CHAPTER XVIII. MARGARET OF ANJOU, QUEEN OF HENRY VI.
(A.D. 1429-1479.)
Margaret was the last of the Provençal Queens of England, and she filled a most important position for more than a quarter of a century. Through her mother she was a direct descendant of the great Emperor Charlemagne, and her father, René of Anjou, was the son of the King of Sicily and Jerusalem.
A.D. 1431. When she was about two years old her father fought a battle against Anthony of Vaudemonte, and was taken prisoner. This battle was to decide who was to rule over Lorraine, and as René was captured he was handed over to the Duke of Burgundy, who locked him up in the top of a high tower at Dijon. While there the royal captive amused himself with painting on glass; some of the beautiful specimens of his art were preserved, and are still to be seen in the chapel of the Castle of Dijon.
During the imprisonment of her husband, which lasted a long time, Margaret's mother was left with the entire care of their four young children, two boys and two girls, all of whom were remarkably pretty and interesting. Many months passed, and at last René was granted permission to leave the prison on condition that he would consent to the marriage of his elder daughter, Yolante, then in her ninth year, with Frederic of Vaudemonte, the son of the man by whom he had been made a captive. She was to have for her dowry part of the disputed lands
