Brilliant, perhaps Eleanor will be able to wield some degree of power in Milan...
The King is dead - A Renaissance TL
- Thread starter isabella
- Start date
Yes, she will be without doubt, specially if Francesco do not live much longer than OTL…
The Emperor’s revenge - Clement VII
Pope Clement VII was pretty sure who his chief job on the Earth was destroying the power of the damned Emperor Charles V, and when Fate (or better the Divine Providence) had prevented Charles V from attacking Rome, forcing him to content himself with sending some troops towards Rome, in what they both knew was only an empty menace, the Pope had rejoited and felt reassured in his convictions. When he got the opportunity for another mischief against Charles V, with the request of the English King of getting an annulment of his wedding to the Emperor‘s aunt he had quickly taken the opportunity (true who the letter of Henry VII alone would be enough for the Pope to take his side, as the King had fully recognized the great sin who he had done in marrying Catherine), thinking who the Emperor would have no way to get any revenge for it and who England would be firmly in the camp of the Emperor’s enemies. He had been right in the latter as King Henry was now engaged to Princess Renée of France, but sadly mistaken on the first as Imperial troops had attacked Florence and his family and the city had quickly fallen to them: the seven years old Caterina, the only legitimate heiress of the family‘s main line had been taken prisoner and together with her also the fifteen years old Ippolito, Giuliano’s illegitimate son, but what scared him most was who in the letter who he had received, full of bad news, there was no mention of the fate of his most beloved Alessandro, sixteen years old, who he had appointed as ruler of Florence (the boy officially was the illegitimate son of Caterina’s father, but in truth was his own son) and that could mean anything: the boy had been captured, like Ippolito and Caterina, had been able to escape or hide somewhere safe, or had been killed, either in the fighting or after it? He had been so wrong in believing who the Emperor was powerless against him and now he was full of fears and his heart felt so weak, and breathing was so hard and harder and then he felt nothing more…
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Oh damn the Pope has died, interested to see what approach his successor takes to the great matter...
The great matter is already resolved… Henry got his annulment, Catherine refuted any settlement who would force her to take the title of Dowager Princess of Wales so right now she is returning in Spain (as Charles and Isabella had invited her to return if she lost and wanted leave England) and Henry is engaged to Renee of France
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Taking a new role - Ferdinand
Ferdinand, King of Bohemia, Prince Elector of the Holy Roman Empire, Archduke of Austria and Duke of Württemberg, was in Bratislava, together with his wife Anna and sister Mary, who had both insisted for being present, awaiting the end of the vote from the rump Diet of Hungarian high aristocracy and clergy, who would make him King of Hungary. He knew perfectly, as the Palatine Stephen Bathory had reminded that to him more than once, who another Diet of the untitled nobility had elected a month earlier Janos Zápolya as their King in Alba Regia, and who he would need to confront him, a necessity who Ferdinand disliked, as only a victory on the battlefield against his rival would truly give him Hungary. Ferdinand had prayed for that to not be necessary as he hated the idea of fighting among Catholics when the Ottomans were the real enemy, but he would not renounce to his rights, derivate from his wedding to Anna, sister and daughter of the two last Kings, and from the mutual succession pact signed between his father-in-law and his grandfather, without fighting.
The Bohemian election, the most important one as it had changed drastically his status among the German princes (the Kingdom of Bohemia was part of the Holy Roman Empire and one of the seven Electorates), had been much easier, as his candidacy there had been uncontested. He had feared who the King of Poland, maybe pushed by his over ambitious italian wife, would put forward his candidature to the Crown once held by his elder brother, but luckily Anna’s uncle right now was more interested in secure a match between his only son and Ferdinand‘s daughter Elisabeth, than to challenge him. Ferdinand had agreed in principle to the match but pointed on the fact who his daughter was just few months old so was way too early for signing any betrothal for her (true who at the time of their engagement Mary had been only slighter older than his daughter and Louis not yet born, as the betrothal agreement had been signed three months before his birth, but that was not something who he was keen to repeat).
Ferdinand had done his best for trying to console both his wife and his sister, but he suspected who the two young women had ben able to confort each other better than he had been with either of them, and the truth was who he also suffered for Louis‘ death as he had liked him and the knowledge of having been unable to help him was painful for him. Both Anna and Mary, and he was really thankful for having them both, had reprimanded him for that, reminding him who he had done everything he could and his inability to do more was not his fault.
Now the election was over, Ferdinand was officially King of Hungary (well at least one of the two, but thanking to Mary’s providence he would be the one to be crowned with the Crown Jewels of the Kingdom (as his distraught sister had taken them with her from Buda, in part for saving them from Ottomans but mostly for giving them to him) and now he needed only to wait the arrival of all the forces at his disposal for counter attacking the enemies and free Hungary from the Turks (and hopefully Zapolya would accept to join the fight first and then settle the dispute for the Crown between them, possibly without fighting.
Ferdinand’s bitter reflections were interrupted by a messenger who arrived with an urgent letter from “Stephen Bathory” and Ferdinand wondered for what reason the Palatine, who was in the same city, had sent him a messenger with a letter instead of coming personally. Ferdinand had taken the letter and after reading it had ordered to call the Palatine immediately before falling on his knees for thanking God for the unexpected answer to his prayers, maybe that was not the answer who he would have liked more but still was an answer and he would not be so ungrateful to contest the ways in which the Divine Providence operated. Once the Palatine, Stephen Bathory of Ecsed, arrived, wondering what had happened, the King gave him the letter, who had been written by Stephen Bathory of Somlyo, Deputy Voivode of Transylvania, and while the Palatine read it, the King ordered to ring all the bells of the city, in mourning for the death of Janos Zapolya, as the valorous Voivode of Transylvania had been killed in a battle against the Ottomans invaders while defending his country. Once the still stunned Palatine recovered from his shock he volunteered to take command of the men sent as reinforcements to his namesake (as the request of support was the main reason for the letter), something who Ferdinand gladly conceded as that would consent to him to unite all the Hungarians under his command while remain in safety (as he has promised to both Mary and Anne) until the whole army at his disposal arrived and then he would lead them to reconquest of the Hungary.
The Bohemian election, the most important one as it had changed drastically his status among the German princes (the Kingdom of Bohemia was part of the Holy Roman Empire and one of the seven Electorates), had been much easier, as his candidacy there had been uncontested. He had feared who the King of Poland, maybe pushed by his over ambitious italian wife, would put forward his candidature to the Crown once held by his elder brother, but luckily Anna’s uncle right now was more interested in secure a match between his only son and Ferdinand‘s daughter Elisabeth, than to challenge him. Ferdinand had agreed in principle to the match but pointed on the fact who his daughter was just few months old so was way too early for signing any betrothal for her (true who at the time of their engagement Mary had been only slighter older than his daughter and Louis not yet born, as the betrothal agreement had been signed three months before his birth, but that was not something who he was keen to repeat).
Ferdinand had done his best for trying to console both his wife and his sister, but he suspected who the two young women had ben able to confort each other better than he had been with either of them, and the truth was who he also suffered for Louis‘ death as he had liked him and the knowledge of having been unable to help him was painful for him. Both Anna and Mary, and he was really thankful for having them both, had reprimanded him for that, reminding him who he had done everything he could and his inability to do more was not his fault.
Now the election was over, Ferdinand was officially King of Hungary (well at least one of the two, but thanking to Mary’s providence he would be the one to be crowned with the Crown Jewels of the Kingdom (as his distraught sister had taken them with her from Buda, in part for saving them from Ottomans but mostly for giving them to him) and now he needed only to wait the arrival of all the forces at his disposal for counter attacking the enemies and free Hungary from the Turks (and hopefully Zapolya would accept to join the fight first and then settle the dispute for the Crown between them, possibly without fighting.
Ferdinand’s bitter reflections were interrupted by a messenger who arrived with an urgent letter from “Stephen Bathory” and Ferdinand wondered for what reason the Palatine, who was in the same city, had sent him a messenger with a letter instead of coming personally. Ferdinand had taken the letter and after reading it had ordered to call the Palatine immediately before falling on his knees for thanking God for the unexpected answer to his prayers, maybe that was not the answer who he would have liked more but still was an answer and he would not be so ungrateful to contest the ways in which the Divine Providence operated. Once the Palatine, Stephen Bathory of Ecsed, arrived, wondering what had happened, the King gave him the letter, who had been written by Stephen Bathory of Somlyo, Deputy Voivode of Transylvania, and while the Palatine read it, the King ordered to ring all the bells of the city, in mourning for the death of Janos Zapolya, as the valorous Voivode of Transylvania had been killed in a battle against the Ottomans invaders while defending his country. Once the still stunned Palatine recovered from his shock he volunteered to take command of the men sent as reinforcements to his namesake (as the request of support was the main reason for the letter), something who Ferdinand gladly conceded as that would consent to him to unite all the Hungarians under his command while remain in safety (as he has promised to both Mary and Anne) until the whole army at his disposal arrived and then he would lead them to reconquest of the Hungary.
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Ooh well, this should simplify things for Ferdinand, now "all" he has to do is fight the Turks, though I imagine that'll be rather challenging. Still, he'll at least have support solidified for himself...
Yes, as Mary would say some years later “the Divine Providence truly loved the Habsburg and in particular Ferdinand”
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I love Ferdinand's PoV, its a great look into his mindset and I really enjoyed it. Zapolya's death should make things a lot easier, no struggle for the crown, and might prevent the siege of Vienna, especially as the Ottomans should have more difficulty moving their supplies through Hungary seeing as it is more united against them, no local support means more logistical complexity.
Thank you. Yes, Zapolya‘s death will consent to Hungary to unite under Ferdinand‘s leadership making things more complicated for the Ottomans. The siege of Vienna, who in OTL was only in 1529 (so three years for now and more than four years after the POD) was already butterflied by the different situation in which the Christian Europe is right now: Francis I of France is dead and the Habsburg had recovered all the Burgundian lands, meaning who France is settled, the Protestant princes had been already blamed for having let Mohacs happen as they had prevented the call of the Imperial army for reinforcing Hungary, Pope Clement VII is dead so the Habsburg have no obstacle in concentrating their energies in fighting the Ottomans (and the majority of the italian army of Charles V (the one who in OTL would sack Rome in less than a year) have already passed the Alps for reinforcing Ferdinand’s troops and join the fight against the Ottomans
Thank you. I added it now… I forgot to put that as I had not a title for the chapter plus I had to rewrite most of what I had already written after I was around half of it as I had forgotten to check the dates of Ferdinand‘s elections (and that of Zapolya) and change the election from the Bohemian to the Hungarian (as the first one was too early for the chronology of the story)
Adjusting to changes - Charles V
How strange was having again around an infanta Catalina after his youngest sister had left Castile for marrying the King of Portugal, specially as this one was his poor Aunt, who had been so horribly treated by her husband. Still Charles knew who the youngest daughter of the Catholic Monarchs would be a formidable asset for him and a valuable help in keeping Castile under control: he had no doubt who Isabel would be able to handle the regency, if he had to leave Spain for Burgundy or Germany, but his beloved wife was currently pregnant with their first child and he had no intention to force her to work seriously until she fully recovered from the birth. Luckily aunt Catalina fully agreed to him and had contributed to lessen Isabel’s duties, consenting to the Empress to rest as much was possible. What Charles do not knew was who while Catalina had encouraged Isabel to agree to Charles‘ plan she had also promised to his wife to keep her informed of everything and work together on the things who Charles had asked to Catalina to do in place of Isabel, teaching to the Empress an invaluable lesson in how handling an overbearing husband. Neither woman had any doubt on the fact who Charles would be extremely displeased to discover the truth but Isabel was glad to not be condemned to the boredom of not having anything to do but sewing and embroidering at least for some more months and most important she had found in her aunt another maternal figure, something who she greatly missed since the death of her mother as while she was close to Eleanor, her cousin and stepmother had been more a friend and an older sister than a maternal figure being only few years older than her.
Charles naturally had already discovered what his wife and their aunt were doing behind his back but had been more amused than angry for it and he had no intention to
disclose who he knew the truth. If anything the fact who Catalina and Isabel had become so close in such short term was a relief to him as not only he knew who both women needed that but now he had someone who could fully trust to take good care of his wife in his absence. He hoped to be present at the birth of his firstborn but had no guarantee to be able to do it. Still for now his plans were working better than he hoped as not only he had control of Florence (in which had been restored a Republic) and the young legitimate heiress of the Medici, Caterina, and her cousin Ippolito were currently wards of his sister in Milan, receiving a good education in how being loyal to the Habsburg. His men had captured also the young ruler of Florence, Alessandro, formally an illegitimate elder half-brother of Caterina, sending him in Spain as he hoped to use him as hostage for guaranteeing Pope Clement’s loyalty, but that was not anymore necessary as the Pope had died after receiving the news of the fall of Florence.
Hopefully the Conclave would elect a better Pope, possibly someone really interested to work for the good of the Church and to do something about Luther and his heresies who had become a big problem in Germany (but maybe the biggest trouble from that side was already on the way of resolving itself as the German princes had stopped to create troubles for Ferdinand after being labeled as friends of the Ottomans for having consented the defeat of Mohacs) but being free from Clement was already a big victory (and he and aunt Catalina had cheered at the news, wishing a good journey to the Hell to that disgrace of Pope).
Another good news was the fact who their aunt Margaret had already persuaded his sister Isabella to accept the match with the Elector Palatine who he had planned for her (and Christian II‘s death had been a very good thing for him as had freed him from an useless brother-in-law consenting to him to offer the more dutiful Isabella to the Elector instead of forcing him to a bad fight for persuading Mary, who was already saying who she would never remarry, to accept that match). The Elector Louis, who was a childless widower (his first wife, a first cousin of Charles’ own father, had died seven years earlier) had gladly accepted the match with Isabella so they would marry in the spring, securing another valuable ally to him and Ferdinand (who had been already confirmed as successor to Mary’s late husband in both Bohemia and Hungary, without excessive troubles).
Charles naturally had already discovered what his wife and their aunt were doing behind his back but had been more amused than angry for it and he had no intention to
disclose who he knew the truth. If anything the fact who Catalina and Isabel had become so close in such short term was a relief to him as not only he knew who both women needed that but now he had someone who could fully trust to take good care of his wife in his absence. He hoped to be present at the birth of his firstborn but had no guarantee to be able to do it. Still for now his plans were working better than he hoped as not only he had control of Florence (in which had been restored a Republic) and the young legitimate heiress of the Medici, Caterina, and her cousin Ippolito were currently wards of his sister in Milan, receiving a good education in how being loyal to the Habsburg. His men had captured also the young ruler of Florence, Alessandro, formally an illegitimate elder half-brother of Caterina, sending him in Spain as he hoped to use him as hostage for guaranteeing Pope Clement’s loyalty, but that was not anymore necessary as the Pope had died after receiving the news of the fall of Florence.
Hopefully the Conclave would elect a better Pope, possibly someone really interested to work for the good of the Church and to do something about Luther and his heresies who had become a big problem in Germany (but maybe the biggest trouble from that side was already on the way of resolving itself as the German princes had stopped to create troubles for Ferdinand after being labeled as friends of the Ottomans for having consented the defeat of Mohacs) but being free from Clement was already a big victory (and he and aunt Catalina had cheered at the news, wishing a good journey to the Hell to that disgrace of Pope).
Another good news was the fact who their aunt Margaret had already persuaded his sister Isabella to accept the match with the Elector Palatine who he had planned for her (and Christian II‘s death had been a very good thing for him as had freed him from an useless brother-in-law consenting to him to offer the more dutiful Isabella to the Elector instead of forcing him to a bad fight for persuading Mary, who was already saying who she would never remarry, to accept that match). The Elector Louis, who was a childless widower (his first wife, a first cousin of Charles’ own father, had died seven years earlier) had gladly accepted the match with Isabella so they would marry in the spring, securing another valuable ally to him and Ferdinand (who had been already confirmed as successor to Mary’s late husband in both Bohemia and Hungary, without excessive troubles).
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It’s great to see Catherine settling well back in Spain. She and Isabella will make a great team of regents, I’m sure.
Hopefully being around Charles and Isabella and eventually their children will help ease the pain of separation from Mary for Catalina
Yes, Catalina is already feeling better on that point of view as Isabella his already almost a daughter for her and you can be sure who she will be a much beloved grandmother for Charles and Isabella’s children. She still miss Mary but know who her daughter is fine and in good hands (as Margaret Pole is still her governess and for now Maria de Salinas is still in England and now she also is in Princess Mary’s household