#dowager duchess of brittany

[joanofnavarre]

On this day in History, 10 June 1432, Jeanne d'Évreux, daughter of Navarre, died at Havering-atte-Bower. She was formerly Duchess of Brittany by her first marriage, and Queen of Enfland by her second marriage, which was a love union. Despite being imprisoned for some years by her stepson, Henry V, Joan (as she was better known by her English subjects) still received visits from her stepchildren such as Humphrey of Gloucester and John of Bedford, but more often her Beaufort in-laws like Cardinal Beaufort. She was buried next to Henry.

[scotianostra]

October 14th 1285 saw the marriage of King Alexander III to Yolande de Dreux.

Dates differ somewhat on this, one source states the marriage happened in November, most give October.

This was Alexander’s second marriage, the first was to Queen Margaret, they had three children, two of whom passed away before adulthood, the third, Margaret was married off to Eric II of Norway. Queen Margaret died on 26th February 1275 at Cupar Castle, with no male heir this meant a possible succession crisis, it took ten years for for Alexander to find a suitable bride, but according to the Lanercost Chronicle, he did not spend his decade as a widower alone:

“he used never to forbear on account of season nor storm, nor for perils of flood or rocky cliffs, but would visit none too creditably nuns or matrons, virgins or widows as the fancy seized him, sometimes in disguise.”

Yolande de Dreux was the daughter of Robert IV, Count of Dreux, and Beatrice, Countess of Montfort. She was born at the family seat at the Chateau of Dreux, close to the border between Normandy and the Ile-de-France. This made her a member of the Capetian dynasty, the largest and oldest of the royal houses in Europe.

And so it was on this day in 1285 that the 44 year old Alexander married 22 year old Yolande, by now Comtesse de Montfort.

The royal couple were married at Jedburgh AbbeyIt appears to have been love at first sight for both of them. Certainly all the Chronicles say that Alexander was quite besotted with his young, beautiful and graceful wife.

Alexander simply could not get enough of the glamorous Yolande, and on March 19, 1286, the king enjoyed a meal with his council in Edinburgh before deciding to surprise Yolande who was at a royal manor at Kinghorn in Fife.

The weather was so bad that the ferryman at Queensferry at first refused to carry the King across the Forth, but eventually he did so and with plenty wine taken and no doubt lust beckoning him onwards, the lure of Yolande proved too much and Alexander III charged onward through Fife.

His body was found the following morning on the shore between Burntisland and Kinghorn Ness near to Pettycur. The cliff down which he fell is known still as King’s Crag.

The history books tell us Yolande was pregnant, some say she miscarried, another chronicle goes into a wee bit more detail saying that the Guardians gathered at Clackmanan on St Catherine’s day 25th November 1286 – to witness the birth, but the child was stillborn, tradition says the baby was buried at Cambuskenneth. After the queen dowager’s pregnancy did not result in a living child, the council begun preparations for Margaret of Norway to be taken to Scotland as their new sovereign.

Queen dowager Yolande remained in Scotland for a couple of years supported by her dower provisions and living possibly at Stirling Castle: it is known that she was still in Scotland at least as late as in 1288. At some point, she returned to France.

In 1292 Yolande de Dreux remarried, this time to Arthur II, Duke of Brittany. They had six children together over the following decade. Arthur died in 1312, while Yolande lived until 1330.

Lots of ifs and buts resulting from this part of our history, but one thing is for sure, with Queen Yolande later having 6 children, there is little doubt that if Alexander hadn’t been so lusty that night she would have bore him a son and the whole timeline of our Royals would have been much different, no Bruce, no Stewarts, no Culloden?

Pics are Alexander's statue above the West door of St Giles in Edinburgh, and Seal of Yolande of Scotland - Duchess of Brittany.

[richmond-rex]

Some Tudor authors/historians have tried to reassess Margaret of York recently but I still hate this type of condescending approach:

(G. Streeter, Arthur Prince of Wales: Henry VIII's Lost Brother)

Margaret of York was as much of a political player as the monarchs and princes of her age. Why should we assign her actions to emotional reasons, only changing our stance from 'insatiable hatred' to self-delusional grief that makes her desperately cling to a nephew she only met once? For one, Margaret had a family in Burgundy (her stepdaughter Mary and her children). Most important of all, as the dowager duchess of Burgundy she was as much invested in seeing to Burgundy's interests and profits as was the duchy's regent at the time, Maximilian of Austria.

In 1493, the Milanese Ambassador in France wrote:

[The admiral] persuades the king [Charles VIII] that the emperor [Maximilian I] only wants peace in order to deceive him and set up Burgundy again. He says if [Charles VIII] gives back the daughter [Margaret of Austria] one of two evils will follow, either her father [Maximilian I] will never marry her, saying that she is the wife of his Majesty [Charles VIII], and thus make out that the king's children [with Anne of Brittany] are bastards, or they will try to make King of England the boy who calls himself the son of King Edward [Perkin Warbeck], who fled thither, and give him [Margaret of Austria] to wife, so as by his means to make perpetual war in France.

Henry VII was to be directly affected by those scenarios and at the same time he was barely involved in them (as far as his own willingness to cooperate with Burgundy went) — what even to say about Margaret of York. Thanks to France and Burgundy's own particular struggle, Maximilian needed England as a tool to hurt the king of France. For that he needed his own puppet king on the English throne, regardless if he was Edward IV's son or not. It's a complex geopolitical situation that involved elaborate schemes; schemes where Margaret of York was a (most likely willing) participant but in any case, none that had to do with Margaret's feelings about her family one way or the other.

[the-busy-ghost]

I’m petty and not a royalist, but seeing royal Stewarts referred to as Tudors is still teeth-gratingly irritating

[winterhalters]

The ladies-only banquet was one of many events organized in the days that immediately followed the ceremony held on June, 5th 1313, where the three sons of the King of France Philippe IV, along with some 200 noble young men from the most prestigious families in the kingdom, were officially knighted.

At the second table, were seated: Yolande of Dreux, Dowager Duchess of Brittany, her sister-in-law Pernelle de Sully, the Dowager Countess of Dreux, her mother Marguerite de Beaumez, Blanche of Brittany, sister of Mahaut of Artois, Jeanne of and Marie of Artois, her daughters, Isabelle de Rumigny, Dowager Duchess of Lorraine, Elisabeth of Austria, Duchess of Lorraine and daughter of Emperor Albert I; the cousins of Marguerite of Burgundy Marie of Hainaut, Jeanne d'Argies, Countess of Soissons, perhaps Béatrice, Princess of Hungary and Dauphine of Viennois, Marie of Flander, Countess of Boulogne, Isabelle of Lorraine, Countess of Vaudémont, Agnès de Brienne, Countess of Joigny, her daughter Jeanne of Joigny, Eleonore of Savoy, Countess of Forez, Louise de Beaumetz, Countess of Sancerre, Marie, Countess of Roussis, Jeanne de Gîgne, Countess of Eu, perhaps Béatrice of Burgundy, Dowager Countess of La Marche, Marguerite of Burgundy's aunt, Isabeau de Coucy, sister of Mahaut de Châtillon-Saint Pol; the ladies of Jeanne of Burgundy: Alix de Joinville, lady of Beaufort, wife of John of Lancaster, Alix de Clermont-Nesle, lady of Nesle, Jeanne de Tancarville, Vicountess of Melun, Isabelle de Forez, wife of the governor of Lyon, Jeanne de Dampierre, Jeanne de Vendôme.

A third table was counting at least: Marie de Vaucemain, lady of Chey, a lady of Marguerite's, Alips de Mons, wife of Enguerrand de Marigny, Roberte de Beaumetz, her daughter-in-law and a cousin of the Countess of Sancerre, Jeanne de Machot, lady of Viarmes, daughter of Saint Louis' chamberlain and the wife of Philippe IV's chamberlain, Marguerite des Bars, wife of another chamberlain of Philippe IV's, Isabeau of Burgundy, wife of a chamberlain of Louis, King of Navarre, Isabeau de Rosny, her mother-in-law, Marguerite de la Roüe, Jeanne de Courpalay and Béatrix, widow of Nogaret. Wives of other clerks were also in attendance, potentially along female members of the bourgeoisie. — Gaëlle Audéont, Philippe le Bel et l'Affaire des Brus, 1314

[histoireettralala]

Medieval Brittany

Brittany was a region with strong traditions of independance, with an ethnic identity, a language and culture of its own. Formal integration into and continued interaction with the Carolingian empire, and with adjacent regions, nevertheless ensured that the political and social institutions of Brittany were similar to those prevailing elsewhere in western Francia. This was especially true of the eastern portion of the medieval duchy (the counties of Rennes and Nantes) which were within the Carolingian Breton march.

Brittany was severely affected by Viking attacks, and when ducal authority was re-established in the 930s (with the first ducal charters surviving from the 940s), it remained fragile. Dynastic disputes caused the political fragmentation of the duchy into counties. Comital authority was in turn diminished by the appearance of adulterine castellanies, which by the mid-twelth century constituted independant baronies. Comital authority further suffered from the pressures of resisting claims to overlordship pursued by both the dukes of Normandy and the counts of Anjou in the tenth and eleventh centuries. The process of fragmentation was halted and reversed from the mid-eleventh century, when intermarriage among the comital houses resulted in the ducal title vesting in one individual, Duke Alan IV (1084-1112). It remained for the ducal dynasty to revive central authority. The long and stable reigns of Alan IV and his son Conan III (1112-1148), ably assisted by the dowager-duchess Ermengard, daughter of Count Fulk IV of Anjou, saw progress in this direction.

A succession dispute following Conan's death not only undid the dukes' achievement, but also created the circumstances in which the claims to overlordship by neighboring princes could be fulfilled in the person of Henry II, king of England, duke of Normandy and count of Anjou. Between 1158 and 1166, Henry II annexed Brittany to his continental possessions, marrying his younger son Geoffrey to Constance, heiress of the duchy. The Plantagenet regime in Brittany further consolidated important links with the Anglo-Norman kingdom, which began with grants of lands in England to Bretons who had supported William the Conqueror in 1066 and later his son Henry I. The largest bloc of English lands, the honour of Richmond, pertained to the dukes of Brittany by hereditary right after 1146, but other Bretons held English lands in chief of the crown independantly of Richmond.

The Plantagenet regime came to an end in 1203, in consequence of King John's murder of his nephew Arthur, the son of Duke Geoffrey and Constance. From that point, Brittany was indisputably subject to Capetian authority, which could now be exercised directly. Brittany had at all times acknowledged Capetian sovereignty- even the Plantagenet rulers had rendered homage for the duchy to the kings of France- but typically of the principalities, this sovereignty was purely nominal until the early thirteenth century. Nevertheless, after the marriage of infant heiress, Alix, to Pierre de Dreux, a Capetian cadet, in 1213, Brittany was allowed a large measure of autonomy, subject to the continued acknowledgement of Capetian sovereignty, and the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries would see the golden age of ducal Brittany.

Elizabeth M. Hallam & Charles West- Capetian France, 987-1328

[thefreelancehistorywriter]

The Wedding of King Henry IV and Joan of Navarre

The Wedding of King Henry IV and Joan of Navarre

Mary de Bohun, Countess of Derby and wife of Henry, Earl of Derby, died in the summer of 1394. In the interim, Henry usurped the throne from his cousin, King Richard II and became the first Lancastrian King, Henry IV. After some time, a marriage was contemplated between Henry IV and Joan of Navarre, Dowager Duchess of Brittany. The couple had met each other on at least one occasion and it is…

[inky-duchess]

Court Archetypes: The Dethroned Royals

So obviously I was inspired by The Crown to write this post. Pre-WWI Royalty has always piqued my interest, my favourites of course being the Romanovs who I've been obsessed with since I was like six. But the tragic ends and fates of royals who have been deposed have always caught my interest. So in this post, also inspired by an ask sent in by @therealcommanderbear , we'll be discussing displaced/dethroned royalty and their fates.

Usually when we see this in fiction we have 3 categories.

The Fighter

This displaced monarch fights for what is theirs. They will attempt to win or win back their thrones and kingdoms that are rightfully theirs.

Edward IV: Edward IV was displaced in 1470. He fled for his life after meeting the combined forces of his brother the Duke of Clarence and the Earl of Warwick. He escaped by boat with his close friends and his younger brother, almost drowning at sea before landing in Burgundy. His family escaped to sanctuary where his son, Edward was born. After a chat with the Duke of Burgundy who was kinsman and ally of the king, he returned to England after six months and smashed his enemies in battle at Barnet and Tewkesbury.

Henry Tudor/VII: Henry went into exile at fourteen after the fall of his house. He lived in Brittany with his uncle, waiting in the wings until there was opportunity to return to England. In 1483, an offer was made to let him come home and take up his Dukedom. But in the chaos after the death of the current king, the offer was forgotten. Henry attempted to invade with help from the Duke of Buckingham but was beaten by the weather. He returned in 1485 and won the throne, installing the House of Tudor and ending the Plantagenet line.

Margaret of Anjou & Edward of Westminster: After Henry V died, the kingdom was left to his young son Henry VI. He was not the best king, most adept at praying and sleeping. During the unrest that would eventually unseat him, his wife Margaret took control of their armies and fought for the throne. She was exiled but returned with a Scottish army. She lost some battles and won a few but was eventually beaten and the crown was lost. But after a shock defection from an enemy, the Earl of Warwick, she and her son aimed to take back the throne. The kingdom was won by Warwick yet the Queen and Prince were trapped in France thanks to bad weather. By the time they landed, Warwick was dead, the York king was back and they were effectively fucked. They made a dash to Wales hoping to find support but thanks to a flooded river they were forced to fight at Tewkesbury where the prince died and the queen was captured.

The Refugee

Some royals escape from the coups and revolutions that displace them. They usually flee to family members in other countries or allies in hope that they will shelter them or help them.

Alice of Battenburg & Prince Philip of Edinburgh (Greece & Denmark): After the Greco-Turkish war, things in Greece were getting though for the royal family. After much consideration, the coup that took over exiled Prince Andrew, Princess Alice and their four daughters and their infant son. Famously little Prince Philip was sleeping in a converted fruit crate while this happened. They went to Germany, France and England hopping about without a home. The princesses married into mainly German families and Philip worked in the Navy. In 1952, he married Princess Elizabeth heir to the English throne and shed his foreign titles in favour of a British one. Alice of Battenburg returned to Greece where she founded a nunnery, often selling her jewels to fund the order. During civil unrest, Alice came to England in order to live out her final years at Buckingham Palace.

Dowager Empress Maria Fyodorovna: The mother of Tsar Nicholas II fled Russia during the Revolution. She made it England on invitation from her sister Queen Alexandra. She lobbied to get asylum for the rest of her family but before it could be agreed, it was too late. She returned to Denmark where she died years later.

Marie-Therèse, Madame Royale and Duchess of Angoulême: The only living daughter of Marie Antoinette and Louis XIV was imprisoned along with her mother and brother during the Revolution. After the death of her parents, she was exchanged for French prisoners and sent to her mother's home country of Austria. During the brief restoration, she returned to France and served as Duchess of Angoulême.

Charles II: After the English Civil War, Charles I acted stupidly and got his head cut off leaving us with that cunt Oliver Cromwell. During the time where Cromwell was invading and insulting my country and being a general warty bollocks, the queen had escaped to France with her children. Her daughter Henrietta was married to the Duc of Orléans and her son Charles got busy with the ladies of the court. But Charles was invited back to be king during the Restoration where he chilled on his throne for a good lot of years where he slept around, partied and generally acted awesome. (*plays a loop of Horrible Histories' Charles II's Rap*)

The Tragic

And yet sometimes the story does not end so happily. Revolutions try to destroy the object of their opposition, mainly taking violent options.

Marie Antoinette, Louis XVI & Louis-Charles (Louis XVII): Probably the most famous revolution, the French Revolution claimed the lives of most the immediate Royal family. Louis XVI died first, guillotined after standing trial. His wife Marie Antoinette followed a few months later. Louis-Charles the Dauphin and the accepted king to loyal monarchists was kept in a dank dark cell, bullied into announcing lies that would further smear the reputations of his parents including a testimony that his mother had molested him. Louis-Charles died in the cell, thanks to the damp cell hampering his already ill heath.

Tsar Nicholas II, Tsarina Alexandra, Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Marie, Anastasia and Tsarevitch Alexei: The Russian Royal family was dethroned during the Russian Revolution and imprisoned by the Bolsheviks. The royal family was sent north to Siberia to live in exile under house arrest. They remained positive thinking that somebody would rescue them be it the White Army or their cousins in England. They believed that they would be banished abroad and sewed their corsets full of jewels. The family was awoken one night to "take a photograph" in the basement of the House of Special Purpose in order to prove they were alive. The family waited along with some close friends, the Tsarina and the crippled Tsarevitch seated. Eleven gunmen entered the chamber and began firing at the family. The men died quickly but thanks to the jewels sewn into their corsets, the women were harder to kill. Once they were dead, the revolutionaries dumped the bodies in a nearby wood separating them so that if anybody found them, they would not think that it was the royal family. During the late half of the 20th century, the bodies were found and identified before being buried.

[minervacasterly]

Henry VII of England and Lord of Ireland: The First Tudor Monarch  

On the thirtieth of October 1485, over two months after the Battle of Bosworth, Henry Tudor, former Earl of Richmond, was crowned King of England and Lord of Ireland. This was the day that the Tudor Dynasty officially began. It was a momentous occassion. Not just for him, but for his mother who had fought earth and heaven (first) for his survival, (then) his inheritance and (finally) his ascension to the monarchy.

In spite of the efforts on the part of revisionist history to bring much needed fairness to maligned kings and queens, Henry VII, his mother and the rest of the Lancastrians continue to be seen - and portrayed - in a negative light as opposed to the angelic Yorks who brought stability and fairness to a war-torn realm.Henry's personal accounts, as well as the personal accounts of his mother prior to his coronation, show a different picture from pop culture's caricature of them.

Henry VII wasn't perfect by any means. Like his Plantagenet predecessors, he was briefly taken by dreams of grandeur when he sought glory in France but he had the good common sense to refrain himself from that when he realized that it'd do England no good. Furthermore, he rewarded many of his Welsh supporters and remained eternally grateful to his uncle, Jasper Tudor, whom he immediately elevated to Duke of Bedford. It was due to Jasper that he got a lot of Welsh support.As for his relationship with his children, not much is said but much can be surmised by his devotion to his wife and his correspondence to his eldest daughter Margaret. In a letter to her father, Margaret told him how much she missed him and wished he was close so she wouldn't feel homesick. Margaret at the time was in Scotland. Scotland and England had been long time enemies. The first years of Henry's reign, Scotland had been the cause of many headaches for the first Tudor king. For one, Scotland had sided with Henry's enemies, namely Margaret of York, Duchess Dowager of Burgundy and her puppet pretender, Perkin Warbeck. Perkin Warbeck pretended to be the youngest of the two lost princes in the tower, Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York. To counter this menace, Henry VII elevated his second son, Prince Henry to Duke of York.To demonstrate how committed Scotland was to the Yorkist cause, James VI, King of Scots offered one Scottish noblewoman to the pretender as his wife. To presume that Henry was furious, is an understatement. And nevertheless, his desire to keep the country from being torn apart by endless wars and rebellions was greater than his fury.After Perkin Warbeck was hung, Henry VII sought a peace between both kingdoms. 

This was the first time in a long time that England and Scotland enjoyed a truce. As an olive branch, Henry VII got James IV to agree to establish courts where half of the jury would be Scots and the other English to judge raiders and bandits who were caught on either side of the border. This alliance was further strengthened with the union of Henry's eldest daughter to James IV. The administrative reforms started by his wife's late father, the first Yorkist King, Edward IV, were carried out by Henry VII. 

On the day of his coronation, his uncle and stepfather played a prominent role. Jasper Tudor had the honor of holding the crown while his stepfather carried the sword of state.Ironically, before Henry became King of England, when he was just a child, the bards sang songs in honor of his late father (Edmund Tudor) and predicted that great things awaited his son. When he landed on Milford Haven in Pembrokeshire, Wales, the bards sang louder, praising now his uncle as well, saying “Jasper will breed us a dragon” claiming that Henry was the chosen one, the prince that was promised, of an ancient Welsh prophecy. Never forgetting who was responsible for his rise, he rewarded many of his Welsh supporters with lands, titles and offices.

As for his personal style, Henry VII showed a strong favoritism for Burgundian dress and architecture. This came from spending nearly half of his teenage and young adult years in the court of Brittany where such a style was favored, along with some aspects of French government.

“In Brittany he had enjoyed gambling, music, dancing, poetry and literature. He was quick to smile, with an exceptionally expressive face, but his years of vulnerability had made him a man anxious to be in control of every detail of his environment. For his physical protection Henry had replaced the personal service of the nobility traditionally offered an English king with a security guard in the French model: huge yeomen, dressed in livery embroidered with red roses.” ~ Leanda de Lisle, Tudor: Passion. Manipulation. Murder. The Story of England’s Most Notorious Royal Family

This personal anxiety became more pronounced after the deaths of his firstborn Arthur and his wife Elizabeth of York. Both less than a year from each other. Henry VII still appeared dressed in his finest robes at public functions and meetings of state, but his public image and his private one suddenly merged into one where he adopted a strict stoicism that was seen as heartless, and synonymous with his unrelenting taxation and over-protectiveness of his remaining heir.

Henry VII died on the 21st of April 1509, after nearly twenty-four years of government. He was buried at the Lady Chapel in Westminster Abbey next to his wife, Elizabeth of York. Though the Tudor Dynasty name died out with his granddaughter, Elizabeth I; his bloodline continued through his eldest daughter's descendant James VI of Scotland who became King of England and Ireland after Queen Elizabeth I's death on the 24th of March 1603.

[kingedwardvi]

Calendar of State Papers Foreign: Edward VI 1547-1553

May 16. Augsburg.: The Bishop of Westminster to the Council. On the 8th had received their letters of the 2d by Bluemantle, and had audience of the Emperor on the 12th as to granting licence for recruiting Germans, seeing that the French King by secret practices had got Germans to aid the Scots, who were enemies both of the Emperor and King of England. 

The Emperor expressed his desire to maintain amity, but cannot consent to give such licence without concurrence of the estates, and referred him to Granvelle; the interview with whom on Sunday the 13th he details. 

Informed by him that the Emperor has instructed the Regent to signify to the French King that as he sends his ships to aid the Emperor's enemies the Scots, they shall not be permitted to enter or have supplies at any of the Emperor's ports. 

The same expressions of amity, but steady refusal of licence repeated. Touching the practising of the French King with the King of Denmark for aiding the Scots, Granvelle is directed to confer with the Danish Ambassador. It is plain no other aid can be looked for than what can be obtained at the hands of the Regent of Flanders. [Three pages.].

The Bishop of Westminster to Sir William Petre. The English must trust to themselves, as he sees that these men will yet hold up fair with France, and yet in words they would make him believe other. 

Had written to him by the ordinary post on the 15th intimating the long-looked for arrival here of Prosperus de Sancta Cruce, who was expected to bring the Bishop of Rome's resolution upon the Interim, and now is said to have brought nothing relating to it.

Last night the Interim was published to the States, with exhortation to all Catholics to continue in their old religion and to all who had swerved from it to return; they that will not are commanded under great pains to keep the Interim until order be taken by the General Council. Sends letters from Mr. Mount (missing). [One page.]

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May 20. Holm.-- Gustavus I., King of Sweden, to the Lord Protector. Complaining that in the wars between England and Scotland the merchant vessels of Sweden, which was strictly neutral and had done no injury, had contrary to the law of nations been seized and pillaged as those of a common enemy, and requesting that any of their ships in the possession of the English may be restored to them. [Latin. Three pages.]

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May 22. Holm.95. The Lords and Councillors of Sweden to same. Desiring the establishment of a commercial treaty between England and Sweden. [Latin. Three pages.]

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May 25. Ronay by Brienne. Dr. Wotton to the Lord Protector. The King, who is here at certain places of the Duke of Guise, is not likely to leave for 10 or 12 days, when he will probably go to Anserville, near St. Diziers; but since that place is near to Bar, there may be some meeting with the Duchess of Lorraine, as something likely is ado, seeing the Cardinal of Guise has gone thither. 

Their removal to Lyons is still reported, and the Queen of Navarre is ready to proceed there to be at her daughter's marriage. The younger Bonivet, that was Bishop of Bosiers, was shot at the musters in Brittany, on his way to Scotland. Pietro Strozzi had been in danger of like death. 

The Cardinal of Lorraine has left the Court, it is said, for Lorraine. The Emperor's Ambassador had twice audience of the King while at Troyes, although he was not more than a week there, and also twice since he lay at Delvent, a frequency in so short a space somewhat unusual. Sends herewith a complaint of some spoliation alleged to have been committed by some English on a person of Bordeaux. Had replied that he had no commission in such matters, and that they must apply to his Grace or to the ordinary judges. [Five pages. The first and larger part in cipher, undeciphered.]

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May 29. Augsburg. The Bishop of Westminster to Sir William Petre. Sends the effect of the supplication from the Commissioners of the cities against the Interim (missing); also Preface to the Interim, "ut possit estimare leonem ex unguibus;" the rest he will bring with him. 

Also copy of the Hungarians' petition for aid (likewise missing). The league between the French and the Bishop of Rome is positively affirmed, and money deposited on both sides. Bernardine has heard that the French have laid at Venice 700,000 crowns, and the Bishop at Lyons 350,000. 

"They name this league defensive, but the Imperials name it offensive." He has also heard of the angry expressions in regard to the Bishop of Rome made use of by the Emperor to the Legate, moving for the restitution of Piacenza. Duke Maurice left this two days ago, as did the Landgrave's wife, having permission to visit her husband. 

The insurrection in Poland said to be at an end, all parties having submitted to the King, from whom an Ambassador to the Emperor is on his way. Mount has seen the request of the Austrians to the States for aid: pretended, like that of the Hungarians and the King of the Romans, to be for raising an army and defences against the Turk. [Two pages.]

Eod. die. Copy of preface to the Interim referred to in the preceding letter, [Eight pages.] Entirely different from that printed in the Constitutiones Imperiales of Melchior Goldast.

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June 5. Augsburg.  Same and Sir Philip Hoby to the Lord Protector and the Council. Sir Philip Hoby arrived on the 1st, and an audience for him and the Bishop had been appointed for to-day, but the Emperor having been seized with a flux over night, it will probably be deferred till to-morrow.

Sends copy of letter from Melancthon to Carolowicius (missing), and of the Emperor's replication to the States' answer concerning his demand for the Low Countries to be in defence of the Empire (likewise missing). 

The Bishop having his Majesty's commands to return and to arrange with Sir P. Hoby, will do all in his power to accomplish the same. [One page. Printed nearly entire by Tytler, Vol. i., p. 99.]

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June 11. Augsburg. Same to same. Had audience of the Emperor on Wednesday, when the Bishop took leave and Hoby presented his credentials. The Emperor strongly professed his desire for a continuance of amity, and referred the Bishop to Granvelle on the question of the mutual treaty of wools. 

Both next day saw Granvelle, of the interview with whom they give full details. Granvelle said the Emperor had not yet heard from his Commissioners as to the treaty of wools, but he is so well affectioned to the King's Majesty that he will not only ratify it, but all other treaties and leagues. 

He farther spoke vehemently against the French and their war in Scotland, and mentioned his defiant reply to the French Ambassador's complaint of the closing the ports against their ships. 

The Emperor cannot accede to their request as to Courtpening's band, but Courtpening may have as many men as he likes without any hindrance on part of the Emperor, and the Regent will not fail to help him as she may. This, however, was to remain a secret understanding between Granvelle and the Ambassadors. [Four pages.]

--- July 1. Brussels. Sir Thomas Smith to Mr. Cecil, Master of the Requests to the Lord Protector's Grace. They arrived here on Friday night. The Queen having gone a hunting to Binche, could not speak with her, but hopes they shall on Tuesday or Wednesday. 

The Bishop of Westminster arrived shortly before them, and will be in England soon. All is quiet here, without any suspicion of war. The Emperor said to be still sacking in Germany, and to be very lusty. Marvels that none knew of the burning of Arde till they told it. 

Longs to hear of the Bishop of Winchester's summons, and how he demeaned himself therein. Begs Cecil to remember him when the answer of the park cometh. [One page. Printed by Tytler, with the exception of one paragraph, Vol. i., p. 107.]

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July 8. Brussels.   Same, Sir Edward Carne, and Sir Thomas Chamberlain to the Lord Protector. The Lady Regent arrived here from Binche yesterday. Had audience of her this afternoon. She is sensible of his Majesty's desire of amity with the Emperor, which is reciprocated. It may be that there was no evil meaning in the thing, but mistaken; and though what was done is thought in England to have been done justly, the contrary is thought here. Shall appoint parties to debate with them, and give them reason. 

The Duke of Arschot is to be married to the Princess Dowager of Orange, daughter to the Duke of Lorraine, this week. The Florentines are informed by letters from Lyons that the French there boast that their galleys had taken Rye and Dover, and even entered the Thames and besieged London; but that many of them were slain and the rest repulsed. 

The Spaniards had been expelled from Sienna by aid of the Prince de Saxe, who arrived with 19 galleys at Port Orbitello, beside Port Hercules. Andrew Doria, with 20 galleys, has sailed from Genoa against him. [Two pages.]

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July 19. Brussels. Sir Thomas Smith to Sir William Paget, Comptroller of the Household. Cannot learn what they mean by keeping them here longer, as at every meeting all seems concluded. Imparts to him at great length his views as to the necessity for imposing restrictions in order to preserve the trade of the English merchants.

---

Aug. 11. Venice. Balthasar Alterius to the Lord Protector. Incloses intelligence from the Roman Court (missing). The French King will come to Turin on the 15th inst., with very few horsemen, merely to look at the place, and then will return.

----

Aug. 16. Antwerp. William Dansell to Sir Francis Fleming, Lieutenant of the King's Majesty's Ordnance, or to Mr. A. Anthony, Clerk of the same at the Tower. Mentioning his having shipped certain stores (therein enumerated) under this mark [symbol], which he will please to receive for his Majesty's use, and give an acknowledgment therefor. Can supply his Majesty with a considerable quantity of saltpetre at seven crowns and a half, or very near thereabout. [One page.]

Aug. 26. Venice. Balthasar Alterius to the Lord Protector. Incloses intelligence from the Roman Court (missing). The King of France is still at Turin, but it is said will depart shortly, not without some small diminution of his fame, his advent having been compared to the mountain in labour. 

Ferdinand Gonzaga lately visited him and soon left. Thinks the King will remain longer to await the arrival of the Prince of Spain in Italy, that he may receive a reply from them, whom he has sought by many promises to accede to his purpose. This is the more likely, if it be that the Duke of Vendome is shortly expected at Mantua, and thereafter at Venice. [One page.].

---

Sept. 14. Konigsberg. Albert, Marquis of Brandenburg, to King Edward VI. In favour of Wolhard Count Mansfeldt, who desires to enter into his Majesty's service. [Latin. Broadside.]

--- Sept. 16. Louvain. Sir Philip Hoby to the Lord Admiral. Had not written since his arrival here, as his Lordship would know what was going on by his letters to the Lord Protector. Narrates the Emperor's late proceedings in the matter of the Interim, and his being repulsed at the attack on Constance, in which Don Alonzo Vives was slain. 

The Emperor left on the 13th for Ulm, where he remained only five (sic) days; is now here, and after 10 or 12 days it is thought will go to the Low Countries. The Bishop of Rome, nothing satisfied with the Emperor's proceedings in these matters of religion, refuses to ratify them. 

The French King is at Turin, and his abode there is regarded with suspicion by this Court. Conspiracy to slay Don Fernando (Gonzaga) discovered. [Two pages and a half. Printed by Tytler, Vol. i., p. 125.]

--- Nov. 1. London. Sir John Masone to the Lord Protector. Details his unsatisfactory interview with the French Ambassador in regard to some French prisoners sent from Canterbury to London, at the escape of whom the Ambassador had connived. [Two pages and a half.]

---

Dec. 13. Miraw. The Lord Protector to Dr. Wotton. Details a conference between his Grace and the French Ambassador, wherein the Protector asserted the King's right to the supremacy of Scotland, and offered to prove it by the production of national records and documents, showing the homages and services done by the Kings of Scotland, under their own seals and those of the prelates and cities of that kingdom, &c. 

Sends copy of a compilation of these authorities, and copies of some of the documents, desiring Dr. Wotton to submit them to the French King and his Council. [Three pages and a half; much injured by damp. Draft, autograph of Secretary Petre.] A clean copy of the preceding, taken from the Scotch papers. [Three pages.]

[thetudorforum]

Available Characters in Italy

Contact us here or at forum if you wish to play one of them:

Caspar Ottaviano de' Medici-Ambassador Michelangelo-Artist Petyr Baelish-lord Giovanni Montpensier-2nd Baron Montpensier of Calabria Giralamo de Treviso- also known as Girolamo di Tommaso da Treviso the Younger and Girolamo Trevigi, was an Italian Renaissance painter. Stylistically, Girolamo is associated with Giorgionismo and the continuation of Giorgione’s style, and, while working in Bologna during the 1520s, the influence of Raphael’s St. Cecilia.Besides working in Bologna, which included sculptural decoration on the portal of San Petronio and grisaille paintings inside, he also worked in Genoa, Faenza, Trent, and at the Palazzo del Te in Mantua. Giorgio Vasari, in his Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects, writes that Girolamo traveled to England to work as a military engineer for Henry VIII.He also worked as a painter there,A Protestant Allegory in the Royal Collection shows the Pope on the ground being pelted with large stones by various figures.Girolamo was working as an engineer for Henry when killed by a cannon shot during the siege of Boulogne-sur-Mer in 1544. Tate Langdon- courtier at Italian court. He is a fictional character, his story is all yours to make. Pier Paolo Vergerio- the Younger, was an Italian religious reformer. Although Vergerio achieved little in the way of his appointed task, which was to induce the Protestants to send delegates to the council, Pope Paul III twice dispatched him across the Alps; and meanwhile rewarded him, first with the bishopric of Modruš in Croatia. In the year 1540, Vergerio again entered active diplomatic service; he was at Worms at the religious conference as commissioner for King Francis I of France. It was in memory of the council that he dedicated the tract De unitate et pace ecclesiae. Like Cardinal Contarini, beside whom he also appeared at the religious conference of Regensburg in 1541, he was charged with having conceded too much to the Protestants. Bernardo Tasso-born in Venezia, was an Italian courtier and poet. He was, for many years, secretary in the service of the King of Italy, and he was a childhood friend to a King. Valerie Rocksford-lady in waiting at Italian court. She is a fictional character, hers story is all yours to make. Girolamo Riario- best friend to Caspian de'Noli and Captain-general of the Holy Roman Church. He is a fictional character, his story is all yours to make. Clemencia Huerta- lady in waiting to  Juana of Aragon Lorenzo de Mauro-Soldier and loyal to Juana of Aragon Joanna d'Aragona - daughter of Gerome Dudley and Juana of Aragon Ercole II d'Este, Duke of Ferrara- He was the eldest son of Alfonso I d'Este and Lucrezia Borgia.In April 1528, he married Renée of France, the second daughter of Louis XII, King of France, and Anne of Brittany. Renée received from Francis I of France an ample dowry and annuity. Thus the court she assembled about her in Ferrara corresponded to the tradition which the cultivation of science and art implicitly required, including scholars like Bernardo Tasso and Fulvio Pellegrini Morato. Anna d'Este- was an important princess with considerable influence at the court of France and a central figure in the French Wars of Religion. In her first marriage she was Duchess of Aumale, then of Guise, in her second marriage Duchess of Nemours and Genevois. Alfonso II d'Este, Duke of Ferrara-He was the elder son of Ercole II d'Este and Renée de France, the daughter of Louis XII of France and Anne of Brittany and was the fifth and last Duke of Ferrara. Lucrezia d'Este-was a Ferrarese noblewoman and duchess of Urbino from 1570 to 1578. She was the third daughter of Ercole II d'Este, Duke of Ferrara and his wife Renée of France, the second daughter of Louis XII of France and Anne of Brittany. She was notable as a patron of the arts - she and her younger sister Eleonora d'Este were the dedicatees of Torquato Tasso's poem O figlie di Renata (O daughters of Renata). Eleonora d'Este-was a Ferrarese noblewoman. She was the fourth daughter of Ercole II d'Este, Duke of Ferrara and his wife Renée of France, the second daughter of Louis XII of France and Anne of Brittany. She and her elder sister Lucrezia d'Este were the dedicatees of Torquato Tasso's poem O figlie di Renata (O daughters of Renata). Luigi d'Este-was an Italian Catholic cardinal, the second of the five children of Ercole II d'Este, Duke of Modena and Ferrara, and Renée, daughter of Louis XII of France. Rodrigo de Puebla- royal advisor to Juana of Aragon Juliet Capulet- lady in waiting and best friend to Juana of Aragon Costanza Farnese- best friend to Anastasia of Aragon Giacomo Boncompagni- future husband to Anastasia of Aragon Catalina Alberici- governess to Isabella de Aleramici Paris da Mula - Count of Visu and husband of Juliet Capuletti Sister Lucy Brocadelli - nun. Fictioonal Lucrezia Borgia - Duchess of Ferrara; wife of Alfonso d'Este Francesca Salviatii - a lady of Florence Isabella of Taranto-Dowager Queen of Taranto Piero Strozzi Italian military leader Adelaide of Taranto - daughter of Juana Aragon Emma of Taranto - daughter of Juana Aragon Ercole II d'Este - brother of Juana Aragon Costanza d'Avalos-Duchess of Francavilla Joanna d'Aragona-Countess of Lecce and Brienne Cosimo d'Aragona  -  King of Lombardy; son of Juana of Aragon & Caspar de Medici Luca Garcia  -  Prince of Italy; brother of Cesare, Giovanni & Lucrezia Gianna Moretti -  maid; fictional ; her story is yours to make Louise Borgia  -  Duchess of the Romagna Francesca Garcia -  Princess of Italy; sister of Francesco & Madeline Maria Schenk  -  Queen of Italy Lucrezia Garcia  -  Princess of Italy Giulia Amalfi -  lady in waiting

[isabeaudevalois]

task 001: character sheet

BASIC INFORMATION

FULL NAME : isabeau marguerite valois 

MEANING : 

name: isabeau, the medieval french variant of isabel (which is itself a variant of the name elizabeth), means “my god is an oath” 

middle name: marguerite, the french form of margaret, means “pearl” and also refers to the french name for the daisy flower 

surname: valois, the dynasty into which isabeau was born

MONIKERS / NICKNAMES : izzy & beau by her brother louis. some other family members refer to her as ma choupinette

TITLE : 

madame royale 

et fille de france

dowager duchess of burgundy

dowager duchess of anjou

princess isabeau of france (she was not given the style madame royale upon birth)

GENDER & PRONOUNS : cisfemale & she, her, hers

ETHNICITY : white 

DATE OF BIRTH & AGE: october 27, 1528; 30 years old

ZODIAC SIGN : scorpio

ORIENTATION : heterosexual/heteroromantic (to be fair, isabeau is probably bisexual and biromantic, but she’s never had reason to explore that before, so i’ve labeled her as she would label herself)

MARITAL STATUS : widowed; currently betrothed to ferdinand of lorraine

OCCUPATION : madame royale of france

CURRENT LOCATION : sasso corbaro castle, switzerland.

BACKGROUND

PLACE OF BIRTH : palace of fontainebleau

RESIDENCES : château de chenonceau 

RELIGIOUS VIEWS : roman catholic; quite pious

EDUCATION : as a daughter of the king of france, isabeau was educated according to her status. her education was handled entirely by her mother and tended toward religion, languages, history, and the arts, both visual and musical. 

LANGUAGES SPOKEN : 

french (fluent)

latin (fluent) 

german (fluent) 

spanish (fluent)

english (fluent) 

portuguese (moderate) 

russian (moderate) 

polish (weak) 

italian (weak)

ALLEGIANCES : 

house valois of france: by birth

house schleswig-holstein of germany: by betrothal

ottoman empire: by alliance

FAMILY :

king francis II: eldest brother

duke charles of orléans: brother

duke louis of alençon: brother

queen claude of brittany: sister-in-law

duchess clothilde of orléans: sister-in-law

dauphin henri of france: nephew

marquess adhémar of orléans: nephew

viscount jacques of orléans: nephew

OTHER FAMILIAL RELATIONS : n/a at the moment

APPEARANCE

FACECLAIM : matilda lutz

HAIR COLOUR / STYLE : dark golden blonde; her hair is usually bound in braids or twists and covered in a golden net with jewels for decoration. however, isabeau often adapts depending on who she is seeing that day. if she was to see someone from a country that often wore their hair loose, she would likely do the same. 

EYE COLOUR / SHAPE : blue; roundish-almond eyes

HEIGHT : 152 cm/5 feet

BUILD : slim; isabeau has some muscle that comes from horseback riding, but that is the extent of her physical exertion

SPEECH STYLE : isabeau has a very parisian accent and her tone of voice is melodic. she pronounces things rather easily and does not put too much emphasis on any particular syllables. she is very formal with those she does not know well (read: everyone) and that often shows with the words she chooses. 

RECOGNIZABLE MARKINGS : isabeau has a small scar below her collarbone that came about from playing with louis as a child. it is approximately two inches long.

BEAUTY HABITS : isabeau uses cosmetics to ensure that she always looks her best; her hair is often styled and curled if it is left down and she would not ever be seen in public without her rouge and lip paint applied. 

PERSONALITY

TROPES : arranged marriage, parental favoritism (gender), stepford snarker, unequal pairing, youngest child complex

INSPIRATIONS : catherine of aragon, giuliano de’ medici (the younger), cher horowitz, blair waldorf (if you squint)

MBTI : estj-t (the executive)

ENNEAGRAM : type 8 (the challenger) with 8w7 wing

ALIGNMENT : neutral evil

TEMPERAMENT : choleric, melancholic, & sanguine (all within 1 point of each other)

HOGWARTS HOUSE : gryffindor

POSITIVE TRAITS : generous, affectionate, intelligent, articulate

NEGATIVE TRAITS : caustic, sarcastic, self-centered, rash

HABITS : when nervous, isabeau will often clasp her hands in front of her abdomen. When she is in a good mood, she’s often seen smiling while her fingers push wisps of hair behind her ears. isabeau also attends daily mass first thing in the morning

HOBBIES : horseback riding, playing the harp, reading poetry, dancing, discussing theology, viewing art

USUAL DEMEANOR : how they usually portray themselves / may be the first impression taken from them.

HEALTH

PHYSICAL AILMENTS : none at this time

NEUROLOGICAL CONDITION : isabeau has suffered from depression and anxiety, though she has developed coping mechanisms

PHOBIAS : autophobia (fear of isolation)

ALLERGIES : she has seasonal allergies, but they are not diagnosed. as such, isabeau suffers through several months of watery eyes and sneezes if only so she can have flowers in her rooms.

SLEEPING HABITS : isabeau sleeps around seven hours per night, though she often takes naps in the afternoon when she is given the time to do so. she wakes up with some frequency and though she is loathe to admit it, she hates sleeping alone.

SOCIABILITY : isabeau is generally sociable and enjoys parties and spending time with others. however, she is much less sociable in switzerland if only because she half-expects that when she leaves switzerland, it will not be to go home to france.

ADDICTIONS : isabeau is a heavy drinker and has been since the death of her first husband. she tends to prefer wine and it is rare to see her without a goblet already in hand.

[markoftheasphodel]

Three Suns Rising: Outline for a Jugdral/Wars of the Roses AU

Dramatis personae:

(deceased)

King Azmur III, patriarch of the whole messy dynasty, known for being of unstable mind at the close of his reign

King Kurth, the only direct heir of Azmur, deposed and murdered after a brief reign

Byron Plantagenet, Duke of York, leading contender for the crown in the wake of Kurth’s demise, killed in battle

Viktor Plantagenet, Duke of Lancaster, died under mysterious circumstances after being implicated in the conspiracy against Kurth

Ring Neville, Earl of Salisbury, Byron’s ally

(living circa the 1560s)

Sigurd Plantagenet, Duke of York, newly crowned King of England after a series of successful battles. Tall, handsome, amiable, and not very cunning. Also, single.

Quan Stewart, Duke of Rothesay, heir to the Scottish throne and ally to Sigurd. Ambitious and not quite as clever as he thinks he is.

Ethlyn of York, Duchess of Rothesay, Quan’s wife and future queen

Eldigan, independent King of Provence, part of an extensive dynastic mess encompassing Anjou, Provence, and Naples. Ally of Sigurd and on really bad terms with France

Lachesis d’Anjou, his younger sister, on the marriage market

Arvis Plantagenet, Duke of Lancaster, Viktor’s only legitimate son and therefore the main Lancastrian claimant to the throne. Biding his time.

Azelle Plantagenet, Bastard of Lancaster, younger half-brother to Arvis

Reptor Neville, Earl of Warwick, the most powerful noble in England, who fancies himself the “Kingmaker”

Tailtiu and Ethnia Neville, Reptor’s beloved daughters… and pawns in his dynastic plans

Lombard Beaufort, Duke of Somerset, key Lancastrian noble 

Lex Beaufort, his younger son and friend to Azelle

Claude, Bishop of Bath and Wells, King Sigurd’s ally

Manfroy, Bishop of Ely, ally to Arvis and Reptor

Edain and Andre Neville, unconventional heirs to the Earl of Salisbury. 

Travant, King of the Orkneys, perpetual source of conflict in Scotland and nobody’s ally

Beowolf, a notable condottiero (aka mercenary) in Eldigan’s court

Oifey of York, Sigurd’s cousin, who may be of some consequence down the line

Shannan, the child heir to Brittany

Ayra of Brittany, his aunt, who wants Sigurd to save her nephew from France

Chagall XI, King of France, who never met a plot too stupid to merit his involvement

Finn, Duke of Albany, a young Scottish noble and key supporter of Quan’s also technically his half-brother in this

Lewyn de Commines, some diplomat guy who really gets around

Cigyn Woodville, disgraced Dowager Duchess of Lancaster, allegedly descended from the witch Melusine and now living in obscurity with her daughter…

Lady Deirdre Woodville, who is very beautiful.

[amazingwomenofhistory]

Game of Thrones: The Wars of the Roses and the Two Women who Established the Tudor Dynasty

Since I recently finished Philippa Gregory’s The Cousins’ War series, I thought it would be right to give credit to the two women who ended the Wars of the Roses a.k.a the true Game of Thrones between the houses of Lancaster (red rose) and York (white rose). Both the Yorks and the Lancasters were members of House Plantagenet, both having claim to the throne through the children of Edward III. The Yorks’ claim to the throne came from the female relatives of Edward III’s second and fourth sons while the Lancasters’ claim was through Edward III’s son, John of Gaunt. I will refrain from confusing everyone with further details because English royal lineage can be quite confusing, so we’ll focus on the two ladies who ended it all: Elizabeth Woodville and Margaret Beaufort.

Elizabeth Woodville: White Rose of York

Born c. 1437, Elizabeth was the first child of Richard Woodville, 1st Earl Rivers and his wife Jacquetta of Luxembourg, Countess Rivers. Elizabeth and her mother Jacquetta of Luxembourg (also the former Duchess of Bedford) had been of service to the Lancastrian queen, Margaret of Anjou during the early stages of the Wars of the Roses. Her first husband, Sir John Grey of Groby, a Lancastrian supporter who died at the second Battle of St. Albans in 1461. From this marriage she had two boys: Richard and Thomas Grey. The latter would go on to serve Henry Tudor—the future Henry VII. After the death of her husband, Elizabeth was desperate to convince King Edward IV—the York who had taken the throne from the Lancastrian Henry VI—to restore her lands. As legend has it, Edward IV immediately fell in love with her and the two were married privately in 1464. The Woodville loyalty quickly shifted from Lancaster to York. She was crowned queen in May 1465 and became patroness to the Queen’s College of the University of Cambridge.

Her marriage to Edward IV produced ten children, the most well-known being Elizabeth of York, Edward V, and Richard, Duke of York. As legend has it, Edward V and Richard, Duke of York were murdered by their uncle Richard, Duke of Gloucester (soon Richard III) who was made their guardian following the death of Edward IV. Following her husband’s death, Elizabeth remained in sanctuary, corresponding with Margaret Beaufort. The deal between the ladies was this: if Richard III was defeated, the houses of York and Lancaster would be united with the marriage of Henry Tudor and Elizabeth of York. Elizabeth Woodville agreed and was given her title of Queen Dowager while serving in the Tudor court. In her later years, she was disgraced at the Tudor court and forced to withdraw to a convent in Bermondsey where she died a few years later on June 8, 1492.

Margaret Beaufort: Red Rose of Lancaster

Margaret Beaufort was the daughter of John, Duke of Somerset and Margaret Beauchamp. She was born on May 31, 1443 and her family found its claim to the throne through the illegitimate children of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster and Katherine Swynford, his mistress. Margaret was arranged to marry John de la Pole at the age of six. The marriage was later dissolved due to the death of William de la Pole (father of John de la Pole) and Margaret was sent to Wales where she later married Edmund Tudor at the age of twelve. He was roughly twenty-five at the time. Tudor died in 1456 of the plague while Margaret was pregnant with his son, the future Henry VII.

Her future marriages were made to benefit her son Henry who was hiding in Brittany in the care of his uncle Jasper Tudor. Her later husbands were Henry Stafford and Thomas Stanley, Earl of Derby. Her marriage to Sir Thomas Stanley made it possible to use this connection to her advantage since his son was married to Elizabeth Woodville’s niece. Upon Richard III’s usurpation of the throne, Margaret served as lady-in-waiting to Queen Anne, carrying her coronation robe, while secretly corresponding with Elizabeth Woodville who was in sanctuary at Westminster. Following Henry Tudor’s victory with the help of Stanley’s army at Bosworth, Henry Tudor was crowned Henry VII and Elizabeth Woodville’s daughter, Elizabeth of York served as Queen Consort. Margaret established the title of Her Lady the King’s Mother and lived to see her son and grandson Henry VIII crowned before her death on June 29, 1509.

It is from these two ladies that we received the well-known Tudor dynasty that flourished through England. The reforms created from this alliance still exist today, not to mention gave us one of the finest monarchs (in my opinion), Elizabeth I.

Sources:

Andrews, Evan. 9 Things You Should Know About the Wars of the Roses. 22 May 2015. Web. 3 February 2018.

Brittanica, The Editors of Encyclopedia. Elizabeth Woodville. 2018. Web. 3 February 2018.

Martyn, Isobel. Margaret Beaufort: ‘Mother Superior’ or ‘M’? March 2007. Web. 3 February 2018.

Michael, Livi. Real-life Game of Thrones: Henry VII’s mother Margaret Beaufort had to become shrewd and calculating to survive her troubled era. 24 June 2014. Web. 3 February 2018.

Queen’s College, Cambridge. Elizabeth Woodville. 2018. Web. 3 February 2018.

Westminster, The Dean and Chapter of. Elizabeth Woodville. 2018. Web. 3 February 2018.

—. Margaret Beaufort, Countess of RIchmond. 2018. Web. 3 February 2018.

[isadomna]

Mary of Burgundy (1457 – 1482)

She was born in Brussels at the ducal castle of Coudenberg, to Charles the Bold, then known as the Count of Charolais, and his wife Isabella of Bourbon. Her birth, according to the court chronicler Georges Chastellain, was attended by a clap of thunder ringing from the otherwise clear twilight sky. Her godfather was Louis, Dauphin of France, in exile in Burgundy at that time; he named her for his mother Marie of Anjou. Reactions to the child were mixed: the baby's grandfather, Duke Philip the Good, was unimpressed, and "chose not to attend the [baptism] as it was only for a girl", whereas her grandmother Isabella of Portugal was delighted at the birth of a granddaughter. Anne of Burgundy was responsible for Mary’s education. Mary grew up with an ardent interest in animals, loved music, chess, art, and the physical exercise, especially hunting, riding and falconry. Mary’s mother had been seriously ill for some time, probably with tuberculosis. She was to die in September 1465.  

Philip the Good died in 1467 and Mary's father assumed control of the duchy of Burgundy. Since her father had no living sons at the time of his accession, Mary became his heiress presumptive. Her father controlled a vast and wealthy domain made up of the Duchy of Burgundy, the Free County of Burgundy, and the majority of the Low Countries. As a result, her hand in marriage was eagerly sought by a number of princes. A wealthy heiress, Mary of Burgundy was one of the most eligible bachelorettes of her time, so wealthy that she was even called “Mary the Rich”. Some of the candidates included Ferdinand of Aragon, Nicholas of Lorraine, George of Clarence, Francis II of Brittany, the Dauphin Charles of France, Charles of Berry, Philibert of Savoy and Archduke Maximilian of Austria.

In 1468 Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy married Margaret of York, sister of Edward IV of England, in Bruges. Margaret and Charles had no children, but she was a good stepmother to Mary of Burgundy. They were to enjoy each other’s company for the rest of their lives and Margaret cherished Mary as if she were her own daughter. When Charles died in 1477, he was succeeded by his only child, Mary. She was nineteen then, and would turn twenty within a month. Margaret of York had always been regarded as a skilful and intelligent politician, and she was a source of guidance and help to her much loved stepdaughter, Mary, the new Duchess of Burgundy. 

Margaret strongly advised Mary to marry Maximilian of Austria, the 18-year-old son of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III. He arrived in Burgundy on 5 August 1477, and by 17 August had arrived at Ten Waele Castle, in Ghent. Maximilian met Mary there - they were both "pale as death", but found each other to their mutual liking - and Margaret took part in the traditional courtly games of love, telling Maximilian before the assembled nobility that his bride "had about her a carnation it behoved him to discover." The carnation duly proved to be in the Duchess's bodice, from which Maximilian carefully removed it. The pair were married the next day, on 18 August.

Maximilian was blond haired, elegant and well educated. He spoke seven languages. Like Mary he enjoyed hunting and riding. Mary taught Maximilian French and he taught her German. They read romances together and went hunting. Her greyhound slept in the same room with them. They were to have three children. When in 1478 Mary of Burgundy gave birth to a son and heir, Philip the Handsome, Louis XI of France had rumours spread that the child was in fact a girl. Margaret, who was standing godmother to the child, matter-of-factly disproved the rumour: as the Christening party left the church of St Donat, she conclusively proved that the child was an undoubted male, by undressing him and presenting him to the assembled crowd. In 1480, the next child of Mary and Maximilian was a girl: the Duke and Duchess named her Margaret, after the dowager Duchess. In 1481, Mary had a son named Franz who died shortly after he was born. 

In the Netherlands, affairs now went more smoothly; the French aggression was temporarily checked, and internal peace was in large measure restored.  Only five years into their marriage, Mary of Burgundy died after an accident near Wijnendale Castle, when she was out falconing with her husband and her horse tripped and fell, landing on the Duchess, and breaking her back. She died several days later, having made a detailed will, naming her husband guardian of her heir. Mary was only twenty-five years old. She was buried at the Church of Our Lady in Bruges. In 1502, she was reinterred under a  magnificent bronze monument by Pierre de Beckere of Brussels.

Christa Théret played Mary of Burgundy in TV Mini-series “Maximilian. Das Spiel von Macht und Liebe” (2017)

Sources:

https://thefreelancehistorywriter.com/2013/03/23/mary-of-burgundy/

http://www.historyofroyalwomen.com/margaret-of-york/crown-margaret-york/

http://royalwomen.blogspot.nl/2011/04/mary-of-burgundy.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_of_Burgundy

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_of_York

[english-royal-history-1455-1603]

The death of Thomas Grey, 2nd Marquess of Dorset

Thomas Grey, 2nd Marquess of Dorset (22 June 1477 – 10 October 1530) was an English peer, courtier, soldier and landowner.

Early life Grey was the third son and eventual heir of Thomas Grey, 1st Marquess of Dorset (c. 1456–1501), at that time England’s only marquess, and his wife, Cecily Bonville, the daughter and heiress of William Bonville, 6th Baron Harington of Aldingham. His mother was suo jure 7th Baroness Harington of Aldingham and 2nd Baroness Bonville, and the richest heiress in England. The first marquess was the eldest son of Queen Elizabeth Woodville, so a stepson of King Edward IV and a half-brother of Edward, Prince of Wales, later King Edward V.

According to some reports, the young Grey attended Magdalen College School, Oxford, and he is uncertainly said to have been taught (either at the school or else privately tutored) by the future Cardinal Wolsey.

Grey’s father was opposed to King Richard III, and after the older Thomas joined Buckingham’s failed rebellion of 1483, father and son fled to Brittany, joining Henry Tudor. Five months after Richard lost the crown to Henry at the Battle of Bosworth Field on 22 August 1485, the new king married the first Dorset’s half-sister Elizabeth of York, but Henry VII was also suspicious of Dorset, who was imprisoned during Lambert Simnel’s rebellion of 1487. In 1492, Dorset was required to give guarantees of loyalty to the crown and to make the young Thomas Grey a ward of the king.

Courtier Amongst the Queen of England’s closest relations, Grey and his younger brothers Leonard and Edward were welcome at court and became courtiers and later soldiers. In 1494, Grey was made a knight of the Bath and in 1501 a knight of the Garter. Also in 1501, his father died and the younger Thomas inherited his titles and some of his estates. However, much of the first marquess’s land went to his widow and not to his son, who did not come into his full inheritance until the death of his mother in 1529, shortly before his own death.

Later in 1501, he was ‘chief answerer’ at the marriage of Arthur, Prince of Wales and Catherine of Aragon and was presented with a diamond and ruby Tudor rose at a court tournament. But in 1508 he was sent to the Tower of London, and later a gaol in Calais, under suspicion of conspiracy against Henry VII. Although he was saved from execution in 1509 by the accession of King Henry VIII, Grey was attainted and lost his titles. However, later in 1509 he was pardoned and returned to court, and was summoned to parliament as Baron Ferrers of Groby. In 1511, he was summoned as Marquess of Dorset.

From 1509, Dorset was again an active courtier and took part with great distinction in many court tournaments, on one occasion in March 1524 nearly killing the king.

In 1511, Dorset sold land near Althorp, Northamptonshire, to John Spencer. The sale included the villages of Little Brington and Great Brington, as well their parish church of St Mary the Virgin.

In 1514, with Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk, Dorset escorted Henry VII’s daughter Princess Mary to France for her wedding to King Louis XII.

Dorset owned land in sixteen English counties and was a justice of the peace for several of them. In 1516, during a rivalry in Leicestershire with George, Baron Hastings, and Sir Richard Sacheverell, Dorset unlawfully increased his retinue at court and was brought before the Star Chamber and the Court of King’s Bench. He was bound over for good behaviour. As part of this rivalry, he greatly enlarged his ancestral home at Bradgate, Leicestershire.

In 1520, at the Field of Cloth of Gold, Dorset carried the sword of state. In 1521, he met the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V at Gravelines on the coast of France and escorted him on a visit to England. He helped with the entertainment of the court by maintaining a company of actors.

In 1521, Dorset sat in judgment on the Duke of Buckingham, despite being related to him by marriage. After his father’s death, Dorset’s mother had married a brother of the Duke. Henry VIII rewarded Dorset with three of Buckingham’s manors.

From 17 June 1523 until his death in 1530, Dorset was Justice in Eyre south of Trent. As such, he presided at the triennial Court of justice-seat, which dealt with matters of forest law.

In 1524, Dorset’s Leicestershire feud with Lord Hastings turned into a fight between hundreds of men, and Cardinal Wolsey took action. Both rivals had to put up a bond for good behaviour of one thousand pounds, and Dorset was sent to Wales as Lord Master of Princess Mary’s Council.

In 1528, Dorset became constable of Warwick Castle, and in 1529 of Kenilworth Castle.

In 1529, recalling his role as 'chief answerer’ at the marriage of Arthur, Prince of Wales, Dorset was a critical witness in favour of Henry VIII’s divorce of Catherine of Aragon. He strongly supported the King’s contention that Arthur and Catherine’s marriage had been consummated.

In 1530, in the final months of his life, he assisted the King in the condemnation of Cardinal Wolsey.

Soldier In 1512, Dorset led an unsuccessful English military expedition to France to reconquer Aquitaine, which England had lost during the Hundred Years’ War. Unhappily, Ferdinand of Aragon gave none of the support he had promised. While Ferdinand delayed and tried to persuade Dorset to help him to attack Navarre instead of Aquitaine, the English army’s food, beer, and pay ran out, many took to wine and became ill, and the army mutinied. Back in England, Dorset had to face a trial.

In 1513, he fought at the siege of Tournai and the Battle of Guinegate (also known as the Battle of the Spurs), and fought again in 1523 in the Scottish borders. These all gave him chances to make amends for the debacle of Aquitaine. To help Dorset in dealing with the Scots, he was appointed Lord Warden of the Marches, restored to the Privy Council, and became a gentleman of the chamber.

Family Grey was the son and heir of Thomas Grey, 1st Marquess of Dorset (c. 1456–1501), and his wife, Cecily Bonville, daughter and heiress of William Bonville, 6th Baron Harington of Aldingham and of Lady Katherine Neville (1442–1503) and granddaughter of Alice Neville, 5th Countess of Salisbury (1407–1462). Cecily Bonville’s maternal uncles included Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick (called 'Warwick the Kingmaker’), John Neville, 1st Marquess of Montagu and George Neville, Archbishop of York and Chancellor of England, while her aunts had married Henry de Beauchamp, 1st Duke of Warwick, William FitzAlan, 16th Earl of Arundel, Thomas Stanley, 1st Earl of Derby, and John de Vere, 13th Earl of Oxford. Cecily Bonville succeeded her father as Baroness Harington in 1460, and two months later succeeded her great-grandfather William Bonville as Baron Bonville. After the death of her first husband, Cecily Bonville married her late husband’s first cousin Henry Stafford, 1st Earl of Wiltshire, the younger son of Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham and of Catherine Woodville, Dorset’s aunt.

The younger Thomas Grey’s paternal grandparents were Queen Elizabeth Woodville (c. 1437–1492) and her first husband Sir John Grey of Groby (c. 1432-1461), son and heir of Elizabeth Ferrers, Lady Ferrers of Groby, so his father the first marquess was a stepson of King Edward IV and a half-brother of King Edward V. His grandfather Sir John Grey was killed at the Second Battle of St Albans (1461), fighting on the Lancastrian side. His grandmother Elizabeth Woodville was the eldest daughter of Richard Woodville, 1st Earl Rivers, and Jacquetta of Luxembourg, widow of John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford. Following his grandmother’s marriage to Edward IV, members of her family gained advantages and made prosperous marriages. Elizabeth’s brother John Woodville, at the age of twenty, married Catherine Neville, dowager Duchess of Norfolk, then in her late sixties.

Through Jacquetta of Luxembourg, Dorset was descended from Eleanor of England (1215–1275), the daughter of King John and Isabella of Angoulême, and from several other European royal families.

Marriages and descendants Thomas Grey was contracted in 1483 to marry Anne St Leger (1476–1526), the daughter of Anne of York, Duchess of Exeter and her second husband Sir Thomas St Leger. Remarkably, Anne St Leger had been declared the heiress to the Exeter estates, but the marriage did not take place.

In the event, the young Thomas Grey’s first marriage was to Eleanor St John, a daughter of Oliver St John of Lydiard Tregoze, Wiltshire and of his wife Elizabeth Scrope, daughter of Henry le Scrope, 4th Lord Scrope of Bolton (1418–1459). Grey’s father-in-law Oliver St John (also known as Oliver of Ewell) was the son of Margaret Beauchamp (c. 1411-1482), the great-great-granddaughter of Roger Beauchamp, 1st Lord Beauchamp of Bletso, Keeper of Devizes Castle, and heiress to the Beauchamp estates. After the death of her first husband, another Oliver St John (died 1437), she married John Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset (1404–1444), producing Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond. Eleanor St John was therefore the first cousin of Henry VII.

In 1509, Thomas Grey (now known as Lord Ferrers of Groby) married secondly Margaret Wotton (1487–1541), daughter of Sir Robert Wotton (c.1463–1524) of Boughton Malherbe, Kent, and the widow of William Medley. She had two notable brothers, Sir Edward Wotton (1489–1551), Treasurer of Calais, and Nicholas Wotton (c. 1497–1567), a diplomat who in 1539 arranged the marriage between Henry VIII and Anne of Cleves. With Margaret, the younger Thomas Grey had four sons and four daughters, including Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk (1517–1554). Their daughter Elizabeth married Thomas Audley, 1st Baron Audley of Walden and was the grandmother of Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Suffolk. His second wife survived him and died in or after 1535.

His younger brother Leonard Grey, 1st Viscount Grane (c. 1479 - 1541) served as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland from 1536 to 1540.

Dorset’s son Henry succeeded him as Marquess of Dorset, married Lady Frances Brandon, a granddaughter of King Henry VII, and in 1551 (on the death of his brother-in-law Charles Brandon, 3rd Duke of Suffolk) become Duke of Suffolk, by way of a new creation. Dorset’s granddaughter Lady Jane Grey was the designated successor of King Edward VI by his will, and for nine days in July 1553 briefly sat on the throne of England. In 1554, together with Dorset’s other surviving sons, Lord John Grey and Lord Thomas Grey, Suffolk took part in Wyatt’s rebellion against Mary I’s marriage to Philip of Spain and in support of Lady Jane Grey. When this rebellion failed, all three were arrested, and Suffolk and his brother Thomas were executed, as were Lady Jane herself and her husband Lord Guilford Dudley. Lord John Grey survived, and in July 1603 his youngest son, Henry Grey, was restored to the House of Lords by King James I as Baron Grey of Groby.

Death Dorset died on 10 October 1530, and was buried in the collegiate church at Astley in Warwickshire. When he died he held estates in London and in sixteen counties, amounting to over one hundred manors, and was one of the richest men in England. His grave was opened in the early seventeenth century and measurement of his skeleton suggested a height of 5 feet 8 inches.