The First Governess of the Netherlands, Margaret of Austria

by Eleanor E. Tremayne

THE LEAGUE OF CAMBRAY

Though Margaret's time was now fully occupied by her new duties, she did not forget the work she had begun at Brou. Early in 1508, immediately after her arrival in Brussels, she made a will, designating the church of the monastery of Saint Nicolas de Tolentin at Brou, near Bourg-en-Bresse, as her place of sepulture, where she wished to be buried near 'her very dear lord and husband.' 'The Duke Philibert of Savoy to lie between her and his mother, Madame de Bourbon.'

By an endowment she ensured the building of the monastery and the church of Brou, and the erection of the three tombs. Solemn religious services were to be performed there during each season, and only on certain days the people and magistrates were to be allowed to enter the sanctuary to offer up their prayers with those of the priests and monks. She also made gifts to the church of Notre-Dame de Bourg, and to several religious houses in the town, on condition that they should hold certain services; and she left legacies to the hospital, infirmary, and plague-house, and dowered fifty marriageable maidens of Bresse and fifty of Burgundy. Lastly, she ordained the ceremony of bringing her body to Bresse and the details of her funeral. All these provisions she made, lest death should take her unawares and stop the work she had so much at heart. This interesting will, expressing as it does Margaret's most intimate thoughts, also throws great light on the customs and practices of the time. The document is dated March 4th, 1508, and confirmed by a codicil twenty-two years later, in 1530.

From the year 1508 Margaret's life is no longer a private one. The part she took in politics from the date of her investiture as Governess of the Netherlands until her death belongs to European history. By her talents, ability, and rare aptitude for business she eclipsed more powerful rulers, and soon became the pivot of political life in Europe.

Strong as she was in the qualities her father lacked, she yet knew how to defer to his wishes, whilst holding strongly to her own opinions, and was always an affectionate and dutiful daughter. Maximilian's radical inconstancy and indecision of temper led him into many troubles, and his extravagance involved him in perpetual pecuniary difficulties, which destroyed all dignity of character; but he seems to have had the greatest admiration and respect for his clever daughter, to whose wise judgment he constantly deferred, as his many letters to her testify.

The warlike Pontiff, Julius II., had announced his intention of 'driving the barbarians out of Italy by force of arms.' He it was who first instigated the League which was to prove so disastrous to France, and was to be the cause of so many years of bloodshed in Italy.

Julius II. had been favourably impressed by Margaret's exemplary piety, and the respect and deference she had shown towards the Holy See. On several occasions he willingly granted her requests, and also sent her many relics and objects of devotion, amongst others two thorns from the true Cross, which, until the eighteenth century, were still preserved at Brou.

The League so desired by the Pope, known to history as the League of Cambray, was soon brought into discussion between the great powers of Europe. Two subjects were to be negotiated at the conference: the one consisted in the reconciliation of the Duke of Gueldres with the government of the Archduke Charles, and the other, which was to be kept secret, was the formation of a league against the Venetians. The princes who were to take part in it were the Pope, the King of France, the Emperor Maximilian, and Ferdinand, King of Aragon. Henry VII. of England, whose daughter Mary was betrothed to the Archduke Charles, had a direct interest in the Congress, as the Archduke's affairs were, ostensibly at least, the principal subject of the deliberations, but he does not seem to have been invited to join it. He begged the Archduchess Margaret, through Edmund Wingfield, to combine with the Cardinal of Amboise, in order that Ferdinand might be excluded from the negotiations and from the intended treaty; but the result was such as might have been anticipated—Henry did not exclude Ferdinand from the League, but Ferdinand excluded Henry from all advantage in it. This exclusion was so complete that, whilst the King of Hungary, the Duke of Milan, the Dukes of Savoy and Ferrara, and even the Marquis of Mantua were invited to join it, Henry's name was not even mentioned, though, as an afterthought, his ambassador was allowed to be present at the meetings. Moreover, the emperor and Ferdinand, who until now had been at variance, were reconciled, and postponed their differences concerning the regency of Spain until the war against Venice should be concluded.

On October the 8th Maximilian wrote to Margaret from Schoenhoven in answer to a letter of hers asking for his permission for the Papal Legate to confer the rite of confirmation on the Archduke Charles and his sisters.

'Very dear and much-loved daughter,—We have received your letters in which you tell us that you think it well that the Legate should, before his departure, confer the holy Sacrament of Confirmation upon our dear and much-loved grandchildren, and that he has agreed with you to do so; but because our dearly loved grandson Charles is at Lyère, you do not know which we prefer, whether our said grandson should be brought to our granddaughters at Malines, or our granddaughters to him. In consulting our wishes in everything you give us much pleasure. Wherefore, very dear and much-loved daughter, we inform you that we are content that our said grandson travel to Malines to receive the said holy Sacrament and the benediction of the said Legate, in our name and his. And for this reason we are now writing to our very dear and loyal cousin the Prince of Chimay to take him there. Until then, much-beloved daughter, may our Lord have you in His holy keeping.'[33]

On the 27th of October Maximilian again wrote to Margaret informing her that 'he has heard that she is preparing to go to the Congress of Cambray. As he is told that a great number of strangers are expected, he advises her to engage all the houses on one side of the town, and to leave the other half to the Cardinal of Amboise. She must,' he says, 'take the English ambassadors to Cambray, especially Wingfield, and admit them to the deliberations. If an ambassador from the King of Aragon come, she is to ask him whether he is provided with authority from the king, and if he is, to admit him.'

He tells her that 'his ambassadors have not yet gone to England, because he has not had time to furnish them with instructions. He has now ordered them to set out immediately, and will send the instructions after them.' Breda, 27th October 1508.[34]

In November 1508 Edward Wingfield wrote to Margaret to inform her that 'Henry VII. has it much at heart that the affairs of the Emperor and the Prince, his son (Prince Charles, his grandson), should be settled to the greatest advantage in the approaching Congress of Cambray, and that their enemies should be entirely discomfited. As long as the alliance between the King of France and the King of Aragon continues, he says, it is to be feared that the principal enemy of the Emperor and Prince Charles will triumph. For if he be assisted by France, the King of Aragon will most probably be able, not only to keep the usurped government of Castile in his own hands, and the other dominions belonging to that kingdom, as long as he lives, but also to deprive the Prince of his right of succession. To prevent this, it seems to Henry that the best plan would be to exclude the King of Aragon from the treaties that are to be made at Cambray, and to sever the alliance existing between him and the King of France. The King of Aragon has usurped the government of Castile only by means of the help of the King of France. If he were to be isolated, he would be unable to preserve it, and the Emperor would have it in his power, aided by those who are inimical to the King of Aragon, to take the government of that kingdom into his own hands....'[35] Margaret also kept ostensibly on the most friendly terms with Louis XII., whose correspondence with her about this time shows that to him at least she concealed her hatred of France. In each of his letters he takes a pleasure in reminding her of their early friendship and of their childish games, in the days when she was 'la petite Reine' at Amboise.

It is evident that being on such excellent terms with the chief sovereigns in Europe gave Margaret some advantage where negotiations and treaties were concerned. In fact she intervened as arbitrator or negotiator in most of the political events of this time. Her experience and knowledge of different countries made her old for her years. 'Madame Margaret,' says Jean le Maire, 'has seen and experienced more at her youthful age ... than any lady on record, however long her life.'

It is, therefore, not surprising that Margaret was deputed by Maximilian and Ferdinand to act as their representative at the forthcoming Congress. Hostilities had continued more actively than ever between the Duke of Gueldres and the provinces of the Netherlands. At last a truce of forty days was declared during which time Margaret went to Cambray to meet the Cardinal of Amboise, and to confer with him with a view to concluding a final peace. She arrived at Cambray in November 1508 with an escort of a hundred horsemen and a company of archers. Half the town was reserved for her and her suite; the other half had been placed at the disposal of the Cardinal of Amboise, who was acting on behalf of the Pope and Louis XII., and was accompanied by Étienne de Poncher, Bishop of Paris, and Alberto Pio, Count of Carpi.

Margaret, invested with full powers by Maximilian, was escorted by Mathieu Lang, Bishop of Gurk, the emperor's confidant and secretary; Mercurin de Gattinare, President of the Burgundian Parliament; Jean Peters, President of the Council of Malines; Jean Gooselet, Abbot of Maroilles; and Jean Caulier, President of the Privy Council. She was also instructed to admit Jacques de Croy, Bishop of Cambray, and Edmund Wingfield, the English ambassador, to the negotiations, as well as King Ferdinand's envoy, if he should send one.

The Sieur de Chièvres (de Croy) and other members of the Burgundian Council accompanied the princess as far as Valenciennes, and remained there to receive daily reports of the proceedings at Cambray, and to give their help if necessary. Maximilian stayed at Malines to transact the business of the Netherlands during his daughter's absence. Du Bos, speaking of the part that Margaret played in the League of Cambray, says: 'This princess had a man's talent for managing business, in fact she was more capable than most men, for she added to her talents the fascination of her sex; brought up as she had been to hide her own feelings, conciliate her opponents, and persuade all parties that she was acting blindly in their interests.'

Another contemporary writer says: 'This princess received the Cardinal with great honour, captivated him by her courteous, insinuating, and caressing manners, and was so successful in charming him, that he could refuse her nothing.'

Margaret and the Cardinal began by fixing the laws of the dependence of the principal provinces of the Netherlands with regard to France. Louis XII. did not wish to cede what he called the rights of his crown, and Margaret would not yield any of the prerogatives obtained by the last Dukes of Burgundy. She and the Cardinal had many hot disputes, and several times were on the point of separating. Margaret argued until she often had a headache, and we are told they 'cuydoient se prendre au poil.' Finally they agreed to leave the most difficult questions until the archduke should come of age. It was decided that Charles Egmont should have (provisionally) the duchy of Gueldres and the county of Zutphen, but that he should restore three or four places which he had taken in Holland to Charles, who, on his part, should give up certain castles which he still held in the duchy of Gueldres; that things should remain thus until the respective commissioners nominated by the Emperor Maximilian and the King of England on one side, and by the Kings of France and Scotland on the other, had examined the rights of both sides and given their decision.

With regard to the second part of this treaty, which was to be kept secret until it was executed, no difficulty was raised. It was to share the spoils of the Venetians, and this sharing was done in advance.

Maximilian and Ferdinand agreed to postpone their differences concerning the regency of Castile until this division was successfully accomplished. At last, on December the 10th, 1508, the League of Cambray was signed by Margaret of Austria and the Cardinal of Amboise, 'pour faire cesser les dommages, injures, rapines, et maux que les Vénitiens ont faits tant au Saint-Siège apostolique qu'au Saint Empire Romain, à la Maison d'Autriche, aux Ducs de Milan, aux Rois de Naples, etc.' Immediately after the treaty was signed, Margaret, the Cardinal, and King Ferdinand's ambassador took a solemn oath in the cathedral of Cambray to observe the treaty which they had just concluded. 'This League was the result of a new political system which was beginning to prevail in Europe: a coalition was formed between powers having different interests against a single state whose ruin they desired.'

Besides the Emperor Maximilian and Louis XII., Ferdinand of Aragon and Pope Julius II. were included in the treaty and 'whoso else should claim that the Venetians were occupying any of his territory.' A pious preamble set forth the common desire of these princes to begin the crusade against the enemies of the name of Christ, and the obstacles that the Venetians offered to this holy purpose by ambitiously occupying cities that belonged to the Church; these obstacles the allies proposed to remove, in order afterwards to proceed unitedly to such a holy and necessary expedition. 'In the division of the spoils the Pope was to have Faenza, Rimini, Ravenna, and Cervia, which no doubt did belong to the Holy See, in the same way as the rest of Romagna might be said to belong to the Papal States; Maximilian was to have Padua, Vicenza, and Verona, as belonging to him in the name of the Empire, and Friuli and Treviso as pertaining to the House of Austria; the King of France, Cremona, the Ghiradadda, Brescia, Bergamo, and Crema; the King of Spain to have back Trani, Brindisi, Otranto, and the other ports on the Neapolitan coast which had been given in pledge to Venice for sums of money advanced to the late King Ferdinand II. of Naples. The Pope hesitated and temporised, although he had been the original instigator of the League. It was only after he had attempted to make terms on his own account that he ratified the League at the end of the year.'[36]

'It is therefore solely jealousy and cupidity which united so many hostile powers against a state that some had good reason to uphold and others no reason to fear.'[37]

Margaret's joy at the success of this negotiation, so disastrous to the political interests of France and Italy, breaks forth in the letter she wrote to the King of Aragon's ambassadors in England immediately after the treaty was signed. She informs them that 'she has concluded all the affairs she had to transact with the Cardinal of Amboise at Cambray to her satisfaction, and thanks the King of England, whose ambassadors have assisted her. She has communicated the secret matter to the English ambassadors, in order that they may inform their master of it.' Cambray, December 10th, 1508.[38]

MARGARET OF AUSTRIA IN WIDOW'S DRESS
FROM THE PAINTING BY BERNHARD VAN ORLEY
IN THE POSSESSION OF DR. CARVALLO, PARIS
[View larger image]

The proceedings between the allies were kept so secret that the Venetian ambassador, Antonio Condelmerio, who had followed the Cardinal of Amboise to Cambray, had no idea of the real facts, and even wrote to the republic that they could rely more than ever on Louis XII.'s friendship and support. At last the allies announced their intention of uniting to make war upon the Infidels, and tried to pick a quarrel with the Venetians by reproaching them with placing obstacles in the way of their carrying out this holy object, which, they said, obliged them to force the Venetians to restore what they had usurped, for the glory and good of Christianity. On April 16th, 1509, the French herald formally declared war to the Venetians, in terms which, as the Doge Leonardo Loredan remarked, were 'fitting rather to be used against Saracens and Turks, than made to a most Christian republic.' The French vanguard had already begun hostilities on the previous day. Pope Julius followed on the 22nd, and Louis XII. crossed the Alps with a large army and arrived at Milan.

On the 14th of May 1509 the battle of Agnadel was fought, which broke the power of Venice and decided the fate of the war, victory being with the French. In writing to inform Margaret of the battle of Agnadel, Maximilian says: 'Our ambassador, Adrian de Burgo, who was present at this victory, writes that he has seen quite four thousand dead. Through other letters from France we hear that there are from ten to twelve thousand men either dead or taken prisoners, and that our said brother and cousin (Louis XII.) has taken forty pieces of artillery. We also hear that the Venetians were twenty thousand strong, and the French force rather stronger.' So far the emperor had not taken an active part in the great struggle. The low state of his finances and the war with Gueldres had kept him in the Netherlands.

On March 31st the States met at Antwerp and had voted a subsidy of 500,000 crowns as a gift to Maximilian and the Archduke Charles in acknowledgment of the services rendered by the former in defence of the country and in concluding the Peace of Cambray. At the same time a sum of sixty thousand pounds was voted for the Archduchess Margaret in recognition of the trouble she had taken in arranging the peace.

Meanwhile Louis XII. had seized Brescia and Bergamo almost without a struggle. The Venetian army retreated as far as Mestre, whilst the French advanced to Fusino. Maximilian at the head of a powerful force approached Venice from the other side. The Venetians, surrounded by enemies and left without a single ally, shut themselves up in their capital as their last refuge. This rapid success, however, proved fatal to the Confederacy. The memorable decree followed, by which Venice released her Continental provinces from their allegiance, authorising them to provide for their own safety. The allies, who had remained united during the struggle, now quarrelled over the division of the spoil. Old jealousies revived, and the Venetians, taking advantage of their opportunity, recovered part of the territory which they had lost, and appeased the Pope and Ferdinand by concessions in their favour, and at length dissolved the Confederacy which had brought their commonwealth to the brink of ruin.

Prescott says: 'The various negotiations carried on during this busy period, and the different combinations formed among powers hitherto little connected with each other, greatly increased the intercourse amongst the European nations; while the greatness of the objects at which different nations aimed, the distant expeditions which they undertook, as well as the length and obstinacy of the contest in which they engaged, obliged them to exert themselves with a vigour and perseverance unknown in the preceding ages.'