Amazing work as always!Chapter 5
After war.
1515 — 1517
In France, King Louis XII found his dream bride in the form of a seventeen-year-old princess, Eleanor of Austria. Although the Dutch-Austrian Habsburg Empire was linked by alliance with England and Spain, Emperor Maximilian treated it as a way to consolidate peace and further increase the glory of the family. Although little Dauphin Louis was still alive, he may have died in childhood. If this happened, and if Eleanor and Louis had a son, her son would become king and she would become regent. Having a child king and regent descended from the Habsburgs was a truly tempting prospect. Eleanor was terrified by the idea of marrying a much older king, but with dignity, she was ready to sacrifice herself for the good of the family. She was the only one of the three sisters who lived in Mechelen who had not yet been promised to anyone - Isabella was married by proxy to the Kingdoms of the Kalmar Union, and Mary was promised to Louis of Hungary and of Bohemia. Her aunt, Margaret of Austria, had hated the French since Charles VIII had rejected her many years earlier and had many reservations. But Maximilian was determined to bring about the marriage, and in February 1515 the Treaty of Blois was signed, which set the archduchess's dowry at 200,000 ducats, and one of the installments was to be jewels. King Louis was to pay the emperor 30,000 ducats a year, and the two countries were to maintain a truce for a year. To pay the first installment of the dowry, Maximilian obtained a loan from the Fugger banking family.
In mid-April 1515, Eleanor and her retinue arrived in Reims, where she met King Louis for the first time. Although Eleanor was not considered a great beauty, dressed in "a purple and gold checked dress with a skirt of silver-gray satin and a French hood, studded with pearls" made a great impression on the old king. The marriage was blessed in the cathedral and consummated that same night. After the wedding, Louis seemed to be greatly infatuated with the Austrian woman, he gave her gifts, and Eleanor politely thanked her for them. A short time later, the couple were allowed entry into Paris, and a few weeks later, the new queen was crowned in Saint-Denis. Although King Louis was in poor health and had been suffering from regular attacks of gout for several years, she became pregnant. In March 1516, a princess named Jeanne was born. However, Louis wanted a son, and he began to visit his wife's bedroom again. This time it was completely exhausting, and his condition worsened again, and in July he suffered a severe attack of illness, from which he did not emerge alive, as he died on the last day of July in his favorite castle, Château de Blois. His death meant that the new king of France was his four-year-old son, Louis, and the regent was the Count of Angoulême and his older sister's husband, Francis. In fact, however, the power was held by Louise of Savoy, who maintained correspondence with the former regent, Anne de Beaujeu.
Eleanor put on white mourning, typical of French queens, and went to the Hôtel de Cluny in Paris, where she stayed for 40 days. After this time, the royal physicians announced that the queen dowager's womb was empty, so she could leave the seclusion. Eleanor was only eighteen, and had only given birth to a daughter. Her brother, Charles, demanded that she be sent back to the Low Countries, but problems arose. Francis did not want to release her and ordered her to be kept under guard because he wanted to use her in his own politics. In November 1516, an agreement was reached - Eleanor could keep her jewels, both those she brought to the marriage and those gifts from King Louis. The lands belonging to the widow's estate were transferred to her daughter, and Charles gave up applying for a refund of the paid part of the dowry, 50,000 ducats. She saw her daughter for the last time in her life, and then went on a journey to the Low Countries, arriving there before Christmas.
Francis busied himself with signing peace treaties with other countries, France was exhausted by the wars that had been raging for eight years. A treaty was signed with England, recognizing their sovereignty over Tournai and Thérouanne, and with Spain recognizing their sovereignty over Naples. The regents also recognized Maximilian Sforza as the Duke of Milan, and there was even talk of the son of Maximilian and his wife Bona - Ludovico - marrying one of Francis' daughters, Louise or Charlotte, or Louis's daughter, Jeanne de Valois.
During these years, the problem of succession in Spain was also solved. In March 1515, Charles renounced his rights to the throne of Spain in favor of his younger brother Ferdinand. He was rewarded with a generous sum of money, just like his paternal grandfather, Emperor Maximilian. Soon Ferdinand was appointed by the Cortes - Prince of Asturias and Girona. The Spanish were delighted - although he was a Habsburg, he was born and raised in Spain, so he seemed to be an ideal king, focused solely on the Spanish Empire. Soon people began to consider, among other things: marriage for Ferdinand, to whom his second grandfather, the emperor, intended Anne of Hungary and Bohemia to marry. Now circumstances had changed, so he needed another fiancée. Renee of France was still on offer, but soon Isabella of Portugal, his first cousin, was also on the table. Castile, Aragon and Portugal had intermarried for centuries, and the Infanta would have brought a high dowry. At the age of 12, Isabella was considered quite pretty and graceful, and was considered her parents' favorite daughter. Carefully educated, in addition to her native Portuguese, she also knew Spanish, Latin and French, and the idea of having another Isabella and Ferdinand appealed to the Castilians very much. In the summer of 1515, a marriage treaty was signed - Ferdinand was to marry Isabella in 1517, when they were both 14 years old.
This was the last significant success of King Ferdinand II of Aragon. From 1513, the old king's health deteriorated and he suffered from regular attacks of fever and shortness of breath. Some rumors claimed that his condition was caused by the use of aphrodisiacs, which enabled him to father a child with his second wife, Germaine de Foix. Ferdinand died on January 23, 1516 in Madrigalejo, after dictating his will - according to it, the regency in Castile was to be held by Cardinal Cisneros, and in Aragon by the Archbishop of Zaragoza until his grandson was 16 years old. He died that night, and his last words were: "Forgive me, Isabella, for trying to break my promise to you, but the Lord would not allow it. Forgive me." He was buried in Granada along with his first wife, Isabella of Castile, in a majestic tomb founded by the grandchildren of their namesakes. Ferdinand was proclaimed king of Castile and Aragon iure matris, commonly known as Ferdinand VI. His mother Joanna became his co-ruler, but due to "madness" she had been locked up in Tordesillas for years. In the following years, he remained under the influence of the powerful Cardinal Cisneros, who made sure that his protégé was a devout Catholic. In April 1517, his wedding to Infanta Isabella of Portugal took place in Seville, but due to her young age (she was still a few months away from her 14th birthday), the consummation of the marriage was postponed. The wedding, although lavish, was overshadowed in May by the death of Isabella's mother, Maria of Aragon. The young Portuguese developed a good relationship with Germaine de Foix, whom Ferdinand regarded as a motherly figure. Germaine later married Ferrante, Duke of Calabria in 1519, and they were both appointed viceroys of Valencia. Germaine, according to the Venetian ambassador in 1515, was described as "French, sister of Monseigneur de Fois, she is very fat and, according to Badoer, will bear no more children." Her only son is her first child, who was born in 1509, so it is a surprise when she and her second husband have two children - Isabella, born in 1520, and Mary, born in 1523. Both girls are goddaughters of the Queen and King.
In England, the years between 1515 and 1517 were years of stabilization and reconstruction after the war.
The royal court did not have a permanent seat and changed it frequently. Catherine and Henry's favorite palaces were Greenwich Palace, Westminster Palace and Richmond Palace, while Windsor Castle was mainly used for hunting. The couple also visited Waltham Abbey to pray at the miraculous black Cross. Queen Catherine also liked to visit Syon Abbey, a great center of religious life. Thomas Wolsey was gaining more and more influence and in December 1515 he was appointed cardinal. His promotion caused resentment from Queen Catherine of Aragon, and this began their rivalry for influence over King Henry. Although Henry and Catherine's marriage was no longer as strong as it had been a few years earlier, the first rumors of the king's infidelities with the queen's courtier, the beautiful Elizabeth (Bessie) Blount, appeared. The first mentions of their romance began to appear in the summer of 1514, when the king allegedly noticed her during the Masques. Elizabeth was known for her beauty, ability to play instruments and dance beautifully, and was even said to have composed her own songs. By nature, she was submissive, calm, and definitely did not want to be influential and outshine the queen, like some mistresses.
Despite this, Catherine and Henryk did not separate, which resulted in two more pregnancies. The first ended with the birth of a girl named Maria in February 1516. Henry and Catherine adored their daughter, she was later called 'the pearl'. In later times, Henry often boasted "my pearl never cries". The second ended in premature birth in August 1517, when a child was born stillborn or died shortly after birth, but the sex of the child was not recorded for posterity.
In the summer of 1516, an important ceremony took place at the court - all three sons of Catherine and Henry were appointed knights of the order of the Garter and received titles. Henry became Prince of Wales, Edward became Duke of York, and John became Duke of Somerset. The boys all had copper hair and seemed to be energetic childrenand, only John was frequently prone to fever. A few weeks later, the five-year-old Prince of Wales, Henry, or Hal as he was called, traveled to Wales, to Ludlow Castle, to begin his education there. To improve sanitary conditions, cattle were ordered to be kept in pens rather than having to walk everywhere, and the castle's corridors were regularly swept. The palace also had beautiful gardens and a tennis court for the prince and his companions to use. In May 1517, there were riots in London. Early in the reign of King Henry VIII, Londoners began to resent the presence of foreigners (called "aliens") arriving from the Continent. The people of London, encouraged by the priest's sermon, began a riot on Mayday, which was suppressed by the Duke of Norfolk and his private army. A dozen of the protesting men were executed, and the rest were pardoned, after the entreaties of Queen Catherine.
The Scottish problem was finally resolved in March 1517, when the first installment of the ransom was received, so King James IV, after three and a half years of captivity, could finally return to Scotland, but before doing so he had to take a humiliating oath before the King of England. After this he was taken to the Scottish border, an exchange was made in Northumberland, in accordance with the Treaty of London - King James returned, and in his place came the young Duke of Rothesay. It was also the first time Henry VIII and Margaret Tudor had met in years, but the relationship between the siblings was hostile. The Duke of Rothesay was taken by the English and sent to Ludlow to be brought up. Cousins Hal and James, although heirs to opposing crowns, became friends.
In July 1515, a convention was held in Vienna, where the emperor, the king of Hungary & Bohemia and the king of Poland met. Old arrangements were renewed, and everything was to be strengthened by two marriages - Maximilian's granddaughter, Maria, was to marry Louis, heir to the throne of Hungary and Bohemia. His older sister, Anne, was engaged to the emperor, and the age difference between them was 44 years. When the siblings' father died in March 1516, Maximilian became their guardian. In the summer, Anne arrived in Vienna, where she married Emperor Maximilian in Saint Stephen's Cathedral. Marriage was not like that of a wife and a husband, and the aging emperor was a fatherly or even grandfatherly figure to her. But it seems that the marriage was consummated, because later, in 1517, reports circulated that "Her Highness the Empress's belly is most beautifully rounded."
In the Netherlands, Charles took over independent rule in 1515. His marriage to Mary Tudor was developing well, two daughters were born - Isabella and Margaret, so a son was expected soon. However, the first years of his rule were dominated by wars with the rebellious Duke of Guelders, Charles, and soon there was a revolt of peasants and mercenaries from Friesland, initially supported by the Duke of Guelders. They won several victories, but when he withdrew his support, the Habsburg troops defeated them and the leaders of the uprising were beheaded.
After Eleanor's return from France, there were various offers of marriage - one of them was the widowed Polish king, Sigismund I the Old, who had recently lost his wife Barbara Zapolya and daughter in childbirth, and his only legitimate child was Jadwiga, born in 1513. Another was Anthony, Duke of Lorraine, whose first wife, Renée of Bourbon, died unfortunately a few weeks after their wedding. However, Eleanor was in no hurry to marry, as she was often seen at court parties, talking or dancing with Frederick of the Palatinate, who lived and served Charles. Malicious rumors claimed that the couple had secretly married, against all odds. It is not known what really happened, but Frederick was discreetly removed from the court and did not return to it until Eleanor left for her next husband.
On October 31, 1517, an event took place that was to change Europe. In Wittenberg, the German monk Martin Luther published his 99 theses. This definitely marked the beginning of a new chapter for history.
I welcome any suggestions from this regarding the Reformation.
Poor Eleanor. Hope that she finds a worthy husband
Very happy that scotland and James are humilliated.
Wish ferdinand VI and his brother charles the best