The Tales Of The Heptameron, Vol. I. (of V.)
Page 5
IV.
_Margaret's attachment to her daughter--Refusal of Jane to marry the Duke of Cleves--Intervention of Margaret--The wedding at Chatelherault and the fall of the Constable de Montmorency--Margaret and her husband at Caulerets--The "Heptameron"--Illness and death of Francis I.--Margaret's anxiety and grief--Her "Marguerites de la Marguerite"--Jane d'Albret's second marriage--Death of Margaret at Odos or Audaux----Her funeral at Lescar--Destruction of her tomb_.
Whilst Margaret was living amongst divines and scholars at Pau andNerac, her mind, as her letters indicate, constantly turned to herdaughter Jane, whom Aimee de la Fayette, wife of the Bailiff of Caen,was bringing up at Plessis-les-Tours. Margaret was only able to see Janeat rare intervals during some of her trips to France, and she was mainlyindebted to sympathising friends for news of the little Princess'scondition and health. All her maternal tenderness was concentrated onthis daughter, and whenever the child was ailing she became distracted.
Sainte-Marthe records that in December 1537, while Margaret wassojourning in Paris, her daughter, then scarcely nine years old, fellseriously ill at the royal house of Plessis-les-Tours; and as itwas rumoured amongst the Court, then at Paris, that the Princess wasthreatened with death, her virtuous mother, Margaret, at about fouro'clock in the evening, ordered her litter to be brought, saying thatshe would go and see her daughter, and that all her people shouldprepare to start. There was nothing ready, the officials and servantswere absent, and scattered about the town of Paris and the neighbouringvillages. It was already dark, for this was during the shortest daysof the year, the weather too was adverse on account of the rain, andneither her litter nor her baggage mules were at hand. Seeing this, thecourageous Queen borrowed the litter of Madame Margaret, her niece,(1)got in it, and contenting herself with scant escort, started from Parisand went as far as Bourg-la-Reine.
1 The daughter of Francis I., subsequently Duchess of Savoy.
"When they had arrived there she did not alight at her lodgings, butwent straight to the church, which she at once entered, saying tothose about her, that her heart told her I know not what concerning herdaughter's fate, and affectionately begging them all to withdraw andleave her alone for an hour in the church. All obeyed and in greatuneasiness waited for their mistress at the church door; the Senechalede Poitou,(1) a very faithful lady, and very solicitous about Margaret,alone entering with her. Margaret having gone in, kneels down beforethe image of Jesus crucified, prays to God from the depths of her heart,sighs, weeps, confesses all her transgressions, and laying to herselfalone the cause of her daughter's illness, humbly asks pardon, and begsthat the sufferer's restoration to health may be granted. After thisact of faith Margaret felt relieved, and she had scarcely arrived ather lodgings when the Bishop of Mende came to announce to her that herdaughter was in the way of recovery." (2)
1 Brantome's grandmother.
2 Oraison funebre, &c, p. 38.
When Jane was barely twelve years old Charles V. asked her in marriagefor his son Philip, but Francis, who was by no means anxious to see theSpaniards established on the northern side of the Pyrenees, preferredthat the girl should marry William III., Duke of Cleves. It hasfrequently been asserted that Francis on this occasion exercisedcompulsion not only upon his niece, but also upon the King and Queen ofNavarre, who vainly protested against this abuse of power. The truthis, that Margaret not only favoured the marriage, but threatened to haveJane whipped if she persisted in her refusal. Moreover, the little bridehaving declared to Francis I. that she protested against the alliance,Margaret wrote to her brother as follows:--
"My Lord, in my extreme desolation, I have only one single comfort, itis that of knowing with certainty that neither the King of Navarre normyself have ever had any other wish or intention than that of obeyingyou, not only as regards a marriage, but in whatever you might order.But now, my lord, having heard that my daughter, neither recognising thegreat honour you do her in deigning to visit her, nor the obedience thatshe owes you, nor that a girl should have no will of her own, has spokento you so madly as to say to you that she begged of you she might not bemarried to M. de Cleves, I do not know, my lord, either what I ought tothink of it, or what I ought to say to you about it, for I am grieved tothe heart, and have neither relative nor friend in the world from whomI can seek advice or consolation. And the King of Navarre is on hispart so amazed and grieved at it that I have never seen him before soprovoked. I cannot imagine whence comes this great boldness, of whichshe had never spoken to us. She excuses herself towards us in that sheis more intimate with you than with ourselves, but this intimacy shouldnot give rise to such boldness, without ever as I know seeking advicefrom any one, for if I knew any creature who had put such an idea intoher head, I would make such a demonstration that you, my lord, wouldknow that this madness is contrary to the will of the father and mother,who have never had, and never will have, any other than your own." (1)
The rebellion of Jane did not prevent the marriage, which was solemnisedat Chatelherault on July 15th, 1540. According to some authorities,Francis was so determined upon the alliance that he required the Dukeof Cleves to enter his bride's bed in the presence of witnesses, so thatthe marriage should be deemed beyond annulment.(2)
1 _Nouvelles Lettres, &c._, p. 176.
2 Henri Martin's _Histoire de France_. The marriage, however, was not really consummated (_Nouvelles Lettres, &c._, pp. 236, 237), and it was eventually annulled by Pope Paul III., to whom Francis applied for a divorce when the Duke of Cleves deserted his cause for that of Charles V.
It was at Chatelherault on this occasion that Margaret triumphed overthe Constable de Montmorency, who in earlier years had been herclose friend, and with whom she had carried on such a voluminouscorrespondence. Montmorency had requited her good services withingratitude, repeatedly endeavouring to estrange Francis from her.Brantome gives an instance of this in the following passage:--"I haveheard related," he says, "by a person of good faith that the Constablede Montmorency, then in the highest favour, speaking of this matterof religion one day with the King, made no difficulty or scruple abouttelling him, that 'if he really wished to exterminate the hereticsof his kingdom, he ought to begin at his Court and with his nearestrelatives, mentioning the Queen his sister,' to which the King replied,'Do not speak of her; she loves me too much. She will never believeanything save what I believe, and will never take up a religionprejudicial to the State.'" (1)
1 _OEuvres de Brantome_, 8vo, vol. v. (_Dames illustres_), p. 219.
As soon as Margaret became aware of Montmorency's conduct she ceasedall correspondence with him and steadily endeavoured to effect hisoverthrow, which was brought about on the occasion of Jane's marriage."It was necessary to carry the little bride to the church," saysBrantome, "as she was laden with jewels and a dress of gold and silver,and owing to this and the weakness of her body, was not able to walk. Sothe King ordered the Constable to take his little niece and carry her tothe church, at which all the Court were greatly astonished, for at sucha ceremony this was a duty little suited and honourable for a Constable,and might very well have been given to another. However, the Queen ofNavarre was in no way displeased, but said, 'Behold! he who wished toruin me with the King my brother now serves to carry my daughter tochurch.' The Constable," adds Brantome, "was greatly displeased at thetask, and sorely vexed to serve as such a spectacle to every one; and hebegan to say, 'It is now all over with my favour. Farewell to it.'Thus it happened, for after the wedding festival and dinner he had hisdismissal and left at once." (1)
After the marriage of her daughter Margaret returned to Paris, andthence repaired to Mont-de-Marsan to spend the winter of 1540-41. Latein the following spring she went to Cauterets in the Pyrenees to takethe baths. Writing during Lent to her brother she states that herhusband having had a fall will repair to Cauterets by the advice of hisdoctors,(2) and that she intends to accompany him to prevent him fromworrying an
d to transact his business for him, "for when one is at thebaths one must live like a child without any care." (3)
1 _OEuvres de Brantome_, 8vo, vol. v. (_Dames illustres_), p. 220.
2 Henry d'Albret had already undergone treatment at the Pyrenean baths after his escape from Pavia, when, however, he stayed at Eaux-Bonnes.
3 Genin's _Nouvelles Lettres, &c._, p. 189.
This was not her only motive in going to Cauterets apparently, for ina letter to Duke William of Cleves, her daughter's husband, dated April1541, she states that as she is suffering from a _caterre_ which "hasfallen upon half her neck," and compels her to keep her bed, the doctorshave advised her to take "the natural baths," and hope that she willbe cured by the end of May, providing she follows all theirprescriptions.(1)
1 A. de Ruble's _Mariage de Jeanne d' Albret_, Paris, 1877, p. 86, et seq.
That this visit to Cauterets left a deep impression upon the mind ofMargaret is evidenced by the work upon which her literary fame rests.The scene selected for the prologue of the _Heptameron_ is Cauteretsand the surrounding country; still it is evident that the book was notcommenced upon the occasion referred to, for in the prologue Margaretalludes to historical events which took place in 1543 and 1544, and shespeaks of them as being of recent occurrence at her time of writing. Nowwe know that in April 1544 she met her brother at Alencon, and made along stay in the duchy, and the probability is that she commenced the_Heptameron_ at that time. It was the work of several years, penned in adesultory style whilst Margaret was travelling about her northern duchyor her southern kingdom. Like all persons of high station, she journeyedin a litter, and Brantome informs us that her equipage was a modest one,for "she never had more than three baggage-mules and six for her twolitters, though she had two, three, or four chariots for her ladies." (1)Brantome--who it may be mentioned was brought up at Margaret's Courtunder the care of his grandmother, Louise de Daillon, wife of Andrew deVivonne, Seneschal of Poitou--also states that the Queen composed the_Heptameron_ mainly "in her litter, while journeying about, for she hadmore important occupations when she was at home. I have thus heard itrelated by my grandmother, who always went with her in her litter as herlady of honour, and held the escritoire with which she wrote, and sheset them (the stories) down in writing as speedily and skilfully as ifthey had been dictated to her, if not more so." (2)
1 Lalanne's _OEuvres de Brantome_, 1875, vol. ii. p. 214.
2 _Ibid_., vol. viii. p. 226.
In 1545 and 1546 we find Margaret in Beam, whence she addresses New Yearepistles to her brother expressing her sorrow at being separatedfrom him. In the spring of the latter year she visits him atPlessis-les-Tours. The King of France--contrary to all tradition--enjoysat this period as good health as the most robust man in his kingdom.(1)In 1547 Margaret repairs to a convent at Tusson in the Angoumois tospend Lent there, and soon afterwards is despatching courier aftercourier to the Court at Rambouillet for news of Francis, who is dying.Such is her anguish of suspense that she exclaims, "Whoever comes tomy door to announce to me the cure of the King my brother, were such amessenger weary, tired, muddy, and dirty, I would embrace and kiss himlike the cleanest prince and gentleman in France; and if he lacked a bedand could not find one to repose upon, I would give him mine, and wouldsleep on the floor for the sake of the good news he brought me." (2)
1 _Lettres de Marguerite, &c._, p. 473.
2 _OEuvres de Brantome_, 8vo, vol. v. p. 233.
No one, however, had the courage to tell her the truth. It was a poormaniac who by her tears gave her to understand that the King was nolonger alive. Sainte-Marthe records the incident as follows: "Now theday that Francis was taken away from us (Margaret herself has since toldme so), she thought whilst sleeping that she saw him looking pale, andcalling for her in a sad voice, which she took for a very evil sign; andfeeling doubtful about it, she sent several messengers to the Court toascertain the condition of the King her brother, but not a single one ofthem returned to her. One day, her brother having again appeared to herwhile she was asleep (he had already been dead fifteen days), (1) sheasked the members of her household if they had heard any news of theKing.
1 Francis I. died March 31, 1547.
"They replied to her that he was very well, and she then went to thechurch. On her way there she summoned Thomas le Coustellier, a young manof good intelligence and her secretary, and as she was telling him thesubstance of a letter that she wished to write to a Princess of theCourt, to obtain from her some news of the King's health, she heard onthe other side of the cloister a nun, whose brain was somewhat turned,lamenting and weeping loudly. Margaret, naturally inclined to pity,hastened to this woman, asked her why she was weeping, and encouragedher to tell her whether she wished for anything. Then the nun began tolament still more loudly, and looking at the Queen, told her that shewas deploring her ill-fortune. When Margaret heard these words sheturned towards those who were with her, and said to them, 'You werehiding the King's death from me, but the Spirit of God has revealed itto me through this maniac.' This said, she turned to her room, kneltdown, and humbly thanked the Lord for all the goodness He was pleased toshow her." (1)
After losing her brother, Margaret remained in retirement at the conventof Tusson. She stayed there, says Brantome, for four months, leadinga most austere life and discharging the duties of abbess. She stillcontinued in retirement on her return to Beam, mainly occupying herselfwith literary work. It was in 1547, subsequent to the death of Francis,that John de la Haye, her secretary, published at Lyons her _Margueritesde la Marguerite_, poems which she had composed at various periods, andwhich De la Haye probably transcribed at her dictation.(2)
1 _Oraison funebre, &c._, p. 103.
2 Sainte-Marthe states that she would sit with two secretaries, one on either side, and dictate poetry to the one and letters to the other.
Margaret's daughter Jane was at this period at the Court of France,living in extravagant style, as is shown by the letters in whichMargaret declares that the Princess's expenditure is insupportable. Sheherself spent but little money upon personal needs, though she devotedconsiderable sums to charity. In October 1548 she emerged from herseclusion to attend the second marriage of her daughter, who now becamethe wife of Anthony de Bourbon, Duke of Vendome. From Moulins, where theceremony took place, Margaret repaired to the Court at Fontainebleau.Here all was changed: there was a new King, and Diana of Poitiersoccupied the position of the Duchess of Etampes. After returning to Beamfor Christmas, Margaret spent the Lent of 1549 in retreat at Tusson,where she apparently divided her time between prayer and literarylabour. She was still writing the _Heptameron_, as is shown by thesixty-sixth tale, which chronicles an adventure that befell her daughterand Anthony de Bourbon on their marriage trip during the winter of1548-49. It may be noted, too, that the scene of the sixty-ninth storyis laid at the Castle of Odos near Tarbes, and as Margaret came toreside at the castle in the autumn of 1549, this tale was probablywritten during her sojourn there. Whilst adding fresh stories to the_Heptameron_, she was not neglecting poetry, for from this period alsodates the _Miroir de Jesus Christ crucifie_, which Brother Olivierpublished in 1556, stating that it was the Queen's last work, and thatshe had handed it to him a few days before her death.
Margaret had long been in failing health and was growing extremely weak.Brantome, on the authority of his grandmother, states that when herapproaching death was announced to her, she found the monition a verybitter one, saying that she was not yet so aged but that she might livesome years longer. She was then in her fifty-eighth year. Sainte-Martherelates that shortly before her death she saw in a dream a verybeautiful woman holding in her hand a crown of all sorts of flowerswhich she showed to her, telling her that she would soon be crowned withit.(1)
1 _Oraison funebre, &c._, p. 104.
She interpreted this dream as signifying that her end was near, and fromthat day forward abandoned the administr
ation of her property to theKing of Navarre, refusing to occupy herself with any other matter thanthat of her approaching end. After dictating her will she fell into herfinal illness, which lasted twenty days according to some authorities,and eight according to others. It seized her one night at Odos whilstshe was watching a comet, which it was averred had appeared to notifythe death of Pope Paul III. "It was perhaps to presage her own," naivelyremarks Brantome, who adds that while she was looking at the comet hermouth suddenly became partially paralysed, whereupon her doctor, M.d'Escuranis, led her away and made her go to bed. Her death took placeon December 21st, 1549, and just before expiring she grasped a crucifixthat lay beside her and murmured, "Jesus, Jesus, Jesus." (1)
Although the King of Navarre had not always lived in perfect accord withhis wife, he none the less keenly felt the loss he had sustained by herdeath. Olhagaray represents him when deprived of Margaret as no longershowing the same firm purpose of life, but as sad, discontented, andaltering his plans at every trifle.(2) He gave orders that Margaret'sremains should be interred in the Cathedral of Lescar, some four and ahalf miles from the Chateau of Pau, with which it is said to havebeen at that time connected by a subterranean passage. Several of theNavarrese sovereigns had already been buried there, for the See was akind of primacy, the Bishops being _ex-officio_ presidents of the Statesof Beam.(3)
1 M. Lalanne, in his edition of Brantome's works, maintains that Margaret did not die at Odos, near Tarbes, but at Audaux, near Orthez, basing this contention on the fact that Brantome calls the castle "Audos in Beam," and that Odos is in Bigorre. Tradition, however, has always pointed to the latter locality, though, on the other hand, it is stated that less than half a century after Margaret's death Odos was nothing but a ruin, and had long been in that condition. In 1596 Henry IV. gave the property to John de Lassalle, by whose descendants the chateau was restored (Bascle de Lagreze's _Chateau de Pau, &c._).
2 _Histoire de Foix et de Bearn, &c._, p. 506.
3 Lescar having ceased to be a bishopric since 1790, its church, which still exists, no longer ranks as a cathedral.
It was in this quaint old cathedral church, dating, so archaeologistsassert, from the eleventh century, that Margaret's remains were interredwith all due pomp and ceremony. The Duchess of Estouteville headed theprocession, followed by the Duke of Montpensier, the Duke of Nevers,the Duke of Aumale, the Duke of Etampes, the Marquis of Maine, and M. deRohan. Then came the _grands deuils_ or chief mourners, led by the Dukeof Vendome, and three lords carrying the crown, sceptre, and hand ofjustice. The Viscount of Lavedan officiated as grand master of theceremonies, and special seats were assigned to the States of Navarre,Foix, Beam, and Bigorre, and to the chancellor, counsellors, and baronsof the country; whilst on a platform surrounded by lighted tapersthere was displayed an effigy of the Queen robed in black.(1) After theceremony a banquet was served in accordance with Bearnese custom, thechief mourners being invited to the Duke of Vendome's table, whilst theothers were served in different rooms.(2)
1 _Lettres de Marguerite (Pieces justificatives_. No. xi.).
2 Bascle de Lagreze's _Chateau de Pau, &c._
A few years later--in June 1555--the remains of King Henry, Margaret'shusband, were in turn brought to Lescar for burial. The tombs of husbandand wife, however, have alike vanished, having been swept away duringthe religious wars, when Lescar was repeatedly stormed and sacked, whenHuguenot and Catholic, in turn triumphant, vented their religious frenzyupon the graves of their former sovereigns; and to-day the only tombsto be found in the old cathedral are those of personages interred theresince the middle of the seventeenth century.
January 1893.