Yikes! This got a little long. I wanted to add a little more to this chapter, but it was already approaching 4k words, so we're going to cap it off here.
I spent a lot of time listening to period music when writing chapters for this, so I've now decided to include a song with each chapter growing forward. Might go back and add them, too.
Chapter 8. The Imperial Jewel
1516-1519 – Spain
“Fortune hath somewhat the nature of a woman; if she be too much wooed, she is the farther off.”
— Charles I of Spain
Music Accompaniment: La Basse Danse du Roy d'Espagne
The Embarkation at Dover, c. 1520.
The death of Ferdinand of Aragon had radically altered the European landscape, with the kingdoms of Castile and Aragon passing from the hands of the House of Trastámara and into the hands of the House of Habsburg. Charles, the Duke of Burgundy, was now the King of Spain—the first of his line to rule the kingdoms of Castile and Aragon together. Charles, even in his youth, was surrounded by counsellors who could assist him in making astute choices. To ensure the French would not interfere with his potential inheritance in Spain, he had made peace with them—while England was wedded ever more firmly to Spain’s cause through Charles’ marriage to the Princess Mary—Henry VIII’s youngest sister. Charles’ visit to England was feted, and his wedding to the princess at Westminster Abbey was a magnificent experience—and remains, even now, the only time that a foreign monarch has been wed there. Following the wedding, Princess Mary assumed the style of queen and was granted precedence alongside Queen Mary of England and Catherine of Aragon, the queen-regent.
Charles remained for time in England, while his Flemish suite—composed most notably of William of Croÿ, the Lord of Chièvres, Adrian of Utrecht, and Jean Sauvage—prepared for his return to Flanders, where ships were being assembled for the eventual voyage to Spain. All those among the young king’s court knew that he must go to Spain sooner rather than later—the situation remained unsettled, and the sooner Charles set foot into his newest kingdoms, the sooner his authority would be able to be established. His voyage to Spain was ever more prudent owing to the issue of the succession—while Charles had technically succeeded to the thrones of Castile and Aragon, they remained formally in the hands of his mother, Joanna—still confined at Torsedillas owing to her deteriorating mental health. Charles had been encouraged to claim the crowns of Castile and Aragon
jure matris and been crowned at Coudenburg. But for Charles to assume true sovereignty over Spain, they would need Queen Joanna’s agreement to allow for her son to co-rule with her. During this respite in England, it was agreed that Charles and Mary would spend their honeymoon at Woodstock Palace. Catherine of Aragon happily sent the pair on their way, and there were hopes amongst all that the marriage would be fruitful.
“The king’s marriage did not begin on the easiest of grounds,” A chronicler of the English court of the time wrote.
“Though the marriage was duly celebrated and consummated, both the king and queen knew that their marriage had been cemented for reasons of state rather than reasons of passion. Still, the young king was enchanted with his English bride—even if she was more reserved. Regardless, their time at Woodstock allowed them to get to know one another, and whence they returned to London, both were in much happier spirits. Some say that the king was able to finally pierce the queen’s reverie and they were able to get along easier after that.” Some also said that Charles decision to allow Mary to appoint one of her close associates, Charles Brandon, as her Master of the Horse also helped matters—but regardless of the reasoning, both returned from Woodstock in better spirits. Certainly, Charles Brandon’s spirits were also buoyed: with his position in England having grinded to a halt with the death of Henry VIII, he saw no reason why he should not attach his fortunes to Mary—now Duchess of Burgundy and Queen of Spain. If he could not make his fortune in England, he would make it abroad. Queen Catherine counselled her nephew against granting Brandon a position, stating,
“He is an ambitious man and much prone to mischief.” Whether Charles gave any thought to his aunt’s opinion, he made no move to dismiss the Englishman, and his position was confirmed.
Charles Brandon—Caballerizo Mayor (Master of the Horse) to the Queen of Spain.
Charles and Mary ended up staying in England throughout the autumn and winter of 1516—with preparations for their journey to Spain indefinitely halted. Charles and Mary were soon joined by Charles’ sister—Eleanor, the Queen Dowager of France. Eleanor had been held under light guard following the death of Louis XII and resumption of hostilities between France and the emperor but was finally freed following the signing of the Treaty Noyon, which confirmed Eleanor’s dower settlement and allowed her to keep whatever gifts and jewelry had been given to her personally by the king, with the right to reside either in France or in her brothers dominions. Charles refrained from attempting to reclaim Eleanor’s dowry—of the 200,000 ducats that had been promised, the emperor had only paid the first installment, and the portion required in jewels. Given that Eleanor would retain her jewels, 50,000 ducats was a small price to have his sister back with him.
“The king embraced his sister, the queen dowager, with great fraternal love. Before all the court, he declared, ‘The marriage you pressed into was not of your desire; but you did it regardless for the fortunes of our family. That shall never be forgotten, and I will care for you and find a most suitable match for you in due time.’ All the court was in awe of the king and his manner…” Given the difficulties in preparing for the voyage, Charles made the ultimate decision that he would depart from England, rather than returning to his dominions in Flanders—the ships and provisions being loaded in Flanders would come directly to England, and thence to Spain. The newly married couple spent Christmas at Richmond Palace with the English court—the king and queen exchanging gifts with the queen-regent, as well as the little Queen of England, who was now nearing her third year. The presence of a young king and queen, even foreign, contributed to what was probably the happiest atmosphere at Richmond since the death of Henry VIII some three years earlier. All the court had their eyes upon Charles and Mary—with many, including Queen Catherine, watching for news that the young queen might be
enceinte.
As 1517 began, plans for Charles’ voyage to Spain were entering their finishing stage—the Burgundian fleet was expected at Dover in late spring. From there, Charles and his followers would embark and make the journey to Spain. In March of 1517, the young King of Spain was also greeted by the news of his wife’s pregnancy—Mary, having fainted at a court entertainment, was told of her pregnancy by the court physicians, with the child expected in the fall. Despite the Queen of Spain’s new delicate condition, it was decided that she should still accompany the king to Spain—having her child born on Spanish soil would do much to reconcile the Spaniards to their new king, and should Mary succeed in bearing a son, the next King of Spain—that would be all the better. Charles and Mary finally bade farewell to the English court at Dover in April of 1517, and the pair landed in Spain in late May—landing at the small port of Gijón in northern Spain, owing to storms that had pushed the Burgundian fleet slightly off course. The royal party had been expected at Santander, and their disembarkment caused a flurry amongst the villagers, who did their best to provide refreshments for the king.
Cardinal Jimenez de Cisneros, head of the Castilian regency following the death of Ferdinand of Aragon, had done his very best to manage matters in the absence of Charles, but a sense of unease pervaded the Spanish kingdoms; few knew what to make of their foreign king, and though Cardinal Cisneros had done what he thought best, the turbulent mood of the country had placed him in a very difficult position. When the cardinal learned that the king had landed at Gijón, plans were made for him to meet the king at Valladolid. Charles was in little hurry to head straight to Valladolid, however—his first stop was at Torsedillas, where Charles was finally able to lay eyes upon his mother, whom he had not seen in nearly ten years.
“Queen Joanna’s condition at Torsedillas was most miserable,” Vespasiana Agnesi, an Italian memoirist of the period wrote.
“Though she resided in the royal palace, it was a dark and filthy place… the king was shocked at the conditions in which his mother had been kept, and Queen Mary of Spain wept openly after a brief interview with her mother-in-law, who had no idea who she—or the king was.” Charles immediately decreed that he would establish a small court for his mother, where she could live in dignity. His visit to Torsedillas was not out of maternal affection, however—Charles’ advisors believed it was important that Joanna agree that her son co-rule with her, for otherwise his situation in Spain would be more difficult. Joanna duly agreed that Charles would co-rule beside her and signed the necessary authorizations—though some believed she had done so under duress, or out of hopes that her confinement might be ended. Despite this, Joanna remained confined at Torsedillas, though her material condition improved slightly. The king also attempted to improve the condition of his youngest sister, Catherine, who resided with their mother at Torsedillas—for a short time she came to court and plans were made with her to reside with Eleanor, but Joanna’s reaction was so severe that Charles relented—for now, his youngest sister would stay with their mother.
Queen Joanna of Castile with her two youngest children.
After his visit to Torsedillas, Charles met his brother, Ferdinand, at Mojados. The brothers had never met before—while Charles had been raised and reared in the Low Counties, his younger brother had been born in Spain, and raised as a Spaniard. Despite the gap between them, Charles embraced Ferdinand, and promised to love and care for him as a brother should—all while the Burgundian councilors began to consider what might be done with the king’s Spanish born brother, an obvious emblem of everything that the king was not. The royal entourage did not reach Valladolid until August of 1517—by this time, Queen Mary was in the eighth month of her pregnancy, and visibly fatigued by the travels she had endured. Anne of Croÿ, a Flemish noblewoman who had been appointed to Queen Mary’s household as her
Camarera Mayor, or first lady of the bedchamber wrote:
“The queen was as beautiful as an English rose—and fragile as one, too. When we finally reached Valladolid, the queen was as white as a ghost. She practically fainted out of sheer exhaustion, and she took to her rooms immediately upon our arrival at the royal palace. A physician was summoned—a Converso named Dr. Villalobos. For a time, there was grave fear that the queen might lose the child, or her own health might be irreparably harmed, but thanks be to God, for she has persevered and, on this day, delivered a fine Prince…” The first child of Charles and Mary was born on September 19th, 1517—a healthy prince that was named
Philip, after his grandfather.
This great news was followed shortly by bad news: Cardinal Cisneros, in his eighties and already in ailing health, fell ill. Though he was adamant to meet with the new king to brief him on the perilous situation in Spain, he found himself unable to do so—poor health forced him to decide to stay at Monastery of Aguilera at Aranda. The king, after learning of Cisneros’ poor health, decided to give him formal leave to retire, but his letter thanking the cardinal for his numerous services did not reach Cisneros before his demise. The cardinal who had helped hold Spain together in the period following the death of the great Isabella expired on November 8th at Roa—depriving Charles not only of a valuable Spanish councilor but also allowed his Burgundian retinue to gain further influence upon the young king—a situation which did not bode well for Spain.
The Spanish royal court spent the winter at Valladolid—Mary began to recover from the ordeal of her travels and subsequent childbirth; though she spent some time dispensing charity and visiting local monasteries in the area, she preferred to congregate with the English and Flemish ladies that made up the majority of her suite—provoking the ire of the Spanish grandees who believed their own wives and daughters were being denied rightful positions within the queen’s household.
“I have heard dozens of stories from my dearest sister, Catherine, in regard to the great glories of Spain,” Mary wrote in a private letter to her friend, the Marchioness of Dorset.
“I have longed to see what she has… but alas, I have not. It is a dry and dusty place; the greenery is nothing like it is back in England. The people seem gripped by misery, and are quarrelsome and difficult, so unlike our lightly English… it is not a place which agrees with me, but God’s Grace, I will preservere…”
Madonna and Child, Botticelli.
Charles, meanwhile, was in preparations for meeting with the Castilian Cortes—while the power of his Flemish advisors began to grow. William of Croÿ, the Lord of Chièvres was made Treasurer of Castile, giving him full control of appointments to Spain’s growing colonies in the West Indies. The Lord of Chièvres wasted little time in availing himself of the prerogatives of his new position—his friend, Jan de Witte was named as Bishop of Cuba, while Laurent de Gorrevot was promised fiefs in both Cuba and the Yucatan and given the right to import 4000 slaves to the Indies—a right which Gorrevot promptly sold to a trading syndicate for 25,000 ducats. The Lord of Chièvres also succeeded in having his nephew, also named William, named as Archbishop of Toledo, succeeding Cisneros. Jean le Sauvage was given the title of Chancellor of Castile, and financially prospered as well, being given the right to collect duties on the export of almonds and dried fruit, rights which had formally belonged to Boabdil, the final Muslim ruler of Granada. Le Sauvage wasted little time in leasing his right to Ferdinand of Córdoba for 168,000 ducats.
There were also familial obligations to consider. Charles looked to Spain’s neighbor, Portugal, and wished to ensure that relations to the two kingdoms remained friendly and peaceful—and most of all, that Portugal would accept the king’s succession and render no aid to those who might fight against him. Wishing to emphasize his position as King of Spain, Charles was prepared to enter a matrimonial alliance with the Portuguese royal house, to enforce his own roots as a successor to the House of Trastámara. To do so, he offered the hand of his sister, Eleanor—the newly widowed Queen of France, who agreed to follow with her brothers wishes. Negotiations initially favored a match between Eleanor and the Crown Prince of Portugal, John, but King Manuel also expressed an interest in marrying the king’s sister—and was
insistent with his interest. Not wishing to doom his sister into a
second marriage with an old man, Charles was adamant: John and Eleanor, or no marriage. The Portuguese duly agreed, and the
Treaty of Ribeira was signed in the winter of 1517.
Charles had only been within his new realm for six months, and already discontent simmered amongst people of every class. Even monks became embroiled in the controversy against the new king, and sermons throughout the winter and early 1518 regularly denounced the opulence of the royal court, the king’s Flemish retinue, as well as the haughtiness of their new queen. One of the first protests was a placard nailed to the door of a church, which read:
“You, land of Castile, very wretched and damned are you to suffer that as noble a kingdom as you are, you will be governed by those who have no love for you.” This was the atmosphere that existed when Charles finally met with the Castilian Cortes in early 1518, negotiations proved difficult. The Cortes agreed to accept Charles position as king alongside his mother with several stipulations—he would be required to learn Castilian; he would refrain from appointing foreigners to posts within the kingdom, nor would he offer any further grants of naturalization. He was also prohibited from taking precious metals from Castile, aside from the Quinto Real, and he was required to respect the rights of his mother, Queen Joanna. Seeing little choice in the matter, Charles begrudgingly agreed to the demands placed upon him—and the Castilian Cortes formally paid homage to him in February of 1518. He was not only crowned in their presence but was also granted a generous subsidy of 600,000 ducats.
William of Croÿ, the Lord of Chièvres.
Following his meeting with the Cortes of Castile, Charles made plans to meet with the Aragonese Cortes as well. Some within Charles’ entourage suggested that his brother Ferdinand should be sent abroad with much haste. Grave rumored swirled that the Archbishop of Saragossa, Ferdinand of Aragon’s illegitimate son, was intent on making the younger Ferdinand King of Aragon—and perhaps all of Spain. The Spanish people were also unwilling to see young Ferdinand leave—though the queen had given birth to son, he seemed as foreign to the people as both the king and queen. Prince Ferdinand still maintained an important position. The choice alone fell to Charles—and for now, he decided that his brother would stay. Plots or not, it was better to have him closer; he wished for his brother to attend the Cortes of Aragon by his side, to see what they might do. If needed, he could send Ferdinand abroad later. Eleanor would not attend either; she would remain behind at Valladolid; her trousseau and suite being prepared for her marriage. Eleanor and John would be wed in July of 1518.
The Aragonese Cortes met with the king at Saragossa. The mood was far from congenial, and most deputies were gravely opposed to the king. It was only after the king was prepared to make concessions that the cortes could be induced to offer up their allegiance—most unwillingly. The appearance of Ferdinand at the Cortes helped matters only slightly. On the matter of a subsidy, the cortes offered the king 100,000 ducats—a sum which the cortes immediately appropriated to cover debts that had been incurred in the previous reign, leaving the king with nothing. Like Castile, Aragon was in terrible condition. The great lords were able to act with impunity, and some estates became fortresses for robbers and other villains. They had very little desire for a just government. While at Saragossa, the king made the decision to appoint his aunt Margaret as Governor the Low Countries once again realizing that while he was abroad, he would need her steady hand within his Burgundian dominions.
“I am most glad to hear that the king has once more given you your rightful position,” The Emperor Maximilian wrote in a letter to his daughter—one of his last.
“I pray that his issues in Spain are dealt with, and firmly—it must be. I am not well, as you know… and we must plan for what is to happen when that comes to pass. Charles must be elected to continue the great work of our house. I have already lain the groundwork and have promised immense sums to the Electors—Mainz, Cologne, Brandenburg, Bohemia, the Palatinate… they have agreed to support Charles for the right sum—sums that Charles can obtain in Spain. I implore you to keep me abreast of the happenings in Spain… and continue to impress upon the king the importance of the empire.”
From the difficulties of Saragossa, Charles soon moved onto Barcelona, the chief town of Catalonia—where he prepared to deal with the Catalan Corts. He encountered similar issues with the Catalonian deputies—compared to Castile, Aragon’s various estates still maintained a measure of autonomy and power and believed that their monarch was connected to them through a public contract; he could not simply demand what he desired from them like a god on high. The king was kept waiting for months in Barcelona; the city was paralyzed with a religious tumult, with a group of citizens alleging that a group of
Conversos had murdered a young child, while an outbreak of sickness within the city caused matters to be further delayed—with several Flemish nobles falling ill, including Jean le Sauvage—who passed away in June of 1518. Though Charles had been asked by the Castilian estates to appoint natives to positions within the kingdom, Charles chose to replace Le Sauvage with Mercurino Arborio, the Marquis of Gattinara, a Savoyard who had previously served Margaret of Austria as a legal advisor. Gattinara was a man of great principals and talent, who knew Spain thoroughly—and on top of that, he was liked. Gattinara was to serve as the young king’s primary political advisor alongside the Lord of Chièvres and would serve in the capacity of
Grand Chancellor of all the king’s realms.
Mercurino Arborio, Marquis of Gattinara.
Charles was not acclaimed in Barcelona until the new year—and he received a modest grant. News from abroad was terrible, when tales of the death of Emperor Maximilian reached the King of Spain. Maximilian’s health had already been in the decline—and upon seeing an eclipse in 1518, Maximilian firmly believed that his death was near. He chose to return to Innsbruck, wanting to die in the city that was closest to his heart. The emperor had always lived, at least financially, on borrowed time. When the emperor and his suite arrived in Innsbruck, the merchants and purveyors refused to offer the emperor any further credit, and the burghers denied the emperor access to the city. Maximilian was forced to decamp for Wels but suffered a fit soon after his arrival that resulted in a stroke, rendering him bedbound by mid-December of 1518. Maximilian continued to work from his bed, and even saw foreign envoys up until the very end—on January 12th of 1519, the emperor died.
Maximilian’s death left the Holy Roman Empire in an interregnum. Though all knew of Maximilian’s wish for his grandson to succeed him as emperor, it was not guaranteed. Even before his death, Maximilian was focused on his grandson’s succession, expending ƒ6000 in bribes to the electors. King François of France soon declared his intention to stand in the imperial elections, and was tactically endorsed by Pope Leo X, as neither had little desire to see the King of Spain crowned as emperor—further expanding his dominions. When Charles received the news of his grandfather’s demise, he immediately hastened to prepare for his departure back to the Low Countries so that he could more adequately contest the imperial election. While Charles should’ve prepared to attend the Valencian Cortes, he instead chose to deploy two deputies in his stead—sending Adrian of Utrecht, the Bishop of Tortosa, as well as Prince Ferdinand. Though the estates were proud to set their eyes upon the prince, they were gravely upset that the king had not deigned to attend in person. Still, he was accepted as king and a nominal subsidy was granted—ending Charles’ disastrous tour of the Kingdom of Aragon. Navarre—with its own cortes demanding that Charles attend a coronation ceremony within the kingdom, was completely ignored, with Charles’ focus falling solely upon one thing: the imperial crown.
