II.
April, 1552] THE FRENCH AT NANCY
Eastertide, 1552, was a sad and memorable epoch in the annals of Lorraine. At two o'clock on Maundy Thursday, Henry II. entered Nancy at the head of his troops, with trumpets blowing and banners flying. For the first time in the last hundred years, foreign soldiers were seen within the walls of Nancy. The Cardinal and the Duke of Guise rode on before, to inform the Duchess of the King's coming and see that due arrangements were made for his reception. Christina nerved herself for a final effort, and with splendid courage prepared to welcome the enemy of her race within her palace gates. Salutes were fired from the bastions as the King entered the town, and the young Duke rode out to meet him at the head of the nobles and magistrates, and escorted him to the church of St. Georges. Here Henry alighted, and the citizens held a canopy of state over him as he entered the ancient shrine of the Lorraine Princes, and, after kissing the relics of the saints on the altar steps, prayed by the tomb of King René. Then the young Duke led him through the stately portal, under his grandfather's equestrian statue, to the hall where his mother was waiting to receive her royal guest, with the Duchess of Aerschot and the young Princesses. Henry, the Duke of Guise, the Cardinal, the Marshal St. André, and 200 gentlemen of the royal household, were sumptuously lodged in the ducal palace, while the troops were quartered in the town, and French guards were stationed at the gates, not without a protest from Baron d'Haussonville.[457]
That evening the Duchess entertained her guests at a magnificent banquet in the Galerie des Cerfs, and the brilliantly-lighted hall, with its vaulted fretwork of blue and gold, frescoed walls, and rich tapestries, excited the admiration of all the French.
François de Rabutin, the young Captain in Monsieur de Nevers's corps of archers, walked through the streets of the "fine, strong little town," lost in wonder at the splendour of the palace, the prosperity of the citizens, and their affection for the ducal family. More than all he was struck by the young Duke himself, who appeared to him "the handsomest and cleverest boy in the world," and who evidently made the same impression on the King. Henry paid the Duchess many compliments on her son's good looks and intelligence, and expressed so much pleasure at his reception that her worst alarms were allayed. Late in the same evening she wrote a letter to her aunt, telling her of the kind expressions used by His Majesty, and of her hopes that all might yet be well. But a rude awakening was in store for her. Early on Good Friday morning Vaudemont appeared at the door of her room with consternation written on his face. The King had sent him to inform the Duchess that her son was to leave Nancy the next day for Bar, in charge of one of the King's captains, while she was deprived of all share in the government, which was henceforth to be administered by Vaudemont as sole Regent. On receiving this unexpected message, Christina hastily summoned as many members of the Council as could be brought together, and with their help and her brother-in-law's support, drew up a protest couched in respectful and dignified language, reminding the King of the terms of the late Duke's will, and of her own rights both as mother and Regent. Henry's only reply to this appeal was to send the Duchess a copy of the agreement to which she was expected to conform. It was as follows:
PALAIS DUCAL, NANCY (1627)
To face p. [364]
April, 1552] CHRISTINA'S DISTRESS
"The Duke is to start to-morrow for Bar before the King leaves Nancy. His mother may accompany him, or go elsewhere, if she prefers. She may retain the administration of her son's property, but will no longer have any authority over the fortresses in Lorraine. All subjects of the Emperor who hold any office in the government or in the Duke's household are commanded to leave Lorraine without delay. A French garrison of 600 men will be left in Nancy under Monsieur de Thou, but Monsieur de Vaudemont will remain Governor of the city, and take an oath to observe the conditions laid down by the King. A French garrison of 300 men will also be placed in Stenay under the Sieur de Parroy."[458]
These hard conditions filled Christina with dismay. She begged the Cardinal to defend her rights, but he could only advise her to submit to the inevitable. Both he and Francis of Guise have often been blamed for not opposing Henry II.'s arbitrary proceedings, but there seems little doubt that the King originally intended to reduce Lorraine from the rank of an independent State to that of a fief of the Crown, and that it was only the opposition of the Guises which saved the duchy from this fate. In her despair Christina made a last attempt to soften the King's heart. Clad in her black robes and flowing white veil, she entered the Galerie des Cerfs, where Henry and his courtiers were assembled, and, throwing herself on her knees at the King's feet, implored him, for the love of Christ who died on the cross that day, to have pity upon an unhappy mother. The sight of her distress, and the touching words in which she begged the King to take everything else, but allow her to keep her son, moved all hearts, and there was not a dry eye in the whole assembly. Even Henry was filled with compassion, and, raising the Duchess from her knees, he assured her that he only wished to confirm the friendship between the two houses. Far from intending any harm to the young Duke, he proposed to bring him up with his children, and to treat him as if he were his own son, but Lorraine was too near the frontiers of Germany, and too much exposed to attacks from his enemies, for him to be able to leave the boy there. With these consoling words, he took the weeping Duchess by the hand and led her to the doors of the gallery, but, as Anne afterwards told the Queen of Hungary, the King vouchsafed no reply to her sister's entreaty that she might not be deprived of her boy, and Christina's prayer remained unanswered.[459]
Early the next morning Vaudemont and the Councillors renewed their oaths of allegiance to Duke Charles III., after which the young Prince left Nancy in charge of the French captain Bourdillon and an escort of fifty men-at-arms. The parting between the Duchess and her son was heartrending. The poor mother gave way to passionate tears, in which she was joined not only by Vaudemont and Anne, but by all the nobles and people who had assembled at the palace gates to see the last of their beloved Duke. Nothing but the sound of weeping and lamentation was to be heard, and Rabutin, with all his hatred of the House of Austria, was filled with compassion at the sight of the Duchess's grief.
April, 1552] CAPTURE OF THE YOUNG DUKE
On Easter Day Christina wrote the following letter to her aunt, enclosing a copy of the articles drawn up by the French King:
"Madame,
"The extreme grief and distress which the King's violence has caused me prevents me from writing to you as fully as the occasion requires; but I must tell you what has happened since my last letter, in which I told you of the King's arrival. Now, in reward for the good cheer which I made him, he has carried off my son by force, with a violence which could not have been greater if I had been a slave. Not content with this, he has deprived me of the chief part of my authority, so that I can hardly remain here with honour and reputation, and, what is worse, I shall no longer have the power of doing Your Majesty service, which is one of my greatest regrets. Have pity, Madame, on a poor mother, whose son has been torn from her arms, as you will see more fully by this copy of the King's final resolutions, which he has sent me in writing. These have been carried out in every particular. Before he left, my brother, Monsieur de Vaudemont, and all the members of the Council, except myself, were made to take an oath, pledging themselves to defend the strong places in this land against all his enemies, and to open their gates to him whenever required. The same oath was taken by the garrison who are to guard this town, and I was asked to give up the keys of the postern gate. So that I, who was first here, and could once serve Your Majesty, am now deprived of all power, and am little better than a slave. I foresee that I shall soon be stripped of everything, in spite of the treaties and agreements formerly made between Your Majesties and this State. This ill-treatment and the evident wish shown by the French that I should leave this house have made me decide to retire to Blamont, where I will await Your Majesty's advice as to my future action.... I must warn Your Majesty, with regard to Stenay, that the new Captain, Sieur du Parroy, although of Lorraine birth, belongs to the King's household, and is devoted to French interests, as is also the second in command. Madame, I have written all this to the Emperor, but he is so far away and in so remote a place that I felt I must also tell Your Majesty what had happened here, begging her humbly to let me know her good pleasure.
"Your humble and obedient niece,
"Chrestienne.
"Nancy, April 17, 1552."[460]
The letter which Anne addressed to the Queen the next day is still more graphic in the details it supplies:
April, 1552] THE DUKE AT JOINVILLE
"I cannot help writing to inform you, Madame, of the utter desolation and misery to which my poor sister is reduced owing to the great rudeness and cruelty with which she was treated by the King of France on Good Friday. He came here under pretence of good faith and true friendship, as he had lately given us to understand. On his arrival he was received with all possible honour and entertained in the most hospitable manner. On Good Friday he told Madame that, in order to satisfy the conditions of his league with the Germans, he must secure all the fortified posts in Lorraine, as well as the Duke's person, and with this end must take him to Bar. In order to prevent this, Madame, Monsieur de Vaudemont and I, with all the members of the Council, drew up a remonstrance couched in the most humble terms, to which he only replied by sending us a written copy of his resolutions. Upon this my sister went to find him in the Grande Galerie, and begged him humbly, even going as far as to fall on her knees to implore him, for the love of God, not to take her son away from her. He made no reply, and, to make an end of the story, Madame, on Easter Eve they took the boy, escorted by a band of armed men, in charge of the Sieur de Bourdillon and the Maréchal de St. André, who did not leave his side until he had seen him well out of the town. It was indeed a piteous thing to see his poor mother, Monsieur de Vaudemont, and all the nobles and this poor people, in tears and lamentation at his departure. Madame, Your Majesty can imagine the terrible grief of my poor sister at this outrage, and will understand that her sorrow at losing her son is still so great that I have been obliged to abandon my intention of returning home, and feel that I cannot leave her. The King allows her to keep the charge of her daughters and the administration of her children's estates, excepting in the case of the fortified towns, which remain in the hands of Monsieur de Vaudemont.... And since, Madame, I am still as ever very anxious to do Your Majesty service, I beg you to lay your commands upon me, and they will be obeyed by one who is the most affectionate servant that Your Majesty will ever have.
"Anne de Lorraine.
"From Nancy, the day after Easter,
April 18."[461]
In a postscript Anne further informed Mary that her sister had just received a letter from the King, telling her that, hearing an attempt would be made to carry off the young Duke, he had ordered Bourdillon to take him to join the Queen at Joinville. Henry's letter was written from Pont-à-Mousson, where he spent Easter Day, after sleeping at the Duke's country-house at Condé on Saturday:
"My Sister,
"After leaving you I received warnings from several quarters that the Burgundians were going to make an attempt to surprise Bar and carry off my cousin, the Duke of Lorraine; and as I am anxious to prevent this, I ordered Monsieur de Bourdillon to take him straight to Joinville, which is sufficiently remote to escape this danger, and where both you and he would be quite at home in his own family. And you will find good company there and be given the best of cheer, just as if I were there myself. I hope, my sister, that this may be agreeable to you, and that you will believe that my anxiety for his person is the reason why I wish to avoid any risk of injury, which would be a cause of grave displeasure to those who love him, as you and I do. Farewell, my sister, and may God have you in His holy keeping.
"Your good brother,
"Henry.
"Written at Pont-à-Mousson,
April 17, 1552."[462]
The tone of the letter was kind. Henry had evidently been touched by Christina's distress, and tried to soften the blow. Fortunately, the little Duke himself was too young to realize the meaning of these startling events. The ride to Joinville and the welcome which he received from the kind old Duchess amused him, but at bedtime he missed the familiar faces, and asked for his mother and tutor, Monsieur de Montbardon. When he was told that they had stayed at Nancy, the poor child burst into incontrollable sobs, and refused to be comforted.[463]