Dec., 1519] QUEEN PHILIPPA
Six stalwart sons grew up under Philippa's watchful eye, to bear their father's name and maintain the honour of his house. The eldest, Antoine, succeeded René as Duke of Lorraine and Bar, and the second, Claude, became a naturalized French subject, and inherited the family estates in France, including Joinville, Guise, and Aumale. Both Princes were educated at the French Court, where Claude became the friend and companion of the future King Francis, and in 1513 married Antoinette de Bourbon, the Count of Vendôme's daughter. This lovely maiden was brought up with her cousins, Louis XII.'s daughters, the elder of whom married Francis of Angoulême, the heir to the Crown. When, in 1515, this Prince succeeded his father-in-law on the throne, he promised the young Duke of Lorraine the hand of Louis XII.'s widow, Mary of England; but the fair Dowager had already plighted her troth to Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, and Antoine consoled himself with another Princess of the blood royal, Renée de Bourbon, daughter of Gilbert de Montpensier and Chiara Gonzaga. The wedding was celebrated at Amboise on the 26th of June, 1515, and Antoine and Claude both left their brides in Lorraine with Queen Philippa while they followed Francis to Italy. There they fought gallantly by the King's side at Marignano. Antoine was knighted on the field of battle, while Claude received a dangerous wound, and a third brother was slain in the mêlée. Two of Philippa's younger sons lost their lives in the French King's later campaigns. One was killed at Pavia, and Louis, the handsomest of all his handsome race, died of the plague in Lautrec's army before Naples. A sixth son, Jean, Bishop of Metz, was made a Cardinal at twenty, and, like his brother, Claude of Guise, became a prominent figure at the French Court.
During Antoine's absence his duchy was governed wisely and well by his mother, Philippa; but when he no longer needed her help, the good Queen retired from the world, and on the 8th of December, 1519, entered the Order of the Poor Clares at Pont-à-Mousson. Here she spent the remaining twenty-seven years of her life in works of devotion, and edified her family and subjects by the zeal with which she performed the humblest duties, going barefoot and wearing rough serge. But she still retained great influence over her sons, who were all deeply attached to her and often came to visit her in the convent. By a will which she made when she forsook the world, she left her furniture, jewels, and most of her property, to her second son, Claude, "pour aider ce jeune ménage,"[320] and the Duke and Duchess of Guise went to live at her dower-house of Joinville, the beau châtel on the heights above the River Marne, which had once belonged to St. Louis's follower, le Sieur de Joinville. Here that remarkable woman, Duchess Antoinette, the mother of the Guises, reared her large family, the six sons who became famous as soldiers or prelates, and the four beautiful daughters who were courted by Kings and Princes. Antoine's wife, Renée, had not the ability and force of character which made her cousin a power at the French Court, as well as in her own family, but she was greatly beloved in Lorraine, and inherited the cultivated tastes of her Gonzaga mother—the sister of Elizabeth, Duchess of Urbino, and sister-in-law of the famous Isabella d'Este. Renée brought the graces and refinement of the Mantuan Court to her husband's home, and the blossoming of art which took place at Nancy during Antoine's reign was largely due to her influence.
GRANDE PORTERIE. PALAIS DUCAL, NANCY
To face p. [260]
Aug., 1541] THE DUCAL PALACE
A whole school of local architects and painters were employed to adorn the ducal palace, which under his rule and that of his immediate successors became, in the words of a contemporary, "as fine a dwelling-place for a great Prince as could possibly be desired."[321] King René had rebuilt the older portions of the house; his son now added the noble gateway known as "La Grande Porterie," with his own equestrian statue carved by Mansuy Gauvain, and the magnificent upper gallery called "La Galerie des Cerfs," from the antlers and other trophies of the chase which hung upon its walls.[322] A wealth of delicate sculpture was lavished on the façade. Flowers and foliage, heraldic beasts and armorial bearings, adorned the portal; "le bœuf qui prêche"—an ox's head in a pulpit—appeared in one corner, and on the topmost pinnacle, above the busts of René and Antoine, a monkey was seen clad in a friar's habit. Within, the vaulted halls were decorated with stately mantelpieces and richly carved friezes. Without, the roofs glittered with gilded copper fretwork and a tall bronze flèche, bearing the cross of Lorraine and the thistle of Nancy, crowned the "Tour du Paradis," which enclosed the fine spiral staircase leading to the Galerie des Cerfs. Another round tower, containing an inclined way broad enough for a horse and chariot, stood in the older part of the palace, and led up to the Treasury, where the Crown jewels were kept. Here, too, were the apartments occupied by the ducal family. On one side they opened on to the "Cour d'Honneur," where tournaments and pageants were held. On the other the windows looked down on the gardens, with their cut yews and box hedges, their arbours and bosquets, and in the centre a superb fountain adorned with putti by Mansuy Gauvain; while beyond the eye ranged across the sleepy waters of the moat to green meadows and distant woods.[323] The grand portal and state-rooms at the new end of the palace looked down on the Grande Rue, and were only divided by a narrow street from the shops and stalls of the market-place. The fact that the Duke's house stood in the heart of the city naturally fostered the affection with which he was regarded by the people of Nancy. The citizens were familiar with every detail of the ducal family's private life, and took the deepest interest in their comings and goings, their weddings and funerals, in the guests who arrived at the palace gates, and in the children who grew up within its walls.
Duke Antoine was especially beloved by his subjects. Early in life he had learnt by experience the horrors of war, and all through his reign he tried manfully to preserve a strict neutrality between the rival powers on either side, with the result that Lorraine enjoyed an unbroken period of peace and prosperity. The burden of taxation was lightened, trade and agriculture flourished, and the arts were encouraged by this good Prince, who was justly called the "father of his people." When his beloved wife Renée died, in June, 1539, his sorrow was shared by the whole nation.