Origins of the Holy Roman Empire. Conclusions

Tags

Carolingian Empire, Charles V, Emperor-Elect, Francis II, Golden Bull, Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, King of Rome, Kingdom of Germany, Pope, Roman Catholic Church

The Imperial title

Another aspect of examining the origins of the Holy Roman Empire is to examine the history of the Imperial title itself. In other words, the history of the title gives us some understanding of the history of the empire itself.

The Holy Roman Emperor’s standard designation was simply, originally and officially “August Emperor of the Romans.” In Latin this was translated as “Romanorum Imperator Augustus.” In native German the title was translated as Kaiser der Römer.

Let me expand on this a little further. In German-language historiography, the term Römisch-Deutscher Kaiser (“Roman-German Emperor”) is used to distinguish the title from that of Roman Emperor on one hand, and that of German Emperor (Deutscher Kaiser) on the other, the title held by the Hohenzollern Emperors from 1871 until 1918.

The English term “Holy Roman Emperor” is modern shorthand for “Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire” and not corresponding to the actual historical style or title. In other words, the adjective “holy” is not intended as modifying “emperor.” The English term “Holy Roman Emperor” gained currency in the interbellum period (the 1920s to 1930s); formerly the title had also been rendered “German-Roman Emperor” in English.

The Empire was considered by the Roman Catholic Church to be the only legal successor of the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages and the early modern period. Since Charlemagne, the realm was merely referred to as the Roman Empire. The term sacrum (“holy”, in the sense of “consecrated”) in connection with the medieval Roman Empire was used beginning in 1157 under Friedrich I Barbarossa. “Holy Empire”: was the term added to reflect Friedrich’s ambition to dominate Italy and the Papacy. The form “Holy Roman Empire” is attested from 1254 onward.

In a decree following the Diet of Cologne in 1512, the name was changed to the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation (German: Heiliges Römisches Reich Deutscher Nation, Latin: Sacrum Imperium Romanum Nationis Germanicæ), a form first used in a document in 1474. The new title was adopted partly because the Empire lost most of its territories in Italy and Burgundy to the south and west by the late 15th century, but also to emphasize the new importance of the German Imperial Estates in ruling the Empire due to the Imperial Reform.

By the end of the 18th century, the term “Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation” fell out of official use. Contradicting the traditional view concerning that designation, Hermann Weisert has argued in a study on imperial titulature that, despite the claims of many textbooks, the name “Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation” never had an official status and points out that documents were thirty times as likely to omit the national suffix as include it.

In a famous assessment of the name, the political philosopher Voltaire remarked sardonically: “This body which was called and which still calls itself the Holy Roman Empire was in no way holy, nor Roman, nor an empire.

The title of emperor in the West implied recognition by the pope. It was the pope who had the power to create an emperor. But as the power of the papacy grew during the Middle Ages, popes and emperors came into conflict over church administration. The best-known and most bitter conflict was that known as the investiture controversy, fought during the 11th century between Heinrich IV and Pope Gregory VII.

The office of Holy Roman Emperor was traditionally elective, although frequently controlled by dynasties. As we have seen since 911, the various German princes had elected the King of the Germans, technically, King of East Francia, from among their peers. The King of the Germans would then be crowned as emperor following the precedent set by Charlemagne.

Beginning with the reign Heinrich II (1002–1024, emperor from 1014) the title King of the Romans (Latin: Rex Romanorum; German: König der Römer) was the title used by the German king following his election the mostly German prince-electors, the highest-ranking noblemen of the empire. Technically they would retain the title “King of the Romans”, until they were officially crowned emperor by the Pope. However, the Papacy’s hold over the emperor wained greatly after the Protestant Reformation as many states became officially Protestant despite the Habsburg emperors remaining Roman Catholic.

Charles V was the last emperor to be crowned by the pope, and his successor, Ferdinand I, merely adopted the title of “Emperor-Elect” in 1558. Despite holding the title Emperor-Elect and forgoing the papal coronation the rulers of the Holy Roman Empire were still simply referred to as emperor. As we began this blog entry, we have seen that the final Holy Roman emperor-elect, Franz II, abdicated in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars that saw the Empire’s final dissolution.

Having read its complex history I see the Carolingian Empire that began with Charlamagne as a “Frankish Empire” and was the first phase in the evolution of the Holy Roman Empire. This Frankish Carolingian Empire eventually died out in 924. Then, with the Revival of the Imperial title under Otto the Great, I view this act as a transition from Frankish Empire to the creation of a “German Empire” which is what came to define the Holy Roman Empire in its essense. As a Germanic Empire it helped foster and grow a diverse German culture signifying an important part of German history.

June 5, 1523: Birth of Marguerite de Valois of France, Duchess of Berry, Countess of Savoy.

Tags

Anne of Brittany, Charles V, Claude of France, Emmanuel Philibert of Savoy, Felipe II of Spain, Francis I of France, King Henri II of France, Louis XII of France, Marguerite de Valois

Marguerite de Valois of France, Duchess of Berry (June 5, 1523 – September 15, 1574)

Family

Marguerite de Valois was born at the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, was the youngest daughter of King François I of France and Claude, Duchess of Brittany.

Marguerite de Valois of France, Duchess of Berry

Claude of France (1499-1524) was a queen consort of France by marriage to François I. She was also ruling Duchess of Brittany from 1514. She was a daughter of the French King Louis XII of France and Anne of Brittany.

Because her mother, Anne, Duchess of Brittany, had no surviving sons, Claude was heir presumptive to the Duchy of Brittany. The crown of France, however, could pass only to and through male heirs, according to Salic Law. Eager to keep Brittany separated from the French crown.

François I, King of France

On August 10, 1501 at Lyon was signed the marriage contract between Claude and the future Holy Roman Emperor Charles V by François de Busleyden, Archbishop of Besançon, William de Croÿ, Nicolas de Rutter and Pierre Lesseman, all ambassadors of Duke Philippe of Burgundy, (Felipe I of Spain) Charles’ father.

In 1505, King Louis XII of France was very sick, fearing for his life and not wishing to threaten the reign of his only heir, cancelled the engagement in the Estates Generals of Tours, in favor of the young Duke of Valois, the future François I. Indeed, previously Louise of Savoy obtained from the king a secret promise that Claude could be married to her son.

Anne, Duchess of Brittany (grandmother)

Louise of Savoy was married to Charles d’Orléans (1459-1496) was the Count of Angoulême from 1467 until his death. Charles was a grandson of Louis I, Duke of Orléans, a younger son of King Charles V of France. He was thus a member of the Orléans cadet branch of the ruling House of Valois. The Orléans came to the throne in 1498 in the person of Charles’s nephew Louis XII, who was followed in 1515 by Charles’s own son François I.

Anne of Brittany, furious to see the triumph of Marshal of Gié, exerted all her influence to obtain his conviction for treason before the Parliament of Paris.

Henri II, King of France (Brother)

On January 9, 1514, when her mother died, Claude became Duchess of Brittany; and four months later, on May 18, she married her cousin François at Saint-Germain-en-Laye. With this union, it was secured that Brittany would remain united to the French crown, if the third marriage of Louis XII with Mary of England (celebrated on October 9, 1514) would not produce the long-waited heir. However, the union was short-lived and childless: Louis XII died less than three months later, on January 1, 1515, reputedly worn out by his exertions in the bedchamber. François and Claude became king and queen, the third time in history that the Duchess of Brittany became Queen of France.

Early Life

Marguerite de Valois was very close to her paternal aunt, Marguerite de Navarre, who took care of her and her sister Madeleine during her childhood, and her sister-in-law Catherine de’ Medici.

Near the end of 1538, her father and Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, agreed that Marguerite should marry Charles’ son, the future Felipe II of Spain. However, the agreement between François and Charles was short-lived and the marriage never took place.

On April 29, 1550 at the age of 26 she was created suo jure Duchess of Berry.

Marriage

Shortly before her 36th birthday, a marriage was finally arranged for her by her brother King Henri II of France and her former suitor Felipe II of Spain as part of the terms stipulated in the Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis which was signed by the ambassadors representing the two monarchs on April 3, 1559.

The husband selected for her was Felipe II’s ally, and a cousin of Marguerite, Emanuele Filiberto, Duke of Savoy, Prince of Piedmont. At the time, Marguerite was described as having been a “spinster lady of excellent breeding and lively intellect”.

Emanuele-Filiberto I, Duke of Savoy

Emanuele-Filiberto was the only child of Carlo III, Duke of Savoy, and Beatrice of Portugal to reach adulthood. His mother was sister-in-law to Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, and the future duke served in Charles’s army during the war against his future father-in-las, François I of France.

The wedding took place in tragic circumstances. On June 30, 1559 just three days after her marriage contract had been signed, King Henri II was gravely injured during a tournament celebrating the wedding of his eldest daughter Elisabeth to the recently widowed King Felipe II.

A lance wielded by his opponent the Count of Montgomery accidentally struck his helmet at a point beneath the visor and shattered. The wooden splinters deeply penetrated his right eye and entered his brain. Close to death, but still conscious, the king ordered that his sister’s marriage should take place immediately, for fear that the Duke of Savoy might profit from his death and renege on the alliance.

The ceremony did not take place in Notre Dame Cathedral as had been planned. Instead it was a solemn, subdued event conducted at midnight on July 9, in Saint Paul’s, a small church not far from the Tournelles Palace where Margaret’s dying brother was ensconced. Among the few guests was the French queen consort Catherine de’ Medici who sat by herself, weeping. King Henri II died the following day.

Marguerite and her husband had only one surviving child: Charlo-Emanuele I, Duke of Savoy who was born in January 1562, when Marguerite was 38 years of age. He later married Infanta Catherine-Michelle of Spain, the daughter of King Felipe II by his marriage to Marguerite’s niece, Elisabeth de Valois.

Marguerite died on September 15 1574 at the age of 51. She was buried in Turin at the Cathedral of Saint Giovanni Battista.

May 21, 1527: Birth of Felipe II, King of Spain, Portugal, Naples and Sicily.

Tags

Archduke of Austria, Carlos I of Spain, Catherine de Médici, Catherine of Aragon, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, House of Habsburg, King Henri II of France, Kingdom of Naples and Sicily, Kingdom of Portugal, Philip II of Spain, Queen Mary I of England

Felipe II (May 21, 1527 – September 13, 1598) was King of Spain (1556–98), King of Portugal (1581–98, as Filipe I), King of Naples and Sicily (both from 1554), and jure uxoris King of England and Ireland (during his marriage to Queen Mary I from 1554 to 1558). He was also Duke of Milan, and from 1555, lord of the Seventeen Provinces of the Netherlands. As a member of the Austrian Habsburg Family, Felipe II was also an Archduke of Austria.

Filipe II, King of Spain, Portugal, Naples and Sicily.

The son of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V (King Carlos I of the Spanish kingdoms) and Infanta Isabella of Portugal, Felipe was called Felipe el Prudente (“Philip the Prudent”) in the Spanish kingdoms; his empire included territories on every continent then known to Europeans, including his namesake the Philippines. During his reign, the Spanish kingdoms reached the height of their influence and power. This is sometimes called the Spanish Golden Age.

Felipe’s mother, Infanta Isabella of Portugal, was the daughter King Manuel I of Portugal and Infanta Maria of Aragon, Isabella was the granddaughter of the Catholic Monarchs, Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon. Throughout her life, many compared her to her grandmother for her intelligence and determination. Her personal motto was “aut Caesar aut nihil” (‘either Cesar or nothing’). Felipe’s grandmother, Infanta Maria of Aragon, was the third surviving daughter of Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon (the Catholic monarchs).

Charles V-I, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain

Infanta Isabella of Portugal

Felipe led a highly debt-leveraged regime, seeing state bankruptcies in 1557, 1560, 1569, 1575, and 1596. This policy was partly the cause of the declaration of independence that created the Dutch Republic in 1581. On December 31, 1584 Felipe signed the Treaty of Joinville, with Henri I, Duke of Guise signing on behalf of the Catholic League; consequently Felipe supplied a considerable annual grant to the League over the following decade to maintain the civil war in France, with the hope of destroying the French Calvinists.

A devout Catholic, Felipe saw himself as the defender of Catholic Europe against the Ottoman Empire and the Protestant Reformation. He sent an armada to invade Protestant England in 1588, with the strategic aim of overthrowing Elizabeth I of England and re-establishing Catholicism there; but it was defeated in a skirmish at Gravelines (northern France) and then destroyed by storms as it circled the British Isles to return to Spain. The following year Felipe’s naval power was able to recover after the failed invasion of the English Armada into Spain.

The military under Felipe constituted about 9,000 men a year on average were which were recruited from Spain; in crisis years the total could rise to 20,000. Between 1567 and 1574, nearly 43,000 men left Spain to fight in Italy and the Low Countries (modern-day Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands).

Filipe II, King of Spain, Portugal, Naples and Sicily.

Philip was described by the Venetian ambassador Paolo Fagolo in 1563 as “slight of stature and round-faced, with pale blue eyes, somewhat prominent lip, and pink skin, but his overall appearance is very attractive.” The Ambassador went on to say “He dresses very tastefully, and everything that he does is courteous and gracious.”

King of Portugal

In 1578 young king Sebastian of Portugal died at the Battle of Alcácer Quibir without descendants, triggering a succession crisis. His granduncle, the elderly Cardinal Henrique, succeeded him as king, but Henrique had no descendants either, having taken holy orders. When Henrique died two years after Sebastian’s disappearance, three grandchildren of Manuel I claimed the throne: Infanta Catarina, Duchess of Braganza, António, Prior of Crato, and Felipe II of Spain.

António was acclaimed King of Portugal in many cities and towns throughout the country, but members of the Council of Governors of Portugal who had supported Felipe escaped to the Spanish kingdoms and declared him to be the legal successor of Henrique. Felipe II then marched into Portugal and defeated Prior António’s troops in the Battle of Alcântara. The Portuguese suffered 4,000 killed, wounded, or captured, while the Spanish sustained only 500 casualties.

Filipe II, King of Spain, Portugal, Naples and Sicily.

The troops commanded by Fernando Álvarez de Toledo the 3rd Duke of Alba imposed subjection to before entering Lisbon, where he seized an immense treasure. Felipe II of Spain was crowned Felipe I of Portugal in 1581 (recognized as king by the Portuguese Cortes of Tomar) and a near sixty-year personal union under the rule of the Philippine Dynasty began. that saw Portugal share a monarch with that of Spain. The next independent monarch of Portugal would be João IV, who took the throne after 60 years of Spanish rule.

Felipe was married four times and had children with three of his wives.

Felipe II’s first wife, Infanta Maria-Manuela, Princess of Portugal, was his double first cousin. She was a daughter of Felipe’s maternal uncle, King João III of Portugal, and paternal aunt, Archduchess Catherine of Austria. They were married at Salamanca on November 12, 1543. The marriage produced one son in 1545, after which Maria-Manuela died 4 days later due to hemorrhage.

Infanta Maria-Manuela, Princess of Portugal

* Carlos, Prince of Asturias (1545-1568), died unmarried and without issue.

Felipe II’s second wife was his first cousin once removed, Queen Mary I of England and Ireland. Mary was the only child of King Henry VIII by his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, the niece of Felipe’s father, Emperor Charles V. The marriage, which took place on 25 July 25, 1554 at Winchester Cathedral, was political. By this marriage, Felipe II became jure uxoris King of England and Ireland, although the couple was apart more than together as they ruled their respective countries. The marriage produced no children, although there was a false pregnancy, and Mary died in 1558, ending Felipe II’s reign in England and Ireland.

Queen Mary I of England and Ireland

Felipe II’s third wife was Princess Elisabeth de Valois, the eldest daughter of King Henri II of France and Catherine de’ Medici. The original ceremony was conducted by proxy (the Duke of Alba standing in for Felipe) at Notre Dame prior to Elisabeth’s departure from France. The actual ceremony was conducted in Guadalajara upon her arrival in Spain. During their marriage (1559–1568) they conceived five daughters and a son, though only two of the girls survived. Elisabeth died a few hours after the loss of her last child.

Princess Elisabeth de Valois

Their children were:

* Stillborn son (1560)
* Miscarried twin daughters (August 1564).
* Isabella-Clara-Eugenia (1566-1633), married Albrecht VII, Archduke of Austria,
* Catherine-Michelle (1567-1597), married Carlo-Emmanuele I, Duke of Savoy, and had issue.
* Miscarried daughter (1568).

Felipe II’s fourth and final wife was his niece, Archduchess Anna of Austria, eldest daughter of Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor, and Infanta Maria of Spain, who were first cousins. Archduchess Anna of Austria’s mother, Infanta Maria of Spain, was Felipe II’s sister and therefore daughter of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain, and Isabella of Portugal.

Archduchess Anna of Austria

By contemporary accounts, this was a convivial and satisfactory marriage (1570–1580) for both Felipe and Anna. This marriage produced four sons and one daughter. Anna died of heart failure 8 months after giving birth to Maria in 1580.

Their children were:

* Fernando , Prince of Asturias (1571-1578), died young.
* Carlos-Laurence (1573-1575), died young.
* Diego-Félix, Prince of Asturias (1575-1582), died young.
* Felipe III, King of Spain (1578-1621).
* Maria (1580-1583), died young.

King Felipe II outlived all four of his wives.

Death

Felipe II died of cancer, aged 71, in El Escorial, near Madrid, on September 13, 1598. He was succeeded by his 20-year-old son, Felipe III. He was the son with fourth wife, and niece, niece, Archduchess Anna of Austria.

April 2, 1545: Birth of Elisabeth of Valois, Queen Consort of Spain

Tags

Carlos I of Spain, Catherine de Médici, Charles V, Elisabeth of Valois, Felipe II of Spain, Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia of Spain, King Henri II of France, Philip II of Spain

Elisabeth of Valois (April 2, 1545 – October 3, 1568) was a Spanish queen consort as the third spouse of Felipe II of Spain.

She was born in the Château de Fontainebleau, the eldest daughter of Henri II of France and Catherine de’ Medici.

She was raised under the supervision of the governor and governess of the royal children, Jean d’Humières and Françoise d’Humières. Her childhood was spent in the French royal nursery, where her father insisted she share her bedroom with her future sister-in-law, Mary, Queen of Scots, who was about three years older than Elisabeth.

Even though Elisabeth had to give precedence to Mary (since Mary was already a crowned queen), the two would remain close friends for the rest of their lives. While it is acknowledged that her sister Margaret and her future sister-in-law Mary were prettier than she, she was one of Catherine’s attractive daughters. Elisabeth was also described as being shy, timid and very much in awe of her formidable mother; although there is also evidence that Catherine was tender and loving toward Elisabeth.

In 1550, Elisabeth’s father, Henri II, began negotiations for her marriage to Edward VI of England. This arrangement brought condemnation from Pope Julius III who reportedly stated that he would excommunicate both if they married. Henri II, undeterred, agreed to a 200,000 ecus dowry, which became irrelevant upon Edward’s death in 1553.

Elisabeth had originally been betrothed to Felipe II’s son, Carlos, Prince of Asturias, but political complications unexpectedly necessitated instead a marriage to Philip.

Elisabeth married Felipe II of Spain son of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, (Carlos I of Spain) and Isabella of Portugal in 1559. Originally married via proxy at Notre Dame (with Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, 3rd Duke of Alba standing in for Felipe) prior to leaving France, the actual ceremony took place in Guadalajara, Spain, upon her arrival. The marriage was a result of the Peace of Cateau Cambrésis (1559). His second wife, Mary I of England, had recently died, making Elisabeth of Valois Felipe II’s third wife.

Felipe II of Spain

Felipe II was completely enchanted by his 14-year-old bride, (Felipe II was 32 at the time of his marriage) and by 1564 had given up his infidelities. Despite the significant age difference, Elisabeth was also quite pleased with her husband. (In letters to her mother, she proclaimed herself to be fortunate to have married so charming a prince.)

Her relationship with her troubled stepson Carlos was warm and friendly. Despite reports of his progressively bizarre behavior, Carlos was always kind and gentle to Elisabeth. When it eventually became necessary for Felipe to lock him away (which shortly led to the Prince’s demise), Elisabeth cried for days.

Felipe II was very attached to Elisabeth, staying close by her side even when she was ill with smallpox. Elisabeth’s first pregnancy in 1564 ended with a miscarriage of twin girls. She later gave birth to Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia of Spain on August 12, 1566, and then to Isabella’s younger sister Catherine Michelle of Spain on October 10, 1567.

Queen Elisabeth and Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia of Spain

Felipe II and Elisabeth were very close to both of their daughters buying them jams, dolls, toys and more. It is said ‘ both rejoiced at the birth of Isabella as if it had been the birth of a son’. Elisabeth had another miscarriage on 3 October 1568, and died the same day, along with her newborn infant daughter.

After the death of Elisabeth, Catherine de’ Medici offered her younger daughter Margaret as a bride for Felipe. Felipe declined the offer.

In 1570 Felipe II married his niece Archduchess Anna of Austria, the daughter of Infanta Maria of Spain, (sister of Felipe II) and Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor, who were first cousins. She was born in Spain during the reign of her maternal grandfather, Emperor Charles V, (Carlos I) her future husbands father, but lived in Vienna from the age of four.
R

This date in history: January 6,1540. Marriage of Anne of Cleves and King Henry VIII of England.

Tags

Anne of Cleves, Annulled, Charles V, Hans Holbein, Holy Roman Emperor, King Henry VIII of England, Kings and Queens of England, Rochester Abbey, Thomas Cromwell

Anne of Cleves (1515 – 16 July 1557) was queen consort of England from January 6 to July 9, 1540 as the fourth wife of King Henry VIII.

Anne was born in 1515, on either September 22, or more probably June 28. She was born in Düsseldorf, the second daughter of Johann III of the House of La Marck, Duke of Jüliich-Cleves, and Berg. Johann III was also Count of Mark, and Ravensberg. Johann held the titles Duke of Jüliich, Berg and Count of Ravensberg jure uxoris which means by right of his wife Maria, Duchess of Julich-Berg (1491–1543).

Anne’s mother Maria of Jülich-Berg (August 3, 1491 – August 29, 1543) was born in Jülich, the daughter of Wilhelm IV, Duke of Jülich-Berg and Sibylle of Brandenburg, a daughter of Elector Albrecht III Achilles of Brandenburg (1414–1486) from his second marriage to Anna (1436–1512), daughter of the Elector Friedrich II of Saxony.

Maria came from the line of German princesses that stretched back to Sybille of Brandenberg, Sophia of Saxony, and Adelaide of Teck. Maria became heiress to her father’s estates of Jülich, Berg and Ravensberg after his death in 1511. In her marriage to Johann III, Duke of Cleves in 1509, Maria’s estates and titles were eventually merged with the Duchy of Cleves. Johann, who inherited the Duchy of Cleves-Mark in 1521, then became the first ruler of the United Duchies of Jülich-Cleves-Berg, which would exist until 1666.

At the age of 11 (1527), Anne was betrothed to François son and heir of Antoine, Duke of Lorraine while he was only 10. Thus the betrothal was considered unofficial and was cancelled in 1535. The Duke of Cleves ongoing dispute over Gelderland with Holy Roman Emperor Charles V made them suitable allies for England’s King Henry VIII. The match with Anne was urged on the King by his chief minister, Thomas Cromwell.

The artist Hans Holbein the Younger was dispatched to Düren to paint portraits of Anne and her younger sister, Amalia, each of whom Henry was considering as his fourth wife. Henry required the artist to be as accurate as possible, not to flatter the sisters. Negotiations with Cleves were in full swing by March 1539. Cromwell oversaw the talks and a marriage treaty was signed on October 4 of that year.

Henry valued education and cultural sophistication in women, but Anne lacked these. She had received no formal education but was skilled in needlework and liked playing card games. She could read and write, but only in German. Nevertheless, Anne was considered gentle, virtuous and docile, which is why she was recommended as a suitable candidate for Henry.

Anne was described by the French ambassador, Charles de Marillac, as tall and slim, “of middling beauty and of very assured and resolute countenance”. She was fair haired and was said to have had a lovely face. In the words of the chronicler Edward Hall, “Her hair hanging down, which was fair, yellow and long … she was apparelled after the English fashion, with a French hood, which so set forth her beauty and good visage, that every creature rejoiced to behold her”. She appeared rather solemn by English standards, and looked old for her age. Holbein painted her with high forehead, heavy-lidded eyes and a pointed chin.

Henry met her privately on New Year’s Day 1540 at Rochester Abbey on her journey from Dover. Henry and some of his courtiers, following a courtly-love tradition, went disguised into the room where Anne was staying.

According to the testimony of his companions, Henry was disappointed with Anne, feeling she was not as described. According to the chronicler Charles Wriothesley, Anne “regarded him little”, though it is unknown if she knew if this was the king or not upon their first meeting at Rochester Abbey. In Anne’s defense, Henry did not reveal his true identity to Anne at this first meeting where the king was appearing in cog nito. Although Henry VIII is said to have been put off the marriage from then on.

Henry and Anne then met officially on January 3, at Blackheath outside the gates of Greenwich Park, where a grand reception was laid out. Most historians believe that he later used Anne’s alleged “bad” appearance and failure to inspire him to consummate the marriage as excuses, saying how he felt he had been misled, for everyone had praised Anne’s attractions: “She is nothing so fair as she hath been reported”, he complained. Cromwell received some of the blame for the portrait by Holbein which Henry believed had not been an accurate representation of Anne and for some of the exaggerated reports of her beauty. When the king finally met Anne, he was reportedly shocked by her plain appearance; the marriage was never consummated.

Henry urged Cromwell to find a legal way to avoid the marriage but, by this point, doing so was impossible without endangering the vital alliance with the Germans. In his anger and frustration the King finally turned on Cromwell, to his subsequent regret.

Despite Henry’s very vocal misgivings, the two were married on January 6, 1540 at the royal Palace of Placentia in Greenwich, London, by Archbishop Thomas Cranmer. The phrase “God send me well to keep” was engraved around Anne’s wedding ring. Immediately after arriving in England, Anne conformed to the Anglican form of worship, which Henry expected. The couple’s first night as husband and wife was not a successful one. Henry confided to Cromwell that he had not consummated the marriage, saying, “I liked her before not well, but now I like her much worse.”

In February 1540, speaking to the Countess of Rutland, Anne praised the King as a kind husband, saying: “When he comes to bed he kisseth me, and he taketh me by the hand, and biddeth me ‘Good night, sweetheart’; and in the morning kisseth me and biddeth ‘Farewell, darling.'” Lady Rutland responded: “Madam, there must be more than this, or it will be long ere we have a duke of York, which all this realm most desireth.”

Anne was commanded to leave the Court on June 24, and on July 6, she was informed of her husband’s decision to reconsider the marriage. Witness statements were taken from a number of courtiers and two physicians which register the king’s disappointment at her appearance. Henry had also commented to Thomas Heneage and Anthony Denny that he could not believe she was a virgin.

Shortly afterwards, Anne was asked for her consent to an annulment, to which she agreed. Cromwell, the moving force behind the marriage, was attainted for treason. The marriage was annulled on July 9, 1540, on the grounds of non-consummation and her pre-contract to Francis of Lorraine. Henry VIII’s physician stated that after the wedding night, Henry said he was not impotent because he experienced “duas pollutiones nocturnas in somno” (two nocturnal pollutions while in sleep; i.e., two wet dreams).

Cromwell was arrested at a Council meeting on June 10, 1540 and accused of various charges. He was imprisoned in the Tower. A Bill of Attainder containing a long list of indictments, including supporting Anabaptists, corrupt practices, leniency in matters of justice, acting for personal gain, protecting Protestants accused of heresy and thus failing to enforce the Act of Six Articles, and plotting to marry Lady Mary Tudor, was introduced into the House of Lords a week later and passed on June 29, 1540.

Cromwell was condemned to death without trial, lost all his titles and properties. Hoping for clemency, Cromwell wrote in support of the annulment, in his last personal address to the King. He ended the letter: “Most gracious Prince, I cry for mercy, mercy, mercy.” Cromwell was publicly beheaded on Tower Hill on July 28, 1540, on the same day as the King’s marriage to Catherine Howard. Cromwell made a prayer and speech on the scaffold, professing to die, “in the traditional faith” [Catholic] and denying that he had aided heretics.

The circumstances of his execution are a source of debate: whilst some accounts state that the executioner had great difficulty severing the head, others claim that this is apocryphal and that it took only one blow. Afterwards, his head was set on a spike on London Bridge.

Anne was not crowned queen consort. Following the annulment, she was given a generous settlement by the King, and thereafter referred to as the King’s Beloved Sister. She lived to see the coronation of Queen Mary I, outliving the rest of Henry’s wives.

Anne died at Chelsea Old Manor on July 16, 1557, eight weeks before her forty-second birthday. The most likely cause of her death was cancer. She was buried in Westminster Abbey, on August 3, in what has been described as a “somewhat hard to find tomb” on the opposite side of Edward the Confessor’s shrine and slightly above eye level for a person of average height. She is the only wife of Henry VIII to be buried in the Abbey.

Unification of the Kingdom of Spain: Part II. November 26, 1504 the death of Queen Isabella I of Castile.

Tags

Carlos I of Spain, Charles V, Ferdinand and Isabella, Ferdinand II of Aragon, Holy Roman Emperor, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Empire, Isabella I of Castile, Isabella of Spain, Joanna of Castile, Philip II of Spain, Unification of Spain

Philipp of Habsburg was the son of Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I by his first wife Mary, Duchess of Burgundy in her own right. Philipp was less than four years old when his mother died, and upon her death, he inherited the greater part of the Duchy of Burgundy and the Burgundian Netherlands as Philippe IV. In 1496, his father arranged for him to marry Joanna of Castile, second daughter of Fernando II-V and Isabella I, rulers of Aragon and Castile respectively.

At Isabella’s death on November 26, 1504 and the crown of Castile passed to their daughter Joanna, by the terms of their prenuptial agreement and Isabella‘s last will and testament, and her husband Fernando lost his monarchical status in Castile. Joanna’s husband Philipp of Habsburg, Duke of Burgundy became de jure uxoris King of Castile, as Felipe I, but died in 1506, and Joanna ruled in her own right.

Isabella I, Queen of Castile.

In 1504, after a war with France, Fernando became King of Naples as Ferdinand III, reuniting Naples with Sicily permanently and for the first time since 1458. In 1506, as part of a treaty with France, Fernando (aged 54) married Germaine of Foix of France (aged 18). Germaine’s father was Jean of Foix, Viscount of Narbonne and son of Queen Eleanor of Navarre. Her mother, Marie of Orléans, was the sister of King Louis XII of France. Sadly, Fernando’s only son and child of this union, Juan, Prince of Girona born on May 3, 1509, but died shortly after birth. (Had the child survived, the personal union of the crowns of Aragon and Castile would have ceased.) In 1512, Fernando became King of Navarre by conquest.

As mentioned, Fernando II, lost his monarchical status in Castile although his wife’s will permitted him to govern in Joanna’s absence or, if Joanna was unwilling to rule herself, until Joanna’s heir (Infante Carlos) reached the age of 20.

Fernando refused to accept this, therefore he minted Castilian coins in the name of “Fernando and Joanna, King and Queen of Castile, León and Aragon,” and, in early 1505, persuaded the Cortes that Joanna’s “illness is such that the said Queen Doña Joanna our Lady cannot govern”. The Cortes then appointed Ferdinand as Joanna’s guardian and the kingdom’s administrator and governor.

Fernando II-V, King of Aragon and Castile.

Joanna’s husband, Philipp of Habsburg was unwilling to accept any threat to his chances of ruling Castile and also minted coins in the name of “Felipe and Joanna, King and Queen of Castile, Léon and Archdukes of Austria, etc.” In response, Ferdinand embarked upon a pro-French policy, marrying Germaine de Foix, niece of Louis XII of France (and his own great-niece), in the hope that she would produce a son to inherit Aragon and perhaps Castile.

Fernando’s remarriage merely strengthened support for Felipe and Joanna in Castile, and in late 1505, the pair decided to travel to Castile. Leaving Flanders on January 10, 1506, their ships were wrecked on the English coast and the couple were guests of Henry, Prince of Wales, (later Henry VIII) and Joanna’s sister Catherine of Aragon at Windsor Castle. They weren’t able to leave until April 21, by which time civil war was looming in Castile.

Felipe apparently considered landing in Andalusia and summoning the nobles to take up arms against Ferdinand in Aragon. Instead, he and Joanna landed at A Coruña on April 26, whereupon the Castilian nobility abandoned Fernando en masse. Fernando met Felipe at Villafáfila on 27 of June 1506 for a private interview in the village church. To the general surprise Ferdinand had unexpectedly handed over the government of Castile to his “most beloved children”, promising to retire to Aragon. Felipe and Fernando then signed a second treaty secretly, agreeing that Joanna’s “infirmities and sufferings” made her incapable of ruling and promising to exclude her from government and deprive the Queen of crown and freedom.

Felipe I, King of Castile, Duke of Burgundy and Archduke of Austria.

Joanna, Queen of Castile.

Fernando promptly repudiated the second agreement the same afternoon, declaring that Joanna should never be deprived of her rights as Queen Proprietress of Castile. A fortnight later, having come to no fresh agreement with Felipe, and thus effectively retaining his right to interfere if he considered his daughter’s rights to have been infringed upon, he abandoned Castile for Aragon, leaving Felipe to govern in Joanna’s stead.

Felipe’s death

By virtue of the agreement of Villafáfila, the procurators of the Cortes met in Valladolid, Castile on July 9, 1506. On 12 July, they swore allegiance to Felipe I and Joanna together as King and Queen of Castile and León and to their son Carlos as their heir-apparent. This arrangement only lasted for a few months.

On September 25, 1506, Felipe died after a five-day illness in the city of Burgos in Castile. The official cause of death was typhoid fever. The general opinion publicly declared was that his father-in-law Fernando II, who had always disliked his foreign Habsburg origins and with whom he never wanted to share power, had had him poisoned by “bocado.” Joanna was pregnant with their sixth child, a daughter named Catherine (1507–1578), who later became Queen of Portugal as the spouse of King João III of Portugal (1521-1557).

Fernando II and Joanna met at Hornillos, Castile on July 30, 1507. Fernando then constrained her to yield her power over the Kingdom of Castile and León to himself. On August 17, 1507, three members of the royal council were summoned – supposedly in her name – and ordered to inform the grandees of her father Fernando II’s return to power: “That they should go to receive his highness and serve him as they would her person and more.” However, she made it evident that this was against her will, by refusing to sign the instructions and issuing a statement that as queen regnant she did not endorse the surrender of her own royal powers.

Nonetheless, she was thereafter queen in name only, and all documents, though issued in her name, were signed with Fernando’s signature, “I the King”. He was named administrator of the kingdom by the Cortes of Castile in 1510, and entrusted the government mainly to Archbishop Cisneros. He had Joanna confined in the Royal Palace in Tordesillas, near Valladolid in Castile, in February 1509 after having dismissed all of her faithful servants and having appointed a small retinue accountable to him alone. At this time, some accounts claim that she was insane or “mad”, and that she took her husband’s corpse with her to Tordesillas to keep it close to her.

Fernando II ended his days embittered: his second marriage to Germaine de Foix had failed to produce a surviving male heir, leaving his daughter Joanna as his heiress-presumptive. Fernando resented that upon his death, Castile and Aragon would effectively pass to his foreign-born-and-raised grandson Carlos to whom he had transferred his hatred of Felipe I. He had hoped that his younger grandson and namesake, Archduke Ferdinand who was Carlos I’s brother and had been born and raised in Castile, would succeed him. Fernando named Ferdinand as his heir in his will before being persuaded to revoke this bequest and rename Joanna and Carlos as his heirs-presumptive instead.

When Fernando II died in 1516, the Kingdoms of Castile and León, and Aragon and their associated crowns and territories/colonies, would pass to Joanna I and her son as King Carlos I. With Carlos still in Flanders, Aragon was being governed after Fernando II’s death by his bastard son, Alonso de Aragón. Meanwhile, Castile and León, already subjects of Joanna, were governed by Archbishop Cisneros as regent. A group of nobles, led by the Duke of Infantado, attempted to proclaim the Archduke Ferdinand as King of Castile but the attempt failed.

Carlos I/Karl V, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Spain, Duke of Burgundy and Archduke of Austria.

In October 1517, seventeen-year-old Carlos I arrived in Asturias at the Bay of Biscay. On November 4, he and his sister Eleanor met their mother Joanna at Tordesillas – there they secured from her the necessary authorisation to allow Carlos to rule as her co-King of Castile and León and of Aragon. Despite her acquiescence to his wishes, her confinement would continue. The Castilian Cortes, meeting in Valladolid, insulted Carlos by addressing him only as Su Alteza (Your Highness) and reserving Majestad (Majesty) for Joanna. However, no one seriously considered rule by Joanna a realistic proposition.

In 1519, Carlos I now ruled the Kingdom of Aragon and its territories and the Kingdom of Castile and León and its territories, in personal union. In addition, that same year Carlos was elected Holy Roman Emperor as Karl V. The kingdoms of Castile and Aragon (and Navarre) remained in personal union. Carlos I is recognized as the first king of a United Spain. It is interesting to note that during the regency of Fernando II-V, many called him the King of Spain as distinct from his daughter Joanna, “queen of Castile”. Despite Carlos ruling over the main Spanish kingdoms, the crowns of the Kingdoms of Castile and León and Aragon were still ruled in personal union of the king and were not legally united into a single Kingdom of Spain until the Bourbon King Felipe V in the early 18th century.

Felipe V signed the Decreto de Nueva Planta in 1715. This new law revoked most of the historical rights and privileges of the different kingdoms that formed the Spanish Crown, especially the Crown of Aragon, unifying them under the laws of Castile, thus unifying Spain under one legal system.

Carlos I eventually abdicated as Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire in favour of his brother Ferdinand, and the personal union with the Spanish kingdoms was dissolved. In Spain Carlos’s son became the new Spanish king as Felipe II.

Lady Jane Grey, Queen of England: Part II.

Tags

Charles V, Duke of Northumberland, Duke of Suffolk, Edward VI of England, Holy Roman Empire, House of Tudor, King of Spain, Lady Jane Grey, Philip II of Spain, Privy Council, Queen Jane

After Jane was proclaimed Queen she refused to name her husband Dudley as king, because that would require an Act of Parliament. She would agree only to make him Duke of Clarence. This was all to the chagrin of her father-in-law, the Duke of Northumberlan, who desired to be the power behind the throne.

The Duke of Northumberland faced a number of key tasks to consolidate his power after Edward VI’s death. Most importantly, he had to isolate and, ideally, capture Mary Tudor, the rightful heir, to prevent her from gathering support. As soon as Mary was sure of King Edward’s demise, she left her residence at Hunsdon and set out to East Anglia, where she began to rally her supporters. Northumberland set out from London with troops on July 14 with the intent to capture Mary. The Privy Council switched their allegiance and proclaimed Mary queen in London, on July 19.

The historical consensus assumes that this was in recognition of overwhelming support of the population for Mary. However, there is no clear evidence for that outside Norfolk and Suffolk, where Northumberland had put down Kett’s Rebellion; hence, where princess Mary sought refuge. Rather, it seems that Henry FitzAlan, 19th Earl of Arundel—whom Northumberland had arrested and detained twice as an ally of Somerset, before rehabilitating—engineered a coup d’etat in the Privy Council in Northumberland’s absence.

Jane is often called the Nine-Day Queen, although if her reign is dated from the moment of Edward VI’s death on July 6, 1553, her reign could have been a few days longer. On July 19, 1553, Jane was imprisoned in the Tower’s Gentleman Gaoler’s apartments, her husband in the Beauchamp Tower. The Duke of Northumberland was executed on August 22, 1553. In September, Parliament declared Mary the rightful successor and denounced and revoked Jane’s proclamation as that of a usurper.

Mary I, Queen of England and Ireland.

Trial and execution

Referred to by the court as Jane Dudley, wife of Guildford, Jane was charged with high treason, as were her husband, two of his brothers, and the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer. Their trial, by a special commission, took place on November 13, 1553, at Guildhall in the City of London. The commission was chaired by Sir Thomas White, Lord Mayor of London, and Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk. Other members included Edward Stanley, 3rd Earl of Derby and John Bourchier, 2nd Earl of Bath. As was to be expected, all defendants were found guilty and sentenced to death. Jane’s guilt, of having treacherously assumed the title and the power of the monarch, was evidenced by a number of documents she had signed as “Jane the Quene”. Her sentence was to “be burned alive on Tower Hill or beheaded as the Queen pleases” (burning was the traditional English punishment for treason committed by women). The imperial ambassador reported to Holy Roman Emperor Carl V, (King Carlos I of Spain), that her life was to be spared.

The rebellion of Thomas Wyatt the Younger in January 1554 against Queen Mary I’s marriage plans with Felipe II of Spain sealed Jane’s fate. Her father, Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk, and his two brothers joined the rebellion, and so the government decided to go through with the verdict against Jane and Guildford. Their execution was first scheduled for 9 February 1554, but was then postponed for three days to give Jane a chance to convert to the Catholic faith. Mary sent her chaplain John Feckenham to Jane, who was initially not pleased about this. Though she would not give in to his efforts “to save her soul”, she became friends with him and allowed him to accompany her to the scaffold.

The Execution of Lady Jane Grey, by the French painter Paul Delaroche, 1National Gallery, London.

On the morning of February 12, 1554, the authorities took Guildford from his rooms at the Tower of London to the public execution place at Tower Hill, where he was beheaded. A horse and cart brought his remains back to the Tower, past the rooms where Jane was staying. Seeing her husband’s corpse return, Jane is reported to have exclaimed: “Oh, Guildford, Guildford.” She was then taken out to Tower Green, inside the Tower, to be beheaded.

According to the account of her execution given in the anonymous Chronicle of Queen Jane and of Two Years of Queen Mary, which formed the basis for Raphael Holinshed’s depiction, Jane gave a speech upon ascending the scaffold:

“Good people, I am come hither to die, and by a law I am condemned to the same. The fact, indeed, against the Queen’s highness was unlawful, and the consenting thereunto by me: but touching the procurement and desire thereof by me or on my behalf, I do wash my hands thereof in innocency, before God, and the face of you, good Christian people, this day.”

While admitting to action considered unlawful, she declared that “I do wash my hands thereof in innocence.” Jane then recited Psalm 51 (Have mercy upon me, O God) in English, and handed her gloves and handkerchief to her maid. The executioner asked her forgiveness, which she granted him, pleading: “I pray you dispatch me quickly.” Referring to her head, she asked, “Will you take it off before I lay me down?”, and the axeman answered: “No, madam.” She then blindfolded herself. Jane then failed to find the block with her hands, and cried, “What shall I do? Where is it?” Probably Sir Thomas Brydges, the Deputy Lieutenant of the Tower, helped her find her way. With her head on the block, Jane spoke the last words of Jesus as recounted by Luke: “Lord, into thy hands I commend my spirit.”

Jane and Guildford are buried in the Chapel of St Peter ad Vincula on the north side of Tower Green. No memorial stone was erected at their grave. Jane’s father, the Duke of Suffolk, was executed 11 days after Jane, on 23 February 1554. Her mother, the Duchess of Suffolk, married her Master of the Horse and chamberlain, Adrian Stokes, in March 1555 (not, as often said, three weeks after the execution of the Duke of Suffolk). She was fully pardoned by Mary and allowed to live at Court with her two surviving daughters. She died in 1559.

Abdication, a royal tradition?

Tags

1936 Abdication Crisis, Abdication, Charles V, Czar Nicholas II, Elizabeth II, Grand Duchess Charlotte, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg, Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg, Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom, King Felipe II of Spain, Kingdom of the Netherlnads, Marie-Adélaïde, Philip II of Spain, Queen Elizabeth II

With the abdication announcement from Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands earlier this week I began to look at the history and tradition of abdication within all monarchies, not just the Netherlands. I grabbed a note-book and began listing the Emperors, Empresses, Kings and Queens etc, that have abdicated through the centuries. Wow, there were many more than I realized. Too many to mention in this blog post. One thing I have noticed is that there were many forced abdication in the past centuries and few voluntary abdication. Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, King of Spain is an example of a voluntary abdication. In the past, abdication were overwhelmingly done for political and not personal reasons.

For a few years Queen Christina of Sweden (1632-1654) desired to abdicate citing she wanted to rest and she was tired of being pressured into marriage. At first her councilors objected but in 1654 she abdicated in favor of her cousin who became King Carl X Gustaf of Sweden. Health problems, in the form of gout, moved Holy Roman Emperor Charles V to abdicate his thrones. He gave spain to his son who became Felipe II of Spain and the Holy Roman Empire went to his brother Ferdinand.

These are a couple of examples of voluntary abdication. Often monarchs have abdicated because they had little choice. Emperor Nicholas II of Russia is a prime example. His country was in shambles because of World War I and he was not popular and with the rise of the provisional government his abdication was essential for a smooth transition. His cousin, German Emperor Wilhelm II (1888-1918) refused to abdicate the throne as his empire was crumbling at his feet. His Imperial Chancellor, Prince Maximilian of Baden, announced the Emperor’s abdication for him, which outraged the Emperor. Wilhelm II eventually signed abdication papers weeks later after he was in exile.

I see the abdication of King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland as a semi-voluntary choice. Yes, he had a choice and as we all know he chose to abdicate to be with the woman he loved. He lived in a time were marrying an American who was twice divorced was socially unacceptable. He did have a choice but one that really wasn’t fair in my opinion.

It was in the 20th century where monarchies began to see abdication by voluntary means. Luxembourg has a tradition of abdication that began with the abdication of Marie-Adélaïde, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg in 1919. Marie-Adélaïde’s abdication to her younger sister Charlotte was not voluntary. It was due to political pressure resulting from her cordial relationship with the Germans that occupied Luxembourg during World War I. In 1964 her sister, Grand Duchess Charlotte voluntarily abdicated to her son Jean. In 2000 Grand Duke Jean abdicated the throne in favor of Henri, Luxembourg’s reigning Grand Duke.

In Britain Elizabeth II will never abdicate. The abdication crisis left a sour taste in her mouth and her coronation oath and her dedication to duty will not leave abdication as an option. This is the case for most of the remaining monarchies of Europe. Next week I want to look more in-depth at the Kingdom of the Netherlands where a tradition of abdication has developed. I also want to look at the pros and cons of abdication itself.

Tuesday I will continue my examination of the Legal Succession to the throne and on Thursday of next week I will continue to look at the concept of Abdication.