Chapter 11 - 1525
Chapter 11 - 1525
The year began with a death in France. Charlotte of Valois perished at the age of eight in the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, much to her parents’ sorrow. The princess had always been frail and Francis had worried about her health for a long time. Her mother had diligently watched over her during her illness, even if her own constitution was just as fragile. Queen Claude was once more expecting, for the seventh time and all noted that she seemed even more exhausted than usual during this time. Even Francis, usually busy with his mistresses, seemed to tend to his wife more carefully as the court plunged into mourning. The death of Charlotte also held political ramifications to the king. She had been betrothed to the Prince of Wales for three years as a peace offering and now that was mostly gone. Despite that, other alliances remained open to France. After all, Claude and Francis had five living children in 1525, two daughters, the three-year-old Madeleine, and the infant Margaret and three sons; the dauphin François and his two brothers Henri and Charles. Madeleine could take her sister’s place if necessary, and should Claude deliver another daughter then France would have more marriage options. In 1525 only the dauphin had a planned match, and it was time for his siblings to be considered. Margaret of Denmark and Burgundy had now turned seven years old, the same as her intended husband, and she had been raised as a fille de France alongside the other children in the palace. François and Margaret had grown up together since they were toddlers and they seemed to adore each other completely. Margaret had taken the role of the eldest daughter in the court, much to Claude’s delight. The death of Louise and Charlotte had left the place vacant, and Francis doted on her as well. Unlike his own frail daughters Margaret had no truck with physical weakness and the dauphine was reported to be an energic and sturdy child. The nursery of Margaret had not been solely filled with royal princesses, but also the daughters of other French noble girls, such as Marie de Bourbon, Marie de Guise and Isabelle of Navarre that would be her companions during childhood.
While the death of Charlotte had no doubt been personally hard on her family, it paled in comparison to the once that came in spring. Frederick IV died. The uncrowned emperor’s reign had lasted seven years and it had been a turbulent one to boot. While he had at first been a supporter of Martin Luther, the imperial election had changed that fast. Luther had fled Saxony at this time, rather than risk imprisonment as he saw the writing of the wall early. He had found shelter in the city of Königsberg in Prussia, and a patron in Albrecht von Preussen, whom had been more receptive to his ideas. As Frederick was never crowned, the election of 1525 was thrown wide open to other candidates. While his own rule had been short, it had been crucial to the future of Germany and Europe. Unlike the universal monarchy espoused by Emperor Maximilian and the promise of Charles of Burgundy as future emperor, Duke of Burgundy and king of Spain all rolled into once that had been cut short in 1517, Frederick’s focus remained mostly on German affairs. The city of Wittenberg had enjoyed a brief time of glory as the new imperial seat, but that ended with Frederick’s death.
The City of Wittenberg in 1536
The candidates for emperor were several; William IV of Bavaria, John of Saxony, Francis I of France, Henry VIII of England and Ferdinand I of Spain was all considered for the role. As he was now of age, Ferdinand was considered as the pope’s ideal candidate, but the king refused to entered the election as he had no interest in the lands of his grandfather Maximilian. His declaration that his whole life would be dedicated to the Spanish lands at 1521 remained steady, and no Austrian or German realms could compare to the blessed life he had with Queen Isabella and their children, Juan, Isabel and the newborn Fernando in that very spring.
Henry was not considered as a true candidate either, as no Englishman had come close to the imperial crown since the failed kingship of Richard of Cornwall centuries earlier. Francis was a more realistic contender, but the German princes were not too keen on a Frenchman as their ruler. In 1525, Francis decided to aim once more for the matters of Italy instead and put his support towards John of Saxony as a candidate. The Saxons were preferable as emperor to the Bavarians, as their interests was separate from France. But John would loose the election thanks to a coalition of anti-french players coming together to support the Wittelsbach candidate. Charles of Burgundy might had died, but his siblings were still alive. And while Ferdinand of Spain, Isabella of Burgundy and Mary of Hungary all lived in different kingdoms with different interests, one thing united them. France must not be allowed to dominate Christendom completely. Francis threatened all their domains in a way. Ferdinand wanted to keep Navarre and Naples in the Spanish circle, Isabella had to protect her duchy, Mary had to consider the closeness of France in the Northen Italy. As for Henry, the death of Charlotte had freed him from being an ally and he also threw his support towards the Wittelsbach. Pope Clement VII, initially an ally of Francis had contemplated the dominance of France over the Italian peninsula, similarly to many other Italian rulers. The prospect of being placed under the Valois yoke did not thrill many at this time and after three decades of the wars that Charles VIII had started in 1494, the impending threat of another French army coming charging down caused considerable worry.
The election of 1525 would be won by the Wittelsbach and their candidate William IV of Bavaria, now William I, Holy Roman Emperor elect. He and his wife, Anne of Bohemia and Hungary would be crowned together in the autumn at the imperial city of Aachen by the archbishop-elector of Cologne himself; Hermann of Wied, who proclaimed them King and Queen of Germany before the whole assembled throng of princes, lords and clergy. William’s coronation in Rome would come a few years later, but the emperor gloried in his victory, all the while. Empress Anne was pregnant at her coronation, this would be the third time, their children, Helen and Heinrich, had been left back in Bavaria as they were four and three years old respectively. William intended to make allies as emperor and after they left Aachen, the emperor and empress paid a visit to the duke and duchess of Brabant, where they enjoyed ten splendid days in the city of Brussels being sumptuously hosted. Isabella of Austria had been delivered of a strong daughter in the late winter; Christine of Brabant. While she was not the second son hoped for, both Isabella and Christian were delighted and she was the darling of her father. The imperial visit was greeted with fervour, as it would be the first one since the death of emperor Maximilian several years ago.
Ducal Palace of Coudenberg in Brussels
William and Anne would enter the city of Brussels in a joyous entrée that was typical in the Low Countries, accompanied by 1,200 knights and men at arms, petty lords from Bavaria and other German lands as well as officials, courtiers and clergymen. The imperial company meet the duke and duchess in the Grote Markt, or the Grand Square in the city itself. The guild halls, or Negen Naties van Brussel (The Nine Sisters of Brussels) and the Town Hall framed the square itself, and it seemed like the whole bourgeouise of the city had come out for the occasion, all wearing their best. The nation guilds had gone into a frenzy before the visit, as fishmongers, pastry bakers, cobblers as well as goldsmiths, tapestry makers and armourers put out their most delicious wares and finest objects. A great wooden stage had been erected in the middle of the square and covered in colourful carpets and frech rushes. The high posts of the stage held up a canopy of purple say cloth with golden tassles, making it the center stage for the meeting. The banners of the duchy, with the danish lions and burgundian panters quartered waved from on top of it. Christian wore black samite with golden embroidery, and a cloak of purple velvet trimmed with ermine, while Isabella had dressed in crimson damask and cloth of silver. John of Burgundy stood beside his parents, wearing dark blue silk, golden samite and a overrobe of sable fur, fitted for his six year old self. The imperial and ducal couple heard a celebratory mass in Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula together, before they rode towards the Coudenberg Palace, where the emperor and empress would be residing during their visit. As their visits came in the autumn, the banquet tables would feature a variety of game meats, venison, pheasant, partridge alongside delicacies of the sea; sturgeons, clams, mussels and oysters. William and Christian enjoyed hunting together outside the city, while the empress and duchess enjoyed less tenacious activities. For Anne and Isabella, this meeting was not the one they had suspected as children; Anne had been betrothed to Ferdinand of Austria until he wedded Isabella of Portugal, thus she and Isabella of Austria would have been sisters in law had Charles not died in 1517. For Anne, the humiliation of being jilted before all Christendom by the young king of Spain had left its mark, even now as empress she still harboured resentment toward her former fiancé. Even worse, the Spanish ambassador had attended the coronation in Aachen. Ferdinand of Spain wished to join the new imperial house to the Spanish Hapsburgs by marriage, and offered the hand of his only daughter to Heinrich of Bavaria. To William, this was a great proposal indeed; as the late emperor Maximilian’s only grandson, the Infanta could bring his new imperial house a great lineage and a major alliance, not to mention a rich dowry of Spanish gold. The Wittelsbach’s did not have the riches of Burgundy behind them and William did not wish to be a pauper emperor either. Bavaria would become the crown jewel in the new empire, and that would take money. But the empress was fiercely opposed to a Spanish marriage. Her son marrying Isabel of Spain, the daughter of the king who had left her in great shame and humiliation, was a scenario she would rather die than endure. Anne was mindful of her status as empress and she was determined that her own children would wed into great ruling houses; those not of Spain that is to say. For her son, she championed a match with either Christine of Brabant or Madeleine of France, both alliances that would bring wealth, culture and connect Bavaria with great kingdoms of Christendom. No doubt the betrothal between Heinrich and Christine was first brought up by the ladies, while the men worked out mutually beneficial agreement regarding trades and other joint enterprises between the duchy and empire. Christian was still committed to the english regarding his son’s future marriage, but baby Christine becoming an imperial bride was a great prospect for her. With the support of the emperor and England, perhaps one day he could return as king of Scandinavia or at the very least John might. The Treaty of Brussels was made between the empire and duchy at the end of the visit, making it a great victory for the lost king of Denmark.
Isabella of Austria was not the only Hapsburg sister who had a baby in 1525. In the castle of Buda, the young queen Mary gave birth to a son, named Stephen for the saint King of Hungary. His birth was greeted with enormous cheers in the kingdom, as king Louis II was the only son of his family. For Mary, this birth solidified her position as both queen and archduchess, for she and her husband had been designated as rulers of the Austrian lands as well. In the late autumn she and Louis left Hungary to make a state visit to their new land, as their presence was badly needed. The controlling magnates did not wish for their monarchs to leave the kingdom, fearing that the resources of Austria might be used by the king to take back control of the weak monarchy in Hungary and Bohemia. The election of William as emperor also meant that Louis had imperial backing from his brother in law. Mary, appealing to the estates in Austria had been able to secure enough power to see them safetly to Vienna. While Vienna was no longer the imperial capital, she had other reasons to wish to arrive there: the threath of the Ottomans was immense, as it was belived that the Sultan would come to Hungary with a army already in the next year. The duchy was a potential powerbase with money, manpower and protection. Mary managed to take her infant son with her to Austria after much quarrel, as she refused to let Stephen be in the care of any magnates that surely wished to manipulate or harm him should the occasion come to pass. In September, she and Louis arrived in Vienna to great cheer, who finally saw their rulers since near a decade.
“They would not have been warmer received had they been emissaries of Christ himself”
Unknown authour at the entrance of Mary and Louis in Vienna.
The king and queen established themselves in the Hofburg castle in the city, the residence of the former rulers of the empire, now as faded at they were. The rooms had clearly been abandoned for long and the whole castle seemed dank and gloomy. The gardens and grounds were in a dilapitated state, while the facade needed renovation at several points. Mary ordered a complete inventory of the Hofburg, and that the gardens would be put back into order. The best apartments was quickly taken by the couple, after being scourged from top to bottom and the fabrics and furiture that had been taken from Hungary placed in it to make it comfortable. The queen took extra care with the nursery for her son, having the chamber aired out and put in fresh bedding for Stephen. Meanwhile Louis meet with the estates and royal council to go over the problems and other issues in Austria. The estates was very well aware of the pressing matter for soldiers for Hungary, but they also had conditions for their new ruler. Vienna had refused Maximilian entry in his last year due to the dept he had incurred and they were willing to be more forgiving for Louis and Mary, with certain conditions of course.
Louis II of Hungary and Bohemia, Archduke of Austria in 1525
Louis had been in severe dept as the magnates and his own guardians had abused the crown’s finances and neglected him and the kingdom for many years, and thus the willingess of the Austrian estates to work with him came as a great relief. Their conditions would not be as ardeous as feared either and after many sessions of negotiation between the king and themselves, a more amicable agreement came to light in the winter of the year. Louis got a proper royal allowance and the promise of levies of men for the defense of Hungary for the spring of 1526. Stephen was also acknowledged as heir to Austria, much to his parents relief. Moneywise, the king was still heavily in crisis and the financial problems of Louis would last for many years to come, but in that christmas the gloomy Hofburg castle lit up once more with festivitious winter celebrations as Louis and Mary celebrated in the period that many now called the calm before the storm.
Author's Note: So here we return to more continental affairs. And now we have a new Imperial House! Babies! France being humiliated in the imperial election! Ottomans coming!
The year began with a death in France. Charlotte of Valois perished at the age of eight in the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, much to her parents’ sorrow. The princess had always been frail and Francis had worried about her health for a long time. Her mother had diligently watched over her during her illness, even if her own constitution was just as fragile. Queen Claude was once more expecting, for the seventh time and all noted that she seemed even more exhausted than usual during this time. Even Francis, usually busy with his mistresses, seemed to tend to his wife more carefully as the court plunged into mourning. The death of Charlotte also held political ramifications to the king. She had been betrothed to the Prince of Wales for three years as a peace offering and now that was mostly gone. Despite that, other alliances remained open to France. After all, Claude and Francis had five living children in 1525, two daughters, the three-year-old Madeleine, and the infant Margaret and three sons; the dauphin François and his two brothers Henri and Charles. Madeleine could take her sister’s place if necessary, and should Claude deliver another daughter then France would have more marriage options. In 1525 only the dauphin had a planned match, and it was time for his siblings to be considered. Margaret of Denmark and Burgundy had now turned seven years old, the same as her intended husband, and she had been raised as a fille de France alongside the other children in the palace. François and Margaret had grown up together since they were toddlers and they seemed to adore each other completely. Margaret had taken the role of the eldest daughter in the court, much to Claude’s delight. The death of Louise and Charlotte had left the place vacant, and Francis doted on her as well. Unlike his own frail daughters Margaret had no truck with physical weakness and the dauphine was reported to be an energic and sturdy child. The nursery of Margaret had not been solely filled with royal princesses, but also the daughters of other French noble girls, such as Marie de Bourbon, Marie de Guise and Isabelle of Navarre that would be her companions during childhood.
While the death of Charlotte had no doubt been personally hard on her family, it paled in comparison to the once that came in spring. Frederick IV died. The uncrowned emperor’s reign had lasted seven years and it had been a turbulent one to boot. While he had at first been a supporter of Martin Luther, the imperial election had changed that fast. Luther had fled Saxony at this time, rather than risk imprisonment as he saw the writing of the wall early. He had found shelter in the city of Königsberg in Prussia, and a patron in Albrecht von Preussen, whom had been more receptive to his ideas. As Frederick was never crowned, the election of 1525 was thrown wide open to other candidates. While his own rule had been short, it had been crucial to the future of Germany and Europe. Unlike the universal monarchy espoused by Emperor Maximilian and the promise of Charles of Burgundy as future emperor, Duke of Burgundy and king of Spain all rolled into once that had been cut short in 1517, Frederick’s focus remained mostly on German affairs. The city of Wittenberg had enjoyed a brief time of glory as the new imperial seat, but that ended with Frederick’s death.
The City of Wittenberg in 1536
The candidates for emperor were several; William IV of Bavaria, John of Saxony, Francis I of France, Henry VIII of England and Ferdinand I of Spain was all considered for the role. As he was now of age, Ferdinand was considered as the pope’s ideal candidate, but the king refused to entered the election as he had no interest in the lands of his grandfather Maximilian. His declaration that his whole life would be dedicated to the Spanish lands at 1521 remained steady, and no Austrian or German realms could compare to the blessed life he had with Queen Isabella and their children, Juan, Isabel and the newborn Fernando in that very spring.
Henry was not considered as a true candidate either, as no Englishman had come close to the imperial crown since the failed kingship of Richard of Cornwall centuries earlier. Francis was a more realistic contender, but the German princes were not too keen on a Frenchman as their ruler. In 1525, Francis decided to aim once more for the matters of Italy instead and put his support towards John of Saxony as a candidate. The Saxons were preferable as emperor to the Bavarians, as their interests was separate from France. But John would loose the election thanks to a coalition of anti-french players coming together to support the Wittelsbach candidate. Charles of Burgundy might had died, but his siblings were still alive. And while Ferdinand of Spain, Isabella of Burgundy and Mary of Hungary all lived in different kingdoms with different interests, one thing united them. France must not be allowed to dominate Christendom completely. Francis threatened all their domains in a way. Ferdinand wanted to keep Navarre and Naples in the Spanish circle, Isabella had to protect her duchy, Mary had to consider the closeness of France in the Northen Italy. As for Henry, the death of Charlotte had freed him from being an ally and he also threw his support towards the Wittelsbach. Pope Clement VII, initially an ally of Francis had contemplated the dominance of France over the Italian peninsula, similarly to many other Italian rulers. The prospect of being placed under the Valois yoke did not thrill many at this time and after three decades of the wars that Charles VIII had started in 1494, the impending threat of another French army coming charging down caused considerable worry.
The election of 1525 would be won by the Wittelsbach and their candidate William IV of Bavaria, now William I, Holy Roman Emperor elect. He and his wife, Anne of Bohemia and Hungary would be crowned together in the autumn at the imperial city of Aachen by the archbishop-elector of Cologne himself; Hermann of Wied, who proclaimed them King and Queen of Germany before the whole assembled throng of princes, lords and clergy. William’s coronation in Rome would come a few years later, but the emperor gloried in his victory, all the while. Empress Anne was pregnant at her coronation, this would be the third time, their children, Helen and Heinrich, had been left back in Bavaria as they were four and three years old respectively. William intended to make allies as emperor and after they left Aachen, the emperor and empress paid a visit to the duke and duchess of Brabant, where they enjoyed ten splendid days in the city of Brussels being sumptuously hosted. Isabella of Austria had been delivered of a strong daughter in the late winter; Christine of Brabant. While she was not the second son hoped for, both Isabella and Christian were delighted and she was the darling of her father. The imperial visit was greeted with fervour, as it would be the first one since the death of emperor Maximilian several years ago.
Ducal Palace of Coudenberg in Brussels
William and Anne would enter the city of Brussels in a joyous entrée that was typical in the Low Countries, accompanied by 1,200 knights and men at arms, petty lords from Bavaria and other German lands as well as officials, courtiers and clergymen. The imperial company meet the duke and duchess in the Grote Markt, or the Grand Square in the city itself. The guild halls, or Negen Naties van Brussel (The Nine Sisters of Brussels) and the Town Hall framed the square itself, and it seemed like the whole bourgeouise of the city had come out for the occasion, all wearing their best. The nation guilds had gone into a frenzy before the visit, as fishmongers, pastry bakers, cobblers as well as goldsmiths, tapestry makers and armourers put out their most delicious wares and finest objects. A great wooden stage had been erected in the middle of the square and covered in colourful carpets and frech rushes. The high posts of the stage held up a canopy of purple say cloth with golden tassles, making it the center stage for the meeting. The banners of the duchy, with the danish lions and burgundian panters quartered waved from on top of it. Christian wore black samite with golden embroidery, and a cloak of purple velvet trimmed with ermine, while Isabella had dressed in crimson damask and cloth of silver. John of Burgundy stood beside his parents, wearing dark blue silk, golden samite and a overrobe of sable fur, fitted for his six year old self. The imperial and ducal couple heard a celebratory mass in Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula together, before they rode towards the Coudenberg Palace, where the emperor and empress would be residing during their visit. As their visits came in the autumn, the banquet tables would feature a variety of game meats, venison, pheasant, partridge alongside delicacies of the sea; sturgeons, clams, mussels and oysters. William and Christian enjoyed hunting together outside the city, while the empress and duchess enjoyed less tenacious activities. For Anne and Isabella, this meeting was not the one they had suspected as children; Anne had been betrothed to Ferdinand of Austria until he wedded Isabella of Portugal, thus she and Isabella of Austria would have been sisters in law had Charles not died in 1517. For Anne, the humiliation of being jilted before all Christendom by the young king of Spain had left its mark, even now as empress she still harboured resentment toward her former fiancé. Even worse, the Spanish ambassador had attended the coronation in Aachen. Ferdinand of Spain wished to join the new imperial house to the Spanish Hapsburgs by marriage, and offered the hand of his only daughter to Heinrich of Bavaria. To William, this was a great proposal indeed; as the late emperor Maximilian’s only grandson, the Infanta could bring his new imperial house a great lineage and a major alliance, not to mention a rich dowry of Spanish gold. The Wittelsbach’s did not have the riches of Burgundy behind them and William did not wish to be a pauper emperor either. Bavaria would become the crown jewel in the new empire, and that would take money. But the empress was fiercely opposed to a Spanish marriage. Her son marrying Isabel of Spain, the daughter of the king who had left her in great shame and humiliation, was a scenario she would rather die than endure. Anne was mindful of her status as empress and she was determined that her own children would wed into great ruling houses; those not of Spain that is to say. For her son, she championed a match with either Christine of Brabant or Madeleine of France, both alliances that would bring wealth, culture and connect Bavaria with great kingdoms of Christendom. No doubt the betrothal between Heinrich and Christine was first brought up by the ladies, while the men worked out mutually beneficial agreement regarding trades and other joint enterprises between the duchy and empire. Christian was still committed to the english regarding his son’s future marriage, but baby Christine becoming an imperial bride was a great prospect for her. With the support of the emperor and England, perhaps one day he could return as king of Scandinavia or at the very least John might. The Treaty of Brussels was made between the empire and duchy at the end of the visit, making it a great victory for the lost king of Denmark.
Isabella of Austria was not the only Hapsburg sister who had a baby in 1525. In the castle of Buda, the young queen Mary gave birth to a son, named Stephen for the saint King of Hungary. His birth was greeted with enormous cheers in the kingdom, as king Louis II was the only son of his family. For Mary, this birth solidified her position as both queen and archduchess, for she and her husband had been designated as rulers of the Austrian lands as well. In the late autumn she and Louis left Hungary to make a state visit to their new land, as their presence was badly needed. The controlling magnates did not wish for their monarchs to leave the kingdom, fearing that the resources of Austria might be used by the king to take back control of the weak monarchy in Hungary and Bohemia. The election of William as emperor also meant that Louis had imperial backing from his brother in law. Mary, appealing to the estates in Austria had been able to secure enough power to see them safetly to Vienna. While Vienna was no longer the imperial capital, she had other reasons to wish to arrive there: the threath of the Ottomans was immense, as it was belived that the Sultan would come to Hungary with a army already in the next year. The duchy was a potential powerbase with money, manpower and protection. Mary managed to take her infant son with her to Austria after much quarrel, as she refused to let Stephen be in the care of any magnates that surely wished to manipulate or harm him should the occasion come to pass. In September, she and Louis arrived in Vienna to great cheer, who finally saw their rulers since near a decade.
“They would not have been warmer received had they been emissaries of Christ himself”
Unknown authour at the entrance of Mary and Louis in Vienna.
The king and queen established themselves in the Hofburg castle in the city, the residence of the former rulers of the empire, now as faded at they were. The rooms had clearly been abandoned for long and the whole castle seemed dank and gloomy. The gardens and grounds were in a dilapitated state, while the facade needed renovation at several points. Mary ordered a complete inventory of the Hofburg, and that the gardens would be put back into order. The best apartments was quickly taken by the couple, after being scourged from top to bottom and the fabrics and furiture that had been taken from Hungary placed in it to make it comfortable. The queen took extra care with the nursery for her son, having the chamber aired out and put in fresh bedding for Stephen. Meanwhile Louis meet with the estates and royal council to go over the problems and other issues in Austria. The estates was very well aware of the pressing matter for soldiers for Hungary, but they also had conditions for their new ruler. Vienna had refused Maximilian entry in his last year due to the dept he had incurred and they were willing to be more forgiving for Louis and Mary, with certain conditions of course.
Louis II of Hungary and Bohemia, Archduke of Austria in 1525
Louis had been in severe dept as the magnates and his own guardians had abused the crown’s finances and neglected him and the kingdom for many years, and thus the willingess of the Austrian estates to work with him came as a great relief. Their conditions would not be as ardeous as feared either and after many sessions of negotiation between the king and themselves, a more amicable agreement came to light in the winter of the year. Louis got a proper royal allowance and the promise of levies of men for the defense of Hungary for the spring of 1526. Stephen was also acknowledged as heir to Austria, much to his parents relief. Moneywise, the king was still heavily in crisis and the financial problems of Louis would last for many years to come, but in that christmas the gloomy Hofburg castle lit up once more with festivitious winter celebrations as Louis and Mary celebrated in the period that many now called the calm before the storm.
Author's Note: So here we return to more continental affairs. And now we have a new Imperial House! Babies! France being humiliated in the imperial election! Ottomans coming!
Last edited:
