The Assassination of King James I of Scotland

Posted on May 24, 2013 by Susan Abernethy

King of Scots, James I from a 16th Century painting

Regicide was a serious crime in medieval times. There are many versions telling the story of the assassination of the King of Scots, James I. Earlier versions vary from versions written well after it happened. This could be attributed to Queen Joan who was actually there when it occurred. She survived and wanted vengeance. She may have had the story told as she wanted it known to make her husband appear to be more of a martyr. Here’s the story as The Freelance History Writer can best piece together from several versions.

James had been held prisoner for nearly nineteen years by the English king after being captured as an eleven year old boy. When his release was finally completed and he returned to Scotland, he inherited a kingdom in disarray, ruled by some of his relatives and other nobles. His first actions were to emphasize his rights as king and make clear he wanted complete power. He proceeded to have his cousins who might assert their claim to the throne imprisoned or executed. He ruled with an iron hand for thirteen years and made many enemies. These enemies began to plot the king’s death. They finally managed to execute their plans.

Perth was a favorite city of King James and he may have considered making it his capital. James had spent Christmas at the Blackfriars monastery and tarried there afterwards, playing lots of tennis, possibly in an effort to reduce his weight. On the evening of February 20, 1437, James was resting in his nightgown and slippers, maybe playing chess or cards or just bantering with his Queen and her ladies. They suddenly heard a great clamor of harnesses outside and saw torches.

Queen Joan and her ladies went to the door and found it had been tampered with and was open. One of the conspirators, Robert Stewart, may have prepared the door ahead of time by breaking the locks. James asked the women to keep the door guarded as best they could while he looked for means of escape. He tested the windows, but they were strongly leaded and would not break. He then went to the chimney and grabbed an iron tong and began to pull up floorboards. Underneath was a vault or a cellar or a privy. At the very least this space had a drain for the privy and he hid there and replaced the floorboards. He could have escaped through this drain but he had the opening blocked just days before. He kept losing tennis balls down the drain so he stopped it up.

In the meantime one of the Queen’s ladies, Catherine Douglas by name, had used her arm to try to bolt the door against the intruders. When the assassins broke down the door with saws, levers and axes, they supposedly broke Catherine’s arm. The ladies were screaming and several of them were injured, including the Queen. There was a moment where she might have been killed but someone said they should go after the king and left her. She managed to run and escape the monastery.

The assassins searched high and low for the king and could not find him. They searched for so long, the king thought they had left and cried out to the ladies to come help him out. Then one of the conspirators either heard his cry, or remembered the privy and they returned to the room and noticed where the floorboard had been lifted. They pulled up the boards and found the king. One man jumped in to attack the king with a knife. The king supposedly grabbed this man by the shoulders and threw him down. A second man jumped in and attacked. The king is supposed to have grabbed this man by the throat and tossed him down next to the other man. In the fight, James’ hands were torn up by the knives. He was weary and wounded and he had no weapon.

James’ most hostile enemy, Sir Robert Graham then attacked the king and ran a knife through him. The other two attackers the king had thrown down rose up and stabbed the king. He was helpless with no weapon to fight back. It is said there were at least sixteen wounds on the king and he finally succumbed to his assailants. The people of Perth had heard about the commotion and headed for the monastery. The conspirators then fled.

They didn’t get far. They certainly had no plans for the aftermath of the murder and didn’t count on the wrath of the queen. Joan made sure her son was safe, established the support of some powerful men and called for the apprehension and arrest of the assassins. She had James’ butchered body displayed before he was buried in the Carthusian priory in Perth. The hunt began for the assassins. They were all captured. Some of them may have been tortured but they all were executed. Joan made her way to Edinburgh and had her son James II crowned at Holyrood Abbey on March 25, 1437.

Sources: “British Kings and Queens” by Mike Ashley, “Scottish Queens 1034-1714” by Rosalind K. Marshall, “The Royal Stuarts” by Allan Massie, “The Kings and Queens of Scotland” edited by Richard Oram, “Life and Death of King James I of Scotland” by James Shirley, translated from an early Latin version of events

Molière, French Playwright

Posted on May 21, 2013 by Susan Abernethy

Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, better known as Moliere

In 17th and 18th Century France, there were an extraordinary number of men and women artists that emerged, making a name for themselves. They were poets, fabulists, painters, playwrights, actors, composers and writers. Some of the writers became the foundation for the L’Académie Français, which was established in 1635 by Cardinal Richelieu, the chief minister to King Louis XIII. The Académie is the most distinguished learned body on matters pertaining to the French language. The Freelance History Writer would like to take a look at some of these remarkable artists.

Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, known by his stage name Molière, is considered one of the greatest comedic masters of Western literature. His most well-known works are ‘The Misanthrope’, ‘The School for Wives’, ‘Tartuffe or the Imposter’, ‘The Imaginary Invalid’ and ‘The Bourgeois Gentleman’. He spent thirteen years as a travelling actor which allowed him to refine his comic skills as he began writing. He combined commedia dell’arte elements with the more refined French comedy.

Molière was baptized on January 15, 1622. He was born in Paris into a prosperous family and studied at the Collège de Clermont. When he was twenty-one, he decided to abandon his social class and pursue a career on the stage, founding the Illustre Théâtre. His theater went bankrupt by 1645 and he spent twenty-four hours in prison. It is unknown who paid his debts but once he left prison, he changed his name and went back to the acting circuit. This was to last for twelve years and during this time he was able to gain the patronage of several aristocrats including Philippe I, Duke of Orleans, the brother of King Louis XIV.

By 1658, he had made his reputation in Paris and performed in front of King Louis XIV at the Louvre which was then for rent as a theater. He was named head of the actor’s troupe for the Duke of Orleans. Molière preferred tragedy but became famous for his farces which were presented in one act and were performed after the tragedy. Later in life he focused on writing musical comedies where the drama was interrupted by songs and/or dances. Jean-Baptiste de Lully wrote some of the music for these. Some of his plays made fun of society at the time and produced controversy but Molière was always careful not to attack the institution of the monarchy itself. He was to earn a position as one of King Louis’ favorites and enjoyed the king’s protection from attacks on his work. Eventually, the king became the official sponsor of Molière’s troupe.

In his fourteen years in Paris, Molière wrote thirty-one out of the eighty-five plays his troupe performed. By 1672, he was ill and was writing less and less. He was suffering from pulmonary tuberculosis which he may have contracted when he was in prison. While performing ‘The Imaginary Invalid’ on stage on February 17, 1673 he collapsed with a fit of coughing and hemorrhaging. He insisted on finishing the performance.

When the play was over he collapsed again with more hemorrhaging and was taken home where he died a few hours later. Under French law, actors were not allowed to be buried in the sacred ground of the cemetery. Molière’s wife pleaded with the King to have a “normal” funeral at night and the King agreed. Molière was buried in a cemetery in a section reserved for unbaptized infants. In 1792, his remains were brought to the museum of French monuments and in 1817, they were transferred to Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, close to those of Jean de La Fontaine. In one of the great omissions of history, Molière was never admitted to the Académie Français.

Antoinette of Bourbon, Duchess of Guise

Posted on May 17, 2013 by Susan Abernethy

Antoinette de Bourbon, Duchess of Guise by Leonard Limousin

Antoinette of Bourbon was the formidable matriarch of the Guise family in sixteenth century France. She had many children who were instrumental in international politics as well as in religious life including her daughter Mary of Guise, Queen of Scotland. Her grand-daughter was Mary Queen of Scots. Antoinette lived to the ripe old age of eighty-nine and the reason we know so much about her is many of her letters survive to this day.

Antoinette of Bourbon-Vendôme was born December 25, 1493 at Chateau de Ham, Picardy, France. Her father was Francis, Count of Vendôme and her mother was Mary of Luxembourg, Countess of St. Pol. We don’t know much about her childhood but she would have received the education of a young woman of her status for the time. We definitely know she could read and write due to her extensive letters. She was a descendant of the thirteenth century Saint King Louis IX of France. She was described as sturdy with dark red hair, fine blue eyes, aquiline features and a vibrant manner. She was also a very devout Catholic.

The Guises’ were a powerful French noble family with estates scattered across northern and eastern France. The main residence was in the Champagne region at Joinville. Claude, Count of Guise was a military hero at age nineteen and a personal friend of the French king. In 1510, he was offered the hand of Renée, the younger daughter of King Louis XII, but he refused. He had already met Antoinette and fallen in love with her. Antoinette came from a good family and had a moderate dowry. In the summer of 1513, Antoinette and Claude were married in the church of St. Paul in Paris. King Louis XII and his son-in-law, the future King Francis I attended the ceremony. Antoinette and Claude then went to live at Bar-le-Duc near Nancy. In September of 1515, Claude fought in the Battle of Marignano and nearly died.

Antoinette’s husband, Claude, Duke of Guise

In November of 1515, Antoinette gave birth to the first of her many children. She was named Mary of Guise. Antoinette’s mother Mary of Luxembourg and Claude’s mother Philippa of Guelders were both in attendance for the birth of Mary and became her godmothers. When Claude had recovered from his battle wounds, he returned home to his wife and his new baby daughter. Antoinette’s second child and first son Francis was born at Bar-le-Duc in 1519.

When Claude’s mother Philippa retired to the convent of the Poor Clares in December of 1519, the Guise family moved from Bar-le-Duc to the Chateau of Joinville. It was a beautiful home on the River Marne with a chapel and cemetery, lovely gardens, vineyards and orchards. There were one hundred servants in the castle. Claude was often away and relied on Antoinette to administer the household and estate. She was very successful at her tasks, raising enough money for Claude’s court obligations with enough left over to expand and improve their home. King Francis I created the title of Duke of Guise and bestowed it on Claude in 1528.

We don’t know how many miscarriages or stillbirths Antoinette suffered but she did deliver twelve children. All but two survived infancy which was unusual for the time. We have already mentioned Mary and Francis. The rest of Antoinette’s children were born at Joinville. Francis succeeded his father as the second Duke of Guise and was a Catholic leader and lieutenant general of the kingdom of France. Louise was born in 1520 and married Charles II de Croy, Duke of Arschot. Daughter Renée was born in 1522 and became Abbess of St. Peter in Reims. Son Charles, born in 1524, was Cardinal of Lorraine and Archbishop of Reims. Claude, born in 1526 was Duke of Aumale. Louis, born in 1527 was Cardinal of Guise, Bishop of Metz and Archbishop of Sens. Two sons, Philippe and Pierre died young. A daughter, also named Antoinette was born in 1531 and became Abbess of Faremoutiers. Francis, born in 1534 became Grand Prior of the Order of Malta and son René II, born in 1536, was the Marquis d’Elbeuf and French ambassador to Scotland.

In August of 1534, Antoinette’s eldest daughter Mary was married to the Duc de Longueville and she had her first child, a son named Francis in 1535. The Duc de Longueville died, probably of smallpox in June of 1537. Mary was pregnant when her husband died and Antoinette joined her when her second son Louis was born in August. Louis did not live long. King Francis I was pushing for Mary to marry King James V of Scotland, who had recently lost his wife, Madeleine of Valois. Mary relied on Antoinette’s advice during the negotiations for this marriage which were finalized. When Mary left for Scotland, Antoinette took her young grandson Francis to Joinville to be brought up with her other children. Mary made Antoinette the administrator of her Longueville estates.

While Mary of Guise was Queen of Scotland, she relied heavily on the advice of her mother. There are many letters back and forth between France and Scotland. Antoinette gave Mary kindly guidance in household and maternal matters, passing along news about the family and French political affairs. Her letters mention Mary’s young son Francis many times keeping her informed of his condition as he suffered from ill health.

Antoinette seemed to have relied on the realization of her ambitions through her children and grandchildren. She instructed and guided them with her letters. During the wars of religion in France, her family led the Catholic League. Even the French King Francis viewed Antoinette with admiration. When Mary of Guise gave birth to her daughter, known as Mary Queen of Scots in December of 1542, Antoinette took on a strong role in her upbringing. Her first influence was through her counsel of Mary of Guise. When James V died two weeks after his daughter was born, Mary of Guise took over as Queen Regent.

Engraving of Antoinette de Bourbon, Duchess of Guise

In August of 1548, Mary of Guise negotiated to send her young daughter to France to be brought up at court and to marry the Dauphin Francis. Antoinette met her grand-daughter when she landed in France and they travelled together to the royal nursery at St. Germain-en-Laye. It is in one of Antoinette’s letters that we have the first description of a young Mary Queen of Scots. In a letter to one of her sons, she describes the Scots Queen as pretty and intelligent. She mentions her auburn hair and fine complexion, delicate and white. She says Mary’s face is well formed and she moved with grace.

In April of 1550, Antoinette’s husband, Claude died. Antoinette truly was now head of the family and remained so until her death. In September of that same year, Mary of Guise travelled from Scotland to France to gain support for her regency from King Henri II. She was ecstatic to be reunited with her daughter and her mother for a short visit. When Mary Queen of Scots was fifteen and the terms of her marriage to the Dauphin were being discussed, Mary of Guise named Antoinette as her representative in the negotiations. Antoinette in turn relied on her sons, especially the Cardinal of Lorraine, to look out for the family interests.

Mary Queen of Scots and her husband Francis were King and Queen of France for only a year and a half when Francis died of an abscess in his ear in December of 1560. Mary relied on her grandmother for consolation. Mary of Guise died in Scotland in June of 1560 and named Antoinette executor of her will along with her brother. Mary Queen of Scots returned to Scotland to rule in her own right and made two disastrous marriages which Antoinette disapproved of. When Mary was forced to abdicate and was in trouble, Antoinette refused to help her.

Antoinette continued her dominance as head of the family for many years. She was relied on greatly by her children and grandchildren for political, household and personal advice. She always dressed in black and surrounded herself with objects that would be needed for her own funeral. She kept her own coffin in the gallery that led to the chapel for Mass, always strong in her faith in the Catholic Church. She was widely known for her prudent charity. Antoinette died at Joinville on January 20, 1583. She had outlived all her children except the Abbess Renée. Mary Queen of Scots was to be executed in England four years later.

Sources: “Mary of Guise, Queen of Scots” by Rosalind K. Marshall, “The True Life of Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots” by John Guy, “Mary Queen of Scots” by Antonia Fraser

Jean-Baptiste de Lully, French Composer

Posted on May 15, 2013 by Susan Abernethy

French composer Jean-Baptiste de Lully

Jean-Baptiste de Lully was an Italian-born French composer who spent most of his life working at the court of King Louis XIV. Lully is considered the chief master of the French baroque style of music. He became a French subject in 1661.

Giovanni Battista Lulli was born on November 28, 1632 in Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany. He had little formal education but learned guitar from a Franciscan friar and also learned to play the violin. In 1646 he was discovered by Roger de Lorraine, son of Charles, Duke of Guise and taken to France where he worked in the household of Roger de Lorraine’s niece, Mademoiselle de Montpensier. He came to King Louis XIV’s attention, dancing with him in 1653. That same year Lully was working as royal composer of instrumental music, composing ballets and by 1661 he was appointed Superintendent of the Music of the Chamber of the King. After he naturalized, he married the daughter of a singer and renamed himself Jean-Baptiste de Lully.

He composed many ballets in the 1650’s and 1660’s in which the King and Lully danced together. In 1661, Lully met the French playwright and actor Moliére, they began working together and created the comédie-ballet. When the King could no longer dance, Lully began writing operas. He created a position for himself which essentially gave him complete control of all music performed in France until his death. In March of 1687, Lully was conducting a Te Deum in celebration of King Louis’ recovery from surgery and struck his toe with his conducting staff. The toe became gangrenous and he died on March 22. King Louis XIV always thought of Lully as a true friend.

Hear some music by Lully

Isabella of Bourbon, Countess of Charolais

Posted on May 9, 2013 by Susan Abernethy

Isabella of Bourbon, Countess of Charolais

Charles the Bold was married three times. The first two marriages occurred when he was the Count of Charolais before he became Duke of Burgundy. His first marriage, when they were children, was to Catherine of Valois, daughter of King Charles VII of France. Catherine died on July 13, 1446. His last and most famous marriage, soon after he became Duke, was to Margaret of York. His second wife was of Isabella of Bourbon.

Isabella was born sometime in 1436. She was the daughter of Charles I, Duke of Bourbon and Agnes, daughter of Duke John the Fearless of Burgundy and sister of Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy. When Isabella was a young girl, her parents sent her to Burgundy to be raised by the Duchess, Isabel of Portugal. Duchess Isabel was mentor to many noble girls and nieces of her husband. She supervised Isabella’s education and enjoyed the young girl’s company.

Isabella was a shy young woman. Duke Philip kept his eye on her. She was docile, compliant and lovely and living right in his household. Early on, Philip considered her as a bride for his son Charles, Count of Charolais and important to making an alliance with King Charles VII of France. Duchess Isabel was worried about Isabella’s presence at court because she was an advocate of an alliance with England, not France. Due to the Duke and Duchess arguing over whom their son should marry, Philip stalled any alliance Isabel tried to make for many years. He did not want to leave Burgundy knowing Isabel would take any opportunity to marry their son to an Englishwoman.

In April of 1454, Pope Nicholas V asked Philip and other rulers of Europe for help in fighting the Turks to keep them from controlling the Church. Philip also received an invitation from the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III to attend a meeting of the Imperial Diet at Regensburg. Philip was eager to attend this meeting in hopes of recruiting others to raise troops for a crusade and in promoting his request for an imperial crown for himself.

At the same time he knew Isabel would take advantage of his absence to arrange an English marriage for their son. He obtained a release from the Pope allowing Charles and Isabella to marry as they were first cousins. He needed a French alliance to recruit Charles VII and his troops for his crusade. At first Isabella’s parents were pleased with the alliance and agreed to Philip’s request for the French Chinon territories in the dowry. Philip heard rumors that Isabel was influencing their son to make an English marriage and even to refuse the French marriage to Isabella. This worried Philip so much he finalized the betrothal without royal approval or even approval of Isabella’s parents. He then left for Regensburg.

Philip traveled east to Nevers and met with his sister Agnes and the Duke de Bourbon, Isabella’s parents. The Duke de Bourbon was now not willing to cede the Chinon territories to Philip. This was a sticking point to Charles and Isabella’s marriage. Bourbon asked King Charles VII to mediate the dispute. The negotiations dragged on for weeks. In the meantime, Philip sent word to Charles to marry Isabella immediately based on the early terms of the betrothal or he would disinherit him. The couple was married on October 31, 1454 at Lille.

Charles the Bold and his second wife, Isabella of Bourbon

Isabella wrote to her parents announcing the marriage and there were no further objections to the marriage or the dowry. Duchess Isabel however was stunned and found the marriage hard to accept. She even went so far as to withhold customary ceremony due to Isabella. Charles left soon after the marriage to attend to duties as governor of Burgundy in his father’s absence. Eventually Isabel and Isabella reconciled and they left in December to go to Bruges together.

In 1456, Duchess Isabel handed over a large number of her own servants to Isabella and Charles. In August of 1456, Dauphin Louis of France fled from an army his father King Charles VII had sent against him into Burgundy. Duchess Isabel and Isabella, who was pregnant at the time, greeted Louis in Brussels.

On February 13, 1457, Isabel gave birth to a daughter. Charles had left to go hunting as soon as she went into labor. Duke Philip asked not to be disturbed unless the child was a boy. Only Duchess Isabel was in attendance with the Dauphin Louis outside the door. Isabel carried the newborn girl to the Dauphin. He asked that the child be named Mary after his own mother Marie of Anjou. The child was baptized a few days later.

In August of 1461, Louis was crowned King of France at Reims and Charles and Isabella attended the ceremony. For the rest of their marriage, Charles and Isabella were relatively happy even though Charles was away from Isabella and their daughter Mary for long periods of time. Charles was singularly faithful to Isabella. Isabella began to suffer from a fatal illness, probably tuberculosis and died on September 25, 1465, alone at Les Quesnoy. Charles had left to fight in France against King Louis along with other disaffected French nobles. He was negotiating a peace treaty at Conflans when he received word that Isabella had died. He did not return for her funeral.

Duchess Isabel mourned the death of Isabella but within weeks, she sent an embassy to England to broach the subject of a marriage between Charles and Margaret of York. Isabella was buried in a magnificent monument in the abbey Church of St. Michael near Antwerp. The tomb was destroyed by radical Protestants in 1566 but a few of the mourning statues from the monument were saved and are on display in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. Charles and Isabella’s daughter Mary would inherit the Duchy of Burgundy in 1477.

Sources: “Isabel of Burgundy: The Duchess Who Played Politics in the Age of Joan of Arc, 1397-1471” by Aline S. Taylor, “Charles the Bold” by Ruth Putnam, “Margaret of York: Duchess of Burgundy 1446-1503” by Christine Weightman

Jean-Pierre Claris de Florian, French Writer and Poet

Posted on May 7, 2013 by Susan Abernethy

Jean-Pierre Claris de Florian

Jean-Pierre Claris de Florian was born on March 6, 1755 at the Château of Florian near Sauve, Gard in southern France. His mother was a Spanish lady named Gilette de Salgues and she died when Jean-Pierre was a child. He was brought up by his grandfather with his uncle, the Marquis de Florian acting as his guardian. The Marquis was married to the niece of Voltaire, the Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher and introduced Jean-Pierre to Voltaire at his château of Ferney. In 1768, Jean-Pierre became a page at Anet in the household of the Duc de Penthièvre, who remained his friend for the rest of his life. Penthiève obtained a captain’s commission in the dragoon regiment for Jean-Pierre after he studied artillery.

De Florian left the army shortly thereafter and began to write comedies. He wrote a verse epistle ‘Voltaire et le serf du Mont Jura’ and a pastoral poem ‘Ruth’, both of which received recognition from the Académie Français. In 1782 he produced a one-act prose comedy, ‘Le Bon Ménage’ and in the following year ‘Galatie’, a romantic tale based on the work of the Spanish writer Cervantes. De Florian was very fond of the literature of Spain, probably due to the inspiration of his Castilian mother. Other short tales and comedies followed his early success. In 1788 he became a member for the Académie Français and published another pastoral romance called ‘Estelle’.

Upon the outbreak of the French Revolution de Florian retired to Sceaux but the revolutionaries tracked him down and imprisoned him. Although the death of Robespierre spared de Florian death, he ended up dying a few months later while still in prison on September 13, 1794. Many of his works were published after his death including his famous collection of Fables in 1802, as well as an abridgment of Cervantes ‘Don Quixote’ in 1809 which was very successful. To modern readers de Florian is primarily known for his lovely fables which are considered appealing reading for children.

Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy

Posted on May 3, 2013 by Susan Abernethy

Portrait of Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy by Peter Paul Rubens

Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy was a man born with huge potential. The child of illustrious parents, he was the heir to a vast, fertile and economically rich dukedom that stretched from the sea west to Germany. Charles could have been a king but personal flaws and failings and an inborn rage were to be his downfall. Charles was known in his time as “le téméraire” which translates from the French into “the Rash”. In English is has been interpreted as “the Bold”.

Charles was born on November 10, 1433 in Dijon. His father was Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy and his mother was Isabel of Portugal. His initial title was the Count of Charolais and twenty days after his birth, he was inducted into the chivalric Order of the Golden Fleece. It is mentioned he was nourished by his own mother. Isabel has lost her first two children so she was extra attentive with Charles. He was to become a sturdy child, full of youthful vigor. He is described as being below average in height, stout, with a clear dark complexion and a dark beard and hair. Charles and Isabel were very close and she personally supervised his education. He was a studious pupil but really showed an aptitude for martial activities and military operations.

In 1435, Charles’ father negotiated the Treaty of Arras resulting in peace with France. Included in the treaty was a betrothal of Charles and Catherine of France, daughter of King Charles VII. A year later a formal betrothal took place at St. Omar and Catherine travelled there to be brought up by Isabel. These two were married in 1440 when Charles was seven and Catherine twelve. Charles also began to take up public duties at this time, sometimes with his mother and other times with his father. When he was twelve, he played a part in all the functions of an assembly of the Order of the Golden Fleece. Charles’ wife Catherine died in 1446.

A miniature by Rogier Van der Weyden depicting Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy with his young son, Charles, Count of Charolais

When Charles was seventeen he was allowed to participate in his first tournament. The chroniclers were already commenting on Charles’ hot temper, impetuousness and determination to get his own way. It’s also mentioned he loved reading, the sea and boats, hunting, archery and falconry.

When Charles was twenty, his father left to go on Crusade and named Charles as his regent. Charles was eager to take up the reins of government. It was time for Charles to marry again. Isabel was pushing for an English alliance but Philip wanted Charles to marry a French bride. Isabella, the daughter of the Duke of Bourbon was in Burgundy under the guardianship of the Duchess Isabel. Duke Philip arranged the marriage, dispensing with Isabella’s parents approval and without royal approval from King Charles VII. In February of 1457, Charles’ wife Isabella gave birth to a baby girl named Mary.

Charles the Bold and his second wife, Isabella of Bourbon

Charles’ time at the helm of government allowed him to acquire an inflated sense of self importance. He tended to be impetuous and to have bouts of melancholy. His administration of ducal territories was heavy handed and didn’t win him a lot of adherents. The people of the Dukedom were happy to see the old Duke return.

From 1456 to 1461, Charles stayed away from the Burgundian court as relations between him and his father were strained. The Dauphin Louis, later King Louis XI of France was a guest at the court during this time and his presence forced Charles into third place in power and etiquette, a position he did not enjoy. Once Louis left Burgundy to become King of France in 1461, Charles’ position was restored.

In 1465, many French nobles rose up against King Louis XI in a power struggle. Charles saw his chance to join in the warfare and mustered a small army to go to France and fight. There was a pitched battle at the small village of Montl’héry but nobody gained the advantage and Charles was wounded. There was a possibility he could have been taken hostage or killed but his half-brother came to his rescue. Louis slipped away in the darkness and Charles proclaimed a hollow victory. The French nobles made their way to Paris to attack Louis there but their alliance fell apart and peace was made. Charles received the towns on the Somme, Guienne, Boulogne and other places and pensions.

Charles returned to Burgundy to find his father weak and demented. While Charles was away, his wife had died and been buried. He had been singularly faithful to Isabella during their marriage. The city of Dinant had made Charles and his mother angry by questioning her faithfulness to the old Duke so Charles decided to attack the city. After six days, they surrendered but a conflagration had erupted and leveled the city. Some of the merchants and others were executed. It was to be the first instance of the wrath of Charles and its consequences on the citizenry of his dukedom. Charles continued a kind of harassing warfare until the fall and then joined his father.

In June of 1467, Philip the Good was dying and Charles was called to his bedside while he was still conscious but unable to speak. Charles begged his father to forgive him for any offences. His father squeezed his hand in agreement and died just short of his seventy-first birthday. Charles was left to continue his fathers’ struggle to turn the dukedom of Burgundy into a kingdom and to hold the balance of power between France and Germany.

Map of Burgundy, 1477

In order to secure an alliance with England against France, Charles had his mother negotiate a marriage agreement for the hand of Margaret of York, sister of King Edward IV. In the first big event of his reign, they were married in June of 1468. Margaret immediately took charge of Charles’ daughter Mary and they were to remain close for the rest of Mary’s life. In the first seven years of their marriage Margaret and Charles were only together for a total period of one year. They were together fairly regularly for the first four years. After December of 1471, they only saw each other for a total of thirty two days until 1475. After July 23, 1475, they never saw each other again as Charles was away at war. Charles and Margaret never had any children. Margaret was to be a great help to Charles in administering the duchy in his absence.

Margaret of York, Charles the Bold’s third wife

While Charles was in the midst of wedding celebrations, King Louis of France was threatening to take by force the cities on the Somme Charles had acquired in 1465. Louis didn’t really want war and agreed to come to Péronne to work on a peace treaty. The negotiations lasted until a treaty was ratified in November of 1468. Charles then turned his attention to the rebellious city of Liege. He was harsh in his treatment of the city burning it to the ground, sparing only the churches.

In the spring of 1470, the Earl of Warwick, known as the “Kingmaker” arrived in France, seeking King Louis’ help to restore King Henry VI to the English throne. Louis negotiated with Warwick to fund and man the enterprise. Charles was angry and accused Louis of breaking the peace treaty of Péronne. In the summer of 1472, Charles took his troops and began fighting, taking the towns of Nesle, Montdidier and Roye, punishing the residents harshly. Two weeks after the fall of Roye, Charles’ men began the siege of Beauvais. The siege lasted for two weeks because the people of the town, including the women and children, bravely fought the Burgundians. Charles eventually lost so many men in the fight he was forced to lift the siege in humiliation. He then travelled west, burning and pillaging as he went. Eventually, on November 3, he agreed to a truce with Louis that was to last until April 1, 1473.

In May of 1469, Charles had concluded a treaty with Sigismund of Austria, cousin of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III. The terms of this treaty satisfied Sigismund’s need for money and Charles’ ambitions for gaining territory and possibly the title of “King of the Romans”. The transaction was in fact a mortgage. Charles’ new territories included Upper Alsace and the county of Ferrette along with other fragments of territory and rights of seigniory over a few Rhenish cities. There were no records on these territories so it would be difficult to govern them and collect taxes. Efforts were made to make an appraisal of these lands but the holdings were scattered and in disarray. After four years of ineffective administration, Charles appointed Peter von Hagenbach as his deputy in charge. Because Hagenbach was a hard taskmaster he quickly acquired a bad reputation, along with his master, the Duke of Burgundy.

As early as 1470, a match between Charles’ daughter Mary and Emperor Frederick’s son Maximilian was discussed. Sigismund of Austria was an enthusiastic proponent of the match. Charles was willing to consider the match but he wanted something in return. It was within Emperor Frederick’s jurisdiction to award the title “King of the Romans” which Charles coveted. In the fall of 1473, a meeting between Charles and Frederick was set to take place in the town of Trèves to discuss these matters.

Shortly before this meeting, the Duke of Lorraine had died. Charles wanted to annex Lorraine into his territories. This item was discussed at Trèves and a treaty was signed on October 15, naming the new Duke of Lorraine a vassal of the Duke of Burgundy. After eight weeks and many delays and negotiations, it was finally agreed that Charles would be invested with the title of “King of the Romans”. There were three days of festivities, and Emperor Frederick and Charles signed a convention, postponing Charles’ coronation until February. In the early hours of the morning of November 25, Emperor Frederick departed Trèves without saying goodbye. The Duke may have been furious but he kept his cool, held a few audiences and then departed.

Sigismund had every intention of paying off the mortgage for Alsace and acquired the funds to do so with the help of King Louis XI of France on April 6, 1474. When he made his intention clear to Charles, Charles sent Hagenbach with a few hundred men to Sigismund with a refusal to acknowledge the repurchase. Within a few months, Alsace came under Sigismund’s control, the Swiss declared war on Charles and Hagenbach was captured, condemned to death and executed on May 9th. In June of 1474, Charles began the siege of Neuss. It was to last until July of 1475, when Imperial troops were threatening him and forcing him to lift the siege.

In May of 1475, after two extensions, Charles and Louis’ truce expired. Louis immediately attacked and captured some of the territory on the Somme that belonged to Charles. Also at this time, the king of England, Edward IV was planning an invasion of France. Charles offered to fight with Edward against King Louis and march to Reims where the plan was to crown Edward King of France. King Louis had other ideas. Edward was not fully committed to these plans and ended up negotiating a treaty with Louis. Louis paid Edward a huge sum of cash, a yearly annuity for a long truce and a betrothal was agreed to between Louis’ son Charles and Edward’s eldest daughter Elizabeth. Charles was furious.

At the end of 1475, Charles established a base in Nancy in Lorraine. His plan was to attack the Swiss and take the Duchy of Savoy. In January of 1476, Charles and his army assaulted Grandson. Initially, the city surrendered to him and Charles had the four hundred and twelve soldiers who had held the garrison hanged. Then the Swiss arrived. The Burgundians fell into disarray and Charles was forced to flee with just a few men, leaving behind all his artillery and treasure.

Charles’ humiliation and the effects of the campaign were beginning to take its toll on his health. He suffered from a low fever, he failed to keep food down, his legs showed signs of dropsy and insomnia plagued him. He was not fully recovered when he resumed plans to fight again. He reconstituted his army and attacked the Swiss at Murat in June. Again he was defeated. Charles was beginning to exhibit strange and unusual behavior. He had fits of hilarity. Previously eschewing alcohol, he started to drink strong Burgundy wine.

He was determined to raise a huge army and asked his estates to grant him funds in the form of a national levy. They refused. Strapped for cash he raised what army he could. In the meantime, the troops he left to guard Nancy surrendered to the Duke of Lorraine who provisioned and prepared the city for a siege. Charles began attacking in October against the advice of his generals who thought he should spend the winter raising more troops and provisions. Nancy managed to hold off the siege even though the winter was exceptionally cruel.

By the end of December, fresh Swiss troops arrived. Charles held a council on January 4, 1477. Everyone tried to dissuade him from fighting but he didn’t hesitate. He left a small force to continue the siege and took his army to a favorable plateau, strategically placing his artillery. Charles’ troops had been reduced by the siege and the winter cold. Consequently, the Swiss and German forces greatly outnumbered the Burgundians. The onslaught was fierce and Charles himself plunged into the fight. The Swiss routed the Burgundians on January 5, 1477.

A witness came forth on January 7th, saying he could identify the place where Charles fell. Charles’ body, along with his closest friends was found naked and frozen in a pool of water. His face was not recognizable. The body had been pierced with Swiss pikes and his head cleaved in two. But some who knew the Duke identified the body, recognizing his long and ingrown nails, missing upper teeth and battle scars. When King Louis XI received confirmation of Charles’ death, he proceeded to annex the Duchy of Burgundy into his kingdom.

Tomb of Charles the Bold in the Church of Our Lady, Bruges.
Photo courtesy of Tina Dallas

Sources: “Charles the Bold” by Ruth Putnam, “Isabel of Burgundy: The Duchess Who Played Politics in the Age of Joan of Arc, 1397-1471” by Aline S. Taylor, “Margaret of York: Duchess of Burgundy 1446-1503” by Christine Weightman, “The Valois: Kings of France 1328-1589” by Robert Knecht

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