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Title: Christina of Denmark, Duchess of Milan and Lorraine, 1522-
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Author: Julia Cartwright

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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHRISTINA OF
DENMARK, DUCHESS OF MILAN AND LORRAINE, 1522-1590 ***

CHRISTINA OF DENMARK

DUCHESS OF MILAN AND LORRAINE
1522-1590

Christina, Duchess of Milan

CHRISTINA OF DENMARK
DUCHESS OF MILAN AND
LORRAINE
1522-1590

BY JULIA CARTWRIGHT (MRS. ADY)

AUTHOR OF "ISABELLA D'ESTE," "BALDASSARRE
CASTIGLIONE," "THE PAINTERS OF FLORENCE," ETC.

"Dieu, qu'il la fait bon regarder,
La gracieuse, bonne et belle!
Pour les grans biens qui sont en elle,
Chacun est prest de la louer.
Qui se pourrait d'elle lasser?
Toujours sa beauté renouvelle.
Dieu, qu'il la fait bon regarder,
La gracieuse, bonne et belle!
Par deça, ne delà la mer,
Ne sçay Dame ne Damoiselle
Qui soit en tous biens parfais telle;
C'est un songe que d'y penser,
Dieu, qu'il la fait bon regarder!"

Charles d'Orléans

NEW YORK
E. P. DUTTON AND COMPANY
1913

PREFACE
Christina of Denmark is known to the world by Holbein's famous portrait in
the National Gallery. The great Court painter, who was sent to Brussels by
Henry VIII. to take the likeness of the Emperor's niece, did his work well.
With unerring skill he has rendered the "singular good countenance," the
clear brown eyes with their frank, honest gaze, the smile hovering about
"the faire red lips," the slender fingers of the nervously clasped hands,
which Brantôme and his royal mistress, Catherine de' Medici, thought "the
most beautiful hands in the world." And in a wonderful way he has caught
the subtle charm of the young Duchess's personality, and made it live on his
canvas. What wonder that Henry fell in love with the picture, and vowed
that he would have the Duchess, if she came to him without a farthing! But
for all these brave words the masterful King's wooing failed. The ghost of
his wronged wife, Katherine of Aragon, the smoke of plundered abbeys,
and the blood of martyred friars, came between him and his destined bride,
and Christina was never numbered in the roll of Henry VIII.'s wives. This
splendid, if perilous, adventure was denied her. But many strange
experiences marked the course of her chequered life, and neither beauty nor
virtue could save her from the shafts of envious Fortune. Her troubles began
from the cradle. When she was little more than a year old, her father, King
Christian II., was deposed by his subjects, and her mother, the gentle
Isabella of Austria, died in exile of a broken heart. She lost her first
husband, Francesco Sforza, at the end of eighteen months. Her second
husband, Francis Duke of Lorraine, died in 1545, leaving her once more a
widow at the age of twenty-three. Her only son was torn from her arms
while still a boy by a foreign invader, Henry II., and she herself was driven
into exile. Seven years later she was deprived of the regency of the
Netherlands, just when the coveted prize seemed within her grasp, and the
last days of her existence were embittered by the greed and injustice of her
cousin, Philip II.
Yet, in spite of hard blows and cruel losses, Christina's life was not all
unhappy. The blue bird—the symbol of perpetual happiness in the faery lore
of her own Lorraine—may have eluded her grasp, but she filled a great

position nobly, and tasted some of the deepest and truest of human joys.
Men and women of all descriptions adored her, and she had a genius for
friendship which survived the charms of youth and endured to her dying
day. A woman of strong affections and resolute will, she inherited a
considerable share of the aptitude for government that distinguished the
women of the Habsburg race. Her relationship with Charles V. and
residence at the Court of Brussels brought her into close connection with
political events during the long struggle with France, and it was in a great
measure due to her exertions that the peace which ended this Sixty Years'
War was finally concluded at Câteau-Cambrésis in 1559.
Holbein's Duchess, it is evident, was a striking figure, and her life deserves
more attention than it has hitherto received. Brantôme honoured her with a
place in his gallery of fair ladies, and the sketch which he has drawn,
although inaccurate in many details, remains true in its main outlines. But
with this exception Christina's history has never yet been written. The chief
sources from which her biography is drawn are the State Archives of Milan
and Brussels, supplemented by documents in the Record Office, the
Bibliothèque Nationale, the Biblioteca Zelada near Pavia, and the extremely
interesting collection of Guise letters in the Balcarres Manuscripts, which
has been preserved in the Advocates' Library at Edinburgh. A considerable
amount of information, as will be seen from the Bibliography at the end of
this volume, has been collected from contemporary memoirs, from the
histories of Bucholtz and Henne, and the voluminous correspondence of
Cardinal Granvelle and Philip II., as well as from Tudor, Spanish, and
Venetian State Papers.
In conclusion, I have to acknowledge the kind help which I have received in
my researches from Monsignor Rodolfo Maiocchi, Rector of the Borromeo
College at Pavia, from Signor O. F. Tencajoli, and from the keepers of
English and foreign archives, among whom I must especially name Signor
Achille Giussani, of the Archivio di Stato at Milan, Monsieur Gaillard,
Director of the Brussels Archives, and Mr. Hubert Hall. My sincere thanks
are due to Count Antonio Cavagna Sangiuliani for giving me permission to
make use of manuscripts in his library at Zelada; to Monsieur Leon Cardon
for leave to reproduce four of the Habsburg portraits in his fine collection at
Brussels; and to Mr. Henry Oppenheimer for allowing me to publish his
beautiful and unique medal of the Duchess of Milan. I must also thank Sir

Kenneth Mackenzie and the Trustees of the Advocates' Library for
permission to print a selection from the Balcarres Manuscripts, and Mr.
Campbell Dodgson and Mr. G. F. Hill for the kindness with which they
have placed the treasures of the British Museum at my disposal. Lastly, a
debt of gratitude, which I can never sufficiently express, is due to Dr.
Hagberg-Wright and the staff of the London Library for the invaluable help
which they have given me in this, as in all my other works.
JULIA
CARTWRIGHT.
Ockham,
Midsummer Day, 1913.

CONTENTS
BOOK I PAGE
Isabella of Austria, Queen of Denmark, the Mother of
1
Christina: 1507-1514
BOOK II
Christian II., King of Denmark, the Father of Christina: 1513-
17
1523
BOOK III
Kings in Exile: 1523-1531 36
BOOK IV
Christina, Duchess of Milan: 1533-1535 71
BOOK V
The Widow of Milan: 1535-1538 111
BOOK VI
The Courtship of Henry VIII.: 1537-1539 144
BOOK VII
Cleves, Orange, and Lorraine: 1539-1541 207
BOOK VIII
Christina, Duchess of Lorraine: 1541-1545 256
BOOK IX
Christina, Regent of Lorraine: 1545-1552 298
BOOK X
The French Invasion: 1551-1553 354
BOOK XI
Christina at Brussels: 1553-1559 382
BOOK XII
The Peace of Câteau-Cambrésis: 1557-1559 419
BOOK XIII
The Return to Lorraine: 1559-1578 450
BOOK XIV
The Lady of Tortona: 1578-1590 496

Appendix: A Selection of Unpublished Documents 516
Bibliography 528
Genealogical Tables 533
Index 541

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
TO FACE
PAGE
Christina of Denmark, Duchess of Milan Frontispiece
By Holbein (National Gallery).
Charles V. 4
By B. van Orley (Cardon Collection,
Brussels).
Eleanor of Austria 6
By B. van Orley (Cardon Collection,
Brussels).
Isabella of Austria, Queen of Denmark 12
By B. van Orley.
Christian II., King of Denmark 30
London Library.
The Children of Christian II., King of Denmark 54
By Jean Mabuse (Hampton Court Palace).
Francesco Sforza, Duke of Milan 92
British Museum.
Christina, Duchess of Milan 92
Oppenheimer Collection, London.
Frederic, Count Palatine 106
Ascribed to A. Dürer (Darmstadt).
Mary, Queen of Hungary 188
By B. van Orley (Cardon Collection,
Brussels).
Grande Porterie, Palais Ducal, Nancy 260
Charles V. 322
By Titian (Munich).
Hôtel-de-Ville, Brussels 332
S. Gudule, Brussels 332

Palais Ducal, Nancy 364
Philip II. and Mary 412
By Jacopo da Trezzo (British Museum).
Antoine Perrenot, Cardinal Granvelle 412
By Leone Leoni (British Museum).
Margaret, Duchess of Parma 412
By Pastorino (British Museum).
William, Prince of Orange 456
By Adriaan Key (Darmstadt).
Mary, Queen of Scots 466
By François Clouet (Bibliothèque Nationale,
Paris).
Charles III., Duke of Lorraine 472
British Museum.
The Three Duchesses 508
Prado, Madrid.

CHRISTINA OF DENMARK

BOOK I
ISABELLA OF AUSTRIA, QUEEN OF
DENMARK, THE MOTHER OF CHRISTINA
1507-1514
I.

The 19th of July, 1507, was a memorable day in the history of Malines. A
solemn requiem Mass was sung that morning in the ancient church of S.
Rombaut for the soul of Philip, King of Castille and Archduke of Austria,
and, by right of his mother, Duke of Burgundy and Count of Flanders and
Brabant. The news of this young monarch's sudden death at Burgos had
spread consternation throughout the Netherlands, where the handsome,
free-handed Prince was very popular with the subjects who enjoyed peace
and prosperity under his rule. "Never," wrote a contemporary chronicler,
"was there such lamentation made for any King, Duke, or Count, as for our
good King Philip. There was no church or monastery in the whole land
where solemn Masses were not said for the repose of his soul, and the
mourning was greatest in the city of Antwerp, where all the people
assembled for the yearly Fair wept over this noble young Prince who had
died at the age of twenty-eight."[1] The King's corpse was laid in the dark
vaults of Miraflores, where his widow, the unhappy Queen Juana, kept
watch by her husband's grave night and day; while, in obedience to his last
wishes, his heart was brought to the Netherlands and buried in his mother's
tomb at Bruges. Now the States-General and nobles were summoned by
Margaret of Austria, the newly-proclaimed Governess of the Netherlands, to
attend her brother's funeral at Malines.
From the gates of the Keyserhof, through the narrow
streets of the old Flemish city, the long procession July, 1507]
MARGARET OF
wound its way: Knights of the Golden Fleece, nobles, AUSTRIA
deputies, Bishops and clergy, merchants, artisans, and
beggars, all clad in deep mourning. Twelve heralds, followed by a crowd of

gentlemen with lighted torches, bore the armour and banners of the dead
King to the portals of S. Rombaut. There an immense catafalque, draped
with cloth of gold and blazing with wax lights, had been erected in the
centre of the nave. Three golden crowns, symbols of the three realms over
which Philip held sway, hung from the vault, and the glittering array of gold
and silver images on the high-altar stood out against the sable draperies on
the walls. A funeral oration was pronounced by the late King's confessor,
the Bishop of Arras chanted the requiem Mass, and when the last blessing
had been given, Golden Fleece threw his staff on the floor, crying: "The
King is dead!"[2] At the sound of these thrice-repeated words the heralds
lowered their banners to the ground, and there was a moment of profound
silence, only broken by the sound of weeping. Then Golden Fleece cried in
a ringing voice: "Charles, Archduke of Austria!" and all eyes were turned to
the fair, slender boy, who, robed in a long black mantle, knelt alone before
the altar. "My lord lives! long may he live!" cried the King-at-Arms; and a
great shout went up on all sides: "Long live Charles, Archduke of Austria
and Prince of Castille!" A sword blessed by the Bishop of Arras was placed
in the boy's hands, and the heralds of Burgundy, Flanders, Holland, and
Friesland, raising their fallen pennons, each in turn proclaimed the titles of
the youthful Prince, who was to be known to the world as Charles V.
No one wept more bitterly for King Philip than his only sister, Margaret, the
widowed Duchess of Savoy, as she knelt in her oratory close to the great
church. Although only twenty-seven, she had known many sorrows. After
being wedded to the Dauphin at two years old, and educated at the French
Court till she reached the age of thirteen, she was rejected by Charles VIII.
in favour of Anne of Brittany, and sent back to her father, the Emperor
Maximilian. Three years afterwards she went to Spain as the bride of Don
Juan, the heir to the crowns of Castille and Aragon, only to lose her
husband and infant son within a few months of each other. In 1501 she
became the wife of Duke Philibert of Savoy, with whom she spent the three
happiest years of her life. But in September, 1504, the young Duke died of
pleurisy, the result of a chill which he caught out hunting, and his heart-
broken widow returned once more to her father's Court.
On the death of Philip in the following year, Maximilian
prevailed upon his daughter to undertake the Feb., 1509]
MAXIMILIAN'S
government of the Netherlands, and in April, 1507,

Margaret was proclaimed Regent, and took up her abode GRANDCHILDRE
N
at Malines. She was a singularly able and gifted woman,
and her personal charms and rich dowry soon attracted new suitors. Before
she became Regent she had received proposals of marriage from Henry VII.
of England, which Maximilian urged her to accept, saying that she might
divide the year between England and the Netherlands. Louis XII., who in
his boyhood had played with the Archduchess at Amboise, would also
gladly have made her his second wife, but, as he remarked: "Madame
Marguerite's father has arranged marriages for her three times over, and
each time she has fared badly." Margaret herself was quite decided on the
subject, and declared that she would never marry again. Henceforth she
devoted herself exclusively to the administration of the Netherlands and the
guardianship of her brother's young family. Of the six children which Juana
of Castille had borne him, two remained in Spain, the younger boy
Ferdinand and the infant Katherine, who did not see the light until months
after her father's death. But the elder boy, Charles, and his three sisters,
grew up under their aunt's eye in the picturesque old palace at Malines,
which is still known as the Keyserhof, or Cour de l'Empereur. The eldest
girl, Eleanor, afterwards Queen of Portugal and France, was two years older
than her brother; the second, Isabella, the future Queen of Denmark, born
on the 15th of August, 1501, was nearly six; and Mary, the Queen of
Hungary, who was to play so great a part in the history of the Netherlands,
had only just completed her first year. Margaret, whose own child hardly
survived its birth, lavished all a mother's affection on her youthful nephew
and nieces. If the boy was naturally the chief object of her care, the little
girls held a place very near to her heart. This was especially the case with
"Madame Isabeau," her godchild, who was born when Margaret was living
at Malines before her second marriage. A gentle and charming child,
Isabella won the hearts of all, and became fondly attached to the brother
who was so nearly her own age.

CHARLES V. (1515)
By Bernard van Orley (Cardon Collection)
To face p. 4
Margaret's letters to the Emperor abound in allusions to these children,
whose welfare was a matter of deep interest to their grandfather. In the
midst of the most anxious affairs of State, when he was presiding over
turbulent Diets or warring beyond the Alps, Maximilian was always eager
for news of "our very dear and well-beloved children." The arrangements of
their household, the choice of their tutors and companions, their childish
maladies and amusements, were all fully reported to him. One unlucky day,

when the royal children had just recovered from measles, Madame Isabeau
caught the smallpox, and gave it to Madame Marie. Then Madame Leonore
complained of her head, and since Margaret had been told that the malady
was very contagious, and especially dangerous in winter, she felt it
advisable to keep her nephew at Brussels out of reach of infection. But this
precaution proved fruitless, for presently the boy sickened and became
dangerously ill. Great was the alarm which his condition excited, and it was
only at the end of three weeks that Margaret was able to inform the
Emperor, who was in Italy fighting against the Venetians, that his grandson
was out of danger.[3]
The education of Charles and his sisters was the subject
of their guardian's most anxious consideration. A lady of May, 1509] A
SFORZA DUKE
Navarre, Dame Anne de Beaumont, took charge of the
little girls from their infancy, and watched over them with a tenderness
which earned their lifelong gratitude. The old King of Aragon rewarded this
lady with the Order of S. Iago, while Margaret begged that she might be
allowed to spend her old age in one of the Archduke's houses at Ghent,
seeing that she had served "Mesdames mes nièces" so long and so well, and
had been but poorly paid for her trouble. Among their teachers was Louis
Vives, the learned friend of Erasmus, who afterwards became tutor to their
cousin, the Princess Mary of England, and took Sir Thomas More's
daughters as his models. Vives taught his pupils Greek and Latin, and made
them study the Gospels, and St. Paul's Epistles, as well as some parts of the
Old Testament. French romances, then so much in vogue, were banished
from their schoolroom, and the only tales which they were allowed to read
were those of Joseph and his brethren, of the Roman matron Lucretia, and
the well-known story of Griselda. Madame Leonore was fond of reading at
a very early age, but Madame Isabeau was more occupied with her dolls,
and is represented holding one in her arms in the triptych of Charles and his
sisters at Vienna. All the children were very fond of music, in which they
were daily instructed by the Archduchess's organist, and there is a charming
portrait of Eleanor playing on the clavichord in Monsieur Cardon's
collection at Brussels. When, in 1508, the Spanish Legate, Cardinal
Carvajal, visited Malines, Charles and his sisters were confirmed by him in
the palace chapel, and the Archduke addressed a letter of thanks to Pope
Julius II. in his childish round hand.

ELEANOR OF AUSTRIA, QUEEN OF PORTUGAL
AND FRANCE
By Bernard van Orley (Cardon Collection)
To face p. 6
Margaret was careful to provide her young charges with suitable
companions. A niece of Madame de Beaumont and a Spanish girl of noble
birth were brought up with the Archduchesses, while the sons of the
Marquis of Brandenburg and Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg were among
Charles's playmates. Another youth whom the Emperor sent to be educated
at Malines in 1509 was his godson, Maximilian Sforza, the eldest son of the
unfortunate Duke Lodovico and Beatrice d'Este. While his younger brother,

Francesco, afterwards the husband of Christina of Denmark, remained at
Innsbruck with his cousin, the Empress Bianca, Maximilian grew up with
Charles, and throughout his life never ceased to regard Margaret as a
second mother. The young Duke of Milan's name often figures in the
Archduchess's correspondence with her father. One day Maximilian tells
her to borrow 3,000 livres from the Fuggers, and give them to the Duke,
who has not enough to buy his own clothes, let alone those of his servants.
[4]
At another time we find Margaret appealing to her father to settle the
disputes of precedence which have arisen between the Dukes of Milan and
Saxe-Lauenburg, upon which Maximilian replied that they were too young
to think of such matters, and that for the present they had better take the
place of honour on alternate days.
It was a free and joyous life which these young Princes and Princesses led
at the Court of Malines. If they were kept strictly to their lessons, they also
had plenty of amusements. They played games, shot with bows and arrows,
and looked on at stag-hunts from the balcony of the Swan, an old hostelry
in the market-place. Charles had a little chariot, drawn by two ponies, in
which he often drove his sisters through the town and out into the open
country. Above all they enjoyed the visits which they paid to the Castle of
Vueren, near Brussels, where Charles often went by his grandfather's orders
to enjoy fresh air and take hunting expeditions. The old Emperor was
delighted to hear of his grandson's taste for sport, and wrote from Augsburg
that, if the Archduke had not been fond of hunting, people would have
suspected him of being a bastard.[5]
When, in 1512, Maximilian came to Brussels, and
Charles was sent to meet him, he begged Margaret to June, 1512]
"FELIX AUSTRIA
bring the three Princesses, without delay, to "amuse NUBE"
themselves in the park at Vueren," and sent the haunch
of a stag which he had killed that day as a present to his "dear little
daughters." At the children's urgent entreaty, the Emperor himself rode out
to join them at supper, and invited them to a banquet in the palace at
Brussels on Midsummer Day. When the English Ambassador, Sir Edward
Poynings, came to pay the Emperor his respects, he found His Majesty in
riding-boots, standing at the palace gates, with the Lady Regent, the Lord
Prince and his sisters, looking on at a great bonfire in the square. The
Ambassador and his colleague, Spinelli, were both invited to return to the

palace for supper, and had a long conversation with the Lady Margaret, in
whom they found the same perfect friend as ever, "while the Prince and his
sisters danced gaily with the other young folk till between nine and ten
o'clock."[6]
But this merry party was soon to break up. Before the end of the year
Maximilian Sforza crossed the Brenner, and entered Milan amidst the
acclamations of his father's old subjects, and eighteen months later two of
the young Archduchesses were wedded to foreign Kings.

II.

While her nieces were still children Margaret was busy
with plans for their marriage. Her views for them were May, 1514]
MARRIAGE-
ambitious and frankly expressed. "All your MAKING
granddaughters," she wrote to her father, "should marry
Kings." The old Emperor himself was an inveterate matchmaker, and the
House of Austria had been proverbially fortunate in its alliances. Tu felix
Austria nube had passed into a common saying. By his marriage with Mary
of Burgundy, Maximilian entered on the vast inheritance of Charles the
Bold, and his grandson was heir to the throne of Spain by right of his
mother Juana. In 1509 proposals for two of the Archduchesses came from
Portugal, and Margaret urged her father to accept these offers, remarking
shrewdly that King Emanuel was a wealthy monarch, and that there were
few marriageable Princes in Europe. If both Madame Leonore and Madame
Marie were betrothed to the two Portuguese Princes, there would still be
two of her nieces to contract other alliances. But Maximilian's thoughts
were too much occupied with his war against Venice to consider these
proposals seriously, and the matter was allowed to drop.[7] Meanwhile
Madame Isabeau's hand was in great request. In March, 1510, Maximilian
received offers of marriage for his second granddaughter from the King of
Navarre's son, Henri d'Albret, but this project was nipped in the bud by the
jealousy of Isabella's other grandfather, Ferdinand of Aragon, and Francis
I.'s sister, Margaret, Duchess of Alençon, became Queen of Navarre in her
stead. A new and strange husband for the nine-year-old Princess was now
proposed by the Regent herself. This was none other than Charles of
Egmont, Duke of Guelders, the turbulent neighbour who had been a thorn

in Margaret's side ever since she became Governess of the Netherlands. It is
difficult to believe that Margaret ever really intended to give her beloved
niece to the man whom she openly denounced as "a brigand and a felon,"
but it was necessary to cajole Guelders for the moment, and conferences
were held in which every detail of the marriage treaty was discussed, and
the dowry and fortune of the bride and the portions of her sons and
daughters were all minutely arranged. But when the deputies of Guelders
asked that Madame Isabeau should be given up to the Duke at once to be
educated at his Court, the Regent met their demands with a flat refusal. The
negotiations were broken off, and war began again.[8] Another matrimonial
project, which had been discussed ever since King Philip's lifetime, was the
union of the Archduchess Eleanor with the young Duke Antoine of
Lorraine. Maximilian seems to have been really eager for this marriage,
which he regarded as a means of detaching a neighbouring Prince from the
French alliance, but was so dilatory in the matter that Margaret wrote him a
sharp letter, asking him if he ever meant to marry his granddaughters. Upon
this the affronted Emperor rebuked her for these undutiful remarks, and
asked peevishly "if she held him for a Frenchman who changed his mind
every day."[9] But in spite of these protestations he took no further steps in
the matter, and in 1515 Duke Antoine married Renée de Bourbon, a
Princess of the blood royal of France.
The marriage of Louis XII. to Henry VIII.'s handsome sister Mary was a
more serious blow. Six years before the English Princess had been wedded
by proxy to the Archduke Charles, and Margaret, whose heart was set on
this alliance, vainly pressed her father to conclude the treaty. Meanwhile, in
January, 1514, Anne of Brittany died, and the widowed King sent offers of
marriage, first to Margaret herself, and then to her niece Eleanor.[10] A few
months later news reached Brussels that Louis had made a treaty with
Henry, and was about to wed the Princess Mary. So the Archduke lost his
promised bride, and his sister was once more cheated of a husband. The
Lady Regent was deeply hurt, but found some consolation for her wounded
feelings in the double marriage that was arranged in the course of the same
year between the Archduke Ferdinand and Anna, daughter of Ladislaus,
King of Hungary, and between this monarch's son Louis and the
Archduchess Mary. In May, 1514, the little Princess was sent to be educated

with her future sister-in-law at Vienna, where the wedding was celebrated a
year afterwards.[11]
At the same time marriage proposals for another of his granddaughters
reached Maximilian from a new and unexpected quarter. The young King of
Denmark, Christian II., on succeeding to the throne, declined the French
marriage which had been arranged for him by his father, and conceived the
ambitious design of allying himself with the Imperial Family. In March,
1514, two Danish Ambassadors, the Bishop of Schleswig and the Court-
Marshal Magnus Giœ, were introduced into Maximilian's presence by
Christian's uncle, the Elector of Saxony, and asked for the Archduchess
Eleanor's hand on behalf of their royal master. The prospect of an alliance
with Denmark met with the Emperor's approval, and could not fail to be
popular in the Low Countries as a means of opening the Baltic to the
merchants of Bruges and Amsterdam. Accordingly the envoys met with a
friendly reception, and were told that, although the elder Archduchess was
already promised to the Duke of Lorraine, the Emperor would gladly give
King Christian the hand of her sister Isabella. The contract was signed at
Linz on the 29th of April, 1514, and the dowry of the Princess was fixed at
250,000 florins, an enormous sum for those times. Only three-fifths of his
sister's fortune, however, was to be paid by Charles, and the remainder by
her grandfather, the King of Aragon.[12]

ISABELLA OF AUSTRIA, QUEEN OF DENMARK
By Bernard van Orley (Cardon Collection)
To face p. 12
From Linz the Ambassadors travelled by slow stages to
Brussels, where they were received with great honour. June, 1514] A
ROYAL
But Margaret was scarcely prepared for the proposal WEDDING
which they made, that the wedding might take place on
the following day, when King Christian was to be crowned at Copenhagen.
It was, however, impossible to refuse such a request, and on Trinity Sunday,
the 11th of June, the marriage was solemnized with due splendour. At ten

o'clock a brilliant assembly met in the great hall of the palace, which had
been hung for the occasion with the famous tapestries of the Golden Fleece,
and Magnus Giœ, who represented the King, appeared, supported by the
Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg and the Marquis of Brandenburg. Presently a
flourish of trumpets announced the bride's coming, and Charles led in his
sister, a tall, slender maiden of thirteen, robed in white, with a crown of
pearls and rubies on her fair locks. "Madame Isabeau," as Margaret wrote
with motherly pride to her father, "was certainly good to see."[13] They took
their places under a baldacchino near the altar, followed by the Regent, who
led her niece Eleanor by the hand. The Archbishop of Cambray, clad in rich
vestments of purple and gold, performed the nuptial rites, and the Danish
Ambassador placed a costly ring, bearing three gold crowns set round with
large sapphires and the motto Ave Maria gratia plena, on the finger of the
bride, who plighted her faith in the following words:
"Je, Isabelle d'Autriche et de Bourgogne, donne ma foi à très hautt et très
puissant Prince et Seigneur, Christierne roy de Danemarck, et à toy Magnus
Giœ, son vrai et léal procureur, et je le prens par toy en époux et mari
légitime."[14]
Then the Mass of the Holy Ghost was chanted, the Spanish Ambassador
being seated at the Archduke's side, and the others according to their rank,
all but the English Envoy, who refused to be present owing to a dispute as
to precedence. Afterwards the guests were entertained by the Regent at a
banquet, followed by a tournament and a state ball, which was kept up far
into the night. Finally all the chief personages present escorted the bride
with lighted torches to her chamber, and Magnus Giœ, in full armour, lay
down on the nuptial bed at her side in the presence of this august company.
Then, rising to his feet, he made a deep obeisance to the young Queen and
retired. During the next three days a succession of jousts and banquets took
place, and on the Feast of Corpus Christi a public reception was held in the
palace, at which the bride appeared wearing the ring of the three kingdoms
and a jewelled necklace sent her by King Christian. Unfortunately, the
Archduke danced so vigorously on the night of the wedding that this
unwonted exertion brought on a sharp attack of fever.
"Monseigneur," wrote his aunt to the Emperor, "fulfilled all his duties to
perfection, and showed himself so good a brother that he overtaxed his
strength, and fell ill the day after the wedding. Not," she hastened to add,

"that his sickness is in any way serious, but that the slightest ailment in a
Prince of his condition is apt to make one anxious."[15]
On the 4th of July the Danish Ambassadors took their
leave, but Isabella remained in her home for another Aug., 1515] EVIL
OMENS
year. She and Eleanor shared in the fêtes which
celebrated the Archduke's coming of age, and were present at his Joyeuse
Entrêe into Brussels. But in the midst of these festivities the Danish fleet,
with the Archbishop of Drondtheim on board, arrived at Veeren in Zeeland,
and on the 16th of July, 1515, the poor young Queen took leave of her
family with bitter tears, and sailed for Copenhagen. On the day of Isabella's
christening, fourteen years before, the ceremony had been marred by a
terrific thunderstorm, and now the same ill-luck attended her wedding
journey. A violent tempest scattered the Danish fleet off the shores of
Jutland, and the vessel which bore the Queen narrowly escaped shipwreck.
When at length she had landed safely at Helsingfors, she wrote a touching
little letter to the Regent:
"Madame, my Aunt and good Mother,
"I must tell you that we landed here last Saturday, after having
been in great peril and distress at sea for the last ten days. But
God kept me from harm, for which I am very thankful. Next
Thursday we start for Copenhagen, which is a day's journey
from here. I have been rather ill, and feel weak still, but hope
soon to be well. Madame, if I could choose for myself I should
be with you now; for to be parted from you is the most grievous
thing in the world to me, and the more so as I do not know when
there is any hope of seeing you again. So I can only beg you, my
dearest aunt and mother, to keep me in your heart, and tell me if
there is anything that you wish me to do, and you shall always
be obeyed, God helping me. That He may give you a long and
happy life is the prayer of your humble and dutiful niece
Isabeau.[16]
"August 7, 1515."
Two days later Isabella continued her journey to Hvidore, the royal country-
house near Copenhagen. There she was received by King Christian, who
rode at her side, a splendid figure in gold brocade and shining armour, when

on the following day she made her state entry into the capital in torrents of
rain. On the 12th of August the wedding was celebrated in the great hall of
the ancient castle, which had been rebuilt by King Christian's father, and
was followed by the coronation of the young Queen. But Isabella was so
much exhausted by the fatigue which she had undergone, that before the
conclusion of the ceremony she fell fainting into the arms of her ladies. Her
illness threw a gloom over the wedding festivities, and seemed a forecast of
the misfortunes that were to darken the course of her married life and turn
her story into a grim tragedy.

FOOTNOTES:
[1] L. Gachard, "Voyages des Souverains des Pays-Bas." i. 455.

[2] "Bulletins de la Commission Royale d'Histoire," 2ième série, v. 113-119.
Jehan Le Maire, "Les Funéraux de Feu Don Philippe."
[3] E. Le Glay, "Correspondance de l'Empereur Maximilien I. et de Marguerite
d'Autriche," i. 203.
[4] Le Glay, i. 393.
[5] Le Glay, i. 241.
[6] Calendar of State Papers, Henry VIII., i. 369.
[7] Le Glay, i. 165.
[8] Le Glay, i. 281, 399-441.
[9] Le Glay, ii. 205.
[10] H. Ulmann, "Kaiser Maximilian," ii. 484, 498.
[11] Le Glay, ii. 252; A. Henne, "Histoire du Règne de Charles V.," i. 96.
[12] Le Glay, ii. 383.
[13] Le Glay, ii. 256.
[14] J. Altmeyer, "Isabelle d'Autriche," 53.
[15] Le Glay, ii. 257.
[16] Altmeyer, "Isabelle d'Autriche," 43.

BOOK II
CHRISTIAN II., KING OF DENMARK, THE
FATHER OF CHRISTINA
1513-1523
I.

Christian II., King of Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, as the proud title ran,
was in many respects a remarkable man. His life and character have been
the subject of much controversy. Some historians have held him up to
admiration as a patriot and martyr who suffered for his love of freedom and
justice. Others have condemned him as a cruel and vindictive tyrant, whose
crimes deserved the hard fate which befell him. Both verdicts are justified
in the main. On the one hand, he was an able and enlightened ruler, who
protected the liberties of his poorer subjects, encouraged trade and learning,
and introduced many salutary reforms. On the other, he was a man of
violent passions, crafty and unscrupulous in his dealings, cruel and
bloodthirsty in avenging wrongs. His career naturally invites comparison
with that of Lodovico Sforza, whose son became the husband of his
daughter Christina. Both Princes were men of great ability and splendid
dreams. In their zeal for the promotion of commerce and agriculture, in
their love of art and letters, both were in advance of the age in which they
lived. Again, their vices and crimes, the cunning ways and unscrupulous
measures by which they sought to attain their ends, were curiously the
same. No doubt Christian II., born and bred as he was among the rude
Norsemen, belonged to a coarser strain than the cultured Duke of Milan,
and is hardly to be judged by the same standard. But the two Princes
resembled each other closely, and the fate which eventually overtook them
was practically the same. Both of these able and distinguished men lost
their States in the prime of life, and were doomed to end their days in
captivity. This cruel doom has atoned in a great measure for their guilt in
the eyes of posterity, and even in their lifetime their hard fate aroused
general compassion.

Certainly no one could have foreseen the dismal fate
which lay in store for Christian II. when he ascended the Jan., 1516] THE
KING'S DOVE
throne. Seldom has a new reign opened with fairer
promise. His father, good King Hans, died in 1513, lamented by all his
subjects, and leaving his successor a prosperous and united kingdom.
Christian was thirty-two, and had already shown his courage and ability in
quelling a revolt in Norway. A man of noble and commanding presence,
with blue eyes and long fair hair, he seemed a born leader of men, while his
keen intelligence, genial manners, and human interest in those about him,
early won the affection of his subjects. Unfortunately his own passions
proved his worst enemies. In Norway he had fallen in love with a beautiful
girl named Dyveke—the Dove—whose mother, a designing Dutchwoman
named Sigebritt Willems, kept a tavern at Bergen. On his accession he
brought Dyveke and her mother to Hvidore, and gave them a house in the
neighbourhood. This illicit connection excited great scandal at Court, and
the Chancellor, Archbishop Walkendorf of Drondtheim, exhorted the King
earnestly to put away his mistress on his marriage. Even before Isabella left
Brussels, the Archbishop wrote glowing accounts of her beauty and
goodness to his master, and told the King of the romantic attachment which
she cherished for her unknown lord. After her arrival at Copenhagen he did
his utmost to insure her comfort, and see that she was treated with proper
respect.
For a time Christian seems to have been genuinely in love with his young
wife, whose innocent charm won all hearts in her new home. In his anxiety
to please her, he furnished his ancestral castle anew, and sent to Germany
for musicians, fearing that the rude voices of Danish singers might sound
harsh in her ears. A young Fleming, Cornelius Scepperus, was appointed to
be his private secretary, and the Fuggers of Antwerp were invited to found a
bank at Copenhagen. At the same time twenty-four Dutch families, from
Waterland in Holland, were brought over in Danish ships, and induced to
settle on the island of Amager, opposite the capital, in order that the royal
table might be supplied with butter and cheese made in the Dutch fashion.
This colony, imported by Christian II., grew and flourished, and to this day
their descendants occupy Amager, where peasant women clad in the
national costume of short woollen skirts, blue caps, and red ribbons, are still
to be seen. Unfortunately, the influence which Sigebritt and her daughter
had acquired over the King was too strong to be resisted. Before long they

returned to Court, and, to the indignation of Isabella's servants, Sigebritt
was appointed Mistress of her household. Rumours of the slights to which
the young Queen was exposed soon reached the Netherlands, and when
Maximilian informed Margaret that he intended to marry her niece Eleanor
to the King of Poland, she replied with some asperity that she could only
hope the marriage would turn out better than that of her unhappy sister. The
Emperor expressed much surprise at these words, saying that he considered
his granddaughter to be very well married, since the King of Denmark was
a monarch of the proudest lineage, and endowed with noble manners and
rare gifts, if his people were still somewhat rude and barbarous.[17] But, in
spite of Maximilian's protests, the reports of King Christian's misconduct
soon became too persistent to be ignored. When, in October, 1516, Charles,
who had assumed the title of King of Spain on his grandfather Ferdinand's
death, held his first Chapter of the Golden Fleece, the Knights with one
accord refused to admit the King of Denmark to their Order, because he was
accused of adultery and ill-treated his wife.[18] At length Maximilian was
moved to take action, and wrote to his grandson Charles in sufficiently
plain language, saying:
"The shameful life which our brother and son-in-law,
the King of Denmark, is leading with a concubine, to 1513-23]
ELEANOR'S
the great sorrow and vexation of his wife, our ROMANCE
daughter and your sister, is condemned by all his
relatives; and in order to constrain him to abandon this
disorderly way of living, and be a better husband to our said
daughter, we are sending Messire Sigismund Herbesteiner to
remonstrate with him, and have begged Duke Frederic of
Saxony, his uncle, who arranged the marriage, to send one of his
servants on the same errand. And we desire you to send one of
your chief councillors to help carry out our orders, and induce
the King to put away his concubine and behave in a more
reasonable and honourable manner."[19]
But none of these remonstrances produced any effect on the misguided
King. When Herbesteiner reproached him with sacrificing the laws of God
and honour and the Emperor's friendship to a low-born woman, he shook
his fist in the imperial Envoy's face, and bade him begone from his
presence.[20] At the same time he showed his resentment in a more

dangerous way by making a treaty with France and closing the Sound to
Dutch ships. He even seized several trading vessels on pretence that the
Queen's dowry had not been paid, and when Archbishop Walkendorf
ventured to expostulate with him on his misconduct, banished the prelate
from Court.[21]
Meanwhile Isabella herself bore neglect and insults with the same
uncomplaining sweetness. But we see how much she suffered from a
private letter which she wrote to her sister Eleanor about this time. This
attractive Princess, who at the age of eighteen still remained unmarried, had
fallen in love with her brother's brilliant friend, Frederic, Count Palatine,
the most accomplished knight at Court, and the idol of all the ladies. The
mutual attachment between the Palatine and the Archduchess was the talk
of the whole Court, and met with Margaret's private approval, although it
was kept a secret from Charles and his Ministers. Eleanor confided this
romantic story to her absent sister, and expressed a secret hope that the
popular Count Palatine might succeed her aunt as Regent when the young
King left Brussels for Spain. In reply Isabella sent Eleanor the warmest
congratulations on her intended marriage, rejoicing that her sister at least
would not be forced to leave home, and would be united to a husband
whom she really loved. The poor young Queen proceeded to lament her
own sad fate in the following strain:
"It is hard enough to marry a man whose face you have never
seen, whom you do not know or love, and worse still to be
required to leave home and kindred, and follow a stranger to the
ends of the earth, without even being able to speak his
language."[22]
She goes on to describe the misery of her life, even
though she bears the title of Queen. What is she, in fact, 1513-23] A LOVE-
LETTER
but a prisoner in a foreign land? She is never allowed to
go out or appear in public, while her lord the King spends his time in royal
progresses and hunting-parties, and amuses himself after his fashion, apart
from her. Far better would it be for Eleanor to follow her own inclination,
and choose a husband who belongs to her own country and speaks her
language, even if he were not of kingly rank. Unfortunately, the pretty
romance which excited Isabella's sympathy was doomed to an untimely
end. The death of Mary of Castille, Queen of Portugal, in May, 1517, left

King Emanuel a widower for the second time. He had married two of
Charles's aunts in turn, and was now over fifty, and a hunchback into the
bargain. None the less, the plan of a marriage between him and his niece
Eleanor was now revived, and in August these proposals reached the young
King at the seaport of Middelburg, where he and his sister were awaiting a
favourable wind to set sail for Spain. Filled with alarm, Frederic implored
Eleanor to take a bold step, confess her love to Charles, and seek his
consent to her marriage with his old friend. In a letter signed with his name,
and still preserved in the Archives of Simancas, the Palatine begged his love
to lose no time if she would escape from the snare laid for them both by
"the Uncle of Portugal."
"Ma mignonne," he wrote, "si vous voulez, vous pouvez être la
cause de mon bien ou de mon mal. C'est pourquoi je vous
supplie d'avoir bon courage pour vous et pour moi. Cela peut se
faire si vous voulez. Car je suis prêt, et ne demande autre chose,
sinon que je sois à vous, et vous à moi."[23]
Accordingly, on the Feast of the Assumption Eleanor approached her
brother after hearing Mass in the abbey chapel. But while she was gathering
all her courage to speak, Charles caught sight of the Palatine's letter in her
bosom, and, snatching it from his sister's hands, broke into furious
reproaches, swearing that he would avenge this insult with the traitor's
blood. As Spinelli, the English Envoy, remarked, "The letter was but honest,
concerning matters of love and marriage,"[24] but the young King would
listen to no excuses, and, in spite of the Regent's intervention, Frederic was
banished from Court in disgrace. A fortnight later Charles and his sister
sailed for Castille, and in the following summer Madame Leonore became
the bride of "l'Oncle de Portugal," King Emanuel.

II.

The death of Christian II.'s mistress, Dyveke, in the summer of 1517
produced a change in the situation at Copenhagen. This unfortunate girl, a
victim of her ambitious mother's designs, died very suddenly one afternoon
after eating cherries in the royal gardens. The King's suspicions fell on his
steward, Torben Axe, who was brutally put to death in spite of his
protestations of innocence. But the Queen's position was distinctly

improved. Christian now treated his wife with marked kindness, and
appointed her Regent when, early in the following year, he went to Sweden
to put down a rising of the nobles. Sigebritt Willems's influence, however,
still remained paramount, and, in a letter to the Queen from Sweden,
Christian begged her to consult the Dutchwoman in any difficulty, and
ended by wishing her and "Mother Sigebritt" a thousand good-nights.
Stranger still to relate, when, on the 21st of February, Isabella gave birth to
a son, the infant Prince was entrusted to Sigebritt's care.
This happy event, combined with Isabella's unfailing
affection for her wayward lord, led to improved relations 1513-23] BIRTH
OF PRINCES
between Christian and his wife's family. After the death
of Maximilian, Charles became anxious to secure his brother-in-law's
support in the imperial election, and in February, 1519, a treaty was
concluded between the two monarchs at Brussels.[25] The Danish Envoys,
Anton de Metz and Hermann Willems, Sigebritt's brother, received rich
presents from Margaret, who was once more acting as Regent of the
Netherlands, and she even sent a silver-gilt cup to the hated Dutchwoman
herself.[26] A month later the King of Denmark was elected Knight of the
Golden Fleece at a Chapter of the Order held at Barcelona, and in a letter
which Charles addressed to him he expressed his pleasure at hearing good
accounts of his sister and little nephew, and promised to pay the arrears of
Isabella's dowry as soon as possible.[27]
On the 28th of June, 1519, Charles was elected King of the Romans, and
the formal announcement of his election was brought to Barcelona by
Eleanor's rejected suitor, the Palatine Frederic, whom he received with open
arms. A few days after this auspicious event the Queen of Denmark, on the
4th of July, 1519, gave birth to twin sons, who received the names of Philip
and Maximilian. Both, however, died within a week of their baptism, upon
which Sigebritt is said to have remarked that this was a good thing, since
Denmark was too small a realm to support so many Princes.
With the help of Dutch ships and gold, Christian succeeded in subduing the
Swedish rebels, and was crowned with great solemnity in the Cathedral of
Upsala on the 4th of November, 1520. But the rejoicings on this occasion
were marred by the execution of ninety Swedish nobles and two Bishops,
who were treacherously put to death by the King's orders. This act, which

earned for Christian the title of the Nero of the North, is said to have been
instigated by Sigebritt and her nephew Slagbök, a Westphalian barber, who
had been raised from this low estate to be Archbishop of Lunden. The
insolent conduct of these evil counsellors naturally increased the King's
unpopularity in all parts of the kingdom. Yet at the same time Christian II.
showed himself to be an excellent and enlightened ruler. He administered
justice strictly, and introduced many salutary reforms.
The common practice of buying and selling serfs was
prohibited, Burgomasters and Town Councils were 1513-23] BIRTH
OF DOROTHEA
appointed to carry out the laws, and a system of tolls and
customs was established. Schools and hospitals were founded, inns were
opened in every town and village for the convenience of travellers, piracy
and brigandage were sternly repressed. An Act was passed ordering that all
cargoes recovered from wrecks were to be placed in the nearest church, and,
if not claimed by the end of the year, divided between the Crown and the
Church. When the Bishops complained of the loss thus inflicted on them,
the King told them to go home and learn the Eighth Commandment. Still
greater was the opposition aroused when he attempted to reform clerical
abuses. Early in life Christian showed strong leanings towards the doctrines
of Luther, and on his return from Sweden he asked his uncle, the Elector of
Saxony, to send him a Lutheran preacher from Wittenberg. Although these
efforts at proselytizing met with little success, the King openly professed
his sympathy with the new Gospel. He had the Bible translated into Danish,
bade the Bishops dismiss their vast households, issued edicts allowing
priests to marry, and ordered the begging friars to stay at home and earn
their bread by honest labour.[28]
All these reforms could not be effected without vigorous opposition, and the
discontent among the nobles and clergy became every day more active. In
the spring of 1521 a young Swedish noble, Gustavus Wasa, raised the
standard of revolt in Dalecarlia, and led his peasant bands against
Stockholm. Upon this Christian decided to pay a visit to the Low Countries
to meet the new Emperor, who was coming to be crowned at Aix-la-
Chapelle, and seek his help against the citizens of Lübeck and the Swedish
rebels. The government was once more placed in the hands of Isabella. A
few months before this, on the 10th of November, 1520, while Christian
was absent in Sweden, the Queen had given birth to a daughter, named

Dorothea after the King's grandmother, the able and ambitious Princess of
Brandenburg, who married two Kings of Denmark in succession. Now she
followed her husband with wistful thoughts as he started on his journey,
attended only by his Chamberlain, Anton de Metz, and three servants, and
rode all the way to her old home in the Netherlands.
On the 20th of June nine Danish ships sailed into the port of Antwerp, and a
few days afterwards Christian II. rode into the town. His fine presence and
the courage which he had shown in riding through Germany with this small
escort excited general admiration.
"I noted," wrote Albert Dürer in his Journal, "how much the
people of Antwerp marvelled at the sight of this manly and
handsome Prince, who had come hither through his enemies'
country, with these few attendants."[29]
The Nuremberg master had been spending the winter in
the Low Countries, paying his respects to the Regent at 1513-23] KING
CHRISTIAN AT
Malines, and conversing with Erasmus of Rotterdam and BRUSSELS
Lucas van Leyden. He was starting on his journey home,
when, on the Feast of the Visitation, he was sent for by the King of
Denmark, who received him very graciously, and asked him to dine at his
table and to take his portrait. So great was the interest which Christian
showed in the painter's work, that Dürer gave him a fine set of his prints,
which are still preserved in the museum at Copenhagen, and accepted an
invitation to accompany him to Brussels the next day. Thus Albert Dürer
was a witness of the meeting between Christian and his brother-in-law
Charles V., who had just arrived from his coronation at Aix-la-Chapelle, and
had been received with great rejoicing by his subjects. At five that summer
evening Charles rode out from Brussels at the head of a brilliant cavalcade,
and met his royal brother-in-law in a meadow, where they embraced each
other and conversed with the help of an interpreter, Christian speaking in
German, and Charles in French. They entered Brussels after sunset, and
found the streets hung with tapestries and lighted with innumerable torches
and bonfires. The Emperor escorted Christian to the Count of Nassau's
palace on the top of the hill, which Dürer describes as the finest house that
he had ever seen. The next morning Charles brought his guest to the palace
gates, where the Regent and Germaine de Foix, King Ferdinand's widow,
were awaiting them, and for the first time Margaret came face to face with

her niece's husband. Christian kissed the two ladies in French fashion, and
after dinner the two Princes spent the evening dancing with the Court
ladies.
"Now," wrote the Venetian Ambassador, Gaspare Contarini, "at
two hours after dark, they are still dancing, for young monarchs
such as these are not easily tired."[30]
The impression which the Danish King made on the learned Italian was
very favourable. He describes him as a fine-looking Prince, with an earnest,
animated expression, long locks, and a beard curled after the Italian fashion.
In his black satin doublet, Spanish cloak, and jewelled cap, he looked every
inch a King. On the Sunday after his arrival Christian entertained the
Emperor, the Lady Margaret, and the Queen-Dowager of Spain, at dinner.
Albert Dürer was present on this occasion, and was afterwards employed to
paint a portrait of the King in oils, for which Christian gave him thirty
florins, an act of liberality which contrasted favourably with Margaret's
parsimony. "The Lady Margaret in particular," remarks the painter in his
Journal, "gave me nothing for what I made and presented to her." Another
personage in whose society the King took pleasure was Erasmus, who
discussed the reform of the Church with him, and was much struck by the
monarch's enlightened opinions. On the 12th of July Christian accompanied
his brother-in-law to Antwerp, to lay the foundations of the new choir of
Our Lady's Church, and went on to Ghent, where he paid formal homage
for the duchy of Holstein, and was confirmed in his rights over the Hanse
towns, but could not persuade Charles to join him in making war on the
friendly citizens of Lübeck. At Ghent the King sent for the English
Ambassador, Sir Robert Wingfield, with whom he had a long and friendly
conversation, expressing great anxiety to meet King Henry VIII. In reply,
Wingfield told him that he would soon have the opportunity of seeing the
English monarch's powerful Minister, Cardinal Wolsey, to whom he could
speak as frankly as to the King himself.[31] Accordingly, on the 5th of
August Christian accompanied Charles and Margaret to the Prinzenhof at
Bruges, where Wolsey joined them a week later. The regal state of the
English Cardinal formed a striking contrast to the King's simplicity. He
arrived with a train of over a thousand followers, clad in red satin, and
twenty English nobles, wearing gold chains, walked at his horse's side. On
Sunday he rode to Mass with the Emperor, and dined with Charles and

Margaret, "praising the delicate and sumptuous manner" in which he was
entertained. When the King of Denmark sent to ask him to come to his
lodgings, the Cardinal demurred, saying that, as he represented His Majesty
of England, the King must be the first to visit him, but that if Christian
preferred he would meet him in the palace garden. Christian, however,
waived ceremony, and called on Wolsey the next morning. The interview
was a very friendly one. Christian expressed his anxiety to enter into a close
alliance with England, and begged King Henry to be a good uncle to his
young kinsman, James V. of Scotland. Wolsey on his part was much
impressed by the King's good sense and peaceable intentions.
"Surely, Sir," he wrote to his royal master, "the King
of Denmark, though in appearance he should be 1513-23] REVOLT
IN DENMARK
judged to be a rash man, yet he is right wise, sober,
and discreet, minding the establishing of good peace betwixt
Christian Princes, wherein he right substantially declared his
mind to me at good length."[32]

CHRISTIAN II., KING OF DENMARK
To face p. 30
But the next day the King sent the Cardinal word that he had received such
bad news from his own country that he must return without delay. He
actually left Bruges that day, and was escorted to the city gates by the Papal
Nuncio Caracciolo and Contarini, who took leave of the King, and returned
to dine with Erasmus and his English friend, Messer Toma Moro.[33]
Unfortunately, Christian's visit to the Low Countries produced no good
result, and there was some justification for the Imperial Chancellor's cynical
remark: "It would have been better to keep the King here, where he can do

no harm, than to let him go home to make fresh mischief."[34] He left
Bruges dissatisfied with the Emperor, and on reaching Copenhagen his first
act was to dismiss the Queen's confessor, Mansueri. When the Emperor
begged him to leave his sister free in matters of conscience, he broke into a
passionate fit of rage, tore the Golden Fleece from his neck, and trampled it
underfoot, cursing his meddlesome brother-in-law. What was worse, he
seized several Dutch ships in the Sound, and drew upon himself the serious
displeasure of the Regent and her Council.
Meanwhile Gustavus Wasa had laid siege to Stockholm, and there was a
rising in Jutland. A Papal Legate arrived at Copenhagen to inquire into the
judicial murder of the Swedish Bishops and demand the punishment of
Slagbök. The unfortunate Archbishop was made a scapegoat, and put to
death in January, 1522. Stones were thrown at Sigebritt when she drove out
in the royal carriage, and one day she was thrown into a pond by some
peasants, and only rescued with difficulty. Even Christian began to realize
the danger of the situation, and wrote to Isabella from Jutland, begging her
to "bid Mother Sigebritt hold her tongue, and not set foot outside the castle,
if she wished him to return home alive." In another letter, written on the 4th
of February, 1522, from the Convent of Dalin, the King congratulates his
wife on her safe deliverance, and the birth of "a marvellously handsome
child."[35] This is the only intimation we have of the birth of Isabella's
second daughter, Christina. The exact date is not to be found in the Danish
archives, and has hitherto eluded all research. The child who saw the light
in these troubled times received the name of Christina from her
grandmother, the Queen-Dowager of Denmark, a Princess of Saxon birth,
who still resided at King Hans's favourite palace of Odensee. All we know
of Queen Christina is that, on the 2nd of April, 1515, two years after her
husband's death, she addressed an urgent prayer to King Henry VIII.,
begging him to send her a relic of St. Thomas of Canterbury.[36] We are not
told if a phial containing a drop of the saint's blood was sent to Denmark in
response to this entreaty, but the request is of interest as a proof of the
English martyr's widespread renown.
A few weeks after the birth of her little daughter Isabella wrote a touching
appeal to her aunt, imploring the Regent's help against the Danish rebels:

"We have sad news from my lord in Jutland. The
nobles there have rebelled against him, and seek to 1513-23]
CHRISTIAN II.
deprive him and our children of their crown and their DEPOSED
lives. So we entreat you to come to our help, that we
may chastise these rebels."[37]
Anton de Metz was sent to Brussels on the same errand, but could obtain
small hopes of assistance. The Regent's Council complained that King
Christian had damaged the trade of the Low Countries and ill-treated their
sailors, and the temper of the Court was reflected in Sir Robert Wingfield's
despatches to England.
"The Easterlings," remarked the Ambassador, "handle the King
of Denmark roughly, and his own people are said to have killed
the Woman of Holland, who was mother to his Dove, as the
King's mistress was called, whereby it appeareth that ill life and
like governance often cometh to a bad end."[38]
King Christian's affairs, as Wingfield truly said, were in an evil plight. In
June Stockholm surrendered to Gustavus Wasa, and the citizens of Lübeck
sent a fleet to burn Helsingfors and threaten Copenhagen. To add to the
unfortunate King's difficulties, his uncle Frederic, Duke of Holstein, who
had always nursed a grievance against his elder brother, the late King Hans,
now took up a hostile attitude, and made common cause with the rebels. On
the 20th of January, 1523, the nobles of Jutland met at Viborg, deposed
Christian II. formally, and elected his uncle Frederic to be King in his stead.
In vain Christian endeavoured to raise fresh forces, and sent desperate
appeals to his kinsfolk in the Low Countries and Germany, and to his allies
in England and Scotland.
Margaret replied curtly that the Emperor himself needed all the men and
ammunition that could be obtained in those parts. The young King of
Scotland's Chancellor, the Archbishop of Glasgow, sent a sympathetic
message, regretting that the enmity of England prevented him from helping
King Christian against his rebel subjects. When the Dean of Roskild
appeared in London with a letter from the Danish monarch, begging King
Henry to induce Margaret to help him against the Easterlings, Wolsey sent a
splendid barge to conduct the Ambassador to Greenwich, but gave him little
encouragement beyond fair words. "So I hope," wrote Sir Robert Wingfield,

who, in spite of Christian's civilities at Ghent, had little pity for him, "that
this wicked King will fail."[39]
The unhappy monarch was at his wits' end. Yet many of
his subjects were still loyal. The bulk of the middle and 1513-23] FLIGHT
OF THE ROYAL
lower classes, the burghers, artisans, and country-folk, FAMILY
looked on him as their best friend; and when he
appeared at the fair of Ringsted, a thousand strong arms were raised, and a
thousand lusty voices swore fealty to Christian, the peasants' King.
Copenhagen was strongly fortified, and as long as he stayed there he was
safe from his foes. But an unaccountable panic seized him. Whether, as in
the case of Lodovico Sforza, whom he resembled in so many ways, remorse
for past crimes enfeebled his will, or whether his nerves gave way, he could
not summon up courage to meet his foes, and decided to fly. A fleet of
twenty ships was equipped, fully supplied with arms and ammunition, and
laden with the crown jewels, archives, and treasures. The Queen and her
young children—the five-year-old Prince John, the two little Princesses,
Dorothea and Christina (a babe of fifteen months)—went on board the
finest vessel of the fleet, the Great Mary, and Mother Sigebritt was hidden
in a chest to save her from the fury of the people, who regarded her as the
chief cause of the King's unpopularity. But the greatest compassion was felt
for Isabella and her innocent babes; and even the usurper Frederic wrote to
beg the Queen to remain in Denmark, assuring her that she and her children
would be perfectly safe. On the 14th of April the fleet set sail. An immense
crowd assembled on the ramparts to see the last of the royal family. The
King made a farewell speech, exhorting the garrison to remain loyal to his
cause, and promising to return in three months with reinforcements. Then
the ships weighed anchor, and neither Isabella nor her children ever saw the
shores of Denmark again.

FOOTNOTES:
[17] Le Glay, ii. 336.
[18] De Reiffenberg, "Histoire de l'Ordre de la Toison d'Or," 307.
[19] Le Glay, ii. 337.
[20] L. Van Bergh, "Correspondance de M. d'Autriche," ii. 135.
[21] Ulmann, ii. 510.

[22] Hubertus Leodius Thomas, "Spiegel des Humors grosser Potentaten," 79. E.
Moeller, "Éléonore d'Autriche," 307.
[23] Moeller, 327. L. Mignet, "Rivalité de Francis I. et Charles V.," i. 140.
[24] Calendar of State Papers, Henry VIII., ii. 2, 1151. H. Baumgarten,
"Geschichte Karl V.," i. 58.
[25] Henne. ii. 249.
[26] Archives du Royaume: Bruxelles Régistre des Revenus et Dépenses de
Charles V., ii. 72.
[27] J. Altmeyer, 46.
[28] F. Dahlmann, "Geschichte von Dänemark," iii. 359.
[29] M. Conway, "Literary Remains of Albert Dürer," 124.
[30] Venetian State Papers, iii. 139.
[31] Calendar of State Papers, Henry VIII., iii. 2, 555, 561, 582.
[32] Calendar of State Papers, Henry VIII., iii. 2, 614.
[33] Venetian State Papers, iii. 162.
[34] Calendar of State Papers, Henry VIII., iii. 2, 576.
[35] Altmeyer, 23. Reedtz Manuscripts, xiii. 28.
[36] Calendar of State Papers, Henry VIII., ii. 191.
[37] Altmeyer, "Isabelle d'Autriche," 23.
[38] Calendar of State Papers, Henry VIII., iii. 2, 1086.
[39] Calendar of State Papers, Henry VIII., iii. 2, 1189. Altmeyer, "Relations
Commerciales du Danemark et des Paysbas," 105.

BOOK III
KINGS IN EXILE
1523-1531
I.

The troubles of the Danish royal family were not over
when they left Copenhagen. A violent storm scattered 1523-31] VISIT TO
LONDON
the fleet in the North Sea, and drove several of the ships
on the Norwegian coast, where many of them were lost with all their cargo.
The remaining eleven or twelve ships entered the harbour of Veeren, in
Walcheren, on the 1st of May. Here the King and Queen were kindly
received by Adolf of Burgundy, the Admiral of the Dutch fleet, who kept
them for a week in his own house, and then escorted them to the Regent's
Court at Malines. Margaret welcomed her niece with all her old affection,
and took her and the royal children into her own house. But she met the
King's prayer for help coldly, saying that it was beyond her power to give
him either men or money. The moment, it is true, was singularly
unpropitious. Not only were all the Emperor's resources needed to carry on
his deadly struggle with France, but nearer home the Regent was engaged in
a fierce conflict with her old enemy, Charles of Guelders, for the possession
of Friesland. As Adolf of Burgundy wrote to Wolsey: "We need help so
much ourselves that we are hardly in condition to help others."[40] Christian
soon realized this, and determined to apply to Henry VIII., relying on his
former assurances of brotherly affection, and feeling confident of Wolsey's
support. The scheme met with Margaret's approval, and, since Isabella had
only brought one Dutch maid and the children's nurses from Copenhagen,
the Regent lent her several ladies, in order that she might appear in due state
at the English Court.[41]
On the 5th of June the King and Queen left Malines with a suite of eighty
persons and fifty horses, and, after waiting some time at Calais to hear the
latest news from Denmark, crossed the Channel, and reached Greenwich on
the 19th. Wolsey had already told the Imperial Ambassador, De Praet, that

the King of Denmark would receive little encouragement from his master,
and had expressed a hope that he would not give them the trouble of
coming to England. He met the royal travellers, however, at the riverside,
and conducted them to the palace, where they dined in the great hall with
the King on the following day, Henry leading Christian by the hand, and
Queen Katherine following with Isabella and her sister-in-law, Mary,
Duchess of Suffolk, the widow of Louis XII., who was still known as la
Reine blanche. From Greenwich the King and Queen of Denmark moved to
Bath Place, where they were lodged at Henry's expense. Katherine
welcomed her great-niece with motherly affection, but both Henry and
Wolsey told Christian plainly that he had made a fatal mistake in deserting
his loyal subjects, and advised him to return at once and encourage them by
his presence.
All the English monarch would do was to send Envoys to Denmark to urge
the usurper Frederic and his supporters to return to their allegiance.
"For," as Henry himself wrote to the Emperor, "this perfidy of
the King's subjects is a most fatal example, if for the most
trifling cause a Prince is to be called in question, and expelled
and put from his crown."[42]
The futility of these measures was evident to De Praet, who wrote to
Charles at Toledo, saying that unless he took up the exiled monarch's cause
for his sister's sake he would never recover his kingdom. Copenhagen was
now besieged by land and sea, and if the garrison were not relieved by
Michaelmas they would be forced to surrender, and Christian's last hope
would be gone. The King himself, De Praet owned, seemed little changed,
and he advised the Emperor to insist on Sigebritt's removal before giving
him any help.
"Your Majesty," wrote the Ambassador, "ought first of all to
have the Woman of Holland sought out and punished, an act
which in my small opinion would acquire great merit in the eyes
of both God and man."[43]
At Isabella's request, both Margaret and King Henry had spoken strongly to
Christian on this subject, but he still persisted in his infatuation, and it was
not till after he had left the Netherlands, and his wife and aunt were dead,
that this miserable woman was arrested in Ghent and burnt as a witch.[44]

As for the Queen, no words could express De Praet's
admiration for her angelic goodness. "It is indeed 1523-31] A NOBLE
WIFE
grievous," he wrote, "to see this poor lady in so
melancholy a plight, and I cannot marvel too much at her virtues and heroic
patience." Henry was equally moved, and wrote to Charles in the warmest
terms of his sister's noble qualities, but did not disguise his contempt for her
husband.[45]
There was, clearly, nothing more to be gained by remaining in England, and
on the 5th of July the King and Queen returned to the Low Countries.
Isabella joined her children at Malines, and Christian went to Antwerp to
equip ships for the relief of Copenhagen. But he soon quarrelled with
Margaret, and left suddenly for Germany. In September he appeared at
Berlin, having ridden from Brussels attended by only two servants, and
succeeded in raising a force of 25,000 men, with the help of his brother-in-
law, the Marquis of Brandenburg, and Duke Henry of Brunswick. But when
the troops assembled on the banks of the Elbe, King Christian was unable to
fulfil his promises or provide the money demanded by the leaders, and he
was glad to escape with his life from the angry hordes of soldiers
clamouring for pay. By the end of the year Copenhagen capitulated, and in
the following August the usurper Frederic was elected King by the General
Assembly, and solemnly crowned in the Frauenkirche.[46] The crimes of the
unhappy Christian recoiled on his own head, and in the Act of Deprivation
by which he was formally deposed, it was expressly stated that his neglect
of his noble and virtuous wife, and infatuation for the adventuress Sigebritt
and her daughter, had estranged the hearts of his people. But through all
these troubles Isabella clung to him with unchanging faithfulness. She
followed him first to Berlin, then to Saxony, where he sought his uncle's
help. In March she went to Nuremberg on a visit to her brother, King
Ferdinand, and pleaded her husband and children's cause before the Diet in
so eloquent a manner that the assembled Princes were moved to tears.
"Everyone here," wrote Hannart, the minister whom Charles V.
had sent to his sister's help, "is full of compassion for the Queen,
but no one places the least trust in the King. If it were not for her
sake, not a single man would saddle a horse on his behalf."
Hannart, in fact, confessed that he had done his utmost to keep Christian
away from Nuremberg, feeling sure that his presence would do more harm

than good. Even Isabella's entreaties were of no avail. She begged her
brother in vain for the loan of 20,000 florins to satisfy the Duke of
Brunswick, whose angry threats filled her with alarm.
"I am always afraid some harm may happen to you when I am
away," she wrote to her husband. "I long to join you, and would
rather suffer at your side than live in comfort away from you."
[47]

But Christian, as Hannart remarked in a letter to the Regent Margaret, had
few friends. Even his servants did not attempt to deny the charges that were
brought against him, and the Queen alone, like the loyal wife that she was,
sought to explain and excuse his conduct.
To add to Isabella's troubles, her brother Ferdinand was
seriously annoyed at the leanings to the Lutheran faith 1523-31] MARTIN
LUTHER
which she now displayed. Christian's Protestant
tendencies had been greatly strengthened by his residence in Saxony during
the winter of 1523. He heard Luther preach at Wittenberg, and spent much
time in his company, dining frequently with him and Spalatin, the Court
chaplain, and making friends with the painter Lucas Cranach. The fine
portrait of King Christian by this artist forms the frontispiece of a Danish
version of the New Testament published by Hans Mikkelsen, the
Burgomaster of Malmoë, who shared his royal master's exile. When the
Marquis Joachim of Brandenburg remonstrated with his brother-in-law for
his intimacy with the heretic Luther, Christian replied that he would rather
lose all three of his kingdoms than forsake this truly Apostolic man.[48]
Isabella's naturally religious nature was deeply impressed by these new
influences, and both she and her sister-in-law, Elizabeth of Brandenburg,
secretly embraced the reformed doctrine. At Nuremberg she attended the
sermons of the Lutheran doctor Osiander, and received Communion in both
kinds from his hands on Maundy Thursday, to the great indignation of King
Ferdinand, who told her he could not own a heretic as his sister. Isabella
replied gently that if he cast her off God would take care of her. Luther on
his part was moved by the apparent sincerity of his royal convert.
"Strange indeed are the ways of God!" he wrote to Spalatin.
"His grace penetrates into the most unlikely places, and may

even bring this rare wild game, a King and Queen, safely into
the heavenly net."[49]
While Luther addressed a strong remonstrance to the newly-elected King of
Denmark and the citizens of Lübeck, Christian's Chancellor, Cornelius
Scepperus, drew up an eloquent memorial to Pope Clement VII. on the
exiled King's behalf, and travelled to Spain to seek the Emperor's help. By
Hannart's exertions a Congress was held at Hamburg in April, which was
attended by representatives of the Emperor, the Regent of the Netherlands,
the Imperial Electors and Princes, as well as by deputies from Denmark,
England, Poland, and Lübeck. Isabella accompanied her husband on this
occasion, at Hannart's request.
"I hear on all sides," he wrote to Charles, "that the people of
Denmark would gladly welcome the return of the Queen and her
children if the King would not meddle with public affairs, and a
good Governor appointed by Your Majesty should act as Regent
until the young Prince is of age."[50]
But when, by way of compromise, some members of the Congress proposed
that Frederic should retain the throne, and recognize Prince John as his
successor, Christian rejected this offer angrily, and negotiations were soon
broken off. Both Charles and Margaret now gave up all hope of effecting
Christian's restoration, and concluded a treaty in the following August with
King Frederic, by which his title was recognized, and the Baltic was once
more opened to the merchants of the Low Countries.

II.

The exiled monarch, now compelled to realize the
hopelessness of his cause, returned sorrowfully with his 1523-31] THE
CHILDREN OF
wife to the Low Countries, and Isabella had at least the DENMARK
joy of embracing her children once more. During this
long absence the faithful servants who had followed their King and Queen
into exile had kept her well supplied with news of their health and progress.
"Prince John," wrote Nicolas Petri, Canon of Lunden, "learns
quickly, and begins to speak French. He is already a great
favourite with the Lady Margaret. His sisters, the Princesses, are

very well, and are both very pretty children. The youngest,
Madame Christine, has just been weaned. Madame Marguerite
says that she will soon be receiving proposals of marriage for
the elder one. These are good omens, for which God be praised.
It is a real pleasure to be with these children, they are so good
and charming. If only Your Grace could see them, you would
soon forget all your troubles."[51]
But not all Margaret's affection for Isabella and her children could reconcile
her to the King's presence. Christian was, it must be confessed, a
troublesome guest. His restless brain was always busy with new plots and
intrigues. At first he announced his intention of taking Isabella to visit the
Emperor in Spain, but, after spending some weeks in Zeeland fitting out
ships, he suddenly changed his mind, and took Isabella, whose health had
suffered from all the hardships and anxiety that she had undergone, to drink
the waters at Aix-la-Chapelle. On his return he wished to settle at Ghent,
but the Regent and her Council, fearing that his presence would excite
sedition in this city, suggested that the Castle of Gemappes should be
offered him instead. Charles replied that if the King lived at Gemappes he
would certainly spoil his hunting, and thought that Lille or Bruges would be
a better place. In the end Lierre, a pleasant city halfway between Malines
and Antwerp, was chosen for the exiled Princes' home. Towards the end of
1524 Christian and his family took up their abode in the old castle which
still goes by the name of Het Hof van Denemarken, or Cour de Danemarck.
A guard of fifty halberdiers and a considerable household was assigned to
them by the Emperor's order. A monthly allowance of 500 crowns was
granted to the King, while the Queen received a yearly sum of 2,000 crowns
pour employer en ses menus plaisirs. But Christian's reckless and disorderly
conduct soon landed him in fresh difficulties. Isabella cut up her husband's
old robes to make clothes for her little girls, and was reduced to such
penury that she was compelled to pledge, not only her jewels, but the
children's toys. Meanwhile Margaret's letters to her imperial nephew were
filled with complaints of the Danish King's extravagance. She declared that
he was spending 800 crowns a month, and perpetually asking for more.
When she sent her maître d'hôtel, Monsieur de Souvastre, to set his affairs
in order, he was confronted with a long list of unpaid bills from doctors,
apothecaries, saddlers, masons, carpenters, tailors, and poulterers. But
accounts of the straits to which the Queen and her children were reduced

had evidently reached Spain, and Charles felt it necessary to remind his
aunt gently that, after all, Isabella was his own sister, and that many
pensioners whom he had never seen received many thousands of crowns a
year from his purse.[52]
Another cause of perpetual irritation was the favour
shown by the King to the Lutherans, whom the Regent 1523-31] A
ZEALOUS
was trying to drive out of Flanders. The Court of Lierre LUTHERAN
became the refuge of all who professed the new
doctrine. Margaret insisted on the banishment of several of the King's
servants, including the chaplain, Hans Monboë, and Prince John's tutor,
Nicolas Petri, and sent others to prison. But these high-handed acts only
strengthened Christian's zeal in the cause of reform. "The word of God," he
wrote to his friend Spalatin, "waxes powerful in the Netherlands, and
thrives on the blood of the martyrs."[53] The letters which he addressed to
his old subjects were couched in the same strain. He confessed his past sins,
and prayed that he might be restored to his kingdom, like David of old,
declaring that his sole wish was to live for Christ and do good to his
enemies. At the same time he hired freebooters to ravage the coast of
Denmark, and provoked King Frederic to close the Sound, an act which
aroused widespread discontent in the Low Countries. In August, 1525, he
sent a herald to England, begging King Henry and his good friend the
Cardinal to intercede with the Regent, and induce her to lend him men and
money for a fresh expedition. But Margaret turned a deaf ear to all
entreaties, and when Isabella's physician recommended her to try the waters
of Aix-la-Chapelle again, she declined to sanction this journey on the score
of expense. She sent her own doctor, however, to Lierre, and at his
suggestion the invalid was moved for change of air to Swynaerde, the
Abbot of St. Peter's country-house near Ghent. But Isabella's ills were
beyond the reach of human skill, and she soon became too weak to leave
her room. On the 12th of December Christian sent for his old chaplain from
Wittenberg, begging him to return without delay.
"Dear Brother in Christ," he wrote,
"Here we forget Christ, and have no one to preach the word of
God. I implore you to come and give us the comfort of the
Gospel. Greet our brothers and sisters."

Upon receiving this summons, Monboë and Hans Mikkelsen hastened to
Ghent, at the peril of their lives, and administered spiritual consolation to
the dying Queen. On the 19th of January she received the last Sacraments
from the priest of Swynaerde, and saw Monsieur de Souvastre, by whom
she sent her aunt affectionate messages, commending her poor children to
Margaret's care. A few hours afterwards she passed quietly away. Both
Catholics and Lutherans bore witness to her angelic patience, and a letter
which Christian addressed to Luther, ten days later, gives a touching
account of his wife's last moments:
"As her weakness increased, Frau Margaret sent her
servant, Philippe de Souvastre, and other excellent 1523-31] DEATH
OF ISABELLA
persons, to admonish her after the fashion of the
Popish Anti-Christ's faith and the religion of his sect. But
Almighty God in His mercy deprived my wife of her powers of
speech, so that she made no reply, and they gave up speaking,
and only anointed her with oil. But before this she had received
the Blessed Sacrament in the most devout manner, with ardent
longing, firm faith, and stedfast courage; and when one of our
preachers exhorted her, in the words of the Gospel, to stand fast
in the faith, she confessed her firm trust in God, and paid no
heed to the superstitious mutterings of the others. After this she
became speechless, but gave many signs of true faith to the end,
and took her last farewell of this world on the 19th of January.
May God Almighty be gracious to her soul, and grant her eternal
rest! We are strong in the sure and certain hope that she has
entered into eternal bliss, unto which God bring us all!"[54]
On the 4th of February the dead Queen, who had not yet completed her
twenty-fifth year, was buried with great pomp in the cloisters of the Abbey
of St. Peter at Ghent, where a stately marble tomb was raised over her
ashes. The painter Mabuse was employed to design the monument, as we
learn from a letter which the King addressed to the Abbot of St. Peter's in
1528, complaining of his delay in completing the work. A Latin inscription
by Cornelius Scepperus, giving Isabella's titles in full, and recording her
virtues and the sufferings which she had endured during her short life, was
placed on the monument, which is described by an English traveller of the
sixteenth century, Philip Skippon.[55] Unfortunately, the tomb was rifled by

the mob at the time of the French Revolution, but the ashes of the Queen
were carefully preserved by a pious Curé, and afterwards restored to their
former resting-place.
Isabella's early death was deeply lamented, not only in the Low Countries,
where she was so beloved, but in her husband's kingdoms. Funeral services
were held throughout the land, and all men wept for the good Princess "who
had been the mother of her people." On all sides testimonies to her worth
were paid. Henry of England wrote to King Christian that the late Queen
had been as dear to him as a sister, and Luther paid an eloquent tribute to
her memory in his treatise on Holy Women:
"Of such Kings' daughters there was indeed one, of the noblest
birth, Isabella, Queen of Denmark, a Princess of the royal house
of Spain. She embraced the Gospel with great ardour, and
confessed the faith openly. And because of this she died in want
and misery. For had she consented to renounce her faith, she
would have received far more help and much greater kindness in
this life."[56]

III.

The news of the Queen of Denmark's death reached her brother, the
Emperor, on the eve of his marriage to Isabella of Portugal. Guillaume des
Barres, the bearer of Margaret's letters, found him at a village in Andalusia,
on his way to Seville, where the wedding was to take place on the following
day, and had a long interview with his imperial master before he left his bed
on the 9th of March. Charles spoke with deep feeling of his sister, and
inquired anxiously if the Regent had been able to obtain possession of her
children—"a thing," wrote Des Barres, "which His Majesty desires greatly,
because of the King's heretical leanings."[57]
Margaret had certainly not been remiss in this matter.
But Christian was more intractable than ever. He took 1523-31]
MARGARET
his children to Ghent immediately after their mother's INTERVENES
death, and refused to give them up until the Regent had
paid all his debts, including 7,000 florins for the funeral expenses, and
2,000 more which he owed to the landlord of the Falcon at Lierre for Rhine-

wine and fodder. His language became every day more violent. He
threatened to cut off the Governor of Antwerp's head, and appealed to his
comrades of the Golden Fleece for the redress of his supposed grievances.
At length Margaret, seeing that none of her Court officials and Councillors
could bring him to reason, rode to Lierre herself on the 2nd of March, and
made a last attempt to obtain possession of the children par voye aimable.
The King, she found, had already packed up his furniture and plate, even
the chalice which was used in the royal chapel, and was about to start for
Germany.
After prolonged discussion, the Regent succeeded in persuading Christian
to leave his children with her, on condition that she paid his debts in Lierre,
and provided for the late Queen's funeral expenses—"a thing which must be
done," she wrote to Charles, "out of sheer decency." But she quite refused
the King's demand for an increased allowance, saying that he could not
require more money than he had received in his wife's lifetime. Christian
then left the Netherlands for Saxony, saying that he intended to raise a fresh
army and invade Denmark. "He is confident of recovering his kingdoms,"
wrote Margaret to the Emperor, "but my own impression is that his exploits
will be confined to plundering and injuring your subjects." This prophecy
was literally fulfilled, and during the next four years the peaceful folk in
Friesland were harassed by turbulent freebooters in the King of Denmark's
pay, while pirates ravaged the coasts of the North Sea, and led the Hanse
cities to make severe reprisals on the Dutch ships.
Margaret's chief object, however, was attained. On the
5th of March she returned to Malines with the Prince of 1523-31] THE
PALACE OF
Denmark and his little sisters. "Henceforth, MALINES
Monseigneur," she wrote to Charles, "you will have to
be both father and mother to these poor children, and must treat them as
your own."[58] The Regent herself nobly fulfilled the sacred trust committed
to her by the dying Queen. From this time until her own death, four and a
half years later, Isabella's children were the objects of her unceasing care,
and lacked nothing that money could provide or love suggest. They lived
under her own roof in the Palace of Malines, that city of wide streets and
canals, with the fine market-place and imposing cathedral, which many
called the finest town in Flanders. Margaret's first care was to arrange the
royal children's household. Prince John was placed in the charge of a

governess, Mademoiselle Rolande de Serclaes, who superintended his
meals and taught him "Christian religion and good manners," while he had
for his tutor Cornelius Agrippa, the distinguished scholar and defender of
women's rights, who dedicated his book, "On the Pre-excellence of
Women," to the Regent. In Lent the Prince and his sisters received regular
instruction in the palace chapel, and one year Friar Jehan de Salis received
thirty-six livres for preaching a course of Lent sermons before the Prince
and Princesses of Denmark. Margaret herself kept a watchful eye on the
children. A hundred entries in her household accounts show how carefully
she chose their nurses and companions, their clothes and playthings. One of
her first gifts to the Prince was a handsome pony, richly harnessed with
black and gold trappings. Another was a dwarf page, who became his
constant playfellow, and in his turn received good Ypres cloth and damask
for his own wear. Italian merchants from Antwerp often came to lay their
wares before the Regent. We find her choosing black velvet and white satin
for Prince John's doublet, and pearl buttons and gold fringe to trim his
sleeves, and ordering the goldsmith, Master Leonard of Augsburg, to supply
an antique silver dagger and an image of Hercules for the Prince's cap. Or
else a merchant is desired to send her two pairs of cuffs of exquisitely fine
"toile de Cambray," embroidered with gold thread, for the young Princesses'
wear,[59] and twenty gold balls for the fringe of their bed. Amid all the
anxious cares of State which filled her time, this great lady seldom allowed
a day to pass without seeing her nephew and nieces. Their innocent prattle
and merry laughter cheered her lonely hours, while the Prince and his
sisters found plenty to amuse them in their great-aunt's rooms. The halls
were hung with costly Arras tapestries of David killing Goliath, stories of
Alexander and Esther, hunting scenes and Greek fables, or adorned with
paintings by the best masters. Van Eyck's "Merchant of Lucca, Arnolfini
with his Wife," and "Virgin of the Fountain," Rogier Van der Weyden's and
Memling's Madonnas, Jerome Bosch's "St. Anthony," Jacopo de' Barbari's
"Crucifixion," were all here, as well as Michel van Coxien's little Virgin
with the sleeping Child in her arms, which Margaret called her mignonne.
[60]
The library contained a complete collection of family portraits, chiefly
the work of the Court painter, Bernard van Orley or Jehan Mabuse.
Among these were pictures of Margaret's parents,
Maximilian and Mary of Burgundy; of her second 1523-31]
MABUSE'S

husband, Monsieur de Savoie, a brilliant cavalier clad in PICTURE
a crimson mantle sown with daisies in allusion to his
wife's name; and of her brother, King Philip, with his children, the young
Archduke Charles and the future Queens of France and Denmark. Prince
John and his sisters would recognize the portraits of their own father and
mother, King Christian and his gentle wife, which hung over the
mantelpiece, together with those of their great-grandparents, Ferdinand and
Isabella, the Kings of France and England, and the Grand Turk. But better
in the children's eyes than all the pictures and bronzes, the marble busts and
ivories, the silver mirrors and chandeliers, better even than the Chinese
dragons and stuffed birds-of-Paradise from the New World, were the live
pets with which their aunt loved to be surrounded. The famous green parrot
which once belonged to Mary of Burgundy had lately died, to her great
sorrow. Margaret herself had written its epitaph, and the Court poet, Jehan
Le Maire, had sung the bird's descent into the Elysian fields, and its
converse with Charon and Mercury, in his elegy of "L'Amant Vert." But in
its stead she had cages full of parakeets and singing birds, which were
carefully tended by her ladies, and fed with white loaves newly baked every
morning. There was an Italian greyhound in a white fur tippet, and a
number of toy-dogs in baskets lined with swansdown, and a marmoset that
she had bought from a French pedlar, which afforded the Court ladies as
much amusement as the royal children. Nor were other diversions wanting.
Margaret was very fond of music, and not only kept a troop of viol and
tambourine players, but often sent for the town band of Ghent and Brussels,
or the Prince of Orange's fife and organ players, to beguile her evenings.
Sometimes the children of S. Rombaut and the choir-boys of Notre Dame
du Sablon in Brussels would sing chorales during dinner, or strolling
players and German marionettes, Italian jugglers, or Poles and Hungarians
with tame bears, would be allowed to perform in her presence. On one
occasion a famous lute-player from the Court of Whitehall was sent over by
King Henry, and received seven gold crowns for his pains. Another time
three Savoyards were rewarded with a handful of gold pieces for the tricks
with which they had amused the Court after supper. And every May Day the
archers of the guard marched in procession to plant hawthorn-bushes
covered with blossom under the palace windows.[61]
In these pleasant surroundings the children of Denmark grew up under the
same roof as their mother and aunts before them, leading the same joyous

and natural life. No wonder that through all her troubled life Christina
looked back fondly to these early times, and never forgot the happy days
which she had spent at Malines. There is a charming picture, now at
Hampton Court, of the three children, painted by Mabuse soon after their
mother's death, and sent to King Henry VIII., whose favour Christian II.
was once more trying to obtain.[62]
The three children are standing at a table covered with a green cloth, on
which apples and cherries are laid. Prince John, a manly boy with a
thoughtful, attractive face, wearing a black velvet suit and cap and a gold
chain round his neck, is in the centre between his sisters. On his right,
Dorothea, a pretty child with brown eyes and golden curls frizzled all over
her head, reaches out her hand towards the fruit, while on his left the little
Christina grasps an apple firmly in one hand, and lays the other confidingly
on her brother's arm. Both little girls are dressed in black velvet with white
ermine sleeves, probably made out of their father's old robes. But while
Dorothea's curly head is uncovered, Christina wears a tight-fitting hood
edged with pearls, drawn closely over her baby face. Her tiny features are
full of character, and the large brown eyes, with their earnest gaze, and
small fingers clasping the apple, already reveal the courage and resolution
for which she was to be distinguished in days to come.
At this early period of their lives it was, naturally
enough, Prince John who chiefly occupied his guardian's 1523-31] A
PROMISING
thoughts. A boy of rare promise, studious, intelligent, PRINCE
and affectionate, he had inherited much of his mother's
charm, and soon became a great favourite at Court. Margaret was never
tired of describing his talents and progress to the Emperor, who took keen
interest in his young nephew, and was particularly glad to hear how fond he
was of riding.

Copyright, H. M. the King
THE CHILDREN OF CHRISTIAN II., KING OF DENMARK
By Jean Mabuse (Hampton Court Palace)
To face p. 54
"Madame my good Aunt," he wrote,
"I hear with great pleasure of the kindness shown by M. de
Brégilles, the Master of your Household, to my nephew, the
Prince of Denmark, and am very grateful to him for teaching the
boy to ride and mounting him so well. And you will please tell
Brégilles that I beg him to go on from good to better, and train
the boy in all honest and manly exercises, as well as in noble
and virtuous conduct, for you know that he is likely to follow
whatever example is set before him in his youth. And I have no
doubt that, not only in this case, but in all others, you will not
cease to watch over him.

"Your good nephew,
"Charles."[63]
When in July, 1528, Margaret's servant Montfort was sent on an important
mission to Spain, the Emperor's first anxiety was to hear full accounts of
Prince John and his sisters from the Envoy's lips. He expressed great
satisfaction with all Montfort told him, saying that he entertained the
highest hopes of his nephew, and would far rather support his claim to
Denmark than help his father to recover the throne—"the more so," he
added, "since we hear that King Christian, to our sorrow, still adheres to the
false doctrine of Luther."

IV.

King Christian, as the Emperor hinted, was still a thorn in the Regent's side.
Although, since his wife's death, most of his time had been spent in
Germany, he remained a perpetual source of annoyance. In July, 1528, he
induced his sister Elizabeth to leave her husband, Joachim of Brandenburg,
and escape with him to Saxony. All Germany rang with this new scandal,
and while the Marquis appealed to Margaret, begging her to stop Christian's
allowance as the only means of bringing him to his senses, Elizabeth, who
had secretly embraced the reformed faith, implored the Emperor's
protection against her husband, and refused to return to Berlin. At the same
time the King did his utmost to stir up discontent round Lierre, and raised
bands of freebooters in Holland, whose lawless depredations were a
constant source of vexation to Charles's loyal subjects. When the Regent
protested, he replied that he had nothing to do with these levies, and that his
intentions were absolutely innocent, assurances which, Margaret remarked,
would not deceive a child. Under these circumstances, relations between the
two became daily more strained. "Margaret loves me not, and has never
loved me," wrote Christian to his Lutheran friends, while the Regent turned
to Charles in her despair, saying: "Monseigneur, if the King of Denmark
comes here, I simply do not know what I am to do with him!"[64]
Suddenly a new turn in the tide altered the whole aspect
of affairs. On the 3rd of August, 1529, the Peace of 1523-31] DEATH
OF MARGARET
Cambray was finally concluded. The long war, which
had drained the Emperor's resources, was at an end, and his hands were

once more free. Christian lost no time in taking advantage of this
opportunity to secure his powerful kinsman's help. He addressed urgent
petitions to the Emperor and King Ferdinand, and sent an Envoy to plead
his cause at Bologna, where on the 24th of February, 1530, Charles V.
received the imperial crown from the hands of Pope Clement VII. But the
only condition on which the exiled monarch could be admitted into the new
confederation was his return to the Catholic Church. For this, too, Christian
seems to have been prepared. On the 2nd of February he signed an
agreement at Lierre, in which he promised to obey the Emperor's wishes,
and to hold fast the Catholic faith, if he should be restored to the throne of
Denmark. When Charles crossed the Brenner, Christian hastened to meet
him at Innsbruck, and, throwing himself at the foot of Cardinal Campeggio,
craved the Holy Father's pardon for his past errors, and received absolution.
But, in spite of this public recantation, the King still secretly preferred the
reformed faith, and continued to correspond with his Lutheran friends. On
the 25th of June he arrived at Malines with letters of credit for 24,000
florins, which he had received from the Emperor as the price of his
submission. But the Council refused to give him a farthing without the
Regent's consent, and Margaret declined to see him, pleading illness as her
excuse. Although only fifty years of age, she had long been in failing
health, and only awaited the Emperor's coming to lay down her arduous
office and retire to a convent at Bruges. An unforeseen accident hastened
her end. She hurt her foot by treading on the broken pieces of a crystal
goblet, blood-poisoning came on, and she died in her sleep on the 30th of
November, without ever seeing her nephew again. The touching letter in
which she bade him farewell was written a few hours before her death:
"Monseigneur,
"The hour has come when I can no longer write with my own
hand, for I am so dangerously ill that I fear my remaining hours
will be few. But my conscience is tranquil, and I am ready to
accept God's will, and have no regrets saving that I am deprived
of your presence, and am unable to see you and speak with you
before I die.... I leave you your provinces, greatly increased in
extent since your departure, and resign the government, which I
trust I have discharged in such a way as to merit a Divine
reward, and earn the good-will of your subjects as well as your

approval. And above all, Monseigneur, I recommend you to live
at peace, more especially with the Kings of France and England.
Finally I beg of you, by the love which you have been pleased to
bear me, remember the salvation of my soul and my
recommendations on behalf of my poor servants. And so I bid
you once more farewell, praying, Monseigneur, that you may
enjoy a long life and great prosperity.
"Your very humble aunt,
"Margaret."[65]
"From Malines the last day of November, 1530."
This letter reached the Emperor at Cologne together with the news of
Margaret's death, and a solemn requiem was chanted for her soul in the
cathedral. Charles and his subjects fully realized the great loss which his
pays de par-deça had suffered by his aunt's death.
"All the provinces," said Cornelius Agrippa, in the funeral oration which he
pronounced in S. Rombaut of Malines, "all the cities, and all the villages,
are plunged in tears and sorrow. For no greater loss could have befallen us
and our country."
The young Prince of Denmark, whom Margaret had
loved so well, was chief mourner on this occasion, and 1523-31] MARY
OF HUNGARY
rode at the head of the procession which bore her
remains to Bruges. Here they were laid in the Convent of the Annunciation
until the magnificent shrine that she had begun at Brou in Savoy was ready
to receive her ashes and those of her husband. When, in the following
March, the Emperor came to Malines, Prince John welcomed him in a Latin
speech, in which he made a pathetic allusion to the loss which he and his
sisters had sustained in the death of one who had been to them the wisest
and tenderest of mothers. Then, turning to his uncle with charming grace,
he begged the Emperor to have compassion upon him and his orphaned
sisters, and allow them to remain at his Court until their father should be
restored to his rightful throne. The young Prince's simple eloquence
produced a deep impression. The Emperor with tears in his eyes embraced
him, and the magistrates of Malines presented him with a barrel of Rhenish
wine in token of their regard.[66]

Fortunately for the children of Denmark, as well as for the provinces which
Margaret had ruled so well, another Habsburg Princess was found to take
her place. This was the Emperor's sister Mary, whose gallant husband, King
Louis of Hungary, had fallen on the field of Mohacz four years before,
fighting against the Turks. The widowed Queen, although only twenty-one,
had shown admirable presence of mind, and it was largely due to her tact
and popularity that her brother Ferdinand and his wife Anna, the dead
King's sister, were recognized as joint Sovereigns of Bohemia and Hungary.
Her own hand was sought in marriage by many Princes, including the
young King James V. of Scotland and her sister Eleanor's old lover, the
Palatine Frederic, whose romantic imagination was deeply impressed by the
young Queen's heroic bearing. But Mary positively refused to take another
husband, saying that, having found perfect happiness in her first marriage,
she had no wish to try a second. To the end of her life she remained true to
her dead lord, and never put off her widow's weeds. But her courage and
spirit were as high as ever. She was passionately fond of hunting, and
amazed the hardest riders by being all day in the saddle without showing
any trace of fatigue. Her powers of mind were no less remarkable. She was
the ablest of the whole family, and the wisdom of her judgments was
equalled by the frankness with which she expressed them. Like all the
Habsburg ladies, she was highly educated, and spoke Latin as well as any
doctor in Louvain, according to Erasmus, who inscribed her name on the
first page of his "Veuve Chrétienne." Mary shared her sister Isabella's
sympathy with the reformers, and accepted the dedication of Luther's
"Commentary on the Four Psalms of Consolation." When this excited her
brother Ferdinand's displeasure, she told him that authors must do as they
please in these matters, and that he might trust her not to tarnish the fair
name of their house. "God," she added, "would doubtless give her grace to
die a good Christian."[67]
In the spring of 1530 Mary met Charles at Innsbruck,
and accompanied him to Augsburg. When, a few months 1523-31] THE
NEW REGENT
later, the news of Margaret's death reached him at
Cologne, the Emperor begged her to become Regent of the Low Countries
and share the burden of government with him. But Mary had no wish to
enter public life, and asked her brother's leave to retire to Spain and devote
herself to the care of their unhappy mother, Queen Juana. For some time she
resisted the entreaties of both her brothers, and it was only a strong sense of

duty which finally overcame her reluctance to assume so arduous and
ungrateful a task. When at length she consented, she made it a condition
that she should not be troubled with offers of marriage, and pointed out that
her Lutheran sympathies might well arouse suspicion in the Netherlands.
But Charles brushed these objections lightly aside, saying that no one
should disturb her peace, and that he should never have trusted her with so
important a post if he had regarded her Lutheran tendencies seriously. All
he asked was that the Queen should not bring her German servants to the
Low Countries, lest they should arouse the jealousy of his Flemish
courtiers.
Mary scrupulously fulfilled these conditions, and on the 23rd of January,
1531, the new Regent entered Louvain in state, and was presented to the
Council by the Emperor, as Governess of the Netherlands. Two months later
she accompanied Charles to Malines, where for the first time she embraced
her little nieces. For the present, however, Dorothea and Christina, who
were only nine and ten years old, remained at Malines, while Prince John
accompanied his uncle and aunt on a progress through the provinces.
Mary soon realized all the difficulties of the task that she had undertaken
with so much reluctance.
"The Emperor," she wrote to Ferdinand from Brussels, "has
fastened the rope round my neck, but I find public affairs in a
great tangle, and if His Majesty does not reduce them to some
degree of order before his departure, I shall find myself in a very
tight place."[68]
The Treasury was exhausted, the people groaned under the load of taxation,
and the prodigal generosity of the late Regent had not succeeded in
suppressing strife and jealousy among the nobles. As Mary wrote many
years afterwards to her nephew, Philip II.:
"No doubt our aunt, Madame Marguerite, ruled the Netherlands
long and well; but when she grew old and ailing she was obliged
to leave the task to others, and when the Emperor returned there
after her death, he found the nobles at variance, justice little
respected, and all classes disaffected to the imperial service."[69]

But the young Regent brought all her spirit and energy
to the task, and with her brother's help succeeded in 1523-31] A
FORLORN HOPE
reforming the gravest abuses and restoring some order
into the finances. The gravest difficulty with which she had to contend was
the presence of the King of Denmark. Since Margaret's death this monarch
had grown bolder and more insolent in his demands. With the help of his
old ally, Duke Henry of Brunswick, he collected 6,000 men-at-arms and
invaded Holland, spreading fire and sword wherever he went. In vain
Charles remonstrated with him on the suffering which he inflicted on
peaceable citizens. Christian only replied with an insolent letter, which
convinced the Emperor more than ever of "the man's little sense and
honesty." He now feared that the King would seize one of the forts in
Holland and remain there all the winter, feeding his soldiers at the expense
of the unfortunate peasantry, and infecting them with Lutheran heresy.
Under these circumstances Charles felt that it was impossible to desert his
sister, and decided to put off his departure for Germany until he had got rid
of this troublesome guest.
At length, on the 26th of October, Christian sailed from Medemblik, in
North Holland, with twenty-five ships and 7,000 men.
"He has done infinite damage to my provinces of Holland and
Utrecht," wrote Charles to Ferdinand, "treating them as if they
were enemies, and forcing them to provide him with boats and
provisions, besides seizing the supplies which I had collected for
my own journey."[70]
So great were the straits to which Charles found himself reduced that he
was compelled to raise a fresh loan in order to defray the expenses of his
journey to Spires. But at least the hated adventurer was gone, and as a fair
wind sprang up, and the sails of King Christian's fleet dropped below the
horizon, the Emperor and his subjects felt that they could breathe freely.
"The King of Dacia," wrote the Italian traveller Mario
Savorgnano, from Brussels, on the 6th of November, "has sailed
with twenty big ships, thus relieving this land from a heavy
burden. He goes to recover his kingdom of Denmark, a land
lying north of the Cymbric Chersonesus.... But I am sure that
when the people come face to face with these mercenaries,

especially those who have been in Italy and have there learnt to
rob, sack, burn, and leave no cruelty undone, in their greed for
gold, they will rise and drive out the invaders."[71]
This time Christian determined not to attempt a landing in Denmark, but to
sail straight to Norway, where he had always been more popular than in any
other part of his dominions, and still numbered many partisans. His
expectations were not disappointed. When he landed, on the 5th of
November, the peasantry and burghers flocked to his standard. The
Archbishop of Drondtheim and the clergy declared in his favour, and the
States-General, which met in January, 1532, at Oslo, the old capital,
renewed their oaths of allegiance to him as their rightful King. But the
strong forts of Bergen and Aggershus, at the gates of the town, closed their
gates against him, and his army soon began to dwindle away for want of
supplies. Early in the spring a strong fleet, fitted out by King Frederic, with
the help of the citizens of Lübeck, appeared before Oslo, and set fire to
Christian's ships in the harbour, while a Danish army, under Knut
Gyldenstern, advanced from the south. Once more the King's nerve failed
him. He met the Danish captain in a meadow outside Oslo, and, after
prolonged negotiations, agreed to lay down his arms and go to Copenhagen,
to confer with his uncle. The next day he disbanded his forces and took
leave of his loyal supporters. Thus, without striking a blow, he delivered
Norway into the usurper's hands, and surrendered his last claim to the three
kingdoms.[72]
In return for his submission, Gyldenstern had promised
the King honourable entertainment and given him a 1523-31]
CHRISTIAN II.'S
written safe-conduct. Trusting in these assurances, FALL
Christian went on board a Danish ship, and on the 24th
of July arrived before Copenhagen. As the ship sailed up the Sound in the
early summer morning, people flocked from all parts to see their old King,
and many of the women and children wept aloud. His fate, they realized,
was already sealed. Before the arrival of the fleet, a conference had been
held between Frederic and the Swedish and Hanse deputies, who agreed
that so dangerous a foe must not be allowed to remain at liberty, and
condemned the unfortunate monarch to perpetual imprisonment in the
island fortress of Sonderburg. In vain Christian demanded to be set on shore
and conducted into his uncle's presence. He was told that the King would

meet him in the Castle of Flensburg in Schleswig. But when, instead of
sailing in this direction, the ship which bore him entered the narrow Alsener
Sound, and the walls of Sonderburg came in sight, the unhappy King saw
the trap into which he had fallen, and broke into transports of rage. But it
was too late, and he was powerless in the hands of his enemies. No
indignity was spared him by his captors. As he entered the lonely cell in the
highest turret of the castle, Knut Gyldenstern, who is said to have been one
of his mistress Dyveke's lovers, plucked the fallen monarch by the beard,
and tore the jewel of the Golden Fleece from his neck. None of the old
servants who had clung to their exiled Prince so faithfully were allowed to
share his prison, and for many years a pet dwarf was his sole companion.[73]
In this foul and treacherous manner King Christian II. was betrayed into the
hands of his foes and doomed to lifelong captivity. And, by a strange fate, in
these early days of August, at the very moment when the iron gates of
Sonderburg closed behind him, his only son, the rightful heir to the three
kingdoms, died far away in Southern Germany, within the walls of the
imperial city of Regensburg.
Meanwhile the news of Christian's unexpected success in Norway had
reached Brussels and excited great surprise.
"The King of Denmark," wrote Mary of Hungary to her brother
Ferdinand, "has done so well by his rashness that he has actually
recovered possession of one of his kingdoms, and his friends
hope that he may be able to stay there."[74]
This was towards the end of December, when the
imperial family had assembled in the palace to keep 1523-31] COURT
FÊTES
Christmas. Prince John had won golden opinions on the
progress which he had made with his uncle and aunt, and was as much
beloved by the Emperor, wrote Mario Savorgnano, as if he were his own
son. Now his little sisters were brought to Brussels by their uncle's
command to share in the festivities. Early in January, 1532, Charles heard
that his sister, Queen Katherine of Portugal, had given birth to a son, and
the happy event was celebrated by a grand tournament on the square in
front of the Portuguese Ambassador's house. The Emperor, accompanied by
the Queen of Hungary and the Prince and Princesses of Denmark, looked on
at the jousts and sword and torch dances from a balcony draped with white

and green velvet, and at nine o'clock sat down to a sumptuous banquet. The
Queen was seated at the head of the table, opposite the fireplace, with the
Emperor on her right and Princess Dorothea at his side. Prince John was on
his aunt's left, and the youthful Christina, who made her first appearance in
public on this occasion, sat between her brother and the Portuguese
Ambassador. Henry of Nassau, the Prince of Bisignano, and Ferrante
Gonzaga, were at the same board, while Nassau's son, the young Prince
René, who had lately inherited the principality of Orange from his maternal
uncle, sat with the Queen's ladies at another table. Charles was in high
spirits. He talked and laughed with all the lords and ladies who were present
during the interminable number of courses of meat, fish, game, wines,
cakes, and fruits, that were served in succession, with brief interludes of
music. When, at eleven, the Emperor rose from table, an Italian comedy
was acted, in which Ferrante Gonzaga and several Italian and Spanish
noblemen took part. Then King Cupid appeared, riding in a triumphal car,
and a troop of Loves danced hand in hand, until, at a sign from Charles, the
actors removed their masks. A collation of confetti and Madeira and
Valencia wines was then served at a buffet laden with costly gold and silver
cups and precious bowls of Oriental porcelain. When all the guests had ate
and drunk their fill, the finest crystal vases and bottles of perfume were
presented to the Queen and Princesses, and the other ladies received gifts
from the Ambassador. The royal guests joined with great spirit in the
dancing which followed, and did not retire till two o'clock.[75] Concerts and
suppers, jousts and dances, succeeded each other throughout the week, and
the Emperor gave splendid presents to the Ambassador of Portugal, and sent
cordial congratulations to his royal brother-in-law on the birth of his son
and heir.
A fortnight later Charles left Brussels, taking Prince John with him, and
travelled by slow stages to Regensburg, where the Imperial Diet was
opened in May. Here the Court remained during the next three months, and
the young Prince was sent to receive the Count Palatine, the Archbishop of
Mainz, and other Princes of the Empire, who arrived in turn to take part in
the assembly. Unluckily the weather proved very disagreeable. "Never,"
exclaimed the Venetian Ambassador, "was there such a detestable climate!"
A long continuance of heavy rains and unusual heat was followed by some
bitterly cold days, which produced serious illness. Princes and nobles,
Ambassadors and servants, all succumbed in turn to the same epidemic. The

Venetian took to his bed, and four of his servants became seriously ill. The
Emperor himself was invalided, and left the town to take waters and change
of air in a neighbouring village. "There is hardly a house in the Court,"
wrote the Mantuan Envoy, "where some person is not ill. Most people
recover, but a good many die, especially those who are young." Among the
victims was Prince John of Denmark. Charles returned to find his nephew
in high fever and delirium. He was deeply distressed, and when the poor
boy became unconscious, and the doctors gave no hope, he left the town
again, saying that he could not bear to see the child die. The Prince never
recovered consciousness, and passed away at two o'clock on the morning of
the 12th of August.
"The poor little Prince of Denmark died last night," wrote the
Mantuan Ambassador, "to the infinite distress of the whole
Court, and above all of Cæsar, who bore him singular affection,
not only on account of the close ties of blood between them, but
because of the young Prince's charming nature and winning
manners, which made him beloved by everyone and gave rise to
the highest hopes."[76]
By the Emperor's orders an imposing funeral service
was held at Regensburg, after which the Prince's body 1523-31] THE
EMPEROR'S
was taken to Ghent and buried in his mother's grave. GRIEF
Charles himself wrote to break the sad news to Mary of
Hungary and her poor little nieces:
"Madame my good Sister,
"This is only to inform you of the loss we have suffered in the
death of our little nephew of Denmark, whom it pleased God to
take to Himself on Sunday morning, the day before yesterday,
after he had been ill of internal catarrh for a whole week. This
has caused me the greatest grief that I have ever known. For he
was the dearest little fellow, of his age, that it was possible to
see, and I have felt this loss more than I did that of my son, for
he was older, and I knew him better and loved him as if he had
been my own child. But we must bow to the Divine will.
Although I know that God might have allowed this to happen
anywhere, I cannot help feeling that if I had left the boy at home

with you he might not have died. At least his father will be sure
to say so. I expect you know where he is said to be. Without
offence to God, I could wish he were in his son's place, and his
son well received in his own kingdom. All the same, without
pretending to be the judge, perhaps the King has not deserved to
be there, and the little rogue is better off where he is than where
I should have liked to see him, and smiles at my wish for him,
for he was certainly not guilty of any great sins. He died in so
Christian a manner that, if he had committed as many as I have,
there would have been good hope of his soul's weal, and with
his last breath he called on Jesus. I am writing to my little
nieces, as you see, to comfort them. I am sure that you will try
and do the same. The best remedy will be to find them two
husbands."[77]
When Charles wrote these touching words, he had not yet heard of the
disastrous end to King Christian's campaign, and believed the Prince's
father to be in possession of the Norwegian capital. But he added a
postscript to his letter, telling the Queen of a report which had just arrived,
that the King had been taken prisoner by his foes. Four days later this report
was confirmed by letters from Lübeck merchants, and no further doubt
could be entertained of the doom which had overtaken the unhappy
monarch. His melancholy fate excited little compassion, either in Germany
or in the Netherlands. Luther, to his credit, addressed an earnest appeal to
King Frederic congratulating him on his victory, and begging him to take
example by Christ, who died for His murderers, and have pity on the
unfortunate captive. But in reply Frederic issued an apology, in which he
brought the gravest charges against the deposed King, and accused him of
having preferred a low woman of worthless character to the noblest and
most virtuous of Queens. Before long the old commercial treaties between
Denmark and the Low Countries were renewed, and the Baltic trade was
resumed on the understanding that no attempt was made to revive King
Christian's claims.
The prisoner of Sonderburg was forgotten by the world, and the one being
who loved him best on earth, his sister Elizabeth of Brandenburg, could
only commend his little daughters sadly to the Regent, and beg her to have
compassion on these desolate children. Mary replied in a letter full of

feeling, assuring Elizabeth that she need have no fear on this score, and that
her little nieces should be treated as if they were her own daughters. She
kept her word nobly.[78]

FOOTNOTES:
[40] Calendar of State Papers, iii. 2, 1270.
[41] Altmeyer, "Relations Commerciales," 108.
[42] State Papers, Record Office, vi. 139, 155-158. Calendar of State Papers, iii.
2, 1293, 1329.
[43] J. Altmeyer, "Relations," etc., 108.
[44] D. Schäfer, "Geschichte von Dänemark," iv. 26.
[45] State Papers, Record Office, viii. 141, 156.
[46] Altmeyer, "Relations," etc., 112; Schäfer, iv. 44, 48.
[47] Altmeyer, "Isabelle d'Autriche," 30.
[48] "Relations," etc., 126; C. Förstemann, "Neues Urkundenbuch z. Geschichte
d. Reformation," i. 269.
[49] J. Köstlin, "Leben Luthers," i. 66; C. Förstemann, i. 169.
[50] K. Lanz, "Correspondenz Karls V.," i. 108.
[51] Altmeyer, "Isabelle d'Autriche," 26.
[52] Lanz, i. 145, 150, 195; Archives du Royaume: Revenus et Dépenses de
Charles V., 1520-1530, Rég. 1709; Schäfer, iv. 89.
[53] J. H. Schlegel, "Geschichte der Könige v. Dänemark," 123.
[54] Schlegel, 124-126.
[55] 2 Churchill, "Travels," vi. 348.
[56] Altmeyer, "Isabelle," 35; "Relations," 160.
[57] Altmeyer, "Relations," etc., 166.
[58] Lanz, i. 195.
[59] Archives du Royaume, Bruxelles. Régistre des Dépenses, etc., Nos. 1799,
1800, 1803.
[60] L. de Laborde, "Inventaire"; Henne, iv. 387-390.
[61] Henne, iv. 387-391.
[62] This painting is mentioned in one of Henry VIII.'s catalogues as "A table
with the pictures of the three children of the King of Denmark, with a curtain of
white and yellow sarcenet." In Charles I.'s inventory it is described as "A
Whitehall piece, curiously painted by Mabusius, wherein two men children and
one woman child are playing with some oranges in their hands by a green table,

little half-figures upon a board in a wooden frame." At the sale of the King's
effects it was called a Mabuse, and valued at £10. In 1743 the same picture hung
in Queen Caroline's closet at Kensington Palace, and was described by Vertue as
"Prince Arthur and his sisters, children of Henry VII." Five years later it was
removed to Windsor and engraved under this name. Sir George Scharf was the
first to correct this obvious error and restore the original title (see
"Archæologia," xxxix. 245). Old copies of the picture, mostly dating from the
seventeenth century, are to be seen at Wilton, Longford, Corsham, and other
places.
[63] Altmeyer, "Isabelle d'Autriche," 52.
[64] Lanz, i. 283; Henne. iv. 337.
[65] Lanz, i. 408; Gachard, "Analecta Belgica," i. 378.
[66] Schlegel, 126; Altmeyer, "Relations," etc., 186.
[67] Altmeyer, "Relations," 190.
[68] T. Juste, "Les Pays-Bas sous Charles V.," 35.
[69] L. Gachard, "Retraite et Mort de Charles V.," i. 348.
[70] Lanz, i. 572.
[71] M. Sanuto, "Diarii," lv. 174.
[72] Schäfer, iv. 178-194.
[73] Schlegel, 127-219.
[74] T. Juste. "Les Pays-Bas sous Charles V.," 49.
[75] M. Sanuto, lv. 417-419.
[76] M. Sanuto, lvi. 813-823.
[77] Lanz, ii. 3.
[78] Altmeyer, "Relations," etc., 206.

BOOK IV
CHRISTINA, DUCHESS OF MILAN
1533-1535
I.

In the letter which the Emperor wrote to Mary of Hungary on his nephew's
death, he remarked that the best way of consoling his little nieces for their
brother's loss would be to find them husbands. The marriages of these
youthful Princesses had already engaged his attention for some time past.
While Christina was still a babe in her nurse's arms, the Regent Margaret
had been planning marriages for her great-nieces. In 1527 Wolsey proposed
King Henry's illegitimate son, the Duke of Richmond, as an eligible suitor
for one of them, but the idea of such a union was scouted by the imperial
family.[79] A marriage between Dorothea and her second cousin, King
James V. of Scotland, was discussed during many years, and only
abandoned eventually owing to the fickle character of the young monarch.
After Prince John's death, this Princess inherited her brother's claims to the
Danish throne, and King Frederic went so far as to propose that she should
wed his younger son John, offering to recognize him as heir to Denmark,
and leave the duchies of Schleswig-Holstein to his elder son Christian. But
the Emperor and Mary of Hungary were both reluctant to treat with the
usurper who had deposed their brother-in-law, and the death of Frederic in
April, 1533, put an end to the scheme.[80]
Another suitor now came forward in the person of
Francesco Sforza, Duke of Milan. This Prince was the 1533-35]
FRANCESCO
younger brother of Massimiliano Sforza, who as a boy SFORZA
had spent several years at the Court of Malines, and had
been deposed by Francis I. after a brief reign of three years. Born at Milan
on the 4th of February, 1495, when his father, Lodovico, was at the height
of his glory, and named after his grandfather, the great Condottiere,
Francesco II. had been the sport of Fortune from his childhood. Before he
was two years old, his mother, the brilliant Duchess Beatrice, died, and

when he was five his father lost both throne and freedom. While the
unfortunate Moro ended his days in the dungeons of Loches, his young
children were brought up in Germany by their cousin Bianca, the second
wife of the Emperor Maximilian. Francesco spent most of his time at
Innsbruck, and, after the brief interlude of his brother's reign at Milan,
retired once more to Trent. His opportunity came in 1521, when Leo X., in
his dread of France, joined with Charles V. to place the younger Sforza on
his father's throne. A gallant soldier and cultivated man, Francesco II. won
the hearts of all his subjects, who rejoiced to see a Sforza Duke again
among them. But misfortune dogged his footsteps. In 1523 Milan was once
more taken by the French, and after their defeat at Pavia the Duke incurred
the Emperor's displeasure, and was deprived of his State, chiefly owing to
the intrigues of his Chancellor, Morone, with Pope Clement VII. It was only
in December, 1529, when Charles came to Bologna for his coronation, that,
at the intercession of the Pope and the Venetians, he consented to pardon
Francesco, and give him the investiture of Milan for the enormous sum of
900,000 ducats. But it was a barren realm to which the Duke returned. His
subjects were ruined by years of warfare, his own health had suffered
severely from the hardships which he had undergone, and he had been
dangerously wounded by the poisoned dagger of an assassin. At thirty-eight
he was a broken man, prematurely old and grey. The Venetian chronicler
Marino Sanuto, who saw the Duke at Venice in October, 1530, describes
him as looking very melancholy, and being only able to walk and move his
hands with difficulty.[81] He applied himself, however, manfully to the
almost hopeless task of relieving the distress of his subjects and restoring
order and prosperity. With great difficulty he succeeded in raising 400,000
ducats, the first installment of the payment for the investiture of Milan,
upon which the Castello was restored to him. His loyalty and modesty had
gone far to recover the Emperor's confidence, and Charles treated him with
marked favour and kindness.
This encouraged Francesco to aspire to the hand of a
Princess of the imperial house. His subjects were 1533-35] THE
DUKE'S
exceedingly anxious to see their Duke married, and COURTSHIP
already more than one suitable bride had been proposed.
But Margherita Paleologa, the heiress of Montferrat, whom her mother
would gladly have given Francesco in marriage, was wedded to his cousin
Federico, Duke of Mantua, in October, 1531, and the Pope's niece, the

Duchessina Caterina de' Medici, another prize who had been dangled before
the Duke of Milan's eyes, was betrothed to the Duke of Orleans in the
following year. Before this event was announced, in January, 1532, the
Milanese Ambassador, Camillo Ghilino, who had accompanied Charles to
Brussels, ventured to ask the Emperor, on his master's behalf, for the hand
of one of his nieces. Charles was evidently not averse to the proposal. It
was part of his policy to consolidate the different Italian dynasties, and he
was alive to the advantage of drawing the Duke of Milan into his family
circle. But he returned an evasive answer, saying that Princess Dorothea
was already destined for the King of Scotland, while her sister Christina
was too young, and that he could arrange nothing without the consent of her
father, the King of Denmark, who had gone to Norway to try and recover
his kingdom.[82] When Francesco met Charles at Bologna in the following
December, and was admitted to the newly-formed League of Italian States,
he renewed his suit, and once more asked for Christina's hand. On the 10th
of March Charles came to Milan, and spent four days in the Castello, after
which he accompanied the Duke on a hunting-party at Vigevano, and
enjoyed excellent sport, killing two wild-boars and three stags with his own
hand.[83] During this visit the marriage was arranged, and on the 10th of
June, 1533, the contract was signed at Barcelona by the Emperor on the one
hand, and the Chancellor of Milan, Count Taverna, and the ducal
Chamberlain, Count Tommaso Gallerati, on the other. Christina was to
receive 100,000 ducats out of the sum due to the Emperor, as her dowry,
and in the event of Dorothea succeeding to the throne of Denmark another
100,000 was to be settled on her. Hawkins, the English Ambassador, who
wrote home from Barcelona to announce the conclusion of the marriage,
remarked that the Milanese had left well pleased, but that the Duke was
somewhat to be pitied, since he was only to have the younger sister, and no
fortune with her. "Dower getteth he none."[84]
In spite of this drawback, the Milanese received the news with great
rejoicing, and any regret which they might have felt at the substitution of
the younger for the elder sister was dispelled by the Spaniards in the
Emperor's suite, who informed the Duke's Ambassadors that Christina was
taller and far more beautiful than Dorothea. Francesco himself wrote to an
old friend in Cremona, Giorgio Guazzo, saying that he would lose no time
in telling him of his great good fortune in winning so high-born and

attractive a young lady for his bride.[85] At the same time he agreed with the
Emperor to send Count Massimiliano Stampa, his intimate friend, to the
Netherlands, to wed the Princess in his name, and bring her to Milan that
autumn. Meanwhile the news of the marriage was received with much less
satisfaction in the Low Countries. Mary had taken the motherless children
to her heart, and was especially attached to Christina, who resembled her in
character and tastes. She inherited the family passion for riding and hunting,
and combined her aunt's intelligence and ability with her mother's
sweetness of disposition. The idea of marrying this charming child of
eleven to a half-paralyzed invalid old enough to be her father was repulsive,
and Mary did not hesitate to protest against the Emperor's decision with
characteristic frankness.
"Monseigneur," she wrote to Charles on the 25th of
August, "I have received Your Majesty's letters with 1533-35] MARY'S
PROTEST
the copy of the treaty which you have been pleased
to make between our niece, Madame Chrétienne, and the Duke
of Milan, on which point I must once for all relieve my
conscience. I will at least show you the difficulties which to my
mind lie in the way, so that Your Majesty may consider if any
remedy can be devised before the matter is finally arranged. As
for our said niece, I have no doubt that she will agree to
whatever you please to wish, since she regards you as her lord
and father, in whom she places absolute trust, and is ready to
obey you as your very humble daughter and slave. The child is
so good and willing there will be no need for any persuasion on
my part, either as regards the Count's coming or anything else
that you may please to command; but on the other hand,
Monseigneur, since the words of the treaty clearly show that the
marriage is to be consummated immediately, and she will have
to take her departure without delay, I must point out that she is
not yet old enough for this, being only eleven years and a half,
and I hold that it would be contrary to the laws of God and
reason to marry her at so tender an age. She is still quite a child,
and, whatever may be the custom in yonder country, you are
exposing her to the risk of bearing a child at this tender age, and
of losing both her own life and that of her issue. Monseigneur, I
am saying more than I ought to say, and speaking with a

freedom which I can only beg you to forgive, because both my
conscience and the love which I bear the child constrain me to
write thus. On the other hand, seeing that this treaty requires the
two sisters to make certain promises, I do not think that she is
old enough to enter into these engagements, while her sister,
although turned twelve, is very young of her age, and should
hardly make these promises without the consent of her father,
who is still living. I know that I am meddling with other people's
business by writing to you of those matters which are not,
strictly speaking, my affair. But I feel that I must send you these
warnings, not from any wish to prevent the marriage, if Your
Majesty thinks it well, but in order to give you a reason for
breaking it off, if any difficulties should arise. For it seems to
me, that as people often try to discover the fifth wheel in the
coach, where there is no reason to make any difficulty, it would
be easy to find some excuse for embroiling matters, when so
good a cause exists. I quite understand that it may not be easy to
alter the treaty at this hour, but, since I had not the opportunity
of speaking to you on the subject before, I feel it to be my duty
to warn you of these things, and to remind you of the child's
tender age, of which Your Majesty may not have been aware.
However this may be, Monseigneur, I have written this to fulfil
my duty to God, as well as to Your Majesty, my niece, and the
whole world, and can only beg you not to take what I have said
in bad part, or to believe that any other cause could have led me
to speak so plainly; and I take my Creator to witness that this is
true, begging Him to give you health and long life, and grant
your good and virtuous desires:
"Your very humble and obedient sister,
"Marie.
"From Ghent, August 25, 1533."[86]
Charles answered the Queen's protest in the following brief letter, which
showed that his mind was made up, and that he would allow no change in
his plans:
"Madame my good Sister,

"I have received your letter, and will only reply briefly, as I am
writing to you at length on other matters by my secretary, and
also because my niece's affair is rather a matter for priests and
lawyers than for me, and I have desired Granvelle to satisfy your
objections. So I will only tell you that, as the children's father is
more dead to them than if he had ceased to live, I signed the
marriage treaty before I left Barcelona. As for the question of
issue, I fear that the Duke's advanced years will prove a greater
barrier than my niece's tender youth. I am sure that you will act
in accordance with my wishes, and I beg you to do this once
more.
"From Monzone, September 11, 1533."[87]
There was clearly nothing more to be said; but Mary had secretly
determined, whatever happened, not to allow the actual marriage to take
place until the following year, and in the end she had her way.

II.

When the Emperor wrote this letter to his sister, Count
Massimiliano had already started on his journey. He left 1533-35]
Milan on the eve of St. Bartholomew, taking Count STAMPA'S MISSION
Francesco Sfondrati of Cremona and Pier Francesco
Bottigella of Pavia with him, and travelled by Trent and Spires to Louvain,
where he arrived on the 12th of September. The next day he was conducted
to Ghent by Monsieur de Courrières, the Captain of the Archers' Guard, and
met at the palace gates by Monsieur de Molembais, the Queen's Grand
Falconer, who informed him that Her Majesty was laid up, owing to a slight
accident out hunting, and could not receive him at present. After many
delays, Stampa at length succeeded in obtaining an audience, and begged
the Queen earnestly to satisfy his master's impatience, and allow the
marriage to be concluded without delay. Mary replied very civilly that,
since this was Cæsar's will, she would certainly put no obstacle in the way,
but explained that affairs of State compelled her to visit certain frontier
towns, and begged the Count to await her return to Brussels. She then sent
for the Princesses, and Stampa was presented and allowed to kiss their
hands. But, as he only saw them for five minutes, all he could tell his

master was that Christina seemed very bright and lively, and was much
better-looking than her sister.[88]
In spite of the courtesy with which he was entertained by De Courrières and
the Duke of Aerschot, Stampa clearly saw that it was Mary's intention to
delay the marriage as long as possible, and began to despair of ever
attaining his object. Fortunately, by the end of the week the Emperor's
confidential Chamberlain, Louis de Praet, arrived at Ghent. De Praet had
been Ambassador in England and France, and was now sent from Spain to
represent His Majesty at the wedding and escort the bride to Milan. When
he had seen Stampa's copy of the Treaty of Barcelona, he advised him to
join the Queen at Lille and deliver his credentials. Here the Count
accordingly presented himself on the 18th of September, and was graciously
received by Mary, who assured him that the affair which lay so near his
heart would shortly be arranged. He was conducted into a room where he
found the Princesses and their governess, Madame de Fiennes, and
conversed with them for half an hour. When the Queen rose to attend
vespers, she touched the Count's sleeve and made him walk at her side as
far as the chapel, and thanked him for the fine horse which the Duke had
sent her, telling him how fond she was of hunting. The next day Stampa
was invited to supper, and afterwards ventured to ask if he might see the
Princesses dance. To this request the Queen gave her consent. The flutes
and tambourines struck up a merry tune, and the Princesses danced first a
ballo al francese, then a branle, and a variety of French and German
dances, in which the gentlemen and ladies-in-waiting took part. The Count
was about to take his leave, since the hour was already late, when De Praet
told him he must first see the Princesses dance a ballo all'italiano, upon
which the two sisters rose and, joining hands, danced an Italian ballet with
charming grace. The Ambassador was delighted, and wrote to tell his
master what a favourable impression Christina had made upon him and his
companions:
"She is hardly shorter than her sister, and much handsomer and
more graceful, and is indeed as well built and attractive a
maiden as you could wish to see. God grant this may lead to a
happy marriage!"[89]
The next morning business began in good earnest. Prolonged negotiations
were held between Stampa and the Queen's Councillors—Aerschot, De

Praet, and other nobles—and the rights of the Princess Dorothea and the
condition of Denmark were fully discussed. While the Count was at dinner,
De Praet came in, and, to his surprise, informed him that Her Majesty
wished the wedding to be celebrated on the following Sunday, the 28th of
September. The Count asked nothing better, and hastened to send the good
news to Milan.
On Saturday evening Christina signed the marriage
contract before an illustrious assembly in a hall of the 1533-35]
CHRISTINA'S
palace at Lille, which was hung with black and gold WEDDING
damask for the occasion, and between four and five on
Sunday afternoon the wedding was solemnized by the Bishop of Tournay in
the chapel. Count Massimiliano, gallantly arrayed in cloth of gold, was
conducted to the altar by De Praet and the great officers of State; the violins
and drums sounded, and the bridal procession entered, the Queen leading
her niece by the hand. "As the Bishop placed the nuptial ring on the bride's
finger," wrote Stampa to his lord, "she received it with evident pleasure, and
all the Court displayed great satisfaction."
When the ceremony was over, the bride retired, and Stampa spent some
time in conversation with the Queen, vainly endeavouring to persuade her
to fix a date for the Duchess's journey. But on this point Mary was
inflexible. De Praet, who visited him the next day, explained that the Queen
could not allow this youthful lady to be exposed to the perils and fatigue of
so long a journey in winter, and that her departure must therefore be put off
till the following spring. This was a grievous disappointment to the Count,
who knew how anxious the Duke was to see his wife. But he had to accept
the situation, and could only try and console his master by repeating the
Queen's assurances of good-will and affection.
She even begged the Count to join her in a hunting expedition at Brussels in
the following week. But this Stampa firmly declined, saying that he must
return to Milan without delay. On the same evening he had the honour of a
parting interview with the Duchess, and presented her with a fine diamond
and ruby ring and a length of costly brocade in her lord's name. Christina's
eyes sparkled with delight at the sight of these gifts, and she thanked Count
Massimiliano with a warmth which captivated him. Then he took leave of
the Queen, who started at break of day in torrents of rain, to hunt on her
way to Brussels, leaving the Princesses to return by Tournay. The Count

himself went to Antwerp to raise money for his journey, and despatched a
messenger to Milan with full accounts of the wedding.
"All this Court and the Queen herself," he wrote, "are delighted
with this happy event. And Your Excellency may rejoice with
good reason, and may rest assured that you have the fairest,
most charming and gallant bride that any man could desire."[90]
These despatches reached Milan on the 13th of October, and were received
with acclamation. Guns were fired from the Castello, the bells of all the
churches were rung, and the Senate went in solemn procession to give
thanks to God in the Duomo. "It was indeed good tidings of great joy,"
wrote the chronicler Burigozzo, "and such rejoicing had not been known in
Milan for many years."[91] Francesco's own satisfaction was considerably
diminished by hearing that his bride was not to set out on her journey until
the following February. But he took the Queen's decision in good part, and
wrote to express his eternal gratitude to her and Cæsar for giving him their
niece.
"However anxious I naturally am to have my wife with me," he
added, "I recognize the gravity of the reasons which have made
you put off her journey to a more convenient season, and think,
as you say, this should take place next February."[92]
The Duke sent this letter by a special messenger, and
received in reply the following brief note in Italian from 1533-35] THE
DUKE'S APPEAL
Christina:
"Most illustrious Consort,
"It gave me great pleasure to hear of Your Excellency's good
health from Messer Sasso, and I can assure you that my wish to
join you is no less ardent than your own. But it is only
reasonable that we should bow to the decision of the Most
Serene Queen, who orders everything wisely and well. I will
only add how sincerely I hope that you will keep well, and love
me as much as I love you.
"Your Excellency's most loving consort,
"Christierna, Duchess of Milan.

"From Brussels, November 4, 1533."[93]
On the last day of January, 1534, the Duke held a Council of State to
consider the best means of raising the £100,000 due to Cæsar, which was
assigned to his niece for dower, and the citizens agreed cheerfully to new
taxes on grain and wine in order to provide the necessary amount. But it
was not until the 31st of March that Francesco was able to issue a
proclamation informing the Milanese that his wife had started on her
journey. The Duchess, he told them, would be among them by the end of
April, and he could count on his loyal subjects to receive her with due
honour; but, knowing as he did their poverty, he begged that the customary
wedding gift should be omitted. The Milanese responded with enthusiasm
to their Duke's appeal, and prepared to give his bride a worthy reception.
Their example was followed by the citizens of Novara, Vigevano, and the
other towns along the route between Savoy and Milan. The roads, which
were said to be the worst in the duchy, were mended, triumphal arches were
erected, and lodgings were prepared for her reception. The following
quaintly-worded memorandum was drawn up by Councillor Pier Francesco
Bottigella, to whom these arrangements were entrusted:
"(1) Mend the roads and clean the streets through which the
Lady Duchess will pass, and hang the walls with tapestries and
carpets, the largest and widest that you can find. (2) Paint her
arms on all the gates through which she passes. (3) Provide a
baldacchino to be carried over her head. (4) See that lodgings
are prepared for her at Novara, either in the Bishop's palace or in
the ducal hunting-lodge, and let these be cleansed and
decorated. (5) Prepare rooms in the town for the Duchess's
household. (6) Let this also be done in the Castello Vecchio at
Vigevano. (7) Desire that no gifts of any kind should be made to
the Duchess at Novara, Vigevano, or any other place."[94]
When these instructions had been duly carried out, Bottigella, who had
accompanied Stampa on his mission to the Low Countries, and was already
acquainted with the chief members of the Duchess's suite, set out for
Chambéry by the Duke's orders, to meet the bride on the frontiers of Savoy
and escort her across the Alps.

III.

Christina had now completed her twelfth year, and Mary
of Hungary could no longer invent any excuse to delay April, 1534] A
WEDDING
her journey to Milan. The bridal party finally set out on JOURNEY
the 11th of March, conducted by Monseigneur de Praet,
the Emperor's representative, and Camillo Ghilino, the Duke's Ambassador,
with an escort of 130 horse. Madame de Souvastre, one of Maximilian's
illegitimate daughters, whose husband had been one of the late Regent's
confidential servants, was appointed mistress of the Duchess's household,
which consisted of six maids of honour, six waiting-women, four pages, and
ten gentlemen. Christina herself rode in a black velvet litter, drawn by four
horses and attended by six footmen, and her ladies travelled in similar
fashion, followed by twenty mules and three waggons with the baggage.
Mary had taken care that the bride's trousseau was worthy of a daughter of
the imperial house, and the chests were filled with sumptuous robes of cloth
of gold and silver, of silk, satin, and velvet, costly furs, jewels and pearls,
together with furniture and plate for her table and chapel, and liveries and
trappings for her servants and horses. The Duchess's own lackeys and all
the gentlemen in attendance wore coats and doublets of black velvet, and
the other servants, we learn from John Hackett, the English Ambassador at
Brussels, were clad in suits of "medley grey," trimmed with velvet, all "very
well accounted."[95] The imposing cortège travelled by slow stages through
the friendly duchy of Lorraine and across the plains of the imperial county
of Burgundy, taking journeys of twelve or fifteen miles a day, until, on the
12th of April, it halted at Chambéry, the frontier town of Savoy. The
reigning Duke, Charles III., was the Emperor's brother-in-law and stanch
ally, and the travellers were hospitably entertained in his ancestral castle on
the heights. Here Bottigella was introduced into Christina's presence by his
old friend Camillo Ghilino, and found her on the way to attend Mass in the
castle chapel.
"The Duchess," wrote the Councillor to his lord, "received me in
the most friendly manner, and asked eagerly after you, and was
especially anxious to know where you were now. I told her that
you were at Vigevano, but would shortly return to Milan, to
prepare for her arrival. Mass was just beginning, so I had to take

my leave, but hope for another opportunity of conversing with
her before long, and can see how eager she is to ask a hundred
questions. She is very well and lively, and does not seem any the
worse for the long journey. She has grown a great deal since I
saw her last September, and is as beautiful as the sun. M. de
Praet hopes to reach Turin in seven days, and will start again to-
morrow."[96]
The most arduous part of the journey now lay before the April, 1534]
travellers. Leaving Chambéry, they penetrated into the BEATRIX OF
heart of the Alps, through the narrow gorge of the Isère, SAVOY
between precipitous ravines with castles crowning the
rocks on either side, until they reached the impregnable fortress of
Montmélian, the ancient bulwark of Savoy, which had resisted all the
assaults of the French. After spending the night here, they rode up the green
pastures and pine-clad slopes of S. Jean de Maurienne, and began the ascent
of the Mont Cenis, over "those troublesome and horrid ways" of which
English travellers complained so bitterly, where loose stones and tumbled
rocks made riding almost impossible. "These ways, indeed," wrote Coryat,
"are the worst I ever travelled in my life, so much so that the roads of Savoy
may be proverbially spoken of as the owls of Athens, the pears of Calabria,
or the quails of Delos."[97] On the summit of the pass De Praet and his
companions saw with interest the Chapel of Our Lady of the Snows, where
a few years before the famous Constable of Bourbon had offered up his
sword on the altar of the Virgin, as he led the imperial armies across the
Alps. Then they came down into a smiling green valley, with walnut woods
and rushing streams, and saw the medieval towers of Susa at their feet. Here
they were met by the Emperor's Ambassador at the Court of Savoy, who
came to pay his respects to the Duchess, bringing with him two elegant
litters of crimson brocade, sent by Charles's sister-in-law, Beatrix of
Portugal, Duchess of Savoy, for Christina's use. At Rivoli, two stages
farther on, fifty Councillors from Turin, with the Bishop of Vercelli at their
head, appeared on horseback to escort the Duchess to the city gates. Here
Christina mounted her horse and rode up the steep ascent to the citadel,
with De Praet walking at her side. The beautiful Duchess Beatrix herself
awaited her guest at the castle gates, and, embracing Christina
affectionately, led her by the hand up the grand staircase into the best suite

of rooms in the palace. The travellers spent two days in these comfortable
quarters, and enjoyed the brief interval of rest, although the Duchess, as
Bottigella was careful to tell the Duke, seemed the least tired of the whole
party, and was in blooming health and high spirits.
On the following Sunday Christina rode into Novara, on a brilliant spring
morning, and was lodged in the Bishop's palace, and received with the
greatest enthusiasm by her lord's subjects. At Vigevano, the birthplace and
favourite home of Lodovico Sforza, the nobles, with Massimiliano Stampa
at their head, rode out to welcome the Duke's bride, and carried a rich
baldacchino over her head. Nevertheless, halfway between Novara and
Vigevano, De Praet complained to the Count that neither the reception of
the Duchess nor the rooms prepared for her were sufficiently honourable
—"in fact, he found fault with everything." The Count expressed some
surprise, since both the Emperor Maximilian and Charles V. himself had
stayed at Vigevano, and the latter had greatly admired the buildings and
gardens laid out by Bramante and Leonardo. But, to pacify the exacting
priest, Stampa proposed that the Duchess should only take her déjeuner in
the castle, and push on to his own villa of Cussago, where she was to spend
some days before entering Milan. But De Praet replied that the Duchess, not
being yet accustomed to this climate, felt the heat of the sun, and must on
no account ride any farther till evening. So all the Count could do was to
send Bottigella on to see that the Castello was adorned with wreaths of
flowers and verdure, and that a good bed was prepared for the Duchess.[98]
At least, De Praet could find nothing to grumble at in
Stampa's country-house at Cussago, the ducal palace and May, 1534]
CHRISTINA'S
hunting-grounds which had been given him by HUSBAND
Francesco II. in reward for his unwavering loyalty. The
beauty of the spot, the delicious gardens with their sunny lawns and
sparkling fountains, their rose and myrtle bowers, their bosquets and
running streams, enchanted the travellers from the north. The villa had been
adorned with frescoes and marble doorways by the best Lombard masters of
the Moro's Court, and was once the favourite country-house of Beatrice
d'Este, the present Duke's mother, who often rode out from Milan to hunt in
the forests of the Brianza or play at ball on the terraces. Now her son's
child-bride saw these green lawns in all the loveliness of early summer, and
the frescoed halls rang once more to the sound of mirth and laughter. Music

and dancing enlivened the days, and a drama—La Sposa Sagace—was
acted one evening to amuse Christina. At nightfall the guns of the Castello,
firing salutes in her honour, were heard in the distance, and the bonfires on
the towers of Milan lit up the evening sky with crimson glow. Count
Massimiliano took care that nothing should be lacking to the enjoyment of
the Duchess, and begged De Praet to attend to her comfort in every
particular, but, as he told the Duke, it was not always easy to satisfy these
gentlemen.
One day Christina and her ladies received a visit from the great Captain
Antonio de Leyva, the Duke's old enemy, who now came, cap in hand, to
pay homage to the Emperor's niece. Another day there was a still greater stir
at the villa, for the Duke himself appeared unexpectedly, having ridden out
almost alone, to pay a surprise visit to his bride. The first sight of her future
lord must have given Christina a shock, and her ladies whispered to each
other that this wan, grey-haired man, who could not walk without the help
of a stick, was hardly a fit match for their fair young Princess. But
Francesco's chivalrous courtesy and gentleness went far to atone for his
physical defects, and nothing could exceed the kindness which he showed
his youthful bride. After all, she was but a child, and the sight of this new
world that was laid at her feet with all its beauties and treasures was enough
to dazzle her eyes and please her innocent fancy.
On Sunday, the 3rd of May, the Duchess made her state entry into Milan.
Early in the afternoon she rode in her litter to S. Eustorgio, the Dominican
convent outside the Ticino gate, where she was received by the Duke's half-
brother, Giovanni Paolo Sforza, mounted on a superb charger, and attended
by all his kinsmen, clad in white and gold. After paying her devotions at the
marble shrine of S. Pietro Martive, the Prior and friars conducted her to
partake of refreshments in the guests' hall, and receive the homage of the
Bishop and clergy, of the magistrates and senators. At six o'clock, after
vespers, the procession started from the Porta Ticinese. First came the
armourers and their apprentices, in companies of 200, with coloured flags in
their hands and plumes to match in their caps. One troop was in blue, the
other in green. At the head of the first rode Alessandro Missaglia, a splendid
figure, wearing a silver helmet and shining armour over his turquoise velvet
vest, and mounted on a horse with richly damascened harness. The green
troop was led by Girolamo Negriolo, the other famous Milanese armourer.

Then came 300 archers in pale blue silk, and six bands of trumpeters and
drummers, followed by a great company of the noblest gentlemen of Milan,
all clad in white, with flowing plumes in their hats and lances in their
hands, riding horses draped with silver brocade. Visconti, Trivulzio,
Borromeo, Somaglia—all the proudest names of Milan were there, and in
the rear rode the veteran Antonio de Leyva, with the Emperor's
representative, De Praet, at his side.
Immediately behind them, under a white and gold velvet
baldacchino, borne by the doctors of the University, rode May, 1534] THE
BRIDE'S ENTRY
the bride, mounted on a white horse with glittering
trappings, and wearing a rich white brocade robe and a long veil over her
flowing hair—"a vision more divine than human," exclaims the chronicler
who witnessed the sight; "only," he adds in an undertone, "she is still very
young." At the sight of the lovely child the multitude broke into shouts of
joy, and the clashing of bells, the blare of trumpets, and sound of guns,
welcomed the coming of the Duchess. Close behind her rode Cardinal
Ercole Gonzaga, the Duke's cousin, and on either side a guard of twelve
noble youths, with white ostrich feathers in their caps, so that Her
Excellency "appeared to be surrounded with a forest of waving plumes." In
the rear came Madame de Souvastre and her ladies in litters, followed by a
crowd of senators, bishops, and magistrates.
Six triumphal arches, adorned with statues and paintings, lined the route.
Peace with her olive-branch, Plenty with the cornucopia, Prosperity bearing
a caduceus, Joy crowned with flowers, welcomed the bride in turn.
Everywhere the imperial eagles were seen together with the Sforza arms,
and countless mottoes with courtly allusions to the golden age that had at
length dawned for distracted Milan. "Thy coming, O Christina, confirms the
peace of Italy!" On the piazza of the Duomo, a pageant of the Seasons
greeted her—Spring with arms full of roses, Summer laden with ripe ears of
corn, Autumn bearing purple grapes, and Winter wrapt in snowy fur; while
Minerva was seen closing the doors of the Temple of Janus, and Juno and
Hymen, with outstretched arms, hailed Francesco, the son of the great
Lodovico, and Christina, the daughter of Dacia and Austria. At the steps of
the Duomo the long procession halted. Cardinal Gonzaga helped the
Duchess to alight, and led her to the altar, where she knelt in silent prayer,
kissed the pax held up to her by the Archbishop, and received his

benediction. The walls of the long nave were hung with tapestries, and the
choir draped with cloth of gold and adorned with statues of the patron saints
of Milan. "When you entered the doors," wrote the chronicler, "you seemed
to be in Paradise."
Then the Duchess mounted her horse again, and the procession passed up
the Goldsmiths' Street to the Castello. Here the decorations were still more
sumptuous. One imposing arch was adorned with a painting of St. John
leaning on the bosom of Christ, copied from Leonardo's "Cenacolo" in the
refectory of S. Maria delle Grazie. Another bore a figure of Christ with the
orb and sceptre, and the words "Mercy and Truth have kissed each other."
On the piazza in front of the Castello, a colossal fountain was erected, and
winged children spouted wine and perfumed water. The Castello itself had
been elaborately adorned. The arms of Denmark and Milan were carved in
fine marble over the portals, the walls were hung with blue draperies
studded with golden stars and wreathed with garlands of myrtle and ivy, and
on either side of the central doorway two giant warriors leaning on clubs
supported a tablet crowned with the imperial eagles, and inscribed with the
words: "The wisest of Princes to-day weds the fairest of Virgins, and brings
us the promise of perpetual peace."[99]

CHRISTINA, DUCHESS
OF MILAN (1534)
(Oppenheimer Collection)

FRANCESCO SFORZA,
DUKE OF MILAN (1534)
(British Museum)
To face p. 92
As the procession reached the gates of the Castello, a
triumphant burst of martial music was sounded by the May, 1534] IN
THE CASTELLO
trumpeters on the topmost tower, and Count
Massimiliano, the Castellan, presented the golden keys of the gates to the
Duchess, on bended knee. Christina received them with a gracious smile,
and, accepting his hand, alighted from her horse, amid the cheers of the
populace, who, rushing in on all sides, seized the baldacchino, tore the
costly brocade into ribbons, and divided the spoil. Meanwhile the Duke,
leaning on a stick, received his wife with a deep reverence, and led her by
the hand into the beautiful suite of rooms, hung with mulberry-coloured
velvet and cloth of gold, which had been prepared for her use.[100] Cardinal
Gonzaga and De Praet supped with the bride and bridegroom that evening,
to the sweet melodies of the Duke's flutes and viols. The gates of the
Castello were closed, enormous bonfires blazed on the walls, and rockets
went up to heaven from the top of the great tower. Thousands of torches
illumined the darkness, and the streets were thronged with gay crowds, who
gladly took advantage of the Duke's permission and gave themselves up to
mirth and revelry all night long. Long was that day remembered in Milan.
Old men who could recall the reign of Lodovico, and had witnessed the
coming of Beatrice and the marriage of Bianca, wept, and thanked God that

they had lived to see this day. But their joy was destined to be of short
duration.

IV.

At six o'clock on the evening of the 4th of May the marriage of the Duke
was finally celebrated in the hall of the Rocchetta, which was hung with
cloth of gold beautifully decorated with garlands of flowers. Among the
illustrious guests present were the Cardinal of Mantua, the Legate
Caracciolo, Antonio de Leyva, and the chief nobles and senators. The
Bishops of Modena and Vigevano chanted the nuptial Mass, and
Monseigneur de Praet delivered a lengthy oration, which sorely tried the
patience of his hearers. No sooner had he uttered the last words than the
Duke took the bride's hand, and brought the ceremony to an abrupt
conclusion by leading her into the banquet-hall. There a supper of delicate
viands, fruit, and wines, was prepared, and the guests were entertained with
music and songs during the evening.[101]
Letters of congratulation now poured in from all the
Courts of Europe. Christina's own relatives—Ferdinand May, 1534]
ALFONSO
and Anna, the King and Queen of Hungary and D'ESTE
Bohemia, the King and Queen of Portugal, the Elector of
Saxony and the Marquis of Brandenburg—all congratulated the Duchess on
her safe arrival and happy marriage; while the Pope, the Doge of Venice,
and other Italian Princes, sent the Duke cordial messages. One of the most
interesting letters which the bridegroom received was an autograph epistle
from his cousin, Bona Sforza, Queen of Poland, who would probably
herself have been Duchess of Milan if Massimiliano Sforza had reigned
longer. It had been the earnest wish of her widowed mother, Isabella of
Aragon, to effect this union, and it was only after the French conquest of
Milan in 1515 that her daughter became the wife of King Sigismund. From
her distant home Bona kept up an active correspondence with her Italian
relatives, and now sent Francesco the following friendly letter:
"Dearest and most illustrious Cousin,
"I rejoice sincerely to hear that your most illustrious wife has
reached Milan safely. I feel the greatest joy at your happy

marriage, and trust that Heaven will send you a fine son. My
husband and children join with me in wishing you every
possible happiness.
"Bona, Queen.
"From Cracow, July 15, 1534."[102]
Another of Francesco's illustrious kinsfolk, Alfonso d'Este, Duke of Ferrara,
came to Milan in person to offer his congratulations to his nephew, although
he preferred to remain incognito, and his name does not figure among the
guests who were present at the wedding festivities. But Ferrarese
chroniclers record that the Duke went to Milan on the 30th of April, to
attend the wedding of Duke Francesco Sforza, who took for wife Madame
Christierna, daughter of the King of Dacia, and returned home on the 6th of
May.[103] Forty-four years before, Alfonso, then a boy of fourteen, had
accompanied his sister Beatrice to Milan for her marriage, and escorted his
own bride, Anna Sforza, back to Ferrara. Now his long and troubled life
was drawing to a close, and he died a few months after this last journey to
Milan, on the 31st of October, 1534. By his last will he left two of his best
horses and a pair of falcons to his beloved nephew, the Duke of Milan.[104]
Some writers have conjectured that Alfonso brought his favourite painter,
Titian, to Milan, and that the Venetian master painted portraits of the Duke
and Duchess on this occasion.[105] No record of Titian's visit, however, has
been discovered, and he probably painted the portraits of Francesco and
Christina from drawings sent to him at Venice.
Titian's friend, Pietro Aretino, was in constant
correspondence with Count Massimiliano Stampa, who May, 1534]
TITIAN'S
rewarded his literary efforts with gifts of gold chains, PORTRAIT
velvet caps, and embroidered doublets. "I shall be clad
in your presents all through the summer months," he wrote in a letter,
signing himself, "Your younger brother and devoted servant." Aretino was
not only profuse in thanks to this noble patron, but sent him choice works of
art, mirrors of Oriental crystal, medals engraved by Anichino, and, best of
all, a little painting of the youthful Baptist clasping a lamb, "so life-like that
a sheep would bleat at the sight of it."[106] The wily Venetian was
exceedingly anxious to ingratiate himself with the Duke of Milan, and not
only dedicated a "Paraphase" to him on his marriage, but, according to

Vasari, painted portraits of both the Duke and Duchess. These pictures were
reproduced by Campo in the "History of Cremona," which he published in
1585, while Christina was still living. The portrait of Francesco was at that
time the property of the Milanese noble Mario Amigone, while that of
Christina hung in the house of Don Antonio Lomboni, President of the
Magistrates.[107] This last portrait was afterwards sent to Florence by order
of the Grand-Duke Ferdinand, who married the Duchess's granddaughter,
Christine of Lorraine.
"I send Your Highness," wrote Guido Mazzenta in January,
1604, "the portrait of the Most Serene Lady, Christina, Queen of
Denmark, and grandmother of the Most Serene Grand-Duchess,
painted by Titian, by order of Duke Francesco Sforza, when he
brought her to Milan as his bride."[108]
Unfortunately, this precious portrait was afterwards sent to Madrid, where it
is said to have perished in a fire. In Campo's engraving the youthful
Duchess wears a jewelled cap and pearl necklace, with an ermine cape on
her shoulders. Her serene air and thoughtful expression recall Holbein's
famous picture, and give an impression of quiet happiness and content
which agrees with all that we know of her short married life.
The change was great from Malines and Brussels, and Christina often
missed her old playmates. But her simple, docile nature became easily
accustomed to these new surroundings, and the affectionate little letters
which she sent to her aunt and sister all breathe the same strain. "We are as
happy and contented as possible," she writes to Dorothea; and when
Camillo Ghilino was starting for Germany, she sends a few words, at her
lord's suggestion, to be forwarded to Flanders, just to tell her aunt how
much she loves and thinks of her.[109]
Certainly, when we compare her lot with that of her mother, and remember
the hardships and sorrows which the young Queen had to endure, Christina
may well have counted herself fortunate. Her husband treated his child-wife
with the greatest kindness. Her smallest wish was gratified, her tastes were
consulted in every particular. The rooms which she occupied in the
Rocchetta, where his mother, Duchess Beatrice, had lived, were hung with
rich crimson velvet; the walls of her bedroom were draped with pale blue
silk; a new loggia was built, looking out on the gardens and moat waters.

The breaches which French and Spanish guns had made in the walls were
repaired, and the Castello resumed its old aspect. Three state carriages,
lined with costly brocades and drawn by four horses draped with cloth of
gold, were prepared by the Duke for his wife, and were first used by the
Duchess on Ascension Day, when, ten days after her wedding, she made her
first appearance in public. As she drove to the Duomo, followed by the
Legate and Ambassadors, and escorted by a brilliant cavalcade of nobles,
the streets were thronged with eager crowds, who greeted her with
acclamation, and waited for hours to catch a sight of her face. On Corpus
Christi, again, a few weeks later, the Duke and Duchess both came to see
the long procession of Bishops and priests pass through the streets, bearing
the host under a stately canopy from the Duomo to the ancient shrine of S.
Ambrogio.
The popularity of the young Duchess soon became
unbounded. Her tall figure, dark eyes, and fair hair, June, 1534]
FRANCESCA
excited the admiration of all her subjects, while her PALEOLOGA
frank and kindly manners won every heart. Although
prices went up in Milan that year, and the tolls on corn and wine were
doubled, the people paid these dues cheerfully, and, when they sat down to
a scanty meal, remarked that they must pay for Her Excellency's dinner.[110]
Fortunately, by the end of the year there was a considerable fall in prices,
and a general sense of relief and security prevailed.
To the Duke himself, as well as to his people, the coming of the Duchess
brought new life. For a time his failing health revived in the sunshine of her
presence. He threw himself with energy into the task of beautifying Milan
and completing the façade of the Duomo. At the same time he employed
painters to decorate the Castello and Duomo of Vigevano, and an
illuminated book of the Gospels, adorned with exquisite miniatures and
bearing his arms and those of the Duchess, may still be seen in the Brera.
Hunting-parties were held for Christina's amusement both at Vigevano and
in Count Massimiliano's woods at Cussago. Madame de Souvastre and most
of the Duchess's Flemish attendants had returned to the Netherlands with
De Praet, and Francesco took great pains to provide his wife with a
congenial lady-in-waiting. His choice fell on Francesca Paleologa, a lady of
the noble house of Montferrat, and cousin of the newly-married Duchess of
Mantua. Her husband, Constantine Comnenus, titular Prince of Macedonia,

had served under the Pope and Emperor; and her daughter, Deianira, had
lately married Count Gaspare Trivulzio, a former partisan of the French,
who was now a loyal subject of the Duke. From this time the Princess of
Macedonia became Christina's inseparable companion, and remained
devotedly attached to the Duchess throughout her long life. At the same
time Francesco appointed one of his secretaries, Benedetto da Corte of
Pavia, to be master of the Duchess's household, and to teach her Italian,
which she was soon able to speak and write fluently.
The Milanese archives contain several charming little notes written in
Christina's large, round hand to the Duke during a brief visit which he paid
to Vigevano, for change of air, in the summer of 1535:
"My Lord and dearest Husband,
"I have received your dear letters, and rejoice to hear of your
welfare. This has been a great comfort to me, but it will be a far
greater pleasure to see you again. I look forward to your return
with such impatience that a single hour seems as long as a whole
year. May God keep you safe and bring you home again very
soon, for I can enjoy nothing without Your Excellency. I am
very well, thank God, and commend myself humbly to your
good graces. Signora Francesca is also well, and commends
herself to Your Highness.
"Your very humble wife,
"Christierna.
"Milan, June 7, 1535.
"The bearer of this letter has been very good to me."
Francesco's health had lately given fresh cause for anxiety. He suffered
from catarrh and fever, and was frequently confined to his bed. A Pavian
Envoy who had been promised an audience had to leave the Castello
without seeing His Excellency, and a visit which he and the Duchess had
intended to pay to Pavia in the spring was put off, to the great
disappointment of the loyal citizens. Now his absence was prolonged owing
to a fresh attack of illness, and the young wife wrote again at the end of the
month, lamenting the delay and expressing the same impatience for his
return:

"My dearest Husband,
"I was delighted, as I always am, with your
dear letter of the 20th instant, but should have June, 1535]
DOROTHEA
been much better pleased to see you and enjoy OF DENMARK
the pleasure of your presence, as I hoped to do
by this time, especially as these Signors assured me that your
absence would be short. But they were, it is plain, quite wrong.
However, I must be reasonable, and if your prolonged absence is
necessary I will not complain. I thank you for your kind excuses
and explanations, but I will not thank you for saying that I need
not trouble to write to you with my own hand, because this at
least is labour well spent, and I am only happy when I can talk
with Your Excellency or write to you, now that I cannot enjoy
your company. I commend myself infinitely to your
remembrance, and trust God may long preserve you, and grant
you a safe and speedy return.
"Your very humble wife,
"Christierna.
"From Milan, June. 1535."[111]
But the warm-hearted young wife's wish remained unfulfilled, and four
months after these lines were written Christina was a widow.

V.

The chief event of Christina's brief married life was the
marriage of her elder sister, the Princess of Denmark. Jan., 1535] THE
Dorothea was by this time an attractive girl of fourteen, PALATINE
shorter and slighter than her sister, and inferior to her in force of character,
but full of brightness and gaiety. She was very popular in her old home at
Malines, and often shot with a crossbow at the meetings of the Guild of
Archers. Several marriages had been proposed for her, and King James of
Scotland had repeatedly asked for her hand; but the Emperor hesitated to
accept his advances, from fear of offending King Francis, whose daughter
Magdalen had long been pledged to this fickle monarch, while the difficulty
of providing a dower and outfit for another portionless niece, made Mary

reluctant to conclude a second marriage. But, a few months after Christina's
marriage, a new suitor for Dorothea's hand came forward in the person of
the Count Palatine, who had vainly aspired to wed both Eleanor of Austria
and Mary of Hungary. Frederic's loyal support of Charles's claims to the
imperial crown, and his gallant defence of Vienna against the Turks, had
been scurvily rewarded, and hitherto all his attempts to find another bride
had been foiled. When, in 1526, after the King of Portugal's death, he
approached his old love, the widowed Queen Eleanor, his advances were
coldly repelled; and when he asked King Ferdinand for one of his
daughters, he was told that she was too young for him. After Mary of
Hungary's refusal, he left the Imperial Court in anger, and told Charles V.
that he would take a French wife;[112] but Isabel of Navarre, Margaret of
Montferrat, and the King of Poland's daughter, all eluded his efforts, and
when he asked for Mary Tudor's hand, King Henry told him that he could
not insult his good friend and cousin by offering him a bride born out of
wedlock.[113] Now Ferdinand, unwilling to lose so valuable an ally,
suddenly proposed that the Palatine should marry his niece Dorothea,
saying that both he and Charles would rejoice to see him reigning over the
three northern kingdoms. At first Frederic hesitated, saying that he was a
grey-headed man of fifty, little fitted to be the husband of so young a lady,
and had no wish to reign over the turbulent Norsemen. Mary, however,
welcomed her brother's proposal, regarding it as a means of strengthening
the Emperor's cause in Northern Europe. In Denmark the succession of
Frederic's son Christian III. was disputed, and a Hanseatic fleet had seized
Copenhagen, while Christopher of Oldenburg, a cousin of the captive King,
had invaded Jutland. With the help of these allies it might be possible for
the Palatine to recover his wife's inheritance. But the execution of this plan
was full of difficulties, as Prince John's old tutor, the wise Archbishop of
Lunden, told Charles V. in a letter which he addressed to him in the autumn
of 1534:
"Most sacred Cæsar,—I know Denmark well, and am
convinced that the Danes will never recognize Christian II. as
their King. Count Christopher's expedition will prove a mere
flash in the pan, and when he can no longer pay his men, the
peasants, who flocked to his banner at the sound of their old
King's name, will return to their hearths. Then the nobles will

have their revenge, and the proud Lübeck citizens will seize
Denmark and establish the Lutheran religion in the name of
Christopher or King Henry of England, or any other Prince, as
long as he is not Your Majesty; and if they succeed, the trade of
the Low Countries will be ruined."[114]
The bait held out to the Palatine, however, proved too alluring, and he
easily fell a victim to the snare. The Emperor sent him flattering messages
by Hubert, the faithful servant who has left us so delightful a chronicle of
his master's doings, and promised his niece a dowry of 50,000 crowns. It
was late on New Year's Eve when Hubert reached his master's house at
Neumarkt, on his return from Spain, and Frederic was already in bed; but he
sent for him, and bade him tell his news in three words. The messenger
exclaimed joyfully: "I bring my lord a royal bride, a most gracious Kaiser,
and a sufficient dowry." Upon which the Palatine thanked God, and bade
Hubert go to the cellar and help himself to food and drink.[115]
One of Charles's most trusted Flemish servants, Nicholas de Marnol, was
now sent to Milan, to obtain the consent of the Duke and Duchess to
Dorothea's marriage. After a perilous journey over the Alps in snow and
floods, Marnol reached Milan on the 10th of January, 1535, and received a
cordial welcome. Francesco approved warmly of a union which would
insure the Princess's happiness and serve to confirm the peace of Germany,
but quite declined to accept the Emperor's suggestion that he should help to
provide a pension for Christina's brother-in-law, saying that this was
impossible, and that His Majesty would be the first to recognize the futility
of making promises which cannot be kept.
After a short stay at Milan, Marnol went on to Vienna, and advised the
Palatine to go to Spain himself if he wished to settle the matter. Frederic,
always glad of an excuse for a journey, travelled by way of Brussels and
France to Saragossa, and accompanied the Emperor to Barcelona, where
Charles signed the marriage contract on the eve of sailing for Africa.
On the 18th of May, 1535, the marriage was solemnized
at Brussels, and Frederic consented to leave his bride May, 1535] A
HAPPY
with her aunt until her outfit was completed. Queen MARRIAGE
Eleanor expressed the liveliest interest in her old lover's
marriage, and insisted on seeing Dorothea before she went to Germany. At

length the wedding-party reached Heidelberg, on the 8th of September,
where the gallant bridegroom, who, in Hubert's words, "loved to shine,"
rode out in rich attire to meet his bride, and escorted her with martial music
and pomp worthy of a King's daughter to the famous castle on the heights.
The next day the nuptial Mass was celebrated by the Bishop of Spires, and a
series of splendid entertainments were given by Frederic's brother, the
Elector Louis, after which the Count took his bride to his own home at
Neumarkt, in the Upper Palatinate.[116]
"Now at length," wrote Hubert, "my lord thought that he had attained a
haven of rest, and found a blessed end to all his troubles; but he was
grievously mistaken, and soon realized that he had embarked on a new and
tempestuous ocean."[117]
The splendid prospects of recovering his wife's kingdom were destined to
prove utterly fallacious, and only involved him in heavy expenses and
perpetual intrigues. The Emperor, as he soon discovered, "had no great
affection for the enterprise of Denmark,"[118] and before long Copenhagen
surrendered, and Charles and Mary were compelled to come to terms with
Christian III. and acknowledge his title. Fortunately, in all other respects his
marriage proved a happy one. Dorothea was greatly beloved by her
husband's family and subjects, and made him a devoted wife, although, as
Hubert soon found out, she was as great a spendthrift as her lord, and
confessed that she was never happy until she had spent her last penny.[119]
The very frivolity of her nature suited the volatile Count. She shared his
love of adventure, and was always ready to accompany him on perilous
journeys, to climb mountains or ford rivers, with the same unquenchable
courage and gaiety of heart. Even when, in her anxiety to bear a child, she
imitated the example of Frederic's mother, the old Countess Palatine, and
went on pilgrimages and wore holy girdles, "this was done without any
spirit of devotion, but with great mirth and laughter. And how little," adds
the chronicler, "either pilgrimages or girdles profited her, we all know."[120]

VI.

Before the Palatine and his bride reached Heidelberg, Europe was thrilled
by the news of the capture of Tunis, and the flight of the hated Barbarossa

before his conqueror. It was the proudest moment of the Emperor's life.
Twenty thousand Christian captives were released that day, and went home
to spread the fame of their great deliverer throughout the civilized world.
The news reached Milan on the 2nd of August, and was hailed with
universal joy. Te Deums were chanted in the Duomo, bells were rung in all
the churches, and the guns of the Castello boomed in honour of the great
event. Camillo Ghilino was immediately sent by the Duke to congratulate
the Emperor on his victory, and thank His Majesty once more for all the
happiness which the generous gift of his niece had brought Francesco and
his people.[121]

FREDERIC, COUNT PALATINE
Ascribed to A. Dürer (Darmstadt)
To face p. 106
The late Pope, Clement VII., had already expressed his
intention of rewarding Ghilino's services with a Nov., 1535]
FRANCESCO
Cardinal's hat, and his successor, Paul III., would SFORZA'S DEATH
probably have kept his promise, but the Ambassador fell
ill in Sicily, and died at Palermo in September, to the Duke's great sorrow.
[122]
Soon after receiving the news, Francesco himself fell ill of fever, and
once more lost the use of his limbs. All through October he grew steadily
worse, and by the end of the month the people of Milan learnt that their
beloved Prince was at the point of death. On Monday, the Feast of All
Saints, the public anxiety was at its height, and silent crowds waited all day
at the gates of the Castello to hear the latest reports. At length, early in the
morning of All Souls' Day, they learnt that the last Sforza Duke was no
more. Christina watched by his bedside to the end, and wept bitterly, for, in
the chronicler's words, "they had loved each other well."[123] All Milan
shared in her grief, and nothing but sobbing and wailing was heard in the
streets. Everyone lamented the good Duke, and grieved for the troubles and
misery which his death would bring on the land. But the city remained
tranquil, and there was no tumult or rioting. This was chiefly due to Stampa,
who, by the Duke's last orders, took charge of the Duchess, and
administered public affairs in her name, until instructions could be received
from Cæsar.
A messenger was despatched without delay to the Emperor at Palermo, with
letters from the Count and a touching little note from Christina, informing
her uncle how her dear lord's weakness had gradually increased, until in the
early morning he passed to a better life. The dead Prince lay in state for
three days in the ducal chapel, clad in robes of crimson velvet and ermine,
on a bier surrounded by lighted tapers. But the funeral was put off till the
19th of November, in order, writes the chronicler, to give the people time to
show the love they bore their lamented master, and also because of the
difficulty of obtaining sufficient black cloth to drape the walls of the
Castello and put the Court in mourning. It was a sad time for the young
widow. During three weeks not a ray of light was allowed to penetrate the

gloom of the funereal hall where she sat with her ladies, while solemn
requiems and Masses were chanted in the chapel.
It had been Francesco's wish to sleep with his parents in the Church of S.
Maria delle Grazie, where the effigies of Lodovico and his lost Beatrice had
been carved in marble. But when this became known there was a general
outcry. The people would not allow their beloved Duke to be buried
anywhere but in the Duomo with the great Francesco and the other Sforza
Princes. So it was decided only to bury the Duke's heart in the Dominican
church. His body was laid in a leaden casket covered with black velvet, and
a wax effigy, wearing the ducal crown and robes, was exposed to public
view.
Late on Friday, the 19th of November, an imposing
funeral procession passed from the Castello to the Nov., 1535]
FUNERAL RITES
Duomo, through the same streets which, only eighteen
months before, had been decked in festive array to receive the late Duke's
bride. First came the Bishops and clergy with candles and crosses, then the
senators, magistrates, and nobles, wearing long black mantles and hoods.
After them gentlemen bearing the ducal standard, cap, and baton, and
Francesco's sword and helmet, and what moved the spectators more than
all, the white mule which he had ridden daily, led by four pages, "looking
just as it did when His Excellency was alive, only that the saddle was
empty." Then the bier was carried past, under a gold canopy, and the wax
effigy of the dead man, was seen clad in gold brocade and ermine, with a
vest of crimson velvet and red shoes and stockings. Immediately behind
rode the chief mourner, Giovanni Paolo Sforza, followed by Antonio de
Leyva, the Imperial and Venetian Ambassadors, the Chancellor Taverna,
Count Massimiliano Stampa, and the chief Ministers and officials. After
them came a vast multitude of poor, all in mourning, bearing lighted tapers,
and weeping as they went. A catafalque, surrounded with burning torches,
had been erected in the centre of the Duomo, and here, under a canopy of
black velvet, the Duke's effigy was laid on a couch of gold brocade, with
his sword at his side and the ducal cap and baton at his feet—"a thing," says
the chronicler, "truly marvellous to see."[124]
The next morning the funeral rites were celebrated in the presence of an
immense concourse of people, and a Latin oration was delivered by Messer
Gualtiero di Corbetta. During three days requiems were chanted at every

altar in the Duomo, and the great bell, which had never been rung before,
was tolled for the space of three hours, accompanied by all the bells of the
other churches in Milan. "And there was no one with heart so hard that he
was not moved to tears that day," writes Burigozzo, the chronicler who was
a living witness of the love which the citizens bore to their dead Duke.[125]
At the end of the week the casket containing Francesco's remains was
finally laid in a richly carved sarcophagus, which had been originally
intended to receive the ashes of Gaston de Foix, the victor of Ravenna, and
which was now placed against the wall of the choir, "for a perpetual
memorial in the sight of all Milan."[126]
No one loved the Duke better and lamented his loss more truly than Count
Massimiliano Stampa, and Pietro Aretino, who realized this, condoled with
his noble friend, and at the same time paid an eloquent tribute to the dead
Prince, in the following letter:
"The Duke is dead, and I feel that this sad event has not only
taken away all your happiness, but part of your own soul. I
know the close intimacy in which you lived, nourished in your
infancy at the same breast, and bound together in one heart and
soul. But you must take comfort, remembering that His
Excellency may well be called fortunate in his end. His
wanderings began when he was barely six years old, and he was
driven into exile before he was old enough to remember his
native land. After so many wars and labours, after experiencing
famine and sickness himself, and seeing the cruel misery and
affliction endured by his subjects, he lived to see perfect
tranquillity restored in his dominions, and to enjoy the
passionate affection of all Milan. Now, secure in the friendship
of Cæsar and the love of Italy, he has given back his spirit to
God who gave it. Rejoice, therefore, and render praise and glory
to Francesco Sforza's name, because by his wisdom and virtue
he conquered fortune, and has died a Prince on his throne,
reigning in peace and happiness over his native land. So, my
dear lord, I beg you dry your tears, and meet those who love you
as I do with a serene brow. The fame of your learning and
greatness is known everywhere. Rise above the blows of fate,
and console yourself with the thought of your Duke's blessed

end. There lies His Excellency's corpse. Give it honourable
burial, and I meanwhile will not cease to celebrate him dead and
you who are alive."[127]

FOOTNOTES:
[79] Calendar of Spanish State Papers, ii. 146.
[80] Schäfer, iv. 204, 209.
[81] "Diarii," liii. 231.
[82] Altmeyer, "Relations," etc., 298; Sanuto, lv. 389, 414.
[83] Sanuto, lvii. 610, 637.
[84] State Papers, Record Office, vii. 465.
[85] M. Sanuto, lvii. 157; A. Campo, "Storia di Cremona," 107.
[86] Lanz, ii. 87, 88.
[87] Lanz, ii. 89.
[88] Archivio di Stato, Milan, Carteggio Diplomatico, 1533.
[89] Archivio di Stato, Milano, Carteggio Diplomatico, 1533.
[90] Carteggio Diplomatico, 1533, Archivio di Stato, Milan.
[91] G. M. Burigozzo, "Cronaca Milanese," 1500-1544, p. 516; "Archivio
Storico Italiano," iii. (1842).
[92] Potenze Sovrane, 1533-34, Archivio di Stato, Milan.
[93] Autografi di Principi Sforza, Archivio di Stato, Milan.
[94] Potenze Sovrane, Archivio di Stato, Milan.
[95] State Papers, Record Office, vii. 545.
[96] Potenze Sovrane, Archivio di Stato, Milan.
[97] T. Coryat, "Crudities," i. 215; "Hardwick Papers," i. 85.
[98] Potenze Sovrane, Archivio di Stato, Milan.
[99] M. Guazzo, "Historie d'Italia," 272-275; P. Avenati, "Entrata Solemne di
Cristina di Spagna"; MS. Continuazione della Storia di Corio, O. 240 (Biblioteca
Ambrosiana).
[100] C. Magenta, "I Visconti e gli Sforza nel Castello di Pavia," i. 750;
Nubilonio, "Cronaca di Vigevano," 131.
[101] MS. Continuazione di Corio, O. 240 (Biblioteca Ambrosiana).
[102] Autografi di Principi: Sforza. Archivio di Stato, Milan.
[103] F. Roddi, "Annali di Ferrara" (Harleian MSS. 3310).
[104] E. Gardiner, "A King of Court Poets," 355.

[105] Crowe and Cavalcaselle, "Titian," i. 355.
[106] P. Aretino, "Lettere," i. 214.
[107] A. Campo, 107.
[108] Gaye, "Carteggio," iii. 531.
[109] Autografi di Principi: Sforza, Archivio di Stato, Milan.
[110] Burigozzo, 521.
[111] Autografi di Principi: Sforza, Archivio di Stato (see Appendix I.).
[112] Lanz, i. 419.
[113] H. Thomas, 310.
[114] Altmeyer, "Relations Commerciales," etc., 317; Lanz, ii. 120.
[115] H. Thomas, 328.
[116] Henne, vi. 132.
[117] H. Thomas, 350.
[118] Lanz, ii. 659.
[119] H. Thomas, 350.
[120] "Zimmer'sche Chronik," iv. 145.
[121] Burigozzo, 525.
[122] G. Ghilino, "Annali di Alessandria," 141.
[123] Potenze Sovrane, Archivio di Stato.
[124] Burigozzo, 525.
[125] Ibid., 529.
[126] M. Guazzo, 312.
[127] P. Aretino, "Lettere," i. 43.

BOOK V
THE WIDOW OF MILAN
1535-1538
I.

Christina's short married life was over. At the end of eighteen months she
found herself a widow, before she had completed her fourteenth year. But
the brief interval which had elapsed since she left Flanders had sufficed to
turn the child into a woman. From the moment of the Duke's death, her
good sense and discretion won golden opinions from the grey-headed
statesmen around her. The senators and Ambassadors, the deputies from
Pavia and the other Lombard cities, who came to offer their condolences,
were deeply moved at the sight of this Princess, whose heavy mourning and
widow's weeds contrasted strangely with her extreme youth. The dignity
and grace of her bearing charmed them still more, and all the Milanese
asked was to keep their Duchess among them. By the terms of the late
Duke's investiture, if he died without children, the duchy of Milan was to
revert to the Emperor, but the city of Tortona was settled on the Duchess.
By Francesco's will the town and Castello of Vigevano, which he had done
so much to beautify, were also bequeathed to her. Immediately after the
Duke's funeral, in obedience to his dying lord's order, Stampa hoisted the
imperial standard on the Castello of Milan, but refused to allow Antonio de
Leyva to take possession of the citadel until he received orders from Cæsar
himself. This was faithfully reported to the Emperor by Christina, who gave
her uncle a full account of the steps which she had taken to administer
affairs as her lord's representative, adding:
"If I have failed in any part of my duty or done anything
contrary to Your Majesty's wishes, I beg you to excuse my
ignorance, assuring you that I have acted by the advice of my
late husband's Councillors, and with no regard to my own
interests, but with the sole object of promoting Your Majesty's
honour and service, and remain

"Your very humble and obedient servant,
"Chrétienne.
"November 20, 1535."[128]
The messenger whom Stampa sent to Palermo on the day of the Duke's
death missed the Emperor, who had already left for Messina, and the news
did not reach him until he had landed in Calabria, on his way to Naples. It
was not till the 27th of November that a horseman bearing letters from
Cæsar arrived in Milan. Here intense anxiety prevailed among all classes,
and the Spaniards were as much hated as the Duke and Duchess had been
beloved. Accordingly, the relief was great when it became known that,
although Signor Antonio de Leyva was appointed Governor-General,
Stampa was to retain his post as Castellan, and the Duchess was to remain
in the Castello.
"The Duchess remains Duchess," wrote the chronicler, "and all
the other officials retain their places. Above all, Count
Massimiliano keeps his office, and the city is perfectly quiet."
[129]

Stampa now made a last effort to maintain the
independence of Milan. He proposed that the widowed Dec., 1535] THE
PRINCE OF
Duchess should be given in marriage to the Duke of PIEDMONT
Savoy's eldest son, Louis, a Prince of her own age, who
was being educated at his imperial uncle's Court. A petition to this effect,
signed by Chancellor Taverna and all the leading senators, was addressed to
the Emperor, and Giovanni Paolo Sforza was sent to Rome to meet His
Majesty and obtain the Pope's support.
"Gian Paolo Sforza and Taverna," wrote the Venetian Envoy,
Lorenzo Bragadin, "have begged Cæsar to give the hand of his
niece, the widow, to the Duke of Savoy's son, and this is the
wish of all the people of Milan."[130]
Unfortunately, Giovanni Paolo fell ill on the journey, and breathed his last
in a village of the Apennines, and before Charles left Naples he heard that
the promising young Prince of Piedmont had died on Christmas Day at
Madrid. His brother, Emanuel Philibert, was a child of seven, and although
his ambitious mother, Duchess Beatrix, hastened to put forward his claim,
nothing more was heard of the scheme.

By this time another marriage for Christina was being seriously discussed at
the Imperial Court. Even before the Duke's death, the French King had done
his best to provoke a quarrel with him, and had begun to make active
preparations for war. Hardly had Francesco breathed his last, than he openly
renewed his old claim to Milan, and sent an Ambassador to the Emperor at
Naples, demanding the duchy for his second son, Henry, Duke of Orleans,
the husband of Catherine de' Medici. This plan, which would have made the
French supreme in North Italy, could not be entertained for a moment, but
Charles, in his anxiety to avoid war, was ready to accept almost any other
alternative. When his sister Eleanor implored him to agree to her husband's
proposal, and, by way of cementing the alliance, give "the little widow of
Milan" in marriage to the King's third son, the Duke of Angoulême, he
replied that he would gladly treat of the proposed marriage, but only on
condition that Angoulême, not Orleans, was put in possession of Milan.
The union of the French Prince with Christina now became the subject of
prolonged negotiations between the two Courts. The Imperial Chancellor,
Granvelle, drew up a long and careful memorandum, dwelling on the
obvious advantages of the scheme, on the virtues and charms of the young
Duchess, on her large dowry and great popularity in Milan, and Charles told
Francis plainly that he would agree to no scheme by which the widowed
Duchess was removed from the State, "where she was so much beloved and
honoured, and where the people placed all their hopes of tranquillity in her
presence." One great object of these negotiations, he wrote, "is to find a
noble and suitable husband for our niece, the Widow of Milan, who is to us
almost a daughter, and who has always shown herself so discreet and so
obedient to our wishes."[131]
Both the Pope and the Venetians supported this scheme
as the best means of avoiding war and preserving the March, 1536]
MANY SUITORS
independence of Milan. At the same time Pope Paul did
not fail to put in a plea for his own kinsman, the son of his niece Cecilia
Farnese, and Count Bosio Sforza, a descendant of Francesco I.'s half-
brother. Bosio had been a loyal supporter of the late Duke, but died soon
after Christina's marriage, leaving a son of fifteen, who was brought up at
the Court of Milan. The Pope himself addressed a grateful letter to
Christina, thanking her for the kindness which she had shown the boy, and
throwing out a hint that a marriage with her young Sforza cousin might be

possible. Another husband whom Granvelle proposed for her was Duke
Alexander of Florence, but, fortunately, Charles decided to give him his
own illegitimate daughter Margaret, and Christina thus escaped union with
this reckless and profligate Prince, who was soon afterwards murdered by
his kinsman.[132] Meanwhile the Scottish Ambassadors at the French Court
made proposals to the Emperor on behalf of their King, James V., who had
not yet made up his mind to wed Magdalen of Valois, and these negotiations
were only interrupted by the high-handed action of King Henry's new
favourite, Thomas Cromwell. Thus, a few weeks after the Duke of Milan's
death his widow's hand had become the subject of animated controversy in
all the Courts of Europe.[133]
But while others were negotiating the French were arming. On the 6th of
March, the first day of Carnival, news reached Milan that a French army
had crossed the Alps. The strong citadel of Montmélian was betrayed by the
treachery of a Neapolitan captain, and after a gallant defence the Duke of
Savoy was compelled to evacuate Turin, and take refuge with his wife and
children at Vercelli. All hope of peace was now over, and, in a consistory
held in the Vatican on the 8th of April, the Emperor appealed to the Pope to
bear witness how earnestly he had tried to prevent war, and how fruitless
his efforts had proved. At Granvelle's suggestion, he determined to carry the
war into the enemy's country, and, following in the steps of Charles VIII.,
crossed the Apennines, and marched by the Emilian Way and along the
banks of the Po towards Asti.
The dread of a French invasion had united all parties in
Milan. The citizens forgot their hatred of the Spaniards May, 1536]
MEETING WITH
in their terror of another siege, and cheerfully submitted CHARLES V.
to fresh taxes to pay the defending army. It was a late
spring that year in Lombardy, the weather was bitterly cold, and by the end
of April the vines had only put forth tiny shoots, and the roses were not yet
in flower. Nothing was heard in the streets but the din of approaching
warfare, and the tramp of armed Landsknechten marching from Tyrol on
their way to the frontier. But in the last days of April Christina's dull life
was brightened by the sudden arrival of the Duchess of Savoy, who fled
from the camp at Vercelli to take refuge in the Castello of Milan. Times
were altered since the two Princesses had met at Turin, and the Duchess
Beatrix, who had welcomed the little bride so warmly, was sadly changed in

body and mind. She had lost her eldest son, and been driven out of her
home by foreign invaders, never to return there again in her lifetime. With
her she brought her two remaining children, the little Princess Catherine
and Emanuel Philibert, who was one day to become famous as the bravest
captain in Europe. And she also brought a treasure which excited the utmost
enthusiasm among the Milanese—the Holy Shroud of St. Joseph of
Arimathea, which had been preserved for centuries at Chambéry. Crowds
flocked to the Duomo when Beatrix's Franciscan confessor preached, in the
hope of seeing the precious Shroud; but the Duchess would not allow the
relic to leave the Castello, and on the 7th it was exposed on the ramparts to
the view of an enormous multitude assembled in the piazza.[134]
A week later Francesco Sforza's cousin, Ferrante Gonzaga, and the Duke of
Savoy, came to Milan, but soon left for the camp. Beatrix then obtained
permission to pay the Emperor a visit on his journey north, and by Charles's
express request took Christina with her. On the 18th of May the magistrates
of Pavia received orders from the Duchess of Milan's maggiordomo,
Benedetto da Corte, to prepare lodgings for Her Excellency and the
Duchess of Savoy, as near to each other as possible.[135] The Castello of
Pavia had suffered terribly in the siege by Lautrec in 1528, but a few rooms
were hastily furnished, and on the 20th Beatrix and Christina arrived,
escorted by Count Massimiliano and several courtiers. Early on the
following morning the two Duchesses rode out to Arena on the Po, where
they found the Emperor awaiting them. Charles was unfeignedly glad to see
both his sister-in-law and the niece whom he had left as a child at Brussels
four years before, and welcomed them affectionately.[136] But the interview
was a short one, and the next day he continued his journey to Asti, where he
joined Antonio de Leyva and Ferrante Gonzaga, and prepared to invade
Provence.
Meanwhile Beatrix and Christina returned to Milan, and
spent the summer together in the Castello. A close Oct., 1536]
CARDINAL
friendship sprang up between the two Duchesses. CARACCIOLO
Beatrix took a motherly interest in her young
companion, and the children's presence helped to cheer these anxious
months. At first the Emperor's arms were entirely successful. The French
retired before him to Avignon, laying the country waste, and he met with no
opposition until he reached Aix, which resisted all his attacks. During the

long siege which followed, his soldiers suffered severely from disease and
famine, and many youths of the noblest Milanese families were among the
victims.[137] Early in September, while Christina's own secretary, Belcorpo,
was robbed and murdered on his way to the camp, Antonio de Leyva, the
redoubtable Commander-in-Chief, died, and was buried in S. Eustorgio at
Milan. The Papal Legate, Cardinal Caracciolo, a Neapolitan by birth, was
appointed to succeed him as Viceroy of Milan. He had only just assumed
the reins of office, and paid his first visit to the young Duchess, when he
received a summons from the Emperor to join him at Genoa. Finding it
impossible to reduce Aix, Charles had determined to abandon the campaign,
and on the 16th of November a three months' truce was signed between the
two monarchs. The Emperor was anxious to return to Spain, where his
presence was sorely needed. But before his departure he sent for the
Cardinal, desiring him to leave some trusty lieutenant to govern the State in
his absence, and take charge of his niece the Duchess. Accordingly,
Caracciolo went to Genoa on the 4th of October, accompanied by Beatrix of
Savoy, who, after a long interview with the Emperor, joined her husband at
Nice, the only city which still belonged to him. Soon after this her health
gave way under the prolonged strain, and this once brilliant and beautiful
woman died in January, 1538, as she said herself, of a broken heart.
Christina, now left alone at Milan, wrote a long letter to the Cardinal, whom
she addressed in the language of a caressing child, saying that he was dear
to her as a father, and seeking his help for two objects which lay very near
her heart.
"The true affection," she writes, "which Your Excellency has
shown me, and the kind remembrance of me which you always
keep, makes me anxious for your health and welfare. So I beg
you to tell me how you have prospered on your journey, and if
you are well in health."
She then begs her friend the Cardinal to use his influence with the Emperor
on behalf of her sister Dorothea, "the person now nearest and dearest to her
on earth," who is in need of her powerful uncle's help. Probably the Palatine
was, as usual, endeavouring to recover arrears of the pension due to him by
the Emperor, and to obtain compensation for the costs which he had
incurred in the disastrous expedition against Copenhagen. Hubert had lately
been sent to Charles with this object, and had at the same time suggested

that, if the Emperor needed a Viceroy for Milan, no one could be more
suitable than his lord. But whatever the precise object of Dorothea's request
may have been, Christina's intercession, it is to be feared, availed her little.
The Duchess's other petition was more easily granted.
"As a whole year," she wrote, "will soon have elapsed since the
death of my dearest husband, of blessed memory, I beg you to
entreat His Majesty, in my name, to be pleased to give orders
that this anniversary may be observed in a due and fitting
manner. And I am quite certain that he will not refuse to hear
this my prayer."[138]
It would indeed have been impossible for the Emperor to refuse so
reasonable a request, and the anniversary of the late Duke's death was
observed with due ceremonial in all the churches of Milan. But the days of
the young Duchess's abode in this city were fast drawing to a close. Before
Charles left Italy he had determined to place a strong Spanish garrison in
the Castello, to defend Milan against the risk of a French invasion, and had
only delayed to take this step from fear of exciting discontent in the city.
Stampa had hitherto succeeded in warding off the blow, but now he was
forced to bow to the imperial command, and surrender the Castello to a
foreign captain.
Charles, it must be owned, did his best to soften the blow. He made the
Count a present of the rich fief of Soncino in the province of Cremona, and
sent him as a parting gift the costly plate which had belonged to the late
Duke, with a cordial invitation to follow him to Spain. But we see, from a
letter which Stampa's friend Aretino sent him, how sorely this vexed his
noble heart.
"I will not grieve, my illustrious friend," wrote the
time-serving Venetian, "if you have to give up the Dec., 1536]
ARETINO'S
Castello, which you held for love of His Excellency, COMFORT
of happy memory, because to my mind it was a
prison for your genius. Dry your tears, and console yourself with
the reflection that now at least you are a free man. His Majesty
is relieved from the jealousy of his Spanish servants, and you
are saved from further anxieties on this subject. Now you can, if
you choose, follow him to Spain, and lay down your office with

honour unstained, and then return to Milan to live in freedom
and contentment."[139]
This was poor comfort for Massimiliano, but the Emperor's will was not to
be gainsaid, and the Count could only lay down his office and take leave of
the young Duchess, assuring her of his undying loyalty and faithfulness.
Charles had not forgotten his niece, and before he sailed for Barcelona on
the 15th of November he sent one of his oldest and most trusted servants,
Jean de Montmorency, Sieur de Courrières, the Captain of the Archers'
Guard, to take charge of the Duchess, and eventually conduct her to
Flanders. But while negotiations for her second marriage were still pending,
it was felt desirable that she should remain in Lombardy; and since the
Castello would no longer be a fit place for her, Montmorency was ordered
to escort her to Pavia. On the 10th of December, 1536, De Courrières
arrived with fifty archers of the Imperial Guard, and, after a brief
consultation with the Cardinal and Stampa, decided to take the Duchess to
Pavia without delay.[140]
The leaves of the trees in the gardens were turning yellow, and a pale wintry
sun shone down on the Castello, which Christina had first seen in the
joyous May-time, when a little procession of black-robed ladies, with their
attendants, issued from the Rocchetta, and mounted the horses and litters in
waiting for them. A few bystanders saluted them reverently, and followed
them with wistful eyes as they rode out of the gates, down the street leading
to the Porta Ticinese, until they were out of sight.
A few days later Count Massimiliano Stampa marched out of the Castello at
the head of his troops, and gave up the keys, which he had received from
the last Sforza Duke, to the Spanish Captain Alvarez de Luna, who entered
the gates amid the curses and groans of the citizens. Henceforth the life of
Milan as an independent State was over, and the yoke of Spain descended
on the ancient capital of Lombardy.

II.

The city of Pavia had always been loyal to the House of
Sforza. In no part of the duchy was there greater Dec., 1536] A
PALACE IN
rejoicing on the restoration of Duke Francesco II.; RUINS

nowhere was his premature death more deeply lamented. Several of
Christina's most faithful servants were natives of Pavia; among others,
Benedetto da Corte, the master of her household, and Bottigella, who had
been so active in the preparations for her reception. Now the people of
Pavia welcomed her coming warmly, and exerted themselves to see that
nothing was lacking to her comfort. But the city and Castello had suffered
terribly in the protracted struggle with France. The palace which had been
the pride of the Sforza Dukes was stripped of its fairest treasures. The
frescoes and tapestries were destroyed, the famous library was now in the
castle of Blois, and a great part of the walls had been thrown down by
French guns and allowed to crumble to pieces. So dilapidated was the state
of the building that it was difficult to find habitable rooms for the Duchess
and her suite.
On the 21st of December, ten days after Christina's arrival, she was forced
to address a request to the chief magistrate, Lodovico Pellizone, begging
that her bedroom might be supplied with a wooden ceiling, as the room was
lofty and bitterly cold in this winter season. Pellizone wrote without delay
to the Governor of Milan, but received no reply, and on New Year's Day
Montmorency himself wrote to remind the Cardinal of the Duchess's
request, urging that the work might be done without delay, and putting in a
plea for a better provision of mattresses to accommodate the members of
her household. Still no redress was obtained, and at length the Captain of
the Archers took the law into his own hands, and sent for carpenters to
panel the Duchess's bedroom.[141] But in spite of these drawbacks, in spite
of the wind that whistled through the long corridors and the comfortless air
of the empty halls, Christina's health and spirits were excellent. Her spirits
quickly recovered their natural buoyancy in these new surroundings, her
eyes shone with the old brightness, and the sound of merry laughter was
once more heard in the spacious halls and desolate gardens. On the 3rd of
January, only two days after Montmorency addressed his fruitless
remonstrance to the Viceroy, Christina herself wrote a letter to the same
illustrious personage in a very different strain. She had, it appears, seen a
very handsome white horse in the hostelry of the Fountain in Pavia, and
was seized with a passionate desire to have the palfrey for her own use. So
she wrote in the most persuasive language to her good Father the Cardinal,
begging his leave to buy the horse, which she is convinced will suit her
exactly. But, since she fears that her monthly allowance will not suffice to

defray the cost, she begs His Eminence to advance the necessary sum, and
charge it to the extraordinary expenses for which she is not responsible.
This letter, written in her large round hand, was sent to Milan by one of the
Duchess's lackeys, with the words "Cito, cito" on the cover, and an urgent
plea for an immediate answer.[142] The kindly old Cardinal, who had a soft
side for the youthful Princess, could hardly refuse so pressing a request, and
Christina probably bought the white horse, and had the pleasure of
mounting it when she rode out to visit the friars of the Certosa or hunted in
their park.
She had another good friend and devoted servant in the
Sieur de Courrières—Monsignor di Corea, as he was Feb., 1537] THE
EMPEROR'S
called in Italy. This gallant gentleman had grown up in SERVANT
close intimacy with the Emperor from his boyhood. He
accompanied Charles to Spain as cupbearer, and was appointed Captain of
the Archers' Guard on attaining his majority. In 1535 he followed his master
to Africa at the head of a chosen band of archers, fifty of whom remained
with him as an escort for the Duchess. By Charles's orders, he sent constant
reports to His Majesty from Pavia. The correspondence fills a whole
volume, and is extremely interesting if only because it shows the familiarity
with which the great Emperor treated his old servant, and the freedom
which Montmorency allowed himself in addressing his master.
On the 15th of February, Charles wrote from Valladolid, thanking De
Courrières cordially for the services which he had rendered the Duchess,
approving highly of her residence at Pavia, and promising to pay for the
maintenance of his archers. He alludes pleasantly to Montmorency's
meeting with another of his confidential servants, Simonet, whom he had
left at Milan.
"Simonet was right to put off his return to Flanders until the
worst rigours of winter were over, and was fortunate in meeting
you, for old folks of the same country are very glad to meet in
foreign lands, even if they are not natives of Brabant. Farewell,
cher et féal, for the present, and God have you in His holy
keeping!"
Five weeks later he wrote again, expressing his satisfaction at hearing of his
dear niece's health and happiness, and saying how entirely he trusted

Montmorency to provide for her comfort.
"At the same time," he continued, "we cannot help feeling, both
with regard to the Duchess's widowed condition and the
troubled state of Italy, that she would be better with our sister,
the Queen of Hungary, in our own country, par-deça, where
some suitable marriage might be found for her. Accordingly we
have written to our sister on the subject, and desired Cardinal
Caracciolo to make all needful preparation for her journey. You
had better see that she has a proper escort and all else that is
necessary to her comfort, without making these things public,
until we hear from our sister."[143]
Mary on her part was most anxious for her niece's return, and lost no time
in letting Charles know how impatiently she expected her. But, with
characteristic dilatoriness, the Imperial Council, which met at Monzone on
the 2nd of June, pronounced that it was highly expedient for the Widow of
Milan to go to Flanders, but that the Queen's wishes must first of all be
consulted.[144] Meanwhile Count Massimiliano Stampa returned from Spain
with instructions from the Emperor to make arrangements for the Duchess's
journey with the Cardinal and Montmorency, and Charles wrote again to
beg the Captain to start without delay. But this, as Montmorency replied,
was not so easy. Three months' pay was due to his men, and in his penniless
condition it was hard to provide them with food or their horses with fodder.
"I will do my utmost, Sire," he wrote on the 15th of June, "but
some things are impossible. As I told you when you left me at
Genoa, six months' wages were due to me, and I can only beg
you to have pity on your poor Captain; for we are in sore straits,
and you alone can help us, for, as the Scripture saith, Tua est
potentia."
At the same time, like the brave soldier that he was, the writer cannot
refrain from expressing his joy at the good news of the capture of S. Pol,
which had just arrived from Flanders.
"Sire, I hear grand news from S. Pol, and am sure,
when you return to your Low Countries, you will Aug., 1537]
CAPTAIN OF THE
find that the Queen has been very vigilant in charge ARCHERS
of your affairs, and will be welcomed by very

humble and loyal subjects. But you will have something to say
to the citizens of Ghent, for I fear those gentlemen are not as
wise as they might be. Sire, I hear that, after the surrender of
Hesdin, your sister the Queen of France came to the camp in
rich attire, with a number of ladies all in white. Such insolence
cannot last long, as S. Pol—both the town and the Apostle—
bear witness. I hear that Madame the new Duchesse d'Étampes
was nowhere. Sic transit gloria mundi. All this Latin is to show
Your Majesty that I have not wasted my time in Pavia, any more
than Don Beltrami did at Louvain. Once more I beg you to have
pity on La Chrétiennete, who needs your help more than ever."
But the summer months went by, and still no orders and no money came
from Spain. Pavia became unhealthy, and the Duchess and all the members
of her household fell ill of fever.
"Hardly one has escaped," wrote Montmorency on the 22nd of
August, "but now, thank God, my Lady has recovered, and I am
trying to raise money to carry out your orders, although I fear
my purse is not long enough to feed my poor archers."[145]
A month later the Captain went to Milan to expedite matters, but as yet
could hear nothing from Spain, and on his return to Pavia early in October,
he addressed long remonstrances both to Charles and Granvelle.
"Sire," wrote the irate Captain, "I have been ordered to take my
Lady Duchess to Flanders, but not a word has been said as to the
route that I am to take. Since it is your pleasure, it shall be done;
but if any harm comes to her in Germany, seeing the poor escort
we shall have, who will be to blame? My fear is that, as we pass
through the duchy of Würtemberg, the Duke's son may fall upon
us with his Landsknechten, and my Lady would certainly not be
a bad match for him! Your Majesty has not given me a single
letter or warrant for the journey, and has not written me a word.
And when I get par-deça, I know not what I am to do or say. My
Lady, too, is much surprised not to have received a letter from
Your Majesty before her departure, but of this, of course, I have
no right to speak."

In a postscript he adds that he has raised 500 gold crowns, and given each
of his men 10 crowns to buy new saddles, as they hope to start on the 15th
of October. He ends by humbly reminding His Majesty that he is growing
old, and is almost fifty, and that if he does not soon take a wife it will be too
late.
"All this coming and going ages a man, and before long I shall
be as wrinkled as the rest. So when I reach the Queen, I hope
some little token of honour may be given me, that men may see
Your Majesty has not wholly forgotten me. And you will, I hope,
tell me what I am to do when I have taken Her Excellency to
Flanders, as I have written to Granvelle repeatedly, and had no
answer, but suppose he is busy with great affairs. And I pray that
all prosperity may attend Your Majesty, and that this year, which
has begun so well, may end by seeing you back in Piedmont."
[146]

On the 14th of October Christina herself wrote to inform
the Emperor of her intended departure, and of the good Oct., 1537]
CHRISTINA'S
order of her affairs, thanks to the Cardinal and Seigneur DEPARTURE
de Courrières. "We hope to start to-morrow, and travel
by way of Mantua and Trent, and through Germany, taking whichever
seems to be the shortest and safest route." There had, it appears, been much
discussion over the revenues assigned to the Duchess as her dower, and in
the end she was deprived of the town and Castello of Vigevano, which the
Duke had left her by his will. But by the terms of her marriage contract she
remained absolute mistress of the city of Tortona, and informed the
Emperor that, acting on the advice of the Cardinal, as Lady of Tortona, she
had appointed a certain Gabriele Panigarola to be Governor of the town,
and begged his approval. At the same time she sent her uncle a memorial,
drawn up by Montmorency, explaining that, since she had not received the
arrears of her dowry, she was not able to pay her servants, and had been
forced to contract many debts at Pavia, and to spend money on the repair of
the rooms which she occupied in the Castello.
Many last requests were addressed to the Duchess by the poor and needy
whom she had befriended, and from her own servants, who with one voice
begged to be allowed to follow her to Flanders. One of the most pressing
came from an old Milanese couple, whose son, Niccolò Belloni, was

Christina's secretary, and at their earnest prayer she decided to allow the
young man to remain in her service as one of the four Italians who
accompanied her to Flanders by the Emperor's orders. And the last letter
which the Duchess wrote to the Cardinal, on the eve of her departure, was
to plead for a community of noble ladies in Pavia who were reduced to dire
poverty owing to the late wars, and begged humbly for a remission of taxes.
[147]
During the ten months which she had spent at Pavia the young Duchess
had made herself beloved by all classes of people, and her departure was
lamented by the whole city.

III.

On the 15th of October Christina and her suite left
Pavia, and started on their long-deferred journey to Oct., 1537] "EN
VOYAGE"
Flanders. When she first set foot in Italy as a bride, three
and a half years before, the Lombard plains were in the first flush of spring,
roses and myrtles were breaking into bloom, and the flowers sprang up
under her feet. Now the autumn rains fell in such torrents that Cardinal
Caracciolo was seriously alarmed, and wrote to Benedetto da Corte and
Monsignore di Corea, asking if it might not be well to delay their departure.
The first idea had been to go from Pavia to Cremona in a single day, but the
bad roads and swollen rivers increased the difficulties of travel, and the
Cardinal wrote to implore Messer Benedetto and Corea not to undertake
such long journeys, lest the Duchess should be overtired. So the party only
rode as far as Codogno, the castle of Count Gaspare Trivulzio, where he and
his beautiful wife, Deianira, received them joyfully, and entertained them
"as magnificently as if they had been invited to a wedding." Christina's
lady-in-waiting, the Princess of Macedonia, rejoiced to be under her
daughter's roof, and Benedetto da Corte wrote to tell the Cardinal that
nothing could exceed the splendour and hospitality of Count Gaspare's
reception. On the 18th the travellers rode along the plains flooded by the
swollen Po till they reached Cremona, the dower city of Bianca Visconti,
where she had been married to the great Condottiere Francesco Sforza, and
which had clung with unswerving loyalty to the fortunes of his house. Here
the Castellan came out to meet the Duchess, at the head of the chief
citizens, and escorted her to the Castello under the shadow of the famous
Torrazza, where she and all her suite found the best of cheer. The next

morning the travellers resumed their way, and crossed the rushing Oglio,
under the castle of the Gonzagas of Bozzolo, and rode along the green
meadows by Castiglione's country home, where his aged mother was still
living. The great courtier's name was familiar to all Charles V.'s servants,
and Montmorency, who had known him in Spain, may have paused to look
at the fair sepulchral chapel which Giulio Romano had lately reared in the
pilgrimage church of S. Maria delle Grazie. At Mantua another splendid
welcome awaited Christina. The Gonzaga Princes never forgot their close
relationship to the Sforzas, and while the reigning Duchess welcomed the
Princess of Macedonia as a kinswoman, the old Marchesana, Isabella,
rejoiced to embrace her nephew's wife, and looked with affection on this
youthful Duchess who bore the same title as her long-lost Beatrice.
The next morning Benedetto da Corte sent the Cardinal a glowing account
of their journey, which, in spite of the weather, had been one triumphal
progress:
"Reverendissimo,
"Her Excellency arrived safely here at Mantua yesterday with all
her company, horses, and carriages, and was received most
royally, as has, indeed, been the case in every place where we
have halted on our way. Her whole household has been
entertained with the best fare, and with little damage to our
purses.... The kindness with which we have been received has
made these perpetual rains tolerable. We are quite accustomed to
them, and shall not be afraid of the next tempest! We are resting
here on this sixth day of our journey at the entreaty of these
illustrious Princes. On Sunday, please God, we shall reach
Verona, and I have sent to ask the Governor to prepare
convenient lodgings for Her Excellency. His Reverence the
Cardinal of Trent has sent a messenger here to-night to inquire
how many we number, and so we go on gaily from stage to
stage. Once we have reached Trent, we shall seem to be in sight
of the Rhine, and can pursue our way at less peril to our lives,
and, let us hope, to the greater advantage of His Majesty's
service. I kiss Your Reverence's hand, and so also does
Monsignore di Corea.

"Benedetto da Corte.
[148]
"Mantova, October 20."
The Cardinal's worst anxieties were relieved by the
receipt of Benedetto's letter, and he sent a reply to the Oct., 1537] THE
CARDINAL OF
Castle of Trent thanking him and Monsignore di Corea TRENT
for their trouble, and expressing great satisfaction to
hear of their prosperous journey. The travellers now turned their steps
northwards, and, after spending a night in the city of the Scaligeri, followed
the Adige through the rocky defile known as La Chiusa di Verona. As they
passed through the fortified gates at the farther end of the ravine, a salute
from the guns made them aware that they had entered Austrian territory. A
few miles farther they were met by the Cardinal-Bishop, Bernhard von
Clès, who had ridden out with a great train to welcome the Duchess. A
strong Imperialist no less than an active reformer, Bernhard von Clès had
been raised to the cardinalate at Charles's coronation, and was now Vice-
Chancellor of the Empire.[149] He had lately received a visit from
Christina's uncle, King Ferdinand, and his wife, Anna, who honoured his
niece's wedding with their presence, and the sumptuous rooms which they
had occupied were now placed at Christina's disposal. "Nothing was
lacking," wrote Benedetto da Corte, "which could please the eye or delight
the mind." The splendour of the episcopal palace and the open-handed
liberality of the Cardinal made a great impression on Montmorency, who
wrote himself to tell the Cardinal how well Madama had borne the journey.
"I cannot tell you," he adds, "how splendidly Monsignor
Reverendissimo has received the Duchess, and how
sumptuously he has feasted us. Here we mean to rest all to-day,
and to-morrow we will pursue our journey with the utmost
diligence."
But so pressing was the Cardinal, and so luxurious were the quarters
provided for them, that the travellers remained at Trent several days, and
only resumed their journey on the 27th of October.
The most arduous part of the way now lay before them, and Benedetto
describes how they harnessed the mules to the chariot in order that the
Duchess and her ladies might drive across the Brenner Pass, at least as far
as Innsbruck. Montmorency was in some doubt as to the route which the

Duchess had better take through Germany, but, much to his satisfaction, he
found the long-expected letter from the Emperor awaiting him at Innsbruck.
It was written from Monzone on the last day of October, a fortnight after
Christina had left Pavia. Charles put the blame of his delay on the Queen of
Hungary's shoulders, and, since it was too late to wait for her directions,
bade him consult the Cardinal of Trent as to their future journey.
"If you have already left Trent, you had better go on either by
road or else by the Rhine. If you are at Innsbruck, you can take
advice from the King our brother or from Dr. Matthias Held"—
one of Ferdinand's most trusted German Councillors—"and
choose whichever route they consider the safest. If you have
received no letters from the Queen, you had better send a
messenger to Flanders, and we will inform you as soon as we
know her pleasure regarding our niece's future plans."
In conclusion the Emperor tells Montmorency that he is sending the letters
patent for which he asked, although they are hardly necessary, and has
already told the Queen to refund all the expenses which he has incurred,
and to be mindful of his great and long services.[150]
The travellers spent some time at Innsbruck in the ancient castle which is
still adorned with the Sforza arms, and Christina saw the superb monument
erected by her great-grandfather Maximilian in the church hard by.
Ferdinand and his wife and daughters were in Vienna, but the route which
Montmorency chose was that followed by most travellers, along the Lake of
Constance and down the Rhine to Spires. From the first Christina had been
very anxious to visit her sister Dorothea on her journey north, and she
succeeded in obtaining her uncle's consent to this arrangement. The two
Princesses had not met since Christina left Brussels in the spring of 1534,
and Dorothea was no less impatient to see her sister. Even before the
travellers reached Trent, they met two Genoese merchants, who told
Montmorency that on their way through Germany they had seen the Count
Palatine Frederic and Madama la Principessa, his wife, with a great
company, on their way to Heidelberg to await the Duchess's coming. When,
in November, the travellers at length reached Heidelberg, they found
themselves impatiently expected, and Christina received the warmest
welcome from the Elector Palatine and his family.

Festivities such as Frederic and Dorothea took delight in
—jousting, banquets, and dances—followed each other Dec., 1537] AT
in rapid succession, and the castle blazed with HOME AGAIN
innumerable torches through the winter nights. It was a great change from
the funereal blackness of the Castello of Milan and the desolate halls of
Pavia, and the young Duchess enjoyed it to the full. The days sped by all
too quickly, and so happy were the sisters in each other's company that the
Elector invited Christina to stay over Christmas. The young Duchess
accepted the proposal gleefully, and all were preparing to spend a joyous
festival, when Montmorency received peremptory orders from the Queen-
Regent to bring her niece forthwith to Flanders. After this no delays were
possible. The sisters parted sadly from each other, and the travellers once
more took boat and sailed down the Rhine to Cologne.
From here it was an easy journey to Aix-la-Chapelle, and through the
friendly State of Cleves to Maestricht, and thence to Louvain and Brussels.
On the 8th of December Christina set foot once more in the ancient palace
of the Dukes of Brabant, and was clasped in her aunt's arms. Ten days
afterwards she wrote a letter to inform the Emperor of her safe arrival, and
of "the good and loving welcome" which she had received from "Madame
my aunt." She begged His Majesty to keep her still in his remembrance, and
signed herself, "Your humble niece, Chrétienne."[151]
She was at home once more among her own people, and all the strange
sights and scenes, all the wonderful experiences which she had known, in
these four eventful years, seemed to fade away like a dream. But she had
left Flanders a child, and she came back a woman.

IV.

Christina's return was impatiently awaited at Brussels.
The courtiers who remembered her mother, and had Sept., 1537] THE
known her as a child, were eager to see the young CLEVESMARRIAGE
Duchess, whose courage and wisdom had been shown in
such trying circumstances. All through the summer her coming had been
expected, and the Regent was seriously annoyed at the prolonged delays
which had hindered her niece's departure from Milan. Her heart yearned
over the child from whom she had parted with so much reluctance. More

than this, she had in her mind's eye a second husband ready for the young
Duchess. This was William, the only son and heir of the reigning Duke of
Cleves. A handsome and well-educated young man of twenty-two, the
young Duke had not yet developed that fatal weakness of purpose which
proved his bane, and was to all appearances an excellent match for the
Emperor's niece. The political advantages of the union were obvious. Duke
John had married the heiress of Jülich and Bergh, and reigned over three
rich and peaceful provinces on the Lower Rhine. He had always been on
friendly terms with the Emperor, and when, a few months after the Duke of
Milan's death, he asked for the young widow's hand on behalf of his son,
Mary welcomed these advances gladly, and hastened to communicate them
to the Emperor.[152] At first Charles replied coolly that, if the marriage with
Angoulême could not be arranged, the proposals made by the King of
Scotland or Cleves might be entertained. In October, 1536, Mary sent a
confidential messenger, La Tiloye, to Genoa to learn the Emperor's pleasure
in the matter, but nothing further was done. After the fresh outbreak of war
in 1537, and the invasion of Artois by the French, Charles became more
alive to the importance of the question, and wrote to his sister from Spain,
saying that he had ordered the Widow of Milan to go to the Low Countries,
and hoped she would proceed at once to the conclusion of the marriage with
Cleves.[153]
At that moment all Mary's energies were absorbed in the struggle with
France. She herself went to Lille to superintend military operations, and
appeared on horseback in the trenches before Thérouenne, where her
courage excited the admiration of John Hutton, the English Ambassador.
"Let the King but tarry fifteen days," she exclaimed, "and I will show him
what God may strengthen a woman to do!" But, in spite of these brave
words, Mary, as Hutton soon discovered, was sincerely desirous to end the
war. "The Queen's anxiety for peace," he wrote home, "is as great as her
ardour in war."[154] She knew the straits to which the Emperor was reduced
and the exhaustion of the Treasury. "The poverty of this country is so
great," she wrote to Charles on the 9th of June, "that it is impossible to
provide necessary funds for the war. We must have peace, or we are lost."
[155]
Under these circumstances she lent a willing ear to her sister Queen
Eleanor's advances, and the two sisters had the satisfaction of arranging a
truce at Bomy, a village near Thérouenne. The siege of this city was raised,

the French evacuated the towns which they held, and on the 10th of
September peace was ratified by the Emperor at Monzone.
Mary felt that she could once more breathe freely. She
lost no time in renewing negotiations with the Duke of Jan., 1538] THE
SUCCESSION OF
Cleves, and the proposed marriage became the talk of GUELDERS
the Court. "The Queen," wrote Hutton, on the 2nd of
September, from Bruges, where Mary was hunting after her wont and
spending all day in the saddle, "looketh daily for the Duchess of Milan, who
shall be married to the Duke of Cleves's son and heir."[156] A month later the
Cleves Envoys arrived at Brussels, and, after repeated interviews with the
Queen and her Council, returned, well satisfied, to obtain their master's
consent to the terms of the contract. The news spread rapidly, and was
reported by Ambassadors from Spain and Germany, from Rome and Paris,
with the same unanimity. Suddenly an unexpected event altered the face of
affairs. Charles of Egmont, the fiery old Duke of Guelders, who had for
many years been the Emperor's bitter enemy, fell ill, and, feeling his end to
be near, summoned the Estates of his realm to choose a successor. Since he
had no issue, his own wish was to leave his States to the French King; but
his subjects positively refused to be handed over to a foreign Power, and
chose the young Duke William of Cleves, who hastened to visit Nimeguen,
where he was acclaimed by his future subjects. This was a clear breach of
faith, since, by the treaty concluded a year before with the Emperor,
Guelders was to pass into his hands at Charles of Egmont's death, and the
ancient rights to the duchy which the House of Cleves formerly claimed had
been already sold to the Dukes of Burgundy.[157] Mary's indignation was
great. She wrote angrily to tell William of Cleves that Guelders was the
property of the Emperor, and that if he persevered in his pretensions all idea
of his marriage to her niece must be abandoned. The young Duke returned a
courteous answer, saying that nothing could be farther from his thoughts
than a breach of loyalty to the Emperor, and professing the utmost anxiety
for the marriage. At the same time the old Duke's action excited great
annoyance in Lorraine, where his nephew, the reigning Duke Anthony,
claimed to be heir to Guelders, through his mother, Philippa of Egmont. An
attempt to pacify him by reviving a former marriage contract between his
son Francis and the Duke of Cleves's daughter Anne met with no
encouragement, and Ambassadors were sent to Guelders to enter a protest

on the Duke of Lorraine's behalf.[158] But Charles of Egmont turned a deaf
ear to all remonstrances, and on the 27th of January, 1538, William of
Cleves received the homage of the States of Guelders, and was publicly
recognized as the old Duke's successor.
Such was the state of affairs when Christina reached Brussels on the 8th of
December, 1537. Her faithful guardian, Montmorency, alludes to the Cleves
marriage in the following letter, which he addressed to Cardinal Caracciolo
on the 5th of January, 1538:
"I wrote last from Trent on the 26th of October, and since then
have received several letters from you, and have duly informed
the Duchess of their contents. She is very grateful for your
kindness regarding her affairs, and begs you not to relax your
efforts.... As to Madama's marriage with Cleves, as far as I can
learn, it will not take place, because the Duke has quarrelled
with Lorraine, and Guelders is interfering. Negotiations,
however, are not yet broken off."
Three months later he referred to the matter again in another letter, and this
time expressed his conviction that the marriage would never take place.[159]
Montmorency's own claims had not been forgotten. Soon after his return he
married a lady of the Lannoy family, and was appointed Bailiff of Alost.
Both Charles and Mary treated him with marked favour, and employed him
on important diplomatic missions. But he still held an honorary post in the
Duchess's household, and never ceased to be her devoted servant.
During the winter Hutton alluded repeatedly to the affair of Cleves in his
letters to Cromwell, saying that the Duke had been recognized by the
Communes of Guelders as their liege lord, and that the Queen quite refused
to let him wed the Duchess, although he was still eager for the alliance. All
sorts of wild rumours were flying about, and an Italian merchant at Antwerp
wrote to London that young Cleves was about to marry the daughter of
Lorraine, with Guelders as her dowry. But on the 25th of January Hutton
reported that the Queen had sent Nassau and De Praet to Duke William, to
break off marriage negotiations and clear her of all former promises.[160]
Christina herself was the person least concerned in these
rumours. Princes and Ministers might wrangle as they Jan., 1538] THE
PALACE OF

chose; they could not destroy the happiness of being in BRABANT
her old home, surrounded by familiar faces. The sound
of the French tongue and the carillon in the towers were music in her ears.
Three things above all impressed Italian travellers, like Guicciardini and
Beatis, who came to the Low Countries for the first time—the cleanliness of
the streets and houses, the green pastures with their herds of black and
white cows, and the beautiful church bells. These were all delightful to the
young Duchess, who had been so long absent from her old home. The city
of Brussels, with its fine houses and noble churches, its famous hôtel-de-
ville, and 350 fountains, was a pleasant town to live in. And the Palace of
Brabant itself was a wonderful place. There was the great hall, with its lofty
pointed arches, and priceless Burgundian tapestries, and the golden suns
and silver moons recently brought back from the New World by Cortes, the
conqueror of Mexico.
The Queen gave Christina a suite of rooms close to her own, looking out on
the glossy leaves and interwoven boughs of the labyrinth, and the gardens
beyond, which Albert Dürer had called an earthly paradise, and which the
Cardinal of Aragon's secretary pronounced to be as beautiful as any in Italy.
[161]
Here the young Duchess lived with her ladies and household, presided
over by Benedetto da Corte and Niccolò Belloni. Every morning she
attended Mass in the Court chapel, and dined and spent the evenings with
the Queen. On fine days, when Mary could spare time from public affairs,
they rode out together and hunted the deer in the park, or took longer
expeditions in the Forest of Soignies. As fearless and almost as untiring a
rider as her aunt, Christina was quite at home in the saddle, and followed
the Queen's example of riding with her foot in the stirrup, an
accomplishment which was new in those days, and excited Brantôme's
admiration.[162]
The following Christmas was celebrated with great festivity at Brussels.
The war was over, and the presence of a youthful Princess gave new charm
to Court functions. Wherever Christina went she made herself beloved. Her
quick wit and frank enjoyment of simple pleasures charmed everyone.
Although in public she still wore heavy mourning robes after the Italian
fashion, and hid away her bright chestnut locks under a black hood, in the
evening, by her aunt's desire, she laid aside her weeds, and appeared clad in
rich brocades and glittering jewels. Then she conversed freely with her

aunt's ladies and with the foreign Ambassadors, or played cards with the
few great nobles who were admitted to the Queen's private circle—Henry,
Count of Nassau, the proudest and richest lord in Flanders; the Duke of
Aerschot and his wife, Anne de Croy, the heiress of the Princes of Chimay;
his sister, Madame de Berghen; Count Büren; and a few others.
Among them was one whom the young Duchess
regarded with especial interest. This was the hero of S. Feb., 1538] A
PERFECT
Pol, René, Prince of Orange. The only son and heir of KNIGHT
the great House of Nassau, René had inherited the
principality of Orange, in the South of France, from his uncle Philibert of
Châlons, the Imperialist leader who fell at the siege of Florence, and whose
sister Claude was Henry of Nassau's first wife. As a child René had been
Prince John of Denmark's favourite playmate, and Christina had not
forgotten her brother's old friend. Now he had grown up a handsome and
chivalrous Prince, skilled in all knightly exercises. He had won his first
laurels in the recent campaign, and was the foremost of the valiant band
which surprised the citadel of S. Pol. The Queen honoured him with her
especial favour, and, as the Nassau house stood close to the palace, the
young Prince was often in her company. When, on Shrove Sunday, a grand
tournament was held at Court, one troop, clad in blue, was led by Count
Büren's eldest son, Floris d'Egmont; and the other by René, wearing the
orange colours of his house, with the proud motto, Je maintiendrai.
Christina looked down from her place at the Queen's side on the lists where
the gallant Prince challenged all comers, and it was from her hand that the
victor received the prize. Neither of them ever forgot that carnival.[163]

FOOTNOTES:
[128] Potenze Sovrane, 1535. Archivio di Stato.
[129] Burigozzo, 528.
[130] G. de Leva, "Storia Documentata di Carlo V.," etc., iii. 152.
[131] Granvelle, "Papiers d'État," ii. 407, 446, 435.
[132] Granvelle, ii. 407.
[133] Calendar of Spanish State Papers, v. 1, 586; Granvelle, ii. 417.
[134] Burigozzo, 532.
[135] Museo Civico di Storia Patria, Pavia, 546.

[136] L. Gachard, "Voyages des Souverains des Pays-Bas," ii. 133.
[137] Calendar of Spanish State Papers, v. 2, 230.
[138] Autografi di Principi, Archivio di Stato (see Appendix II.).
[139] Aretino, "Lettere," i. 45.
[140] "Correspondance de Charles V. avec J. de Montmorency, Seigneur de
Courrières," Papiers d'État de l'Audience, No. 82, p. 1, Archives du Royaume,
Bruxelles.
[141] Carteggio con Montmorency, Archivio di Stato, Milan.
[142] Autografi di Principi, Archivio di Stato, Milan (see Appendix III.).
[143] Papiers d'État, 82. 2, 12, Archives du Royaume.
[144] Calendar of Spanish State Papers, v. 2, 353.
[145] Papiers d'État, 82, 8-10.
[146] Papiers d'État. 82, 12.
[147] Autografi di Principi, Archivio di Stato, Milan.
[148] "Carteggio con Montmorency, Conte di Corea," 1537-38, Archivio di
Stato, Milan.
[149] L. Pastor, "Geschichte d. Papste," iv. 375; M. Guazzo, 371.
[150] Papiers d'État, 82, 13, Archives du Royaume, Bruxelles.
[151] Papiers d'État, 82, 19; State Papers, Record Office, viii. 6; Calendar of
State Papers, xii. 2, 415, 419.
[152] Lanz, ii. 657.
[153] Lanz, iii. 667, 677.
[154] State Papers, Record Office, vii. 695.
[155] Lanz, ii. 675.
[156] Calendar of State Papers, Henry VIII., xii. 2, 231.
[157] Henne, vii. 263, 267.
[158] Calendar of State Papers, Henry VIII., xiii. 1, 35.
[159] Carteggio Diplomatico, 1537-38, Archivio di Stato, Milan.
[160] State Papers, xiii. 1, 8; Record Office, viii. 27, 29.
[161] L. Pastor, "Reise des Kardinal Luigi d'Aragona," 116. L. Guicciardini,
"Paesi-Bassi," 74.
[162] "Œuvres," xii. 107.
[163] State Papers, Henry VIII., Record Office, viii. 16.

BOOK VI
THE COURTSHIP OF HENRY VIII.
1537-1539
I.

The Widow of Milan's fate still hung in the balance. While Mary of
Hungary had not yet lost all hope of marrying her to the Duke of Cleves,
and Queen Eleanor was no less anxious to see her the wife of a French
Prince, fresh proposals reached Brussels from an unexpected quarter. This
new suitor was none other than the Emperor's bel oncle, King Henry of
England. This monarch, who had openly defied the laws of the Church, and
after divorcing Charles's aunt, had pronounced Queen Katherine's daughter
to be illegitimate, could hardly expect to find favour in the eyes of the
Regent. Mary's own opinion of Henry's character is frankly given in a very
interesting letter which she wrote to her brother Ferdinand in May, 1536,
when the King of England had sent Anne Boleyn to the block and made
Jane Seymour his third wife.
"I hope," she wrote, "that the English will not do us
much harm now we are rid of the King's mistress, May, 1536]
HENRY VIII. AND
who was a good Frenchwoman, and whom, as you HIS WIVES
have no doubt heard, he has beheaded; and since no
one skilful enough to do the deed could be found among his own
subjects, he sent for the executioner of S. Omer, in order that a
Frenchman should be the minister of his vengeance. I hear that
he has married another lady, who is said to be a good
Imperialist, although I do not know if she will remain so much
longer. He is said to have taken a fancy to her before the last
one's death, which, coupled with the fact that neither the poor
woman nor any of those who were beheaded with her, saving
one miserable musician, could be brought to acknowledge her
guilt, naturally makes people suspect that he invented this
pretext in order to get rid of her.... It is to be hoped—if one can

hope anything from such a man—that when he is tired of this
wife he will find some better way of getting rid of her. Women, I
think, would hardly be pleased if such customs became general,
and with good reason; and although I have no wish to expose
myself to similar risks, yet, as I belong to the feminine sex, I,
too, will pray that God may preserve us from such perils."[164]
But whatever Mary's private opinions were, political reasons compelled her
to preserve a friendly demeanour towards King Henry. The English alliance
was of the utmost importance to the trade of the Netherlands, and the
enmity of France made it essential to secure Henry's neutrality, if not his
active help. The death of Queen Katherine, as Cromwell wrote, had
removed "the onelie matter of unkindness" between the two monarchs, and
was soon followed by more friendly communications. When the news of
Prince Edward's birth reached Spain, the Emperor held a long conversation
with Sir Thomas Wyatt, the poet and scholar, who had been sent to the
Imperial Court early in 1537. He expressed great pleasure at the news,
laughing and talking pleasantly, inquiring after the size and goodliness of
the child, and ended by saying frankly that he approved of the King's recent
marriage as much as he had always disliked his union with Anne Boleyn.
[165]
These last remarks must have fallen strangely on the ears of Wyatt,
whose old intimacy with the hapless Queen had nearly cost him his life, and
whose death he lamented in some of his sweetest verse. But he was too
good a courtier not to repeat them in his letters to Cromwell and the King.
The news of the Prince's birth was shortly followed by that of the Queen's
death, which took place at Hampton Court on the 24th of October.
"Divine Providence," said the royal widower, "has mingled my
joy for the son which it has pleased God to give me with the
bitterness of the death of her who brought me this happiness."
Cromwell wrote to inform Lord William Howard, the
special Envoy who had taken the news of the Prince's Dec., 1537]
MARIE DE GUISE
birth to France, of Her Grace's death, and in the same
letter desired him to bring back particulars of two French ladies who had
been recommended as suitable successors to the late Queen, since His
Majesty, "moved by tender zeal for his subjects," had already resolved to
marry again. One of these was King Francis's plain but accomplished
daughter Margaret, who eventually married the Duke of Savoy, although

Cromwell, knowing his master's tastes, remarked that, from what he heard,
he "did not think she would be the meetest."[166] The other was Mary,
Duchess of Longueville, the eldest daughter of Claude de Guise, brother of
the Duke of Lorraine. The charms of this young widow were renowned at
the French Court, and the English Ambassador's reports of her modesty and
beauty inspired Henry with an ardent wish to make her his wife. Even
before Jane Seymour was in her grave, he attacked the French Ambassador,
Castillon, on the subject, and suggested that both these Princesses, and any
other ladies whom the King of France could recommend, might be sent to
meet him at Calais.[167]
Francis, who was more gallant in his relations with women than his brother
of England, laughed long and loudly when this message reached him, and
sent Castillon word that royal Princesses could not be trotted out like
hackney horses for hire! He quite declined to allow his daughter to enter the
lists; and as for Madame de Longueville, whom the King was pleased to
honour with his suit, she was already promised to his son-in-law, the King
of Scots. This fickle monarch, who had courted Dorothea and Christina by
turn, and finally married Madeleine de Valois, had lost his young wife at the
end of six months, and was already in search of another. At the same time
Francis sent his royal brother word that he should count it a great honour if
he could find a bride in his realm, and that any other lady in France was at
his command.[168] But Henry was not accustomed to have his wishes
thwarted, and in December, 1537, he sent a gentleman of his chamber, Sir
Peter Mewtas, on a secret mission to Joinville, the Duke of Guise's castle on
the borders of Lorraine, to wait on Madame de Longueville, and find out if
her word was already pledged. Both Madame de Longueville and her clever
mother, Antoinette de Bourbon, returned evasive answers, saying that the
Duke of Guise had agreed to the marriage with King James, but that his
daughter's consent had never been given. This reply encouraged Henry to
persevere with his suit, while Mewtas's description of the Duchess's beauty,
in Castillon's words, "set the tow on fire." He complained that his brother
had behaved shamefully in preferring the beggarly King of Scots to him,
and was forcing the lady to marry James against her will. In vain Castillon
told him that Madame de Longueville had been promised to the King of
Scots before Queen Jane's death, and that Francis could not break his word
without mortally offending his old ally and son-in-law. Nothing daunted,

Henry sent Mewtas again to Joinville in February, 1538, to obtain Madame
de Longueville's portrait, and ask if she were still free. This time his errand
proved fruitless. The marriage with the King of Scots was already
concluded, and the contract signed. Nevertheless, Henry still harped on the
same string. "Il revient toujours à ses moutons," wrote Castillon, "et ne peut
pas oublier sa bergère." "Truly he is a marvellous man!"[169]
Meanwhile Cromwell, who had no personal inclination for the French
alliance, was making inquiries in other directions. Early in December, while
Mewtas was on his way to Joinville, the Lord Privy Seal wrote privately to
Hutton, desiring him to send him a list of ladies in Flanders who would be
suitable consorts for the King. In a letter written on the 4th of December,
the Ambassador replied that he had little knowledge of ladies, and feared he
knew no one at the Regent's Court "meet to be Queen of England."
"The widow of Count Egmont," he wrote, "was a
fair woman of good report, and the Duke of Cleves Dec., 1537] A
had a marriageable daughter, but he heard no great GOODLYPERSON
praise of her person or beauty. There is," he added,
"the Duchess of Milan, whom I have not seen, but who is
reported to be a goodly personage of excellent beauty."[170]
Five days later Hutton wrote again, to announce the arrival of the Duchess,
who entered Brussels on the 8th, and was received by a great company of
honourable gentlemen.
"She is, I am informed, of the age of sixteen years, very high in
stature for that age—higher, in fact, than the Regent—and a
goodly personage of competent beauty, of favour excellent, soft
of speech, and very gentle in countenance. She weareth
mourning apparel, after the manner of Italy. The common saying
here is that she is both widow and maid. She resembleth much
one Mistress Skelton,[171] that sometime waited in Court upon
Queen Anne. She useth most to speak French, albeit it is
reported that she can speak both Italian and High German."
The same evening Hutton added these further details in a postscript
addressed to Cromwell's secretary, Thomas Wriothesley:

"If it were God's pleasure and the King's, I would there were
some good alliance made betwixt His Highness and the
Emperor, and there is none in these parts of personage, beauty,
and birth, like unto the Duchess of Milan. She is not so pure
white as was the late Queen, whose soul God pardon, but she
hath a singular good countenance, and when she chanceth to
smile, there appeareth two pits in her cheeks and one in her chin,
the which becometh her right excellently well."[172]
The honest Englishman's first impressions of Christina were evidently very
favourable. During the next week he watched her carefully, and was much
struck by "the great majesty of her bearing and charm of her manners." At
the same time he expressed his earnest conviction that, now peace was
concluded between the Emperor and the French King, a close alliance
between his own master and the Emperor was the more necessary, and
suggested that a marriage between Henry and the Duchess, and another
between the Princess Mary and the Duke of Cleves, would be very
advantageous to both monarchs, who would then have all Germany at their
command.
Cromwell lost no time in placing these letters in his master's hands.
Hutton's account of the Duchess's beauty and virtues made a profound
impression on the King, and, since Madame de Longueville was beyond his
reach, he determined to pay his addresses to the Emperor's niece. With
characteristic impetuosity, he wrote to Wyatt on the 22nd of January, saying
that, as the Duchess of Milan's match with the Duke of Cleves was broken
off, he thought of honouring her with an offer of marriage. This he desired
Wyatt to suggest as of himself, in conversation with the Emperor and his
Ministers, Granvelle and Covos, giving them a friendly hint to make
overtures on behalf of the said Duchess.[173]
Strangely enough, two years before Charles had himself
proposed this alliance between his niece and the King of Jan., 1538] KING
HENRY'S SUIT
England. In May, 1536, when he was hurrying
northwards to defend Savoy against the French, the news of Anne Boleyn's
fall reached him at Vercelli. Without a moment's delay he wrote to Chapuys,
his Ambassador in London, saying that, since Henry, being of so amorous a
complexion, was sure to take another wife, and it was most important that
he should not marry in France, Chapuys might propose his union with one

of the Emperor's nieces, either Queen Eleanor's daughter, the Infanta Maria
of Portugal, or the widowed Duchess of Milan, "a beautiful young lady,
very well brought up, and with a rich dower." And then, as if a qualm had
seized him at the thought of sacrificing Christina to a man of Henry's
character, he added a postscript desiring the Ambassador not to mention the
Duchess unless His Majesty should appear averse to the other.[174]
By the time, however, that these letters reached London, it was plain that
the fickle monarch's affections were already fixed on Jane Seymour, and
nothing more came of the Emperor's proposal until, in January, 1538, Henry
himself wrote to Wyatt. Sir Thomas, who knew his royal master intimately,
hastened to approach the Emperor, and on the 2nd of February Charles
wrote from Barcelona to Chapuys, saying that, although royal ladies ought
by right to be sought, not offered, in marriage, the King's language was so
frank and sincere that he was willing to waive ceremony, and lend a
favourable ear to his brother's proposal. Before these letters reached the
Imperial Ambassador, he received a message from Henry, saying that he
wished to treat of his own marriage with the Duchess of Milan, being
convinced that a Princess born and bred in Northern climes would suit him
far better than the Portuguese Infanta. The next day Cromwell paid a visit to
Chapuys, and confirmed every word of the royal message.[175]
On the eve of Valentine's Day Henry saw Castillon, and told him in bitter
tones that, if his master did not choose to give him Madame de Longueville,
he could find plenty of better matches, and meant to marry the Duchess of
Milan and conclude a close alliance with the Emperor.[176]
On the same day the German reformer Melanchthon, writing from Jena to a
Lutheran friend, summed up the situation neatly in the following words:
"The Widow of Milan, daughter of Christian, the captive King
of Denmark, was brought to Germany to wed the young Duke of
Juliers. This is now changed, for Juliers becomes heir to
Guelders, against the Emperor's will, and the girl is offered to
the Englishman, whom the Spaniards, aiming at universal
empire, would join to themselves against the Frenchmen and us.
There is grave matter for your consideration."[177]

II.

The ball was now set rolling, but, as Chapuys foretold, there were many
difficulties in the way. For the moment, however, all went well. Henry sent
Hutton orders to watch the Duchess closely, and report on all her words,
deeds, and looks. In obedience to these commands, the Ambassador hung
about the palace from early morning till late at night, was present at supper
and card parties, attended the Queen out riding and hunting, and lost no
opportunity of entering into conversation with Christina herself.
One evening towards the end of February a page brought
him some letters from the Duchess's servant, Gian Feb., 1538]
Battista Ferrari, who had friends among the Italian HUTTON'S ADVANCES
merchants in London, with a request that the
Ambassador would forward them by his courier. The next morning, after
Mass, when the Queen passed into the Council-chamber, Hutton took
advantage of this opportunity to thank the Duchess most humbly for
allowing him to do her this small service. Christina replied, with a gracious
smile, that she would not have ventured to give him this trouble, had she
not been as ready herself to do him any pleasure that lay in her power.
It was stormy weather. For three days and nights it had rained without
ceasing, and courtiers and ladies alike found the time hang heavy on their
hands. "This weather liketh not the Queen," remarked Christina, who was
standing by an open window looking out on the park. "She is thereby
penned up, and cannot ride abroad to hunt." As she spoke, the wind drove
the rain with such violence into her face that she was obliged to draw back
farther into the room, and Hutton, growing bolder, asked if it were true that
the Duchess herself loved hunting. "Nothing better," replied Christina,
laughing; and she seemed as if she would gladly have prolonged the
conversation. But then two ancient gentlemen drew near—"Master
Bernadotte Court, her Grand Master, who, next to Monsieur de Courrières,
is chief about her and another"—and, with a parting bow, the Duchess
retired to her own rooms.
"She speaketh French," adds Hutton in reporting this interview
to Cromwell, "and seemeth to be of few words. And in her
speaking she lispeth, which doth nothing misbecome her. I
cannot in anything perceive but she should be of much
soberness, very wise, and no less gentle."[178]

Among the ladies who came to Court for the Carnival fêtes, Hutton found a
friend in the Duke of Aerschot's sister, Madame de Berghen, a lively lady
whom he had known in the town of Berghen-op-Zoom, where he had spent
much time as Governor of the Merchant Adventurers. The Dutch merchants
in this city had presented him with a house, an honour which the
Ambassador appreciated highly, although he complained that it led him into
great extravagance, and that the furniture, tapestries, and pictures, necessary
for its adornment, "plucked the lining out of his purse, and left him as rich
as a newly-shorn sheep."[179]
One day Madame de Berghen saw Hutton in the act of
delivering a packet of letters which Wyatt had forwarded March, 1538]
"MR. HAUNCE"
from Barcelona to the Queen, and her curiosity was
excited by the warmth of Mary's thanks. That evening she invited the
English Ambassador to dinner to meet her kinsman the Bishop of Liége, "a
goodly personage," remarks Hutton, "but a man of little learning and less
discretion, and, like most Bishops in these parts, very unfit for his office."
When this secular ecclesiastic retired, the Lady Marchioness, "whose
tongue always wagged freely," asked Hutton if the letters which he had
delivered to the Queen came from England, and confessed that she hoped
they contained good news regarding the Duchess of Milan, whose beauty,
wisdom, and great gentleness, she could not praise too highly. She told him
that he would have been amazed had he seen Christina gorgeously
apparelled as she was the day before, and confided to him that the Duchess
was having her portrait taken by the Court painter, Bernard van Orley, and
had promised to give it to her. Hutton begged to be allowed to borrow the
picture in order to show it to his wife, and told Cromwell that as soon as he
could secure the portrait he would send it to England. Accordingly, on the
9th of March the Ambassador received the picture, which Madame de
Berghen begged him to accept as her gift, and sent a servant to bear it
without delay to the Lord Privy Seal's house in St. James's. Late on the
following evening, much to the Ambassador's surprise, a young Shropshire
gentleman, named Mr. Philip Hoby, who had lately entered Cromwell's
service, appeared at his lodgings, accompanied by the King's painter,
Master Hans Holbein. At this time the German master was at the height of
his reputation. Since 1536, when he entered Henry's service as Court
painter, he had executed some of his finest portraits, including the famous
picture of the King in Whitehall Palace, the superb portrait of Queen Jane,

and that of Cromwell himself, which is so marvellous a revelation of
character. Now the Lord Privy Seal sent him across the Channel to take a
sketch of the Duchess of Milan, and bring it back with all possible despatch.
Hutton's first idea was to send a messenger to stop the bearer of the Flemish
portrait, fearing it might give a wrong impression of the lady, "since it was
not so perfect as the cause required, and as the said Mr. Haunce could make
it." But his servant had already sailed, and the Ambassador could only beg
Cromwell to await Master Hans's return before he formed any opinion of
the Duchess. The next morning he waited on the Queen, and informed her
how the Lord Privy Seal, having received secret overtures from the Imperial
Ambassador for a marriage between the King's Majesty and Her Grace of
Milan, thought the best way to approach the King was to show him a
portrait of the Duchess.
"And forasmuch as his lordship heard great commendation of
the form, beauty, wisdom, and other virtuous qualities, with
which God had endowed the Duchess, he could perceive no
means more meet for the advancement of the same than to
procure her perfect picture, for which he had sent a man very
excellent in the making of physiognomies."
After long and elaborate explanation, Hutton asked humbly if his lordship's
servant might salute the Duchess, and beg her to appoint a time and place
for the painter to accomplish his task.
Mary was evidently greatly surprised to hear of the
Ambassador's errand. She started from her chair in March, 1538]
HOLBEIN'S
amazement, but, quickly recovering composure, she sat PORTRAIT
down again, and listened attentively till Hutton had done
speaking. Then she thanked him and Lord Cromwell for their good-will to
the Emperor, and said that she had no objection to grant his request, and
that he should see the Duchess herself. With these few words she rose and
passed into the Council-chamber. Presently Christina entered the room,
attended by two ladies. She listened graciously to Hutton's message,
expressed her gratitude to Lord Cromwell for his kind intentions, and sent
Benedetto da Corte back with him to meet the English gentleman.
Fortunately, Philip Hoby was a pleasant and cultivated young man who
could speak Italian fluently. He conversed for some time with Messer

Benedetto, much to Hutton's envy and admiration, and at two o'clock that
afternoon was conducted by him into the presence of the Duchess.
Cromwell had given Hoby minute instructions as to his behaviour on this
occasion, and had composed a long and elaborate speech which he was to
deliver to Christina herself.
"The said Philip shall, as of himself, express a wish that it might
please the King, now a widower, to advance Her Grace to the
honour of Queen of England, considering her virtuous qualities
were a great deal more than ever was notified, and for a great
confirmation of amity and love to continue between the
Emperor's Majesty and the King's Highness."
Hoby was charged to take careful note of the Duchess's answers, gestures,
and expression, and was especially to note if she seemed favourably
inclined to these proposals, in order that he might be able to satisfy Henry's
anxiety on the subject.[180]
Philip Hoby was too accomplished a courtier not to discharge his errand
with tact and courtesy. The Duchess was graciously pleased to accede to his
request, and at one o'clock the next day Holbein was ushered by Messer
Benedetto into his mistress's presence. The time allowed for the sitting was
short, but Master Hans was an adept at his art, and had already taken
drawings in this swift and masterly fashion of all the chief personages at the
English Court.
"Having but three hours' space," wrote Hutton, "he showed
himself to be master of that science. For his picture is very
perfect; the other is but slobbered in comparison to it, as by the
sight of both your lordship shall well perceive."[181]
An hour afterwards Hoby and the painter both took leave of the Duchess
and started for England. In order to avoid suspicion and observe the strict
secrecy enjoined by Cromwell, Hoby did not even seek a farewell audience
from the Regent, who contented herself with sending friendly greetings to
the Lord Privy Seal, saying that he should hear from her more at large
through the Imperial Ambassadors.
The precious sketch, from which Holbein afterwards made "the great table"
[182]
which hung in the Palace of Westminster until Henry's death, was

safely delivered into Cromwell's hands, and shown by
him to the King on the 18th of March. Henry was March, 1538 AT
singularly pleased with the portrait, and, as his courtiers HAMPTON
COURT
noticed, seemed to be in better humour than for months
past. For the first time since Queen Jane's death he sent for his musicians,
and made them play to him all the afternoon and evening. Two days
afterwards he went to Hampton Court, and "gave orders for new and
sumptuous buildings" at this riverside palace. After that he returned to
Whitehall by water, accompanied by his whole troop of musicians, paid a
visit to his brother-in-law's wife, Katherine, Duchess of Suffolk, and
resumed his old habit of going about with a few of his favourites in masks
—"a sure sign," remarked Chapuys, "that he is going to marry again."
The Imperial Ambassadors, Chapuys and his colleague Don Diego
Mendoza, were now treated with extraordinary civility. They were invited
to Hampton Court, where Henry entertained them at a splendid banquet,
and showed them his "fine new lodgings" and the priceless tapestries and
works of art with which Cardinal Wolsey had adorned this magnificent
house. The next day they were taken to the royal manor of Nonsuch to see
the little Prince, "one of the prettiest children you ever saw, and his sister,
Madam Elizabeth, who is also a sweet little girl." Then they went on to
Richmond to visit Princess Mary, who played to them with rare skill on
both spinet and lute, and spoke of her cousin the Emperor in terms of the
deepest gratitude. The French Ambassadors, Castillon and the Bishop of
Tarbes, who arrived at Hampton Court just as the Imperial Envoys were
leaving, were received with marked coolness, a treatment, as Chapuys
shrewdly remarks, "no doubt artfully designed to excite their jealousy."[183]
The sight of Holbein's portrait revived Henry's wish to
see Christina, and he pressed Chapuys earnestly to March, 1538]
CHRISTINA'S
induce his good sister the Queen of Hungary to bring her CHARM
niece to meet him at Calais. But on this point Mary was
obdurate. She told the Ambassador that this was out of the question, and
although she wrote civilly to the Lord Privy Seal, thanking him for his good
offices, she complained bitterly to Chapuys of Cromwell's extraordinary
proceeding in sending the painter to Brussels, and laid great stress on her
condescension in allowing him to take her niece's portrait. So far Charles
himself had never written fully to his sister on the subject, and Mary asked

Chapuys repeatedly if these proposals really came from the Emperor, and if
the King and Cromwell were sincere. As for her part, she believed these
flattering words were merely intended to deceive her. Chapuys could only
assure her that both Henry and his Minister were very much in earnest.
When the courier arrived from Spain, the King was bitterly disappointed
because there was no letter from Charles, and sent Cromwell twice to
implore the Ambassadors, for God's sake, to tell him if they had any good
news to impart. On Lady Day the Minister came to Chapuys's lodgings,
and, after two hours' earnest conversation, went away "somewhat
consoled." The next day Henry sent for the Ambassadors, and discussed the
subject in the frankest, most familiar manner, ending by saying with a
merry laugh: "You think it a good joke, I trow, to see me in love at my age!"
In his impatience, Henry complained that Hutton was remiss in his duties,
and did not say enough about the Duchess in his despatches. Yet the
excellent Ambassador was unremitting in his attendance on Her Grace, and
spent many hours daily at Court, watching her closely when she danced or
played at cards, and telling the King that he "felt satisfied that her great
modesty and gentleness proceeded from no want of wit, but that she was
rather to be esteemed wisest among the wise."[184]
From the day of Hoby's visit Christina treated Hutton with marked
friendliness, and threw aside much of her reserve in talking with him. On
the bright spring days, when the Queen and her niece hunted daily in the
forest, the Englishman seldom failed to accompany them. He admired the
Duchess's bold horsemanship, and was much struck by the evident delight
which she and her aunt took in this favourite sport. By way of ingratiating
himself with Mary, he presented her with four couple of English hounds,
"the fairest that he had ever seen," and a fine gelding, which made Christina
remark that he had done the Queen a great pleasure, and that she had never
seen her aunt so well mounted. Hutton hastened to reply that, since Her
Grace was good enough to admire the horse, he would do his utmost to
secure another as good for her own use, which offer she accepted
graciously.[185] All these incidents naturally provoked attention, and, in
spite of the secrecy with which the negotiations were carried on, the King's
marriage with the Duchess of Milan was freely discussed both in Flanders
and in England.

"Few Englishmen," wrote the Duke of Norfolk to Cromwell on
the 6th of April, "will regret the King of Scots' marriage to
Madame de Longueville, hoping that one of Burgundian blood
may have the place she might have had."[186]
And the report that after Easter the King was going to meet his future bride
at Calais became so persistent that even Castillon believed it, and
complained to his royal master of the strange alteration in Henry's
behaviour, and of the marvellous haughtiness and coldness with which he
was now treated.[187]

III.

On the 27th of March the Imperial Ambassadors dined at
the Lord Privy Seal's house, to meet Archbishop March, 1538]
MARRIAGE
Cranmer, Chancellor Audley, Thomas Brandon, Duke of NEGOTIATIONS
Suffolk, the Lord High Admiral Southampton, and two
other Bishops, who were the Commissioners appointed to treat of two royal
marriages. One of these was the long-planned union of Princess Mary with
the Infant Don Louis of Portugal, brother of the reigning King, which was
the ostensible object of Don Diego's mission to England. The other was the
King's own marriage with the Duchess, which Henry sent word must be
arranged at once, since until this was concluded he absolutely refused to
treat of his daughter's alliance with the Infant. As they sat down at table, by
way of Benedicite, remarks Chapuys, the King's deputies began by rejoicing
to think they had not to deal with Frenchmen, and pouring scorn on their
mendacious habits. But before the end of the meeting many difficulties had
arisen. First of all the English Commissioners demanded that the Count
Palatine should renounce all his wife's rights to the crown of Denmark
without compensation. Then the question of the Papal dispensation, which
was necessary owing to Christina's relationship to Katherine of Aragon, was
mooted, and, as Chapuys soon realized, was likely to prove an insuperable
difficulty, since nothing would induce Henry to recognize the Pope's
authority.[188]
During the next few weeks several meetings between the Commissioners
took place, and the Ambassadors were repeatedly admitted to confer with
the King and his Privy Council; but little progress was made, and Chapuys

informed the Regent that there was even less hope of agreement than there
had been at first. Henry on his part complained loudly of the coldness of the
Imperial Envoys, and of their evident desire to push forward the Portuguese
marriage and drop his own, which was the one thing for which he really
cared.[189] An attempt to effect some mode of reconciliation between him
and the Pope only incensed Henry, who sent two Doctors of Law, Bonner
and Haynes, to Madrid, to protest against the meeting of a General Council,
and to point out how the Bishops of Rome wrested Scripture to the
maintenance of their lusts and worldly advantage. And he told Don Diego
angrily that the meeting of a Council would do him the worst injury in the
world, since if he refused to attend it he would be cut off from the rest of
Christendom.[190] To add to the King's ill-temper, he was suffering from a
return of the ulcers in the leg from which he had formerly suffered, and for
some days his condition excited serious alarm.
On his recovery, Castillon, who had been looking on
with some amusement while the Emperor's folk were May, 1538]
LOUISE DE
"busy brewing marriages," approached His Majesty with GUISE
flattering words, and tried to instil suspicions of
Cromwell into his mind. Henry swallowed the bait greedily, and the French
Ambassador's remarks on his favourite's "great Spanish passion" rankled in
his mind to so great an extent that he sent for Cromwell and rated him
soundly, telling him that he was quite unfit to meddle in the affairs of
Kings. The wily Frenchman, satisfied that the only way of managing this
wayward monarch was to make him fall in love, took advantage of his
present mood to speak to him of the Queen of Scotland's sister, Louise de
Guise, whom he described as being quite as beautiful as herself, with the
additional advantage of being a maid, and not a widow. Henry, who was on
his way to Mass when Castillon made this suggestion, slapped him
familiarly on the back, and laughed, saying he must hear more of this young
lady. The next day the Comptroller of the King's Household was sent to ask
the Ambassador for particulars about Mademoiselle de Guise, and was told
that she was so like Madame de Longueville that you would hardly know
the sisters apart, and that a Scotchman who had seen both, wondered how
King James could prefer Mary to so lovely a creature as Louise. The French
Ambassador now found himself overwhelmed with attentions. The King
sent him presents of venison and artichokes from his gardens, invited him to

spend Sunday at Greenwich, and, when the plague broke out in London,
lent him the beautiful old house in Chelsea which had belonged to Sir
Thomas More, as a country residence.[191]
The wedding of King James was finally celebrated at Châteaudun on the
9th of May, and, hearing that the Duke of Guise and his fair daughter
Louise had accompanied the new Queen to Havre, Henry sent Philip Hoby
across the Channel to see Mademoiselle de Guise and have her picture
painted. These orders were duly executed, and Louise's portrait, probably
painted by Holbein, was placed in the King's hands. But, although Henry
"did not find the portrait ugly," he was now anxious to see Louise's younger
sister, Renée, who was said to be still more beautiful, and would not be put
off when Castillon told him that she was about to take the veil in a convent
at Reims.
"No doubt," remarked Montmorency, the Constable of France,
"as King Henry has made himself Pope in his own country, he
would prefer a nun to any other Princess."[192]
Nothing would now satisfy Henry but that the French King or Queen should
meet him at Calais with the Duke of Guise's daughters, Mademoiselle de
Lorraine, and Mademoiselle de Vendôme, who had all been recommended
to his notice. When the English Envoy, Brian, proposed this to Queen
Eleanor, she replied indignantly that she was not a keeper of harlots, and the
Constable told Castillon once more that French Princesses were not to be
trotted out like hackneys at a fair. At last the Ambassador, tired of repeating
that this plan was impossible, asked Henry if the Knights of King Arthur's
Round Table had ever treated ladies in such a fashion. This brought the
King to his senses. He reddened and hesitated, and, after rubbing his nose
for some moments, said that his proposal might have sounded a little
uncivil, but he had been so often deceived in these matters that he could
trust no one but himself.[193]
Still Henry would not give up all hope of winning the fair Louise, and
towards the end of August he sent Philip Hoby on a fresh errand to
Joinville. As before, he was to take Holbein with him, and, after viewing
well the younger sister, ask the Duchess of Guise for leave to take the
portraits of both her daughters, Louise and Renée, "in one faire table."
Hoby was to explain that he had business in these parts, and that, since he

had already made acquaintance with Mademoiselle de Guise at Havre, he
could not pass Joinville without saluting her. On leaving Joinville he was to
proceed to the Duke of Lorraine's Court, and inform him that the Lord Privy
Seal, having heard that His Excellency had a daughter of excellent quality,
begged that the King's painter might be allowed to take her portrait. On the
30th of August the travellers reached Joinville, as we learn from the
following letter addressed by the Duchess of Guise to her eldest daughter in
Scotland:
"It is but two days since the King of England's
gentleman who was at Havre, and the painter, were Aug., 1538]
HOLBEIN AT
here. The gentleman came to see me, pretending that JOINVILLE
he was on his way to find the Emperor, and, having
heard that Louise was ill, would not pass by without inquiring
after her, that he might take back news of her health to the King
his master. He begged to be allowed to see her, which he did,
although it was a day when the fever was on her, and repeated
the same words which he had already said to me. He then told
me that, as he was so near Lorraine, he meant to go on to Nancy
to see the country. I have no doubt that he was going there to
draw Mademoiselle's portrait, in the same way that he has drawn
the others, and so I sent down to the gentleman's lodgings, and
found that the said painter was there. Since then they have been
at Nancy, where they spent a day and were well feasted and
entertained, and at every meal the maître d'hôtel ate with them,
and many presents were made them. That is all I know yet, but
you see that, at the worst, if you do not have your sister for a
neighbour, you may yet have your cousin."[194]
This time Hoby's journey was evidently unsuccessful. Louise was ill of
intermittent fever, and Renée had already been sent to the convent at Reims,
where she was afterwards professed; and it is clear from Antoinette's letters
that she had no wish to marry either of her daughters to Henry. A month
before, on the 3rd of August, she wrote to the Queen of Scotland: "I have
heard nothing more of the proposals which you know of"; and again on the
18th: "I have begged your father to speak of these affairs to the King, that
we may be rid of them if possible, for no one could ever be happy with such
a man."[195]

As for Anne de Lorraine, in spite of many excellent qualities, she lacked the
beauty and charm of her cousins, and, as her aunt Antoinette said, "elle est
bien honnête, mais pas si belle que je voudrais."[196]
The result of these disappointments was to revive
Henry's wish to marry Christina. Several times in the Aug., 1538]
HENRY'S
course of the summer Castillon remarked that this SCRUPLES
monarch was still hankering after the Duchess of Milan,
and had repeatedly tried to induce the Regent to bring her niece to meet him
at Brussels. "The King my master," said Cromwell to Chapuys, "will never
marry one, who is to be his companion for life, without he has first seen and
known her."[197] In a long and careful paper of instructions which Henry
drew up for the Ambassador Wyatt, he lays great stress on this point.
"His Grace, prudently considering how that marriage is a
bargain of such nature as may endure for the whole life of man,
and a thing whereof the pleasure and quiet, or the displeasure
and torment, doth much depend, thinketh it to be most
necessary, both for himself and the party with whom it shall
please God to join him in marriage, that the one might see the
other before the time that they should be so affianced, which
point His Highness hath largely set forth heretofore to the
Emperor's Ambassador."[198]
But on her side Mary was equally inflexible. Nothing would induce her to
take a step forward in this direction, and even Hutton began to realize how
coldly the marriage overtures were received at Brussels. The Queen never
failed to ask after the King's health or to express her anxiety for the
strengthening of the ancient friendship between the realm of England and
the House of Burgundy; but when the Ambassador ventured to allude to the
subject of her niece's preferment, she invariably gave an evasive reply.
Since both the Queen and the Duchess spent much of the summer hunting
in the Forest of Soignies, or in more distant parts, Hutton seldom had an
opportunity of seeing Christina. Her servants were still very friendly,
especially the Lord Benedick Court, as Hutton calls the Italian master of her
household. One evening in June, when Hutton had been at Court, Benedetto
came back to supper with him, whether of his own accord or at his
mistress's command the Englishman could not tell. As they walked along

the street, Benedetto asked the Ambassador if he had brought the Queen any
good news about the Duchess. Hutton replied that the first good news must
come from the Emperor, and, to his mind, was a long time upon the road.
The old man looked up to heaven, and said devoutly: "I pray God that I may
live to see her given to your master, even if I die the next day. But," he
added significantly, "there is one doubt in the matter." Hutton asked eagerly
what this might be, upon which Benedetto explained that, as the King's first
wife, the Lady Katherine, was near of kin to the Duchess, the marriage
could not be solemnized without the Pope's dispensation, and this he feared
His Majesty would never accept. The Ambassador replied warmly that he
did not know what might be against the Bishop of Rome's laws, but that he
was quite sure his master would do nothing against God's laws. Then they
sat down to supper with other guests, and nothing further was said on the
subject. But the old Italian knew what he was talking about, and the Papal
dispensation proved to be the one insuperable obstacle which stood in the
way of a settlement.[199]
Another of Christina's servants, Gian Battista Ferrari,
paid a visit to England this summer, and brought back Sept., 1538]
DEATH OF
glowing accounts of the beauties of London and the HUTTON
splendours of King Henry's Court. He had an Italian
friend named Panizone, who was one of the royal equerries, and had been
sent over to England with some Barbary horses from the Gonzaga stables.
Panizone introduced him to Cromwell, who entertained him hospitably, and
sent him back to tell his mistress all that he had seen and done at the Court
of Whitehall. Christina was exceedingly curious to hear Battista's account
of his visit, and was surprised when he told her that England was as
beautiful as Italy. When she proceeded to inquire if he had seen the King,
Battista replied that he had been fortunate enough to be received by His
Majesty, and broke into ecstatic praises of Henry's comeliness, gracious
manners, and liberality. The Duchess said that she had often heard praises
of His Grace, and was glad to know from Battista's lips that they were true.
After supper she sent for him again, and he informed her that Chapuys had
told him the marriage would shortly be concluded. "At this it seemeth she
did much rejoice." So at least Battista assured Hutton.[200] Ferrari himself
was evidently very anxious to see his mistress Queen of England, and in a
letter which he addressed on the 7th of September to his friend, "Guglielmo

Panizone scudier del Invictissimo Rè d' Inghilterrà a Londra, alla Corte di
sua Maestà," he wrote, "Madama the Duchess, my mistress, loves the King
truly," and proceeded to send commendations to the Lord Privy Seal, Signor
Filippo (Hoby), Portinari, and others. This letter contained one sad piece of
news. "The Ambassador here is said to be dying; I am grieved because of
the friendship between us and his excellent qualities. The next one we have
will, I hope, be yourself."[201] Battista's news was true. Honest John Hutton,
the popular Governor of the Merchant Adventurers, fell ill at Antwerp, and
died there on the 5th of September. His genial nature had made him a
general favourite, and he was lamented by everyone at Court. "It is a great
loss," wrote Don Diego to Cromwell, "because he was so good a servant
and so merry and honest a soul." To his own master, the Emperor, he
remarked that the English Ambassador who had just died was a jovial,
good-natured man, but more fit for courtly functions and social intercourse
than grave political business, for which he had neither taste nor capacity.
[202]

IV.

The meeting of the Emperor and King of France at Aigues-Mortes in July,
1538, produced a marked change in the political situation. This interview,
which the Pope had failed to bring about at Nice, was finally effected by
Queen Eleanor, and the two monarchs, who had not met since Francis was a
prisoner at Madrid, embraced each other, dined together, and ended by
swearing an inviolable friendship. The truce was converted into a lasting
peace, and several marriages between the two families were discussed in a
friendly and informal manner.
"Never," wrote the Constable to Castillon, "were there two faster
friends than the King and Emperor, and I do not for a moment
imagine that His Imperial Majesty will ever allow the Widow of
Milan to marry King Henry! So do not believe a single word
that you hear in England!"[203]
This unexpected reconciliation was a bitter pill to Henry
and Cromwell. The French and Imperial Ambassadors at Aug., 1538]
CROMWELL AND
Whitehall exchanged the warmest congratulations, and CHAPUYS
did not fail to indulge in a hearty laugh at King Henry's

expense. On the 21st of August Chapuys and Don Diego followed the Court
to Ampthill, where the King was hunting, and were entertained by
Cromwell at one of his own manors. As they sat down to dinner, the Lord
Privy Seal asked brusquely if it were true that the King and Emperor had
made peace, to which the Ambassadors replied in the affirmative. He then
proceeded to start a variety of disagreeable topics. First he remarked that he
heard the Turk was already in Belgrade; next he said that the young Duke of
Cleves had taken possession of Guelderland, upon which Chapuys
retaliated by expatiating on the perfect friendship and understanding
between Charles and Francis. After dinner they were admitted into the
King's presence, and informed him that the Queen of Hungary had received
the powers necessary for the conclusion of the Duchess's marriage, and
wished to recall Don Diego in order that he might draw up the contract.
Henry expressed great sorrow at parting from the Spaniard, and, drawing
him apart, begged him to induce the Queen to treat directly with him,
repeating two or three times that he was growing old, and could not put off
taking a wife any longer. Meanwhile Cromwell was telling Chapuys, in
another corner of the hall, how much annoyed the King had been to hear
that the Emperor was treating of his niece's marriage with the Duke of
Cleves, which would make people say either that she had refused the King
or else had only accepted Henry after refusing Cleves. Chapuys stoutly
denied the truth of this report, and Cromwell confessed that the King was
very eager for the marriage, and, if there were any difficulty about the
Duchess's dowry, he would gladly give her 20,000 crowns out of his own
purse.[204]
As the Ambassadors were putting on their riding-boots, Cromwell ran after
Don Diego with a present from his master of £400, after which they
returned to London and dined in Chelsea with Castillon, to meet Madame
de Montreuil, the lady-in-waiting of the late Queen Madeleine of Scotland,
who was returning to France. They all spent a merry evening, laughing over
King Henry's matrimonial plans, and Castillon declared that the King and
Lord Privy Seal were so much perturbed at his master's alliance with the
Emperor that they hardly knew if they were in heaven or on earth.[205]
Don Diego arrived in Flanders to find general rejoicings
—"gun-shots and melody and jousting were the order of Sept., 1538]
STEPHEN
the day"—and an English merchant declared that the

proud Spaniards were ready to challenge all the world. VAUGHAN
Queen Mary marked the occasion by honouring her
favourite, Count Henry of Nassau, with a visit at his Castle of Breda in
Holland. The beautiful gardens and vast orchards planted in squares, after
the fashion of Italy, which excited the Cardinal of Aragon's admiration,
were in their summer beauty, and a series of magnificent fêtes were given in
honour of the Queen and her companion, the Duchess of Milan. The Count
was assisted in doing the honours by his third wife, the Marchioness of
Zeneta, a rich Spanish heiress, whom the Emperor had given him in
marriage, and his son René, Prince of Orange. The presence of Christina at
Breda on this occasion, and the attentions that were paid her by her hosts,
naturally gave rise to a report that she was about to wed the Prince, and
Cromwell told Don Diego before he left Dover that this rumour had caused
the King great annoyance.[206] But the festivities at Breda met with a tragic
close. On the day after the royal ladies left the castle, Henry of Nassau died
very suddenly, and Don Diego heard the sad news when he reached the
castle gates, on his way to salute his kinswoman, the Marchioness.
The Ambassador now hastened to Court, and craved an audience of the
Queen to deliver King Henry's letters; but he found her little inclined to
attend to business, and engaged in preparations to pay a visit to King
Francis, who had gallantly invited her to a hunting-party at Compiègne. At
first there had been some doubt if the Duchess should be of the party, but
Queen Eleanor was eager to see her niece, and Christina was nothing loth to
take part in these brilliant festivities. Meanwhile Henry's renewed
impatience to conclude his marriage was shown by the promptitude with
which another Ambassador was sent to take Hutton's place.
On the 27th of September the new Envoy, Stephen Vaughan, was admitted
into the Queen's presence, and begged for an answer to the letters delivered
by Don Diego. Mary told him that he might inform His Majesty that there
was no truth in the reports of her niece's marriage, and that, if any coolness
had arisen between them, it was the King's own fault for seeking a wife in
other places. Hoby's mission to Joinville and Nancy was, it is plain, well
known at Brussels. But the Queen kept her counsel, and told Vaughan that,
if his master was still in the same mind, she would urge the Emperor to
hasten the conclusion of the treaty. Only she must beg the Ambassador to
have a little patience, as her time was fully occupied at this moment. But

the next day he was again put off, and told the Queen would see him when
she reached Mons. Accordingly, Vaughan and his colleague, Thomas
Wriothesley, Cromwell's confidential secretary, arrived at this town on the
8th, only to be told by Don Diego that they must await the Queen's pleasure
at Valenciennes. The Spanish Ambassador did his best to atone for their
disappointment by giving them an excellent dinner, and lending them two
of his own horses with velvet saddles and rich trappings for the journey.[207]
At length, at eight on Sunday morning, the 6th of
October, they were conducted into the Queen's presence Oct., 1538] AT
COMPIÈGNE
by the Grand Falconer, Molembais, and Vaughan, who
spoke French fluently, explained Henry's reasons for arranging the marriage
treaty without delay. Mary replied briefly that she had already written to
accede to the King's request, and that no further steps could be taken until
after her meeting with the French King. Dinner was being served while she
spoke these words, and, as the meat was actually coming in, the
Ambassadors were compelled to retire. Before they left the room, however,
they saluted the Duchess, who was standing near her aunt, and ventured to
tell her how much my Lord Privy Seal remained her humble servant,
although, as she no doubt knew, his overtures had been so coldly received.
Christina smiled and thanked them for their good-will with a gentle grace,
which went far to mollify their ruffled feelings, and made Wriothesley write
home that all Hutton had said of the Duchess's charms was true. "She is as
goodly personage, of stature higher than either of us, and hath a very good
woman's face, competently fair and well favoured, but a little brown."[208]
As if to make amends for these delays, the great lords in attendance
overwhelmed the Ambassadors with civilities. Aerschot invited them to
dinner; Count Büren embraced them warmly and asked affectionately after
the King; De Praet, Molembais, and Iselstein, escorted them to the door,
and Don Diego made them a present of wine. When Wriothesley fell ill of
fever at Cambray, the Queen sent her own physician to attend him, and
begged him either to remain there or return to Brussels. This he refused to
do, and travelled on by slow stages to Compiègne, hoping to obtain another
audience there. But the roads were bad, and two leagues from Cambray one
of the carts broke down, leaving the English without household stuff or
plate when Don Diego came to supper.[209]

On Tuesday news reached Cambray that King Francis was on his way to
salute the Queen, and Mary rode out to meet him, leaving the Duchess of
Milan at home with others, who like herself, remarks Wriothesley, had no
great liking for Frenchmen.[210] But the King's greeting was most cordial,
and when, on the following day, Queen Eleanor arrived with a great train of
lords and ladies, there was much feasting and merriment, until on the 10th
the whole party started for Compiègne.
It was a brilliant company that met in the ancient castle of the French
Kings, in the forest on the banks of the Oise, near the bridge where, a
hundred years before, Jeanne d'Arc had made her last heroic stand. King
Francis had summoned all the Princes and Princesses of the blood to do
honour to the Queen of Hungary, and the neighbouring villages were filled
to overflowing with Court officials and servants. There was the King
himself, a fine figure in cloth of gold and nodding plumes, gallant as ever in
spite of ill-health and advancing years, with a glance and smile to spare for
every fair lady; and there was his consort, Queen Eleanor, too often
neglected by her fickle lord, but now radiant with happiness, and in her
beautiful robes and priceless pearls, as winning and almost as fair as when
she fascinated the young Palatine twenty years ago. The sense of family
affection was as strong in Eleanor as in all the Habsburgs, and she was
overjoyed to meet her sister and embrace the daughter of the beloved and
lamented Isabella. With her came the King's daughter Margaret, the
homely-featured but pleasing and accomplished Princess for whom a royal
husband was still to be found, and who, the courtiers whispered, might now
wed the Prince of Spain.
Her brothers were there too—the dull and morose
Henry, who had succeeded his elder brother as Dauphin Oct., 1538] A
BRILLIANT
two years before, but had never recovered from the COMPANY
effects of his long captivity in Spain; and the more lively
but weak and vicious Charles of Angoulême, now Duke of Orleans, whom
Eleanor was so anxious to see married to the Duchess of Milan. With them
was the Dauphin's Italian wife, Catherine de' Medici, whose wit and grace
atoned in her father-in-law's eyes for her lack of beauty, although her
husband's heart was given to Diane de Poitiers, and a childless marriage
made her unpopular in the eyes of the nation. But a galaxy of fair ladies
surrounded the King and Queen. Chief among them was Madame

d'Étampes, whose dazzling charms had captivated the fickle King, and who
now reigned supreme both in Court and Council. Of the youthful ladies
whose charms had aroused King Henry's interest, only Mademoiselle de
Vendôme was here. The fair Louise had not yet recovered from her illness,
and the Duchess of Guise was nursing her at Joinville. But both her father,
Claude of Guise, the Governor of Burgundy, and his brother, the Cardinal of
Lorraine, were present, and held a high place in the King's favour. Claude's
elder brother, the Duke of Lorraine, had lately been to meet the Emperor at
Aigues-Mortes and plead his claims to Guelders, but on his return he fell ill
with a severe attack of gout, and was unable to obey the King's summons.
In his stead he sent Duchess Renée his wife, another Bourbon Princess, a
daughter of Gilbert de Montpensier and sister of the famous Constable. Her
daughter Anne remained at home to nurse the Duke, but her eldest son,
Francis, came with his mother to Compiègne. This cultured and polished
Prince, who bore the King's name, had been brought up at the French Court,
and could ride and joust as well as any of his peers; but he was quite thrown
into the shade by his cousin, Antoine de Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme, the
darling of the people and the idol of all the ladies. A head and shoulders
taller than the Dauphin and his brother, Antoine was the cynosure of all
eyes at Court festivals. The elegance of his attire, the inimitable grace with
which he raised his hat, his wit and gaiety, fascinated every woman, while
the gilded youth of the day copied the fashion of his clothes and the precise
angle at which he wore the feather in his cap. Frivolous, volatile, and
recklessly extravagant, Vendôme wore his heart on his sleeve, and was
ready to enter the lists for the sake of any fair lady. He fell desperately in
love with the Duchess of Milan at first sight, and devoted himself to her
service. As premier Prince of the blood, he rode at Christina's side, and led
her out to dance in the eyes of the Court. Together they joined in the
hunting-parties that were organized on a vast scale in the Forest of
Compiègne, and while all the French were lost in admiration at the fine
horsemanship of the royal ladies, Antoine de Bourbon threw himself at the
Duchess's feet, and declared himself her slave for life. But whether this gay
cavalier was too wild and thoughtless for her taste, or whether her heart was
already given to another, Christina paid little heed to this new suitor, and
remained cold to his impassioned appeals. "The Duke of Vendôme," wrote
Wriothesley to Cromwell, "is a great wooer to the Duchess, but we cannot
hear that he receiveth much comfort."[211]

On the 17th of October the Constable de Montmorency
prevailed on the royal party to accompany him to his Oct., 1538] A
sumptuous home at Chantilly, nine leagues farther on the VISIT TO
CHANTILLY
road to Paris. This brave soldier and able Minister had
grown up in the closest intimacy with the Royal Family, and was habitually
addressed as "bon père" by the King's children, but had, unfortunately,
excited the hatred of the reigning favourite, the Duchess of Étampes, who
called him openly "un grand coquin," and declared that he tried to make
himself a second monarch. On the other hand, his constant loyalty to Queen
Eleanor gratified Mary of Hungary, who now gladly accepted his invitation
to Chantilly.
Anne de Montmorency was as great a patron of art as his royal master, and
during the last fifteen years he had transformed his ancestral home into a
superb Renaissance palace. The halls were decorated with frescoes by
Primaticcio; the gardens were adorned with precious marbles and bronzes,
with busts of the Cæsars and statues of Mars and Hercules, with fountains
of the finest Urbino and Palissy ware. Portraits by Clouet, priceless
manuscripts illuminated by French and Burgundian masters, and enamels
by Léonard Limousin, were to be seen in the galleries. But what interested
Mary and Christina most of all were the tapestries woven at Brussels from
Raphael of Urbino's cartoons, which the Constable had rescued after the
sack of Rome, and which he restored some years later to Pope Julius III.[212]
After entertaining his guests magnificently during two days, the Constable
accompanied them on a hunting-party in the forest, and finally brought
them back to Compiègne on the 19th of October. Here the Queen of
Hungary's return was impatiently awaited by the English Ambassadors, who
found themselves in a miserable plight. The town was so crowded that they
had to be content with the meanest lodgings; the hire of post-horses cost
forty pounds, and provisions were so scarce that a partridge or woodcock
sold for tenpence, and an orange for more than a groat. The King's
Ambassadors at the French Court—Sir Anthony Browne, and Bonner, the
Bishop-elect of Hereford—who joined them at Compiègne on the 14th,
were in still worse case; for they could get no horses for love or money, and
spent six days without receiving a visit from the Court officials. These
outraged personages stood at the window, and saw the French Councillors,
and even the Constable, go by, without giving them the smallest sign of

recognition. At least, Vaughan and Wriothesley were treated with the utmost
civility by the Flemish nobles, and their audience was only deferred on
account of the Queen's visit to Chantilly. Don Diego was courtesy itself,
and, before he started for Spain, wrote a letter to Cromwell, assuring him
that Queen Mary was the truest friend and sister his master could have, but
that it had been impossible for her to attend to business when her days were
spent in festivities and family meetings.[213] At length, on Sunday, the 20th,
the Ambassadors were received by the Queen, and introduced Browne and
Bonner, as well as Dr. Edward Carne, a learned lawyer whom Henry had
sent to assist in drawing up the marriage treaty. Mary informed them that
Francis was bent on taking her to the Duke of Vendôme's house at La Fère
on the way home, but begged Wriothesley, who was still unwell, to go
straight to Brussels. The next day Browne started for England, saying that it
was impossible to follow a King who "goes out of all highways," and on the
22nd Wriothesley and his companions set out on their return to Brussels.
[214]

Oct., 1538]
MARRIAGE-
MAKING

V.

By the end of October the English Envoys were back at Brussels, rejoicing
to be once more in comfortable quarters. Here they found great fear and
distrust of France prevailing, and much alarm was expressed lest the Queen
should have been induced to give the Duchess of Milan in marriage to a
French Prince. This, however, was not the case, and the English
Ambassadors were satisfied that beyond feasting and merrymaking nothing
had been done. A friendly gentleman, Monsieur de Brederode, told them
that there had been some attempt at marriage-making among the women.
Queen Eleanor still pressed her sister earnestly to further the marriage of
Christina with the Duke of Orleans, as the best way of insuring a lasting
peace, and had revived her old dream of marrying her daughter, Maria of
Portugal, to the Prince of Spain. But Mary turned a deaf ear to all these
proposals, saying that she could not consider them without Charles's
approval. At La Fère, in the valley of the Oise, Francis entertained his
guests at a splendid banquet, after which he presented Mary with a very fine

diamond, and Christina with a beautiful jewel, besides lavishing rings,
bracelets, brooches, caps, and pretty trinkets from Paris and Milan, Lisbon
and Nuremberg, on the ladies of their suite. Here he took leave of his
guests, but the Duke of Vendôme insisted on escorting the Queen and her
niece as far as Valenciennes.[215]
On Monday, the 4th of November, Mary and Christina
reached Brussels, and were received with warm Nov., 1538] KING
HENRY'S ANGER
demonstrations of affection. Now, "after all these gay
and glorious words," the English Ambassadors confidently hoped to see
some end to their toil. But they soon realized that their hopes were doomed
to disappointment. First the Queen was too tired to receive them; then
nothing could be done until the return of the Duke of Aerschot, who was her
chief adviser. At length, on the 16th, the first conference took place at the
Duke's house. The Captain of the Archers, Christina's old friend De
Courrières, conducted the Ambassadors to the room where the
Commissioners were awaiting them—Aerschot, Hoogstraaten, Lalaing, and
the Chancellor of Brabant, Dr. Schoren, "a very wise father." After a lengthy
preamble, setting forth the powers committed to the Regent, the terms of
the contract were discussed. The chief points on which Wriothesley insisted
were that Henry should be allowed to see his bride, that the payment of her
dowry should be assigned to Flanders instead of Milan, and that Christina's
title to Denmark should be recognized, although, remarked the Ambassador,
"for my little wit I care not if this last condition were scraped out of the
book."[216] The Duchess's claim to the throne of Denmark, as Wriothesley
realized, was so remote that it seemed hardly worth discussing. The dowry
and the question of the Papal dispensation were the two real stumbling-
blocks, and he advised Cromwell, if the King was really anxious to secure
this desirable wife, not to press the former point, money being so scarce in
Spain and the Netherlands that the Emperor would rather leave his niece
unwed, than part with so large a sum. At the close of the sitting the Duke of
Aerschot begged Wriothesley to stay to dinner, and gave him the chief place
at table and pre-eminence in all things. The fare was abundant; four courses
of ten dishes were served in silver, with "covers of a marvellous clean and
honourable sort," and carvers and waiters stood around, and attended as
diligently to the Ambassador's wants as if he were a Prince. Later in the
evening the Duke's brother-in-law, the Marquis of Berghen, who was

always well disposed to the English, came to supper, and chatted pleasantly
for some time, but shocked Wriothesley by asking him if it were true that all
religion was extinct in England, that Mass was abolished, and that the bones
of saints were publicly burned. Cromwell's Commissioner, who had himself
plundered the shrines of St. Swithun at Winchester and of St. Thomas at
Canterbury, could hardly deny this latter charge, although he declared
stoutly that only such money-making devices and tricks of the friars as the
Rood of Boxley and the tomb of Becket had been unmasked. But, in spite
of the outward civility with which the Ambassador was treated, he realized
that all good Catholics in Flanders looked on him with horror and disgust.
All through the summer abbeys and shrines had been
going down fast. "Dagon is everywhere falling," wrote a Jan., 1539]
MARY'S APPEAL
Kentish fanatic, and, as Castillon said, by the end of the
year hardly a single abbey was left standing. The recent trend of political
events had served to excite the King's worst passions, and when the French
Ambassador went to see him early in November, he found him in a
towering rage. The French had treated his Ambassadors abominably; the
Emperor and King were plotting together to take the Duchess of Milan
away from him and give her to Monsieur de Vendôme, which, "if it be done,
would finish the picture."[217] Late on this same evening, Lord Exeter, a
grandson of Edward IV. and head of the noble house of Courtenay, and his
cousin, Lord Montague, the son of Lady Salisbury and brother of Cardinal
Pole, were thrown into the Tower on the charge of high-treason. All that the
most prolonged cross-examination of their servants and friends could bring
out to prove their guilt, was that in my Lord of Exeter's garden at Horsley
Place, in Surrey, Sir Edward Nevill had been heard singing merry songs
against the knaves that ruled about the King, and, clenching his fist, had
cried: "I trust to give them a buffet and see honest men reign in England one
day." But the King had long ago told the French Ambassador that he was
determined to exterminate the White Rose, and, as Castillon remarked, no
pretext was too flimsy to bring men to the block. On the 9th of December,
Exeter, Montague, and Nevill, all died on the scaffold, and Castillon wrote
to King Francis: "No one knows who will be the next to go." Terror reigned
throughout the land, and no one of noble birth was safe.[218] Mary of
Hungary might well shudder at the thought of giving her niece to such a
man. But every day her position became more difficult. Soon after her

return from Compiègne she wrote to Charles, urgently begging for
instructions as to how she was to proceed with the English Ambassadors. If
the King persists in treating of the Duchess's marriage, is she to consent or
to refuse altogether? And if so, on what pretext? Is she to discuss the
question of the Papal dispensation, which Henry will never consent to
receive from the Pope, but without which the Emperor cannot possibly
allow the union.[219] In reply to this letter, Charles wrote from Toledo, on
the 5th of December, telling her to temporize with the English, and to
consult her Council on the best method of procedure.[220]
A carefully-worded paper, in Mary's own handwriting, setting forth the
results of the deliberation with the Council in clear and concise language,
was forwarded to the Emperor early in January:
"If the King of England would seriously mend his ways and
proceed to conclude the marriage in earnest, not merely to sow
dissension between His Majesty and the King of France, this
would no doubt be the most honourable alliance for the Duchess
and the most advantageous for the Low Countries; but there is
no evidence of this—rather the reverse, as your Ambassador in
France tells us, from what he hears of the conversations held by
King Henry with the French Envoy in London. The Queen
considers this point to be entirely settled, and it remains only to
know Your Majesty's wishes. Are we to dissemble with the
English as we have done till now, which, however, is very
difficult, or are we to break off negotiations altogether? This can
best be done by putting forward quite reasonable terms, but
which are not agreeable to the King. The Queen begs His
Majesty to tell her exactly what she is to do, remembering that
the King of England, when he cannot ally himself with the
Emperor or in France, may seek an alliance with Cleves, and
will be further alienated from religion, and may do much harm
by putting himself at the head of the German Princes—all of
which she prays Your Majesty to consider."[221]
But no reply to this appeal came for many weeks. In vain Mary implored
Charles to put an end to this interminable procrastination, and relieve her

from the necessity of dissembling with the English Ambassadors, who
never left her in peace.
"Once more, Monseigneur," she wrote at the end of January, "I
implore you tell me if I am to allow these conferences to drag
on, for it is impossible to do this any longer without the most
shameless dissimulation."[222]
Still no answer came from Spain, and the solemn farce was prolonged.
During the next two months frequent meetings between the Commissioners
were held at Brussels, and the Queen herself was often present. "Indeed,"
wrote Wriothesley, "she is one and principal in it, and how unmeet we be to
match with her ourselves do well acknowledge."[223] But little progress was
made, although Henry, in his anxiety for the marriage, offered to give the
Duchess as large a dowry as any Queen of England had ever enjoyed. On
St. Thomas's Day he informed the French Ambassador in the gallery at
Whitehall that his marriage was almost concluded.
"All the same," wrote Castillon to the Constable, "I know that he
would gladly marry Madame de Guise had he the chance. If you
think the King and Emperor would enjoy the sport of seeing him
thus virolin-virolant, I can easily get it up, provided you show
his Ambassador a little civility, and make the Cardinal and
Monsieur de Guise caress him a little."[224]

MARY, QUEEN OF HUNGARY
By Bernard van Orley (Cardon Collection)
To face p. 188
But two days after this interview Henry addressed a
pathetic appeal to the Regent on his behalf, saying that Jan., 1539] FAIR
WORDS
"old age was fast creeping on, and time was slipping and
flying marvellously away." Already the whole year had been wasted in vain
parleyings, and, since neither money nor prayers could redeem this precious
time, he could wait the Emperor's pleasure no longer, but must seek another
bride. If this appeal produced no effect, he told Wriothesley to take leave of
the Duchess, and declare to her the great affection which the King bore her,

and how earnestly he had desired to make her his wife, but, since this was
plainly impossible, he must "beg her not to marvel if he joined with
another."[225] When this letter reached Brussels, Mary and Christina were
absent on a hunting expedition, but on New Year's Eve they returned. The
Queen received Wriothesley the next morning, and, after listening patiently
to the long discourse in which he delivered his master's message, said that
she was still awaiting the Emperor's final instructions, remarking that
perhaps the King hardly realized the distance between Spain and Flanders.
There was nothing for it but to await the coming of the courier from Spain.
But even Wriothesley began to realize that, "for all this gentle entertainment
and fair words and feastings," the deputies meant to effect nothing.
Like Hutton, the Ambassador felt the spell of Christina's charms, and
certain expressions which her servants Benedetto and Ferrari had dropped,
led him to suppose that the Duchess was favourably inclined towards his
master. But he was convinced that attempts had been made to poison her
mind against the King, and to prefer the suit of William of Cleves or of
Francis of Lorraine, who was also said to be seeking her hand.
"I know," he wrote to Cromwell, "that some of these folks
labour to avert the Duchess's mind from the King's Majesty, and
to rest herself either upon Lorraine or Cleves; but as far as I can
learn she is wiser than they, and will in no wise hearken to them,
offering rather to live a widow than to fall from the likelihood of
being Queen, and to light so low as from a mistress to become
an underling, as she must if she marry either of them, their
fathers and mothers being yet both alive. What for the virtue that
I think I see in her, the good nature that every man must note her
to be of, as well as her good inclination to the King's Majesty, I
have privily wished myself sometimes that the King might take
her with nothing, as she hath somewhat, rather than His
Highness should, by these cankered tongues, be tromped and
deceived of his good purpose, and so want such a wife as I think
she would be to His Grace. For I shall ever pray God to send His
Majesty such a mate, humble, loving, and of such sort as may be
for His Grace's quiet and content, with the increase of the
offspring of his most noble person."[226]

VI.

At length the eagerly-expected courier reached Brussels, but, as usual, the
Queen and Duchess were away hunting, and it was only on the 1st of
February that the Ambassadors obtained their desired audience. Mary
received them in her bedroom between seven and eight in the morning, and
told them that the Emperor had decided to await the arrival of the Count
Palatine, who with his wife, the Duchess's elder sister, was shortly expected
at Toledo, in order that he might discuss the subject fully with them; but,
since she knew Henry to be impatient for an answer, she had despatched a
trusty messenger, Cornelius Scepperus, to Spain to beg her brother for an
immediate decision.[227]
Wriothesley now ventured on a bold step. As the Queen
rose to leave the room, he begged, in order to satisfy his Feb., 1539] AN
AWKWARD
own peace of mind, to be allowed to ask her one QUESTION
question, hoping that she would give him a frank
answer. At these words Mary blushed deeply, conscious of the double part
that she was playing, and bade him speak, assuring him that she would take
whatever he said in good part. "Madame," returned Wriothesley, "I beseech
Your Grace to tell me plainly how you find the Duchess herself affected
towards this marriage with the King my master." If, as was commonly
reported, the Duchess had really said that she minded not to fix her heart
that way, all his efforts were but lost labour. And he made bold to ask this
question because he knew that of late "divers malicious tongues, servants of
the Bishop of Rome, had dared to speak lewdly in hugger-mugger of the
King's Majesty." The question was an awkward one, but Mary proved equal
to the occasion. She thanked the Ambassador for his frankness, and replied
with some warmth that she was quite sure her niece had never spoken such
words, and that, if evil men spoke lewdly of the King, she would know how
to deal with them. "Touching my niece's affection," she added, "I dare say
unto you, that if the Emperor and your master the King agree upon this
marriage, she will be at the Emperor's command."
Wriothesley could only express his gratitude for this gracious answer, even
if it were not so plain as he could have wished. Seeing that nothing else
would satisfy him, the Queen referred him to the Duchess herself, and at
two o'clock the same afternoon the Ambassador was conducted to

Christina's lodgings. He found her standing under a canopy in a hall hung
with black velvet and damask, with five or six ladies near her, and a dozen
gentlemen and pages at the other end of the room. Christina received him
with a graceful salute, bade him heartily welcome, and asked the purpose of
his errand. Wriothesley proceeded to explain the object of his visit at great
length, saying that he was quite sure that a lady of her gravity and discretion
would never allow such unseemly words to pass her lips; yet, since untrue
and wicked reports might have reached her ears and cooled her inclination
towards the King, he felt it would be his bounden duty, were this true, to
inform His Majesty, in order that he might withdraw his suit without further
waste of time and dishonour.
Christina listened to this long harangue without moving a muscle. When the
Ambassador had ended, she desired him to put on his cap, saying it was a
cold day, and that she regretted not to have noticed that he was uncovered
before. Wriothesley replied that this was his duty, and that he hoped often to
have the honour of talking with her bareheaded in the future. Without
paying any heed to this last remark, Christina replied in the following
words:
"Monsieur l'Ambassadeur, I do heartily thank you for your good opinion of
me, wherein I can assure you, you have not been deceived. I thank God He
hath given me a better stay of myself, than to be of so light a sort as, by all
likelihood, some men would note me. And I assure you that neither these
words that you have spoken, nor any like to them, have passed at any time
from my mouth, and so I pray you report for me."
But grateful as Wriothesley expressed himself for this
frank answer, he was not yet satisfied. "It is an evil Feb., 1539]
CHRISTINA'S
wind, as we say in England, that bloweth no man good," ANSWER
and at least the Duchess would see by this, how little
faith was to be placed in idle tales. "There are those," he said mysteriously,
"who play on both hands; they tell Your Excellency many things, and us
somewhat." But would she go farther, and tell him if he might assure the
King his master of her own good inclination towards the marriage? At these
words Christina blushed exceedingly, and said with some hesitation: "As for
my inclination, what should I say? You know I am at the Emperor's
commandment." And when the Ambassador pressed her to be a little

plainer, she smiled and repeated: "You know I am the Emperor's poor
servant, and must follow his pleasure!"
"Marry!" exclaimed Wriothesley; "why, then I may hope to be one of the
first Englishmen to be acquainted with my new mistress. Oh, madame, how
happy shall you be if you are matched with my master—the most gentle
gentleman that liveth, his nature so benign and pleasant that I think no man
hath heard many angry words pass his mouth. As God shall help me, if he
were no King, instead of one of the most puissant Princes of Christendom, I
think, if you saw him, you would say that for his virtues, gentleness,
wisdom, experience, goodliness of person, and all other gifts and qualities,
he were worthy to be made a King. I know Your Grace to be of goodly
parentage, and to have many great Princesses in your family, but if God
send this to a good conclusion, you shall be of all the rest the most happy!"
This fulsome panegyric was too much for Christina's gravity. She listened
for some time, like one that was tickled, then smiled, and almost burst out
laughing, but restrained her merriment with much difficulty, and, quickly
recovering herself, said gravely that she knew His Majesty was a good and
noble Prince. "Yes, madame," replied the Ambassador, with enthusiasm,
"and you shall know this better hereafter. And for my part, I would be
content, if only I may live to see the day of your coronation, to say with
Simeon, "Nunc dimittis servum tuum, Domine." And he dwelt with fervour
on the wish of the English to have her for their Queen, and on the
admiration and love which the fame of her beauty and goodness had excited
in the King. Christina bowed her thanks, saying that she was much bounden
to His Majesty for his good opinion, and then, calling her Grand Master,
bade him escort the Ambassador home.
"Your Majesty," wrote Wriothesley to the King that evening,
"shall easily judge from this of what inclination the women be,
and especially the Duchess, whose honest countenance, with the
few words that she wisely spoke, make me to think there can be
no doubt in her. A blind man should judge no colours, but surely,
Sir, after my poor understanding and the little experience that I
have, she is marvellous wise, very gentle, and as shamefaced as
ever I saw so witty a woman. I think her wisdom is no less than
the Queen's, which, in my poor opinion, is notable for a woman,
and I am deceived if she prove not a good wife. And somewhat

the better I like her for that I have been informed that, of all the
whole stock of them, her mother was of the best opinion in
religion, and showed it so far that both the Emperor and all the
pack of them were sore grieved with her, and seemed in the end
to hold her in contempt. I would hope no less of the daughter, if
she might be so happy as to nestle in England. Very pure, fair of
colour she is not, but a marvellous good brownish face she hath,
with fair red lips and ruddy cheeks. And unless I be deceived in
my judgment, she was never so well painted but her living
visage doth much excel her picture."[228]
Two things, Wriothesley told Cromwell, in a letter which
he wrote to him the next day, were plain: the Queen Feb., 1539]
WORTHY TO BE
would be very loth to let them go with nothing settled, A QUEEN
and the Duchess was well inclined, considering that
nothing had as yet been said to her on the King's behalf. And he suggested
that he might be allowed to show her a portrait of Henry, the sight of which,
he felt sure, would make her die a maid rather than marry anyone else. "The
woman is certainly worthy to be a Queen," he adds, "and in my judgment is
worth more than all the friendship and alliances in the world."[229]
Unfortunately, these letters, which the writer hoped would give the King so
much pleasure, found Henry in a furious temper. In January, 1539, Pope
Paul III. issued the long-delayed Bull of excommunication, and called on
the Emperor and the French King to declare war on the heretic monarch,
and forbid all intercourse between their subjects and the misguided English.
Cardinal Pole, whose kinsmen Henry had beheaded, and whose own life
had been attempted by his emissaries, was sent to Spain to induce Charles
to take up arms against "this abominable tyrant and cruel persecutor of the
Church of God."[230] At the same moment a treaty was signed between
Charles and Francis at Toledo, by which the two monarchs pledged
themselves to conclude no agreements with Henry excepting by mutual
consent.[231]
Henry now became seriously alarmed. He complained bitterly to Castillon
of the way in which he was reviled in France, not only by the vulgar, but by
the Cardinal of Paris and members of the Council. And he sent Cromwell to
Chapuys with an imperative summons to come to Court without delay. The

Imperial Ambassador obeyed, and came to Whitehall on the Feast of the
Three Kings. Henry was on his way to Mass, but he stopped to greet
Chapuys, and complained once more of the Queen of Hungary's
interminable delays and of the scandalous treatment of his Ambassadors.
Chapuys made the best excuses which came into his mind, and assured the
King that Mary was only awaiting the Emperor's instructions as to the Papal
dispensation, and that he would hear from Spain as soon as the Palatine had
reached Toledo. To this Henry vouchsafed no answer, but walked straight
on, to the door of the chapel.
During Mass Cromwell entered into conversation with Chapuys, and told
him that the Pope had thrown off the hypocrite's mask, and was doing his
best to kindle a flame in Italy. Before the Ambassador could reply he
changed the subject, and said he saw clearly that the Emperor intended to
marry his niece to Cleves or Lorraine. Chapuys laughed, and remarked that
the Duchess could hardly be given to both Princes, but added in all
seriousness that his master knew the difference between the King of
England and these suitors. After dinner Henry seemed in a better temper,
but told Chapuys in confidential tones that he was growing old, and that his
subjects pressed him to hasten his marriage, and that these vexatious delays
were all due to the French, who boasted that the Emperor could do nothing
without their consent.
"He seemed in great trouble," reported Chapuys,
"and it is plain, as everyone about him tells me, that Feb., 1539] A
COLD FROST
he is very much in love with the Duchess of Milan.
He told one of his most intimate friends the other day that he
would gladly take her without a penny.... And just now the
French Ambassador asked me if it were true that he had sent her
a diamond worth 16,000 ducats."[232]
At the same time Chapuys heard that Henry was negotiating with the
German Princes, and offering his daughter Mary to the young Duke of
Cleves, in order to prevent him from marrying the Duchess. "He is so much
in love," wrote Castillon, "that for one gracious word from her I believe he
would go to war to recover Denmark."[233]
The same week Henry wrote to Wyatt, complaining bitterly of the treatment
which he had received from his imperial brother, as being wholly unworthy

of a Prince who professed to be his zealous friend. "After so hot a summer
we saw never so cold a winter; after all these professions of love and
friendship, in the end nothing but a cold frost." He ended by declaring he
would no longer be kept "hanging in the balance," and must have an
immediate answer, even if it were a flat denial.[234] At length even Charles
could procrastinate no longer, and on the 15th of February he told Wyatt
that it was impossible for the marriage to take place without the Pope's
dispensation, as the King's dispensation would never satisfy the Duchess
herself, or any of her relations, and might cause endless inconvenience if
children were born of the union. "All the stay," wrote Cromwell to
Wriothesley, "is upon the dispensation, to which they object now, but
whereof they never spake before."[235]
Even before the courier from Spain arrived, Henry's face was so black that
Castillon wrote home begging to be recalled, and declaring that this King
was the most cruel and dangerous man in the world. He was in such a rage
that he had neither reason nor understanding left, and once he found out that
Francis could do nothing for him, Castillon was convinced that his own life
would not be worth a straw. A few days later the Ambassador left London,
and rejoiced to find himself safely back in France.[236]

VII.

While London was full of alarms, Wriothesley and his
colleagues were spending a gay Shrovetide at Brussels, Feb., 1539] A GAY
CARNIVAL
all unconscious of the clouds that were darkening the
horizon. During the last few weeks nobles and courtiers had vied with each
other in paying them attentions. Visitors of the highest rank honoured their
humble lodgings. Madame de Berghen, Aerschot's lively sister—"a dame of
stomach that hath a jolly tongue"—dined with them. The Queen herself was
expected to pay them a visit, and great preparations in the way of plate and
furniture were made for her reception. Count Büren, a very great man in
Holland, was particularly friendly, and impressed Wriothesley so much by
his honesty and loyalty that he gave him the best horse in his stables.
Another day he entertained the Captain of Gravelines, who railed against
the abominations of Rome to his heart's content, and told him it would be
the Pope's fault if the King's marriage were not concluded. Carnival week

brought a round of festivities. On Monday, the 17th of February, the
Ambassadors were invited to meet the Queen at supper at the Duke of
Aerschot's house, and were received at half-past five by the Duchess and
her sister-in-law, Madame de Berghen. The Duchess sent for her young
daughter and her two sons—boys of ten and twelve—and presently they
were joined by Monsieur de Vély, the new French Ambassador. Wriothesley
expressed great pleasure at meeting him, saying that, since their masters
were good friends, they ought not to be strangers, and received a cordial
reply. The rest of the company looked on with some surprise at these
friendly fashions, a rumour being abroad that the French King was about to
attack England and force Henry to submit to the Pope. Then a flourish of
trumpets, sackbuts, and fifes, was heard at the gates, and the guests rose as
the Queen and Duchess entered the hall. At supper the French Ambassador
sat on the Queen's right, and Wriothesley on her left, while Christina was
between him and Vaughan. Madame d'Egmont sat next to Dr. Carne, and
the Prince of Orange was on the Duchess of Aerschot's right hand. Mary
made herself very agreeable to both her neighbours, and when, after supper,
her chapel choir sang roundelays and merry drinking-songs, she asked
Wriothesley if he were fond of music, and invited him to sup with her on
the morrow and hear her minstrels. The Ambassador confessed that he was
very fond of music, and often had some at his poor home to cheer his dull
spirits. "Well, it is an honest pastime," said the Queen, "and maketh good
digestion, for it driveth thoughts away." Here Wriothesley ventured to
remark that he would feel merrier if he had not wasted so much time here,
and asked if there was still no news from Spain. "None," replied the Queen;
and Wriothesley observed that reports reached him from Germany that the
Emperor was merely trying to gain time, and meant to do the Bishop of
Rome's bidding. "Jesus!" exclaimed the Queen, "I dare say the Emperor
never meant such a thing;" upon which Wriothesley hastened to say that he
felt sure the Emperor was too wise and honourable a Prince to deceive the
King, but now that he had made friends with his old enemy, he hoped he
would not make a new enemy of his old friend. After supper the Duke and
several ladies came in, wearing masks and rich costumes, and threw dice
with the Queen and her niece for some fine diamonds, which the Princesses
won. Then the Prince of Orange led out Christina to dance, and the other
youthful guests followed suit, while Wriothesley sat at the Queen's side on
the daïs and watched the princely pair.

The next evening (Shrove Tuesday) Wriothesley and his
colleagues dined at the palace, and this time the English Feb., 1539] AN
Ambassador sat in the post of honour, on the Queen's UNPLEASANT
SURPRISE
right, with the Duchess on his left. Mary was in high
spirits, toasted her guests and drank with each of them in turn. After supper
Wriothesley approached Christina, and ventured to tell her that she would
be happy if her best friends did not put hindrances in her way, and begged
her not to lend ear to malicious reports of his master. The Duchess shook
her head, saying she would listen to no calumnies, and always hold the
King to be a noble Prince. But he felt sure that she was afraid of the Queen,
and told her he hoped to converse more freely with her another time. Never
had he seen her look so beautiful as she did that night; never did he wish
more ardently to see her his master's bride. "For indeed it were pity," he
wrote home, "if she were bestowed on a husband she did not like, only to
serve others."
There was one Prince at table for whom, it was easy to see, Christina had no
dislike. This was René of Orange, who had an opportunity of distinguishing
himself in his lady's eyes that evening. The Queen led the way into the great
hall, where first Aerschot and three other nobles challenged all comers to
fight, and then the Prince of Orange and Floris d'Egmont took their places
at the barriers, and broke lances and received prizes for their valour, while
the Queen's band of lutes, viols, and rebecks, played the finest music that
Wriothesley had ever heard. When the jousting was ended, Mary led her
guests to the royal gallery, where another banquet was served, and there was
much lively discourse, and more talking than eating. So that gay Carnival
came to a close, and with it the last hope of winning the fair Duchess's
hand.[237]
An unpleasant surprise was in store for Wriothesley the next morning.
Certain disquieting rumours having reached Brussels, Vaughan went to
Antwerp on Ash Wednesday, and found great consternation among the
English merchants. A proclamation had been issued forbidding any ships to
leave the port, and several English vessels laden with merchandise had been
detained. The wildest rumours were current on the Exchange. It was
commonly said that the Emperor, with the Kings of France and Scotland,
had declared war on King Henry, and that a large Dutch and Spanish fleet
was about to sail for England. Already in Brussels gallants and pikemen

were taking bets on the issue of the war, and Wriothesley wrote to
Cromwell that he and his colleagues "might peradventure broil on a faggot."
He was unable to obtain an audience until Friday, when the Queen told him
that, by the Emperor's orders, she was recalling Chapuys to conduct the
marriage negotiations. This unexpected intimation, coming as it did after
the startling news from Antwerp, disconcerted him considerably. He sent an
express to London, and received orders to take his departure at once.
Castillon was already on his way to France, but Henry quite refused to let
Chapuys go until Wriothesley and Vaughan had left Brussels. A long
wrangle between the two Courts followed. The Ambassadors were detained
on both sides. The Spanish and Dutch ships in English harbours were
stopped, all ports were closed, and active preparations were made for war
along the shores of the Channel.
"After fair weather," wrote Cromwell to Wriothesley, "there is
succeeded a weather very cloudy. Good words, good
countenance, be turned, we perceive, to a wonderful
strangeness. But let that pass. They can do us no harm but to
their own detriment."[238]
The situation of the Ambassadors was by no means
pleasant. A marked change was visible in the behaviour March, 1539]
STRANGE
of the Court. They were "treated as very strangers" by ENTERTAINMEN
those nobles who had been their best friends. No one T
called at their house or came to dine with them. The
Duchess's servants, who used to go to and fro constantly, now dared not
come except at dusk—"in the owl-flight"—and would not allow
Wriothesley to send them home by torchlight. Wherever they went, the
English heard their King slandered, and met with cold looks and scornful
words. Worse than all, they were forced to pay excise duties—"eighteen
pence on every barrel of beer above the price asked by the brewer"—an
indignity to which no Ambassador before had ever been exposed. "I write in
haste and live in misery," wrote Wriothesley to Cromwell on the 7th of
March.[239]
The Emperor, however, was still friendly. His heart was set on a Crusade
against the Turk, and he had no wish to embark on war with England. Pole
met with a cold reception at Toledo, and, finding Charles averse to
executing the Pope's sentence, retired to his friend Sadoleto's house at

Carpentras. This was a relief to Henry, and he bade Wyatt thank his imperial
brother, but could not forbear pointing out that these friendly words agreed
ill with the doings of his officers in the Low Countries. A despatch
addressed to Wyatt on the 10th of March contains a long recital of the
extraordinary treatment which his Ambassadors at Brussels had met with:
"Since Lent began, as for a penance, their entertainment hath
been marvellous strange—yea, and stranger than we will
rehearse: strangeness in having audience with long delay,
strangeness in answer and fashion. Also they have been
constrained to pay Excise, which no Ambassador of England
paid in any man's remembrance. They have complained to the
Queen, but nevertheless must pay or lack drink.... These
rumours and hints of war, the arrest of our ships, this
strangeness shown to our Ministers, this navy and army in
readiness, the recall of Chapuys, ran abroad this realm and
everywhere. We do not write to you the rumours half so spiteful,
and the entertainment half so strange, as it hath been. I think
never such a thing was heard, and especially after a treaty of
marriage such a banquet!"[240]
Henry concluded this letter by saying that, since the Emperor insisted on the
need of Papal dispensation, there could be no further question of any
marriage between him and the Duchess, and he would be now at liberty to
seek another wife. On the same day he wrote to Carne, who had been
secretly corresponding with the Duke of Cleves, telling him to open
negotiations for a marriage with that Prince's sister, the Lady Anne.[241]
Twelve days after this despatch was sent to Spain Wriothesley left Brussels.
At Calais he met Chapuys, who had just crossed the Channel, and Mary's
almoner, the Dean of Cambray, who was being sent to take the
Ambassador's place, and was awaiting a fair wind to embark for Dover. All
three Ambassadors dined in a friendly manner with Lord Lisle, the Deputy
Governor of Calais, and continued their respective journeys without
hindrance. But the much-discussed marriage treaty was at an end. The long-
drawn comedy had reached its last act. "All hope of the Duchess," wrote
Wriothesley to Cromwell, "is utterly past."

The rupture was loudly lamented by the English
merchants in Antwerp, and keen disappointment was felt Aug., 1539] A
throughout England, where the marriage had always WELSHMAN'SOPINION
been popular. Among many scattered notices of the
feeling which prevailed on the subject, the following incident is of especial
interest, because of the sidelight which it throws on Christina's personal
reluctance to the marriage.
On a summer evening in August, 1539, five months after Wriothesley left
Brussels, a married priest named George Constantyne, of Llan Hawaden in
South Wales, rode from Chepstow to Abergavenny with John Barlow, Dean
of Westbury. The priest had got into trouble in Wolsey's time, for buying
copies of Tyndale's New Testament, and was forced to fly the country and
practise as a physician for several years in the Netherlands. Now he had
returned to England, and was on his way to his old home in Wales. He
walked from Bristol to Westbury, where he supped with Dean Barlow, a
brother of his friend the Bishop of St. Davids, who made him heartily
welcome, and invited him to be his travelling companion the next day to
Pembrokeshire. As the two ecclesiastics rode through the green valleys on
the way to Abergavenny, the Dean asked Constantyne if he could tell him
why the King's marriage had been so long delayed. The priest replied that
he, for his part, was very sorry the King should still be without a wife, when
he might by this time have been the father of fair children. As the Dean
knew, both the Duchess of Milan and she of Cleves were spoken of, and
now the little doctor, Nicholas Wotton, had been sent to Cleves with Mr.
Beard, of the Privy Chamber, and the King's painter; so there was good
hope of a marriage being concluded with the Duke of Cleves, who favoured
God's word, and was a mighty Prince now, holding Guelderland against the
Emperor's will. But why, asked the Dean, was the marriage with the
Duchess of Milan broken off? Constantyne, who was familiar with all the
gossip of the Regent's Court, replied that the Duchess quite refused to marry
the King, unless he would accept the Bishop of Rome's dispensation, and
give pledges that her life would be safe and her honour respected. "Why
pledges?" asked the Dean innocently. "Marry!" returned Constantyne, "she
sayeth that, since the King's Majesty was in so little space rid of three
Queens, she dare not trust his Council, even if she dare trust His Majesty.
For in Flanders the nobles suspect that her great-aunt, Queen Catherine, was
poisoned, that Anne Boleyn was innocent of the crimes for which she was

put to death, and that the third wife, Queen Jane, was lost for lack of
attention in childbed." Such, at least, were the mutterings which he heard at
Court before Whitsuntide. The Dean remarked that he was afraid the affair
of Milan must be dashed, as Dr. Petre, who was to have gone to fetch the
royal bride from Calais, was at the Court of St. James's last Sunday; upon
which Constantyne gave it as his opinion that there could be no amity
between the King and the Emperor, whose god was the Pope.
So the two men talked as they rode over the Welsh hills on the pleasant
summer evening. But the poor priest had good reason to regret that he had
ever taken this ride; for his false friend the Dean reported him as a
Sacramentary to the Lord Privy Seal, and a few days after he reached Llan
Hawaden he was arrested and thrown into the Tower, where he spent
several months in prison as a penalty for his freedom of speech.[242]

FOOTNOTES:
[164] Papiers d'État, 1178, Archives du Royaume, Bruxelles.
[165] Calendar of State Papers, xii. 2, 367.
[166] State Papers, Henry VIII., Record Office, viii. 2.
[167] J. Kaulek, "Correspondance Politique de M. de Castillon," 4, 5; Calendar
of State Papers, xii. 2, 394.
[168] Calendar of State Papers, xii. 2, 392; G. Pimodan, "La Mère des Guises,"
72.
[169] Kaulek, 12, 15; Calendar of State Papers, xiii. 1, 54.
[170] State Papers, Record Office, viii. 5.
[171] Anne Boleyn's cousin Mary Skelton, who had been a great favourite with
the King (see Calendar of State Papers, xiii. 1, 24).
[172] State Papers, Record Office, viii. 7.
[173] Calendar of State Papers, xiii. 1, 42.
[174] Calendar of Spanish State Papers, v. 2, 572.
[175] Calendar of Spanish State Papers, v. 2, 429.
[176] Kaulek, 24; Calendar of State Papers, xiii. 1, 82.
[177] Calendar of State Papers, xiii. 1, 93.
[178] State Papers, Record Office, viii. 16.
[179] Ibid., viii. 30.

[180] British Museum, Additional Manuscripts, 5,498, f. 2; Calendar of State
Papers, xiii. 1, 130.
[181] State Papers, Record Office, viii. 17-19.
[182] Holbein's portrait is described in the Catalogues of the King's pictures at
Westminster in 1542 and 1547 as "No. 12. A greate Table with the picture of the
Duchess of Myllane, being her whole stature." After Henry's death it passed into
the hands of Fitzalan, Earl of Arundel, the King's Lord Chamberlain and godson,
who married Lady Katherine Grey, and acquired the Palace of Nonsuch, with
most of its contents. When he died, in 1580, it became the property, first of his
elder daughter Jane, wife of Lord Lumley, and then of her great-nephew,
Thomas Howard, Earl of Arundel. This great collector took the Duchess of
Milan's portrait with him abroad during the Civil Wars, and after his death, in
1645, it hung, with many other Holbeins, in the house of his widow at
Amsterdam. Lady Arundel left the whole collection to her son, Henry Howard,
who became the sixth Duke of Norfolk, and Holbein's portrait remained in the
family until, in 1909, it was acquired by the National Gallery for the sum of
£72,000. A second portrait of the Duchess of Milan, a half-length, is mentioned
in Henry VIII.'s Catalogues ("No. 138. A Table with a picture of the Duchess of
Myllane"), and was discovered by Sir George Scharf in a waiting-room near the
private chapel at Windsor. This is probably the portrait by Van Orley which
Hutton sent to England before Holbein's arrival at Brussels. The attitude of the
sitter, her dress and features, are the same as in Holbein's picture, but the face is
less finely modelled and lacks charm and expression. The hands are in a slightly
different position, and instead of one big ruby ring she wears three rings—a
cameo and a gold ring on the right hand, and a black ring, the badge of
widowhood, on the third finger of the left hand. This curious and interesting
portrait is plainly the work of an inferior artist, and, as the Ambassador justly
remarked, bears no comparison with Holbein's Duchess—"surely," in the words
of his biographer, "one of the most precious pictures in the world" (Wornum's
"Life of Holbein," p. 322; L. Cust in the Burlington Magazine, August, 1911, p.
278; and Sir G. Scharf in "Archæologia," xl. 205).
[183] Calendar of Spanish State Papers, v. 2, 523.
[184] State Papers, Record Office, viii. 21.
[185] State Papers, Record Office, viii. 30.
[186] Calendar of State Papers, xiii. 1, 263.
[187] Kaulek, 29, 33, 35.
[188] Calendar of Spanish State Papers, v. 2, 524.
[189] Calendar of State Papers, xiii. 1, 258.
[190] Calendar of Spanish State Papers, v. 2, 526, 558.
[191] Kaulek, 48, 50, 53, 58, 70.
[192] Ibid., 58, 73; Pimodan, 73.
[193] Kaulek, 70, 79, 81; Spanish State Papers, vi. 1, 9.
[194] Balcarres Manuscripts, ii. 20.
[195] Ibid., ii. 10.

[196] There has been some confusion as to the date of Holbein's visit to
Joinville, owing to a mistake in the Calendar of State Papers (xiii. 1, 130), where
Cromwell's instructions to Hoby for his journeys to Brussels and France are
entered under the date of February, 1538. But the Duchess of Guise's letter (see
Appendix), as well as the payment of £10 made by Sir Brian Tuke, Treasurer of
the Household, to Hans Holbein on the 30th of December, 1538, "for going to
the parts of High Burgony about certain of the King's business," make it clear
that this journey took place at the end of August (G. Scharf, "Archæologia,"
xxxix. 7). From Lorraine the painter went on to Bâle, where he spent some
months, and returned to England at Christmas. The original documents in the
British Museum (Additional Manuscripts, 5,498, f. 1) bear no date, and are on
separate sheets, and the heading of the instructions regarding the journey to
Brussels was added by a later hand, and is thus worded: "Instructions given by
the L. Cromwell to Philip Hoby, sent over by him to the Duchess of Lorraine,
then Duchess of Milan"—i.e., Christina, Duchess of Lorraine, at that time
Duchess of Milan. But the editor of the Calendars inserted the words "to the"
between "then" and "Duchess of Milan," thus making it appear that Hoby went
first to Lorraine, and then to the Duchess of Milan, whereas the journey to
Brussels took place in March, and that to Lorraine in August. Since this chapter
was written, the subject has been fully dealt with by Mr. A. B. Chamberlain in
the Burlington Magazine, April, 1912.
[197] Calendar of Spanish State Papers, v. 2, 531.
[198] Nott's "Life of Wyatt," ii. 488.
[199] State Papers, Record Office, viii. 33.
[200] State Papers, Record Office, viii. 40.
[201] Calendar of State Papers, xiii. 2, 119.
[202] Calendar of Spanish State Papers, vi. 1, 42.
[203] Kaulek, 77.
[204] Calendar of Spanish State Papers, vi. 15-31.
[205] Calendar of Spanish State Papers, vi. 41.
[206] Calendar of Spanish State Papers, vi. 46.
[207] State Papers, Record Office, viii. 53, 56; Calendar of State Papers, xiii. 2,
214.
[208] State Papers, Record Office, viii. 56-60.
[209] Calendar of State Papers, xiii. 2, 245, 247.
[210] State Papers, Record Office, viii. 67.
[211] State Papers, Record Office, viii. 78; Calendar of State Papers, xiii. 2, 255.
[212] F. Decrue, "Anne de Montmorency," 415, 418, 491.
[213] State Papers, xiii. 2, 238.
[214] Ibid., xiii. 2, 247, 248.
[215] Calendar of State Papers, xiii. 2, 261.

[216] Calendar of State Papers, xiii. 2, 255.
[217] Calendar of State Papers, xiii. 2, 289.
[218] Ibid., xiii. 2, 291, 296.
[219] Calendar of Spanish State Papers, vi. 1, 96.
[220] Lanz, ii. 686.
[221] Papiers d'État, 82, 20, Archives du Royaume, Bruxelles.
[222] Lanz, ii. 296.
[223] State Papers, Record Office, viii. 72.
[224] Calendar of State Papers, xiii. 2, 467, 468.
[225] State Papers, Record Office, viii. 110, 118, 123.
[226] Calendar of State Papers, xiv. 1, 37.
[227] State Papers, Record Office, viii. 139.
[228] State Papers, Record Office, viii. 140-148.
[229] Calendar of State Papers, xiv. 1, 93, 121.
[230] Ibid., xiv. 1, 14; Calendar of Spanish State Papers, vi. 1, 97.
[231] Ibid., xiv. 1, 26.
[232] Calendar of State Papers, xiv. 1, 16-19.
[233] Ibid., xiv. 1, 52; Lanz, ii. 297-306.
[234] Nott, ii. 306.
[235] Calendar of Spanish State Papers, vi. 1, 145.
[236] Kaulek, 84.
[237] Calendar of State Papers, xiv. 1, 125, 126
[238] State Papers, Record Office, viii. 155.
[239] State Papers, Record Office, viii. 166, 175.
[240] Nott, "Life of Wyatt," II. 511.
[241] Calendar of State Papers, xiv. 1, 189, 191.
[242] "Archæologia Cambrensis," xxiii. 139-141.

BOOK VII
CLEVES, ORANGE, AND LORRAINE
1539-1541
I.

The negotiations for the King of England's marriage with the Duchess of
Milan were broken off. But there was no lack of suitors for Christina's hand.
During the winter and spring of 1539 the Emperor's niece received offers of
marriage from three princely bridegrooms. The first of these was Antoine,
Duke of Vendôme, whose courtship of the Duchess on the journey to
Compiègne had aroused King Henry's jealousy. The second was William of
Cleves, who since the old Duke Charles's death had taken possession of
Guelders, and was now seeking to obtain the investiture of the duchy,
together with Christina's hand. The third was Francis, the Marquis of Pont-
à-Mousson, and heir of Lorraine. From the day that this Prince first met the
Duchess at Compiègne, he sought her for his bride with a constancy and
steadfastness that were eventually to be crowned with success. But for the
moment the Duke of Cleves seemed to have the best chance of winning the
coveted prize. From the first Mary of Hungary had regarded this alliance
with favour, and when, in January, 1539, she consulted her Councillors on
the Duchess's marriage, it was this union which met with their highest
approval.
"Duke William," wrote the Queen in her reply to the Emperor,
"has greatly offended Your Majesty, both as a private individual
and sovereign lord, by taking possession of Guelders. Still, as he
renews his suit and professes to be your loyal friend and servant,
it would be well to treat with him and offer him the Duchess's
hand, on condition that he will give up Guelderland."[243]
The alternative proposal, she proceeded to say, deserved consideration,
seeing the great anxiety which the Duke of Lorraine's son showed for the
marriage. No doubt the Emperor's niece, with her large dowry, would be a

very honourable match for him, and well worth the surrender of his rights
on Guelders; but, since it was most desirable to recover this duchy without
delay, it might be well to secure the help of Lorraine by this means.
The situation was a difficult one, and from the moment of the old Duke's
death in June, 1538, Mary had never ceased to entreat Charles to come to
Flanders and take active measures for the recovery of Guelders before it
was too late. Throughout the winter Duke William went from town to town,
endearing himself to his new subjects; and when the deputies of Lorraine
asserted their master's superior claims, he told them that he would never
give up Guelders to any mortal man. By the death of his father on the 6th of
February, 1539, he succeeded to the rich provinces of Cleves and Jülich,
and became the wealthiest and most powerful Prince in North Germany.[244]
Still Charles put off his coming, and told his sister that
he was bent on undertaking a second Crusade against the March, 1539]
Turks, and could not spare the time for a journey to ANNE CLEVES
OF

Flanders. This was too much for Mary's equanimity, and
she protested in the strongest language against the Emperor's folly in
exposing his person to such risks, declaring that this Crusade would not
only prove the utter ruin of the Netherlands, but of all Christendom.[245]
Fortunately, Mary's remonstrances were supported by the Emperor's wisest
Councillors, and, in deference to their representations, he decided to
abandon his Crusade for the present and come to Flanders. This decision
was confirmed by the discontent which the Duke of Cleves's intrigues
helped to foment in Ghent—always a turbulent city—as well as by the news
that the King of England had entered into a close alliance with Cleves, and
was about to marry his sister.
Cromwell, with his habitual duplicity, had been in correspondence with the
German Princes while he professed to be zealous for the Emperor's alliance;
and in March Christopher Mont, his Envoy to Frankfort, was desired to
make diligent inquiries as to the shape, stature, and complexion, of the
Duke of Cleves's sister Anne. If these were satisfactory, he was to suggest
that proposals of marriage should be made by that Prince and his brother-in-
law, the Elector John Frederick of Saxony. Mont sent glowing descriptions
of the lady's beauty, and was bold enough to declare that she excelled the
Duchess of Milan as much as the golden sun excels the silver moon.[246]

Henry was now all on fire to see the Lady Anne, although he had not yet
lost all interest in Christina, whose name still figures constantly in letters
from Brussels. On the 6th of April we hear that the Duchess of Milan is sick
of fever, and ten days later Cromwell writes to the King that Her Grace is
no longer sick, and that "at Antwerp the people still cherish a hope that Your
Highness will yet marry her."[247] If he could not make her his wife, the
King was determined to prevent another suitor from succeeding where he
had failed, and renewed his offer of his daughter Mary with a large dowry
to the Duke of Cleves. William, however, showed no alacrity to avail
himself of this offer, and sent Envoys both to Brussels and Toledo to press
his suit for Christina's hand.
The sudden death of the Empress at Toledo on the 1st of May altered all
Charles's plans. A few weeks before this Isabella had given birth to a son,
who only lived a few hours, and Charles had written to inform his sister of
the infant's death. On the 2nd of May he wrote a few touching lines with his
own hand to tell Mary the grievous news. The doctors had pronounced her
to be out of danger, but catarrh attacked the lungs, and proved fatal in a few
hours.
"I am overwhelmed with sorrow and distress, and nothing can
comfort me but the thought of her good and holy life and the
devout end which she made. I leave you to tell my subjects over
yonder, of this pitiful event, and ask them to pray for her soul. I
will do my best to bow to the will of God, whom I implore to
receive her in His blessed paradise, where I feel certain that she
is. And may God keep you, my dear sister, and grant you all
your desires."[248]
When this sad event took place, Christina's sister
Dorothea and her husband, Count Frederic, were staying May, 1539] THE
PALATINE'S
at the Imperial Court. These adventurous travellers had TRAVELS
come to Spain in the vain hope of inducing the Emperor
to support their claims on Denmark, and, after crossing the Pyrenees in rain
and snow, had at length reached Toledo, where they were hospitably
entertained. The Empress treated Dorothea with great affection, but
Frederic's German servants, who consumed five meals a day and ate meat
on Ash Wednesday, shocked the Spanish courtiers, and drew down the
censures of the Inquisition upon them. Even the Emperor asked his cousin

why he brought so numerous a suite on his travels; but, although he would
make no promises of further help, he good-naturedly paid Frederic's
expenses at Toledo, and gave him a present of 7,000 crowns. The death of
the Empress, Dorothea's best friend, put an end to all hope of further
assistance. The Emperor shut himself up in a Carthusian convent, and the
Palatine and his wife started for the Low Countries.[249] On their way
through France they were royally entertained by the King and Queen in the
splendid Palais des Tournelles, and Francis took so great a fancy to his
wife's niece that Eleanor felt it wise to keep Dorothea continually at her
side. Here they were detained some time by Frederic's illness, and after his
recovery spent several days at Chantilly with the Constable, and at the
King's fine new villa of Cotterets, on their way to the Netherlands.[250]
Here the travellers were eagerly awaited by Christina
and her aunt. After the funeral services for the repose of Sept., 1539] A
MOCK FIGHT
the Empress's soul had been duly celebrated, and the last
requiem sung in S. Gudule, the Queen set out on a progress through
Holland and Friesland, and spent some time at Bois-le-Duc, on the frontiers
of Guelders, trying to arrange matters with the Duke of Cleves. But,
although friendly letters and messages were exchanged, nothing could be
settled until the Emperor's arrival, which was now delayed till the autumn,
and the Court moved to the Hague for August. Here the Queen received
news that the Count Palatine and his wife had reached Dordrecht and were
coming by sea to Holland. Christina at once travelled to Rotterdam,
intending to go by boat to meet the travellers. But the weather was rough
and stormy, and the sailors were reluctant to set out. The Duchess, however,
would hear of no delay, and, embarking in a small boat, bade the sailors put
out to sea. Hardly had they left the shore before a terrific gale sprang up,
and from the deck of their ship the Palatine and his wife saw a barque
tossed on the raging seas, sending up signals of distress. Altering their
course, they hastened to the rescue, and found, to their great surprise, that
the Duchess of Milan was on board. Count Frederic scolded his sister-in-
law soundly for her rashness, but Dorothea was enchanted to see Christina,
and laughed and cried by turn as she embraced her.[251] The Queen awaited
the travellers no less eagerly, in her anxiety to hear the latest news from
Spain, and agreed readily to Frederic's proposal that his wife should remain
at the Hague while he returned to Germany. Early in September the Palatine

took leave of his relatives and went to Antwerp, saying that he must raise
money for his journey to Heidelberg. But he kept his true destination a
secret. During his illness in Paris, Bishop Bonner had brought Frederic a
letter from Cromwell, begging him to come to England, since he was only
divided from this country by a narrow arm of the sea, and His Majesty was
very anxious to see him again. All immediate alarm of war had died away,
and the irascible monarch's anger was allayed by the arrival of a new
French Ambassador in the person of Marillac, and by the permission which
Mary gave him to buy ammunition in the Low Countries. In return, he
ordered an imposing requiem to be held in St. Paul's for the late Empress,
and desired Cromwell and the Dukes of Norfolk and Suffolk, with twenty
Bishops, to attend the service.[252] He resumed his old habit of spending the
summer evenings on the river, enjoying the music of flutes and harps, and
sent to France and Italy for excellent painters and musicians—a sure sign,
Marillac was told, that he was about to marry again. Another fête, at which
the Ambassador declined to be present, was a mock-fight on the Thames
between two galleys, one of which bore the King's arms, while the other
was decorated with an effigy of the Pope with the triple tiara and keys,
attended by the Cardinals. The show ended in the triumph of the English
sailors, who threw the Pope and Cardinals into the river—"the whole
thing," according to Marillac, "being as badly represented as it was poorly
conceived."[253]
Now the King was anxious to hear the Emperor's intention from the
Palatine's own lips, while Frederic on his part was flattered by this powerful
monarch's invitation, and felt that his assistance might prove of use in his
visionary schemes for the recovery of Denmark. But, knowing that of late
relations between Henry and the Queen had been strained, he kept his
counsel, and told no one but his wife that he was bound for Calais.
Here he was courteously entertained by Lord Lisle, an illegitimate son of
Edward IV., and escorted by him to Canterbury and London. Frederic was
lost in admiration at the rows of stately palaces along the Thames, and the
fine Castle of Richmond, but was disappointed, when he visited
Westminster Abbey, not to see the famous antlers of the stag which King
Dagobert caught, and which wore a golden collar inscribed with the words,
"Julius Cæsar let me go free." Afterwards he learnt that these legendary

trophies had lately been removed by the King's orders, for fear the monks,
whom he was about to expel, might conceal them.
In the absence of the King at Ampthill, Cromwell, who had been told to
"grope out the reason of Frederic's coming," entertained the Count
splendidly at his own house, and showed him the Tower of London and the
Temple Church. But the Deputy's wife, Lady Lisle, who looked on
Cromwell with deep distrust, begged her husband to beware of the Lord
Privy Seal's fair words, and was none too well pleased to hear that he had
partaken of the partridge pasty and baked cranes which she had sent from
Calais, together with her own toothpick for the Palsgrave's use, having
noticed that her noble guest "used a quill to pick his teeth with."[254]
Meanwhile the Palatine's visit to England was exciting
much curiosity, and not a little alarm, in some quarters. Sept., 1539] THE
PALATINE AT
The Pope and the French King feared it might lead to a WINDSOR
secret covenant between Henry and Charles, while in
London it was commonly reported that Frederic came to renew negotiations
for his union with the Duchess of Milan, and the Duke of Cleves hastily
sent Ambassadors to conclude his sister's marriage. These Envoys reached
Windsor on the same day as the Count Palatine, whom Henry invited to a
banquet there on the 24th of September. When he bade the Lord High
Admiral escort the Palsgrave to Windsor, Southampton, eager to curry
favour with the King, expressed his opinion that the Cleves alliance was
preferable to a marriage with a French Princess or one of the Emperor's
family, "albeit the Duchess of Milan was a fair woman and well spoken of,"
and told the King of the resentment which his union with the Lady Anne
had aroused at the Court of Brussels. Henry remained plunged in thought
for some moments; then a smile broke over his face, and he exclaimed:
"Have they remembered themselves now? They that would not when they
might, when they would they shall have nay!"[255]
Nothing was lacking, however, to the splendour of the Palatine's reception
at Windsor. The Duke of Suffolk rode out to meet him beyond Eton Bridge
with 100 horsemen clad in velvet, and the banquet was served on golden
dishes in a hall carpeted with cloth of gold, to the strains of delicious music
from the King's famous band. The Cleves Envoys were at table, but after
dinner the King took the Count apart, and conversed with him for over two
hours on his travels. Frederic took this opportunity of begging the King to

help him in driving out the usurper of Denmark, and releasing his unhappy
father-in-law, Christian II.[256] Henry listened kindly, and promised to
consider the matter, but no mention was made of Christina. The next day a
great hunting-party was given in the Palsgrave's honour. A pavilion of green
laurel boughs was set up in a meadow on the banks of the river, and while
the King and his guests were at dinner the merry note of hunting-horns rang
through the air, and a stag bounded across the turf, followed by the hounds
at full cry. Immediately the whole party sprang to horse and joined in the
chase, which lasted for three hours, and ended in the slaughter of thirty-four
stags. From Windsor Frederic went to Hampton Court, and on the 3rd of
October finally took leave of the King, who gave him 2,000 crowns as a
parting gift. Hubert also received a silver cup from the Lord Privy Seal,
who begged him and his lord to return at Christmas, and surprised him by
asking if the Palsgrave had any castle to let or sell, as it might be
convenient for him to secure a retreat abroad. The Minister evidently
realized the precarious nature of his position, and Hubert remembered his
request when he heard of the doom which soon afterwards overtook the
King's favourite.[257]
In his last interview Henry told the Count that he feared
it would be impossible for him to join in any enterprise Oct., 1539] THE
LADY ANNE
against Denmark, as his new allies the German Princes
were in league with the present King. At the same time he informed his
good cousin of his intended marriage to the Lady Anne of Cleves, a
Princess of suitable age and elegant stature, and begged him to obtain a
safe-conduct from the Regent for his bride's passage through the Low
Countries.[258] The next day Frederic crossed the Channel and joined his
wife at Brussels. Here, as Dorothea had already told him, he found the
Queen much displeased at the trick which he had played her, and Hubert
came in for his share of blame. They soon left Brabant for Heidelberg, and
the Palatine sent Lady Lisle—or, as he called her, "Madame ma bonne
mère"—a barrel of fine red and white Rhine wine in remembrance "of her
loving son."[259]

II.

King Henry's marriage to Anne of Cleves, as Southampton told his master,
was exceedingly unpopular in the Netherlands. The alliance of so powerful
a monarch with Duke William was fraught with danger, and the people
bitterly resented the insult which, in their eyes, had been offered to the
Duchess of Milan. The merchants of Antwerp said openly that, if King
Henry chose to break faith with their Princess, he should not enjoy the
company of another wife, and declared they would not allow the Lady Anne
to pass through their city. The Cleves Envoys in England were so much
alarmed by these reports that they travelled back to Düren in disguise, and
advised the bride to take the sea-route from Germany. But Mary of Hungary
was too wise to show her annoyance, and sent a gracious message to Henry,
saying that she would send Count Büren to wait on the Lady Anne, on her
journey through the Emperor's dominions. The King wrote back in high
glee to thank "his dearest sister," and on the 27th of December his new
bride landed safely at Dover.[260] The loyal citizens of Flanders consoled
themselves with the thought that, if their Duchess was not to be Queen of
England, they would keep her among them, and the old rumour was
persistently repeated: "She shall marry the Prince of Orange." All through
the past year René had devoted himself to Christina's service, had worn her
favours and broken lances in her honour. Her Italian servants called him
openly the Duchess's cavaliere sirvente.[261] But it was plain to Italians and
Flemings alike that the affection was not at all on one side, and that this
gallant Prince had won Christina's heart. Old courtiers smiled kindly on the
young couple, and ladies drew aside discreetly to leave them together. They
were eminently fitted for each other by age, race and character. If the
succession to the principality of Orange, which had been lately restored by
the French King, hardly entitled René to a place among the reigning Princes
of Europe, at least he could offer her splendid homes at Brussels and Breda,
and a position which many ladies of royal birth might envy. The Countess
Palatine Dorothea privately encouraged the Prince, and her husband warmly
approved of the match, and said openly that, since his sister-in-law could
not be King Henry's wife, she had better marry the man of her choice, and
not waste the best years of her life, as he himself had done.[262]
Queen Mary was, clearly, not averse to the Prince's suit,
and had a strong liking for René; but reasons of State Sept., 1539] THE
REVOLT OF
prevented her from giving the union her public sanction, GHENT

and all parties were agreed that nothing could be arranged until the
Emperor's arrival. The date of his journey was now definitely fixed, and in
November Mary told the English Ambassador Vaughan that her brother
would be at Brussels by the New Year. Charles at length realized the critical
situation of affairs, and saw that if he wished to keep his provinces de par-
deça he must no longer delay his coming.[263] In September, 1539, the
citizens of Ghent, who had long been discontented, broke into open revolt.
After refusing to pay their share of the subsidy voted by the States, the
leading citizens put to death their chief magistrate, Lieven Pyl, because he
declined to bear their insolent message to the Regent, and proceeded to tear
up the famous "Calf-vel," a parchment deed containing an agreement which
they had made with Charles V. twenty-four years before. Worse than all,
they sent deputies to King Francis, asking him to defend their liberties
against the Emperor. At the first tidings of these disorders Mary hastened to
Malines and took energetic measures to suppress the insurrection, which
had already spread to several of the neighbouring towns.[264] For some
weeks the alarm was great, and watchers were posted on the tower of S.
Rombaut night and day; but the Queen's presence of mind, and the support
of her able lieutenants, Aerschot and De Courrières, who was now Bailiff of
Alost, succeeded in confining the mutiny to the walls of Ghent. A
simultaneous rising at Maestricht was put down by the Prince of Orange,
who raised 300 horse and hastened to restore order in that city. But the
citizens of Ghent still openly defied the Regent, although Francis, to do him
credit, refused to help the rebels. More than this, he addressed a letter with
his own royal hand to Charles, saying that, if the Emperor was coming to
chastise his revolted subjects, he hoped that he would do him the honour of
passing through France, assuring him, on the faith of a Prince, that every
possible honour and hospitality would be shown him.[265]
So critical was the situation, both with regard to Ghent and Guelders, that
Charles decided to accept the offer and take the shortest route to Flanders.
"My good brother the Emperor," wrote Francis to his
Ambassador in England, "is coming to visit me on his way to
the Low Countries, a thing which not only does me the greatest
honour, content, and pleasure, but is a proof of the good and
perfect friendship between us."

He expressed the same feelings in still stronger terms to Wyatt, whom
Cromwell sent to Blois in December to be present at the meeting of the two
monarchs.
"The Emperor," he added, "is doing me the greatest honour that
can be, by coming to visit me, and showing thereby that he
taketh me for an honest man."[266]
On the 23rd of November Charles left Burgos, and four
days later he entered Bayonne, attended by the Dauphin Nov., 1539] A
SPLENDID
and the Constable Montmorency, whom the King had RECEPTION
sent to meet him on the frontier. He had begged Francis
to dispense with ceremonies, as his great object was to reach Flanders as
quickly as possible, and to excuse him from entering on political matters,
since he could not decide anything of importance until he had seen the
Queen-Regent.[267] But, in spite of this request, he was everywhere received
with the utmost pomp and festivity. Triumphal arches were erected at the
city gates, and the prison doors were thrown open at his entrance. Bordeaux
presented him with 300 barrels of wine, Poitiers gave him a golden eagle,
Orleans a dinner-service of richly chased plate. The meeting of the two
monarchs took place at Loches on the 10th of December. Charles, clad in
deep mourning, walked under a canopy of cloth of gold, adorned with the
imperial eagles, across the picturesque court to the gates of the castle,
where King Francis met him, surrounded by a brilliant company. Three
times over he embraced his guest, and led him to the hall, where Eleanor, in
robes of purple satin glittering with pearls, welcomed her brother with
transports of joy. Banquets and hunting-parties now followed each other, as
the Court journeyed by slow stages along the banks of the Loire, from one
fair château to another. At Amboise a heap of tow caught fire as Charles
rode up the famous spiral staircase in the dusk, and he narrowly escaped
being suffocated. But, mercifully, no one was injured, and Francis escorted
his imperial brother by way of Blois and Orleans to Fontainebleau, where
Christmas was spent and the Emperor was allowed to enjoy a week's rest.
On New Year's Day the Emperor entered Paris, where the Parliament and
University received him "as if he were a god from heaven," and the
following motto was inscribed on the gates in golden letters:

"Ouvre, Paris, ouvre tes hautes portes,

Entrer y veut le plus grand des Chrétiens."[268]
Queen Eleanor, who scarcely left her brother's side, took him to see the
Sainte Chapelle which St. Louis had built to receive the Crown of Thorns,
and escorted him to the Louvre, where sumptuous rooms had been prepared
for his reception. On Sunday a grand tournament was held on the Place des
Tournelles, in front of the palace which then occupied the Place des Vosges,
and the Duke of Vendôme and the Count of Aumale opened the joust, while
it was closed by Francis of Lorraine, the Marquis of Pont-à-Mousson.
Charles left Paris on the 7th of January, and was presented by the city with
a silver model of the Column of Hercules, seven feet high, bearing his
motto, Plus oultre.[269] The King took his guest to dine at his new pleasure-
house, the Château de Madrid, accompanied him to St. Denis, where he
visited the Tomb of the Kings, and went on to the Constable's house at
Chantilly. Finally, on the 20th, the Emperor took his leave of the King and
Queen at St. Quentin, and with tears in his eyes thanked his host for this
truly brotherly reception.[270]
In spite of the sinister warnings which Charles had
received before he set out on his journey, in spite of Jan., 1540] THE
CALENDAR OF
Mary of Hungary's fears and of Madame d'Étampes' FOOLS
thinly-veiled hostility, the experiment had proved a
brilliant success. Spanish and French poets celebrated the triumph of Peace
over War, and the return of the golden age. And Charles himself laughed
heartily when the King's jester, Triboulet, told him that he had inscribed His
Imperial Majesty's name on his Calendar of Fools, because he had been so
rash as to venture into his enemy's country, but now that he had reached the
end of his journey without mishap, he should rub out Charles's name, and
write that of Francis in its place.[271]
The French King went home in high delight, and wrote to Marillac saying
that now all his differences with the Emperor would be easily arranged.
During those five weeks the King had respected his guest's wishes and
avoided politics, but the Constable, who enjoyed the Emperor's confidence
in a high degree, had made good use of this opportunity, and flattered
himself that he had been entirely successful. He was above all anxious to
effect a marriage between the widowed Emperor and the King's daughter,
and told Granvelle that Madame Marguerite was a rose among thorns, an

angel among devils, and that, if His Imperial Majesty thought of making a
second marriage, he could not do better. But Charles was firmly resolved
never to take another wife, and, when the Constable pressed the point after
he had left France, wrote that he must beg the King to give up all idea of
such a union, as he did not intend to marry again, and was too old for
Madame Marguerite.[272]
In spite of the splendour and cordiality of his reception,
Charles was sad and tired, and longed more than all else 1539-41] A
COURTLY
to find himself among his kindred and people. It was FAREWELL
with heartfelt relief that he reached Cambray, and found
the Prince of Orange, the Duke of Aerschot, and his faithful De Courrières,
with the Archers' Guard, awaiting him. The next day he went on to
Valenciennes, where his loyal subjects welcomed his return with passionate
joy. Triumphal arches adorned the streets, and the houses were hung with
tapestries. Now it was his turn to act as host, and do honour to the Dauphin
and Duke of Orleans, who, with Vendôme, the Constable, and Aumale, the
Duke of Guise's eldest son, had insisted on escorting him across the frontier.
[273]
The keys of the city were presented to the Dauphin at the Cambray
gate, torches blazed all along the streets, and the bells rang merry peals as
Charles led the way to the ancient hôtel-de-ville, known as La Salle, where
the Queen of Hungary and the Duchess of Milan received him with open
arms. The next two days were given up to mirth and festivity. Charles
showed the French Princes the sights of the town, while the Constable was
invited to dine alone with the Queen and her niece, and sat down to table
between the two royal ladies. A splendid banquet was followed by a ball,
which lasted far on into the morning. All the ladies appeared in magnificent
costumes—French, Italian, Flemish, or Spanish, as they chose—and wore
the richest jewels. The Emperor moved through the vast hall, blithe and
debonair beyond his wont, jesting with his old friends and rejoicing to be
once more in his native land. Mary and Christina, both of whom, remarks
the chronicler, although widows, were still young and beautiful, danced
with the French Princes all the evening, and were in high spirits.[274] There
was much gay talk, and the Pope's Legate, the young Cardinal Farnese,
amused the guests with stories of the latest gossip from the Court of
England, which Queen Eleanor had heard from Marillac. According to him,
the new Queen, Anne of Cleves, was too old and ugly for King Henry's

taste, while her dresses and those of her German "Fraus" were so monstrous
that the King would not allow them to appear at Court, and told his wife to
adopt French fashions.[275]
The next morning the French Princes appeared early to bid the Queen
farewell, and were very gracious in their manner of leave-taking. The
Dauphin received a superb diamond jewel in the shape of a griffin, and a
very fine emerald was bestowed on the Constable. There was some talk of a
marriage between the Duke of Orleans and a daughter of King Ferdinand,
while the King of Navarre and his wife, Margaret of Angoulême, were
eager for a match between their only daughter, Jeanne, and the Prince of
Spain. Vendôme probably realized that he had little chance of winning the
Duchess of Milan, but he shrugged his shoulders and went his way gaily,
saying he would wed the Pope's granddaughter, Vittoria Farnese, the sister
of the boy Cardinal. And they all rode off in high spirits to join the King at
La Fère and show him the Emperor's costly gifts. They met him on his way
back from hunting, riding at the side of the Queen's litter, clad in a scarlet
cloak, which made the English Ambassador remark how much better
Eleanor was treated since her brother's visit. And the whole Court, in
Bishop Bonner's words, "made much demonstration of gladness, thinking
they have God by the foot."[276]

III.

Among all his political anxieties and preoccupations, the Emperor had not
forgotten his niece. Before he left Spain on this perilous journey through his
old enemy's country, he drew up a paper of instructions to be given to his
son Philip in case of his own death. A large part of this advice was devoted
to the choice of a wife for the Prince himself, the heiress of Navarre being
on the whole, in Charles's opinion, the most eligible bride for his son. After
suggesting various alliances for his little daughters, Maria and Juana, the
Emperor proceeded to urge on his successor the importance of finding a
husband for his niece, the Widow of Milan, saying that he counted her as
one of his own children. Three Princes, he said, were all eager to marry her
—the Duke of Cleves, the heir of Lorraine, and the Duke of Vendôme—but
it would be necessary to defer his decision until he had ascertained the best
measures for recovering Denmark and settling the question of Guelders.

"And if God," he added, "should call to Himself the Palatine Frederic, who
is old and broken, one of these Princes might marry his widow."[277]
Christina's marriage, it is easy to see, was closely bound up with the
settlement of Guelders, an object which lay very near to her uncle's heart.
The English Ambassador Wyatt, who had been posting
after the Emperor across France, "through deep and foul Feb., 1540]
GUELDERS
roads," was convinced that Charles in his heart of hearts
cared more for Guelders than he did for all Italy. This earnest desire to
recover Guelders was, he felt sure, the true reason why the Emperor had
undertaken this long journey in the depth of winter, and exposed his person
to such great risks in passing through France. When, contrary to the
Constable's express orders, Wyatt obtained an audience from the Emperor at
Châtelhérault, as he came in from hunting with the Dauphin, and informed
him of His Majesty's marriage and alliance with Cleves, Charles turned
angrily on him, saying:
"What hath Monsieur de Cleves to do with Guelders? I mean to show him
that he has played the young man. I hope the King will give him good
advice, for, I can tell you, Monsieur de Cleves shall give me reason. I say he
shall—he shall! If he does," he continued, laying his hand on his heart, "he
shall find in me a Sovereign, a cousin, and a neighbour. Otherwise he will
lose all three."[278]
When, two months later in Brussels, Wyatt craved another interview of the
Emperor, and begged him in Henry's name to look favourably on his
brother-in-law's petition, Charles said he must desire the King not to
meddle between him and his subjects, repeating the same words, "Je ne
ferai rien," two or three times over. An Envoy from the Duke of Cleves
came to meet him at Brussels, but was told that the Emperor could not
attend to his master's business until the affairs of Ghent were settled. These,
as Wyatt remarked, had already quieted down in a singular manner from the
moment that the Emperor started on his journey, and deputies from the
revolted city had been sent to meet him at Valenciennes. But he refused
sternly to see them, saying that they would learn his pleasure when he came
to Ghent.[279]
It was Charles's intention to overawe the turbulent city by an imposing
display of armed force. On the 14th of February, 1540, he entered Ghent

—"that great, rich, and beautiful city," writes the city
chronicler, "with its broad streets, fair rivers, noble April, 1540] A
churches, houses, and hospitals, the finest in the SEVERE PUNISHMENT
Netherlands"—at the head of a stately procession. The
Queen rode on his right hand, the Duchess of Milan on his left, followed by
the Princess of Macedonia and other ladies in litters, the officers of the
household, and a long train of foreign Ambassadors, Princes, and Knights
of the Golden Fleece. Cardinal Farnese, Don Ferrante Gonzaga, Viceroy of
Sicily, the Prince of Orange, the Dukes of Alva and Aerschot, Count
Egmont, Büren, De Praet, Lalaing, and Granvelle, were all present. In their
rear came the troops—4,000 horse, 1,000 crossbowmen, 5,000
Landsknechten, and a strong body of artillery, numbering in all 60,000
persons and 15,000 horses. Their entry lasted six hours, and it was dusk
before the last guns and baggage defiled through the streets. Charles, with
his sister and niece, alighted at the Prinzenhof, the house where he had been
born just forty years before, and the Archers' Guard took up their station at
the gates.[280] A strong body of infantry was encamped in the neighbouring
market-place, pickets of cavalry occupied the chief squares, and the rest of
the troops were quartered in other parts of the city. But there was not the
least show of resistance on the part of the citizens. Absolute tranquillity
reigned everywhere while the stricken city awaited the Emperor's sentence.
It was, as might be expected, a severe one. Twenty-three of the ringleaders
were arrested, and after a prolonged trial were found guilty. On the 17th of
March, nine of these were put to death in the market-place, while the others
were banished and heavily fined. On the 29th of April the Emperor
convened the chief officers of State and magistrates in the great hall of the
Prinzenhof, and, in the presence of the Queen and her Court, delivered his
sentence on the guilty city. The charters and privileges of Ghent were
annulled, the property of the Corporation was confiscated, and heavy
additional fines were imposed, beside the payment of the 400,000 florins
which had been the cause of the quarrel. In their consternation, the burghers
turned to Mary and implored her to intercede on their behalf; but she could
only advise them to throw themselves on the Emperor's mercy. On the 3rd
of May a memorable and historic scene took place in the court of the
Prinzenhof. Here the Emperor, seated on a tribunal, with his crown on his
head and sceptre in his hand, and surrounded by the Archers' Guard,
received the senators and chief burghers, as, robed in black, with bare heads

and feet, and halters round their necks, they knelt in the dust at his feet. The
sentence of condemnation was read aloud in the presence of a brilliant
assembly of nobles and courtiers, and of a vast crowd who looked on from
the windows and roofs of the neighbouring houses. Then Mary, who
occupied a chair at her brother's side, rose, and, turning to the Emperor, in
eloquent words implored him to have pity on his poor city of Ghent, and to
remember that he had been born there. The Emperor gave a gracious
answer, saying that out of brotherly love for her and pity for his poor
subjects he would pardon the citizens and restore their property. But he
decided to build a citadel to keep the city in subjection, and, after taking his
brother Ferdinand to the top of the belfry tower to choose a site, he
eventually fixed on the high ground above the River Scheldt, where St.
Bavon's Abbey stood. The demolition of the ancient monastery was at once
begun, and before the Emperor left Ghent the first stone of the new fortress
was laid.[281]
While these tragic events were taking place, a succession of illustrious
guests arrived at Court. First of all, at the end of February, came Ferdinand,
King of the Romans, a simple and honest Prince, the best of husbands and
fathers, and as fondly attached to his sister Mary as she was to him. At the
same time the Palatine Frederic sent his wife to join the family party and
plead her unfortunate father's cause with the all-powerful Emperor.
Although his journey to England had failed to secure Henry's support, he
still cherished designs against Denmark, and was anxious to prevent a
renewal of the truce between the Low Countries and King Christian III.
After consulting Archbishop Carondelet, the President of the Council, and
Granvelle, the two sisters, Dorothea and Christina, drew up a petition to the
Emperor, imploring him to have pity on the poor prisoner, who had already
languished seven years in solitary confinement, and reminding him gently
of the pledges given to the Palatine at his marriage.
"My sister and I,"—so ran the words of Dorothea's
prayer—"your humble and loving children, entreat April, 1540]
WILLIAM OF
you, as the fountain of all justice, to have CLEVES
compassion on us. Open the prison doors, which you
alone are able to do, release my father, and give me advice as to
how I may best obtain the kingdom which belongs to me by the
laws of God and man."[282]

But although the sisters' touching appeal on behalf of their captive father
moved many hearts, and both Henry VIII. and James V. of Scotland wrote
to assure the Palatine of their sympathy, no one was inclined to embark on
so desperate an enterprise, and Dorothea went back to her lord at
Heidelberg without having obtained any satisfaction. On the 14th of April a
truce was concluded with the Danish Envoys, who had followed the
Emperor to Ghent, and the illusory hopes of the three crowns which had
been so long dangled before the Palatine's eyes melted into thin air.[283]
There was still one important question awaiting settlement. William of
Cleves had sent three successive Ambassadors to congratulate Charles on
his return and to seek the investiture of Guelders at his hand. Now, at King
Ferdinand's instance, he arrived at Ghent one day in person, to the surprise
of the whole Court.
"The Duke of Cleves," wrote an eyewitness of his entry, "has
come to Ghent with a fine suite, to claim Guelders and marry
the Duchess of Milan. This is not to be wondered at, for she is a
young and very beautiful widow as well as a Princess of the
noblest birth. He who wins her for his bride will be a fortunate
man."[284]
The English Ambassador at Düren, Nicholas Wotton, had done his utmost
to prevent the Duke from accepting Ferdinand's invitation; and Wyatt was
charged by Cromwell to neglect no means of preventing an alliance which
would defeat all his schemes. The wily Ambassador laid his snares cleverly.
When the Cleves Ambassador, Olisleger, told him that the Duke was about
to wed the Duchess, he whispered that his master had better be careful and
take counsel of King Henry before he took any further pledges.
"I told him," wrote Wyatt to King Henry, "to advise his master,
in case of marriage, to use his friend's counsel, and herein, if I
shall be plain with Your Majesty, I cannot but rejoice in a
manner of the escape that you made there; for although I
suppose nothing but honour in the Lady, yet methinketh Your
Highness's mate should be without mote or suspicion; and yet
there is thought affection between the Prince of Orange and her,
and hath been of long; which, for her bringing-up in Italy, may
be noted but service which she cannot let, but I have heard it to

proceed partly from her own occasion. Of this Your Majesty will
judge, and do with your friend as ye shall think meet."[285]
René's courtship of the Duchess was no secret, and Christina's preference
for the popular Prince was plain to everyone at the Imperial Court; but the
unworthy insinuations by which the Ambassador strove to blacken her
character were altogether his invention.
Since this was the surest way to win both Henry's and
Cromwell's favour, Wyatt made unscrupulous use of April, 1540] THE
DUKE'S SUIT
these slanders to poison William of Cleves's mind
against the Duchess whose hand he sought. On the 13th of April the Duke
arrived at Ghent, and was met by the Prince of Orange, who brought him to
King Ferdinand's rooms. Late the same evening the English Ambassador
had a secret interview with him, and did his utmost to dissuade him from
entering into any treaty with the Emperor. The Duke's irresolution was now
greater than ever. The next day Ferdinand himself conducted him into the
Emperor's presence, where he received the most friendly greeting, and was
invited to join the imperial family at dinner. The gracious welcome which
he received from Mary, and the sight of Christina, went far to remove his
doubts, and during the next few days the harmony that prevailed among the
Princes excited Wyatt's worst misgivings. The Venetian Ambassador,
Francesco Contarini, met the Countess Palatine returning from Ghent, and
heard from her servants that a marriage was arranged between her sister and
the Duke of Cleves. Monsieur de Vély, the French Envoy, sent this report to
Paris, and it was confidently asserted at the French and English Courts that
Cleves had settled his quarrel with the Emperor, and was to wed the
Duchess.[286]
But these reports were premature. The Duke told Wotton
and Wyatt that nothing would induce him to give up May, 1540] AN
ABRUPT
Guelders, and at their suggestion he placed a statement DEPARTURE
of his claims in the hands of Ferdinand, who promised to
submit the document to the Emperor. During the next fortnight the question
was discussed in all its bearings by Charles and his Councillors. The Duke
pressed his suit for the Duchess's hand, and the Emperor went so far as to
offer him the reversion of Denmark if he would renounce Guelders. But
William was as obstinate as the Emperor, and, when Ferdinand induced
Charles to offer Cleves his niece and the duchy of Guelders for his lifetime,

he quite refused to accept this proposal. All Ferdinand could persuade him
to do, was to consent that the question of Guelders should be referred to the
Imperial Chamber, a compromise which satisfied neither party. Still friendly
relations were maintained outwardly. On Sunday, the 27th of April, the
imperial family attended Mass in state, the Emperor riding to the Church of
St. John with the King of the Romans and the boy Legate, Cardinal Farnese,
on his left, followed by the Dukes of Brunswick, Cleves, Savoy, and the
Marquis of Brandenburg. In the afternoon Ferdinand sent for the Duke
again, and made one more attempt to arrange matters, without success.
Some insolent words spoken by Cleves's servants aroused the Emperor's
anger, upon which the Duke became alarmed, and sent Wotton word that,
seeing no hope of agreement, he intended to return home. Early the next
morning, without taking leave of anyone, he rode out of the town secretly,
and never halted until he was safe in his own dominions. His royal brother-
in-law, King Henry, sent him a long letter, congratulating him on his safe
return, and advising him solemnly not to marry the Duchess of Milan
without finding out the true state of her affections towards the Prince of
Orange, lest he should be deceived. Wotton told the King, in reply, that the
Duke's affection for Christina was now cooled, partly because she had
refused him, and partly because of the information which Henry had given
him. All idea of the marriage was certainly abandoned, and on the 22nd of
June Cleves himself wrote to tell Henry that he had received friendly
overtures from the French King, and was sending Ambassadors to make
proposals for his niece, the Princess of Navarre.[287]
Meanwhile the Duke's strange conduct had excited much surprise at Ghent.
The Emperor, who had spent the anniversary of his wife's death in
retirement at a Carthusian convent in the neighbourhood, returned to find
Cleves gone. Henry of Brunswick rode with his friend to the outskirts of the
town, and hurried back to be present at the imperial table, where he tried to
explain the Duke's abrupt departure by saying that he was afraid of
treachery. But Ferdinand and Mary were both seriously annoyed, and the
only member of the family to rejoice was Christina, who felt that she could
once more breathe freely.
The pacification of Ghent was now complete, and the bulk of the forces
were disbanded. On Ascension Day—the 6th of May—the imperial family
attended Mass at St. John's, the Queen "walking lovingly up the church,

hand in hand with the King of the Romans." The Ambassadors were all
present, as well as Cardinal Farnese—in Wotton's opinion "a very calf, and
a greater boy in manners and condition than in years."
On the 12th the King of the Romans took leave of his family, but the
Council at which he assisted lasted so late in the evening that he did not
actually set out on his journey till two o'clock on the following day. About
six in the cool hours of the May morning, the Emperor, with his sister and
niece, rode out to see the foundations of the new citadel laid, and then
continued their journey towards Antwerp, where "great gun-shot" and
bonfires welcomed their arrival.[288]

IV.

The Court spent the next three weeks at Bruges, the
beautiful old city which was always a favourite with July, 1540]
CROMWELL'S
Charles and his sisters, in the ancient Prinzenhof where FALL
their mother had died. During these summer days many
important events took place, and startling news came from England. On the
10th of June Cromwell was suddenly arrested and sent to the Tower on a
charge of high-treason. A fortnight later the new Queen, Anne of Cleves,
left Whitehall for Richmond, and on the 9th of July her marriage was
pronounced null and void by a decree of Convocation. The ostensible
reason for the divorce was a precontract between Anne and Francis of
Lorraine. It was true that as children they had been affianced by their
respective parents, but, as was common in such cases, all idea of the
marriage had been afterwards abandoned, and Henry had professed himself
entirely satisfied with the explanations given by Anne's relatives on the
subject. But from the first moment that he met his bride at Rochester, on
New Year's Day, 1540, he was profoundly disappointed. When Cromwell
asked him how he liked her, he replied, "Nothing so well as she was spoken
of," adding that, had he known as much of her before as he did now, she
should never have set foot in his realm. However, he felt constrained to
marry her, for fear of "making a ruffle in the world," and driving her brother
into the Emperor's arms. At Whitsuntide he told Cromwell that from the day
of his marriage he had become weary of life, and took a solemn oath that
before God Anne had never been his lawful wife.

From that moment Cromwell knew that his own fate was sealed. "The King
loves not the Queen," he said to Wriothesley. "What a triumph for the
Emperor and the Pope!" A week afterwards he was committed to the Tower,
and on the 28th of July he was beheaded.[289]
The news of his fall was received with general satisfaction abroad. King
Francis gave vent to boisterous joy, and sent his brother word how sincerely
he rejoiced to hear that this false and wicked traitor, who had brought the
noblest heads in England to the block, was at length unmasked. The
Emperor, on the contrary, showed no surprise or emotion when he heard the
news from Archdeacon Pate, the new Envoy who had succeeded Wyatt, but
merely said: "What! is he in the Tower of London, and by the King's
counsel?" And when, on the 6th of July, Pate informed him that the King
had repudiated his wife, he cast his eye steadfastly on the speaker, and
asked what scruples His Majesty entertained regarding his marriage with
the daughter of Cleves. The Ambassador explained, as best he could, what
he took to be the motives of the King's action, upon which the Emperor said
that he was convinced Cromwell was the true cause of all the terrible crimes
which had of late years been committed against religion and order in
England. So friendly was the Emperor that Pate wrote to the Duke of
Norfolk: "If His Majesty hath thereby lost the hearts of the Electors, he hath
in their places gained those of the Emperor and the French King."[290]
Both at Bruges and Antwerp the news aroused much
excitement among the merchants, who were unanimous June, 1540] RENÉ
OF ORANGE
in the opinion that the King now intended to take the
Duchess of Milan "for the true heart which she bore him." But nothing was
further from Christina's mind. She had rejoiced at the failure of the King's
suit, and saw the Duke of Cleves leave Ghent without regret. Now all
seemed ripe for the fulfilment of her long-cherished hopes. The Prince of
Orange had been unremitting in his attendance on the Emperor since his
arrival, and, as all men knew, was honoured by His Majesty's confidence
and affection. His popularity with the army was unbounded, and it was a
common saying that wherever the Prince's little pony went, every
Dutchman would follow. The Queen looked kindly on his suit, and
Christina's heart was already his own. But when, in these bright June days
at Bruges, he modestly laid his suit before the Emperor, an unexpected
difficulty arose. Three years before a marriage with the Duke of Lorraine's

only daughter had been proposed for the young Prince of Orange by his
uncle, William of Nassau-Dillenburg, the head of the German branch of the
house. The idea met with Henry of Nassau's cordial approval, and at his
request the Emperor sent his servant Montbardon to obtain Duke Antoine's
consent. This was granted without any difficulty, and the contract was
drawn up before the Count of Nassau's death.[291] Now the Duke urged the
Prince to keep this long-standing engagement and marry his daughter Anne
—the plain but excellent lady whose portrait Holbein had taken for King
Henry. The Prince had never seen his destined bride, and was very reluctant
to carry out the contract, but the Emperor was resolute. Antoine already had
a serious grievance in the matter of Guelders, and it was of the highest
importance to secure his alliance. Accordingly, Charles told René that he
must prove himself a loyal knight, and with his own hand drew up the
articles of the marriage treaty, and sent them to Nancy by the Archdeacon of
Arras. Christina's name is never mentioned in the whole transaction. It was
the old story of the Count Palatine and the Archduchess Eleanor. She was a
daughter of the House of Habsburg, and knew that the Emperor's will must
be obeyed. So she could only bow her head in silence and submit to his
decrees. If she wept bitter tears, it was in secret, in her quiet chamber in the
ancient Cour des Princes at Bruges, looking down on the green waters of
the canal.[292]
There was great rejoicing throughout Lorraine when the Emperor's
messenger reached Nancy and the marriage was proclaimed. Anne was very
popular throughout the duchy, and since her mother's death, a year before,
had taken a prominent place at the ducal Court, where her tact and kindness
made her universally beloved. The wedding took place in the last week of
August at Bar.[293] All the members of the ducal house were present,
including the Duke and Duchess of Guise, with their sons and daughters,
and the Cardinal of Lorraine, who came from the French Court to
pronounce the nuptial blessing.
The Prince of Orange's martial appearance and his splendid suite made a
favourable impression on his new relatives, as Antoinette de Bourbon wrote
to her daughter in Scotland:
"I have delayed longer than I intended before writing to you, but
we have been so well amused by the wedding of Mademoiselle

de Lorraine that until this moment I have not had leisure to
begin this letter. Yesterday we left the assembled company.
There was a very large gathering, and the wedding took place
last Tuesday. Monsieur le Prince arrived honourably attended,
and is, I can assure you, a very charming and handsome Prince.
He is much pleased with his bride, and she is devoted to him.
They are to go home in a fortnight. The fête was at Bar, but
there were very few strangers present—only a few nobles and
ladies of the neighbourhood."[294]
On the 27th of September the Prince of Orange brought his bride to
Brussels, where the States were assembled. The whole Court rode out to
welcome the happy pair, and escorted them to the Nassau palace, where the
Prince changed his travelling dress for a Court mantle, and hastened to pay
his respects to the Emperor. A succession of fêtes was given in their honour,
and dances, masques, and banquets, were the order of the day. The Princess
charmed everyone by her gracious manners, and her fine figure and
splendid clothes and jewels became the object of general admiration.
On the 2nd of October a grand tournament was given in
the Prince's house, which the Emperor, Queen Mary, and Oct., 1540] ANNE
OF LORRAINE
Christina, honoured with their presence. René himself
challenged all comers at the barriers, and his wife was the most charming
hostess. Before Charles left, he presented Anne with a costly ring, and
appointed the Prince to succeed Antoine de Lalaing as Stadtholder of
Holland and Friesland. Three days afterwards the newly-married pair left
Court for their own home at Breda, and the Emperor set out on a progress
through Artois and Hainault, leaving his sister and niece at Brussels.
René's wife soon became a great favourite with the Queen, and Christina
danced as gaily as the rest at the wedding fêtes. But it is significant that the
only mention made of her in contemporary records is in the despatches of
the English Ambassador, Richard Pate, who tells us that the Duchess of
Milan spent much of her time in the company of her brother-in-law, the
Palatine.[295] Frederic had come to Brussels to confer with the Emperor on
German affairs, and, if possible, to raise a loan of 600,000 ducats for his
intended campaign against Denmark. But although Charles professed
himself ready and anxious to oblige his good cousin, the Regent would give
him no answer, and ended by telling him to get the money from the

Imperial Treasury. Richard Pate held long and confidential conversations
with the Palatine, who recalled his visit to Windsor with delight, and spoke
with warm admiration of the beauty of the singing in St. George's Chapel.
He was curious to know if his old friend the King had grown as fat as he
was represented in recent portraits, and rejoiced to hear that His Majesty
was lusty and merry. As for the Duchess of Milan, he could only feel sorry
that so charming a lady should still lack a husband, and frankly regretted
that she had not married King Henry, or, failing him, the Prince of Orange.
[296]
After his return to Germany, Frederic made another attempt to bring
about his sister-in-law's marriage to the Duke of Cleves, who still hesitated
between his old love for Christina and his reluctance to give up Guelders.
But negotiations were already in progress with another suitor, who had
bided his time patiently, and who was now at length to obtain his reward.
The Prince of Orange's union with Anne of Lorraine had
strengthened the ties that bound her father to the 1539-41] LOUISE
DE GUISE
Emperor, and a second marriage, which took place this
autumn, united the two houses still more closely. Among the young nobles
who accompanied René to Bar for his wedding was Charles, Prince of
Chimay, the eldest son of the Duke of Aerschot, the wealthy and powerful
Governor of Brabant, who was foremost among the Regent's confidential
advisers, and whom she affectionately called by the pet name of
"Moriceau." On the death of his mother in 1539, the young Prince had
succeeded to her vast estates, and lived at the fine castle of Beaumont, near
the French frontier. At Bar he saw and fell in love with Louise de Guise, the
lovely girl whom Henry VIII. would gladly have made his wife. But there
were difficulties in the young suitor's way. His own family began by
opposing the marriage, and it was some time before Charles's consent could
be obtained. The Duke of Guise had long been the Emperor's most bitter
enemy, and was known to have strongly opposed his journey through
France. Fortunately, Duchess Antoinette was from the first on the lovers'
side, and succeeded in gaining her husband's consent. For some time past
King Francis had been trying to arrange a marriage between her eldest son,
the Count of Aumale, and the Pope's granddaughter, "Vyquetorya Farnese,"
as Louise calls her in one of her letters. But the Pope haggled over the
dowry, and insisted on asking the Emperor's consent; so that Antoinette had
a troublesome task in her lord's absence, and complained sorely to the
Queen of Scotland of these vexatious delays.

"By way of consolation, however," she writes on the 30th of
November, "we have an offer for your sister. Monsieur le Duc
d'Aerschot has sent to ask for her, on behalf of his eldest son, the
Prince of Chimay, a youth about twenty, handsome and well
brought up, we hear. He will give him a portion of 50,000
crowns a year, and he will have some fine estates, such as the
duchy of Aerschot, the principality of Chimay, the counties of
Beaumont and Porcien, most of them near Guise. I have told
your father, who is at Court, and he approves, and has spoken to
the King and to our brothers, who all advise us to accept the
proposal. So do my brother-in-law [the Duke of Lorraine] and
my mother [Madame de Vendôme]. It has been arranged that we
should all meet at Bar on the Conception of Our Lady, as my
lord the Duke wishes the matter to be settled at his house. I hope
your father will be there, but if not he will give me the necessary
powers. If things can be arranged, she will be well married, for
the Prince has great possessions and beautiful houses, and plate
and furniture in abundance. But it is a great anxiety to be
treating of two marriages at once."[297]
Happily for the good Duchess, the young Prince had his way, and the
contract between him and Louise was duly signed at Bar on the 22nd of
December. On the same day the Emperor, accompanied by the Regent and
Duchess of Milan, paid a visit to the Duke of Aerschot at Beaumont, and
offered him their warmest congratulations on his son's marriage.[298] The
wedding took place at Joinville in the following March, by which time
Christina's own marriage to Louise's cousin was arranged, and all Lorraine
rang with the sound of wedding-bells.

V.

The vaunted alliance between Charles and Francis did
not last long, and less than a year after the Emperor and Jan., 1541]
CHRISTINA'S
King had parted at St. Quentin, vowing eternal BETROTHAL
friendship, a renewal of war seemed already imminent.
Francis was bitterly disappointed to find that none of the great results which
he expected from Charles's visit had come to pass. The Emperor firmly

declined to marry his daughter, and gave no signs of surrendering Milan to
the Duke of Orleans. All he would offer was the reversion of the Low
Countries as his daughter's portion if she married Orleans. This failed to
satisfy Francis, who declared that he would have Milan and nothing else. In
order to prevent his niece, Jeanne of Navarre, marrying the Prince of Spain,
the King offered her to the Duke of Cleves, who signed a treaty with France
this summer, but was not actually affianced to the little Princess until the
Duchess of Milan was finally betrothed to Francis of Lorraine. Upon
hearing of the alliance between France and Cleves, Charles retaliated by
solemnly investing his son Philip with the duchy of Milan. This ceremony
took place at Brussels on the 11th of October, and was regarded by Francis
as an open act of defiance. He vented his anger on the Constable, who
asked leave to retire; while Madame d'Étampes did her best to obtain her
rival's disgrace and induce the King to declare war against the Emperor. But
Francis was loth to let his old servant go, and said to Montmorency, with
tears in his eyes: "How can you ask me to let you leave me? I have only one
fault to find with you, that you do not love what I love."[299] The Constable
consented to remain, and for the moment the crisis was delayed.
After visiting the forts along the frontier and leaving garrisons in every
town, the Emperor came to Namur for Christmas, and prepared for his final
departure. Forty chariots were needed for his own use, and all the horses
and carts in the neighbouring provinces were requisitioned to provide for
the conveyance of his immense suite. On Innocents' Day the Court moved
to Luxembourg, and all the gentlemen of the countryside rode out to meet
the Emperor. With him came the Queen and the Duchess of Milan, and on
the same evening they were joined by the Duke of Lorraine and his son
Francis, the Marquis of Pont-à-Mousson. On the Feast of the Three Kings
the imperial party attended Mass in the cathedral, and the Emperor, after his
usual custom, presented golden cups to three abbeys in the town. And on
the same day the marriage of the Marquis to the Duchess of Milan was
finally concluded, to the great delight of the old Duke, who was as much
pleased as the bridegroom. Two days afterwards Charles took an
affectionate farewell of his sister and niece, and went on to Regensburg,
leaving them to return to Brussels, while the Duke of Lorraine hastened to
Nancy to summon the States and inform his loyal subjects of his son's
marriage.[300]

On the 1st of March the contract drawn up by the Imperial Ministers,
Granvelle and De Praet, was signed by the Duke of Lorraine at Bar, and on
the 20th by the Emperor. The ducal manors of Blamont and Denœuvre were
settled upon the Duchess, and, in order that she might not lose any rank by
her marriage, the Marquis received the title of Duke of Bar.[301] On the 12th
of March the Queen and Duchess both went to the Castle of Beaumont in
Hainault, to be present at the splendid reception which the Duke of
Aerschot gave his daughter-in-law. The Duchess of Guise herself
accompanied the beloved Louise to her future home, and wrote the
following account of the festivities to Queen Mary of Scotland from her
husband's château at Guise:
"Madame,
"I have been so confidently assured that the
safest way for letters is to send them by March, 1541]
WEDDING-
Antwerp merchants that I am sending mine by BELLS
this means, and your sister will be my
postmistress in future. I wrote to tell you of the conclusion of
her marriage, and sent the articles of the treaty and the account
of her wedding by your messenger. I have just taken her to her
new home, a fine and noble house, as well furnished as possible,
called Beaumont. Her father-in-law, the Duke, received her very
honourably, attended by as large and illustrious a company as
you could wish to see. Among others, the Queen of Hungary
was present, and the Duchess of Milan, and both the Prince and
Princess of Orange, who, by the way, is said to be with child,
although this is not quite certain as yet, and I confess I have my
doubts on the subject. I think your sister is very well married.
She has received beautiful presents, and her husband has made
her a very rich wedding-gift. He is young, but full of good-will
and excellent intentions. It did not seem at all like Lent, for the
sound of trumpets and the clash of arms never ceased, and there
was some fine jousting. At the end we had to part—not without
tears. I am now back at Guise, but only for one night, and go on
to-morrow to La Fère. My brother the Cardinal, and my brother
and sister of St. Pol, will be there on Wednesday. For love of
them I will stay at La Fère over Thursday, and set out again on

Friday, to reach Joinville as soon as may be, in the hope of
finding your father still there, as well as our children—that is to
say, the little ones and the priests."[302]
Ten days later Louise herself wrote a long and happy letter to her sister
from Beaumont, full of the delights of her new home and of the kindness
with which she had been received by her husband's family.
"Madame,
"Since God gave me this great blessing of a good husband, I
have never found time to write to you. But I can assure you that
I count myself indeed fortunate to be in this house, for, besides
all the grandeur of the place, I have a lord and father-in-law
whom I may well call good. It would take three sheets of paper
if I were to tell you all the kindness with which he treats me.
You may therefore be quite satisfied of your sister's happiness,
and she is further commanded to offer you the very humble
service of the masters and lords of this house, who beg that you
will employ them on any occasion that may arise, since they will
always be very glad to obey your wishes. We also have a very
wise and virtuous Queen, who has done me the greatest honour
by coming here to our house, expressly, as she condescended to
say, to receive me. She told me herself that she meant to take me
for her very humble daughter and servant, and that in future she
hoped I should be often in her company, which, considering how
little she has seen of me, was exceedingly kind. The Duchess of
Milan said the same, and was the best and kindest of all. We
may soon hope to see her in Lorraine, for her marriage to the
Marquis is in very good train. Since my mother went home, she
has sent a letter asking me to find out if this route to Scotland
will be shorter than the other. If this is the case, and you like to
send me your letters for her, I shall be delighted. Only, Madame,
you must be sure to address your packets to the Duke of
Aerschot, which will be easy for you, as then the merchants who
come from Scotland will leave them at Antwerp or Bruges, or
any other town, and they will not fail to reach me, since my
father-in-law is greatly loved and honoured throughout the

Netherlands. And I pray that God will give you a long and
happy life.
"Your very humble and obedient
sister,
"Louise of
Lorraine.
"From Beaumont, the 25th day of March."[303]
The keenest interest in these marriages was shown at the Court of Scotland.
King James wrote cordial letters from Edinburgh to his sister-in-law and to
the Duke of Aerschot, and congratulated the Princess of Orange on her
happy expectations, begging her to write to him and his wife more
frequently.[304] Anne had always been on affectionate terms with her aunt
and cousins at Joinville, and the presence of Louise at Brussels this summer
was another bond between them.
Meanwhile King Francis was greatly annoyed to hear of
the Duchess of Milan's marriage. He complained bitterly April, 1541] AN
UNWILLING
to the Duke of Guise and the Cardinal of their brother's BRIDE
desertion, and vowed that Antoine and his son should
feel the full weight of his displeasure. He was as good as his word, and,
when the Prince assumed the title of Duke of Bar, disputed his rights to this
duchy on the ground that it was a fief of the Crown. In order to satisfy these
new claims, the Duke was compelled to sign an agreement on the 22nd of
April, by which he and his son consented to do homage to the King for the
duchy of Bar, and to grant free passage of French troops through this
province.[305]
At the same time Francis invited the Duke of Cleves to come to Blois, as he
wished his marriage to the Princess of Navarre to be celebrated without
delay. On the 11th of April the States assembled at Düsseldorf were amazed
to hear from Chancellor Olisleger that their Duke, being unable to obtain
the Duchess of Milan's hand without the surrender of Guelders, was about
to contract another marriage with the Princess of Navarre, and had actually
started on his wedding journey.[306] The King and Queen of Navarre had
always been averse to their daughter's union with the Duke of Cleves, but
Margaret's resistance was overcome by the royal brother whom she adored,

and her husband gave a reluctant consent to the marriage; but the little
Princess Jeanne, a delicate child of twelve, refused in the most determined
manner to marry this foreign Prince. In vain she was scolded and whipped,
and threatened by her uncle the King with worse punishments. For many
weeks the child persisted in her refusal, and, when compelled to yield,
signed a protest on the eve of her marriage, which with the secret
connivance of her parents was duly witnessed and preserved. On the 14th of
June, 1540, the strange wedding was finally solemnized at Châtelhérault, on
the Garonne. A series of Arcadian fêtes in beautiful summer weather were
given by King Francis, who never lost an opportunity for indulging his love
of romance. Arbours and colonnades of verdure were reared on the river-
banks. King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table were seen riding
forth in quest of adventure; high-born ladies, clad as nymphs and dryads,
danced on the greensward by torchlight.[307] The bridegroom gave his bride
magnificent jewels, although Jeanne was never seen in public, and did not
even appear at the ball on the night before the wedding. Finally, when all
were assembled in the royal chapel, and the King came to lead his niece to
the altar, the little Princess, weighed down by her costly jewels and gold
and silver brocades, was unable to walk. "Take her by the neck!" cried the
impatient monarch to Montmorency, and the Constable of France, not
venturing to disobey the royal command, lifted up the frightened child in
his arms and bore her to the altar before the eyes of the whole Court. As he
did so he was heard to mutter, "C'en est fini, de ma faveur, adieu lui dis!"
and, surely enough, the day after the wedding he received his dismissal, and
left Court, never to return during the lifetime of Francis.[308]
The Duke had agreed, in order to satisfy the King and
Queen of Navarre, that the marriage should be merely July, 1541]
CHRISTINA'S
formal, and consented to leave his unwilling bride with WEDDING
her parents for another year. Accordingly, three days
later he bade them farewell, and rode, attended by a strong French escort,
through the Ardennes, and travelled down the Moselle and Rhine to
Cologne. As he passed through Luxembourg he saw the trained bands
gathering in force on the frontier, and heard that they were assembling
under Count Büren to meet his successful rival, Francis of Lorraine, and
bring him to Brussels for his wedding.[309]

Here great preparations had been made to do honour to the Emperor's niece,
and the guests came from far and wide. Christina's trousseau was worthy of
her exalted rank, and the Queen presented her with a wonderful carcanet of
rubies, diamonds, and emeralds, with pendants of large pear-shaped pearls.
The marriage was solemnized on Sunday, the 10th of July, in the great hall
where, twenty-six years before, Isabella of Austria, had been married to the
King of Denmark. Only two of the foreign Ambassadors were absent from
the wedding banquet—the Englishmen Vaughan and Carne—a fact which
naturally excited much comment. King Henry changed colour when
Chapuys told him of Christina's marriage, and was at no pains to conceal
his surprise and vexation. He said repeatedly that he wondered how the
Emperor could allow so noble and renowned a Princess to marry the
Marquis, when there could be no doubt that Anne of Cleves was his lawful
wife, and insisted that this had been the chief reason of his own separation
from this lady. After the wedding he again referred to the incident, and told
Chapuys in confidence that the Duke of Lorraine had secretly made over his
rights on Guelders to the French King, and would never help the Emperor
against France, since Monseiur de Guise and the Cardinal of Lorraine were
entirely on the French side. Chapuys listened with polite attention, and
reported most of the King's conversation for the amusement of the Court at
Brussels.[310]
Here a series of fêtes took place after the wedding. A grand tournament was
held in front of the hôtel-de-ville, followed by the mock siege of a fortress
in the park, and a hunting-party in the Forest of Soignies.[311]
On the 14th, the Duke and Duchess of Bar left Brussels to pay a round of
visits in the neighbourhood and "see the country," and on the 27th the
Queen went to meet them at the Duke of Aerschot's hunting-palace at
Heverlé, near Louvain, and spent several days there with the two other
newly-married couples, the Prince and Princess of Orange and the Prince
and Princess of Chimay.[312]
Finally, on the 1st of August, the bride and bridegroom
set out on their journey, attended by a brilliant company, Aug., 1541] A
NOBLE LADY
which included the Prince and Princess of Orange, the
Duke of Aerschot, the Prince and Princess of Chimay, the Counts of
Berghen, Büren, and Brederode. They travelled by slow stages, resting at

Namur, Luxembourg, Thionville, and Metz. Triumphal arches were erected
over the gates of each city, and the burghers came out in procession to greet
the bride. At Metz Christina was presented with an illuminated book on
"Marriage," by the Regent of the University, Édmond du Boullay, and the
Chapter of Toul offered her a gold cup, filled with 300 crowns, while the
city gave her 200 crowns and ten barrels of choice wine.[313]
On the 8th the wedding-party reached Pont-à-Mousson, and found a large
family gathering waiting to receive them. A few days before the Cardinal of
Lorraine had joined the Duke and Duchess of Guise at Joinville, and had
accompanied them to Pont-à-Mousson, as Antoinette wrote,
"in order to give our new Lady her first greeting and conduct her
to Nancy. Great preparations have been made to welcome her,
and there is to be some fine jousting. I will tell you if there is
anything worth writing, and must confess I am very curious to
see if the Marquis makes a good husband. At least the country
rejoices greatly at the coming of so noble and excellent a lady."
[314]

The Duchess of Guise had collected most of her family for the occasion,
and brought four of her sons—Aumale, Mayenne, Charles, Archbishop of
Reims, and Louis, Bishop of Troyes—to Pont-à-Mousson, as well as her
little grandson, the Duke of Longueville, the Queen of Scotland's son by her
first marriage. Duke Antoine and his younger son, Nicholas de Vaudemont,
Bishop of Metz, were also present, together with all the chief nobles of
Lorraine.
It was a strange meeting. Guise and his sons had often crossed swords with
the Prince of Orange and Aerschot, and the Duke had refused to meet the
Emperor on his memorable visit to Chantilly. Now he was engaged in
repairing the forts along the frontier in view of another war, an occupation
which had at least one merit in his wife's eyes, and kept him longer at home
than he had been for many years. All alike, however, friends and foes,
joined in giving the new Duchess a hearty welcome, and drank joyously to
the health and prosperity of the illustrious pair.
At Pont-à-Mousson Francis took his bride to the convent of Poor Clares, to
see his grandmother, Philippa of Guelders, who had taken the veil twenty
years before, but still retained all her faculties, and was the object of her

sons' devoted affection. The Duke of Guise and his wife constantly visited
the good old lady, whose name appears so often in Antoinette's letters, and
who now embraced her new granddaughter tenderly and gave the bridal pair
her blessing. The next day Christina entered Nancy, where immense crowds
assembled to receive her, and choirs of white-robed maidens welcomed her
coming at the ancient gateway of La Craffe. One quaint medieval practice
which had lasted until this century was dispensed with. It was the custom
for a band of peasants from the neighbouring village of Laxou, to beat the
pools in the marshes under the palace walls all through the night when the
Princes of Lorraine brought their brides home, to drive away the frogs,
whose croaking might disturb the ducal slumbers. But instead of this, the
peasant women of Laxou stood at the palace gates as the Duchess alighted,
and presented her with baskets of flowers and ripe strawberries and
cherries.[315]
A grand tournament was held the following morning, on
the Place des Dames in front of the ducal palace, in Aug., 1541]
REJOICINGS AT
which many of the Flemish nobles took part, and was NANCY
followed by a state banquet and ball—"all very
sumptuously done," wrote Lord William Howard, the English Ambassador.
[316]
Then the wedding festivities came to an end, the gay party broke up,
and the old city which was henceforth to be Christina's home resumed its
wonted air of sleepy tranquillity.

FOOTNOTES:
[243] Papiers d'État. 82. 20, Archives du Royaume, Bruxelles.
[244] Lanz, ii. 297; Calendar of State Papers, xiii. 2, 16.
[245] Lanz, ii. 289, 683.
[246] State Papers, Record Office, Henry VIII., i. 605; Calendar of State Papers,
xiv. 1, 192.
[247] Calendar of State Papers, xiv. 1, 348, 374.
[248] See Appendix; Papiers d'État, 82, 26, Archives du Royaume, Bruxelles.
[249] Hubert Thomas, 376-390; Cust, "Gentlemen Errant," 377-379.
[250] "Zimmerische Chronik," ii. 547.
[251] H. Thomas, 396.
[252] Kaulek, 104.

[253] Ibid., 105.
[254] Calendar of State Papers, xiv. 2, 61; H. Thomas, 393-398.
[255] State Papers, Record Office, Henry VIII., i. 616; Calendar of State Papers,
xiv. 2, 54.
[256] Calendar of State Papers, xiv. 2, 66, 69, 94, 368.
[257] H. Thomas, 399-401; Kaulek, 136.
[258] Kaulek, 135.
[259] Calendar of State Papers, xiv. 2, 215; H. Thomas, 401.
[260] Calendar of State Papers, xiv. 2, 127, 232; Calendar of Spanish State
Papers, vi. 1, 200; Kaulek, 138, 139.
[261] Calendar of State Papers, xiv. 2, 127; Nott, ii. 399.
[262] Calendar of State Papers, xvi. 61; Henne, vi. 301-396.
[263] State Papers, Record Office, viii. 205.
[264] Bulletin de la Commission d'Histoire, série ii., 3, 490.
[265] Granvelle, "Papiers d'État," ii. 540; Calendar of State Papers, xiv. 1, 437,
2, 193; Gachard, "Relation des Troubles de Gand," 258.
[266] Kaulek, 142; Nott, ii. 353.
[267] Gachard, 252.
[268] Gachard, 49.
[269] Henne, vii. 4; A. de Ruble, "Le Mariage de Jeanne d'Albret," 46; R. de
Bouillé, "Histoire des Ducs de Guise," i. 123.
[270] Gachard, 305.
[271] M. du Bellay, iv. 413.
[272] Granvelle, "Papiers d'État," ii. 562; Kaulek, 153.
[273] Gachard, 531.
[274] Gachard, 664-666.
[275] Calendar of State Papers, xv. 65.
[276] State Papers, Record Office, viii. 236, 237.
[277] Granvelle, "Papiers d'État," ii. 542.
[278] Nott, ii. 358.
[279] Nott, ii. 380, 391.
[280] Gachard, "Relation des Troubles de Gand," 65.
[281] Henne, vii. 40-90; Gachard, 67-70, 389.
[282] Lanz, ii. 308.
[283] Henne, vii. 282; Nott, ii. 418.
[284] Gachard, 65, 71.

[285] Nott, ii. 398.
[286] Nott, ii. 417; State Papers, Record Office, viii. 329.
[287] Calendar of State Papers, xv. 349, 367.
[288] State Papers, Record Office, viii. 336, 340, 354; Calendar of State Papers,
xv. 318.
[289] Calendar of State Papers, xv. 363, 390, 391.
[290] Kaulek, 191; State Papers, Record Office, viii. 386, 397, 412.
[291] L. Hugo, "Traité sur l'Origine de la Maison de Lorraine," 212.
[292] State Papers, Record Office, viii. 398.
[293] Pfister, "Histoire de Nancy," ii. 188.
[294] Balcarres Manuscripts, ii. 15, Advocates' Library, Edinburgh.
[295] State Papers, Record Office, viii. 444.
[296] Calendar of State Papers, Henry VIII., xvi. 1, 60.
[297] Balcarres Manuscripts, ii. 22.
[298] W. Bradford, "Itinerary of Charles V.," 517; State Papers, Record Office,
viii. 508.
[299] F. Decrue, "Montmorency à la Cour de François I.," i. 392.
[300] Gachard, "Voyages de Charles V.," ii. 167.
[301] A. Calmet, "Histoire de Lorraine," iii. 387.
[302] Balcarres Manuscripts, ii. 5 (see Appendix). The priests were Antoinette's
two sons, Charles, Archbishop of Reims, and Louis, both of whom afterwards
became Cardinals.
[303] Balcarres Manuscripts, ii. 153 (see Appendix).
[304] Ibid., ii. 157.
[305] State Papers, Record Office, viii. 609.
[306] State Papers, Record Office, viii. 550; Calendar of State Papers, xv. 344,
362; A. de Ruble, "Mariage de Jeanne d'Albret," 83.
[307] M. du Bellay, "Mémoires," iv. 415.
[308] A. de Ruble, 118; F. Decrue, "Anne de Montmorency à la Cour de
François I.," 403.
[309] State Papers, Record Office, viii. 585.
[310] Calendar of Spanish State Papers, vi. 1, 332, 349.
[311] Henne, vii. 282; Calendar of State Papers, xvi. 1, 470.
[312] Calendar of State Papers, xvi. 1, 508.
[313] J. B. Ravold, "Histoire de Lorraine," iii. 743; Hugo, 217; C. Pfister,
"Histoire de Nancy," ii. 192.
[314] Balcarres Manuscripts, ii. 4 (see Appendix).

[315] Pfister, ii. 63, 188; Ravold, iii. 703.
[316] State Papers, Record Office, viii. 609.

BOOK VIII
CHRISTINA, DUCHESS OF LORRAINE
1541-1545
I.

The ducal house of Lorraine, into which Christina had
now married, was one of the oldest and proudest in Jan., 1477] KING
RENÉ
Europe. The duchy took its name of Lotharingia from
Lothair, a great-grandson of Charlemagne, who reigned over a vast
kingdom stretching from the banks of the Scheldt and Rhine to the
Mediterranean. After this monarch's death, his territories became the object
of perpetual contention between the German Empire and France, and were
eventually divided among a number of Counts and Barons who owned the
Emperor or the French King as their suzerain. Godfrey of Bouillon, the
leader of the first Crusade, was one of many illustrious Princes who reigned
over Lorraine; but Gerard d'Alsace, who died in 1046, was the ancestor of
the ducal house to which Christina's husband belonged.[317] From him
descended a long line of hereditary Princes, who were loyal vassals of
France and took an active part in the wars against England. Raoul, the
founder of the collegiate church and Chapter of St. Georges at Nancy, was
killed fighting valiantly at Crécy, and his son John was taken prisoner with
the French King by the Black Prince at Poitiers. Duke John's second son,
Ferry, Count of Vaudemont and Joinville, fell at Agincourt. In 1444 this
Prince's grandson, Ferry II., the representative of the younger branch of the
House of Lorraine, married Yolande, daughter of René of Anjou, King of
Provence, Jerusalem, and Sicily, and Duke of Lorraine in right of his wife,
Isabella, the heiress of Duke Charles II. Yolande, whose sister, Margaret of
Anjou, married Henry VI., became Duchess of Lorraine after the death of
her nephew in 1473, and united the two branches of the family in her
person. But she renounced the sovereignty in favour of her son, René II.,
who still bore the proud title of King of Sicily and Jerusalem, although, as
the English Ambassador, Wotton, remarked, he had never seen either the

one or the other. René had a fierce struggle for the possession of Lorraine
with Charles of Burgundy, who defeated him completely in 1475, and
entered Nancy in triumph. But in January, 1477, King René recovered his
duchy with the help of the Swiss, and Charles was defeated and slain in a
desperate battle under the walls of Nancy.[318]
Ten years later René married Philippa of Egmont, sister of Charles, Duke of
Guelders, and, together with his admirable wife, devoted the rest of his life
to the welfare of his subjects and the improvement of the capital. During his
reign the ducal palace, founded by his ancestors in the fourteenth century,
was enlarged and beautified, and the neighbouring church and convent of
the Cordeliers were built. Here René was buried after his early death in
1508, and his sorrowing wife reared a noble monument in which he is
represented kneeling under a pinnacled canopy crowned by a statue of the
Virgin and Child.[319]
Six stalwart sons grew up under Philippa's watchful eye,
to bear their father's name and maintain the honour of Dec., 1519]
QUEEN PHILIPPA
his house. The eldest, Antoine, succeeded René as Duke
of Lorraine and Bar, and the second, Claude, became a naturalized French
subject, and inherited the family estates in France, including Joinville,
Guise, and Aumale. Both Princes were educated at the French Court, where
Claude became the friend and companion of the future King Francis, and in
1513 married Antoinette de Bourbon, the Count of Vendôme's daughter.
This lovely maiden was brought up with her cousins, Louis XII.'s
daughters, the elder of whom married Francis of Angoulême, the heir to the
Crown. When, in 1515, this Prince succeeded his father-in-law on the
throne, he promised the young Duke of Lorraine the hand of Louis XII.'s
widow, Mary of England; but the fair Dowager had already plighted her
troth to Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, and Antoine consoled himself with
another Princess of the blood royal, Renée de Bourbon, daughter of Gilbert
de Montpensier and Chiara Gonzaga. The wedding was celebrated at
Amboise on the 26th of June, 1515, and Antoine and Claude both left their
brides in Lorraine with Queen Philippa while they followed Francis to Italy.
There they fought gallantly by the King's side at Marignano. Antoine was
knighted on the field of battle, while Claude received a dangerous wound,
and a third brother was slain in the mêlée. Two of Philippa's younger sons
lost their lives in the French King's later campaigns. One was killed at

Pavia, and Louis, the handsomest of all his handsome race, died of the
plague in Lautrec's army before Naples. A sixth son, Jean, Bishop of Metz,
was made a Cardinal at twenty, and, like his brother, Claude of Guise,
became a prominent figure at the French Court.
During Antoine's absence his duchy was governed wisely and well by his
mother, Philippa; but when he no longer needed her help, the good Queen
retired from the world, and on the 8th of December, 1519, entered the Order
of the Poor Clares at Pont-à-Mousson. Here she spent the remaining
twenty-seven years of her life in works of devotion, and edified her family
and subjects by the zeal with which she performed the humblest duties,
going barefoot and wearing rough serge. But she still retained great
influence over her sons, who were all deeply attached to her and often came
to visit her in the convent. By a will which she made when she forsook the
world, she left her furniture, jewels, and most of her property, to her second
son, Claude, "pour aider ce jeune ménage,"[320] and the Duke and Duchess
of Guise went to live at her dower-house of Joinville, the beau châtel on the
heights above the River Marne, which had once belonged to St. Louis's
follower, le Sieur de Joinville. Here that remarkable woman, Duchess
Antoinette, the mother of the Guises, reared her large family, the six sons
who became famous as soldiers or prelates, and the four beautiful daughters
who were courted by Kings and Princes. Antoine's wife, Renée, had not the
ability and force of character which made her cousin a power at the French
Court, as well as in her own family, but she was greatly beloved in
Lorraine, and inherited the cultivated tastes of her Gonzaga mother—the
sister of Elizabeth, Duchess of Urbino, and sister-in-law of the famous
Isabella d'Este. Renée brought the graces and refinement of the Mantuan
Court to her husband's home, and the blossoming of art which took place at
Nancy during Antoine's reign was largely due to her influence.

GRANDE PORTERIE. PALAIS DUCAL,
NANCY
To face p. 260
A whole school of local architects and painters were
employed to adorn the ducal palace, which under his Aug., 1541] THE
DUCAL PALACE
rule and that of his immediate successors became, in the
words of a contemporary, "as fine a dwelling-place for a great Prince as
could possibly be desired."[321] King René had rebuilt the older portions of
the house; his son now added the noble gateway known as "La Grande
Porterie," with his own equestrian statue carved by Mansuy Gauvain, and

the magnificent upper gallery called "La Galerie des Cerfs," from the
antlers and other trophies of the chase which hung upon its walls.[322] A
wealth of delicate sculpture was lavished on the façade. Flowers and
foliage, heraldic beasts and armorial bearings, adorned the portal; "le bœuf
qui prêche"—an ox's head in a pulpit—appeared in one corner, and on the
topmost pinnacle, above the busts of René and Antoine, a monkey was seen
clad in a friar's habit. Within, the vaulted halls were decorated with stately
mantelpieces and richly carved friezes. Without, the roofs glittered with
gilded copper fretwork and a tall bronze flèche, bearing the cross of
Lorraine and the thistle of Nancy, crowned the "Tour du Paradis," which
enclosed the fine spiral staircase leading to the Galerie des Cerfs. Another
round tower, containing an inclined way broad enough for a horse and
chariot, stood in the older part of the palace, and led up to the Treasury,
where the Crown jewels were kept. Here, too, were the apartments occupied
by the ducal family. On one side they opened on to the "Cour d'Honneur,"
where tournaments and pageants were held. On the other the windows
looked down on the gardens, with their cut yews and box hedges, their
arbours and bosquets, and in the centre a superb fountain adorned with putti
by Mansuy Gauvain; while beyond the eye ranged across the sleepy waters
of the moat to green meadows and distant woods.[323] The grand portal and
state-rooms at the new end of the palace looked down on the Grande Rue,
and were only divided by a narrow street from the shops and stalls of the
market-place. The fact that the Duke's house stood in the heart of the city
naturally fostered the affection with which he was regarded by the people of
Nancy. The citizens were familiar with every detail of the ducal family's
private life, and took the deepest interest in their comings and goings, their
weddings and funerals, in the guests who arrived at the palace gates, and in
the children who grew up within its walls.
Duke Antoine was especially beloved by his subjects. Early in life he had
learnt by experience the horrors of war, and all through his reign he tried
manfully to preserve a strict neutrality between the rival powers on either
side, with the result that Lorraine enjoyed an unbroken period of peace and
prosperity. The burden of taxation was lightened, trade and agriculture
flourished, and the arts were encouraged by this good Prince, who was
justly called the "father of his people." When his beloved wife Renée died,
in June, 1539, his sorrow was shared by the whole nation.

"Since I sent my last letter," wrote the Duchess of Guise to her
daughter in Scotland, "you will have heard of the death of your
aunt—whom God pardon—a fortnight ago. The attack—a flux
de ventre—which carried her off only lasted nine days, but she
was enfeebled by long illness. Nature could no longer offer any
resistance, and God in His good pleasure took her to Himself.
She died as a good Christian, doing her duty by all and asking
forgiveness of everyone, and remained conscious to the end.
After Friday morning she would not see her children, or even
her husband, but, as this distressed him greatly, she sent for him
again after she had received God. On Sunday she was anointed
with holy oil, and died at ten o'clock the next evening. It was the
tenth of June. It is a heavy loss for all our family, but your uncle
bears up bravely. He sent for us, and I set out for Nancy at once,
but only arrived there after her death. Your father, with whom I
have been in Picardy, followed on Saturday. I have just returned
to Pont-à-Mousson, where I came to see my mother-in-law, the
good old Queen. The funeral will be on St. John's Day, and your
aunt will be buried in the Cordeliers, opposite the tomb of the
late King" (René II.).[324]
Four days after his wife's death, Antoine himself sent these touching lines to
his niece, the Queen of Scotland:
"I was glad to hear from you the other day, Madame,
and must tell you the great sorrow which it has Aug., 1541]
FRANCIS OF
pleased God to send me, in calling my wife to LORRAINE
Himself. She died on the morrow of Pentecost. God
be praised, Madame, for the beautiful end which she made, like
the good Christian that she was. Commend me to the King your
lord; and if there is any service which I can render you or him,
let me know, and I will do it gladly.
"Your humble and loving uncle,
"Antoine."[325]
Renée bore the Duke a large family, but only three of her children lived to
grow up: Francis, Marquis of Pont-à-Mousson, born in 1517; Anne, the
Princess of Orange, who was five years younger; and Nicolas, Count of

Vaudemont, born in 1524, who took Deacon's Orders, and became Bishop
of Metz when the Cardinal of Lorraine resigned this see. Francis had the
French King for his godfather, and was sent, as a matter of course, to be
educated at the Court of France with the Dauphin. This Prince inherited the
tall stature and regular features of his father's family, together with his
mother's love of art and letters. His studious tastes and quick intelligence
made him the delight of all his teachers, and King Francis was heard to say
that the Marquis du Pont was the wisest Prince of his age. But although he
could ride and tilt as well as any of his peers, he was never robust, and the
strain of melancholy in his nature increased as years went by. In 1538 the
young Marquis accompanied his father to meet the Emperor at Aigues-
Mortes, and made a very favourable impression on Charles, who proposed
that he should marry one of King Ferdinand's daughters. Several other
alliances had been already suggested for this promising Prince.[326] In 1527,
while he was still a boy, the fateful marriage between him and Anne of
Cleves had been arranged; and when this was abandoned, King Francis first
offered him one of his own daughters, and then his cousin, Mary of
Vendôme, whom the King of Scotland had deserted for the fair Duchess of
Longueville. At the same time Henry VIII. asked Castillon to arrange a
marriage between his daughter Mary and the heir of Lorraine.[327] But from
the moment that Francis of Lorraine saw the Duchess of Milan at
Compiègne his choice never wavered, and his constancy triumphed in the
end over all difficulties.
The lamented death of Duchess Renée, and the marriage of her only
daughter, Anne, in the following year, had left the palace at Nancy without a
mistress, and rendered Christina's presence there the more welcome. The
old Duke was as proud of his daughter-in-law as his subjects were of their
young Duchess, and Christina's frank manners and open-handed generosity
soon made her very popular in Lorraine. She received a cordial welcome
from Antoinette and the Guise Princes at Joinville, and was on the best of
terms with her young brother-in-law, Monsieur de Metz. Above all, she was
adored by her spouse, whose devotion to Christina quickly dispelled the
Duchess of Guise's fears lest this grave and thoughtful Prince should not
prove a good husband. His love satisfied every longing of her heart, and
filled her soul with deep content. After all the storms of her early youth,
after the lonely months at Milan and Pavia, after the disappointment of her

cherished hopes, the young Duchess had found a happiness beyond her
highest dreams. As she wrote to her old friend Granvelle a few months
later: "My husband treats me so kindly, and has such great affection for me,
that I am the happiest woman in the whole world."[328]

Nov., 1541] A
VISIT TO
FONTAINEBLEA
U

II.

The King of France's ill-temper was the one drawback to the general
satisfaction with which Christina's marriage had been received. The
coldness with which he treated the Duke of Lorraine and his son, the
sacrifice of their rights on Bar, rankled in the old man's heart. His surprise
was the greater when he received a courteous invitation to bring his son and
daughter-in-law on a visit to the French Court. His brother the Cardinal
wrote saying that Queen Eleanor was anxious to see her niece, and that the
King wished to confer the Order of St. Michel on her lord, and begged
Duke Antoine to accompany the young couple to Fontainebleau.
Christina and her husband, who since his marriage had become a strong
Imperialist, were reluctant to accept the invitation, lest an attempt should be
made to draw Lorraine into an alliance against the Emperor. But the
Cardinal's bland promises and Antoine's anxiety to keep on good terms with
the King prevailed over their hesitation, and early in November the two
Dukes and the young Duchess spent three days at Fontainebleau. Hunting-
parties and banquets occupied the first two days. Eleanor took the greatest
delight in her niece's company, and the King, who could never resist a
woman's charms, was assiduous in his attention to Christina. The Queen of
Navarre's presence afforded the Duchess additional pleasure, and this
accomplished Princess showed her Leonardo and Raphael's paintings, and
did the honours of the superb palace which had excited the Emperor's
admiration two years before. On the third evening the King expressed his
wish to confer the Order of St. Michel on the young Duke in so pressing a
manner that it was impossible to refuse this offer. But an unpleasant
surprise was in store for him and his father. The next morning the Cardinal
informed them that the King demanded the cession of the town and fortress

of Stenay, in return for the privilege of holding the duchy of Bar. This
unexpected demand aroused an indignant protest from Antoine and Francis.
Stenay was one of the bulwarks of Lorraine, and its position on the frontiers
of Luxembourg made it of great importance to the defence of the empire.
But nothing that the Duke and his son could say was of the slightest avail.
They were told that if Stenay was not surrendered peaceably the King
would declare war and reduce their country to subjection. These threats
alarmed the old Duke to such a pitch that before leaving Fontainebleau he
was induced to sign a treaty by which Stenay was given up in perpetuity to
the French Crown. It was a grievous blow to the prestige of Lorraine, and
filled Christina and her husband with grave fears for the future. The
following letter which the Duchess wrote to Granvelle a few weeks
afterwards shows how bitterly she resented the wrong:
"You have no doubt heard of the voyage which the
Lord Duke my father-in-law, my husband, and I, Nov., 1541] THE
CESSION OF
took to the French Court, where we made a very STENAY
short stay, but one which turned out very badly for
our house. For the King used violent threats to my father and
husband, and sent my uncle the Cardinal to tell them that, if they
did not satisfy his demands, he would prove their worst enemy,
and make them the smallest people in the world. So they were
compelled to give him the town of Stenay, which is a great loss
to this house, and has vexed my husband and me sorely,
showing us how much we are despised on that side, and to what
risk of destruction we should be exposed if it were not for the
good help of the Emperor, in whom I place my whole trust."[329]
Unfortunately for the Duchess and her husband, Charles was at this moment
engaged in his disastrous expedition to Algiers. The news of the tempest
which wrecked his fleet on the coast of Africa had reached the French
Court, and it was confidently asserted that the Emperor himself had
perished, or was a prisoner in Barbarossa's camp. These disquieting
rumours were set at rest early in December by his safe return to Cartagena
with the remnants of his army. But his enemies had been active in his
absence. On the 15th of November the Duke of Lorraine set his seal to the
deed of cession, and a week later a French garrison took possession of
Stenay. General indignation was excited throughout Europe by this arbitrary

act. Mary of Hungary entered a vigorous protest in her brother's name
against this surrender of an imperial fief, and no sooner did the news reach
Charles than he told his Ambassador to require the French King to do
homage for the town. The new English Ambassador, Paget, who arrived at
Fontainebleau a few days after the Lorraine Princes left Court, noticed that
the King "looked very black, as if the Imperial Envoy had spoken of matters
not all the pleasantest"; while he informed his royal master that the
entertainment of the Duke of Lorraine had been but cold, and that he had
lost all credit with the French.[330] When Chapuys told King Henry at
Christmas how King Francis had snatched Stenay from the Duke of
Lorraine, the English monarch only shrugged his shoulders, saying he had
always known no good would come out of that marriage.[331]
Meanwhile Christina and her husband found some consolation for their
wounded feelings in the friendly reception which they met with at Joinville,
on their return from France. The Duke and Duchess of Guise came to meet
them at Annonville, and were eager to do honour to their nephew's bride
and show her the beauties of their stately home. They had lately decorated
the halls and chapel with paintings and statues, and Antoinette had laid out
terraced gardens along the wooded slopes on the River Marne, adorned with
pavilions and fountains. Nothing escaped the eye of this excellent lady, who
watched over the education of her children and the welfare of her servants,
and managed her kitchen, stables, and kennels, with the same indefatigable
care. Her household was a model of economy and prudence, and her works
of mercy extended far beyond the limits of Joinville. The active
correspondence which she kept up with her eldest daughter, the Queen of
Scotland, abounds in details regarding every member of her family, and
above all her little grandson, the Duke of Longueville. The Duchess's letters
are naturally full of this precious boy, who was the pet and plaything of the
whole household, and on whose perfections she is never tired of dwelling.
For his mother's benefit, she sends minute records of his height and
appearance, of the progress which he is making at lessons, the walks which
he takes with his nurse.
"We have here now," she wrote to Mary of Guise, on
the 18th of November, "not only your uncle, but the Nov., 1541] AT
JOINVILLE
Duke and Duchess of Bar, on their way back from
Court. They are all making good cheer with us, and your father

is so busy entertaining them that you will hardly have a letter
from him this time. Your eldest brother [Aumale] is here too, but
goes to join the King at Fontainebleau next week. I shall go to
my mother [the old Countess of Vendôme], who is quite well,
and so also is the good old Queen, your grandmother. I have
kept as a bonne bouche for you a word about our grandson, who
will soon be a man, and is the finest child that you ever saw. I
am trying to find a painter who can show you how tall, healthy,
and handsome, he is."
Sad news had lately come from Scotland, where the Queen's two children, a
boy of a year old and a new-born babe, had died in the same week.
Antoinette's motherly heart yearned over her absent daughter in this sudden
bereavement.
"Your father and I are sorely grieved at the loss you have
suffered," she wrote to Mary; "but you are both young, and I can
only hope that God, who took away those dear little ones, will
send you others.... If I were good enough for my prayers to be of
any avail with God, I would pray for this, but I can at least have
prayers offered up by others who are better than I am, especially
by the good Queen in her convent and her holy nuns. We are
glad to hear the King bears his loss with resignation, and trust
God will give you patience to live for Him in this world and in
the next, to which tribulation is the surest way."
And in a postscript she adds a word of practical advice, saying that she did
not like to hear of the poor babes having so many different nurses, and fears
this may have been one cause of the mischief.[332]
In return for this affectionate sympathy, King James sent his mother-in-law
a fine diamond and a portrait of himself, which arrived during Christina's
visit, and excited much interest at Joinville. All the Duchess of Guise's
daughters were absent from home, the youngest, Antoinette, having joined
her sister, Abbess Renée, in the convent at Reims, where she afterwards
took the veil. But her eldest son, as we have seen, was at Joinville on this
occasion. A tall, dark-haired, olive-skinned youth, recklessly brave and
adventurous, Aumale was a great favourite both in Court and camp, and his
mother had been sadly disappointed at the failure of the marriage

negotiations, which had cost her so much time and trouble. The Pope's
daughter, Vittoria Farnese, who was to have been his wife, had since then
been offered in turn to the Prince of Piedmont and the Duke of Vendôme,
and was eventually married to the Duke of Urbino. Aumale himself cared
little for the loss of the Italian bride, whom he had never seen, and had
hitherto shown no eagerness for matrimony, but the sight of Christina made
a deep impression upon him, and he never forgot his fair cousin's visit to
Joinville. The most friendly relations prevailed between the two families,
and frequent visits were interchanged during the winter. Christmas was
celebrated with prolonged festivities at Nancy, and on the 6th of February
the old Duke wrote from Joinville to his niece, the Queen of Scotland:
"Your father and I have spent the last week together, and have
made great cheer with all our family. Your son, De Longueville,
is very well, and has grown a fine boy.
"Your very humble and affectionate uncle,
"Antoine."[333]
In spite of these distractions, Christina found it difficult
to make her husband forget the loss of Stenay. The Feb., 1542]
CHRISTINA'S
injustice which had been done to the House of Lorraine ANXIETIES
still rankled in his mind, and he feared that the Emperor
would hold him responsible for the surrender of the town, and regard it as
an act of disloyalty. Christina accordingly addressed a long letter to
Granvelle, explaining that her husband had been very reluctant to accept the
French Order of St. Michel, and had only done this at his father's express
command, before there had been any mention of surrendering Stenay. Now
she feared that the King might make some fresh demand, which would
complete the destruction of the ducal house, and could only beg the
Emperor to help them with his advice and support.
"For you may rest assured," she goes on, "that, whatever His
Majesty is pleased to command, my husband and I will obey,
although, as you know, my father-in-law is somewhat difficult to
please, and we must do his will for the present. So I beg you
earnestly to point this out to His Majesty, and ask him to give us
his advice; for since our return to Nancy my husband has been
so sad and melancholy, and so full of regret for the great wrong

which his house has suffered, that I am quite afraid it will injure
his health. Once more I beg you, Monsieur de Granvelle, to be a
good friend to us in the present, as you have been in the past ...
for we have received so much kindness from you that I hope you
will not hesitate to give us whatever advice seems best in your
eyes. As for me, I am so much indebted to you for having helped
to place me where I am, that you and yours will always find me
ready to do you service. For I can never forget that it is to you I
owe my present great happiness."[334]
Charles, however, wrote kindly to his niece, and refused Jan., 1542] KING
to listen to the unkind tongues who tried to poison his HENRY'S WIVES
mind against her husband. By degrees the young Duke
recovered his equanimity, and devoted his attention to beautifying the ducal
palace of Nancy. In the last years of Renée's life a Lorraine artist, Hugues
de la Faye, had been employed to paint subjects from the life of Christ at
one end of the "Galerie des Cerfs," and hunting-scenes at the other.
Christina's presence gave new impulse to the work, and the large quantity of
gold-leaf and azure supplied to the painters in the Duke's service, show how
actively the internal decoration of the palace was carried on. In one
particular instance Christina's influence is clearly to be traced. By Duke
Antoine's orders, a fresco of the Last Supper was begun by Hugues de la
Faye in the refectory of the Cordeliers, but was only completed after this
painter's death in 1542, by Crock and Chappin. These two Lorraine artists
were sent to Italy by Duke Francis soon after his accession, and visited
Milan amongst other places. Here they saw Leonardo's famous "Cenacolo"
in the refectory of S. Maria le Grazie, which was closely connected with the
Sforza Princes, and must have been very familiar to Christina when she
lived in Milan. The fresco which they executed at Nancy is said to have
been a replica of Leonardo's great work, and kneeling figures of Antoine
and Renée were introduced on the same wall, in imitation of the portraits of
Lodovico Sforza and Beatrice d'Este which are still to be seen in the
Dominican refectory at Milan. Unfortunately, the Lorraine masters' painting
suffered a still worse fate than Leonardo's immortal work, and, after being
partly spoilt by damp, was finally destroyed thirty years ago and replaced
by a modern copy.[335]

During this winter, when Christina was happily settled in her new home and
surrounded by loyal friends and subjects, news came from England of the
trial and execution of Henry VIII.'s fifth Queen, Catherine Howard. When
the Duke and Duchess were at Fontainebleau, rumours reached the Court
that this unhappy lady, of whom Henry was deeply enamoured but a short
time before, had been suddenly banished from his presence, and taken into
custody. "Par ma foi de gentil homme!" exclaimed King Francis when he
heard the account of the Queen's misdeeds. "She has done wondrous
naughtily!"[336] But in England, as Chapuys reported, much compassion
was felt for the King's latest victim, who had dragged down the noble house
of Howard in her fall. Lord William Howard, the late Ambassador, was
hastily recalled from France, and sent to the Tower with his mother, the old
Duchess of Norfolk. The King himself, wrote Chapuys, felt the case more
than that of any of his other wives, just as the woman who had lost ten
husbands grieved more for the tenth when he died than for any of the other
nine! But when the luckless Queen was beheaded, Henry recovered his
spirits, and spent Carnival in feasting and entertaining ladies with a gaiety
which made people think that he meant to marry again. "But few, if any,
ladies of the Court," remarked Chapuys, "now aspire to the honour of
becoming one of the King's wives."[337]
It was an honour to which Christina herself had never aspired. One day at
the Court of Nancy, conversation turned on the King of England, and some
indiscreet lady asked the Duchess why she had rejected this monarch's suit.
A smile broke over Christina's face, and the old dimples rose to her cheeks
as she replied that, unfortunately, she only had one head, but that if she had
possessed two, one might have been at His Majesty's disposal. It was a
characteristic speech, and has passed into history.[338]

III.

All through the winter of 1541-42 preparations for war
were actively carried on in France, and intrigue was rife May, 1542] THE
among the Courts of Europe. Francis was determined to KING'S CHASE
profit by his rival's misfortunes, in spite of the remonstrances of the Pope
and of the deputies who were sent by the Imperial Diet to adjure him not to
trouble the peace of Christendom while the Emperor was fighting against

the Turks. By the end of the year he succeeded in forming a strong
coalition, which included Scotland, Denmark, Sweden, and Cleves. The
Palatine Frederic had once more pressed his wife's claims to the three
kingdoms, with the result that Christian III. lent a willing ear to the French
King's advances, and sent Envoys to Fontainebleau, where a secret treaty
between France and Denmark was signed a few days after the Duke and
Duchess of Lorraine had left Court. Francis was now exceedingly anxious
to draw Lorraine into the league and induce Duke Antoine to take up arms
against the Emperor. In May he set out on a progress through Burgundy and
Champagne, taking the Queen and all the Court with him, to inspect the
fortifications of the eastern frontier and enjoy some hunting on the way.
"Tell the Pope," he said merrily to the Legate Ardinghelli, "that I do nothing
but make good cheer and amuse myself, whether I entertain fair ladies or go
a-hunting the deer." Paget and the other Ambassadors complained bitterly
of the bad quarters "in peevish villages" which they had to put up with as
they followed the King from place to place, wherever "great harts were to
be heard of."[339] Fortunately, he found excellent sport at the Duke of
Guise's château of Esclaron, where he spent three weeks, and declared that
he had never been so happy in his life.
"The King," wrote Duchess Antoinette to Mary of Scotland,
"has found so many big stags here that he says he was never in a
place which pleased him better, and that in spite of torrents of
rain and God knows what mud! And you cannot think how fond
he is of your father."[340]
She herself went to Esclaron to receive her royal guest, taking the eight-
year-old Duke of Longueville with her, to make his bow to the King and be
petted by Queen Eleanor and her ladies. But the life of a Court lady, as she
told her daughter, was little to her taste, and she returned to Joinville early
in June, to keep the Fête-Dieu and prepare her husband's and sons'
equipment for the war which was expected to begin immediately. Two days
later, on the 10th of June, the Duke and Duchess of Bar paid the French
King a visit at Esclaron, and were present at the reception of the Swedish
Ambassadors, whom Gustavus Wasa had sent to sign the new treaty. The
ceremony took place in a large barn hung with tapestries and wreathed with
green boughs. The King and his guests sat on a raised daïs, draped with
cloth of gold, under a canopy, while the Princes of the blood and the other

courtiers, among whom were no less than six Cardinals, stood below. Here
Francis listened patiently to a long Latin harangue from the Swedish
Ambassador, and then, coming down from his seat, he mingled freely in the
crowd of Cardinals and Princes, gentlemen and yeomen, who stood "all in a
heap" at the doors of the barn, and showed himself very affable, although,
in Paget's opinion, "his manner lacked the majesty which he had noticed in
his own master on similar occasions."[341]
Christina looked with curiosity at these Envoys from the
Northern kingdom over which her father had once ruled, June, 1542] THE
FRENCH
many of whom had known the captive monarch in old INVASION
days. This time she and her husband had no cause to
complain of the King's treatment. He was all courtesy and smiles, and
assured them in the most cordial terms of the singular affection which he
bore to all their house. But he soon saw that there was no prospect of
inducing Antoine and his son to join him against Christina's uncle, and on
the 12th of June he consented to sign an agreement by which he promised
to respect the neutrality of Lorraine and the properties of the Duke's
subjects.[342] After spending another week at Joinville, enjoying the
splendid hospitality of the Guises, he left Eleanor with the Duchess, and
went on to Ligny, a strong fortress on the borders of Luxembourg, where he
gave orders for the opening of the campaign.
By the middle of July four separate armies had invaded the Emperor's
dominions. Guise and Orléans fell upon Luxembourg, Vendôme entered
Flanders, the Dauphin attacked Roussillon, and the forces of Cleves, under
the redoubtable Guelders captain, Martin van Rossem, laid Brabant waste
with fire and sword. But they met with determined opposition in every
quarter, and the heroism of the Regent and her captains saved the
Netherlands from ruin.
"The attack," wrote De Praet to Charles on September 21, 1542,
"was so secretly planned and so well carried out that it is a
miracle Your Majesty did not lose your Pays-Bas. We must
thank God first of all, and next to Him the Queen, to whose
extreme care, toil, and diligence, this is owing."[343]
Fortunately for the Imperialists, Francis's extravagance had emptied his
treasury. All his money, as Paget reported, was spent in building new

palaces and buying jewels for himself and his favourites. Stenay and other
places had been fortified at vast expense, and by the end of the year most of
the French forces were disbanded for lack of funds.
It was a sad autumn at Joinville, where the good Duchess wept and prayed
for her absent lord and sons, and sighed to think they were fighting against
her daughter Louise's husband and father-in-law. In September Guise was
invalided home, and he was hardly fit to mount his horse again when the
parents received the news of Louise's death, which took place at Brussels on
the 18th of October. The charming Princess had always been a delicate girl,
and now she died without leaving a child to comfort the husband and father
who had loved her so well. This sad event was followed by tidings of the
disaster which had befallen the King of Scotland's army in Solway Moss,
and of his death on the 18th of December. Antoinette's heart bled for her
widowed daughter, who had just given birth to an infant Princess at
Linlithgow. "It came with a lass, and it will go with a lass," were the words
of the King when he was told of the child's birth, a few days before he died
at Falkland Palace. Both Guise and Aumale would gladly have hastened to
Mary's help, but it was impossible for them to leave the camp at this critical
moment, and Antoinette could only beg her daughter to keep up her courage
and trust in God, "the Almighty, who would defend her and the poor little
Queen, who although so young is already exposed to the insults of her
enemies."[344]
It was a no less anxious time for Christina in her home at
Nancy. From the palace roof the smoke of burning Jan., 1543] BIRTH
OF A SON
villages was to be seen in all directions, and the people
of Lorraine were exposed to frequent raids from the hordes of irregular
soldiers in both armies, and were compelled to raise trained bands for the
defence of the frontiers. It was only by the strictest observance of the laws
of neutrality that an outbreak of actual hostilities could be avoided. When
Aumale was badly wounded by a shot from a crossbow in the siege of
Luxembourg, his uncle the Duke sternly refused to have him carried into his
neighbouring castle of Longwy; and when Mary of Hungary proposed to
garrison this fortress to protect his subjects from French aggression, he
declined her offer firmly at the risk of incurring the imperial displeasure.
[345]
Christina herself spent Christmas at Fontainebleau with her aunt,
Queen Eleanor. This poor lady was distracted with grief at the war between