Henri II: His Court and Times (16 page)

N
OTWITHSTANDING
his parsimonious nature and
the drain which the siege of Florence had imposed
upon the Roman finances, Clement had
determined that his young kinswoman must be suitably
dowered; it was therefore agreed that her
dot
should consist
of 100,000 gold crowns, to which the Pope added another
30,000, in consideration of her renunciation in his favour
of all claims to the duchy of Urbino. She also, of course,
brought her husband the estates in France which she had
inherited from her mother, Madeleine de la Tour d'Auvergne,
the value of which was estimated at about ten thousand
crowns a year.

To procure the money which he had engaged to give his
cousin, and of which 50,000 crowns were to be paid on the
ratification of the contract and the balance in two instalments at intervals of six months, the impoverished Pope
was compelled to have recourse to Filippo Strozzi. Strozzi
advanced him 80,000 ducats, taking as security several jewels,
among them a magnificent clasp for the Pontifical cope,
which Benvenuto Cellini had fashioned. This transaction
proved a very unprofitable one for the banker, for after
Clement's death, in September 1534, his successor, Paul III,
insisted on the restoration of the jewels, on the ground that
they were not the property of Clement personally, but of
the Holy See; and it was only with much difficulty, and after
long delay, that Strozzi succeeded in obtaining payment of part
of the sums due to him.

Besides a dowry in money, Catherine received a magnificent trousseau. "As to the trousseau," runs the contract,
"the Supreme Pontiff will, at his own discretion, furnish his
illustrious relative with clothing, ornaments, and jewels.
The jewels will also be valued, and a record of them preserved, in order that, in the event of her surviving her
husband, he may be able to recover them or the price of
them."
⁰¹

Among these jewels were a set of immense pear-shaped
pearls, which contemporary writers declare to have been of
fabulous origin and to have been worth a kingdom; but as
a matter of fact, they had been purchased from a Lyons
merchant, and were only valued at 900 crowns."
⁰²
These pearls were, many years later, given by Catherine to her
daughter-in-law, Mary Stuart, "whom I have seen wearing
them," writes Brantôme. Reumont says that there was, in
the Galerie d'Orléans of the Palais-Royal, at the time of the
Revolution of 1848, a portrait of Mary Stuart, as the young
wife of François II, with richly curling hair, a high lace ruff,
and Catherine's pearls around her neck and on her bosom.
This portrait is no doubt identical with one which is now
at Chantilly; but, according to so high an authority as M.
Bouchot, the lady therein represented is not Mary Stuart at
all, but the Princesse de Conti.

The destiny of these pearls was a singular one, as after
Mary's untimely end they were appropriated by Queen
Elizabeth, who wore them without a blush, notwithstanding
that they had originally come from a Pope, and had been
blessed and consecrated by him.

But the most precious
objet d'art
which the bride-elect
brought to her adopted country was a marvellous casket
formed of twenty-four panels of rock-crystal in a setting of
silver-gilt. Twenty of the panels were engraved with as
many subjects from the life of our Saviour, from the
Adoration of the Shepherds to the Ascension, while on
the corner panels were carved the figures of the four
Evangelists. The Medici Arms decorated the lid, on
which was the following inscription:
"Clemens VII, Pontifex
Maximus."

This casket, which, in the opinion of Reumont, was originally intended for a sacred purpose, that is to say, to contain
the Host, was the work of the goldsmith Valerio Vicentino,
the most accomplished craftsman in the art of cutting precious
stones whom modern times have produced. It may now be
seen in the Museum of the Uffizi at Florence. How it
returned to the country of its origin is a mystery; it is
only known that it was in Florence in the first half of the
seventeenth century.
⁰³
The probability is that it was one
of a number of objects of value which were placed during
the reign of Charles IX in a cabinet in the Louvre and
disappeared during the Wars of the League.
⁰⁴

Upon the trousseau properly so called — gowns, lingerie, and so forth — no
expense was spared, and everything was of the most regal magnificence. The
praises bestowed by some historians upon the Pope's munificence towards his
kinswoman are, however, scarcely deserved, since a considerable part of the expense incurred appears to have been
defrayed by the unfortunate Florentines. A few weeks
before Catherine's departure for France, Alessandro de'
Medici raised a forced loan of 35,000 scudi from the
citizens, for the ostensible purpose of constructing the fortress
of San-Giovanni, but it is asserted that most of this sum
was applied to the adornment of the future Duchesse
d'Orléans.

On his side, François I accorded his son an annual revenue
of 50,000 livres tournois, and his future daughter-in-law one
of 10,000 livres tournois, together with the Château of Gien,
in the Orléanais, which had once belonged to the famous
Dunois — the Bastard of Orléans — and subsequently to Anne
de Beaujeu, who was Regent of France during the minority
of her brother, Charles VIII.

While the negotiations for her marriage were proceeding,
Catherine was living in the Palazzo Medici, at Florence, under
the care of Maria Salviati, widow of the famous captain
Giovanni de' Medici (Giovanni of the Black Bands), and
daughter of that Jacopo whom the Cardinal Ippolito had
attempted to assassinate during the Carnival of 1531. Hitherto the girl would appear to have led a somewhat sombre and
monotonous existence; but now, with a view to preparing
her for the great position she was soon to occupy, she was
encouraged to live the gay and luxurious life of a lady of
high rank, and we find her wearing magnificent toilettes
and costly jewels, assisting at balls, masquerades, fetes, and
hunting-parties, and patronising the studios of the painters
and the ateliers of the sculptors. "At the Murate," says
M. Bouchot, "the Catherine of the Wars of Religion was
formed; here was fashioned the Catherine of the Tuileries
or the Louvre, that of Chenonceaux or Fontainebleau, the
impresario
, the woman of magnificence, whose Florentine
passion for ostentation will take heed neither of famines
nor wars."
⁰⁵

How she regarded the prospect before her, it is difficult
to say, for neither by word nor look does she appear to have
given any indication of her feelings in the matter. That, if
the choice of a husband had been left to her, she would
have preferred her cousin Ippolito — the only being of the
opposite sex who had shown her any affection — cannot be
doubted; but, since her sentiments had been sacrificed to
her interests, or rather to those of his Holiness, and since
she already possessed her full share of the pride and ambition
of her family, it is probable that she was well satisfied to
become the daughter-in-law of the most splendid monarch
in Europe.

At the time of the signing of the marriage-contract it had
been arranged that the happy event should be celebrated
at Nice, and that Clement should accompany the bride-elect
thither, where, under the pretext of bestowing the Pontifical
blessing upon the young couple, he might confer with the
King of France in regard to the future of Italy. The feeble
health of the Pope, however, necessitated the postponement
of his journey until the early autumn of 1533, and, in the
interval, the Emperor, who was seriously alarmed at the
prospect of an interview between his rival and his slippery
ally, made great efforts to prevent the latter's departure, and
even went so far as to despatch an envoy to Rome to represent
to Clement how derogatory it would be to the Papal dignity
for him to leave his dominions to meet the King of
France.
⁰⁶
But his Holiness, though he did not fail in assurances of his
devotion to the interests of the Emperor, was not to be
turned from his purpose; and on July 17 his approaching
departure was formally announced, and Filippo Strozzi
started for Florence, charged with the duty of making all
the necessary arrangements.

On September 1, Catherine took leave of her native city
at a grand banquet, to which she had invited all the most
noble ladies in Florence, and in the late afternoon of the
same day set out on her journey, accompanied by Filippo
Strozzi, the historian and diplomatist Francesco Guicciardini,
Maria Salviati, Caterina Cybo, Duchess of Caminino, and
Palla Rucellai — a daughter of Lorenzo the Magnificent's
younger sister Nannina — and a splendid retinue. The first
night she slept at Poggia a Cajano, and the second at
Pistoja, where François du Bellay, Comte de Tonnerre, who
had joined the party
en route
, handed her the presents of
François I and the Duc d'Orléans, "a sapphire tablet and
a diamond cut
en dos d'âne
." Thence, by easy stages, she
proceeded to Porto Venere on the Tuscan coast, where a
squadron of French galleys under the command of her uncle
Albany were waiting to convey her to Nice.

Nice had been originally selected for the marriage and the
interview between the Pope and François with the object
of saving the dignity of the Holy Father, since it was neutral
territory. But the Duke of Savoy, to whom it at this time
belonged, having been lured away from France by the bait
of Charles V's sister-in-law, Beatrix of Portugal, manifested
some displeasure on learning of the arrangement, and the
Pope thereupon consented that the marriage and the conference
should take place at Marseilles.
⁰⁷

Having landed Catherine and her suite at Nice, where she
was to await the coming of the Pope, Albany and his galleys
returned to Leghorn to fetch Clement, who had quitted
Rome on September 9. His Holiness, travelling by way
of Montepulciano, in order to avoid Florence, arrived in the
first days of October, accompanied by an imposing retinue,
which included ten cardinals and a great number of bishops
and other high ecclesiastical dignitaries. The French galleys
had, in the meanwhile, been reinforced by the squadrons of
Andrea Doria and of the Prior of St. John of Jerusalem, and
when the Pope embarked, more than sixty vessels hoisted
their flags and saluted him by repeated salvoes of artillery.

The galley to which had been assigned the honour of
conveying the sacred person of the Pontiff was draped from
stem to stern with gold brocade; while the vessel which led
the van bore the Holy Sacrament, in accordance with the
custom of the Popes when they travelled by sea.

Assisted by a favourable wind, the galleys reached Villafranca on October 10, where Catherine and her suite were
taken on board, and then made sail for Marseilles.

Great preparations for the reception of the illustrious guests
had been made at Marseilles. About the middle of August,
Anne de Montmorency, to whom the arrangements had been
entrusted, arrived there, and gave instructions for three of
the finest houses in the city to be made ready for their accommodation. We are not told where the house selected as
Catherine's residence was situated, but those of the Pope and
the King were in the Place-Neuve and separated only by
one of the narrow streets running into the square. Communication between them was established by means of a
wooden gallery erected over the street, in the centre of which
was a chamber hung with costly tapestries. Thus, the two
sovereigns would be able to enjoy as many private interviews
as they desired, without the smallest risk of their conversations
being overheard.

François arrived at Marseilles on October 8, but he did
not make a ceremonial entry, since etiquette required that
the entry of the King should be deferred until after the Holy
Father had made his. Accordingly, after having satisfied
himself that everything was in readiness, he joined the Queen
and the princes at Aubagne, a village three leagues distant,
on the road to Aix, leaving the Grand-Master, with all the
high ecclesiastics of the realm, to receive the Pope.

On the morning of the 11th, signals from the Château d'lf
and the fortress of Notre Dame de la Garde announced to the
expectant Marseillais that the flotilla was in sight, whereupon
there was a general rush to the harbour, and a number of
craft of all sizes, crowded with the faithful, put out to meet
his Holiness and welcome him "with hautbois, clarions, and
trumpets."

At the entrance to the port he was received with a salute
from three hundred cannon placed in different quarters of
the city, while the bells of all the churches clashed out a
merry peal. The galleys forming the Papal escort returned
the salute, and "the whole harbour seemed to be on fire."

On landing, Clement was received by the Grand-Master,
who conducted him to his own residence, situated on the
farther side of the harbour, near the Abbaye de Saint-Victor.
Here he dined and received the homage of the French
cardinals, archbishops, and bishops, and then proceeded to the
abbey, where he was to pass the night.

"On the morrow, which was Sunday," says a contemporary
relation, "he went to hear Mass at the Abbaye de Saint-Victor,
where he visited several holy relics . . . and at two hours
after noon he began to make his entry into the town, which
occupied four whole hours. The Corpus Domini was
honourably borne upon a white horse richly caparisoned, and
before it walked Messieurs d'Orléans and d'Angoulême, and all
the princes, chevaliers of the Order, and nobility. Archers
of the Garde du Corps, holding torches in their hands, and
the King's Swiss surrounded the Pope, who was carried by his
chamberlains,
⁰⁸
in the
dress of a cardinal, his embroidered
hat of crimson satin being borne before him, while in his
train came fourteen cardinals, amongst whom were the Legate
of Avignon, the Cardinals de Bourbon, de Lorraine, and
de Gramont, and thirty-six bishops, all habited in the Roman
and apostolic fashion. After having visited the Major, which
is the metropolitan church, our lord alighted at the lodging
prepared for him, which was so well arranged and constructed
that it could not have been bettered. It is impossible to
describe the great nobility who were present at the said entry,
and in the town and neighbourhood the firing of cannon and
arquebuses went on without ceasing from the moment of his
arrival. . . . Our said Holy Father is very hale and
strong,
⁰⁹
fifty-five years of age, rather above the middle height, and
wearing a long beard reaching to his stomach. He is a good-humoured-looking man, who shows that he is possessed of the
highest intelligence."
¹⁰