CHARLES DECLARED OF AGE

Soon after midnight on the 2nd of January 1515 Francis, Duke of Valois, was aroused by an excited crowd rushing into his chamber and hailing him King of France. 'May you have a happy New Year!' cried his friend Fleurange, 'Les belles étrennes!'

The new king was in his twenty-first year, and in May 1514 had married Louis XII.'s eldest daughter Claude, thus securing Brittany to the French crown. Young, brave, and handsome, with fascinating manners, passionately fond of beauty in every form, he was undoubtedly the most accomplished 'chevalier' in the kingdom, but his love of pleasure and extravagance were carried to excess, and marred the brilliancy of his many good qualities. 'This big boy will spoil everything,' Louis XII. had predicted, more struck by his son-in-law's failings than by his virtues.

On the 15th of February Francis made his state entry into Paris, and at the banquet given the same evening, the Flemish ambassadors were present, having been previously received in audience by Queen Claude. Mercurin de Gattinare wrote to Margaret from Paris giving her an account of their reception. 'Queen Claude,' he says, 'is very small and extraordinarily fat, but her graceful way of talking makes amends for her lack of beauty.' When the ambassadors were presented to her, 'she kissed Monsieur de Nassou, but gave her hand to Monsieur de Saint-Py and all of us.'

Francis I. found his kingdom prepared for war. From the time of his accession he dreamed of winning glory in Italy, and reconquering the duchy of Milan. As soon as he had made the necessary preparations he entered on the campaign; and in August led a brilliant army of 60,000 men and 30,000 horse across the Alps by narrow, unfrequented roads over the Col d'Argentière, entering Italy by the valley of the Stura, thus avoiding the passes guarded by the Swiss, and finally taking up a strong position to the south-east of Milan, near Marignano. Against him were the emperor, King Ferdinand, and the Swiss Cantons, Venice being his only ally. Fifteen thousand Venetians under Alviano advanced by forced marches to help him, and had reached Lodi, four miles distant. Milan itself was occupied by 30,000 Swiss, who were resolved to prevent the junction of the two armies, and attack the French in their own trenches. They opened fire late on the afternoon of September 12th, and all that evening until it grew pitch dark the battle raged. When morning dawned the two armies were still facing each other, and with the first rays of the sun the battle continued with renewed vigour until ten o'clock, when, at sight of the Venetian advance-guard led by Alviano, the Swiss began to waver, and hastily retreating to Milan, left the French masters of the field.

Marshal Trivulzio, who had been present at eighteen battles, declared that all the others were child's play when compared to Marignano, which was 'a battle of giants.'

After the victory Francis wished to be knighted by Bayard, who, though only a lieutenant, had so distinguished himself that the whole army looked upon him as a perfect model of a Christian soldier, and gave him the name of 'le chevalier sans peur et sans reproche.'

Maximilian, writing to Margaret from Innsbrück, thus describes the battle of Marignano:—

'Very dear and much-loved daughter,—We have had news that on the 13th of this month[51] (September), the French being quartered about two leagues from Germany, near Milan, they set out and appeared before the said town. Wherefore the Swiss who were in the town of Milan, having quitted the flat country, being informed of this fact, left the town about twenty thousand strong and marched against the French, and about four o'clock in the afternoon of the same day, the Swiss and French began to fight each other, more by way of skirmishing than giving battle, for there were so many ditches that the French men-at-arms on horseback could not help their foot-soldiers, and fought so long that night surprised them; and all that night the said Swiss and French remained on the field of battle, without attacking each other until the morrow, the 14th of the month, when they renewed the battle, which lasted quite three hours, after which fight about three thousand of the said landsknechts (foot-soldiers) and as many or more Swiss were left dead upon the field. And because there was mutiny and division amongst the said Swiss, through some of their people making peace with the French and refusing to fight, they retreated some to Milan and others to Como, without either party pursuing or trying to fight the other. And because they could not subdue the mutiny, the day after they left the above-mentioned places and returned to their own country....'

After the battle Maximilian Sforza, Duke of Milan, yielded his rights to the conqueror and accepted a pension of 30,000 crowns.

Before the year was out, Francis I. and the Pope met at Bologna and arranged a peace which was signed at Fribourg and called 'La Paix perpétuelle.'

In the lull that followed the battle of Marignano Maximilian found time to turn his attention to the interesting occupation of planning marriages for his grandchildren. His Court has been called a sort of matrimonial agency, and his letters to Margaret abound in projects and schemes for grand alliances for his granddaughters. In the spring of 1515 he had met the Kings of Poland and Hungary at Vienna. Vladislav II., King of Hungary, had a son Louis, whose marriage was now arranged with Mary of Austria, whilst his daughter Anna was betrothed to Ferdinand of Austria, Maximilian's youngest grandson. It was hoped that this double marriage would secure the kingdom of Hungary to the House of Hapsburg, besides carrying out the original treaty of 1463 between the Emperor Frederick III. and King Mathias.

In one of his letters to Margaret, Maximilian reminds her of his remark that, in order to find a husband for the 'Lady Léonora,' his eldest granddaughter, he must wait for the decease of one of the three principal queens of Europe, either of France, England, or Poland. He now writes to say that the Queen of Poland is dead, and it has been suggested to him that the widowed king is thinking of Léonora, and he would like to know his granddaughter's wishes on the subject.

'As to our opinion,' he says, 'we are willing that the said marriage should take place; for the said King of Poland is a handsome person, somewhat fat, anyhow he will never be fatter; with a white face and body and very white hands, the height of Seigneur de Berges at the age of twenty, with a handsomer face than Monsieur de Berges has, for his face is open and very honest.... He keeps great state, is beloved by his subjects and by all those with whom he comes in contact, of whom I am one, and also my whole house. He is, as he told me with his own mouth, which is beautiful and red, forty-six or forty-seven years old, his hair is already a little grey; his kingdom, two hundred miles from Germany, large, warlike, and can raise a hundred thousand fighting-men.... The king and all his court speak German and Latin as well as their native language....'

Margaret replied that in accordance with Maximilian's wishes she had spoken to Léonora about the projected marriage with the King of Poland. 'I spoke to her,' she says, 'on my own account, telling her of the virtues and beauty of the said king's person, with the greatness of his kingdom, and all that there was to be said on the subject; she listened to me willingly, very gently, and rather timidly, and after several subtle devices, I could only draw from her the words that....' (Here the letter tantalisingly breaks off.)

Sigismond I., King of Poland, of whom the emperor draws so attractive a portrait, was in truth a very accomplished prince—but he did not marry Eleanor of Austria, and eventually became the husband of Bona, the daughter of Galeazzo Sforza, Duke of Milan.

The Archduke Charles was now fifteen, and Maximilian declared him of age and handed over to him the reins of government of the Netherlands. He was inaugurated Duke of Brabant in February 1515, Count of Flanders in April, and successively took possession of Holland and Zealand, Leeuward, Harlingen, and Franicker. Charles's letter to the president and councillors of Flanders announcing his emancipation has been preserved:—

'Very dear and Well Beloved,—It has pleased the emperor, my lord and grandfather, to emancipate us and free us from his guardianship and regency, placing the government of our country and lordships ... in our hands, and consenting that we be received and sworn to the principality and lordship of the same.... Therefore it is fit and reasonable that all things which concern our rights, greatness, lordship, and even the doing of justice and our other affairs, should be conducted henceforth in our name and under our title. For this cause we write to you; we require and command that all letters, acts, and other things which will be done and expedited towards you for our aforesaid affairs, shall be drawn up and despatched under our aforesaid name and title, placing at the end of the letters: Given under the seal which the emperor, my lord and grandfather, and we have used during the time of our minority....

'Charles (1515)'

In addressing the deputies from the States-General Charles made the following speech: 'Gentlemen, I thank you for the honour and great affection you bear me. Be good and loyal subjects, and I will be your good prince.'

Margaret does not appear to have been consulted about Charles's emancipation until it was an accomplished fact, and we can well understand that, accustomed as she had been to exercise sovereign power for eight years, she felt some secret anxiety in seeing this power taken from her. Monsieur de Croy, Seigneur de Chièvres, had always opposed the princess's administration, and was anxious to exclude her from the government; it was therefore an added blow to know that he would now, as Charles's counsellor, be in a position to deprive her of her nephew's confidence.

Margaret no longer presided at the State Council, and was only appealed to as a matter of form. The emperor's letters were not communicated to her, and she even heard rumours that she was accused of personal avarice and of having been unsuccessful in her rule. She keenly resented these accusations and complained to her father, and also addressed a memorandum to her nephew containing a sketch of her government, and accounts, with a full list of the gifts and payments made out of her private income.

Maximilian replied that he has written to Charles, and encloses a copy of the letter, in which he says: 'We make no doubt, because of the honour and love you owe to our very dear daughter, your aunt, that you communicate your chief and most arduous business to her, and that you take and use her good advice and counsel, from which, for natural reasons, you will always find more comfort, help, and support than from any other. In which, as a royal father, we exhort you always to continue, begging you affectionately to remember the way she laboured during your minority in the administration of your country ... and also that you are her whole heart, hope, and heir,—that you will give her a good allowance, such as she has had until now ... for she has well deserved it from you.'

On August the 20th, 1515, Margaret presented a memorandum to her nephew before the assembled Council containing a justification of her government, which began thus: 'Monseigneur, as I evidently perceive, after having had such long patience, that by divers means they try to give you suspicions of me, your humble aunt, to withdraw me from your goodwill and confidence, which would indeed be a poor recompense for the services which I have rendered you until now, I am constrained to excuse myself....' She bitterly complains of the way she has been put aside, and protests against the calumnies brought against her. To justify her conduct, she recalls her services during Charles's minority, and firmly maintains that she always acted uprightly and loyally without any profit to herself, serving the prince from love, without any thought of gain. If any error should be found in the detailed account presented to the Council, she requests that it may be pointed out to her before the prince, so that she can answer it herself, for 'I prefer,' she says, 'that they should speak before me, than behind my back.' She then relates all the principal acts of her government, from the time the emperor first confided the regency to her care, and recalls her long struggles with the Duke of Gueldres, who, aided and abetted by the King of France, broke all treaties, and feared neither God nor man; and recounts the part she played in the alliance with England, and also at the Treaty of Cambray, which was only brought to a successful issue after much pain and trouble. She indignantly denies that she has been the cause of renewed wars with Gueldres, for far from seeking war, she has ever striven for peace. 'And what has been the reward of all this service and sacrifice?' From the time of her appointment as regent she has given her time and money for her nephew's service, without touching a 'denier,' and spent more than three thousand florins from her own income. The prince's proposed emancipation was kept from her, though had her advice been asked she would not have opposed it; her opinion was no longer asked, and through calumnious imputations it was tried to injure her with her nephew. The payment of her pension was purposely delayed, though every nobleman could count on receiving the allowance due to him. 'If mine is larger,' she adds, addressing herself to her nephew, 'I am also your only aunt, and have no other son nor heir but you, and I know of no one to whom your honour is dearer than to me. You can rest assured, Monseigneur, that when it pleases you to make use of my services, and hold and treat me with the esteem which is reasonable, I will serve you well and loyally, not sparing my person or my goods, as I have done heretofore. But if you are pleased to give ear to what they tell you against me, and allow me to be treated as I see they have begun to do, I would much rather look after my own small affairs and gracefully retire, as I have already begged the emperor to allow me to do by my secretary, Marnix, when he was lately with him.'

After the young prince had listened to this eloquent justification, he declared, and the Chancellor agreed, 'that Madame was held fully discharged from all things, with many other fine words and promises.' On the back of the paper is a note containing the names of the councillors present when Charles received the document, and at the end is a full account of the money received at different times from the Flemish States, and an appendix showing the various gifts from Margaret's own collection of treasures which she gave for the service of her government during her regency.

Peace was once more restored, and we hear of Margaret accompanying Charles at the various festivities which marked his majority.

The following extract is from Margaret's memorandum of gifts and sacrifices made by her during regency:—

'1. To the Duke of Juliers, who had accompanied her on her return from Germany, a large silver-gilt goblet, weighing sixteen marks, which had been given to her by the town of Antwerp.

'2. To the Controller of Calais, who had come on an embassy from the King of England, half-a-dozen cups, two jugs, and two flagons, all of silver, weighing together fifty-five marks.

'3. To the English ambassadors who came to treat about the marriage between her and the late King Henry VII., and who were afterwards sent to take part in the Peace of Cambray, viz., to the Count of Surrey a golden goblet out of which Madame drank every day, weighing three hundred golden crowns; to Richard Wingfield, second ambassador, twenty yards of velvet, twenty yards of satin, and twenty yards of damask; to the third ambassador ... twenty yards of velvet and twenty yards of damask; and to their herald, twenty yards of damask.

'4. To Monseigneur the Legate at the Treaty of Cambray, by the advice of the Council, a very beautiful golden goblet, weighing nearly six hundred crowns, with a cover ornamented with large pearls, forming five trefoils of five pearls each, and between each trefoil a very fine balass ruby, each of the five table rubies valued at more than three hundred and fifty golden florins. The foot of the goblet had also five trefoils of medium-sized pearls and five balass rubies.' In short, this cup, surmounted by a great and beautiful emerald, was valued at more than four thousand golden florins. The Cardinal d'Amboise thought it so exquisite and beautiful that he considered he ought to present it to King Louis XII.

'5. To the Bishop of Paris, being an ecclesiastic, was given a beautiful and rich Book of Hours, which had been bought from Maillardet for the sum of four hundred golden crowns. It was ornamented with gold; and on both covers were two superb table diamonds, and to mark the place a large balass ruby, set clear, which was valued at more than a thousand florins, and to which were attached twenty-five silken cords, each one finished with a pearl.

'6. To the Count of Carpi, two large and rich silver flagons, which Madame had brought from Spain, each weighing twenty-two marks, of good workmanship.

'7. To the heralds, ushers, and other members of the French embassy, from four to five hundred gold crowns. "All given in order the better to nourish peace and love between France and this House, as the affairs of Monsieur require it." Other ambassadors, officers, and gentlemen received various gifts and presents to the amount of five thousand florins.

'Item.—Madame has lent her money for State affairs, and has greatly reduced the expenses of her own household.... For three years, far from having a pension for her services, she spent her dowry as long as it lasted. It will also be found that during her government she never gave any gratuities to her dependants from the finances of Monsieur.'

This document, corrected in the margin by Margaret, is found in duplicate in the archives of Lille.

Magnificent fêtes everywhere inaugurated Charles's coming of age. The Pope presented him with the Golden Rose; and Maximilian, writing to Margaret on the 8th of December, hopes that she will see that the Pope's ambassador, who brought the gift, is well received by Charles, and orders that a sum of £700 be given to him.

M. Tailliar gives an interesting account of the young archduke's state entry into Douay, accompanied by Margaret: 'On the 15th of May 1516 Charles, King of Spain and Count of Flanders, having made his joyous entry into Douay, went next day, the 16th, to the market-hall to receive the oaths of fealty. The square in front of the hall was richly hung with velvet and cloth of gold. After hearing mass, the king appeared, accompanied by his aunt, Madame Margaret of Austria, and by his eldest sister, Madame. He took the oath in the prescribed manner, and likewise all those present swore fealty to him.'

King Ferdinand of Aragon had died on the 23rd of January 1516. By his will, Charles was excluded from the kingdom of Aragon, which was left to his younger brother, Ferdinand, who had been the old king's favourite; but in his last moments, repenting perhaps of this unjust arrangement, he made a codicil, in which he not only left Charles heir to all his estates, but also made him Grand Master of the Military Orders, leaving Ferdinand with a pension of 50,000 ducats a year.

Although Queen Joanna was still alive, Charles assumed the title of King, and was first proclaimed Sovereign of Castile and Aragon, conjointly with his mother, at Brussels, where Ferdinand's funeral obsequies were celebrated in the cathedral of St. Gudule. 'Twice the king-at-arms of the Golden Fleece called aloud, "Don Ferdinand." Twice the answer came, "He is dead," and on this the great standard clattered to the ground. Then cried the herald, "Long live donna Jehanne and don Charles, by the grace of God Catholic kings," whereon Charles, doffing his mourning, received and brandished the sword of justice.'[52]

In Spain this assumption of the royal title was regarded as a breach of custom, and caused comment and discontent. Nevertheless Cardinal Ximenes had his young master proclaimed in Castile. The regency of Castile had been intrusted to him by Ferdinand until Charles's arrival, and that of Aragon to the late king's natural son, the Archbishop of Saragossa.

Before Charles succeeded to his Spanish kingdoms, his sister Mary had already left home for her short, though comparatively happy, marriage with the ill-fated Louis of Hungary, while Isabella had begun her miserable life with the brutal and licentious Christian II. of Denmark. His brother Ferdinand and his youngest sister Katharine were being brought up in Spain. Only Charles's eldest sister Eleanor remained at Brussels. About this time she seems to have had a rather serious flirtation with the handsome Count Palatine Frederick, who was the most accomplished nobleman of the Court, and though seventeen years his senior, Charles's earliest personal friend. The affection between the count and Eleanor was mutual, and led to clandestine correspondence. Chièvres set Charles on the track of one of the count's love-letters. Pretending to wish his sister good-morning, he snatched it from her bosom before she had time to read it, and after a brief scrimmage secured the prize. 'Upon this his constancy into a like affair,' wrote Spinelli to Henry VIII., 'many do conject in him good stomak and couraggy, and how he will be fast in his determjnacions, and much extime the honnor of the worlde.' This singularly sound forecast of the character of the hitherto problematic boy of sixteen gives, perhaps, the first glimpse of his personality.[53]

Educated by the courtly William de Croy, Lord of Chièvres, with Adrian of Utrecht as preceptor, Charles developed manners and characteristics, half patrician, half plebeian, which was probably due to his tutors' opposite influences. De Croy's courteous manners gave him a stately bearing, reserve, and dignity which subsequently attached him to the Spaniards; while from Adrian he acquired the popular, easy-going and simple ways which made him so beloved by his Flemish subjects.

CHARLES V
FROM THE PAINTING IN THE LOUVRE (FLEMISH SCHOOL)
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His intellectual faculties did not develop early—he even showed marked aversion for science and letters, and preferred military exercises to the study of government. De Chièvres, however, made him study the history not only of his own kingdoms, but of those with which they were connected. He accustomed him, from the time of his assuming the government of Flanders, to attend to business, and persuaded him to read all papers relating to public affairs, to be present at the deliberations of his privy-councillors, and to propose to them himself those matters concerning which he required their opinion. From such an education Charles contracted habits of gravity and recollection which scarcely suited his youth. The first openings of his genius did not show that superiority which its maturer age displayed.[54]

The French envoy once expressed surprise at Charles's diligence before De Chièvres, who replied: 'My friend, I am his tutor and master. When I die, I want him to be free, for if he does not understand his own affairs, after my death he will be obliged to have another tutor, and will always have to lean on others.'

Charles did not hurry at once to enter into his new possessions. He remained in Flanders until the repeated entreaties of Ximenes, and the advice of his grandfather, Maximilian, at last prevailed on him to embark for Spain. Before he set out he confirmed Margaret in the government of the Netherlands, and appointed a Council to assist her. Accompanied by his sister Eleanor, De Chièvres, his Prime Minister, and a splendid train of Flemish nobles, he set sail from Flushing on September the 8th, and after a dangerous voyage, landed at Villa Viciosa, in the province of Asturias. For six weeks Charles wandered through the wild mountainous country without entering any large town. On the last day of October the Constable of Castile met him, and soon the Spanish nobility flocked to greet their sovereign from all parts of the kingdom. But before Charles would show himself to his people he visited his mother and his youngest sister Katharine at Tordesillas. Queen Joanna was surprised to find Charles and Eleanor grown up, and asked if they were really her children. A little later Charles tried to remove his young sister Katharine from her gloomy surroundings, but her secret abstraction caused her mother such grief that she had to be restored.

About this time Maximilian wrote to Margaret, sending advice to Charles, and begging her to continue to help him: 'My good daughter, thinking day and night about the affairs of my heirs, I have decided, chiefly for the good and honour of my son, King Charles, to write to my deputies who are with him, certain things concerning their good and that of their subjects. Knowing that you will be required by my said son to accomplish an honourable charge, we desire and we require that you should fulfil it; in so doing you will do a thing very pleasant and honourable to yourself, as you will more clearly understand from our deputies, Messieurs André de Burgo and Nycasy. And so 'A. Diu.' Written on the 2nd of March by the hand of your good and loyal father, Maxi.'

Charles's arrival in Spain caused great excitement among high and low, and every one was speculating about his appearance, character, and accomplishments. The Bishop of Badajoz sent the following interesting, though somewhat exaggerated, description of the new king and his surroundings to Cardinal Ximenes: 'The prince,' he says, 'has good parts, but he has been kept too much isolated from the world, and, in particular, he knows too little of Spaniards. He does not understand a single word of Spanish. He obeys his councillors implicitly; but, as he has entered the seventeenth year of his age, it would be well if he took part in the discussions of his Council.

'Monsieur de Chièvres is the most influential person in the prince's Court; he is prudent and gentle, but avaricious. The same may be said of the Chancellor of Burgundy. On the whole, love of money is the besetting sin of the Flemings. They buy and sell the Government offices, and it is to be feared that they will introduce the same custom into Spain.... Monsieur de Chièvres is a Frenchman by birth, and keeps the prince very much under subjection to the King of France. The prince signs his letters to the King of France, "Your humble servant and vassal," ... and though he signs himself to others "Principe," he likes to be called king....'

Cardinal Ximenes' health was now rapidly declining. When the news of Charles's arrival in Spain had been brought to him he revived a little, and sent the young king letters of welcome, filled with good advice as to the best way of securing his people's affection. Charles answered in the most deferential manner, but his Belgian Ministers, fearing that the Cardinal would exercise too much influence over him, prevented their meeting by keeping the king in the north, and estranging him from Ximenes. Through their advice Charles wrote to the Cardinal in a very different strain, depriving him not only of the regency but of all share in state affairs. When the letter was brought to Ximenes at Roa he was dangerously ill. Adrian de Burgo was with him, but feared to tell him of the royal command, and the great Cardinal, who had preserved the kingdom of Castile intact for his master, passed away without the knowledge of Charles's ingratitude. He died on the 8th of November 1517 in the eighty-third year of his age.

De Chièvres had now no rival, and hoped to be as powerful in Spain as he was in the Netherlands.