French crown. Young, brave, and handsome, with fascinating manners,
passionately fond of beauty in every form, he was undoubtedly the most
accomplished 'chevalier' in the kingdom, but his love of pleasure and
extravagance were carried to excess, and marred the brilliancy of his
many good qualities. 'This big boy will spoil everything,' Louis XII.
had predicted, more struck by his son-in-law's failings than by his
virtues.
On the 15th of February Francis made his state entry into Paris, and
at the banquet given the same evening, the Flemish ambassadors were
present, having been previously received in audience by Queen Claude.
Mercurin de Gattinare wrote to Margaret from Paris giving her an
account of their reception. 'Queen Claude,' he says, 'is very small
and extraordinarily fat, but her graceful way of talking makes amends
for her lack of beauty.' When the ambassadors were presented to her,
'she kissed Monsieur de Nassou, but gave her hand to Monsieur de
Saint-Py and all of us.'
Francis I. found his kingdom prepared for war. From the time of his
accession he dreamed of winning glory in Italy, and reconquering the
duchy of Milan. As soon as he had made the necessary preparations he
entered on the campaign; and in August led a brilliant army of 60,000
men and 30,000 horse across the Alps by narrow, unfrequented roads
over the Col d'Argentière, entering Italy by the valley of the Stura,
thus avoiding the passes guarded by the Swiss, and finally taking up a
strong position to the south-east of Milan, near Marignano. Against
him were the emperor, King Ferdinand, and the Swiss Cantons, Venice
being his only ally. Fifteen thousand Venetians under Alviano advanced
by forced marches to help him, and had reached Lodi, four miles
distant. Milan itself was occupied by 30,000 Swiss, who were resolved
to prevent the junction of the two armies, and attack the French in
their own trenches. They opened fire late on the afternoon of
September 12th, and all that evening until it grew pitch dark the
battle raged. When morning dawned the two armies were still facing
each other, and with the first rays of the sun the battle continued
with renewed vigour until ten o'clock, when, at sight of the Venetian
advance-guard led by Alviano, the Swiss began to waver, and hastily
retreating to Milan, left the French masters of the field.
Marshal Trivulzio, who had been present at eighteen battles, declared
that all the others were child's play when compared to Marignano,
which was 'a battle of giants.'
After the victory Francis wished to be knighted by Bayard, who,
though only a lieutenant, had so distinguished himself that the whole
army looked upon him as a perfect model of a Christian soldier, and
gave him the name of 'le chevalier sans peur et sans reproche.'
Maximilian, writing to Margaret from Innsbrück, thus describes the
battle of Marignano:--
'Very dear and much-loved daughter,--We have had news that on the 13th
of this month[51] (September), the French being quartered about two
leagues from Germany, near Milan, they set out and appeared before the
said town. Wherefore the Swiss who were in the town of Milan, having
quitted the flat country, being informed of this fact, left the town
about twenty thousand strong and marched against the French, and about
four o'clock in the afternoon of the same day, the Swiss and French
began to fight each other, more by way of skirmishing than giving
battle, for there were so many ditches that the French men-at-arms on
horseback could not help their foot-soldiers, and fought so long that
night surprised them; and all that night the said Swiss and French
remained on the field of battle, without attacking each other until
the morrow, the 14th of the month, when they renewed the battle, which
lasted quite three hours, after which fight about three thousand of
the said landsknechts (foot-soldiers) and as many or more Swiss were
left dead upon the field. And because there was mutiny and division
amongst the said Swiss, through some of their people making peace with
the French and refusing to fight, they retreated some to Milan and
others to Como, without either party pursuing or trying to fight the
other. And because they could not subdue the mutiny, the day after
they left the above-mentioned places and returned to their own
country....'
[51] Maximilian, writing on the 7th October, makes a mistake in
the date. The battle began on September 12th.
After the battle Maximilian Sforza, Duke of Milan, yielded his rights
to the conqueror and accepted a pension of 30,000 crowns.
Before the year was out, Francis I. and the Pope met at Bologna and
arranged a peace which was signed at Fribourg and called 'La Paix
perpétuelle.'
In the lull that followed the battle of Marignano Maximilian found
time to turn his attention to the interesting occupation of planning
marriages for his grandchildren. His Court has been called a sort of
matrimonial agency, and his letters to Margaret abound in projects and
schemes for grand alliances for his granddaughters. In the spring of
1515 he had met the Kings of Poland and Hungary at Vienna. Vladislav
II., King of Hungary, had a son Louis, whose marriage was now arranged
with Mary of Austria, whilst his daughter Anna was betrothed to
Ferdinand of Austria, Maximilian's youngest grandson. It was hoped
that this double marriage would secure the kingdom of Hungary to the
House of Hapsburg, besides carrying out the original treaty of 1463
between the Emperor Frederick III. and King Mathias.
In one of his letters to Margaret, Maximilian reminds her of his
remark that, in order to find a husband for the 'Lady Léonora,' his
eldest granddaughter, he must wait for the decease of one of the three
principal queens of Europe, either of France, England, or Poland. He
now writes to say that the Queen of Poland is dead, and it has been
suggested to him that the widowed king is thinking of Léonora, and he
would like to know his granddaughter's wishes on the subject.
'As to our opinion,' he says, 'we are willing that the said marriage
should take place; for the said King of Poland is a handsome person,
somewhat fat, anyhow he will never be fatter; with a white face and
body and very white hands, the height of Seigneur de Berges at the age
of twenty, with a handsomer face than Monsieur de Berges has, for his
face is open and very honest.... He keeps great state, is beloved by
his subjects and by all those with whom he comes in contact, of whom I
am one, and also my whole house. He is, as he told me with his own
mouth, which is beautiful and red, forty-six or forty-seven years old,
his hair is already a little grey; his kingdom, two hundred miles from
Germany, large, warlike, and can raise a hundred thousand
fighting-men.... The king and all his court speak German and Latin as
well as their native language....'
Margaret replied that in accordance with Maximilian's wishes she had
spoken to Léonora about the projected marriage with the King of
Poland. 'I spoke to her,' she says, 'on my own account, telling her of
the virtues and beauty of the said king's person, with the greatness
of his kingdom, and all that there was to be said on the subject; she
listened to me willingly, very gently, and rather timidly, and after
several subtle devices, I could only draw from her the words that....'
(Here the letter tantalisingly breaks off.)
Sigismond I., King of Poland, of whom the emperor draws so attractive
a portrait, was in truth a very accomplished prince--but he did not
marry Eleanor of Austria, and eventually became the husband of Bona,
the daughter of Galeazzo Sforza, Duke of Milan.
The Archduke Charles was now fifteen, and Maximilian declared him of
age and handed over to him the reins of government of the Netherlands.
He was inaugurated Duke of Brabant in February 1515, Count of Flanders
in April, and successively took possession of Holland and Zealand,
Leeuward, Harlingen, and Franicker. Charles's letter to the president
and councillors of Flanders announcing his emancipation has been
preserved:--
'VERY DEAR AND WELL BELOVED,--It has pleased the emperor, my
lord and grandfather, to emancipate us and free us from his
guardianship and regency, placing the government of our country
and lordships... in our hands, and consenting that we be
received and sworn to the principality and lordship of the
same.... Therefore it is fit and reasonable that all things
which concern our rights, greatness, lordship, and even the
doing of justice and our other affairs, should be conducted
henceforth in our name and under our title. For this cause we
write to you; we require and command that all letters, acts, and
other things which will be done and expedited towards you for
our aforesaid affairs, shall be drawn up and despatched under
our aforesaid name and title, placing at the end of the letters:
Given under the seal which the emperor, my lord and grandfather,
and we have used during the time of our minority....
'CHARLES (1515)'
In addressing the deputies from the States-General Charles made the
following speech: 'Gentlemen, I thank you for the honour and great
affection you bear me. Be good and loyal subjects, and I will be your
good prince.'
Margaret does not appear to have been consulted about Charles's
emancipation until it was an accomplished fact, and we can well
understand that, accustomed as she had been to exercise sovereign
power for eight years, she felt some secret anxiety in seeing this
power taken from her. Monsieur de Croy, Seigneur de Chièvres, had
always opposed the princess's administration, and was anxious to
exclude her from the government; it was therefore an added blow to
know that he would now, as Charles's counsellor, be in a position to
deprive her of her nephew's confidence.
Margaret no longer presided at the State Council, and was only
appealed to as a matter of form. The emperor's letters were not
communicated to her, and she even heard rumours that she was accused
of personal avarice and of having been unsuccessful in her rule. She
keenly resented these accusations and complained to her father, and
also addressed a memorandum to her nephew containing a sketch of her
government, and accounts, with a full list of the gifts and payments
made out of her private income.
Maximilian replied that he has written to Charles, and encloses a copy
of the letter, in which he says: 'We make no doubt, because of the
honour and love you owe to our very dear daughter, your aunt, that you
communicate your chief and most arduous business to her, and that you
take and use her good advice and counsel, from which, for natural
reasons, you will always find more comfort, help, and support than
from any other. In which, as a royal father, we exhort you always to
continue, begging you affectionately to remember the way she laboured
during your minority in the administration of your country... and
also that you are her whole heart, hope, and heir,--that you will
give her a good allowance, such as she has had until now... for she
has well deserved it from you.'
On August the 20th, 1515, Margaret presented a memorandum to her
nephew before the assembled Council containing a justification of her
government, which began thus: 'Monseigneur, as I evidently perceive,
after having had such long patience, that by divers means they try to
give you suspicions of me, your humble aunt, to withdraw me from your
goodwill and confidence, which would indeed be a poor recompense for
the services which I have rendered you until now, I am constrained to
excuse myself....' She bitterly complains of the way she has been put
aside, and protests against the calumnies brought against her. To
justify her conduct, she recalls her services during Charles's
minority, and firmly maintains that she always acted uprightly and
loyally without any profit to herself, serving the prince from love,
without any thought of gain. If any error should be found in the
detailed account presented to the Council, she requests that it may be
pointed out to her before the prince, so that she can answer it
herself, for 'I prefer,' she says, 'that they should speak before me,
than behind my back.' She then relates all the principal acts of her
government, from the time the emperor first confided the regency to
her care, and recalls her long struggles with the Duke of Gueldres,
who, aided and abetted by the King of France, broke all treaties, and
feared neither God nor man; and recounts the part she played in the
alliance with England, and also at the Treaty of Cambray, which was
only brought to a successful issue after much pain and trouble. She
indignantly denies that she has been the cause of renewed wars with
Gueldres, for far from seeking war, she has ever striven for peace.
'And what has been the reward of all this service and sacrifice?' From
the time of her appointment as regent she has given her time and money
for her nephew's service, without touching a 'denier,' and spent more
than three thousand florins from her own income. The prince's proposed
emancipation was kept from her, though had her advice been asked she
would not have opposed it; her opinion was no longer asked, and
through calumnious imputations it was tried to injure her with her
nephew. The payment of her pension was purposely delayed, though every
nobleman could count on receiving the allowance due to him. 'If mine
is larger,' she adds, addressing herself to her nephew, 'I am also
your only aunt, and have no other son nor heir but you, and I know of
no one to whom your honour is dearer than to me. You can rest assured,
Monseigneur, that when it pleases you to make use of my services, and
hold and treat me with the esteem which is reasonable, I will serve
you well and loyally, not sparing my person or my goods, as I have
done heretofore. But if you are pleased to give ear to what they tell
you against me, and allow me to be treated as I see they have begun to
do, I would much rather look after my own small affairs and gracefully
retire, as I have already begged the emperor to allow me to do by my
secretary, Marnix, when he was lately with him.'
After the young prince had listened to this eloquent justification, he
declared, and the Chancellor agreed, 'that Madame was held fully
discharged from all things, with many other fine words and promises.'
On the back of the paper is a note containing the names of the
councillors present when Charles received the document, and at the end
is a full account of the money received at different times from the
Flemish States, and an appendix showing the various gifts from
Margaret's own collection of treasures which she gave for the service
of her government during her regency.
Peace was once more restored, and we hear of Margaret accompanying
Charles at the various festivities which marked his majority.
The following extract is from Margaret's memorandum of gifts and
sacrifices made by her during regency:--
'1. To the Duke of Juliers, who had accompanied her on her return from
Germany, a large silver-gilt goblet, weighing sixteen marks, which had
been given to her by the town of Antwerp.
'2. To the Controller of Calais, who had come on an embassy from the
King of England, half-a-dozen cups, two jugs, and two flagons, all of
silver, weighing together fifty-five marks.
'3. To the English ambassadors who came to treat about the marriage
between her and the late King Henry VII., and who were afterwards sent
to take part in the Peace of Cambray, viz., to the Count of Surrey a
golden goblet out of which Madame drank every day, weighing three
hundred golden crowns; to Richard Wingfield, second ambassador, twenty
yards of velvet, twenty yards of satin, and twenty yards of damask; to
the third ambassador... twenty yards of velvet and twenty yards of
damask; and to their herald, twenty yards of damask.
'4. To Monseigneur the Legate at the Treaty of Cambray, by the advice
of the Council, a very beautiful golden goblet, weighing nearly six
hundred crowns, with a cover ornamented with large pearls, forming
five trefoils of five pearls each, and between each trefoil a very
fine balass ruby, each of the five table rubies valued at more than
three hundred and fifty golden florins. The foot of the goblet had
also five trefoils of medium-sized pearls and five balass rubies.' In
short, this cup, surmounted by a great and beautiful emerald, was
valued at more than four thousand golden florins. The Cardinal
d'Amboise thought it so exquisite and beautiful that he considered he
ought to present it to King Louis XII.
'5. To the Bishop of Paris, being an ecclesiastic, was given a
beautiful and rich Book of Hours, which had been bought from
Maillardet for the sum of four hundred golden crowns. It was
ornamented with gold; and on both covers were two superb table
diamonds, and to mark the place a large balass ruby, set clear, which
was valued at more than a thousand florins, and to which were attached
twenty-five silken cords, each one finished with a pearl.
'6. To the Count of Carpi, two large and rich silver flagons, which
Madame had brought from Spain, each weighing twenty-two marks, of good
workmanship.
'7. To the heralds, ushers, and other members of the French embassy,
from four to five hundred gold crowns. "All given in order the better
to nourish peace and love between France and this House, as the
affairs of Monsieur require it." Other ambassadors, officers, and
gentlemen received various gifts and presents to the amount of five
thousand florins.
'Item.--Madame has lent her money for State affairs, and has greatly
reduced the expenses of her own household.... For three years, far
from having a pension for her services, she spent her dowry as long
as it lasted. It will also be found that during her government she
never gave any gratuities to her dependants from the finances of
Monsieur.'
This document, corrected in the margin by Margaret, is found in
duplicate in the archives of Lille.
* * * * *
Magnificent fêtes everywhere inaugurated Charles's coming of age. The
Pope presented him with the Golden Rose; and Maximilian, writing to
Margaret on the 8th of December, hopes that she will see that the
Pope's ambassador, who brought the gift, is well received by Charles,
and orders that a sum of £700 be given to him.
M. Tailliar gives an interesting account of the young archduke's state
entry into Douay, accompanied by Margaret: 'On the 15th of May 1516
Charles, King of Spain and Count of Flanders, having made his joyous
entry into Douay, went next day, the 16th, to the market-hall to
receive the oaths of fealty. The square in front of the hall was
richly hung with velvet and cloth of gold. After hearing mass, the
king appeared, accompanied by his aunt, Madame Margaret of Austria,
and by his eldest sister, Madame. He took the oath in the prescribed
manner, and likewise all those present swore fealty to him.'
King Ferdinand of Aragon had died on the 23rd of January 1516. By his
will, Charles was excluded from the kingdom of Aragon, which was left
to his younger brother, Ferdinand, who had been the old king's
favourite; but in his last moments, repenting perhaps of this unjust
arrangement, he made a codicil, in which he not only left Charles heir
to all his estates, but also made him Grand Master of the Military
Orders, leaving Ferdinand with a pension of 50,000 ducats a year.
Although Queen Joanna was still alive, Charles assumed the title of
King, and was first proclaimed Sovereign of Castile and Aragon,
conjointly with his mother, at Brussels, where Ferdinand's funeral
obsequies were celebrated in the cathedral of St. Gudule. 'Twice the
king-at-arms of the Golden Fleece called aloud, "Don Ferdinand." Twice
the answer came, "He is dead," and on this the great standard
clattered to the ground. Then cried the herald, "Long live donna
Jehanne and don Charles, by the grace of God Catholic kings," whereon
Charles, doffing his mourning, received and brandished the sword of
justice.'[52]
[52] Armstrong, _The Emperor Charles V._
In Spain this assumption of the royal title was regarded as a breach
of custom, and caused comment and discontent. Nevertheless Cardinal
Ximenes had his young master proclaimed in Castile. The regency of
Castile had been intrusted to him by Ferdinand until Charles's
arrival, and that of Aragon to the late king's natural son, the
Archbishop of Saragossa.
Before Charles succeeded to his Spanish kingdoms, his sister Mary had
already left home for her short, though comparatively happy, marriage
with the ill-fated Louis of Hungary, while Isabella had begun her
miserable life with the brutal and licentious Christian II. of
Denmark. His brother Ferdinand and his youngest sister Katharine were
being brought up in Spain. Only Charles's eldest sister Eleanor
remained at Brussels. About this time she seems to have had a rather
serious flirtation with the handsome Count Palatine Frederick, who was
the most accomplished nobleman of the Court, and though seventeen
years his senior, Charles's earliest personal friend. The affection
between the count and Eleanor was mutual, and led to clandestine
correspondence. Chièvres set Charles on the track of one of the
count's love-letters. Pretending to wish his sister good-morning, he
snatched it from her bosom before she had time to read it, and after a
brief scrimmage secured the prize. 'Upon this his constancy into a
like affair,' wrote Spinelli to Henry VIII., 'many do conject in him
good stomak and couraggy, and how he will be fast in his
determjnacions, and much extime the honnor of the worlde.' This
singularly sound forecast of the character of the hitherto problematic
boy of sixteen gives, perhaps, the first glimpse of his
personality.[53]
[53] E. Armstrong.
Educated by the courtly William de Croy, Lord of Chièvres, with
Adrian of Utrecht as preceptor, Charles developed manners and
characteristics, half patrician, half plebeian, which was probably due
to his tutors' opposite influences. De Croy's courteous manners gave
him a stately bearing, reserve, and dignity which subsequently
attached him to the Spaniards; while from Adrian he acquired the
popular, easy-going and simple ways which made him so beloved by his
Flemish subjects.
[Illustration: CHARLES V
FROM THE PAINTING IN THE LOUVRE (FLEMISH SCHOOL)]
His intellectual faculties did not develop early--he even showed
marked aversion for science and letters, and preferred military
exercises to the study of government. De Chièvres, however, made him
study the history not only of his own kingdoms, but of those with
which they were connected. He accustomed him, from the time of his
assuming the government of Flanders, to attend to business, and
persuaded him to read all papers relating to public affairs, to be
present at the deliberations of his privy-councillors, and to propose
to them himself those matters concerning which he required their
opinion. From such an education Charles contracted habits of gravity
and recollection which scarcely suited his youth. The first openings
of his genius did not show that superiority which its maturer age
displayed.[54]
[54] Prescott.
The French envoy once expressed surprise at Charles's diligence before
De Chièvres, who replied: 'My friend, I am his tutor and master. When
I die, I want him to be free, for if he does not understand his own
affairs, after my death he will be obliged to have another tutor, and
will always have to lean on others.'
Charles did not hurry at once to enter into his new possessions. He
remained in Flanders until the repeated entreaties of Ximenes, and the
advice of his grandfather, Maximilian, at last prevailed on him to
embark for Spain. Before he set out he confirmed Margaret in the
government of the Netherlands, and appointed a Council to assist her.
Accompanied by his sister Eleanor, De Chièvres, his Prime Minister,
and a splendid train of Flemish nobles, he set sail from Flushing on
September the 8th, and after a dangerous voyage, landed at Villa
Viciosa, in the province of Asturias. For six weeks Charles wandered
through the wild mountainous country without entering any large town.
On the last day of October the Constable of Castile met him, and soon
the Spanish nobility flocked to greet their sovereign from all parts
of the kingdom. But before Charles would show himself to his people he
visited his mother and his youngest sister Katharine at Tordesillas.
Queen Joanna was surprised to find Charles and Eleanor grown up, and
asked if they were really her children. A little later Charles tried
to remove his young sister Katharine from her gloomy surroundings,
but her secret abstraction caused her mother such grief that she had
to be restored.
About this time Maximilian wrote to Margaret, sending advice to
Charles, and begging her to continue to help him: 'My good daughter,
thinking day and night about the affairs of my heirs, I have decided,
chiefly for the good and honour of my son, King Charles, to write to
my deputies who are with him, certain things concerning their good and
that of their subjects. Knowing that you will be required by my said
son to accomplish an honourable charge, we desire and we require that
you should fulfil it; in so doing you will do a thing very pleasant
and honourable to yourself, as you will more clearly understand from
our deputies, Messieurs André de Burgo and Nycasy. And so 'A. Diu.'
Written on the 2nd of March by the hand of your good and loyal father,
MAXI.'
Charles's arrival in Spain caused great excitement among high and low,
and every one was speculating about his appearance, character, and
accomplishments. The Bishop of Badajoz sent the following interesting,
though somewhat exaggerated, description of the new king and his
surroundings to Cardinal Ximenes: 'The prince,' he says, 'has good
parts, but he has been kept too much isolated from the world, and, in
particular, he knows too little of Spaniards. He does not understand a
single word of Spanish. He obeys his councillors implicitly; but, as
he has entered the seventeenth year of his age, it would be well if he
took part in the discussions of his Council.
'Monsieur de Chièvres is the most influential person in the prince's
Court; he is prudent and gentle, but avaricious. The same may be said
of the Chancellor of Burgundy. On the whole, love of money is the
besetting sin of the Flemings. They buy and sell the Government
offices, and it is to be feared that they will introduce the same
custom into Spain.... Monsieur de Chièvres is a Frenchman by birth,
and keeps the prince very much under subjection to the King of France.
The prince signs his letters to the King of France, "Your humble
servant and vassal,"... and though he signs himself to others
"Principe," he likes to be called king....'
Cardinal Ximenes' health was now rapidly declining. When the news of
Charles's arrival in Spain had been brought to him he revived a
little, and sent the young king letters of welcome, filled with good
advice as to the best way of securing his people's affection. Charles
answered in the most deferential manner, but his Belgian Ministers,
fearing that the Cardinal would exercise too much influence over him,
prevented their meeting by keeping the king in the north, and
estranging him from Ximenes. Through their advice Charles wrote to the
Cardinal in a very different strain, depriving him not only of the
regency but of all share in state affairs. When the letter was brought
to Ximenes at Roa he was dangerously ill. Adrian de Burgo was with
him, but feared to tell him of the royal command, and the great
Cardinal, who had preserved the kingdom of Castile intact for his
master, passed away without the knowledge of Charles's ingratitude. He
died on the 8th of November 1517 in the eighty-third year of his age.
De Chièvres had now no rival, and hoped to be as powerful in Spain as
he was in the Netherlands.