IV.
Sept., 1537] THE CLEVES MARRIAGE
Christina's return was impatiently awaited at Brussels. The courtiers who remembered her mother, and had known her as a child, were eager to see the young Duchess, whose courage and wisdom had been shown in such trying circumstances. All through the summer her coming had been expected, and the Regent was seriously annoyed at the prolonged delays which had hindered her niece's departure from Milan. Her heart yearned over the child from whom she had parted with so much reluctance. More than this, she had in her mind's eye a second husband ready for the young Duchess. This was William, the only son and heir of the reigning Duke of Cleves. A handsome and well-educated young man of twenty-two, the young Duke had not yet developed that fatal weakness of purpose which proved his bane, and was to all appearances an excellent match for the Emperor's niece. The political advantages of the union were obvious. Duke John had married the heiress of Jülich and Bergh, and reigned over three rich and peaceful provinces on the Lower Rhine. He had always been on friendly terms with the Emperor, and when, a few months after the Duke of Milan's death, he asked for the young widow's hand on behalf of his son, Mary welcomed these advances gladly, and hastened to communicate them to the Emperor.[152] At first Charles replied coolly that, if the marriage with Angoulême could not be arranged, the proposals made by the King of Scotland or Cleves might be entertained. In October, 1536, Mary sent a confidential messenger, La Tiloye, to Genoa to learn the Emperor's pleasure in the matter, but nothing further was done. After the fresh outbreak of war in 1537, and the invasion of Artois by the French, Charles became more alive to the importance of the question, and wrote to his sister from Spain, saying that he had ordered the Widow of Milan to go to the Low Countries, and hoped she would proceed at once to the conclusion of the marriage with Cleves.[153]
At that moment all Mary's energies were absorbed in the struggle with France. She herself went to Lille to superintend military operations, and appeared on horseback in the trenches before Thérouenne, where her courage excited the admiration of John Hutton, the English Ambassador. "Let the King but tarry fifteen days," she exclaimed, "and I will show him what God may strengthen a woman to do!" But, in spite of these brave words, Mary, as Hutton soon discovered, was sincerely desirous to end the war. "The Queen's anxiety for peace," he wrote home, "is as great as her ardour in war."[154] She knew the straits to which the Emperor was reduced and the exhaustion of the Treasury. "The poverty of this country is so great," she wrote to Charles on the 9th of June, "that it is impossible to provide necessary funds for the war. We must have peace, or we are lost."[155] Under these circumstances she lent a willing ear to her sister Queen Eleanor's advances, and the two sisters had the satisfaction of arranging a truce at Bomy, a village near Thérouenne. The siege of this city was raised, the French evacuated the towns which they held, and on the 10th of September peace was ratified by the Emperor at Monzone.
Jan., 1538] THE SUCCESSION OF GUELDERS
Mary felt that she could once more breathe freely. She lost no time in renewing negotiations with the Duke of Cleves, and the proposed marriage became the talk of the Court. "The Queen," wrote Hutton, on the 2nd of September, from Bruges, where Mary was hunting after her wont and spending all day in the saddle, "looketh daily for the Duchess of Milan, who shall be married to the Duke of Cleves's son and heir."[156] A month later the Cleves Envoys arrived at Brussels, and, after repeated interviews with the Queen and her Council, returned, well satisfied, to obtain their master's consent to the terms of the contract. The news spread rapidly, and was reported by Ambassadors from Spain and Germany, from Rome and Paris, with the same unanimity. Suddenly an unexpected event altered the face of affairs. Charles of Egmont, the fiery old Duke of Guelders, who had for many years been the Emperor's bitter enemy, fell ill, and, feeling his end to be near, summoned the Estates of his realm to choose a successor. Since he had no issue, his own wish was to leave his States to the French King; but his subjects positively refused to be handed over to a foreign Power, and chose the young Duke William of Cleves, who hastened to visit Nimeguen, where he was acclaimed by his future subjects. This was a clear breach of faith, since, by the treaty concluded a year before with the Emperor, Guelders was to pass into his hands at Charles of Egmont's death, and the ancient rights to the duchy which the House of Cleves formerly claimed had been already sold to the Dukes of Burgundy.[157] Mary's indignation was great. She wrote angrily to tell William of Cleves that Guelders was the property of the Emperor, and that if he persevered in his pretensions all idea of his marriage to her niece must be abandoned. The young Duke returned a courteous answer, saying that nothing could be farther from his thoughts than a breach of loyalty to the Emperor, and professing the utmost anxiety for the marriage. At the same time the old Duke's action excited great annoyance in Lorraine, where his nephew, the reigning Duke Anthony, claimed to be heir to Guelders, through his mother, Philippa of Egmont. An attempt to pacify him by reviving a former marriage contract between his son Francis and the Duke of Cleves's daughter Anne met with no encouragement, and Ambassadors were sent to Guelders to enter a protest on the Duke of Lorraine's behalf.[158] But Charles of Egmont turned a deaf ear to all remonstrances, and on the 27th of January, 1538, William of Cleves received the homage of the States of Guelders, and was publicly recognized as the old Duke's successor.
Such was the state of affairs when Christina reached Brussels on the 8th of December, 1537. Her faithful guardian, Montmorency, alludes to the Cleves marriage in the following letter, which he addressed to Cardinal Caracciolo on the 5th of January, 1538:
"I wrote last from Trent on the 26th of October, and since then have received several letters from you, and have duly informed the Duchess of their contents. She is very grateful for your kindness regarding her affairs, and begs you not to relax your efforts.... As to Madama's marriage with Cleves, as far as I can learn, it will not take place, because the Duke has quarrelled with Lorraine, and Guelders is interfering. Negotiations, however, are not yet broken off."
Three months later he referred to the matter again in another letter, and this time expressed his conviction that the marriage would never take place.[159]
Montmorency's own claims had not been forgotten. Soon after his return he married a lady of the Lannoy family, and was appointed Bailiff of Alost. Both Charles and Mary treated him with marked favour, and employed him on important diplomatic missions. But he still held an honorary post in the Duchess's household, and never ceased to be her devoted servant.
During the winter Hutton alluded repeatedly to the affair of Cleves in his letters to Cromwell, saying that the Duke had been recognized by the Communes of Guelders as their liege lord, and that the Queen quite refused to let him wed the Duchess, although he was still eager for the alliance. All sorts of wild rumours were flying about, and an Italian merchant at Antwerp wrote to London that young Cleves was about to marry the daughter of Lorraine, with Guelders as her dowry. But on the 25th of January Hutton reported that the Queen had sent Nassau and De Praet to Duke William, to break off marriage negotiations and clear her of all former promises.[160]
Jan., 1538] THE PALACE OF BRABANT
Christina herself was the person least concerned in these rumours. Princes and Ministers might wrangle as they chose; they could not destroy the happiness of being in her old home, surrounded by familiar faces. The sound of the French tongue and the carillon in the towers were music in her ears. Three things above all impressed Italian travellers, like Guicciardini and Beatis, who came to the Low Countries for the first time—the cleanliness of the streets and houses, the green pastures with their herds of black and white cows, and the beautiful church bells. These were all delightful to the young Duchess, who had been so long absent from her old home. The city of Brussels, with its fine houses and noble churches, its famous hôtel-de-ville, and 350 fountains, was a pleasant town to live in. And the Palace of Brabant itself was a wonderful place. There was the great hall, with its lofty pointed arches, and priceless Burgundian tapestries, and the golden suns and silver moons recently brought back from the New World by Cortes, the conqueror of Mexico.
The Queen gave Christina a suite of rooms close to her own, looking out on the glossy leaves and interwoven boughs of the labyrinth, and the gardens beyond, which Albert Dürer had called an earthly paradise, and which the Cardinal of Aragon's secretary pronounced to be as beautiful as any in Italy.[161] Here the young Duchess lived with her ladies and household, presided over by Benedetto da Corte and Niccolò Belloni. Every morning she attended Mass in the Court chapel, and dined and spent the evenings with the Queen. On fine days, when Mary could spare time from public affairs, they rode out together and hunted the deer in the park, or took longer expeditions in the Forest of Soignies. As fearless and almost as untiring a rider as her aunt, Christina was quite at home in the saddle, and followed the Queen's example of riding with her foot in the stirrup, an accomplishment which was new in those days, and excited Brantôme's admiration.[162]
The following Christmas was celebrated with great festivity at Brussels. The war was over, and the presence of a youthful Princess gave new charm to Court functions. Wherever Christina went she made herself beloved. Her quick wit and frank enjoyment of simple pleasures charmed everyone. Although in public she still wore heavy mourning robes after the Italian fashion, and hid away her bright chestnut locks under a black hood, in the evening, by her aunt's desire, she laid aside her weeds, and appeared clad in rich brocades and glittering jewels. Then she conversed freely with her aunt's ladies and with the foreign Ambassadors, or played cards with the few great nobles who were admitted to the Queen's private circle—Henry, Count of Nassau, the proudest and richest lord in Flanders; the Duke of Aerschot and his wife, Anne de Croy, the heiress of the Princes of Chimay; his sister, Madame de Berghen; Count Büren; and a few others.
Feb., 1538] A PERFECT KNIGHT
Among them was one whom the young Duchess regarded with especial interest. This was the hero of S. Pol, René, Prince of Orange. The only son and heir of the great House of Nassau, René had inherited the principality of Orange, in the South of France, from his uncle Philibert of Châlons, the Imperialist leader who fell at the siege of Florence, and whose sister Claude was Henry of Nassau's first wife. As a child René had been Prince John of Denmark's favourite playmate, and Christina had not forgotten her brother's old friend. Now he had grown up a handsome and chivalrous Prince, skilled in all knightly exercises. He had won his first laurels in the recent campaign, and was the foremost of the valiant band which surprised the citadel of S. Pol. The Queen honoured him with her especial favour, and, as the Nassau house stood close to the palace, the young Prince was often in her company. When, on Shrove Sunday, a grand tournament was held at Court, one troop, clad in blue, was led by Count Büren's eldest son, Floris d'Egmont; and the other by René, wearing the orange colours of his house, with the proud motto, Je maintiendrai. Christina looked down from her place at the Queen's side on the lists where the gallant Prince challenged all comers, and it was from her hand that the victor received the prize. Neither of them ever forgot that carnival.[163]