The Grand Duchy of the West - A Valois-Burgundian TL
- Thread starter BlueFlowwer
- Start date
Hie Bluefloweer ive been reading this Timeline and ive been loving it i just a few months ago finished a book called Burgundians : a vanished empire which has really got me into this period. got to admit i love this really looking forward to knowing what happens with Anne of Bouglone and Edward honestly as a Yorkist man i find myself prediposed aganist her and for ruining a good beachead aganist france. But life will be life i suppose. Wondering who shes going to marry becuase i cant figure out who she would marry.
Hi! Always good to find a new friend and I'm so happy you like this TL. I have the same book as well, even if most materials comes from my biography of Margaret of York. Anne of Boulogne is coming in the next chapter I think and you will see her husband then as well. I'm amazed that none has guessed who it is yet. We're gonna see Calais as well and things are gonna get a bit nasty there.
Chapter 37 - Boulogne from 1514 to 1516
Chapter 37 – Boulogne from 1514 to 1516
The marriage between the young Countess of Boulogne and the Count of Saint Pol took place in late June of 1514. The attending witnesses consisted of the groom’s younger sister, his mother, and a gathering of city elders and officials from both realms. Anne wore a dress of blue silk and cloth of gold, with a mantle of her family’s heraldry swept around her shoulders, and her thick brown hair cascaded down her back. The scarlet lion of Luxembourg roared from the standards held by the knights guarding the Basilica of Notre-Dame in Boulogne. This was a unusual marriage by the standards of the time, as the bride was betrothed to another Prince and the wedding took place in defiance of that. The dowager countess had been instrumental in arranging this match, and Marie of Luxembourg watched with deep satisfaction as her scheme bore fruit at last.
The death of her husband in 1507 had left her a widow with three children and their only son had been twelve years old at his father’s death. The protection of the Duke of Brabant had aided her greatly, as no one had challenged her regency for the few years before Peter had taken the reins of government himself. But the english entitlement had grated on her and the marriage of her eldest daughter to the Duke of Bedford had been even worse. Marie had planned a proper match for Marguerite, not the third son of the late english king. With her ducal connection, she had an even better future then just the eldest daughter of the Count of Saint Pol. And then the english had pressured her into the marriage with Bedford, a man whom seemed proud over lording over the heiress Marie had eyed for her boy for a long time. To mould the French ruling lady into a Englishwoman and recreate a smaller Plantagenet holding on these lands.
“Over my dead body” Marie snarled in her thoughts when Marguerite wedded Bedford, keeping her features pleasant during the ceremony. It had been an easy thing to persuade her brother-in-law to give her the custody of Anne during her childhood, his clever eyes peering at her from above the rim of his wine goblet at the time. Perhaps he had already known about her plans, being as devoted to the family of his only brother as his own. And since he had arranged the match between her and John in order for him to acquire her lands, this would not be strange in the least. This was after all the man who had held the Count of Nevers hostage in order to annex Rethel and give it and the heiress, another Marie, to his second son. Bedford had never assumed she was anything other then a proper lady, incapable of plots and schemes. Letting Peter and Anne grow up together had been easy, and spending time in the ducal court had left Bedford out of the loop. Her Marguerite had not been difficult to persuade either. Both Count and Countess had raised their children to put their own family first and the entitled English court and their proud Spanish queen had not made it too hard either.
While the marriage of 1514 took place, Bedford had been strategically distracted by his wife, whom had suggested they visit England in order to attend the christening of his niece, Katherine of York. The news would come a fortnight afterwards, knocking the court sideways. The future Princess of Wales had been lost and so had their claims to Boulogne. This would be an international humiliation to the whole kingdom.
Marie of Luxembourg, Dowager Countess of Saint Pol
The king quickly called his council together to make an assessment of the information rushing from Calais and the ambassadors in the region. Unfortunately, that proved harder than imagined, as the english officials had been purged from the County as soon as the marriage took place. Peter and Anne issued a crackdown on foreign ministers and had them incarcerated, to be used as leverage against England. Trusted men from Saint Pol and the county itself replaced them and at their wedding, the pair had received pledges of loyalty from assembled lords and ladies. This proved to be a most reliable powerbase to stand on. Thus, the english believed that it would be an easy task to retake Boulogne and dispatched Bedford with a force of 2,500 men across the channel at the end of July, while Marguerite was ordered to return to Brabant in order to raise support for the cause. That turned out to be a mistake, as she had no intention of aiding her husband against her brother. Calls went out all over Boulogne and Saint Pol for aid and even many knights and soldiers, as well peasants as in the neighbouring French regions answered the calls, marching from the cities of Rouen, Dieppe and Longueville in order to pay the english back for the brutal raids that went on from 1507 to 1510. With standards bearing images of Joan of Arc, several thousands joined the defence against the english, invoking the Maid of Orléans whom had been the driving force in expelling the Plantagenets from France decades earlier. The english army did not expect the fierce resistance they would encounter when they landed. Neither did they anticipate the betrayal of the duchess of Bedford. For she had revealed the landing positions and strategies to Peter, who in turn acted accordingly. Ambushes, raids and mobs wielding clubs, axes and other assortments of weapons lambasted them fiercely at their arrival in Calais.
Peter of Luxembourg, Count of Saint Pol and Boulogne or Peter the Lion as he was historically called by his contemporaries.
Knowing that a fast hit against the english could be the key to driving them back across the channel, Peter decided to engage Bedford early on. His fortune improved as their army caught a spell of dysentery and also the acts of his sister, something Bedford had still not realised. Her letters indicated that support from the Low Countries were on the way, but in reality, only a ducal envoy had been dispatched. Philip had no intention of aiding England against his beloved nephew, but neither did he intend to take an aggressive tone towards a key ally. Charles of Guelders would arrive in the County of Artois too late however. Peter struck the day before and the result would be impressive. The Duke of Bedford became a captive, along with two of his most trusted commanders, while many others were slain or injured. Upon hearing of the victory, many of the gathered French peasants became exuberated and marched to Calais, intending to bring destruction down on the last foothold of english power in France.
While the defence of Calais would hold it would exert a heavy price, as several hundred would be massacred, dying by the hands of english soldiers in an episode that would be called the Bloodbath of Calais.
Historically King Richard IV is believed to have said of the massacre:
“The Countess of Boulogne loved her Luxembourgian lord so much that she cast away a crown and the French peasants paid her dowry with corpses”
It’s clear from this quote that he held the opinion that Anne breaking the betrothal had led to this calamity and many in his court shared the sentiment. Queen Catherine fully agreed with her husband and bemoaned the fact that her precious son had nearly been wed to a “wicked and faithless jezebel with no regard to the sanctity of oaths”. Prince Richard expressed great shame in his fiancé and prayed that the marriage would be cursed. He also hoped that his next engagement would be a more splendid one that would “bring happiness to all of England”.
The massacre at Calais haunted the reputations of Englishmen for generations and it would increase the hatred of many in the regions against the Plantagenets. The countless dead lining the walls became holy martyrs in the eyes of many and the rallying cry of: “For the holy innocents whom perished at Calais”
would be heard years later when Calais fell at last.
The treachery of the Duchess of Bedford had come into the clear light of day as well. Thomas of York had been devastated upon finding out his own wife had a hand in his defeat and captivity and he fell into a depressive stupor. Meanwhile, Anne and Peter prepared negotiations with the York king to ensure their independence against the english crown. Bedford proved to be the most useful leverage, but a third party in the negotiations would be useful as well and Peter reached out to his uncle, Grand Duke Philip for aid. Philip was keen to prevent the alliance with England from breaking apart completely and to also help his nephew to safeguard his newly enlarged realm. Thus, he offered to mediate in negotiations. While the count and countess wanted England to recognise their independent and to dissolve Anne from all obligations in that kingdom, Richard wanted his brother back and a heavy sum in return for letting go of Boulogne. His demands also included that Marguerite of Saint Pol be forced to return to England where she would be held accountable for her treason. That part was unacceptable for Peter and Philip, both men who held their sister and niece dear. King Richard had moved quickly to confiscate her properties and income from England as punishment and threatened to demand the Pope annul her marriage to Thomas.
It would take Philip over three months to negotiate a peace treaty that was agreed upon by all partners. The Treaty of Gravelines outlined the following terms.
-England would abandon all claims to the County of Boulogne and to Anne of Boulogne and recognize the union with the County of Saint Pol as legitimate and true.
-Thomas of York would be released back to England at the payment of 50, 000 pounds along with his commanders.
-England would receive the payment of 150, 000 florins in return for the broken treaty of 1507 and the knights who had perished in the battles.
-The marriage between Marguerite and Thomas were to be annulled and while her personal possessions would be returned to her, she would lose all income from England and the right to her married title. She would be banned from English land in perpetuity, but the Yorks would not pursue her as long as she stayed away from the kingdom.
The sum itself was an extremely hefty one for Peter and Anne, but Philip offered to cover 80,000 of it himself, with a few conditions. Namely that they swore fealty to him as their liege and protector, and in case of their marriage resulting in no children, that they designated Philip and his successors as their heirs. He also demanded the custody of Jaquetta of Saint Pol as she was his youngest niece, still unmarried and the right to dispose of her hand in marriage as he saw proper. In return they asked him to protect Marguerite from retaliations and to safeguard her future. Philip accepted their demand without complaining, knowing that he had the upper hand in the case. Both knew that breaking with Brabant would cause them to lose their most steadfast protector and invite the furious Englishmen back, howling for retribution.
Thomas of York returned to his brother’s kingdom a month after the treaty was signed. He had managed to claw himself out of his numbness, but his temperament grew even more severe and few people saw the duke smiling after his captivity. As for his disgraced wife she landed on her feet, but also tarnished by her act against the english. She was given a residence in the ducal palace of Binche for several years and it seemed like even the proud and haughty Marguerite had learned a hard lesson in humility. The castle had been renovated by Philip the Good back in the 1460s and the late Margaret of York had expanded it. In 1510, Philip had decided to tear it down and rebuild it as a renaissance palace in the model of the chateaus of France and it had been finished in 1514. No doubt Marguerite found it to her liking as she lived there for five years before her second marriage took place. In 1520 she left the palace as the new duchess made it one of her favourite residences and at that time, the relationship between her and Beatrijs of York had improved somewhat.
Reconstruction of the ducal Palace in Binche in 1526
The relationship between Brabant and England would become colder after 1515, with the negotiations to make either Philip’s granddaughter Margaret or her sister Philippa the next princess of Wales ceasing after Richard made it clear that he would turn his interest elsewhere and in 1515 another bride came into the scene. With the humiliation a mere countess had inflicted upon his son, a more prestigious option was needed. And above a countess, above a duke’s daughter, above even a king’s, was an imperial bride of the greatest prestige. And it would be thus, that the english turned their attention towards the Holy Roman Empire, a realm that in the year of 1516 would see a new Emperor taking the place of his ancestors before the year would be over.
And to England, two new men would make their debuts in the court of Richard IV. Sharing the same name, but with vastly different personalities, their legacy would intermingle with the rest of the reign of the king, and also the life of his heir, Richard, Prince of Wales, whom would step into the pages of history at this point.
Source: A Thomas for all seasons – The three Courtiers of the White Kings of England
Author's Note: Here it the Boulogne chapter at last. Man, did Anne leave England with a huge egg on their face. I'm surprised no one guessed the Count of Saint Pol as her groom. Geographically it made the most sense. And Grand Duke Philip really came up on top of all this mess. We're gonna meet the new prospective Princess of Wales in Austria and as you can see, the new Emperor as well. And we have two Thomases entering the court of England as well. Guess which ones!
The marriage between the young Countess of Boulogne and the Count of Saint Pol took place in late June of 1514. The attending witnesses consisted of the groom’s younger sister, his mother, and a gathering of city elders and officials from both realms. Anne wore a dress of blue silk and cloth of gold, with a mantle of her family’s heraldry swept around her shoulders, and her thick brown hair cascaded down her back. The scarlet lion of Luxembourg roared from the standards held by the knights guarding the Basilica of Notre-Dame in Boulogne. This was a unusual marriage by the standards of the time, as the bride was betrothed to another Prince and the wedding took place in defiance of that. The dowager countess had been instrumental in arranging this match, and Marie of Luxembourg watched with deep satisfaction as her scheme bore fruit at last.
The death of her husband in 1507 had left her a widow with three children and their only son had been twelve years old at his father’s death. The protection of the Duke of Brabant had aided her greatly, as no one had challenged her regency for the few years before Peter had taken the reins of government himself. But the english entitlement had grated on her and the marriage of her eldest daughter to the Duke of Bedford had been even worse. Marie had planned a proper match for Marguerite, not the third son of the late english king. With her ducal connection, she had an even better future then just the eldest daughter of the Count of Saint Pol. And then the english had pressured her into the marriage with Bedford, a man whom seemed proud over lording over the heiress Marie had eyed for her boy for a long time. To mould the French ruling lady into a Englishwoman and recreate a smaller Plantagenet holding on these lands.
“Over my dead body” Marie snarled in her thoughts when Marguerite wedded Bedford, keeping her features pleasant during the ceremony. It had been an easy thing to persuade her brother-in-law to give her the custody of Anne during her childhood, his clever eyes peering at her from above the rim of his wine goblet at the time. Perhaps he had already known about her plans, being as devoted to the family of his only brother as his own. And since he had arranged the match between her and John in order for him to acquire her lands, this would not be strange in the least. This was after all the man who had held the Count of Nevers hostage in order to annex Rethel and give it and the heiress, another Marie, to his second son. Bedford had never assumed she was anything other then a proper lady, incapable of plots and schemes. Letting Peter and Anne grow up together had been easy, and spending time in the ducal court had left Bedford out of the loop. Her Marguerite had not been difficult to persuade either. Both Count and Countess had raised their children to put their own family first and the entitled English court and their proud Spanish queen had not made it too hard either.
While the marriage of 1514 took place, Bedford had been strategically distracted by his wife, whom had suggested they visit England in order to attend the christening of his niece, Katherine of York. The news would come a fortnight afterwards, knocking the court sideways. The future Princess of Wales had been lost and so had their claims to Boulogne. This would be an international humiliation to the whole kingdom.
Marie of Luxembourg, Dowager Countess of Saint Pol
The king quickly called his council together to make an assessment of the information rushing from Calais and the ambassadors in the region. Unfortunately, that proved harder than imagined, as the english officials had been purged from the County as soon as the marriage took place. Peter and Anne issued a crackdown on foreign ministers and had them incarcerated, to be used as leverage against England. Trusted men from Saint Pol and the county itself replaced them and at their wedding, the pair had received pledges of loyalty from assembled lords and ladies. This proved to be a most reliable powerbase to stand on. Thus, the english believed that it would be an easy task to retake Boulogne and dispatched Bedford with a force of 2,500 men across the channel at the end of July, while Marguerite was ordered to return to Brabant in order to raise support for the cause. That turned out to be a mistake, as she had no intention of aiding her husband against her brother. Calls went out all over Boulogne and Saint Pol for aid and even many knights and soldiers, as well peasants as in the neighbouring French regions answered the calls, marching from the cities of Rouen, Dieppe and Longueville in order to pay the english back for the brutal raids that went on from 1507 to 1510. With standards bearing images of Joan of Arc, several thousands joined the defence against the english, invoking the Maid of Orléans whom had been the driving force in expelling the Plantagenets from France decades earlier. The english army did not expect the fierce resistance they would encounter when they landed. Neither did they anticipate the betrayal of the duchess of Bedford. For she had revealed the landing positions and strategies to Peter, who in turn acted accordingly. Ambushes, raids and mobs wielding clubs, axes and other assortments of weapons lambasted them fiercely at their arrival in Calais.
Peter of Luxembourg, Count of Saint Pol and Boulogne or Peter the Lion as he was historically called by his contemporaries.
Knowing that a fast hit against the english could be the key to driving them back across the channel, Peter decided to engage Bedford early on. His fortune improved as their army caught a spell of dysentery and also the acts of his sister, something Bedford had still not realised. Her letters indicated that support from the Low Countries were on the way, but in reality, only a ducal envoy had been dispatched. Philip had no intention of aiding England against his beloved nephew, but neither did he intend to take an aggressive tone towards a key ally. Charles of Guelders would arrive in the County of Artois too late however. Peter struck the day before and the result would be impressive. The Duke of Bedford became a captive, along with two of his most trusted commanders, while many others were slain or injured. Upon hearing of the victory, many of the gathered French peasants became exuberated and marched to Calais, intending to bring destruction down on the last foothold of english power in France.
While the defence of Calais would hold it would exert a heavy price, as several hundred would be massacred, dying by the hands of english soldiers in an episode that would be called the Bloodbath of Calais.
Historically King Richard IV is believed to have said of the massacre:
“The Countess of Boulogne loved her Luxembourgian lord so much that she cast away a crown and the French peasants paid her dowry with corpses”
It’s clear from this quote that he held the opinion that Anne breaking the betrothal had led to this calamity and many in his court shared the sentiment. Queen Catherine fully agreed with her husband and bemoaned the fact that her precious son had nearly been wed to a “wicked and faithless jezebel with no regard to the sanctity of oaths”. Prince Richard expressed great shame in his fiancé and prayed that the marriage would be cursed. He also hoped that his next engagement would be a more splendid one that would “bring happiness to all of England”.
The massacre at Calais haunted the reputations of Englishmen for generations and it would increase the hatred of many in the regions against the Plantagenets. The countless dead lining the walls became holy martyrs in the eyes of many and the rallying cry of: “For the holy innocents whom perished at Calais”
would be heard years later when Calais fell at last.
The treachery of the Duchess of Bedford had come into the clear light of day as well. Thomas of York had been devastated upon finding out his own wife had a hand in his defeat and captivity and he fell into a depressive stupor. Meanwhile, Anne and Peter prepared negotiations with the York king to ensure their independence against the english crown. Bedford proved to be the most useful leverage, but a third party in the negotiations would be useful as well and Peter reached out to his uncle, Grand Duke Philip for aid. Philip was keen to prevent the alliance with England from breaking apart completely and to also help his nephew to safeguard his newly enlarged realm. Thus, he offered to mediate in negotiations. While the count and countess wanted England to recognise their independent and to dissolve Anne from all obligations in that kingdom, Richard wanted his brother back and a heavy sum in return for letting go of Boulogne. His demands also included that Marguerite of Saint Pol be forced to return to England where she would be held accountable for her treason. That part was unacceptable for Peter and Philip, both men who held their sister and niece dear. King Richard had moved quickly to confiscate her properties and income from England as punishment and threatened to demand the Pope annul her marriage to Thomas.
It would take Philip over three months to negotiate a peace treaty that was agreed upon by all partners. The Treaty of Gravelines outlined the following terms.
-England would abandon all claims to the County of Boulogne and to Anne of Boulogne and recognize the union with the County of Saint Pol as legitimate and true.
-Thomas of York would be released back to England at the payment of 50, 000 pounds along with his commanders.
-England would receive the payment of 150, 000 florins in return for the broken treaty of 1507 and the knights who had perished in the battles.
-The marriage between Marguerite and Thomas were to be annulled and while her personal possessions would be returned to her, she would lose all income from England and the right to her married title. She would be banned from English land in perpetuity, but the Yorks would not pursue her as long as she stayed away from the kingdom.
The sum itself was an extremely hefty one for Peter and Anne, but Philip offered to cover 80,000 of it himself, with a few conditions. Namely that they swore fealty to him as their liege and protector, and in case of their marriage resulting in no children, that they designated Philip and his successors as their heirs. He also demanded the custody of Jaquetta of Saint Pol as she was his youngest niece, still unmarried and the right to dispose of her hand in marriage as he saw proper. In return they asked him to protect Marguerite from retaliations and to safeguard her future. Philip accepted their demand without complaining, knowing that he had the upper hand in the case. Both knew that breaking with Brabant would cause them to lose their most steadfast protector and invite the furious Englishmen back, howling for retribution.
Thomas of York returned to his brother’s kingdom a month after the treaty was signed. He had managed to claw himself out of his numbness, but his temperament grew even more severe and few people saw the duke smiling after his captivity. As for his disgraced wife she landed on her feet, but also tarnished by her act against the english. She was given a residence in the ducal palace of Binche for several years and it seemed like even the proud and haughty Marguerite had learned a hard lesson in humility. The castle had been renovated by Philip the Good back in the 1460s and the late Margaret of York had expanded it. In 1510, Philip had decided to tear it down and rebuild it as a renaissance palace in the model of the chateaus of France and it had been finished in 1514. No doubt Marguerite found it to her liking as she lived there for five years before her second marriage took place. In 1520 she left the palace as the new duchess made it one of her favourite residences and at that time, the relationship between her and Beatrijs of York had improved somewhat.
Reconstruction of the ducal Palace in Binche in 1526
The relationship between Brabant and England would become colder after 1515, with the negotiations to make either Philip’s granddaughter Margaret or her sister Philippa the next princess of Wales ceasing after Richard made it clear that he would turn his interest elsewhere and in 1515 another bride came into the scene. With the humiliation a mere countess had inflicted upon his son, a more prestigious option was needed. And above a countess, above a duke’s daughter, above even a king’s, was an imperial bride of the greatest prestige. And it would be thus, that the english turned their attention towards the Holy Roman Empire, a realm that in the year of 1516 would see a new Emperor taking the place of his ancestors before the year would be over.
And to England, two new men would make their debuts in the court of Richard IV. Sharing the same name, but with vastly different personalities, their legacy would intermingle with the rest of the reign of the king, and also the life of his heir, Richard, Prince of Wales, whom would step into the pages of history at this point.
Source: A Thomas for all seasons – The three Courtiers of the White Kings of England
Author's Note: Here it the Boulogne chapter at last. Man, did Anne leave England with a huge egg on their face. I'm surprised no one guessed the Count of Saint Pol as her groom. Geographically it made the most sense. And Grand Duke Philip really came up on top of all this mess. We're gonna meet the new prospective Princess of Wales in Austria and as you can see, the new Emperor as well. And we have two Thomases entering the court of England as well. Guess which ones!
@BlueFlowwer ! Good chapter! Hope the alliance between the Plantagenets and burgundians survives this fiasco and that dickon gets a worthy bride
Well, right now it's on rather rocky ground. And Dickon will certainly find a bride elsewhere.
That they did. But the Plantagenet lions Will rise from this humilliations
To be fair, without the Italian Wars things are rather chill in Europe.
I'm gonna get to them somewhere in chapter 43 perhaps. We're gonna have to recap a lot of things in Italy from 1490 and onwards. But the next chapter is actually in Scotland.
We're spending so much time in Brabant, England and Spain and France, I figure we're gonna have to take a look in Scotland, Brittany, Naples and Savoy as well.
Yep. Betting Juana is having the time of her life with her doting husband popping out many babies
Juana is thriving in Savoy, but her relationship with her daughter in law isn't very good. Cecily of York isn't a great success.
Juana having a daughter in law that is a wreck rather then herself being a wreck is hilarious to me.