The First Governess of the Netherlands, Margaret of Austria Part 20

'Dame infortunee Dame de dueil tousiours triste et marrie.'[145]

[145] Regretz de la dame Infortunee.

But amongst all the treasures she had gathered together, her picture-gallery at Malines was not the least interesting part of her wonderful collection. More than a hundred portraits and paintings are mentioned in her catalogue, chiefly by famous artists of the day.

Amongst others there are several by Bernard van Orley (her Court painter), John Memling, Michel von c.o.xie, John van Eyck, Roger van der Weyden, Mabuse, Bouts, Jacob de Barbari, Jerome Bosch, Gerard h.o.r.embout, etc.

The John Van Eyck of John Arnolfini and his wife Joan Cenani of Lucca (who settled at Bruges in 1420), now in the National Gallery, London, was one of the gems of Margaret's collection, and is thus mentioned in her catalogues of 1516 and 1524:--

'Ung grant tableau qu'on appelle Hernoul-le-Fin avec sa femme dedens une chambre, qui fut donne a Madame par don Diego, les armes duquel sont en la couverte dudit tableaul. Fait du painctre Johannes.'

'Ung aultre tableau fort exquis qui se clot a deux fuelletz, ou il y a painctz un homme et une femme estantz desboutz touchantz la main l'ung de l'aultre, fait de la main de Johannes, les armes et devise de feu don Dieghe esdits deux feulletz nomme le personnaige: Arnoult fin.'

Its history is peculiarly interesting. Before 1490 it belonged to Don Diego de Guevara, one of Maximilian's Councillors, who added shutters to it, on the outer side of which were painted his arms and motto. Don Diego presented the picture to Margaret. After her death it came into the possession of a barber-surgeon of Bruges from whom Mary, Queen of Hungary, bought it in exchange for a place worth a hundred florins a year. The picture is mentioned in an inventory of the queen's effects in 1556. Later it was taken to Spain, and in 1789 was in Charles III.'s collection at Madrid, but afterwards fell into the hands of one of the French generals. In 1815 Major-General Hay, who had been wounded at Waterloo, found it in the house to which he was removed in Brussels, and after his recovery purchased it and brought it to England, where in 1842 it was bought by the National Gallery for 730.

[Ill.u.s.tration: JOHN ARNOLFINI OF LUCCA AND HIS WIFE JOAN FROM THE PAINTING BY JOHN VAN EYCK IN THE NATIONAL GALLERY]

Unfortunately we cannot thus trace the history of all Margaret's collection. Her library at Malines was hung with family portraits, from Charlemagne on through many Dukes of Burgundy--her grandfather, the Emperor Frederick; her parents, Maximilian and Mary of Burgundy; her brother Philip; her husband Philibert, Duke of Savoy; her nephews and nieces, at different ages, were all portrayed; and there was also a portrait of herself as a girl. Her pictures are all fully entered in her catalogue, with such charming descriptions as:--'Une pet.i.te Nostre-Dame disant ses heures, faicte de la main de Michel (c.o.xie) que Madame appelle sa mignonne et le pet.i.t dieu dort,' or 'Ung pet.i.t tableau ront de Nostre-Dame que Madame fait mettre au chevet de son lit,' or 'Ung pet.i.t paradis ou sont touxs les apotres,' etc.

Margaret not only collected pictures, but she drew and painted skilfully herself, a most unusual accomplishment for a princess at that time, and amongst her possessions was a paint-box and brushes; she also is said to have drawn part of the plans for a church at Bruges.

During her regency architecture made great progress, and many beautiful buildings were designed and executed. The belfry at Bruges, the cloisters of the Convent of the Annunciation near the same town, and the Tower of St. Rombault at Malines, the Hotel de Ville at Ghent, besides several churches which were restored and embellished, such as the churches of St. Peter and St. Stephen at Lille, the spire of Antwerp Cathedral and Ste. Gudule at Brussels. But the greatest monument to Margaret's memory and taste in architecture is the church of Brou, near the town of Bourg en Bresse, of which a full description is given elsewhere, and for the construction of which Mercurin de Gattinare advised 'sa tres redoubtee dame de vendre jusqu'a sa derniere chemise.' In this beautiful church the spirit of Margaret seems to pervade every part, bringing into perfect harmony the work of the various Flemish, French, German, and Italian artists she employed.

Margaret also did much to encourage a taste for music, and the names of several of her musicians and composers have been preserved. Maitre Agricola wrote accompaniments to her songs, and Bruneel, Josquin des Pres, Compere, Henry Isaac, and Pierre de la Rue are all mentioned as attached to her Court. Flemish singers were sought for far and wide, especially in Italy and France, and many of the Pope's choir were recruited from the Netherlands.

But if Margaret did much for art, she did no less for literature.

Grouped around her stand forth the names of such men as Jean Molinet, Jean Lemaire de Beiges, Adrian of Utrecht, Cornelius Agrippa, Erasmus, Ma.s.se, Nicolas Everard, Renacle de Florennes, Louis Vives, and many others whom she welcomed to her Court, lodged in her palace, and counted amongst her friends. It is no wonder that they sang her praises in prose and in verse, extolling her beauty, her golden hair, fresh complexion, and soft brown eyes, exclaiming how lovely she looked when attending the dances given on festive occasions, or dressed in satin with long hanging sleeves lined with ermine, and followed by her greyhound, parrot, and marmoset, she wandered amongst her roses in her sweet-scented garden at Malines.

Molinet, her librarian, comes first among the poets who celebrated her charms. Besides his chronicles, he wrote 'La Recollection des Merveilleuses,' and several epigrams. The following verses on Margaret's return are a curious _tour de force_:--

'Par vous nous vint grace, misericorde, Paix et concorde, et cordastes la corde, Qui se discorde et veult discorder, Par bien corder, cordons par concorder, Et recorder, accord fut par cordee, La bonne harpe est tantot accordee.'

Jean Lemaire de Belges was born about 1473; after the death of Louis XII. he attached himself to Margaret's Court and became her historian.

He published a curious work called _Les ill.u.s.trations de Gaule et singularitez de Troye, avec la Couronne Margaritique et plusieurs autres oeuvres_. In the _Couronne Margaritique_, Margaret figures as the heroine. Jean Lemaire also published the _Triomphe de l'Amant vert_, which is the history of a green parrot given by Sigismond, Archduke of Austria, to Margaret's mother, Mary of Burgundy, after whose death it pa.s.sed into Margaret's possession. She was naturally very fond of the bird, and when it died composed the following epitaph:--

'Souz ce tumbel, qui est un dur conclave, Git l'amant verd, et le tres n.o.ble esclave, Dont le n.o.ble coeur de vraye amour, pure, yvre, Ne peut souffrir perdre sa dame et vivre.'

The parrot died whilst Margaret was on a visit to her father in Germany. In Lemaire's poem 'L'amant vert' laments his beloved mistress's absence, he stops talking, and contemplates 'putting an end to his short days.'

'... Et comment pourroit un coeur si gros, En corps si faible et si pet.i.t enclos, Pa.s.ser le jour que de moy te depars?

O demy-deux, o satyres agrestes, Nymphes des bois et fontaines proprettes, Escoutez moy ma plainte demener, Et tu Echo, qui fais l'air resonner Et les rochers de voix repercussives!

Or doy-je bien har ma triste vie, Veu que tant t'ay par terre et mer suivie, Par bois, par champs, par montagne et valee, Et que je t'ay maintes fois consolee, Et tes dangers, naufrages et perilz, esquels sans moy n'avois joye ne riz, Et maintenant tu laisses ton amant.'

'Or pleust aux dieux que mon corps a.s.sez beau, Fust transforme, pour ceste heure, en corbeau, Et mon colier, vermeil et purpurin, Fust aussi brun qu'un more ou barbarin.'

'Pourquoi t'ay veu tes parfaites beautez, Et ton gent corps plus poli que fin ambre, Trop plus que nul autre valet de chambre, Nud, demy-nud, sans atour et sans guimple, Demy-vestu, en belle cotte simple, Tresser ton chef, tant cler et tant dore, _Par tout le monde ayme et honore_.

Quant maintes fois pour mon coeur affoller, Tes deux maris je t'ay veu accoller: ... ... ... ... ... ... ... .

Au moins, princesse, en extreme guerdon, Je te requiers et te supplie un don: C'est que mon corps n'y soit ensevely, Ainsi le me mets en quelque lieu joly, Bien tap.i.s.se de diverses flourettes, Ou pastoureaux devisent d'amourettes, Ou les oiseaux jargonnent et flageolent, Et papillons bien coulourez, et vollent Pres d'un ruisseau, ayant l'onde argentine, Autour duquel les arbres font courtine.'

The poor 'amant' hopes that pilgrims will come and weep over his grave, and ends by a touching farewell to his mistress:--

'Or, adieu donc, reyne de toutes femmes, La fleur des fleurs, le parangon des gemmes, Adieu, madame, et ma maistresse chere, Pour qui la mort me vient montrer sa chere.

Fay moy graver sur ma lame marbrine Ces quatre vers, au moins, si j'en suis digne.

Then comes the epitaph quoted above. L'amant vert finally addresses his mistress from the tomb, and describes his descent into Hades, where he meets Mercury and converses with him in the Elysian fields.

Renacle de Florennes sang Margaret's praises in Latin verse, and it was largely due to her influence that the emperor appointed him his private secretary. The four Everards and Jean Second all added their tribute in her honour; whilst Adrian of Utrecht, the future Pope, and the learned Cornelius Agrippa remained through life her firm and devoted friends.

During the sixteenth century the beautiful industry of tapestry-making reached almost its highest point of perfection. After the fall of Arras in 1477 the workmen from that town settled in Bruges, Brussels, and Tournay. Amongst the great tapestry-workers were Stephen of Brumberghe, John of Roubrouck, Perquin d'Ervine, Peter van Oppenem, John van den Brugghe, etc., but the prince of tapestry-makers was Peter van Aelst, who for more than thirty years turned out tapestries innumerable from his workshops, the most celebrated being 'The Acts of the Apostles.' Although during the Middle Ages the designs chiefly represented religious subjects from the Old and New Testaments, in the sixteenth century, with the influence of the Renaissance, there crept in a taste for mythological and historical scenes such as those in the Hotel de Ville at Brussels, or the Legend of Notre Dame du Sablon, which latter contains contemporary portraits of Margaret and her nephews and nieces;[146] or the Legend of Trajan, the Story of Herkenbald, and the History of Julius Caesar attributed to the designs of Roger van der Weyden. John de Maubeuge, or Mabuse, and Bernard van Orley also exercised a wide influence over the industry, and their beautiful compositions were much sought after. With Van Orley a secular feeling prevailed even in his religious subjects. His saints and angels, Virgins and Apostles, appear almost pagan in design. It is easy to follow the different phases of this beautiful industry in such pieces as 'The Acts of the Apostles' in the Vatican, 'Saint Gregory's Ma.s.s' at Nuremberg, 'The Story of Psyche' at Fontainebleau, 'The Triumphs of Bacchus,' the 'Rape of the Sabines,' etc.

[146] Now in the Musee du Cinquantenaire, Brussels.

[Ill.u.s.tration: LEGEND OF 'NOTRE DAME DU SABLON'

FROM THE TAPESTRY IN THE MUSeE DU CINQUANTENAIRE, BRUSSELS _It contains portraits of Margaret and her Nephews and Nieces_]

After his coronation at Bologna the emperor continued his progress through Trent, Botzen, Innsbruck, to Augsburg, where he attended the Diet which opened on June the 20th, 1530. There he met Melanchthon and listened to his famous confession, and the long arguments which followed on religious questions. Lutheranism was rapidly spreading in Germany, but the emperor was powerless to prevent it. Charles remained at Augsburg until November 23rd, and then continued his journey towards the Netherlands, where Margaret was anxiously awaiting him; but she and her beloved nephew were destined never to meet again on earth, for when he reached Cologne he received the news of her death.

For some time past Margaret seems to have cherished the hope of retiring to the Convent of the Annunciation which she had founded outside the 'Porte des Anes' at Bruges, and spending the rest of her days there in quiet seclusion. From Malines she wrote to the Mother Superior:--'Ma Mere, ma mie,--I have ordered the bearer of this, whom you know well, to give you news of me, and tell you of my good resolution for some days past, and also inquire how you are, which I hope is as well as you could wish for me. My hope is in the good G.o.d and his glorious Mother, who will help and keep you for better things. I have given him (the bearer) a memorandum for you, and the Pater, your good father, which is from my own hand; from this you will learn my intention. I desire that it shall not get talked about ('n'en soit faict grant bruit'), and for good reason, and with this I will end, begging you to recommend me to our good father's prayers, and also to all my good daughters, praying the Creator and His blessed Mother to give His grace to you and also to me.--Your good daughter, MARGARET.'

Then follows the memorandum to Estienne, her _valet de chambre_, concerning what he is to say to the Pater and the Mere Ancille:[147]

'First, that I wish above all to put my religious (community) in such a state that they will never be in great poverty, but will be able to live without begging; and I wish to know... if more money is needed, and if so, how much, that they may not be stinted; for with G.o.d's help I will see to all; and every other thing that they desire, they must let me know, for I intend to make there a good end, with the help of G.o.d and our good Mistress, His glorious Mother.

[147] The Mother Superior was called 'la Mere Ancille,' a term of humility, from 'Ancilla,' servant.

'Amongst other things say to the Mere Ancille, my good mother, that I beg her to make all my good daughters pray for the purpose which I have always told her; for the time approaches, since the emperor is coming, to whom, with G.o.d's help, I will render a good account of the charge and government which he has pleased to give me; and this done, I shall give myself up to the will of G.o.d and of our good Mistress, begging you, my good Mother, "ma mie," that I may not be forgotten by yours, and always remain your good daughter, MARGARET.'

Concerning the death of the Regent of the Netherlands very little is authentically known, but from a MSS. in the archives at Ain, written by an Augustine monk, the following account is found:--'Early on the morning of the 15th of November, before rising, Margaret asked one of her ladies, Magdalen of Rochester, for a gla.s.s of water. The maid of honour brought her the drink in a crystal goblet, but in taking it back Magdalen unluckily let it fall near the bed, where it broke in several pieces. She carefully picked up all the fragments she could see, but one piece lay hidden in Margaret's high-heeled embroidered slipper. When the princess got up a few hours later, she put her bare feet into the slippers, and tried to walk towards the fire, but immediately felt a sharp pain in the sole of her left foot. On examination it was found that a piece of broken gla.s.s was in the foot; this was at once extracted, but the wound remained, and bled very little. Margaret, who was always plucky, soon thought no more of the accident, and neglected the wound. A few days later, however, her leg became greatly inflamed, and she suffered much pain. At last, on the 22nd, doctors were called in, and a consultation was held. They found that gangrene had already set in, and decided that the only way to save her life was to amputate the foot. The next day, the 23rd, they commissioned M. de Montecute, her almoner and confessor, to break the news to her, and prepare her for the terrible operation. She was naturally much surprised and upset, but with great fort.i.tude consented to undergo the dreadful ordeal. For four days she shut herself up, and would see no one, spending the time in prayer and confession; on the morning of the 27th she received the Sacrament, and on the 28th and 29th she arranged her earthly affairs, and added a codicil to the will she had made in 1508. This codicil did not, however, fundamentally alter her former testament. She left Charles her sole heir, with the exception of a few bequests, such as 'one of her best rings' to his brother Ferdinand, and legacies to her old officers and servants. 'And in order not to abolish the name of the House of Burgundy... my said lady begs and implores the Lord Emperor to be pleased to keep in his own hands the said county of Burgundy, and its dependencies, as long as he lives, and after his death to leave it to the one of his children or other heirs who may succeed to these countries (the Netherlands), without dividing or separating it.'

'And as a last request of my said lady made to the said Lord Emperor, she begs him for the universal good of Christianity and the safety of his State, to keep, guard, and observe peace and friendship with the Kings of France and England, their realms, countries, and subjects; as she hopes to say to him with her own mouth if it pleases G.o.d to spare her life until she can see him.'

On the next day, the 30th, the doctors decided to operate, but before submitting herself to their hands Margaret dictated a last touching letter to Charles, in which she bade him an eternal farewell:--'Monseigneur, the hour has come when I can no longer write to you with my own hand, for I feel so ill, that I doubt not that my life will be short. With my conscience at rest and peace, and resolved to receive all that it may please G.o.d to send me, without any regret whatever, excepting the privation of your presence, and not being able to see and speak to you once more before my death, which is partly supplied by this my letter, though I fear that it will be the last that you will receive from me. I have made you my universal and sole heir, recommending you to fulfil the charges in my will. I leave you your countries over here, which, during your absence, I have not only kept as you left them to me at your departure, but have greatly increased them, and restore to you the government of the same, of which I believe to have loyally acquitted myself, in such a way as I hope for divine reward, satisfaction from you, monseigneur, and the goodwill of your subjects; particularly recommending to you peace, especially with the Kings of France and England. And to end, monseigneur, I beg of you for the love you have been pleased to bear this poor body, that you will remember the salvation of the soul, and the recommendation of my poor va.s.sals and servants. Bidding you the last adieu, to whom I pray, monseigneur, to give you prosperity and a long life. From Malines, the last day of November 1530.--Your very humble aunt, MARGARET.'

And so having arranged all her earthly affairs Margaret took a tender farewell of her attendants and friends, and placed herself in the physicians' hands, who, hoping to spare her the pain and shock of an operation, gave her a dose of opium, which was so strong that she fell asleep never to wake again. She pa.s.sed away during the night of the 30th of November 1530 between midnight and one o'clock, in the fiftieth year of her age, and the twenty-third year of her regency.

The Archbishop of Palermo, Jean de Carondelet, and Antoine de Lalaing, Count of Hochstrate, at once sent to Cologne to inform the emperor of the sad news. In their letter they said that the inflammation (gangrene) had spread from the princess's leg to her body (probably from the long delay), and therefore an operation would have been useless. No one, however, seems to have been blamed, and Philip Savoien, her surgeon, was given thirty philippus 'for having treated madame as well as he could, and for having embalmed her body.' As the archbishop and the Count of Hochstrate wrote to the emperor: 'Madame has indeed shown in her end the virtue that was in her, for she died as good a Christian as it seems to us possible to be. She is a great loss, Sire, to your Majesty, and to all your countries over here.'

Charles was greatly distressed when he learned that his beloved aunt had pa.s.sed away, and ordered magnificent obsequies to be performed in the cathedral of Cologne, which he attended with his whole Court. The funeral sermon, delivered in Latin by Jean Fabri, was listened to with rapt attention by the large congregation which filled the building.

Margaret was deeply mourned by all who knew her, and especially by the people over whom she had ruled so well.

In her will she directed that her heart should be given to the Convent of the 'Annonciades' at Bruges, her intestines to the church of St.

Peter and St. Paul at Malines, and her body to the Monastery of St.

Nicolas de Tolentin at Bourg en Bresse, where she wished to be buried beside her husband, Philibert of Savoy, in the church of Brou.

Her funeral services began in the church of St. Peter and St. Paul at Malines by three solemn ma.s.ses, and were continued in the cathedral church of St. Rombault, which was hung with 120 yards of black cloth for the occasion. The Archbishop of Palermo conducted the service, which was attended by the Grand Council and Magistrates, and all the guilds of the city. Here Cornelius Agrippa preached her funeral oration, dwelling at much length on her many virtues and great talents. 'We have lost,' he said, 'the anchor on which our hopes rested. We are weighed down with this great affliction, for no greater loss could have befallen us and our country. What consolation can we find in the death of the very saintly Princess Margaret? We all weep, we all lament her! All the provinces, all the cities, all the towns, all the villages, all the hamlets are plunged in grief, sorrow, and mourning.'